It was just a little over a year ago that FiftyThree launched Paper for the iPad. But during its short existence, the sketch app has amassed quite a few accomplishments, including winning an Apple Design award.
Last night, Paper received its first major update since its original debut. And the release, which brings the app to version 1.3.1, offers a few improvements, including the highly-requested pinch-to-zoom feature… Read More
In another sign of consumers postponing purchasing iPad minis in anticipation of a second-generation model, said to sport Apple’s high-resolution Retina display, contract manufacturer Pegatron has cautioned investors Wednesday to brace themselves for as much as a 30 percent revenue decline when it reports second-quarter earnings, the most since a 37 percent decline in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Although Pegatron assembles Apples’ iPhone 4S and iPad mini, the Taiwanese corporation also acts as a contract manufacturer for consumer electronics from other makers. But as Apple is one of its principal clients – and given Apple’s high-volume needs – Pegatron attributed the decline to shrinking iPad mini orders… Read More
Earlier this week, we told you about a new jailbreak tweak called MiniPlayer. It’s essentially a hidable widget for your device’s music controls, which was based on a concept from Auxo-designer Sentry, and looks a lot like the iTunes 11 mini player.
The initial release saw mixed reviews, but if you weren’t a believer before you need to checkout today’s update. MiniPlayer 2.0 just hit Cydia, and thanks to a complete UI overhaul by Ayecon theme designer Surenix, it looks and feels much better… Read More
Looking for a new way to sort through notifications on your iPhone? If so, you might want to check out Secretary, a new jailbreak tweak that will read your notifications aloud to you upon connecting your device to a Bluetooth speaker or headset.
Once activated, the tweak can tell you how many unchecked missed phone calls and messages you have, as well as the number of impending calendar events. It can also read your text messages aloud to you using text-to-speech, similar to Siri… Read More
NPD DisplaySearch is on a roll. After reporting yesterday that Apple could release two Retina-enabled iPad mini models – one in the second half of this year and another in the first quarter of 2014 with an updated processor, the display market researcher tell CNET today they think those high-resolution Retina panels for the second-generation iPad mini could go into mass-production soon, as early as June or July of this year.
If true, and assuming satisfactory yield rates, Apple should be able to ready its first Retina iPad mini for a Fall introduction, a time frame KGI Securities’ well-informed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently outlined based on his own sources… Read More
Many of us have shared a pair of earbuds with a friend. The problem crops up when you enjoy rocking out at max volume while your friend enjoys a more modest audio level. Enter Apple with what’s essentially an intelligent audio splitter.
Instead of enduring the default sound level of the iPhone or iPod, an adapter envisioned by Apple would allow you to customize your individual audio, according to a patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Tuesday.
Additionally, the headphone splitter would permit two people to use built-in mics to speak over the soundtrack, opening up some wild possibilities with gaming… Read More
Adobe announced a number of new products and changes to its current lineup today, during a keynote at its MAX conference. The company is ditching its Creative Suite, and turning its focus to a new cloud-based platform it’s calling CC.
In addition to the software announcements, Adobe also showed off new hardware today. And there are two products that we’re particularly interested in, an iPad-friendly smart stylus code-named “Project Mighty,” and a digital ruler… Read More
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates thinks Apple’s iPad is “frustrating” to use because it lacks a physical keyboard and doesn’t run Office. The Surface, he says, brings the “portability of the tablet but the richness of the PC” to mobile productivity.
Being a Google Apps fan, I’m obviously biased and not exactly the right guy to comment on the Office part of Bill’s comment.
Now, I’m underestimating the real world outside the Apple bubble and obviously there are heavy Office users out there who agree with Gates on Office for iPad. Regardless, you’d think Microsoft’s co-founder should know that any Bluetooth keyboard works with iPads.
On top of that, a bunch of iPad cases incorporate physical keys like NIBIQÜ’s and Logitech’s Surface-like iPad cases, the latter featuring physical keys seamlessly fused into its interior fabric. Go past the fold for the full quote and video evidence… Read More
A growing trend by accessory makers to adopt wireless connections could disconnect Apple from a significant source of revenue. In a departure from the days of the iPod, where accessories such as speakers were designed with 30-pin connections fitting only Apple devices, add-on device manufacturers are have increasingly been turning to Bluetooth for some time to connect a growing number of mobile devices – many not made by Apple.
The reason for the transition includes the rise of Samsung, Amazon and other iPhone and iPad rivals, along with the feeling Apple kept secret from accessory makers its new Lightning connection. As a result, some of the largest accessory makers are turning to the wireless Bluetooth standard to avoid any more surprises from Apple, according to the New York Times… Read More
Good news Photo Organizer fans. The developer lordscotland has listened to your feedback, and has subsequently posted an update to the app with new features, sort options and more. Actually, he rolled the update into a whole new tweak.
The original Photo Organizer, which was released back in February, is a simple tweak that allows you to copy, delete and rearrange pictures in the stock Photos app. And the Pro version is exactly like that, but with a few more options… Read More
Velox, arguably one of this year’s most highly anticipated jailbreak tweaks, finally landed in Cydia this weekend after what seemed like several weeks of waiting. Initial feedback for the tweak has been mostly praise, but there have been some scattered reports of bugs.
Of course, bugs are typical in first-version software releases, as are the bug-squashing ’0.1′ updates that follow them. And today, Velox has received its 0.1 update that includes a new, double-tap activation method, and a handful of other improvements and bug fixes… Read More
Mail clients are becoming a big deal in the App Store. Only a few weeks ago, Orchestra launched their popular Mailbox app to much fanfare. Before this, Twitter clients were trending, before that, RSS readers. Mail clients are likely to be the next wave of iOS apps for the months ahead.
Evomail is another mail client for the iPad to recently hit the App Store. This Gmail-specific app lets users access, organize, and respond to their mail in a way that incorporates Gmail’s interactions with Apple’s native Mail app… Read More
Attention Path users: the personal social network has just released a new version of its iOS app. The update brings the application to version 3.0.4, and includes enhanced privacy features, as well as other improvements and bug fixes.
The fact that it includes new privacy tools is particularly interesting, given that Path spent most of this past week dealing with privacy concerns after a user accused its app of ‘erroneously’ sending text messages to all of his contacts…
As Samsung and Apple are bringing the smartphone wars to the Pentagon, the Galaxy maker has drawn first blood as its Galaxy S4 flagship smartphone gets cleared for government use ahead of the iPhone. A security approval from the US Department of Defense (DoD) is a major recognition for Samsung and its new Knox security software as the S4 becomes the first Android smartphone to win a DoD approval.
It wasn’t immediately clear what’s up with the holdup concerning Apple, but the iPhone and iPad devices should get cleared later this month… Read More
You really have to feel for Blockbuster. After filing for bankruptcy in 2010, the one-time video rental giant has struggled to make any sort of comeback in a market now dominated by digital services like Netflix. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to stop trying.
Today, the company announced that it has launched a new iOS application for its On Demand streaming service. The app will allow you to rent and watch movies from Blockbuster’s library of over 100,000 titles (across all genres) from your iPhone or iPad… Read More
It looks like it’s ‘release your updates’ day today for iOS developers. Earlier this morning we saw software updates seeded by Apple and Instagram, and now we have one from Google for its popular YouTube Capture app.
Today’s update brings the app to version 1.3, and it includes a handful of new features and improvements. For starters, it features a new ‘only upload on Wi-Fi’ option, and there’s also HD and speed enhancements on board… Read More
In the latest lesson on how to be a smart tech news consumer, we focus on why research pointing to Apple gains somehow is trumpeted as losses for the iPad maker.
Wednesday, research firm IDC announced Apple’s tablet saw a 65 percent year-over-year gain in first-quarter shipments.
Yet several news outlets blared headlines of the iPad’s market share falling below 40 percent. How was Apple’s strong growth spun into an Android win? Read More
With Google Maps launching as a standalone app last fall, and Apple’s own Maps app getting progressively better, you probably aren’t in the market for an alternative GPS application. But we’re going to tell you about one anyway.
ForeverMap2, a maps app that uses OpenStreetMaps tech, has finally landed on iOS. Its claim to fame is its advanced compression technology, which allows it to serve up offline maps without taking up much space on your device… Read More
The days of boxy computers are history, so why are the batteries which power them still the same shape? That’s the question a pair of new Apple patent applications seek to answer. The patents filed in 2011 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office describe “non-rectangular batteries for portable devices.”
The iPhone and iPad maker outlines a way to customize the shape of batteries to fit the flexibility of today’s consumer electronics, including the growing array of wearable devices, such as the highly-discussed iWatch or Google’s Glass eyewear… Read More
Photoshop maker Adobe has a few more or less useful apps on the App Store, most of them tied to its Creative Cloud offering and the Creative Suite family of desktop products for pros.
Although the company caters to photography buffs with iPhone and iPad versions of Photoshop Express, Photoshop Touch, Ideas and other apps, they’re pared down versions conceived as companion apps to their desktop counterparts.
But pro photographers have reasons to rejoice as Adobe’s group product manager for Lightroom Tom Hogarty today on Photoshop guru Scott Kelby’s show The Grid showed off a yet unnamed prototype iPad app that will bring pro-level photo editing and image manipulation capabilities to the owners of the Apple tablet.
Among the features being promised: RAW image support, seamless sync that leverages Adobe’s cloud technologies and advanced Lightroom parameters, such as exposure, clarity, shadows, highlights and white balance… Read More
