Google’s take on search AI dubbed Google Now went live Monday via an update to the Internet giant’s native iOS Search app.
Today, a number of users took to the Internet to complain about the application’s excessive power drain due to a possible glitch in how it retrieves your location in the background… Read More
Some intriguing numbers were released Monday on how one research firm views the smartphone race between iOS and Android. According to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Google’s Android averages a 64 percent unit share of the smartphone market across ten countries.
Apple leads in Japan while Android’s doing its best in Spain, where the mobile software owns an astounding 93 percent of the smartphone market.
In the U.S., the race is much tighter, with Android holding 49.3 percent and Apple owning 43.7 percent of the domestic market. But the rivals might be even closer as observers question how accurate Kantar is, given recent iPhone sales reports by U.S. carriers… Read More
I run a small independent record label. I visit my local U.S. Postal Service just about every other day. I also order a lot of things online. Last Christmas, I only went outside to do my shopping twice. Everything else was purchased through Amazon. I sell items on eBay and have various promotional items delivered to me for product reviews. I am on a first-name basis with my postman.
Needless to say, I keep track of a lot of packages. Whether I’m sending or receiving, in any given month, I’ve got a list of items that I am tracking to someone’s front door.
Delivery Status touch is the perfect app for people like me, people who track multiple packages most of the time. Using your order number or tracking number, you can follow the path that your package is taking until it reaches its final destination… Read More
I’ve always thought it’d be cool to play the drums, or the guitar, so I’m always looking for easy ways to learn how to do so. But few products deliver on their claims that they make learning to play an instrument “easy.”
The Zivix team is looking to change that though, with its new musical accessory: the JamStik. It’s a tiny guitar with real strings and frets that can track your hand and finger movements for instant feedback and instruction… Read More
So this would be kind of embarrassing. All-star Spanish tennis player and Samsung spokesman David Ferrer served up a fault this afternoon during his attempt to send out what looks like a sponsored tweet expressing his love for his new Galaxy S4.
The problem? Shortly after Ferrer sent out the tweet, several of his 350,000+ Twitter followers noticed something peculiar about his Samsung shout out—it featured the infamous ‘Twitter for iPhone’ notation, effectively killing all of its credibility… Read More
Despite the fact that Apple added a 4-inch option to its iPhone lineup last year, many folks are still calling for the Cupertino company to produce a larger handset. Even outspoken billionaire Donald Trump says he’s in favor of a so-called ‘iPhablet.’
During a conference call last week, Tim Cook all but shot down the idea of a larger iPhone, saying that Apple is not willing to make the tradeoffs currently necessary for bigger screens. But according to a new report, that could change next year… Read More
Apple’s iPhone, which celebrated its fifth birthday last June, will soon reach ‘obsolete’ status at Apple’s retail stores. This comes via an internal Apple communication which reveals that Apple Stores will downgrade the original 2007 iPhone model to ‘obsolete’ status come June 11, 2013.
Between its January 2007 introduction and the June 29, 2007 debut, the iPhone had enjoyed an unprecedented amount of media attention that fueled the media frenzy to unheard-of levels. But even the phone that changed the cell phones forever deserves retirement. By obsoleting the device, Apple will no longer be providing service parts… Read More
The summer blockbuster movie season is upon us. Well, maybe in a couple more weeks, but I’m going to give Oblivion credit for starting things off this summer. Here is the problem, I didn’t even know when Oblivion released. Sure, I could use the iTunes Movie Trailers app to watch the trailer, and even see the release date. But, what I cannot do, is set a reminder.
Thanks to the guys at TapHive, the newly updated and beautifully designed TodoMovies app solves problems caused by my memory deficient brain. TodoMovies helps discover new, upcoming, and past movies, while providing an elegant way to create a watch list and set release reminders.
After using TodoMovies for a while, I am thoroughly impressed. Not many dev teams are able to adequately combine beauty and useful function. Thankfully, TapHive knows how to produce useful content in a nice package… Read More
Jawbone, a company well-known for its bluetooth headsets and speakers, ventured into the world of fitness accessories last year with its UP bracelet. Well I should say re-entered. That was its second attempt with the UP, after hitting early manufacturing issues.
Today, reviews of the UP still seem to be a mixed bag, but Jawbone is looking to sweeten the deal with third party app support. Earlier today, the company unveiled its new ‘UP Platform,’ which it says will allow developers to integrate UP data into their apps… Read More
Good news today for jailbreakers who frequently use Facebook’s Messenger application. Moeseth has updated his popular QuickReply tweak for the social network’s messaging service to be compatible with devices running iOS 6+.
Much like its older sibling, TwitkaFly, QuickReply for Messenger allows users to quickly reply to Facebook messages by tapping on incoming notifications from either the Home screen, Lock screen, or within open applications… Read More
Sprint’s popular prepaid provider Boost Mobile will begin offering iPhone models this fall, according to an industry insider who claims to have direct knowledge of the company’s plan. If true, it would be the fourth major US prepaid carrier to offer the popular handset.
But this isn’t the first time rumors of a Boost Mobile, Apple partnership have surfaced. Last summer, the two were said to be working on a deal to bring the iPhone 4 and 4S to Sprint’s network by the fall. Obviously, though, those particular claims never materialized… Read More
Good news for folks who like the features of biteSMS, but don’t use it due to performance and reliability issues. The team behind the popular Messages app replacement claims many known bugs were fixed in an update today.
BiteSMS version 7.5 was released this morning with a number of performance-related improvements and bug fixes. In fact, the developers say it’s now 100% the same speed as the Messages app. Full change log after the fold… Read More
Donald Trump, in his own words, owns “a lot of Apple stock” and misses Steve Jobs terribly, but that’s not stopping him from demanding that Apple releases an iPhone with a bigger screen. The 66-year-old billionaire, magnate, president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts is publicly urging Tim Cook & Co. to think beyond the iPhone 5′s four-inch screen because “I like the larger screen” and because Apple will “lose a lot of business” unless it gets an iPhablet right… Read More
Earlier this year, it was reported that mobile phone thefts had climbed to 300 per day in London, with the iPhone accounting for over half of them. And we’ve heard similar numbers here Stateside, in major cities like New York and Chicago.
But police forces are beginning to fight back, setting up undercover units to try and disrupt the stolen smartphone trade. And a new report out this weekend offers an inside look at such an operation by the San Francisco Police Department… Read More
Despite the massive marketing blitz, Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform has managed to regain but a fraction of market share lost to iOS and Android in years past. Figuring it could take a page from Samsung’s marketing handbook, Microsoft on Monday published on its YouTube channel a new Windows Phone commercial which takes a mandatory jab at Apple’s iPhone and its Siri digital personal assistant while also poking fun of Gorilla-sized Android devices from Samsung. The funny ad is aimed at boosting Microsoft’s and Nokia’s stagnant sales of Lumia handsets in the United States… Read More
Tim Cook caused quite a bit of commotion last week when he told investors that Apple “has some amazing new hardware, software, and services coming this fall.” Most folks took it as we aren’t going to see anything new from the company until then.
But that may not be the case, according to a purported leaked document from Japanese wireless carrier KDDI. The internal note, meant for sales floor staff, offers up plan pricing information and some details about the upcoming iPhone 5S smartphone… Read More
Whenever I stumble upon a survey predicting that Apple’s iPhone will loose traction to not just Android, but Windows Phone as well, my blood starts to boil in my veins.
And just like clockwork, you can count on the likes of IDC and Gartner to come out of the woodwork every now and then with wild predictions of the iPhone’s demise by 2015, 2016 or 2017.
History has taught me to take such long-term predictions with a healthy dose of skepticism, even more so if data comes from big name firms whose crystal ball peering is based on “polls” that sample a few hundred random people, at best.
With that in mind, here’s a survey that paints a rather rosy future for the Apple smartphone. Noting that Android is actually losing one out of every six customers to other phone vendors, Yankee Group ran their spreadsheets and determined that Apple will surpass Android in U.S. market share by 2015, provided Apple brand loyalty numbers hold up in the coming years… Read More
To bolster its stock in the eyes of investors, Apple recently announced it would buy back $60 billion worth of shares. Such a move makes sense – after all, the iPhone maker does have this cash hoard of nearly $150 billion. However, it turns out Apple won’t touch that money, opting instead to borrow the funds.
By borrowing the money, Apple keeps its billions out of the reach of U.S. taxes, saving the corporate giant money while also retiring expensive stock dividends.
You didn’t think there was any altruism involved, did you? The move, however, isn’t without its pitfalls. Moreover, Apple isn’t alone in a corporate game of chess where it’s all about manipulating the tax code, according to a report Friday… Read More
For some time, the mobile phone industry has been shifting toward more powerful smartphones and away from basic mobile phones. Now comes word that smartphones outnumber feature phones for the first time. The line was crossed in the first quarter of 2013 with 216.1 million smartphones shipping, accounting for 51.6 percent of all handsets sold. Smartphone shipments grew 41.6 percent during the quarter, up from 152.7 million units shipped during the same period in 2012, one industry research firm announced Thursday… Read More
Swype virtual keyboard technology is pretty popular on Android devices, and it’s easy to see why. With error-correction algorithms and a powerful language model to guess the intended word, Swype lets you enter words by sliding a finger from the first letter of a word to its last letter, lifting only between words.
While Swype’s owner Nuance partners with Apple on the voice recognition technology powering Siri, the iPhone maker never implemented the Swype input method on iOS devices, instead choosing to advance its own intelligent virtual keyboard technology. That said, it’s interesting that Swype and Apple have had discussions concerning the feature… Read More
