Year: 2012

Apple reportedly ordering carbon fiber parts for a mysterious new product

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Forget about Liquidmetal: Apple is said to be ordering parts made of carbon fiber and these are allegedly for a mysterious new product. A Japanese supplier has apparently been commissioned to deliver carbon fiber items, but quantities are said to far surpass what constitutes a sample.

Coincidentally or not, Apple's patent filings indicate that the company has been researching carbon-fiber enclosures for quite some time. Now, imagine if you a will a carbon fiber-clad iOS device which doesn't get easily scratched and is even more lightweight than your Unibody aluminum iPhone 5...

Google Play Store: 675,000 apps, 25 billion downloads

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2012

Google is creeping up on Apple, announcing yesterday on its Android blog that its Play Store now has 675,000 apps which have been downloaded 25 billion times. It was just recently that Google bragged about half a billion cumulative Android activations and on September 5 the search Goliath announced it was activating 70,000 tablets and 1.3 million Android devices each day.

At this rate, Google should have no trouble surpassing Apple's platform by year's end. By comparison, Apple's App Store carried over 750,000 apps and the company sold a total of 425 million iOS devices, as of September 12. The iPhone maker said earlier at WWDC that customers downloaded over 30 billion apps as of June...

Apple could have kept Google Maps until iOS 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2012

Apple could have kept the stock iOS Google Maps for another year, if it wanted, a new report alleges. When Apple publicly announced in June it would drop the native Google Maps app in favor of its own solution, Google was shocked as its contract with Apple to keep the maps app on the iPhone "had more time remaining", the New York Times reports.

Luckily, if the paper's sources are to be believed, Google is working on a standalone Google Maps app though it won't be released immediately because Google wants to do it right and incorporate 3D view as it wants the program to be comparable to Apple Maps, namely its three-dimensional Flyover views of major cities...

Incipio’s DualPro case with silicone core will protect your iPhone 5

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

Spanning three continents, like the old British empire, the Sun never sets on Incipio, allowing them to operate 24 hours per day. Their tireless approach makes them a world-wide leader in fresh and innovative designs that protect and enhance our mobile devices.

Incipio pushed an iPhone 5 accessory line concurrently with the release of the iPhone last Friday, and I was thankful to not only get a FedEx box with my shiny new iPhone, but also received a care package from my friend at Incipio with a DualPro inside. I am pumped about this new case and plan on using it frequently...

Jonathan Mann wishes Siri a happy birthday

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2012

Musician and songwriter Jonathan Mann made a name for himself by writing a song a day and sharing it on YouTube. He's been doing it for over a thousand days straight, every single day. The song-a-day man scored big with fans of Apple when he posted the amusing Antennasong on the eve of Apple's hastily organized presser two years ago to deal with the aftermath of the iPhone 4 antenna debacle.

Steve Jobs even played that song to kick off the presser. And now, John's back with a new song celebrating Siri's first birthday, though nine days early. More clips right after the break...

The HackStore is a viable alternative to the Mac App Store [sponsored]

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 16, 2017

Back in April, a handful of developers launched the HackStore, an alternative to the Mac App Store. Similar to Cydia for iOS, the HackStore hosts third-party Mac applications that for one reason or another didn't make it past Apple's approval process.

In our first take, we noted that while the Store looked good, it needed some work. It was a bit buggy, and only contained around 50 apps. But after nearly 6 months and a number of updates, we figured it was time to give the HackStore another run-through...

Introducing the Apple iShiv

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 26, 2012

In addition to Mapgate and Scuffgate, another controversy involving Apple is making rounds on the web. Comedian and television host Conan O'Brien jumped on the opportunity to scold Apple over the rioting which swept the iPhone 5 plant in Asia. Take a look at the iShiv, a new tool designed to "revolutionize factory riots". Because assembly line workers "just love the thinnest, lightest factory riot weapon yet". The clip is right after the break...

Poll: Has your battery life improved with iOS 6?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ September 25, 2012

After installing iOS 6, I've noticed a significant improvement with battery life on my iPhone 4S. Usually, I'm not someone who really likes to talk about battery life, as I'm always near a charger during the day.

I'm certainly not one of those that tends to either complain or rave over battery life. To me, it is what it is.

But I've noticed such an improvement with battery life on my iPhone 4S after installing iOS 6, that I just had to talk about it. It's way better, like, by a big margin. So the question stands to be asked, how is your battery life on iOS 6? Has it improved?

Instagram updated for the iPhone 5 and iOS 6

Sébastien Page ∙ September 25, 2012

Instagram has finally been updated for iOS 6, and more importantly, the app has been updated to take advantage of the 4 inches of screen real estate the iPhone 5 has to offer.

Besides the few bug fixes that you might not even notice, the big changes come to the photo uploader and filters. iPhone 5 users will appreciate that the filters don't overlap on the photo anymore, leaving you plenty of space to see what your photo will actually look like...

iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4S Screen – Stock Apps Comparison

Jeff Benjamin ∙ September 25, 2012

If you've yet to lay eyes on an iPhone 5, or compare the iPhone 5 to stock apps running on lesser iPhone hardware, then this video is for you.

Inside, we take a look at the majority of the stock iPhone apps, and compare them side-by-side running on the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S hardware. Besides the obvious added spacing, most of the differences are fairly subtle.

One thing you will notice, however, is that keyboard keys are slightly larger, and there's more room on screen to see content like messages, and message composition panes. Simply put, once you get used to the iPhone 5's roomier screen, anything less seems claustrophobic.

Mapgate gets Der Führer treatment

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 25, 2012

I'm tellin' ya, this thing has gone mainstream and it's pretty obvious it needed a Hitler meme. I'm guessing Team Coco will wanna take a look into Mapgate as well. In the meantime, Apple Maps haters needn't worry: Garmin has you covered. More on amazing iOS 6 Maps right here...

Where’s my iOS Wi-Fi Plus Cellular toggle?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 11, 2018

Apple in early-August seeded iOS 6 Beta 4 to its registered developers. With it came a new feature in Settings, called Wi-Fi Plus Cellular. As Jeff explained in a lengthy post the following day, this toggle basically ensures that apps having trouble with WiFi can automatically switch over to cellular data. But why go implement and then remove this handy capability from iOS 6?