Year: 2012

Poll: did you buy Mountain Lion?

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 26, 2012

Apple released OS X Mountain Lion some 36 hours ago exclusively via the Mac App Store at a breakthrough price of just $19.99 a copy, with rights to install the operating system on up to five different Macs authorized with the same Apple ID account.

If yesterday's poll is anything to go by, you seem to be appreciating the bang Mountain Lion is offering for your buck, with nearly 80 percent of respondents saying that the software is worth its asking price.

But assessing the perceived value of a piece of software is one thing and actually taking the plunge is an entirely different matter. Today's poll, yet another YES/NO survey per popular demand, asks a simple question, whether or not you've bought Mountain Lion yet...

Read More

Verizon tops J.D. Power customer service report

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

If you're looking to start up new cell phone service in the US, there are dozens of choices. If you want a big-named, nationwide carrier though, that cuts the field down to four options: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.

You can narrow it down even further if you want an iPhone. Currently, only the top three carriers properly support Apple's handset. And if you're looking for the company with the best customer service, there's only one...

Read More

Apple renews efforts to protect the App Store moniker

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 26, 2012

Apple first took Amazon to court over the App Store moniker in March of last year, just as the online retailer began using the 'app store' term in their developer portal.

Last November, Apple stepped up its fight as it saw Amazon promoting the Amazon Appstore for Android apps.

Today, we learn that Apple wants to summon an Amazon executive for court testimony over the decision to drop the words “for Android” from some of Amazon’s app store branding...

Read More

Samsung shows Sony-inspired iPhone mockup

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

The latest in the Apple-Samsung legal drama: according to court documents filed by Samsung, Cupertino has indirectly ripped off Sony for its handset's aesthetics by adopting the Japanese giant's design language. The Galaxy maker points to a 2006 Businessweek interview with Sony's product designers Takashi Ashida and Yujin Morisawa in order to establish prior art and prove that Sony's design philosophy influenced the iPhone’s original design direction.

The iPod Godfather Tony Fadell apparently showed the Businessweek article to Apple's late CEO Steve Jobs and design chief Jony Ive who then allegedly approved use of some of the ideas outlined in the interview for early iPhone mockups...

Read More

Apple not required to publicize apology to Samsung before October

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

As we told you earlier in the month, a Judge in the United Kingdom ruled that Samsung's Galaxy Tab tablets don't infringe upon the iPad's design because they're "not as cool".

This was followed shortly by another ruling requiring Apple to publicize the ruling on its website and in Britain's high-profile newspapers.

Today, a London court ordered a stay until Apple's appeal against the ruling is heard in October. As you know, Apple is thought to be unleashing the next iPhone and possibly mini iPads upon the world around September or October...

Read More

Serious about television, Google launches Fiber TV service in Kansas City

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Wow, this will come as a surprise to all but seasoned commentators who've been watching Google putting various pieces of the puzzle into place. They call it Fiber TV and it launched today alongside Google's fiber-optic Internet service in Kansas City. For starters, Google Fiber pumps data a hundred times faster than today’s average broadband.

With gigabit speeds you get a very advanced television which lets you record up to 500 hours of programming and up to eight shows at once, including Netflix access and all of YouTube. A combined gigabit Internet package with Fiber TV service will run you $120 a month. This is real TV, folks, with premium programming, a full channel lineup and optional paid content.

Opting for just gigabit Internet will set you back $70 a month with a one-year contract. Google won't throttle your speed or impose bandwidth caps and is sweetening the deal with a free 1TB Google Drive. Heck, you can even get gigabit Internet for free by paying for a one-time $300 construction fee. As an icing on the cake, Google is throwing a free Nexus 7 tablet with each Fiber TV subscription...

Read More

We’re giving away 10 copies of iTypeWriter

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Earlier this week, we reviewed iTypeWriter, a new jailbreak tweak that adds classic typewriter elements to your iPhone. This includes sound effects and haptic feedback, both of which occur as you type.

If you liked the tweak, and haven't purchased it yet, you'll be happy to know that iDB has teamed up with the developer to giveaway 10 copies of iTypeWriter to our awesome readers. Details after the break...

Read More

Apple patent depicts NFC iPhone-controlled connected home

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

A super detailed patent application by Apple was discovered this week, depicting a connected home controllable by an assortment of Apple devices, ranging from the Apple TVs and iMacs to iPods and third-party devices like a cable box and other devices equipped with a near-field communications (NFC) chip.

An NFC enabled iPhone, Apple explains, could be used to control other devices throughout your home, including Apple's own devices but also the stuff like PlayStation controllers, set-top boxes and even television sets...

Read More

Google Earth, now with 3D cities on iPhone 4S and iPad 2 or later

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 26, 2012

Google on June 6 held a hastily organized presser to announce "the next dimension in Maps", in an effort to beat Apple's in-house mapping solution unveiling which came five days later at the company's annual developers conference in Sam Francisco.

While Apple Maps won't launch before fall, when the company is set to release iOS 6 alongside the next iPhone and possibly a smaller iPad, the Internet giant is set to beat Apple by updating its Google Earth app for the iPhone with a new 3D view later today.

UPDATE: the new version just went live on the App Store...

Read More

Sprint activates 1.5M iPhones in the second quarter

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 26, 2012

U.S. carrier Sprint, the nation's third-largest, announced its June quarter earnings today. The company reported no change in iPhone activations which remain steady at 1.5 million units, the same as in the March quarter. In this quarter, 40 percent of iPhones went to new customers versus 44 percent for the quarter-ago period. However, the company's loss dropped from $863 million in Q1 2012 down to an operating loss of $629 million this quarter ($1.38 billion net loss), which was again partially blamed on high iPhone subsidy...

Read More