Year: 2012

More purported next-generation iPhone cases surface

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 7, 2016

The rumor mill has been pretty active this week, coughing up more information regarding Apple's next smartphone. In the last few days, we've seen not one, but two sets of pictures of purported engineering samples for the unreleased handset.

With that, it seems like the evidence is really piling up in favor of the taller, two-tone iPhone design that first surfaced back in May. And apparently that's enough for accessory-makers, who are already churning out large batches of next-gen iPhone cases...

Following customer complaints, Apple puts every product back on EPEAT

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Wow, here's something you don't see everyday: following a number of customer complaints, Apple has decided to return its products to the EPEAT registry. The news comes just a week after we reported that its products had been removed.

Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware, Bob Mansfield, took to Apple's website in Steve Jobs-like fashion this morning, writing an open letter explaining the whole situation. We've got the full letter after the break...

Add Bluetooth audio to any speaker dock with Pear

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Doesn't it bother you there's no easy way to send text messages or give someone a buzz while your phone is docked to a music station? Enter Pear, a Kickstarter project by Brendan Kelso which seeks to tackle this unpleasantry with a nice dongle that attaches to your speaker so now you can take your iPhone and browse the web, check email, message people and what not, all the while being able to stream your music via Bluetooth. Unless you have an AirPlay-enabled audio gear or Bluetooth speakers, Pear could be just the gizmo you need...

Retina display supplier Samsung, others settle price fixing suit for $1.12B

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 13, 2012

Apple's key components provider Samsung which supplies, among other items, Retina panels for the new iPad, agreed along with other defendants to settle a price fixing class-action lawsuit for a whopping $1.12 billion.

Samsung has agreed to pay $240 million, AU Optronics will pony up $170 million, Toshiba will pay only $21 million and LG Display will settle for $380 million in damages.

This settlement - the largest consumer class-action price-fixing settlement ever - is in addition to previous settlements from ten manufacturers and prison terms for some executives, The Wall Street Journal reported...

Russian hacker cracks iOS in-app purchasing, no jailbreak required

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 18, 2012

iOS in-app purchasing mechanism which lets you buy digital items in games, upgrade to full versions of apps and purchase additional content, has been cracked by a savvy Russian hacker who posted a proof of concept video, embedded below.

First noticed by Russian blog i-ekb.ru (via 9to5Mac), the hack is credited to Russian developer ZonD80 who runs the conveniently named In-AppStore.com website where he collects donations to support development of the project.

What's special about this method - and potentially devastating to the development community - is that it doesn't require a jailbreak and can be completed in a few simple steps by even the most inexperienced users. UPDATE: contrary to reports that Apple took the proxy site down, developer confirms it's simply under high load and says the info site is being moved to Blogger.

Unlock your iPhone’s picture-taking potential with 3RDi

Cody Lee ∙ July 12, 2012

Between its 8MP sensor and internet connectivity, the iPhone 4S is one of the best point-and-shoot cameras around. It can download thousands of photo-editing apps and upload images to a number of services.

But the lack of interchangeable lenses, a weak flash, and other missing features means that the iPhone won't be replacing your DSLR anytime soon. Unless, of course, you had something like the 3RDi camera kit...

FireCore updates aTV Flash (black) with trakt.tv support and more

Cody Lee ∙ July 12, 2012

FireCore has released a significant update today for its aTV Flash (black) software. The suite allows jailbroken Apple TV users to playback different file types, surf the web, and much more.

With version 1.7, FireCore has added a number of new features and enhancements to the list, including trakt.tv integration and a new Ratings system. Keep reading for the full change log...

This tweak lets you add Notification Center widgets to your Lock screen

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

The Lock screen has been the subject of many jailbreak tweaks over the years, and it continues to be just as popular as it was in the beginning.

Case in point — LockWee — a tweak that allows you to swipe aside your Lock screen clock to reveal various Notification Center widgets of your choosing. Full details on video ahead...

New Food and Drink category now live in the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Earlier this month, several iOS developers reported receiving word from Apple that it was adding a new category to the App Store called Food and Drink.

The new section would showcase a number of applications regarding the topic, that previously got lost in the gigantic Lifestyle section. And now it's live...

How to easily access photo exif data on iOS

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Searching for a quick way to access meta data for photos stored on your iPhone? If you're jailbroken, then a new Cydia tweak might be just what the doctor ordered.

PhotoExif is a recently released tweak that makes it easy to access photo meta data using the photo app's share button. Take a look inside for the full video walkthrough...

Nexus 7 has secret ‘smart cover’ magnets Google never mentioned, now what?

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 12, 2012

Google's seven-inch tablet Nexus 7 is starting to crop up at resellers ahead of a mid-July release (yes I want one, too), but the search giant might run into trouble with Apple's lawyers over its embedded magnetic display shut-off feature. A developer posted a video yesterday that doesn't bode well for Asus, the maker of the Google-branded device. As vividly shown in the video included below, the magnetic sensor sits down near the tablet's lower left-hand side. Wanna hear the funny bit?

Greenpeace: Apple’s clean energy policies have significantly improved

Cody Lee ∙ July 12, 2012

Apple has been taking a lot of heat regarding its environmental policies over the past week. This due to the news that the company has recently pulled its products from the EPEAT registry.

But despite the fact that its products will no longer be EPEAT-certified, environmental groups say that Apple's 'green' polices are improving. Greenpeace, in fact, just upped the company's CEI score...