Year: 2012

Thoughts on the rumored 7-inch iPad

It was inevitable that after Google's Nexus 7 announcement, the "iPad Mini" rumors would start surfacing again. The 7-inch Asus-branded tablet has garnered quite a bit of attention this week.

Apple has long been believed to be working on its own 7-inch slate, with reports coming from both Apple-insiders and news outlets alike that such a product exists. But will we ever see it?

Prepaid iPhone lands on Virgin Mobile, also available via Best Buy and RadioShack

Confirming earlier reports, prepaid iPhones are now available at Virgin Mobile, a Sprint-owned carrier in the United States. The 16GB/32GB iPhone 4S will set you back $649 ($549 for the 8GB iPhone 4) with one of Virgin's no-commit plans priced between $30-$50.

The plans offer unlimited data and messaging and you can also get a $5 discount if you sign up for automatic monthly payments. The devices is available at Virgin's ten brand spanking new retail stores (their first retail outlets in the U.S.), but also over at Best Buy, RadioShack and select local retailers...

Apple caught altering App Store algorithm again

Have you been having trouble finding apps in the App Store lately? Try it now. Word has it that Apple has undone whatever it did to to the Store's search algorithm last weekend.

Last Saturday, search results in the App Store appeared to all of a sudden start favoring download numbers and other factors ahead of app names and keywords. It was bad...

Top 10 Google Chrome features for iOS

As we reported yesterday, Google Chrome was released on iOS and it was met with much fanfare. Although it's not, and probably never will be as fast as Safari (unless Apple decides to even the playing field), it tries to make up for the speed difference with awesome features like cross-platform syncing, the Omnibox, and much more.

With this in mind, we've decided to cover 10 of our favorite things about Google Chrome for iOS. Who knows? Perhaps there will be a few items on the list that you weren't even aware of...

Apple to reportedly launch revamped third-gen iPad this summer

Yeah as far as crazy rumors go, this one could be among the craziest. A new report is out this morning claiming that Apple is set to release a revamped version of its third generation iPad this summer.

The difference between this tablet and the one that Apple released three months ago is that it's supposedly going to be thinner, have better battery life, and its Retina display is going to be made by Sharp...

Apple wants to own iPad3.com

With the "new" iPad, Apple stopped applying numerical suffixes to distinguish iPad iterrations, a practice many expect to continue with a sixth-generation iPhone (think "the new iPhone").

The fact doesn't stop the company from fighting to secure ownership of the attractive iPad3.com domain name. Looks like someone's plans to pocket a little profit from serving a bunch of ads on a single homepage just got curbed by Cupertino...

Come again? How much is the iPhone and iPad nation worth?

A bunch of numbers have been tossed around thus far to illustrate how valuable the iOS ecosystem and its users are to Apple, but this tops it all. According to none other than Goldman Sachs, a total combined value of the iPhone and iPad customer base is nearly $295 billion (you read that right).

Talk about the value of loyalty! The figure represents more than half the Apple's value of $543 billion and easily exceeds market capitalization of Microsoft ($256 billion), Google ($188 billion) or IBM ($225 billion)...

Siri’s search accuracy graded as a D, Google text search gets a B+

Curious to figure out which is more accurate for searching, Apple's Siri or Google's traditional search engine, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster pitted Siri's voice-activated search against Google's old-fashioned text-based searching. He and his team set out to ask their iPhones a total of 1,600 questions, 800 on the busy streets of Minneapolis, 800 in a quiet room. His findings will no doubt come as a surprise to even the most vocal Siri proponents out there...

Google’s Chrome is already No. 1 free App Store app

In less than 24 hours following its official introduction, Google's Chrome browser for the iPhone and iPad has risen to become the No. 1 free app on the App Store. That's a remarkable achievement, one clearly highlighting the popularity of Google's excellent web browser. Although it doesn't use the speedy Safari Nitro engine, Chrome for iOS is very zippy (speed test here) and enables seamless synchronization of browsing preferences and open tabs across desktop and mobile installations via your Google Account...

Adobe to discontinue mobile Flash installs on August 15th

Last fall, Adobe announced that it was going to be discontinuing its work on mobile Flash. The announcement essentially reaffirmed Apple's, and more specifically Steve Jobs', stance on the tech.

But in case that wasn't clear enough, the developer has just given a deadline for the cease and desist. As of August 15th, Flash will no longer be installable from Android's Google Play Store...