Ever since Apple unveiled the original iPhone, the handset has been a point of reference for the rest of the industry. It seems like every new device is pitted against the latest iteration of Apple's smartphone to test its caliber.
The latest notable handset to play this game is Samsung's new Galaxy S III. And while we've seen the device's voice assistant take on Siri, and other comparisons, we've yet to see the two smartphones in a drop test. Until now...
Nuance, the natural voice processing engine that powers voice recognition in Apple's Siri digital assistant, recently announced the Drive! platform, basically the Siri for cars.
Today, the company announced another natural-language solution, one that lets you unlock your phone just by using your voice. Introducing Dragon ID, a brand new technology tapping your voiceprint to let the device know who you are by the sound of your voice.
Count us excited! We're totally big on Nuance's voice unlock possibly debuting on the next iPhone so we can all finally kiss cryptic passwords goodbye. Here's a video of Nuance Dragon ID in action...
MacRumors spotlights an interesting new iPhone accessory from Grove, a well-known iDevice case-maker, called the SkateBack. As the name implies, the SkateBack is an iPhone case made from recycled skateboard scraps.
The company has teamed up with MapleXO — an outfit known for its recycled skateboard jewelry — to produce the covers, which work with both iPhone 4 and 4S models, and are constructed of 100% waste materials...
MarketWatch reports (via MacRumors) that Sprint will launch own prepaid iPhone offering through its Virgin Mobile arm.
The move follows last week's unconfirmed news that Boost Mobile, another Sprint property, will be getting prepaid iPhones on June 22.
As you know, Cricket became the first carrier in the United States to announce plans to begin offering the iPhone on a prepaid basis in early September...
Whoa, looks like another iOS app developer (not exclusive, though) just ended up engulfed in the Google ecosystem as the search giant announced its acquisition of the popular mobile app productivity maker Quickoffice for an undisclosed sum.
The news arrives just as we learned yesterday of Google's intentions to snap up popular instant messaging maker Meebo for a rumored hundred million dollars...
Is jailbreak developer extraordinaire Chpwn looking for a new challenge? After releasing some of my favorite jailbreak tweaks such as Zephyr, Grant 'Chpwn' Paul has accepted an intern position at Facebook.
So what is Chpwn going to do at Facebook? Work on the mystery Facebook phone? Bring some Apple sauce to the company? Fix the plumbing? We have absolutely no idea what he's up to but we sure wish him well in his new endeavors...
When social network Path released its Android app following the successful debut on the iPhone, barely anyone paid notice. But when Instagram went Android, it spurred lots of controversy. Even Apple’s marketing boss Phil Schiller stopped using the app because it “jumped the shark” when it went to Android.
The debate over iPhone exclusives going Android really heated up with yesterday’s announcement of Instapaper of Android, Marco Arment’s read-later program which became a huge success on the iOS platform.
Should Apple work harder to secure iOS exclusives, which have been around in the console business for ages? Or perhaps this is nothing to get worked up about? Cast your vote now...
You must have heard rumors of Facebook poaching former and current Apple hardware and software engineers to work on its not-so-secret phone project. So, a Facebook phone.
We're still scratching our head over this rumored device. Why on Earth Facebook won't Facebook focus on perfecting its subpar mobile apps rather than waste its energies cracking the hardware biz it literally knows nothing about?
Regardless of the hearsay, here's a really interesting mockup which depicts perfectly what a Facebook phone might look like...
A judge in California this morning decided to hold off on a ruling related to Apple's case against Samsung, meaning Cupertino won't be able to impose a sales ban on Galaxy Tab tablet sales in the United States. Apple's also been dealt another blow in Germany as a court said it's unlikely to grant them the same victory against Motorola's tablet as it'd done with last year's sales ban of the Galaxy 10.1 tablet...
Liquidmetal Technologies CEO Tom Steipp has officially confirmed that Apple has licensed the metallic glass substance for use in products, going out on a limb to say that Liquidmetal Technologies is supplying the alloy to Cupertino...
The usually well-informed Wall Street Journal is throwing its weight behind rumors that Apple with iOS 6 will ditch a Google Maps backend and instead pursue own in-house mapping solution. Sources tell the paper that although Apple could, and probably will, show off the enhanced Maps app at WWDC next Monday, the feature won't launch until later this year.
This should give developers a much-needed head start to incorporate Apple's mapping technology into their apps and take advantage of the reportedly unique features. The story offers other interesting tidbits, including the new calendar-integrated mapping system...
I don't know if it's because I recently had a baby, or maybe because I'm just looking for an excuse to spend even more time on my iPhone, but I've recently found a new interest in iPhoneography.
Up to a few months ago, I wouldn't think twice about snapping a picture with my iPhone. I would pull it out of my pocket, launch the camera app, and take a picture. The result would usually be decent enough, but nothing amazing.
Then I came across Justin Balog's blog which was like an eye opener about what you can really do with your iPhone. I devoured his short tutorial, and decided to get in touch with him to see if we could meet, since he appeared to be traveling to San Diego from time to time. When we finally met a few months ago, we talked about the iPhone, photography, and how we could work together to bring some awesome iPhoneography tips to iDB readers.
That's why we decided to launch this mini series focused on iPhone Photography. To start, we'll just test the water and see how you react to it, if you like it or not, and if you ask for more. This will be a good way to gauge the interest iDB readers have in iPhone photography. My feeling is that you will love it!
So, what is the goal of this series?
If you're like me, you don't know jack about photography in general. Aperture, focal length, ISO speed might not mean anything to you, although they are some of the basic terms and principles of photography.
That's why we thought it would be a good idea to start with the basics of photography applied to the iPhone and go from there, so that whether you're a beginner or an expert, we can all learn together at the same pace.
Let me hand you over to Justin for a minute so he can tell you more about our photo series...
My name is Justin Balog, author of the critically acclaimed iBook 'Big World Little Lens - The Complete Guide to iPhone Photography'.
I'd like to start off by thanking Sebastien for inviting me to join the iDB team.
In this series, we will not only be exploring the world of iPhone Photography together, we will unearth the creativity in all of us. My goal for this series is simple: to teach you how to make a great photograph with your iPhone that you are excited to share with your friends and family... heck, maybe the world. The series will include app tutorials, technique tips, as well as general principles of photography. All of which are intended to increase the awesomeness of your iPhone photos. Now grab your iPhone and let's get started!
As you may be able to tell, Justin is pretty excited about our iPhone photography series too!
If you haven't yet, I highly suggest you download Justin's iBook called Big World Little Lens - The Complete Guide to iPhone Photography. It's available in the iBook Store for $4.99 and is a goldmine of information for iPhoneography beginners. When I first got my hands on Justin's iBooks, I thought that the content would be too "light" for me as I already knew the very basics of iPhone photography. After reading a few pages, I found out that although I did know a lot about what he was touching on, there were still a bunch of tips and tricks I learned from it. As I said to Justin after reading his iBook, I believe Big World Little Lens is a must-have for every beginner out there. Of course, if you already are an experienced iPhone photographer, your mileage may vary.
Watch for our very first iPhoneography post sometimes this week. In the meantime, if you have any question or request, please leave a comment below.
And don't forget to follow me and Justin on Twitter and Instagram. We are @JustinBalog and @SebastienPage. If you're already out shooting and sharing awesome pictures, make sure to use the #iDownloadBlog tag so we can find them.