Year: 2012

Sharp to share know-how for new iPhone display factory

Well, we didn't have to wait too long for the first fruits of a recent partnership struck between Asian product assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, also know as Foxconn, and Japanese electronics giant Sharp.

According to a new report, Sharp will share its technological know-how with Foxconn's new manufacturing facility in Chengdu that will produce display panels for Apple's iPhone and other consumer electronics devices...

How Tim Cook is turning Apple into “a more normal company”

Fortune Magazine has Tim Cook on the cover of the June 11 issue with Editor-at-large Adam Lashinsky's feature under the headline How Tim Cook is Changing Apple.

Not only does the cover photo look fabulous, the story itself offers previously unknown details behind Steve Jobs' successor.

One of my favorite highlights: Cook often sits with random employees at lunch.

So, what's Cook been up to, how about the driving force behind his management style and just how effective he's been at replacing a legend...

Yahoo releases new Axis web browser for iOS

In an ongoing effort to prove it can stay relevant in the mobile space, Yahoo quietly released a new web browser for iOS last night. Dubbed Axis, the app combines search and browsing into one experience, "so you can rip through the web."

Axis is a universal application, as it works on both the iPhone and iPad. And if you've been looking for a new way to browse the web on your iOS device, it might actually be worth taking a look at...

Friday is Funday: the iOS 5.1.1 untethered jailbreak is coming tomorrow

As of this post, at about 4:45AM EST, it is 10:45AM in Amsterdam where the Hack In The Box conference is currently taking place. Just as pod2g alluded to in a previous post on his blog, it looks like the iOS 5.1.1 untethered jailbreak will be demonstrated live at the conference, along with its highly awaited released before the conference concludes.

The official Twitter account for the Hack In The Box Security Conference just sent out a tweet confirming "Jailbreak Live" will take place tomorrow, and they are offering special 1-day passes if you happen to be in the area and wish to watch history take place.

What time can you expect to see the untethered jailbreak released in your neck of the woods? We analyze the likely time for the release inside...

Apple airs two new iPhone 4S ads starring John Malkovich

As noted by a number of other tech sites tonight, Apple has started airing two new iPhone 4S commercials featuring actor John Malkovich. You might recognize Malkovich from such films as Con Air, and Burn After Reading.

The two spots, both of which star the actor, are titled "Joke" and "Life" respectively. And like nearly all of Apple's iPhone 4S commercials before them, the new ads are all about Siri...

Music Widget: an upcoming Dashboard X music interface

One of the wonderful things about the Dashboard X widget interface is its out of the box compatibility with Notification Center add-ons. Cjori — the developer of the popular widget interface — could have easily used that as an excuse to not design widgets exclusively made with Dashboard X in mind, but as a benefit to us, he and others have decided not to do so.

As a result, we have exclusively designed items like Dashtweet, Clock Widget, and now Music Widget — a widget designed specifically for showcasing now playing music on the iOS Home screen.

Pod2g adds iPad 3,3 support to Absinthe, as 5.1.1 jailbreak release nears

For those of you who haven't been keeping up with the latest jailbreak news, let me get you up to speed. Earlier this week, we learned that we could see the 5.1.1 untethered jailbreak drop as early as this week. We even saw a video of it in action.

And now that pod2g, MuscleNerd, and several other iOS hackers are in Amsterdam at the Hack In The Box conference, expect to see news regarding the 5.1.1 jailbreak to ramp up. In fact, pod2g just gave as another quick update on his progress...

Approved: iCloud getting biogas cell farm, too

Apple's plan to use renewable energy sources to power its $1 billion data center in Maiden, North Carolina by the end of this year has received another important nod from The North Carolina Utilities Commission.

The agency just greenlighted a 4.5-megawatt fuel cell installation that will produce electricity from eco-friendly biogas in order to power a huge array of iCloud servers.

Not bad for a cloud that relies on “19th-century coal energy”...

Rumor: Microsoft to release native Outlook and Lync iOS apps this fall

Microsoft appears to be devoting a lot of its attention to the iOS platform this summer. Earlier today we heard that the Redmond company was working on bringing its Office suite to Apple's mobile OS. And now this.

AppleInsider is out with a new report this afternoon, claiming that it has learned that Microsoft plans to release native iOS apps for both Outlook, its popular email client, and Lync, its instant messaging client, this fall...

Tablet market continues to be the iPad market

Looks like Steve Jobs wasn't kidding when he proclaimed Apple a mobile devices company at the original iPad unveiling in January 2010. Fast-forward to today and the tablet market is still by and large dominated by the iPad.

According to latest research data by NPD, Apple shipped 17.2 million tablets and notebooks - collectively referred to as 'mobile PCs' - for a cool 22.5 percent share of the entire market. For comparison, second-ranked Hewlett-Packard managed to move just 8.9 million mobile PC units, capturing a 11.6 percent market share.

Just two years ago, it would have been unheard-of for Apple to beat first-tier PC vendors at their own game. But this is 2012 and Apple is riding high on strong momentum that its tablet continues to enjoy in markets the world over...

New iPhone concept looks surprisingly realistic

There's been no shortage of iPhone mockups this year. Graphic designers are constantly releasing renderings of what they think Apple's next smartphone should look like. Heck, we've even seen a fair amount of video concepts.

But while a number of these mockups tend to border on fantasy, this new design focuses on realism. iTopnews.de's creative director Toby Kick brings his vision for the new iPhone to life using only the most feasible of features...