Year: 2012

Rumor: part suppliers preparing to ramp up production for ‘iPad Minis’

Cody Lee ∙ Updated July 11, 2017

This 7-inch iPad seems to be becoming more and more real by the week. Not only has the device been confirmed by industry insiders and other credible sources, but part suppliers are now receiving orders from Apple to build the thing.

Makotakara passes along a report from The Liberty Times, a publication that the site describes as "one of the top four major Taiwan news media," regarding the purported 'iPad Mini.' And it appears that Apple is moving forward with plans to produce the smaller tablet...

Google Schemer for iPhone launches, begins recommending stuff

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Google has today launched a new app, Google Schemer, which may just make us all that little bit more active and, hopefully, happier to boot.

Let's get this out of the way first: no, we had never heard of Google Schemer, either. In typical Google fashion, Schemer appears to be some sort of beta that is open to everyone, and promises to suggest things to do, or Schemes, based on what you have told it you like. Interestingly, it can also use the weather, time of day and location as metrics for deciding what to recommend. Piqued your interest?

Now that Google Schemer has found its way off of Android and on to iOS, things are beginning to get interesting...

Discover places abroad with International Locations for Siri

Cody Lee ∙ May 16, 2012

While iPhone 4S owners in the U.S. enjoy a host of location-based Siri functions, folks outside the country are out of luck. Try going to the UK and asking Siri where the nearest McDonalds is, and you're sure to get shot down.

But as usual, the jailbreak community has figured out a way to make up for Apple's shortcomings. A new AssistantExtensions plugin, International Locations for Siri, allows you to perform location-based searches abroad...

Nuance exec: Siri set “a new bar”, could get “more personalized”

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Digital secretary Siri was, and still is, the headline feature of the iPhone 4S. It owes some of its allure to the vast processing power of Apple's servers that run a remarkably sophisticated voice recognition software licensed from Nuance, a Burlington, Massachusetts-based provider of arguably the best voice technology money can buy.

According to Nuance’s marketing honcho, you can bet on Siri to improve over time. Upcoming developments in personal assistants will enable new stuff, such as more accurate voice recognition and personalization. So yeah, eventually you'll be able to ask Siri “Is my favourite movie on tonight?”

How many daily downloads does it take to make the App Store’s Top 25?

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

Until Apple gives the App Store a much-needed redesign, its lists of the top 25 most downloaded paid and free apps are going to remain the most popular ways users use to discover new titles.

Developers know that making these lists can substantially boost their app's popularity. But just how many downloads does it take for an app to get there? TechCrunch has the answer...

Apple files motion to dismiss Siri-related lawsuit

Cody Lee ∙ May 16, 2012

A few months ago, a New York man by the name of Frank M. Fazio filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple over its voice assistant, claiming that the company's Siri TV ads were misleading of its capabilities. A similar suit popped up a few weeks later.

Apple, obviously, doesn't agree. And it feels that if a customer isn't happy with Siri — which is still labeled as Beta, mind you — or the iPhone 4S itself, then he or she is more than welcome to return the handset within 30 days for a refund...

Verizon to end grandfathered unlimited data plans in LTE switch

Cody Lee ∙ May 16, 2012

Bad news for folks with unlimited data plans on Verizon looking to buy Apple's new [purported] LTE-flavored iPhone later this year. It appears that the carrier won't be honoring grandfathered unlimited plans in the switch to LTE.

Fierce Wireless is reporting that customers on the Big Red network will be forced to choose from a data-share plan when moving from a 3G handset to an LTE one. The news comes straight from Verizon's CFO Fran Shammo...

iPhone tops another customer satisfaction survey

Cody Lee ∙ May 16, 2012

Even though the Android platform sits on top of several major smartphone categories — marketshare, hardware specs, etc. — there's one list that it can't seem to climb: customer satisfaction. That particular stat belongs to iOS.

The iPhone has taken home more than 6 J.D. Power Satisfaction awards, and countless other smaller surveys. And it just added another notch to its belt, coming in first in the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index report...

Samsung just lost $10B market value on Apple order stoppage rumor

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 16, 2012

Samsung has lost a whopping ten billion dollars of market value on rumors of order stoppage concerning DRAM chips. The iPhone maker has reportedly secured half the manufacturing output from Elpida, a struggling Japanese maker of dynamic random access memory chips.

Apple is Samsung's biggest client and Cupertino's business contributes substantially to their fortunes so no wonder Samsung’s shares fell yesterday more than six percent to a nine-week low, effectively wiping out a cool $10 billion of the company's market capitalization...

Poll: should the next iPhone have a bigger screen?

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 16, 2012

With Android devices typically sporting displays measuring between 4.3 and 4.8 inches diagonally (and beyond) and the usually credible Wall Street Journal throwing its weight behind recent reports asserting a four-inch iPhone, we're eager to learn about your take on this drama.

Would you prefer the next iPhone to sport the same 3.5-inch display as prior iPhones? A four-inch iPhone, you say? How do you feel about a monstrous 4.8-inch iPhone?

Apple and Samsung now represent nearly half of all smartphones sold globally

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 16, 2012

Research firm Gartner is out this morning with its first-quarter phone sales survey. The results show that Apple and Samsung together now represent 49.3 percent of all smartphones sold globally, up from 29.3 percent in the first quarter of 2011, while other vendors continue to experience a decline.

China has now become Apple's second-largest market for smartphones, after the United States and rival Samsung pretty much leads all, having overtaken both Apple and Nokia in smartphone and cell phone shipments, respectively...