Year: 2012

Hate Home screen badges? Take a look at this

Do you harbor an abnormal amount of hatred for the notification badges that litter your iPhone's Home screen? If so, then perhaps these new jailbreak apps will satisfy your craving for badge destruction.

No AppStore Badges, No Cydia Badges, and OTA Begone are three new jailbreak apps that will help eliminate notification badges. But as you'll come to understand, it doesn't make sense to install any of these if your aim is to simply eliminate all badges.

There's something much better already available in Cydia from a well respected developer. Check inside for the full details...

Antitrust experts say DOJ likely to lose eBook case against Apple

Apple has been grabbing a lot of headlines over the past couple of days, and not because of poor factory working conditions or the announcement of a new gadget. The Cupertino company is being sued by the Department of Justice over alleged eBook price-fixing.

The DOJ believes that Apple is acting in concert with several major publishers to raise eBook prices across the industry with its 'agency' pricing model. But there's just one problem: experts don't think the government has much of a case...

Psychologist enters your dreams through an iPhone app

Few apps in the App Store can claim to be part of an experiment, but Dream:On can.

Created by self proclaimed "psychologist, author and magician," Professor Richard Wiseman, the app aims to influence a user's dreams once they fall asleep, all through the power of sound.

Whether it works or not, well, we'll just have to see...

Want to see how an iPad is made? Watch this video

Earlier this month, Marketplace's Shanghai Bureau Chief Rob Schmitz found his way into Foxconn's Longhua facility, where many of Apple's iPads are made. He's only the second reporter ever to be allowed on to the company's factory floor.

Schmitz uploaded a video of his visit to the plant today, which included a tour of an iPad assembly line and an inside look into the lives of Foxconn's employees. Want to see how an iPad is made? Make sure to watch the clip after the break...

Meet Pebble: the iPhone-connected wristwatch you’ve been waiting for

The iPhone-connected wristwatch has been the unicorn of iOS accessories for the past few years. Folks have been asking for one, but manufacturers have yet to produce one that appeals to the masses. Then came the Pebble.

MacStories points to a brilliant Kickstarter project for a smartphone-connected wristwatch known as the Pebble. It's developed by the same folks who made the InPulse Smart Watch, and is packed full of features...

Apple caught testing new virtual tour feature for its online store

For those of you who missed it, Apple's website went offline last night around 7pm PST. Every once in a while, this can signal the coming of new products. But when the site returned, only minor changes were spotted.

MacMagazine, however, is reporting that Apple used the site's downtime to test out an interesting new feature for its online store. The addition would allow sales specialists to demonstrate products to customers via the web...

Chipworks reveals some interesting details on Apple TV A5

Last month, Apple unveiled its third-generation Apple TV alongside its new iPad. The set top box received a handful of updates, including the ability to stream full 1080p content courtesy of its all-new A5 processor.

While Apple claims that the ATV's A5 is only a single core unit, the folks over at Chipworks have a different opinion. According to their findings, the chip actually has two cores and is 41% smaller than previous A5s...

Six month after its release, demand for the iPhone 4S keeps rising

Technology moves at a lightning pace and nowhere is this more evident than in the cell phone industry. Today's latest and greatest smartphones quickly get obsoleted and there's no end in sight to the upcoming devices that vie for your attention. Some people call this phenomenon a fad, others blame it on Android carpet bombing.

It is surprising then that a reputable survey has found out that prospective smartphone buyers are still lusting after the six month old iPhone 4S. Specifically, nearly six out of ten want Apple's device. Mind you, six months is an eternity in the smartphone space.

Not bad for a phone critics and rivals dismissed as a minor bump up in specs...

AT&T lights up LTE network in St. Louis and Staten Island, NY

As noted by Cult of Mac, AT&T has announced that it has added two more major markets to its high-speed LTE network. The carrier flipped the switch this morning for its next-generation network in both St. Louis and Staten Island, NY.

The news comes just a week after AT&T activated LTE in Indiana and Bryan-College Station, Texas, reiterating its commitment to rolling out its long term evolution network to 12 new markets before the summer...

Max Payne now available in the App Store [updated]

Last week, Rockstar announced that it would be bringing its popular Max Payne title to iOS. The third person shooter has developed quite a following as a PC/console game, and now it looks set to take on Apple's mobile platform.

Fans of the franchise will be happy to hear that the iOS port of Max Payne will include many of the same features that made the series a hit including slow-motion gunplay and cinematic cut scenes...

Verizon instituting $30 upgrade fee from April 22

Verizon Wireless, the nation's biggest carrier, announced today that it will begin charging a $30 device upgrade fee beginning April 22. It will be applicable to existing customers purchasing new mobile equipment at a discounted price with a two-year contract.

With AT&T and Sprint having both been charging an upgrade fee for awhile now, today's news means that now all major wireless operators in the United States are imposing a fee on customers upgrading to new devices.

Woz on patent war fallout, Tim Cook, post-PC world, tight Apple ecosystem

Steve Wozniak, who with his friend Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computer on April 1, 1976 , always has interesting things to say about his company, competition and the technology industry at large. In an interview yesterday, the outspoken gadget lover expressed concern over patent wars.

He argued that patent-related litigation often blocks off start-ups and young thinkers because big boys make sure they own it all.

He also isn't convinced that we'll stop using computers in the post-PC world and said it's too early to judge Tim Cook as Steve Jobs has stamped his mark on products that are three years in the queue...