Year: 2012

Google’s Chrome iOS browser gains Passbook support, better PDF handling

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 12, 2017

Hot on the heels of rolling out the improved Drive app with spreadsheet editing capabilities, Google today also refreshed its excellent Chrome browser for the iPhone and iPad. Google Chrome version 23.0.1271.91 (seriously? what's up with the versioning scheme?) is now available for download, bringing with it support for Apple's Passbook app on iOS 6 devices, better handling of PDF documents in external applications, new text encoding setting and more. Jump past the fold for your changelog and more tidbits...

China could soon top US as the largest iOS and Android market

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated March 12, 2018

If the global picture of mobile devices were a soap opera, it would be called "As the World Turns". A constant stream of numbers show how demand and usage is shifting away from the U.S. and to China. The latest figures show the Asian country will soon top the United States with the most active iOS and Android smartphone users.

While China's 167 million iOS and Android users currently puts the nation slightly behind the US at 181 million, that ranking will change in early 2013 as China's triple-digit growth rate easily outpaces America's maturing smartphone market, according to a new report released Wednesday by a mobile analytics firm...

Apple guaranteeing iPad mini deliveries before Christmas

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2012

Just spotted an interesting notice over at the online Apple Store, where Apple promises to deliver your iPad mini by Christmas if orders are placed by midnight December 5. "Order iPad mini by midnight December 5 for guaranteed delivery before Christmas", reads Apple's holiday shopping page.

A lot of kids' faces in the U.S. are gonna light up after unwrapping their Christmas gift. Over in the United Kingdom, however, shoppers must order the gadget by midnight today, or by December 4 in Canada. Apple's also sweetening the deal with free shipping and laser engraving. Hopefully, Santa won't say you've been a naughty boy...

Google Drive app gains native spreadsheet editing

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2012

Google's cloud-storage iOS client has received a nice little update today which brought out useful editing capability to Google spreadsheets. Google Drive version 1.2 arrives a little more than a month after the previous release brought us native Docs support and collaborative editing.

What's more, the software now finally allows for rich text copy-paste within a document and registers itself as a system-wide handler for uploading to Drive from other apps using the “Open in…” prompt.

The Android client was also refreshed with the ability to edit text within tables in documents and add a shortcut on the homescreen of your device to any specific file in Drive...

Angry Birds Star Wars updated with 20 icy Hoth levels, AT-AT walkers and pigtroopers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_t_PAs9eh0

If you've played Angry Birds Star Wars through and are yearning for more, check out the first content update, now available for download. Expanding on the initial levels on planet Tatooine and the Death Star, this content update contains new levels set on the icy planet of Hoth. Another surprise: Pink Bird debuts as Princess Leia. Also, looks like there are some AT-AT walkers to take down and pigtroopers to fight, too...

Apple’s tablet lead over Android could be shrinking faster than earlier thought

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 28, 2012

Remember the days when analysts and Wall Street observers believed the iPad would continue to lead tablet sales for years, and Android competitors still needed work? Funny how time flies. Although Apple isn't laughing, there is talk Google could overtake Apple in 2013. The problem is the iPad's lead over a pack of Android alternatives is shrinking to that when the Apple tablet was introduced in 2010.

Also, remember all those non-Android slates from HP and RIM? Yeah, neither does anyone else. That's the other problem...

The world’s first music video filmed entirely using only Instagram snaps

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2012

http://vimeo.com/53426724 If a picture is worth a thousand words and a video is worth a thousand pictures, this one's worth gold. Taking iPhone photography to a whole new level, director Arturo Perez Jr. edited together a total of 1905 photos of San Francisco for the song “Invasión” by Mexico City-based band The Plastics Revolution. It tells a tale of a young couple finding love amid an indie-pop backdrop. The snaps were taken mostly on an iPhone and ss you can see for yourself, the results are nothing short of amazing....

Apple’s rumored chip switch understood to upset hotshots Nvidia and Qualcomm

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Apple's been distancing itself from Samsung for quite some time, by purchasing components elsewhere. The company recently added new display and battery providers to its supply chain.

This summer, it started increasing spending on Elpida memory chip at Samsung's expense.

But as Apple increasingly sources major components from other suppliers, it has yet to make a switch to a non-Samsung silicon foundry. According to the latest chatter from Asia, Tim Cook and Co. remain adamant to take Apple's chip making contract to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) as early as possible.

But though TSMC, the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, has enough capacity to make the 200 million+ processors Apple needs annually for iPhones, iPads and iPods, such a move bears a significant risk of upsetting TSMC's major buyers such as Nvidia and Qualcomm...

China’s love affair with the iPad still strong

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

China is going nuts over the iPad as Apple's tablet commands more than 71 percent of sales in China. That's welcome news for Apple which has watched Samsung and other competitors erode its once secure market share. Apple's lead in tablet sales among Chinese consumers has remained steady over the past six months.

The latest third-quarter market figures show Apple's position slid just one percent from the previous period. It's unclear, however, how long China's love affair with the iPad will last. Two home-grown tablet firms are #2 and #3, with Samsung a distant fourth...

i.am+ launches December 6 to turbocharge iPhone photography with a 14MP sensor

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2012

Fans of iPhone photography have a field day with today's news of the brand new 500px for iPhone app and a significantly reimagined Vimeo iOS build. So, remember hip-hop artist and the Black Eyed Peas leader Will.i.am announcing a 14-megapixel iPhone camera attachment last week?

Today, we learn that the accessory bearing his name and dubbed the i.am+ is set to launch December 6. It's gonna be available in contemporary and vintage version for the iPhone 4/4S, with the flagship iPhone 5 unit arriving at some point next year and sporting a dedicated 14-megapixel camera sensor and flash...

Beautiful 500px app arrives on the iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2012

500px (pronounced five hundred pixels), a web-based photography community, launched in October 2009 and quickly established itself as the premium photo sharing destination. If your photo needs go beyond Instagram's recognizable filters and low resolution snaps of people's food and pets, you may have stumbled upon the 500px web site where people share only their best work in a manner that has nothing to do with the simplification (some would say, dumbification) of Instagram.

The Toronto-based startup has now updated its iPad app, released a year ago, with native iPhone support and boy is it gorgeous...

Reimagined Vimeo app ditches video editor, simplifies video uploads and sharing

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 28, 2012

http://vimeo.com/54298665

Vimeo has updated and reimagined its iPhone app to simplify video uploads and improve sharing via Facebook and Twitter. Vimeo was released on the iPhone back in March of last year. It was updated in January with native iPad support and full-screen video playback. Today's update is the first build created entirely in-house and features a cleaner interface that forgoes the grid system in favor of a tab-based navigation.

The clunky video editor is gone and the program now begins uploading your videos in the background while you're still editing tags, captions and other meta data. Go past the jump for more information and changelog....