Year: 2012

Rumor: Apple Maps and Siri coming to the Mac with OS X 10.9 next year

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 19, 2012

OS X 10.9, the next major revision to Apple's desktop operating system, will contain Siri and Apple Maps, the two headline capabilities currently exclusively available on newer iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. According to a new report this morning, early builds of OS X 10.9 that were previously spotted in web logs include Siri and Maps integration. Both features are purportedly in the early testing stages so it has yet to be determined if they will be ready for prime time when OS X 10.9 ships some time next year...

More than 1 million apps have now passed through the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ November 19, 2012

During Apple's iPhone 5 keynote in September, Tim Cook announced that the App Store contained more than 700 thousand apps. And out of that staggering number, more than 30% of them were iPad-specific apps.

Well apparently, Apple hit another major milestone today regarding its application ecosystem. According to a new report, the Cupertino company has now approved more than 1 million apps in the last four years...

AC/DC music finally available in iTunes

Cody Lee ∙ November 19, 2012

Rock and roll fans rejoice! As noted by several other publications, AC/DC has finally made its music available in the iTunes Store. Up until now, the Australian rock band, who has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, had been avoiding selling its music through iTunes in an effort to help preserve the album format...

Judge approves Google’s $22.5M Safari tracking fine

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

It looks like Google may have to start writing out that $22.5 million check soon, to cover the fine it agreed to pay in order to settle the FTC claim that it illegally bypassed user privacy settings in Safari.

US District Judge Susan Illston approved the fine in a San Francisco federal court late Friday, which will go down as the largest penalty ever levied against a company by the Federal Trade Commission...

Sony is still dreaming about dethroning the iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

SonyEricsson, the Japanese giant's partnership with the Swedish telecommunications equipment company Ericsson, for most part has failed to make a splash in the highly competitive smartphone market. Deciding enough was enough, Sony at last acquired Ericsson's share in the venture in February. Sony Mobile Communications, a wholly-owned subsidiary, was born. And as the battle for smartphone supremacy intensifies, Sony's new mobile arm is adamant to produce a much-needed iPhone killer. But why stop there? According to its mobile chief, an upcoming flagship handset will as well take direct aim at Samsung's Galaxy S III.

A badass Sony phone that can compete with both the iPhone and Galaxy S III, each super-popular in its own right? That's a tall order. Sony's killer phone is officially due early next year and looks like it's gonna pack some serious oomph. The question is, will folks care?

FBI nabs ‘Dumbfella’ in $1.9 million iPad mini heist

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 18, 2012

It took investigators working on Thursday's snatch-and-grab - one that saw crooks drive away with two pallets of iPad minis worth $1.9 million - less than 24 hours to nab a suspect, a JFK Airport worker.

As Ed told you, two unidentified individuals used the airport’s own forklift to load the iPads onto their truck just before midnight Monday. The thieves operated in the same cargo area where director Martin Scorsese filmed a Lufthansa flight heist in the 1978 mob flick “GoodFellas”.

The Bureau was able to apprehend airport worker Renel Rene Richardson on the grounds that he made suspicious inquiries to co-workers about the gadget shipment and where forklifts might be found. What a "Dumbfella"...

App economy: a reality check

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 18, 2012

The App Store launched in the summer of 2008 with 500 apps. Though late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs initially resisted opening the iPhone to developers, the store went on to change the device from a simple cell phone into a powerful mobile computer. Thirty-five billion downloads later, Apple has progressed to pay a total of $6.5 billion to developers in app revenue after taking a customary 30 percent cut of the action.

But of the more than 700,000 apps now available on the App Store - or a 'candy store' as tech columnist David Pogue nicknamed it - including more than 275,000 apps designed specifically for iPad, only a small selection turned their makers into instant millionaires.

The vast majority of developers barely break even. And of those who turn notable profits, not many quit their day jobs. Yet, the dream of becoming a millionaire overnight with a hit app lives on. So what's wrong with this picture?

The iDownloadBlog top news stories of the week [Nov 18, 2012 edition]

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 24, 2017

A new week is coming, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on what happened last week. If you think you may have missed a few of the top stories from last week, don't sweat it, we've got you covered.

We've gathered the top 10+ most popular stories from iDB last week for you to check out. As always, make sure that you're friends with us on Facebook, Google+, and that you are following us on Twitter...

Digital page turn? Patented!

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 17, 2012

If asked to single out a feature of iBooks that provokes most oohs and aahs, I'm sure you'd more or less unanimously opt for the page-turning effect. It didn't take long before other e-book apps and devices began mimicking Apple's animated skeuomorphism in iBooks.

The page-turning trick in various implementations has become a standard feature of Amazon's Kindle apps, Google Play Books software, Sony's recently released iOS app, plus a host of other social news readers and e-reading programs. And just like that, Apple's now been granted a patent for the feature, meaning the company basically owns the page turn...

Why did Apple’s recently-minted hardware boss cash in $11M in stock?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 12, 2017

Dan Riccio, Apple's recently promoted Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, sold 20,726 shares of stock in the last two days. The transaction netted him a cool $10.7 million, with a thousand shares worth approximately half a million going to an unnamed charity. That another SVP of Apple is unloading shares (though he didn't touch his stock options) doesn't mean he's potentially being fired, as some critics have jokingly speculated...

Twelve South launches the BookBook for iPhone 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 17, 2012

Twelve South’s BookBook case for the iPhone with its built-in wallet, leather-wrapped frame and Harry Potter-like design stands out among an endless sea of sleeves and cases polluting the market on a daily basis, with just a handful focused on practicality.

Jeff reviewed the original BookBook for iPhone last year and came away impressed by the overall functionality and build quality. This summer, Twelve South re-released the popular iPhone case in Classic Black and refreshed the Vintage Brown version. And finally, now the company has updated the accessory for the iPhone 5 form factor...

Google Nexus 10 unboxing and first impressions

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Today I got my hands on the Google Nexus 10 in order to do a proper comparison with the iPad, and to stay up to date on the iPad's closest competitors. As you'll recall, I already did a review of the Nexus 7, and came away with a favorable impression of the device.

For the Nexus 10, a lot is the same as the Nexus 7, but a lot has changed as well. The most obvious difference is the form factor. This tablet competes directly with the iPad as far as size is concerned. You'll also notice a fairly original design, and one of the best, if not the best, screens on a tablet that you've ever seen...