Year: 2012

JBL launches two Lightning docking stations

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 15, 2012

JBL today announced a pair of interesting iOS docking stations with built-in support for Apple's new Lightning I/O. Filed as JBL's first-ever Lightning-enabled speakers, both the $199 OnBeat Venue LT and $99 OnBeat Micro also feature a built-in USB connector for hooking up non-Lightning music sources. The smaller OnBeat Micro is the perfect traveling companion due to its tiny footprint and support for standard batteries which can provide up to five hours of playback.

Its bigger brother, the Venue LT, can dock via a built-in Lightning port any iOS device with Lightning I/O, which currently entails the iPhone 5, the fifth-gen iPod touch, the new iPod nano, the iPad mini and the fourth-gen iPad...

Apple researching facial-zooming and quieter iPhone vibration

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 15, 2012

Apple has applied to patent new technology designed to solve two annoying problems. One filing addresses that "silent" iPhone which you set to "vibrate" but instead noisily dances across tables and other hard surfaces. The other patent application could come in handy for iPhone and iPad mini owners constantly resizing their screens for a better view. However, the most intriguing invention Apple seeks to patent measures the distance of an iDevice owner's face from a screen, using a combination of the camera or other proximity sensor. Differing modes would then automatically adjust the size of content being viewed...

Apple allegedly asks devs to remove the word ‘memory’ from app names

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 15, 2012

Yes, you read that right. German puzzle and board game maker Ravensburger has apparently decided any iOS app with the word "memory" in its title should be banished from the App Store. The reason? Ravensburger is behind "Memory", a wildly popular puzzle game. While 91 percent of Germans are familiar with it, the game also enjoys international visibility and Ravensburger claims to hold a trademark on the term in over 40 countries. Apple has responded to the pressure and reportedly began emailing select developers to remove the word 'memory' from app names...

Analyst: sales of iPads and iPhones to skyrocket over the next six months

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

It appears Apple's marquee products - the iPhone 5 and iPad mini - are just hitting their stride. After initial questions over suppliers and build quality prompted sputtering sales, demand for the two devices is expected to skyrocket over the next two quarters. After talking with Apple suppliers, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty told investors Thursday that she believes the Cupertino, California company will beat Wall Street expectations, fueled by lower-priced parts, the growth of China and the addition of upcoming Apple Stores in Brazil, a first for the country...

GoodFellas grab $1.5 million worth of iPad minis from JFK airport

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Have you tired of waiting in line at Apple's Fifth Avenue store? You may want to check out JFK Airport next time. Apparently, two thieves who wanted an iPad mini took the direct route, driving away with $1.5 million worth of iPad minis Monday night from the New York City airport. The snatch-and-grab happened at the same cargo area made famous in the movie "GoodFellas." Although the crooks snatched two pallets with 3,600 minis from China and destined for U.S. buyers, they left three more loads likely to have held even more of Apple's newest tablets...

Samsung gathering 200 execs to talk biz and Apple litigation strategy

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 15, 2012

A report out Thursday from Korean news organization The Chosun Ilbo has it that some two hundred Samsung executives are scheduled to meet with Samsung's top dogs in December. Corporate matters will be on the agenda, including that long-standing patent dispute with Apple which has poisoned business relationship between the two consumer electronics giants to the point of no return.

The report also mentions that Samsung recently fired its vice president in charge of matters relating to Apple, another indication that Samsung's litigation strategy concerning Apple is about to change. The same news organization earlier in the week asserted that Samsung instituted a massive chip price hike that analysts feared could hurt Apple's margins, but the story was debunked the following day by an unnamed Samsung executive...

Browser-based Spotify music player in beta rolling out today

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 15, 2012

I've always loved iTunes, but I must admit that nearly all of my music discovery, purchasing and sharing is on Spotify these days. Why pay ten bucks for a whole album when Spotify provides unlimited access to its 20+ million-strong catalogue for $9.99 a month?

Spotify subscribers have enjoyed both the official desktop and iOS apps, the latter recently updated with support for the iPhone 5. Word on the street is that Spotify is due to launch a beta of its upcoming browser-based music player later today.

The web application will allow people to access and stream their cloud music from supposedly any device with an HTML5-compliant browser, like Safari on iOS and OS X...

Flipboard iOS app now lists curated iBookstore content

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 15, 2012

Flipboard, the popular social news reader platform, has partnered with Apple to launch a new section in iOS apps called Books which, surprisingly, highlights select books the iPhone maker sells on its own iBookstore. The new Books section is now live in Flipboard iOS apps in ten countries. It's customized with 25 new sections containing the most popular books from Apple’s iBookstore. "It’s like browsing in a bookstore, right from your Flipboard", the company says. The new section is localized for the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and Spain...

Steve Ballmer maintains the iPhone is overpriced, promises more Microsoft gadgets

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

The hardware arena is becoming an increasingly crowded space and that's a good thing for consumers who want more choices. Not that long ago, tech giants used to sit on the sidelines and leave the gadget making biz to Apple and the iPhone maker happily exploited the opportunity, churning out music players, cell phones, wireless appliances, set-top boxes, tablets and computers.

But things have changed quite a bit. Nowadays, everyone and their brother wants to build hardware, software and services in a vertically integrated fashion that made Apple a popular choice among the consumers. Amazon now sells tablets and e-readers and is allegedly building a phone. Google has become a handset vendor thanks to its pricey purchase of Motorola Mobility. And with a recent trifecta of Nexus devices, the search monster has become a hardware force to be reckoned with. But what's Microsoft up to?

Fourth-gen LTE iPads reaching Apple Stores

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Making good on its promise, Apple has started stocking its U.S. retail outlets with cellular versions of the fourth-generation iPad with Retina display. According to web reports, Apple yesterday instructed its retail staff to stock these units and to wait until Mothership instructs them to begin sales because a launch date has not yet been communicated.

By all accounts, the company should officially start selling these tomorrow, November 16. In a media release announcing opening weekend sales of three million iPads, Apple noted that cellular versions of both the iPad mini and the fourth-generation model will be available in the US on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon "in a few weeks"...

Turn-by-turn voice navigation for iOS Maps now live in Australia

Cody Lee ∙ November 15, 2012

Apple has taken a lot of heat over its new Maps application in iOS 6. Users have complained that it's inaccurate, buggy, and doesn't have anywhere near the international support that Google Maps has.

Well it looks like Apple has made some progress on the latter front. Last night, reports started coming in that the Cupertino company has activated turn-by-turn voice navigation for its Maps app in Australia...

Belkin unveils new keyboard case for iPad mini

Cody Lee ∙ November 15, 2012

The iPad mini, because of its size and lack of high-end features, has been informally dubbed a consumption device. It seems like more folks are using it more for web surfing and media than they are for getting work done.

But those of you who are using the mini for work purposes may be happy to hear that Belkin has just taken the wraps off its new Portable Keyboard Case. It's slim, lightweight, and has a removable Bluetooth keyboard...