Year: 2012

WebOffline for Chrome brings offline web page reading to Google’s iOS browser

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

WebOffline for Chrome is a new jailbreak tweak that integrates offline reading capability directly into the Google Chrome browser for iOS. As someone who does a lot of offline reading, and as someone who's a huge Google Chrome proponent, this sounded like the perfect tweak for me. Sadly, the tweak falls short due to its bugs.

As you'll see in our hands-on video, WebOffline for Chrome has tons of potential, but unfortunately it needs a few more hours in the oven before it's really ready for primetime.

Accelerate significantly speeds up iOS animations

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Are your finding the iOS experience to be a bit on the slow side? Are you using an older iOS device, and finding it to be unbearably sluggish? If you're jailbroken, and this has been your experience, then you might want to give this new tweak a go.

Accelerate is a recently released jailbreak tweak that speeds up the animations within iOS. While it's technically not making the experience any faster, the perceived speed increase may go a long way towards curing your blues.

Take a gander at our video inside for a demonstration that shows how it works.

New in iOS 6.1: Reset Advertising Identifier

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

With the release of iOS 6, Apple replaced its controversial unique device identifier system (or UDID) with the Advertising Identifier. It's a non-permanent, non-personal, device identifier, that advertising networks use to track your behavior.

Since its introduction, users who don't like targeted advertisements have had the ability to limit ad tracking via a toggle in the Settings application. And in iOS 6.1, users will gain the ability to reset their Advertising Identifier as well...

iPhone 5 shipping estimates improve to 2-3 weeks

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 12, 2012

Availability of the iPhone 5 is finally improving as Apple, its suppliers and contract manufacturers bind forces to improve manufacturing yield rates. When Apple in September started accepting online pre-orders for the device, shipping times quoted on the online Apple Store fell to 3-4 weeks within 45 minutes.

Availability would not improve until today. Now, after admitting to falling behind the iPhone 5 demand, Apple's contract manufacturer Foxconn has been hard at work with suppliers like Sharp to remove bottlenecks. Analysts who last week surveyed over a hundred Apple Stores, found out the device could be consistently available within 2 to 3 weeks.

We're happy to report that today, estimated shipping times for new iPhone 5 orders on the online Apple store dropped to 2-3 weeks, another sign of the iPhone maker and its supply chain slowly beginning to catch up to strong demand for the popular device...

New iOS-friendly Fender guitar spotted in Apple’s web store

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

With the holidays just around the corner, Apple has been seen stocking up on app-enabled accessories. A few weeks ago we noted that the iPad-maker had started selling iPhone-controlled lightbulbs, and now it's added an iOS-friendly guitar to its inventory.

Fender, a long-time legend in the guitar business, has created a custom version of its popular Squier Stratocaster guitar with built-in USB and iOS connectivity. This means that you can plug into anything from a complex digital studio, to your iPad, and rock out...

Google faces FTC ultimatum over patent and search abuse

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Bloomberg reports that Google is facing an ultimatum from FTC on antitrust deal talks. Apparently, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jonathan Leibowitz is pressuring Google to make an offer and finally settle FTC's antitrust investigation over whether the dominant search engine abused its market power in search and misused patent protection in smartphone wars. And should Google fail to "make an acceptable settlement proposal", sources say, the FTC is prepared to mount a massive case against the search giant whose "Don't be evil" motto has long become the subject of mockery...

AT&T to start offering Samsung’s 4G Android camera November 16

Cody Lee ∙ November 12, 2012

Back in August, Samsung unveiled a handful of new products at the IFA show in Berlin, Germany. It showed off the Galaxy Note 2 phablet, a new Windows Phone 8 handset, and some Windows 8 machines. It also took the wraps off its new Android camera.

The Galaxy Camera is exactly what it sounds like. It's a 16MP camera with a 4.8-inch screen, quad core processor, and built-in 3G/4G connectivity running Android software. And for those interested, AT&T will start offering the device this Friday for $500...

Apple posts iOS 6.1 Beta 2, new Apple TV beta

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple just seeded its registered developers with the second beta of iOS 6.1. The software follows November 1 release of the first iOS 6.1 beta which brought out MapsKit improvements and other tidbits.

Beta 2 has a build number of 10B5105c versus 10B5095f for Beta 1. Apple says iOS 6 Beta 2 contains bug fixes and improvements over iOS 6.0.1, in addition to tweaks like a new information card in the Passbook app.

A new beta of the Apple TV software is also available. The new iOS 6.1 beta is available for the various iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Apple TV devices. Apple's registered developers can download them via the company's developer portal.

The iPhone maker also released Xcode 4.6 Developer Preview 2 today (build 4H95e), its preferred development environment for third-parties that write Mac and iOS apps. Your release notes and additional info are right below...

In Italy, AppleCare products removed over warranty policy shenanigans

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Bloomberg in October reported of Justice Minister Viviane Reding pushing EU regulators into probing Apple over its ambiguous warranty advertising in the European Union. And earlier in the year, consumer groups demanded that eleven EU countries pressure Apple into complying with EU's consumer laws. As a result, Apple's warranty plans with extended device coverage are about to be pulled from retail channels in Italy. Better still, Apple is finally informing buyers that EU law entitles them to a minimum two-year seller guarantee, free of charge...

Scuffed iPhone 5? Make it unique by scuffing it even more

Oliver Haslam ∙ November 12, 2012

As always seems to be the case when Apple launches a new smartphone, the iPhone 5 has suffered something of a dent to its reputation, at least in its early weeks post-launch. We are of course talking about scuffgate, the claimed issue of handsets suffering from paint chips around the phone's antenna, especially on the black and slate version.

Some noticed the issue right out of the box, while others have found paint missing after days and weeks of ownership. While many have succeeded in getting Apple to swap out handsets with just this issue, one forum-goer decided to take a different route, and we have to say it's pretty awesome.

Faced with a prematurely paint-less iPhone 5, MacRumors forum member travis.hansen decided to take matters into his own hands by actually polishing the remaining paint off, leaving a funky shiny metal finish that looks absolutely terrific...

Firing Forstall was a mistake, says former engineer

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Apple CEO Tim Cook's decision to fire the architect of Apple's mobile and desktop operating systems was a mistake, according to former senior Apple manager Michael Lopp. He is calling for a downturn for the company and predicting that "Apple’s doom will start quietly".

You may have noticed trending Apple doomsday scenarios as haters are having a field day painting the company's recent moves in negative light. Forstall, Lopp says, "was old school", the closest thing the company had to Steve Jobs. Lopp goes as far to claim Forstall was the only legit successor to Jobs "because he displayed a variety of Jobsian characteristics"...