Month: September 2012

Samsung may add iPhone 5 to US patent infringement lawsuit

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

If you thought the legal wrangling between Apple and Samsung was settled with August's patent-infringement jury decision, you were wrong. In a patent infringement lawsuit filed in February in the same San. Jose, Calif. courthouse that awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages, the two rivals are preparing for a grudge match. Now the Wall Street Journal reports the South Korean smartphone maker "anticipates" it will add the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 4S in its list of allegedly infringing devices.

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‘Xpandr 2’ makes Keyboard Shortcuts faster

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

If you're a blogger, then you'd be crazy not to use TextExpander. TextExpander is an app that runs on the Mac, that automatically expands shortcuts into larger lines of text.

For example, I have a shortcut named jb, which expands fully to the word jailbreak. It works with phrases to, for instance, jbt = jailbreak tweak. Needless to say, TextExpander is a life saver for those of us who have to type the same words and phrases over and over again, day in, and day out.

Apple introduced a sort of "TextExpander light" in iOS 5, and it came in the form of Keyboard Shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts work, but unlike TextExpander, they don't immediately expand; instead, the shortcuts appear as suggestions, and then you have to use the space bar to fully expand them.

Xpandr 2, is the jailbreak tweak that seeks to put an end to this issue. Check out our full video walkthrough inside...

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Google tells iPhone 5 users to go download Google Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 19, 2017

Apple is suffering harsh criticism over its in-house mapping solution in iOS 6 which has for better or worse effectively replaced a Google Maps-backend. Apple Maps have been called a disaster waiting to happen and even pundit John Gruber called the system a downgrade. With more than 65 percent of the world's population left with no transit directions, traffic data and street-level imagery, Apple Maps understandably drew ire from users around the world.

No wonder nearly 85 percent of our readers think Google should write a native Maps app for iOS, just as it's done with the excellent YouTube iOS app. Commenting on the situation, Google UK Marketing Director Dan Cobley asserted that a standalone app could be released soon...

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Apple researching face unlock for iOS devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 20, 2012

Google with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich introduced a new way to unlock a device using facial recognition technology. It doesn't always work as intended (especially in low-light situations), is taxing on resources and can be hacked. Still, face unlock is one of the "wow" capabilities Android phone owners like to brag about.

Samsung took facial recognition to the next level with the Galaxy SIII smartphone. The device tracks eye movement, preventing the screen from going dark when you’re looking at it. According to a patent filing published Thursday by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), Apple is researching automatic facial analysis to automate locking and unlocking of future iPhones, iPads and iPods...

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Samsung shoots down the Galaxy S4 rumor

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

The Korea Times reported on Monday, citing unnamed company officials, that Samsung is getting ready to announce the next-generation Galaxy S4 smartphone at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain in February 2013, followed by March 2013 availability. The story claimed the Galaxy SIII successor would be "more than enough to curb Apple’s latest iPhone". However, the report is inaccurate as Samsung was quick to deny the rumor via its Korean account on Twitter...

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This upcoming tweak will add water effects to your iOS device

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

AquaBoard is a new jailbreak tweak currently in development by Elias Limneos. As you'll see from the video inside, it adds cool water effects to your device's Lock screen, and Home screen.

Currently, the tweak is set to be compatible with the iPad, iPad 2, The new iPad, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S. I'm pretty sure that at the very least, the iPod touch 4th generation will probably be shown some love as well.

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Keyboard Shortcuts now sync via iCloud in iOS 6

Jeff Benjamin ∙ September 19, 2012

One of the more under the radar items in iOS, is the TextExpander inspired Keyboard Shortcuts feature. Keyboard Shortcuts allow you to create quick shortcuts, which then expand to larger words or phases. It's a feature that's best used for stuff that you tend to type over and over again, which helps reduce repetition, therefore making you more productive.

In the past with iOS 5, these shortcuts resided independently on each device, meaning you had to setup all of your shortcuts on each device individually. If you do a lot of blogging or other forms of writing on your iOS device, then chances are, you can benefit from having a decent array of shortcuts. With that thought it mind, it's a headache to have to setup each device manually with the same shortcuts.

We already knew that iOS 6 would feature custom dictionary iCloud syncing, but it was never really clear whether or not Keyboard Shortcuts fell within that area. It's been one of the features that I've been saying would benefit from iCloud syncing for a long time now, and thankfully, it looks like Apple took care of that with iOS 6.

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Experiencing Wi-Fi problems in iOS 6? We’ve got a fix

Cody Lee ∙ September 19, 2012

Like other sites, we've been getting a lot of tips this evening that Wi-Fi in iOS 6 is acting up. Several of our readers have informed us that their Wi-Fi quit working after attempting to connect to a faulty Apple page shortly after updating to the latest version of iOS.

Don't worry, the problem has been pinpointed. As explained by developer Steve Streza, iOS devices are programmed to ping a test URL upon connecting to a Wi-Fi network to see if it's protected by a "captive portal." And that test page has been down all afternoon...

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How to jailbreak iOS 6 and install Cydia

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

iOS 6 was just released a while ago, and now we're going to show you how to jailbreak it.

First of all, please note that this is a tethered jailbreak, and it only works with A4 devices like the iPhone 4.

Secondly, since there currently isn't any jailbreak tool that will install Cydia just yet, we're going to have to go about installing Cydia using a manual process.

Still game after all of those asterisks? Then come inside, as we show you how to jailbreak iOS 6 final...

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Apple abandons e-book agency model in EU

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 19, 2012

As the European Union (EU) last December started looking into claims that Apple was conspiring with publishers to raise e-book prices, Apple and several major publishers agreed last month to offer pricing concessions in an effort to end an EU antitrust investigation. Back in the U.S., a federal judge approved settlements with three publishers and the Federal Communications Commission.

Following that decision, EU officials are willing to market test commitments proposed by Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Hachette, Holtzbrinck and Apple for the sale of e-books that would give retailers the freedom to set prices freely for the next two years...

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