Month: October 2012

Analyst predicts the iPad mini will kill off the iPod touch

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated June 5, 2018

Is Apple getting ready to discontinue the iPod touch, now that the Cupertino, California firm has a bevy of low-priced alternatives, including the just-announced iPad mini? That's the opinion of one analyst who has correctly predicted the demise of other Apple products. The iPod touch "has entered the final stage of its product life cycle," according to Ming-Chi Kuo, analyst with KGI Securities. He also believes Apple "will not invest significantly in developing future models"...

Unofficial Lightning cables and adapters shipping November 3 for half the price

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

iPhone5Mod previously released an interesting iPhone 5 Flash Lightning Dock, its first unauthorized Lightning-equipped accessory, and recently announced a nice backplate replacement for your iPhone 5. Today, they're launching three new Lightning accessories set to ship November 3. Of course, these unsanctioned cables and adapters lure with low prices that significantly undercut Apple's comparable offerings (think a 50 percent discount or more). We've got more information and nice promo clips right past the fold...

Shit Android fanatics say

Sébastien Page ∙ October 24, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7huae767Rxg

Last month we showed you two absolutely hilarious videos about shit Apple fanboys say (part 2). It looks like someone took a page from that book and came up with a similar version, this time targeting Android users.

Titled "shit Android fanatics say", this video isn't quite as funny as its Apple counterpart, but I still got a good laugh out of it, and I'm sure you will too.

Tweetie creator releases a free iOS word game

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

Tweetie, a beloved Twitter client for the iOS and OS X, was first in many respects. It was first to introduce the pull to refresh feature, now a norm in iOS app design (even Apple borrowed it for iOS 6 Mail). The program set the tone for what a decent Twitter client should be long until TapBots' Tweetbot came into full view.

Tweetie was refined and refined until Twitter came along purchasing both iOS and Mac versions on April 9, 2010. And now its developer Atebits is back to iOS development with a game, another first for them. Called Letterpress and provided free of charge, it's basically a word game with a simple, charming design and addictive concept that's hard to put down...

Report: Apple’s $329 iPad mini is an ‘absolute home run’

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 24, 2012

Analysts are fawning over Apple's new iPad mini, one describing the smaller tablet as "an absolute home run." Although investors concerned over the $329 price tag briefly sent shares of the Cupertino, Calif. firm down, Wall Street dismissed the worries.

"Due to the high quality of the hardware, we expect the device will be very well received by consumers once they have an opportunity to test it," Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore said.

Although Whitmore described the iPad mini as "a modest disappointment," he said the new iPad includes features "richer than we anticipated."

Phil Schiller talks iPad mini price: people pay for quality

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 24, 2012

I have long insisted that Android people (lots of them, but not all) aren't accustomed to pay for quality because Google envision Android as an ad-supported ecosystem, an extension of its business philosophy on the web. Some Apple fans were taken aback when Apple priced the iPad mini at $329 rather than $249 or even $199. While analysts believe the current price defends the iPad ecosystem from above and have no doubt the gizmo will be a smash hit, Apple's head honcho of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller went on the record to defend the iPad mini's price tag, here's what came out of him...

New Lightning HDMI and VGA adapters, 12W USB charger now on sale

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 29, 2016

Per rumors, Apple yesterday alongside the iPad mini, a revamped iMac, refreshed Mac mini and the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro also took the wraps off some new Lightning accessories that will be of note to people who want to show off their presentations, apps, games and more on devices that accept HDMI or VGA input.

Each adapter commands a steep $49 price and is available now from the online Apple Store, with shipping estimates already slipped to a 2-3 week backorder. Apple also put on sale a more powerful USB iPad charger that now provides twelve watts of power instead of ten, helping with faster charge times...

iPad mini event keynote now available for download as a podcast from iTunes

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

In case you were not able to watch the iPad mini keynote live as it was happening yesterday, Apple made the video available for streaming on its website shortly after. But for those of you who don't want to be tied to a wifi network in order to watch the keynote, you'll be happy to learn that the whole iPad mini event is now available as a podcast download from iTunes...

Coupons.com integrates 20 big-box retailers with Apple’s Passbook

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 24, 2012

Coupons.com makes a living from distributing digital coupons, including online printable, social, mobile and loyalty card promotions, in Sunday newspapers. Yesterday, the company rolled out Passbook integration for 20 big-box retailers, allowing you to save a selection of its coupons to your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad running iOS 6.

The system is pretty straightforward. First, you add a coupon to the Passbook via the mobile app or web site. It comes with the expiration date, a scannable barcode and a description of the offer. Cashiers can scan the code or use a numeric code on the back of a Passbook card to process it and apply the offer to your purchase...

US Department of Justice probing Samsung over use of FRAND patents against Apple

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 24, 2012

The South Korean conglomerate Samsung has become the target of another antitrust investigation concerning suspected abuse of FRAND-pledged standard-essential patents, which the company asserted against Apple in litigation and recently used to sue the Cupertino, California firm over 4G wireless technology utilized for the iPhone 5.

This time around, the United States Department of Justice is preliminary probing Samsung, which could lead to a full-blown investigation. If it finds an unlawful use of standard-essential wireless patents on Samsung's part, it'll clear Apple of a possible U.S. import ban sought by Samsung because the iPhone maker had refused to accept a Samsung-suggested per-device royalty fee of 2.4 percent (Apple wanted to pay half a cent per device)...

AT&T activates 4.7M iPhones in Q3, 77 percent of total smartphone sales

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 24, 2012

Carrier AT&T, which had a multi-year exclusivity on iPhone sales in the United States, this morning posted its third-quarter earnings, reporting it activated 4.7 million iPhones, representing more than three out of four smartphones activated on its network during the quarter. The number represents approximately a 178 percent increase over the year-ago quarter, when it activated 2.7 million iPhones.

The company in total activated 6.1 million smartphones in the third quarter. Of the 4.7 million AT&T iPhones, 18 percent went to new customers as the carrier, like everybody else, was struggling to meet pent-up demand from the existing subscribers amid the widely reported iPhone 5 supply constraints, which AT&T said affected its postpaid performance as well...

Supplier issues could lead to limited availability of initial iPad mini stock

Cody Lee ∙ October 24, 2012

Folks interested in purchasing Apple's new iPad mini may want to make sure and order one as soon as possible when pre-orders go live this Friday. Word is, one of Apple's suppliers for the tablet is having problems meeting its yield rates, and this could lead to a shortage of iPad mini stock...