Month: January 2013

Netflix inks exclusive Warner Bros. TV deal

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 7, 2013

With just a few days into 2013 we're already seeing the latest skirmish between Netflix and pay-TV veterans. After a weekend deal where HBO gloated it was keeping Universal content out of the hands of the online streaming service, Netflix answered Monday by inking a U.S. deal for television episodes from Warner Bros. The deal gives Netflix exclusive online rights for such Warner Bros Television Group shows as Revolution, Fringe and Kevin Bacon's upcoming FBI potboiler The Following. Perhaps most intriguing was language offering Netflix exclusive online rights to "potential future shows"...

CES 2013: Lego debuts iOS-friendly Mindstorms EV3 programmable robots

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 7, 2013

Toy maker Lego announced at CES 2013 a new line of iOS-compatible toys that let children and robotics hobbyists create and command robots "that do what you want". The kit turns your Lego creations into live robots that can be programmed without a computer. Previous Mindstorms incarnation dating as far back to the original model released in 1998 all required a PC. The Mindstorms EV3 kit comes with the EV3 Intelligent Brick, a programmable unit that un‐tethers robots from the computer and sports its own ARM9 CPU with 64GB of RAM and 16MB of flash storage...

App Store tops 40B downloads, 20B in 2012

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 7, 2013

Apple just announced that its application store for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch software, the App Store, has topped a whopping forty billion downloads so far, with almost twenty billion downloads added in the calendar 2012 alone. These are unique downloads that exclude re-downloads and updates. The iPhone maker has also confirmed that as of today the App Store is home to a total of 775,000 active apps for the iOS gadgets (though a million apps passed through the store so far), with 300,000 tailored specifically for iPads...

CES 2013: Hyundai to integrate Apple’s Siri into its vehicles

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 7, 2013

After General Motors announced in November it was going to be one of the first car companies to market its new Chevy Sonic and Spark vehicles with the new Siri Eyes Free feature, today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas car maker Hyundai Motor Company also confirmed it will integrate the feature into its vehicles, although the company did not specify which models will be part of the initiative. More information right past the fold...

IDEO founder David Kelley talks Steve Jobs, his first iPhone and more

Cody Lee ∙ January 7, 2013

This is kind of cool. David Kelley, the founder of IDEO, an international design firm and innovation consultancy, spoke with CBS' 60 Minutes last night about a wide range of things, including his close relationship with Steve Jobs.

IDEO played a big role in early Apple, designing its first Mouse, the Lisa, and more. And naturally, this bore a friendship between the two founders, giving Kelley some great Jobs stories—particularly one about his first iPhone...

Facebook mobile user stats: 192M on Android, 147M on iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

A few months ago, we passed along a report that Facebook was urging its employees to swap out their iPhones for Android devices. It knows Google's mobile OS has continued to be an afterthought to iOS, and it's looking to change that.

Well according to some newly-released data, that's probably a smart move. Enders analyst Benedict Evans has just published Facebook's mobile app user stats, and, as of November last year, Android users vastly outnumber those on iOS...

Belkin unveils the Thunderstorm, a handheld home theater for your iPad

Cody Lee ∙ January 6, 2013

CES starts today, meaning you can expect to see several new product and accessory announcements over the next 5 days. Earlier today we told you about the Cookoo smart watch, and now it's Belkin's time to shine.

Known for Apple accessories like USB cables and keyboard cases, Belkin doesn't have much of a track record in the audio space. That changes, though, with the Thunderstorm, a new iPad case with built-in speakers...

Posing as a chick, musician offers an iPhone thief a date

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 6, 2013

Apple's underappreciated Find My iPhone app (BTW, shouldn't it be called 'Find My iOS Device' instead?) has seen some clever uses that went a long way toward retrieving stolen iPhones and iPads. But punk trombonist Nadav Nirenberg took it to the next level when he posed as a women in order to lure an unsuspecting thief who stole his iPhone into a trap. According to media reports, holding a hammer in his hand, Nadav was patiently awaiting for the thief to arrive at his apartment to arrange an exchange...

Consumer Reports places iPhone 5 among the worst of top smartphones

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Consumer reports is an American Magazine (and web resource) that has been bringing its readers reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services for nearly 80 years now. So needless to say, their opinions are highly regarded but many.

But I know a few iPhone 5 owners that aren't going to agree with its latest report regarding flagship smartphones. In its February 2013 issue, the magazine ranks Apple's handset as one of the worst high-end devices available on the larger US carriers...

CES 2013: Bluetooth Smart-enabled Cookoo watch launches with iOS compatibility

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYgDAQVZLQo

Among the many exhibitors vying for your attention at the CES show room floor are makers of connected smart watches. Pebble, the most highly funded Kickstarter project to date, already teased “big news” at CES as it readies to finally launch its Android and iOS connected E-Paper Watch.

You can now put Cookoo on your list of CES smart watch announcements. Another Kickstarter project, the Cookoo watch just launched worldwide as an iOS and Android connected accessory supporting low-power Bluetooth Smart (Bluetooth 4.0) networking.

In the case of Apple's platform, the scratch and water-resistant Cookoo watch supports the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPad mini, iPad 3/4 and fifth-gen iPod touch and uses a button-cell battery so it doesn't need to be recharged like typical smart watches do...

The iDownloadBlog top news stories of the week — Jan 6, 2013 edition

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 24, 2017

Like every Sunday, we bring you the stories that were the most popular on iDB during this past week. Whether it is a news piece, an editorial, a tutorial, a new jailbreak tweak, or an accessory review, we sum it all up in one convenient place.

If you like what you're reading, please make sure to spread the love by sharing our posts on your favorite social network. We're usually hanging out a lot on Twitter and Facebook, more rarely on Google+...

Weird bug adds ‘praises the iPad’ at the end of Google queries

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

The rivalry between Apple and Google is arguably one of the biggest in the tech world, maybe even the world in general. The two companies are constantly fighting each other for smartphone and tablet marketshare, and they both have legions of loyal fans.

That's what makes this next story so amusing. A new bug has been discovered in the Google Now and Translate apps that show Apple a bit more love than you'd expect from a rival. Enter the right queries, and both apps will, oddly enough, "praise the iPad."