Month: February 2013

Tim Cook opposed suing Samsung in 2011, but was overruled by Steve Jobs

Cody Lee ∙ February 10, 2013

There's an interesting report out this morning that takes an in-depth look at the so-called "frenemy" relationship between Apple and Samsung. The connections between the two are certainly odd, as they are competitors, supply chain partners and suing each other around the world.

Their latter association is perhaps the most known in recent years. The two companies' high profile court battles over who copied who have been very public, especially the most recent one in northern California. And according to Reuters, the whole thing started over the Galaxy Tab...

Apple hires 100+ former TI engineers for its third Israeli R&D center

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 10, 2013

We've known Apple's been bolstering its in-house chip design with a new research and development (R&D) center planned in the Israeli city of Ra’anana. According to a new report, Apple's third Israeli R&D center is scheduled to go online in the second half of 2013 and will be staffed by some 150 former Texas Instruments employees.

It was reported in December that Apple tapped a pool of former Texas Instruments employees in Israel after the chip maker had announced it was laying off a staggering 1,700 employees as a result of moving its focus away from smartphone and tablet processors and toward embedded applications like in-car computer systems...

The New York Times again reports that Apple is building an iWatch

Cody Lee ∙ February 10, 2013

Hot on the heels of the popular 'iWatch' speculation piece from former Apple employee Bruce Tognazzini, comes a report from The New York Times that claims that such a product is actually in the works.

Citing sources 'familiar with the matter,' The Times is reporting (for the second time in the last three years) that Apple is currently in the process of developing a smartwatch that utilizes curved glass...

Contractor modifies thousands of iPads for government use

Cody Lee ∙ February 10, 2013

CACI, or Consolidated Analysis Center Incorporated, is a federal contractor that delivers various information technology services to government agencies. Its primary focus is security, and it goes through great lengths to provide protected business solutions for its clients.

A good example of this is the work it's doing with Apple's mobile products. In a recent interview, CACI's CEO Dan Allen said that his company has altered 'thousands' of iPads so that they can be used securely by high-ranking government officials—including the President...

Sn0wbreeze 2.9.9 is out with a handful of bug fixes

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 27, 2017

iH8sn0w has posted a minor update to his popular jailbreak utility sn0wbreeze this weekend, bringing the software to version 2.9.9. The update comes just a few days after 2.9.8 was released, and features a handful of bug fixes.

The Windows-only app includes the new untethered evasi0n jailbreak, which the evad3rs debuted last week, and is capable of hacking all pre-A5 devices on iOS 6.1 (including the Apple TV 2). Full 2.9.9 change log after the fold...

The iDownloadBlog top news stories of the week – Feb 10, 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+...

evasi0n iOS 6 untethered jailbreak released How to jailbreak iOS 6 using evasi0n [Mac tutorial] How to jailbreak iOS 6 using evasi0n [Windows tutorial] Planetbeing reveals some of the complicated hacks used in evasi0n Apple seeds iOS 6.1.1 beta to developers Pod2g: iOS 6.1.1 beta does not fix latest jailbreak FullForce for iPhone stretches older apps to fit on your iPhone 5 screen Apple updates Knowledge Base article on jailbreaking Use CydiaUpdates to manually install .deb packages when Cydia is unreliable How some of our favorite jailbreak apps look like on the iPhone 5 [Video] How to save SHSH blobs for iOS 6.1 Sn0wbreeze 2.9.8 released with support for untethered iOS 6.x jailbreak Seven easy ways to improve your travel iPhone Photography

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Poll: 3G, battery and overheating issues on iOS 6.1?

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 10, 2013

Like any software release, the January 28 iOS 6.1 firmware update did fix some known bugs, but also has introduced a new set of issues. Specifically, the update is said to contain a bug that affects your iPhone's battery life and 3G performance.

The battery inefficiencies could be related to an Exchange bug, clever people at AOL have learnt). Quick searches on the Apple Support Communities forum for iOS 6.1 battery and iOS 6.1 3G clearly prove these issues are more widespread than originally thought. While some people are seeing their iPhone 5 battery life dropping after updating to iOS 6.1, others are bitching about overheating issues.

To make matters worse, Vodafone advised its UK customers against upgrading to iOS 6.1 until Apple fixes 3G hiccups, which include the occasional difficulty in connecting to the network to make or receive calls or texts or connecting to the mobile Internet.

What are you seeing?

iOS 6.1 battery problems may be related to Exchange bug

Cody Lee ∙ February 9, 2013

Yesterday, we reported that Vodafone UK has been sending out text messages to its iPhone 4S subscribers, warning them not to upgrade to iOS 6.1. The update is said to contain a bug that affects the handset's 3G performance, and subsequently its battery life.

But the issue appears to be more widespread than that. We've received a number of comments from readers, that aren't in the UK and don't have a 4S, that are seeing similar battery life problems. And it's been discovered that Exchange might just be the culprit...

Former Apple human interface developer makes a case for an iWatch

Cody Lee ∙ February 9, 2013

With Apple's iPhone line approaching 7 years old, and the iPad nearly 3 years old, industry watchers are calling for the company to come up with 'the next big thing.' And there's two mythical products that seem to keep coming up in the conversation: the iTV and the iWatch.

While we've heard dozens of rumors concerning Apple building its own TV set, speculation regarding the iWatch has been much more subdued. Perhaps that's why this post from Bruce Tognazzini, a former Apple employee, is getting so much attention this week...

PhotoAlbums+, PwnTunes, and iRealSMS updated for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated February 25, 2013

Want apps that are already compatible with the iOS 6 and the iPhone 5? Want to update your music library without using iTunes, reply instantly to text messages, and organize your photo albums?

SpiritOfLogic had their three flagship apps PwnTunes, iRealSMS, and PhotoAlbums+ ready for iOS 6 and the iPhone 5 well in advance of the evasi0n jailbreak...

The Automee S: a tiny robot that cleans iPhone and iPad screens

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Raise your hand if you like robots. Ok, now raise your hand if you hate cleaning the fingerprints and debris off of your iPhone and iPad screens. Wouldn't it be cool if there was a product out there that combined these two things?

Believe it or not, there is. Meet the Automee S, a tiny, round, Roomba-like robot that's built to automatically clean the screen of your smartphone or tablet in a matter of minutes. We've got a video of it in action after the fold...

The exodus continues: Home Depot drops BlackBerry for iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ February 9, 2013

It hasn't even been a week since we reported that Australia's Treasury Department would be trading in their BlackBerry devices for iPhones, and there's already a new story on the Canadian handset-maker losing another major enterprise customer.

The word is that Home Depot, a home improvement retail chain and the 5th largest retailer in the world, is also looking to drop their BlackBerrys in favor of Apple's popular smartphone. And the account is a big one, worth over 10,000 handsets...