Month: February 2013

Facebook improves iOS SDK with enhanced APIs and better mobile analytics

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 23, 2018

Mark Zuckerberg's social networking company last July released a software development kit (SDK) for programmers to make it easier to write apps that take full advantage of Apple’s deep Facebook integration in iOS 6. It's been updated a few times since and today Facebook announced that it is enhancing the SDK with better APIs and other improvements. This update also includes bug fixes that improve stability, is backwards compatible and can be downloaded now direct from Facebook...

Apple settles in-app purchasing lawsuit with iTunes credits and refunds

Cody Lee ∙ February 25, 2013

Apple today has agreed to settle a nearly two year-old lawsuit with a group of parents over unauthorized in-app purchases made by their kids. The parents complained that the process' lack of password requirement led to massive iTunes bills.

As part of the preliminary deal, which has yet to be finalized by a judge, Apple will pay eligible class members with a $5 iTunes gift card or the same amount in cash. And for those users who spent more than $30, it's offering a full refund...

Apple’s iPhone push in India: wider distribution, new marketing and installment plans

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 25, 2013

After describing India as having less potential than China, Apple is increasing efforts to compete in the world's second-largest cellphone market. The iPhone maker is now hoping installment payments, coupled with increased marketing can turn single-digit market penetration into a weapon against low-cost Androids.

In full-page ads in the Times of India, Apple calls its unsubsidized $840 iPhone 5 "your dream phone" available for a $93 first payment. Why the big push? The nation's smartphone market is expected to grow five-fold by 2016, setting the stage for the next battle between Apple and Google's free mobile software...

iPad 5 cases beginning to hit Chinese marketplaces

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Apple's next-generation tablet isn't expected to hit for at least another 5 or 6 months, but accessory manufacturers already seem to feel pretty confident that they know what it's going to look like.

Based on a number of reports and alleged part leaks, case-makers have begun mass-producing cases fit for a redesigned iPad 5 that is both lighter and thinner than its predecessor, with smaller bezels...

Bloomberg: Google’s music streaming service launching worldwide in Q3

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 25, 2013

Piggy-backing on last week's reports by The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times asserting Google's been looking to enhance its Music service with streaming features akin to those of Spotify, Bloomberg today learned from its own sources that the service is likely targeted for a third quarter start. What's more, Google is reportedly planning to release this as a worldwide offering from the get-go.

One of the people familiar with Google's thinking told Bloomberg the service would work on both Android and non-Android devices, without explicitly referring to the iPhone...

Sharp and Foxconn deal has all but fallen apart

Cody Lee ∙ February 25, 2013

For a year now, we've been hearing that Foxconn was going to buy a large stake in Sharp Corp. Speculation of the deal has run rampant, going so far as to implicate that the partnership was part of Apple's plans to build a TV.

But over the last several months, Sharp's business has started to falter, causing Foxconn to rethink things. Since then, the companies haven't been able to come to an agreement. And according to a new report, they won't...

Kantar: discounts help Android pass iOS in US smartphone sales

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 25, 2013

Oh, what a difference a month makes. That could be the message from new research giving Android the lead in U.S. smartphone sales during the three-month period ending in January 2012.

Apple's iOS had held the U.S. smartphones sales lead up through December. The new data gives Android 49.9 percent of domestic smartphone sales, with iOS taking second place with 45.9 percent.

The new standings means Google's mobile software added 6.4 percent of U.S. sales, compared to a year ago. Meanwhile, the lock on U.S. smartphone sales fell 4.7 percent from the same period in 2011. The flip-flop on the No. 1 and No. 2 spots was linked to a Sprint price cut for Samsung's Galaxy S3 during the final three months of 2012...

Passing 300M users, Shazam announces revamped iPad app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

The media discovery and recommendation engine Shazam at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain on Monday said it surpassed 300 million users and announced updates to its app for iPad and Android tablets in the coming weeks. Some of the newly added capabilities include a much faster tagging with automatic resubmissions (handy during poor network reception), better Shazam Friends interactions and a new streamlined way to share your finds via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and email.

Also on tap for iPad and Android tablets: a revamped home screen with updated layouts for tagged results from TV and music and a brand new interactive mapping feature letting you see what people aroun the world are discovering and sharing using Shazam mobile apps. What's best, Shazam is now providing the two premium features - fast (and unlimited) tagging in as little as one second and full-screen LyricPlay lyrics - as part of the free tablet experience...

Facebook launches free or discounted Messenger access in 14 countries

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 25, 2013

Facebook on Sunday announced a new promotion that will allow users of Messenger for iOS and Android to exchange instant messages for free or at heavily discounted data rates in select international markets. Partnering with more than eighteen operators in fourteen international markets, the social networking giant said Facebook for Every Phone, basically a bare-bone service for feature phones that is now optimized for chat, is also included in this promotion.

The move arrives just after the company flipped the switch on the in-app VoIP calling feature in its mobile client for iOS and Android devices. Facebook first rolled out VoIP calling in Canada earlier this year, and some parts of the US, via the Messenger app...

LG buys WebOS from HP to use in future smart TVs

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

The 2013 Mobile World Congress (MWC) officially kicked off in Barcelona this weekend, meaning you should prepare for an onslaught of device announcements and other mobile news over the next few days.

In fact, LG has kicked things off already by dropping a bombshell today. The South Korea-based electronics giant has apparently purchased WebOS from Hewlett Packard, and plans to use it in future products...

Mophie announces new, thinner Juice Pack Air for iPhone 5

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

Fans of Mophie's popular Juice Pack Air line will be happy to hear that the company has just announced a new, thinner model for Apple's latest handset. This is the first significant update to the line in two years.

Aside from the prestige of its highly-regarded creators, the major selling point for the new Air is its size—it's both thinner and lighter than its predecessor, measuring in at just 0.63-inches thick...

Apple airs new ‘Hollywood’ iPad ad (update: Samsung, too)

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 24, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8pj3WQyOzY

Just in time for The Oscars, Apple on Sunday aired a new television commercial for the iPad during the Academy Awards broadcast. Conveniently titled "Hollywood", the app via a “lights”, “camera” and “action” sequence takes us through a series of programs for filmmakers, as well as various movie and video editing applications from the App Store. And in line with the previous two ads, called "Alive" and "Together", this one also has some interesting subliminal messages...