Month: March 2013

Apple loses iPhone trademark appeal in Mexico

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

Apple's luck protecting the iPhone name has taken a turn for the worse with Friday development that the firm has lost an appeal over its use of the iPhone moniker in Mexico, reports The Wall Street Journal. The ruling marks Apple's second setback in Latin America after a Brazilian patent office a month ago approved the iPhone trademark to a local electronics maker IGB Eletronica SA.

That Brazilian firm, better known by its brand name Gradiente, owned rights to the iPhone name since 2000, long before Apple introduced its handset. In the case of Mexico-based Ifone SA, it had registered the 'Ifone' trademark back in 2003 and was making proper use of it, the nation's Supreme Court ruled Friday...

Comparison video: iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S4

Cody Lee ∙ March 15, 2013

You saw this coming. Since the moment Samsung unveiled its new flagship Galaxy S4 handset yesterday, the iPhone 5 comparisons have been flying about nonstop. So a video comparison of the two devices was inevitable.

This clip from the folks over at PhoneArena shows the i5 and S4 side by side, and their many differences, from display quality to build quality. It also showcases some of the the Galaxy S4's unique new software features...

100,000 die-hard fans want to keep Reader alive, Google wouldn’t budge

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 24, 2018

A petition to keep Google Reader alive, available at Change.org, already has more than a hundred thousand signatures. After the Internet giant Tuesday shocked the tech world announcing it will discontinue the service after July 1, 2013, the petition crossed 50,000 signatures in less than 24 hours as Reader die-hards scrambled to keep the web app alive. While the decision to axe Reader might actually revitalize the industry, Google refuses to change its mind, Friday news reports indicate...

iPad vs. Paper

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR4mlLiyjYo#!

As this commercial amusingly asserts, there isn't an app for everything after all. Apple's tablet can replace paper most of the time and assist us in almost every way but one, revealed at the very end. Meet us in comments...

Saurik’s new jailbreak tweak lets you queue up music in the stock Music app

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 15, 2013

It's fairly rare when the mastermind behind Cydia decides to create his own jailbreak tweak, but when he does, the masses take note. That's exactly what happened when Cyueue was dropped in Cydia recently. Cyueue is a new jailbreak tweak from Saurik, which adds a new queueing option in the stock Music app.

If you're throwing a house party, then Cyueue is the perfect answer for you. It allows you to keep the current song playing, while still queueing up the records you'd like to hear next. Take a look inside to see how it works.

Budget iPhone: colors, 4-inch screen, super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

Apple's budget iPhone, a rumored all-new design targeted at emerging markets where carriers rarely subsidize cell phones, will be offered in a range of colors and have a "super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber", one reliable analyst wrote in a Friday note to clients. The specs for the device were apparently decided on back in 2011 and call for a four-inch screen resembling the iPhone 5.

Dismissing talk of a 4.5-inch entry-level iPhone, the report argues Apple is "unlikely to abruptly change" its stance on screen size just because Android makers are increasingly building phablets. Jump past the fold for more tidbits...

Dropbox acquires email startup Mailbox

Cody Lee ∙ March 15, 2013

That didn't take long. It's only been a few months since we first heard about Mailbox, the fresh new iPhone email client. And it's only been about about a month since it actually launched. But it looks like they're going to be bought out.

Dropbox has announced this morning that it will be acquiring the Mailbox team. There's no word on price yet, but it looks like all 13 team members will be joining Dropbox, and Mailbox will continue to operate as a standalone app...

Inside 2013 Apple TV: redesigned power-savvy A5 chip, cost optimizations

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple shipped five million Apple TVs last year for a nearly $500 million in additional revenue. That’s a very successful hobby and while talk of Tim Cook & Co. building a standalone HD TV set remains just that - rumor mongering - Apple has quietly retooled the $99 set-top box, with most of the under-the-hood tweaks aimed at optimizing production costs.

AnandTech took a peek inside the gadget and found some minor changes. The publication found a significant reduction in the new model’s power consumption, directly related to the optimized A5 chip, leading AnandTech to speculate that perhaps Apple could use this chip for another device, “perhaps one powered by a battery” (hint: iWatch)...

Duke Nukem II coming to iOS in April

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZJc2W8SBE5U

Duke Nukem II side-scroller, which celebrates its 20th anniversary, is coming to Apple's iPhone and iPad in April, Interceptor Entertainment and 3D Realms announced. The universal binary will be priced at $1.99 and include all of the 32 level from the original levels, enhanced with multitouch controls, a new soundtrack, refreshed graphics, online leaderboards and more. Above is the launch trailer above for a look at Duke Nukem 2 iOS in action and I've included a few more details right after the break...

‘PodSwitcher’ available on Cydia

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 15, 2013

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

PodSwitcher is a jailbreak tweak available on Cydia's BigBoss repo for $1.49. The purpose of the tweak is to allow you to interface with the stock Music app via the iPhone's app switcher. PodSwitcher adds advanced controls that you won't find with the stock Music controls found in the app switcher. Along with the advanced controls, you can peruse your entire music library using various built-in animations like Cover Flow, Linear, Rotary, and more. If you've given PodSwitcher a try, share your experience with the tweak in our comments.

George Lucas-founded THX takes Apple to court

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

THX, a high-fidelity audio-visual reproduction standard, has filed a lawsuit against Apple before a federal court in Northern California, alleging patent infringement, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

THX was founded by the famous Star Wars producer George Lucas, who used to control the company through his Lucasfilm enterprise between 1983-2001.

THX is now independent and no further details, including a copy of the complaint, were available at press time. Neither Apple nor THX would comment on the news...

Apple’s Tim Cook loses top CEO ranking to Facebook in Glassdoor survey

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

It's uncertain what caused it, but the first cracks are appearing in the honeymoon between Apple CEO Tim Cook and company employees.

After being named the top CEO of 2012, Cook slipped to 18th place, behind Google and Amazon. According to employment site Glassdoor, Apple employees gave Cook a 93 percent approval rating, down from 97 percent last year.

By comparison, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg jumped 14 points to land in the top spot for 2013 with a 99 percent approval rating from employees of the social networking giant...