Month: March 2013

This is China’s iPhone 5S

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82Xj-cfjuGU

With the iPhone 5S reportedly a few months away, ardent copycat vendors in Shenzen, China took it upon themselves to come up with an iPhone 5S of their own. Meet the GooPhone i5S, a total rip-off based on Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2 which sells for just $149 contract-free.

Now, imagine if Apple actually made a sub-$200 budget iPhone - or offered a $149 off-contract iPhone 5 for that matter (its cheapest contract-free handset is the $450 iPhone 4). GooPhone's cheap iPhone lookalike - and I'm using the term loosely here - goes on sale tomorrow and the first 1,000 buyers will pay only $99 for it...

Very early iOS device prototype surfaces

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 11, 2013

The monster 2012 Apple v. Samsung trial was a treasure trove of various iPhone prototypes that we had never seen previously. These not only gave us a glimpse into Apple's creative process, we also got to see the various bodies Apple had been exploring for its then still work-in-progress iPhone. But this is something entirely different from everything so far.

For the first time, at least to my knowledge, we are offered a look into an extremely early iOS device prototype. The thing looks like something engineers would duct-tape together after a brainstorming session in Apple's kitchen. As you can see, it has a bunch of chips, tacked-on ports and a massive screen measuring five by seven inches. A former Apple employee said that "at the time, it was really impressive seeing basically a version of OS X running on it"...

Apple may pay to use iPhone name in Brazil

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Apple may be able to use the iPhone trademark to sell its smartphone in Brazil. Lawyers have requested 30 days to reach an agreement outside of court, according to a weekend report. Brazil's largest daily newspaper reported the two parties have dropped the lawsuit seeking ownership of the 'iPhone' trademark and plan a "pacific" agreement - likely to include a cash payment from the iPhone maker...

New Apple supplier concerns drag share down

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

Spring is just around the corner, the sun is shining and new concerns about Apple suppliers appear like so many dandelions. Never mind CEO Tim Cook said it's impossible to determine the health of the iPhone maker simply by looking at suppliers.

Just as Washington, DC trades in political rumors, Wall Street and Silicon Valley are back with new scuttlebutt about Apple's supply chain.

As a result, Apple's stock dipped lower Monday on word that orders to suppliers were the worst on record - at least for one analyst. Others believe higher sales of iPad minis versus the larger tablet is cause for concern, while still others forecast a slow summer and then return to profitability...

Rovio to air Toons series through Angry Birds apps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_7JjB0At_s

As we told you, Finland-based Angry Birds maker Rovio continues to milk its franchise with the announcement of an animated series titled Angry Birds Toons. It's premiering on the weekend of March 16 and 17 and today Rovio revealed that it will be airing the episodes directly via its Angry Birds apps, in addition to other more traditional distribution channels.

That's a clever move considering more than 1.7 billion Angry Birds downloads across devices and operating systems. If they offered a standalone Toons app, I don't think many people would download it. The first episode titled 'Chuck Time' will be airing in the Angry Birds Toons channel this Sunday, March 17, with a trailer for it included right after the break...

Samsung leads Apple, Lenovo in China smartphone market

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 11, 2013

An interesting report on what smartphone brand is leading in China leaked over the weekend. It's interesting because most market updates are distributed far and wide. Instead, the South Korean news agency Yonhap published a private report indicating that country's Samsung leads Apple and others in the huge mobile marketplace.

According to the Strategy Analytics report obtained by Yonhap, Samsung is the number one brand in China with 17.7 percent of the market during 2012. Intriguingly, Samsung's rise coincides with a plummeting Nokia, which previously held the top spot...

Philips opens API for Hue lightbulbs to third party devs

Cody Lee ∙ March 11, 2013

Good news for current and potential owners of Philips' app-controlled Hue lightbulbs. The company announced this weekend that there is now an official developer program for the popular LED light set.

This means that we can expect to see more innovative third party applications for the Hue system like Ambify, an iOS app released last week that syncs Philips' lightbulbs with the beat of your music...

Foxconn and TSMC recruit 5,000 workers each ahead of Apple product launches

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 11, 2013

Apple's contract manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry - also know in the Western world as the controversial Foxconn - and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's largest independent semiconductor foundry, will each add 5,000 new jobs just as Apple is conveniently expected to refresh its existing product families and possibly venture into the HD TV and smartwatch markets. If true, the report could also explain "the worst February" Topeka Capital has seen in terms of Apple's supply chain procurement of components...

Apple updates iOS Maps in Japan with bug fixes and other improvements

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Back in February, Apple seeded a beta version of iOS 6.1.1 to developers. The update featured a lengthy change log of some much needed fixes and improvements for its iOS Maps application in Japan.

Of course, Apple forewent that release in order to push out bug fixes for the iPhone 4S, and later Exchange. But it looks like Japan users finally got their new Map data that they've been waiting for today...

How to make your status bar clock fade into view

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 10, 2013

ClockFade is a new jailbreak tweak that forces your status bar clock to fade into view after unlocking to the Home screen. Normally, the status bar abruptly appears with no fade animation, which can be jarring. ClockFade brings smoother fade animations to the table, which are completely adjustable courtesy of preference sliders.

Obviously, this is a small tweak that doesn't bring much to the table as far as features are concerned, but you might be surprised as to how well it performs, and how good it looks in motion.

Apple is doomed…

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 21, 2017

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNklg_Hg98c

OMG, Apple is doomed, run for the hills! Yes, the stock is taking some beating, but business fundamentals look as good as ever. Apple is doing just fine without Steve Jobs and remains the most profitable technology company out there - and by a large margin, too.

That's why I'm glad comedian Bill Maher mocked some media outlets for insisting on a negative spin to their Apple reporting. "What does it take to make people happy in this economy?", he asks rhetorically. "This is our problem, nothing is ever good enough."

He nailed it. Arianna Huffington (rightfully) blames the stock market. Apple should give stock manipulators a finger and just follow in Dell's and Amazon's footsteps and go private again. At least Tim Cook & Co. would no longer have to wear the straight jacket of what these crazypants analysts are expecting. All of Wall Street runs its spreadsheets on Apple devices, by the way...

Microsoft and Samsung try to patent Apple’s already patented pinch-zooming

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 10, 2013

In a 'how low can they go' moment, both software giant Microsoft and the South Korean conglomerate Samsung have moved to patent the pinch-zoom concept that Apple popularized (and patented) on mobile devices with the introduction of the iPhone six years ago, as if Apple's technology never existed.

Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs reportedly hit the roof after HTC in early 2010 launched a handset with pinch-to-zoom functionality, but the two companies recently settled their patent disputes. On the strength of its iPhone patent portfolio, Apple even forced Google to agree to disabling multitouch on early Android devices sold outside the United States.

Now, Apple claims a specific software implementation that's different than that Google used in Jelly Bean, Android version 4.2. Be that as it may, it's funny both Microsoft and Samsung patent filings now suggest pinch zooming was their invention...