Month: April 2013

Two years later, DEA learns the government can’t break into Apple’s iMessage

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 4, 2013

Apple's iMessage platform has gone through its share of teething problems, ranging from issues related to iOS devices continuing to send and receive messages, even after being remotely wiped and having their SIM cards deactivated, to iOS saving deleted iMessage attachments to a recent exploit which involved denial of service attacks leading to a series of spam messages crashing the stock iOS Messages app. Although unpleasant and worrying, these problems are mostly localized.

When it comes to government surveillance, however, iMessage is bullet proof and the agile government, of course, has only recently become aware of this. According to an internal document from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), instant messages exchanged between iOS users through the iMessage platform are "impossible to intercept" due to strong iCloud encryption...

Facebook introduces new ‘Home’ for Android devices

Cody Lee ∙ April 4, 2013

Facebook just finished up its media event, and to our surprise, most of the discussion was not about a new smartphone. Instead, it was about Facebook's new 'Home' launcher for Android devices that promises to put "people first in an app first world."

Home's not a forked version of Android, but rather a deep software integration with Google's OS that features a family of Facebook apps and a gorgeous UI. It changes the look of everything, from the Lock and Home screen to Messaging and more...

Jony Ive envisions mail window, media controls and more for iPad’s Smart Cover

Ed Sutherland ∙ April 4, 2013

Who thought Apple's Smart Cover, first designed to simply protect the iPad screen without adding too much bulk to the device's form factor, would grow to become another platform for the firm's design guru, Jony Ive? A new patent application which identifies Ive as one of the inventors suggests the Smart Cover could become a mini screen, displaying new email and controlling music playback, among other possibilities.

In a patent filing published earlier this week by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Apple includes a redesigned Smart Cover which includes buttons to control your iTunes playback, along with a window where you can quickly check new e-mails or incoming texts...

How to get the new LastPic tweak to work with biteSMS

Cody Lee ∙ April 4, 2013

Last month, Filippo Bigarella released a handy little tweak called LastPic. For those who missed it, LastPic lets you quickly add the last photo you took to an iMessage conversation, similar to the Tweetbot function.

Unfortunately, the tweak is only compatible with the iMessage app. But luckily we've discovered a simple hack that allows you to use it with the popular jailbreak app biteSMS. And yes, we've got a tutorial for you...

France Telecom CEO: gold rush is over, budget iPhone is inevitable

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Apple's rumored less-pricey iPhone has been envisioned over and over again in some damn good renderings. The rumor mills have been churning out their fair share of whispers on a regular basis and both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg have thrown their credibility behind the meme. But despite all this crazy talk and tremendous speculation, Apple is seemingly unimpressed as the company's marketing honcho kinda shot down the rumor, recently telling the press his company isn't one to blindly pursue market share.

Be that as it may, analysts warn there's only that much room to grow in the saturated high-end smartphone market. Therefore, conventional wisdom has it, Apple's going to need a more affordable device sooner than later. This has now become a sentiment shared by one wireless carrier CEO who cautions of changing consumer behavior as a lot of folks are now unwilling to pay north of $600 for an unlocked smartphone...

Apple yanks China app carrying books critical of the government

Ed Sutherland ∙ April 4, 2013

Apple has again moved to prevent anger from China. The Cupertino firm has pulled one bookstore app from the China iTunes store which hosted several titles by authors critical of the government.

Among the ten titles affected by the bookstore app's removal were three by a banned Chinese author and political activist. The books focus on the long-running dispute over China's occupation of Tibet, as well as the author's detention by the country's state security.

The action follows an apology by Apple CEO Tim Cook, after criticism over the iPhone maker's warranty policy for smartphones sold in the country...

Apple’s perfectionism could delay iSpaceship further as budget balloons to $5 billion

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 4, 2013

Apple's upcoming 2.8 million square foot circular glass structure, officially called Campus 2 and also known as iSpaceship, could face further delays because it is now reportedly $2 billion over budget. Originally estimated to cost a whopping $3 billion to build, the budget for the new home to about 12,000 employees has now skyrocketed to nearly five billion dollars, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. Because of the risings construction costs, Apple’s Campus 2 could easily become an investor relations nightmare, the publication observes...

Flurry: one-third of app time spent on games

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The average U.S. smartphone or tablet user spends two hours and 38 minutes on their device, the majority inside an app.

Just over half an hour is spent inside a mobile browser, while more than two hours each day is spent inside apps, such as Facebook.

According to the mobile analytics firm Flurry, games top the list of most-used apps, while Facebook is threatening to overtake Safari, Apple's dominant web browser, Opera Software's Opera Mini and other popular mobile web browsers as the most-popular way to access social and other content on the web...

Google: missing iTunes Store search links only technical mistake

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

If you're one of those conspiracy theorists, there's a bit of a tempest in a teapot happening over Google's search results. On the surface, it appears web links to iOS apps hosted on iTunes are being buried under related but not Apple-endorsed web sites. Meanwhile, some iOS apps from Google prominently appear at the top of search results. Is Google, which promotes its Android mobile operating system as an alternative to Apple's iOS, using its mammoth search database as a competitive weapon?

Or are Apple fans seeing phantoms? The Mountain View, California-headquartered Internet giant blames it all on a technical problem...

Track down the elusive Mister X as he wanders through Scotland Yard

Lory Gil ∙ April 4, 2013

Scotland Yard is a cops-and-robbers style evasion game that is a digital replica of the 1980s board game of the same name. Players take turns trying to figure out where the elusive “Mister X” is hiding out by tracking his possible whereabouts based on his movement abilities. If you can’t find him after 22 moves, then he has successfully outwitted his opponents. If you choose to play as Mister X, your only goal is to stay hidden until the cops give up.

The Scotland Yard app has been a popular board game app for iOS since its launch in May of 2012. The original European distributor of Scotland Yard, Ravensburger, has recreated the complex board game for iPad and iPhone and we wanted to know how it compares on both devices.

As a die-hard fan of the board game genre, I’ve spent some time with Scotland Yard on the iPhone, as well as the iPad and have an in-depth look at how the game plays on both devices...

Samsung Experience Shops coming to 1,400 Best Buy stores to fight Apple’s retail lead

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated May 2, 2017

Responding to Apple's retail lead, the South Korea based maker of Galaxy smartphones and tablets has made a major move in partnership with Best Buy, which also sells Apple products. Samsung is calling it the final component in a three-legged approach to competing with Apple in the United States. Beginning Monday, April 8, the South Korean smartphone maker will open hundreds of so-called Samsung Experience Shops in Best Buy stores across the country.

The 460 square-foot shops will be at the front of the stores, staffed by Samsung product experts. In a first of its kind move, Samsung will gather all of its products, showing how the Galaxy S4 smartphone can transfer content among the company's smart TVs, laptops, and tablets. By June, the firm hopes to have smaller mini shops in around another 1,000 locations owned by the retail electronics giant, according to a Thursday report...

Big Jawbone Jambox update improves streaming to iOS devices and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

When it comes to portable Bluetooth speakers, the Jambox is by far my favorite. It may not be the best-sounding, or give you the most bang for your buck, but I love its build quality and design, and the fact that Jawbone issues regular updates.

In fact, it just rolled out an update today for its Big Jambox line, bringing its firmware to version 2.0. The update features new AAC support for iOS 6.1, which will provide better audio streaming with less dropout, and improved battery life...