Year: 2014

Apple’s new retail chief Angela Ahrendts awarded $68 million in stock

Cody Lee ∙ May 5, 2014

Talk about a signing bonus. After officially joining Apple last week, word got out today that Angela Ahrendts has already received 113 thousand units of restricted stock. At today's prices—remember, APPL is back up around $600—the shares would be worth roughly $68 million.

This makes the company's new SVP of retail and online stores one of the highest-paid executives in the industry, but of course, she'll have to wait to cash in. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the full amount won't be available until 2018...

Microsoft schedules Surface press event to unveil iPad mini competitor

Jake Smith ∙ May 5, 2014

Microsoft has sent invitations to members of the media for an event on May 20 where it's expected to unveil a smaller version of the Surface tablet.

The Surface branding and "join us for a small gathering" tagline hint smaller hardware will be the main attraction at the event. The tablet is expected to be called the Surface Mini, and could help fill a gap in Microsoft's tablet line-up to help it go after both the iPad Air and iPad mini after more than a year of sluggish tablet sales.

How to turn an iPod touch into an iPhone

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated January 27, 2018

While the iPod touch might be dwindling in sales, it remains one of the best and cheapest portable media players on the market. I like to think of it as a gateway product to the iPhone nowadays, which is exactly what it was for me. I received the original iPod touch as a Christmas gift over six years ago, upgraded to the second- and fourth-generation models, and eventually moved on to an iPhone.

I haven't looked back since, but I know there are quite a few users that rely on the iPod touch as their day-to-day device. That inspired me to write this guide on how to turn an iPod touch into an iPhone, something that is more possible than you might think. For the purposes of this article, I am assuming that you have at least a fourth-generation iPod touch running iOS 6 or later. Some of the apps and accessories listed work with older devices and iOS versions…

Samsung employees allegedly swallowed documents containing legal evidence

Jake Smith ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Following Apple winning its second trial in the US against Samsung for patent infringement, Vanity Fair is out with a piece extensively detailing the Apple and Samsung smartphone war that has been raging on for years.

It details the back-story behind the two smartphone giants and the public trial, like misconduct at Samsung revolving price fixing, then COO Tim Cook expressing his concern over infringement to Samsung president Jay Y. Lee in August 2010, and theorizes why Apple may win the battles but still lose the war...

Apple stock crosses $600 per share for the first time since 2012

Jake Smith ∙ May 5, 2014

Investors are liking Apple's direction lately, pushing the stock to $600 per share for the first time since 2012. Shares of AAPL closed at $600.96 each on Monday, a nice hike up from the under $400 price the stock was sitting at in April 2013.

Apple's shares were up more than $8 for the day to reach the 52 week high, bringing the Cupertino-based company's market capitalization to a hefty $517.65 billion.

Recalculated damages in Apple vs. Samsung suit leaves $119M award unchanged

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

After finding Samsung guilty of infringing upon three of the five Apple patents included in the second Apple vs. Samsung suit in California and awarding the iPhone maker maker a paltry $119.6 million in damages, the jury on Monday found that the Galaxy maker did not owe Apple any additional money.

Therefore, the original verdict has stayed intact.

Judge Lucy Koh asked the jurors to recalculate the damages after Apple's legal sharks complained that one infringing Samsung device was left out of the final tally. Hit the jump for the full details...

Metal Slug Defense turns the run-and-gun series into a tower defense game

Lory Gil ∙ May 5, 2014

The prolific Metal Slug series of games first launched in the mid 1990s on Neo-Geo. There have been dozens of subsequent releases and spinoffs staring the skilled military team of fighters, including a touch version of Metal Slug that has since been removed from the App Store.

Metal Slug Defense is a completely new take on the game, mixing the look and elements of the original with a tower defense style mechanic that has impressed fans of the genre instead of driving them into a rage…

Apple donates $500,000 to San Francisco anti-poverty charity

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Apple has joined SF Gives, a local San Francisco anti-poverty initiative, and has donated half a million dollars to the charity, sources revealed to Forbes Monday. SF Gives was set up by the CEO of non-profit Tipping Point, Daniel Lurie, and Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff.

It was established in March to help fight poverty and fund charitable programs in the Bay Area.

Apple is one of many companies supporting the cause. Other corporate contributors include Google, LinkedIn and Zynga, to name a few...

iOS bug leaves email attachments unencrypted, Apple working on a fix

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Do you access sensitive document attachments on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, stuff like contracts, invoices, bank statements and what not?

If so, your security and privacy could be compromised because iOS is storing email attachments in the clear - that is, in the unencrypted form - thus making stored attachments easily readable by using a piece of software to browse a person's on-device email folder for an IMAP account.

A researcher who claims to have discovered this security flaw has found that iOS 7.0.4 and later - including the latest iOS 7.1.1 - do not encrypt email attachments...

Reuters: Apple creating full-blown health and fitness services platform akin to App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 5, 2014

We "know" from rumors that Apple with iOS 8 is planning to introduce a new application called Healthbook said to aggregate health and fitness data pulled from a variety of sources, be it third-party fitness/health apps found in the App Store, dedicated tracking accessories or more.

But that could be just the tip of the iceberg.

According to a mobile health executive who spoke to Reuters, the iPhone maker is looking to create a full-blown health and fitness ecosystem inspired by the App Store...

#AmazonCart lets you add stuff to your shopping basket without leaving Twitter

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Are you a frequent Amazon shopper and a heavy Twitter user? If so, you'll be delighted to know that you can now add products to your shopping basket without ever leaving Twitter. It couldn't be easier: simply find a tweet containing an Amazon product link, reply with #AmazonCart and voilà - the product in question gets quickly saved in your Amazon shopping basket.

You can add as many products as you want this way before checking out at your convenience later. #AmazonCart is currently available in the United States and in the United Kingdom, where it's called #AmazonBasket...

Twelve South Compass 2 review: this ultra-portable stand takes your iPad places

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 5, 2014

In my final preparations for moving to the seacoast this coming weekend, it's dawned on me how my workflow will be a lot different, whether I like it or not.

For the next six months, I'll be living and working in a myriad of places, spending most of my blogging time at the picturesque beaches at the beautiful Mediterranean city of Rovinj, situated on the north Adriatic Sea in Croatia.

Thanks to its all-day battery, a 13-inch 2013 MacBook Air will be the cornerstone of my mobile office, with a little help from my 128GB iPad Air doubling as a cellular hotspot and a second screen device for social media interactions.

I'm also adamant to have a flexible iPad stand wherever I go, one that would prop up my device for easier reading and at the same time provide the flexibility of prolonged typing at slightly slanted angles.

Desktop iPad stands such as the recently reviewed Slope by Dekke are out of the question - they're bulky and too impractical for outdoor use. Luckily, there's no shortage of mobile stands that are a joy to carry around.

The second-generation Compass for iPad by premium accessory maker Twelve South is a dream come true for all you road warriors out there who strive as much for portable nirvana solutions as yours truly.

After spending nearly a month with the Compass 2, I'm happy to report that it's one of the best portable tablets stands around. It's so compact it fits in your pocket (or a purse/handbag) and versatile enough to support slanted typing or prop up the device...