Jake Smith

Steve Jobs said no to the new Apple TV UI design five years ago

Jake Smith ∙ March 24, 2012

A former Apple TV engineer took to Twitter last night discussing the latest UI that has been implemented on the Apple TV. For those unfamiliar, the new Apple TV UI was announced at the March 7th media event, along with the new 1080p Apple TV. The new UI isn't much of a change, but brings larger buttons to the home page. Some love it, many hate it.

Michael Margolis, who formerly served as an Apple TV UI designer, said on his Twitter last night that Steve Jobs said no to the latest UI changes five years ago, however Apple's senior executives recently approved the new UI...

Rumor: next iPhone to feature 4.6-inch display

Jake Smith ∙ March 21, 2012

Now that the rumors for the third-generation iPad are over, rumors regarding Apple's next iPhone are kicking in full swing. Reporting on a rumor that's been floating around for quite awhile, Maeil Business Newspaper (via Reuters) says that Apple's next iPhone will feature a 4.6-inch display.

The upgraded screen size has been rumored to be featured in the iPhone for quite awhile. Many Android devices include a larger 4-inch screen, including Samsung's popular Galaxy S II. The 4.6-inch display would be Retina quality and manufactured by Samsung and LG...

iPhoto for iOS gains 1 million users since launch

Jake Smith ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

There have been many mixed reviews over Apple's newest app, iPhoto for iOS. The app allows users to make quick edits to their photos and then share them across social networks. Some say they love it, while others say it's too clunky to use.

However, that's not stopping customers from downloading the new app. Apple told The Loop today that the $4.99 app is now being used by 1 million users, since its launch 10 days ago...

Leaked screenshot suggests Verizon shared data plans are coming soon

Jake Smith ∙ March 20, 2012

A new plan from Verizon that will allow its customers to share a data plan between their iPhone and iPad has been rumored to launch for quite awhile. In May of 2011, Verizon’s CFO Fran Shammo hinted towards it rolling out, but offered no time frame.

In January, we saw a picture of Verizon's back-end that hinted to the plan launching soon. Today, a screenshot of the family data usage calculator that will be used when first signing up for the plan has leaked, showing that the plan may be launching soon...

Apple announces it has sold 3 million new iPads so far

Jake Smith ∙ March 19, 2012

While the company's stock just closed at an all-time high this afternoon, Apple has just announced some staggering numbers. According to a press release just issued by the Cupertino-based company, it's sold 3 million iPads since its launch on Friday. Customers just couldn't wait to get their hands on the new Retina display glory.

Press Release below:

Apple stock closes at over $600 for first time

Jake Smith ∙ March 19, 2012

Today has been a pretty big day for those who currently own Apple stock. The Cupertino-based company announced this morning on a conference call with CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer that it will be issuing divdends and stock buybacks.

The stock market is liking Apple's announcement. While it hit $600 per share four days ago, Apple's stock has just closed at over $600 for the first time..

Apple brings community Q&A to online store

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

Apple already has one of the most customer friendly shopping experiences around with its online store. An easy to navigate UI combined with pages full of information and a great customer support staff make it one of the best. Today, Apple has added a new element in hopes of making things a bit easier when you're buying your new iPhone or iPad online.

Apple has introduced an 'Answers from the community' section that allows customers to ask any question and get quick responses from fellow Apple fanboys. For more direct questions, this new section of the site should be of more assistance than Apple's support forums...

New iPad already accounts for 5% of total iPad traffic on the web

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

Analysts have already predicted the new iPad having a record weekend, perhaps selling over a million units of the new tablet. The new iPad out of Cupertino went on sale Friday, and while Apple hasn't sold out in its retail stores yet, demand for the new tablet is said to be high. New customers are especially interested in the iPad's beautiful Retina display.

According to new numbers from advertising network Chitika, the new iPad already accounts for 5% of all iPads that are currently rummaging through the Internet...

Apple TV contains 8GB of flash storage and 512MB of RAM

Jake Smith ∙ March 18, 2012

We finally got our hands on the new Apple TV last Thursday and have had the chance to bask in its 1080p glory. While we already knew there was a single-core A5 processor inside, a forum user from XBMC.org has done a teardown of the device to reveal its insides.

From the teardown, we find that the new Apple TV still has the same 8GB of flash storage like its second-generation brother, but has received a bump to 512MB of RAM...

You can use an AT&T SIM card in a Verizon iPad

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

For those of you who are getting your hands on the Verizon LTE iPad today, MacRumors notes a cool trick if you have an AT&T SIM card laying around. According to their findings, the Verizon iPad's micro-SIM slot can actually be unlocked to use AT&T's 3G network.

There's no real hacking required either. All you have to do is pop-out the Verizon LTE micro-SIM card and pop-in the AT&T 3G micro-SIM card. This is a great trick for if you're in an area with minimum Verizon coverage...

iPad’s Retina display put under a microscope

Jake Smith ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

Perhaps the highlight feature of the new iPad is its Retina display. And folks I'm not kidding, the Retina display is absolutely gorgeous. It features more pixels than your 1080p HDTV, leaving it to be clearest tablet display that is currently on the market. The Retina display boasts a 2048 x 1536 resolution, which contains a whopping 3.1 million pixels. The eye can't even single the pixels out.

We've already shown you the iPad 2 and iPad 3's display shown off side-by-side, and it's obvious which one is better. Our test was pretty unscientific, but hey, it worked. However, software engineer Lukas Mathias put both the iPad 2 and new iPad's display under a microscope, to take a look at the total pixel count, giving us a better look...

Steve Wozniak has been in line for the new iPad since Thursday

Jake Smith ∙ March 16, 2012

While Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak could probably stroll into Apple's HQ in Cupertino to pick himself up an iPad, he's made it very clear that he'd rather join in on the excitement and wait in line. Wozniak was first in line for the iPhone 4S this fall.

This time around isn't any different. Wozniak has joined other enthusiastic Apple fans to wait for the new iPad to go on sale. It's already hit the East Coast this morning, and will be available on the West Coast in about an hour.

Wozniak has been in line for the iPad since yesterday afternoon: