Oliver Haslam

San Francisco Police Admits to Helping Apple Retrieve Missing iPhone 5 Prototype

Oliver Haslam ∙ September 3, 2011

An already strange story has taken a turn for the downright silly, with the news that the San Francisco Police did actually have a hand in the searching of a 22 year old's home, contrary to the authorities' own accounts.

We told you yesterday how Apple's own security firm had taken it upon themselves to search the home of one Sergio Calderón in a hunt for a missing iPhone 5 prototype. Calderón had been told that the people involved were SFPD, but the department's own files said that they had no hand in the search, and furthermore, they had not had any contact from Apple regarding the device.

This now appears to have been incorrect.

In a report for The San Francisco Weekly, we learn that the SFPD did in fact send some officers along for the ride...

Sky News for iPad – Another News App Hides Behind the Paywall

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated November 13, 2019

BSkyB's Sky News iPad app has been so well received by both users and industry pundits alike that the company has now taken the decision to put the app's content behind a paywall, removing the free content that has been available since the app's release.

The move had been planned, according to Pocket-Lint, and now the app's 500,000 users will have to pay £4.99 a month to continue using the app, unless they happen to be a Sky Television subscriber, in which case the app will continue to be free...

iHome iW1 Brings Wireless Audio to Your Home with AirPlay for $300

Oliver Haslam ∙ September 2, 2011

iPhone and iPod docking station/speaker combos are nothing new – they've been around forever and come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, with models to fit every budget. iHome has taken the tried and tested formula that we've all been using for so long, and added AirPlay to the mix to create the iHome iW1: an AirPlay-equipped wireless audio system.

Set to go on sale on September 26th, the iHome iW1 will retail for $300, according to Engadget...

Doodle Jump Leaps Onto the iPad

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated March 18, 2019

Lima Sky, the team behind the award winning and hugely popular iPhone game Doodle Jump, has released an iPad version of the platformer. Sporting newly rendered full-screen graphics and other iPad-only features, Doodle Jump for iPad is almost guaranteed to be as well received as its older brother.

Priced at $2.99 and available to download now, Doodle Jump for iPad promises to bring the bouncing madness to the big screen...

LG’s New Robotic Vacuum Can Be Controlled By Your iPhone

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Robots might be set to take over the world, but if they're anything at all like LG's new robotic vacuum, we'll be able to control them using our iPhones.

The Roboking VR680VMNC, or "Rob" as his friends call him, is a robotic vacuum that packs three cameras and connects to your home's WiFi network, enabling iPhone users to control the device from the comfort of their handsets.

The on-board cameras stream video back to the iPhone app, too, turning the Roboking into an exceptionally mobile security camera...

Apple Details Smart iDevice Diagnostic Tool in Patent

Oliver Haslam ∙ September 1, 2011

It's Apple patent time again here at iDownloadbBlog, and the latest to be discovered by Patently Apple points to a fancy new iTunes based diagnostic tool for iOS devices.

The new tool will create and monitor in-depth change logs, as well as check things like the device's location and other physical conditions. The idea is that the logs show what a device was doing and where it was doing it at definable points in time. The patent mentions the logs could be generated at every restart, every day, or every time a particular action is performed...

iOS 5 Beta 7 Proves iTunes Match Really Isn’t a Streaming Service

Oliver Haslam ∙ September 1, 2011

Soon after the iTunes Match beta went live earlier this week, reports started flooding in that the service did indeed support the streaming of music, a feature that wasn't advertised by Apple during the iCloud announcement. Many were originally disappointed that streaming was not included in iTunes Match, so the news that it was actually there was met with glee and happiness all around.

What people had discovered was that if you tapped on a song stored in iCloud, it started playing. If you started a new one and then went back after turning on Airplane Mode, the original song hadn't cached, which led people to believe it was streaming. But after Apple denied that streaming was included in iCloud, more questions starting being asked...

Apple Releases New iPad Ad: Learn

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated July 7, 2017

Apple has launched another new ad to show off its iPad 2, with the theme this time around being learning.

Running just 31 seconds long, the new commercial runs through a variety of apps, with the common theme being that we can all learn something new, whether it be a new language, a new skill, or even mastering a skill we didn't know we had...

Sprint Raises Early Termination Fee to $350, iPhone Incoming?

Oliver Haslam ∙ August 31, 2011

Sprint has increased its early termination fee from $200 to $350, bringing it in line with both AT&T and Verizon. The new fee only applies to 'advanced devices' which, we assume, means smartphones and tablets.

According to an article on CNET, the fee will be prorated for now, depending on how long you have left on your current contract, which kind of makes sense. And that's the reason we're surprised Sprint is making this move...

UK City Council to Buy iPads For 22 Garbage Trucks

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

Every so often a story comes along that requires a second read. This story took three or four.

If we're fully understanding this, and we fear we might be, the council of one UK town is set to spend £9000 ($14,680) on iPads. iPads for what you ask?

iPads for garbage trucks. Yeah, really...

Spotify Now Open to iOS Developers

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Online music streaming service Spotify has launched a new API that will allow independent iOS developers to bring the service to their own apps. The API, called Libspotify, means we could see Spotify built into all kinds of iPad, iPhone and iPod touch applictions moving forward.

While there is currently no word on whether the new Libspotify API will find itself to Android, it's perhaps interesting to note that the API is offered on a none-commercial basis, meaning paid-for apps will not be allowed to use it...

Elgato to Launch iPad TV Tuner

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated November 13, 2019

Elgato, the company well known for making TV tuners and the like for the Mac, is set to release an iPad accessory that will effectively turn an iPad 2 into a freeview television.

Aimed squarely at the European market, Elgato's tuner will come complete with a telescopic aerial and will receive the DVB-T frequencies. A companion app will also be available in the App Store, which promises the ability to record live television using the dock connector tuner accessory...