iPhone News

Microsoft’s SkyDrive app redesigned for iOS 7

Continuing with today's line of app updates, Microsoft has posted a new version of its SkyDrive client for the iPhone and iPad. The update brings the app to version 4.0, and includes a handful of improvements and an all new design for iOS 7.

The client itself allows you to upload photos, videos and other files to Microsoft's cloud service. And today's release adds Camera Backup for automatic media uploads, improved integration with Office Mobile for iPhone and OneNote, and more...

Southwest becomes first airline to offer gate-to-gate Wi-Fi service

Since the FAA started allowing usage of personal electronic devices during all phases of flight last month, most airlines have now embraced the new rule, letting people play Words With Friends from takeoff to landing. Often one step ahead of competitions in terms of services, Southwest Airlines takes this a bit further and now allows passengers to stay connected to Wi-Fi from gate to gate.

Personal assistant Donna gets smarter meeting scheduling, Lock screen calling and more

Remember Donna, a third-party personal assistant for the iPhone by San Francisco-based Incredible Labs? Cody explained in June how the program takes advantage of such features as Smart Notifications, Anticipatory Calendar and GPS directions to manage your day efficiently to make sure you’re never late again.

Incredible Labs today pushed version 2.0, Donna's second major update since launch. As you could image, it brings a host of visual changes in line with the iOS 7 design principles.

But more importantly, version 2.0 takes Donna's prediction engine to the next level by prompting you when you need to leave for your appointment based on your location and ensuring that meeting participants are notified in a timely manner in case you’re running late after all...

China Mobile expected to launch iPhone December 18

After years of negotiations and several months of rumors, it looks like China Mobile is finally going to land the iPhone next month. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the carrier is expected to announce the "new brand" for mobile services on December 18.

Apple and China Mobile have long been reported to be in partnership discussions, and Tim Cook has been seen at the company's headquarters in Beijing multiple times. But for whatever reason, the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement. Until now...

ESPN rebrands ScoreCenter app, adds League ‘Clubhouses’ and other features

ESPN’s rather excellent and successful (43 million downloads thus far) ScoreCenter app for the iPhone and iPad has just gotten a tad better as today's update brings more video content, a new League Clubhouses feature, enhanced game pages and a brand new name. Yup, ESPN decided to rebrand ScoreCenter as SportsCenter, which better reflects its emphasis on all things sports.

SportsCenter now provides one-tap access to GameCast live scoring information while the Clubhouses feature collects content from various sports leagues into a single hub. As part of the update, the app's appearance has been refreshed slightly to better match the iOS 7 look and feel...

Rumor: Apple now testing 4.9-inch iPhone 6 and iPhone 5c successor

A Chinese blog that leaked a few credible Apple parts earlier in the year is out with a new report that's making the rounds this morning. Apparently, Apple has begun testing upcoming iPhone models with larger screens that go beyond the current four-inch form factor the company inaugurated with the iPhone 5 release a year ago. A large-screen iPhone 6 was mulled before, but this is the first time anyone mentioned an iPhone 5c successor adopting a bigger screen as well.

On the flip side, it's impossible to take these reports at face value. These things are often misinterpreted and even Tim Cook bothered to urge people not to read too much into such a complex beast as Apple's supply chain. Moreover, it goes without saying that Apple is constantly experimenting with various form factors, which could explain these rumors...

Clumsy Ninja finally available in US App Store

It's been a long 12 months for NaturalMotion studios and its Clumsy Ninja game. After drawing oohs and aahs from the crowd at Apple's iPhone 5 event last fall, the title essentially disappeared, with no word on when or if it would be released.

That changed, though, a month or two ago, when Clumsy Ninja started showing up in international App Stores. And we're happy to say that this week, the game's finally landed in the United States App Store, and is now available for download...

Retina iPad mini shortages deepen as shipping estimates slip at U.S. carriers

Supply of Apple's iPad mini with Retina display remains tight as the holiday season approaches fast, a new report has it. The Wi-Fi + Cellular models appear to be in short supply as the device is basically a no-show at three major United States wireless carriers - AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile. The three telcos all back-ordered on the cellular version, with shipping estimates slipping to December.

In one instance, T-Mobile is now showing the device back-ordered 6-8 weeks. As for T-Mobile and AT&T, their web stores show 6-8 week and 21-28 day delivery estimates, respectively...

Tim Cook issues Business Conduct Policy video message to employees

In an unusual move yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook reached out to company employees via a video message urging them to familiarize themselves with Apple's Business Conduct Policy. The message, posted to Apple's internal system, quotes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr saying “The time is always right to do what is right” in order to encourage employees to speak up about conduct that may violate Apple's policy.

Along with the video message, employees also received an email from Apple's top lawyer who goes on to reiterate Apple’s core values of honesty, respect, confidentiality, and the "critical obligation of every Apple employee to adhere to legal principles", such as antitrust and anti-corruption laws.

Apple has even put together a new code of conduct iBook for employees with multimedia content including galleries, video, audio and multitouch widgets. The full message is right after the break...

Pinterest app updated with new ‘Place Pins’ for planning trips

Pinterest announced last night that it's moving into new territory: travel. The popular photo-sharing service announced Place Pins, a new feature that will allow its users to share photos of the amazing places they’re visiting.

That new feature is now available in the iOS app. And with it, users can essentially plan vacations by easily adding maps to their pin boards, as well as other useful travel information like hotel addresses and phone numbers...

Good deal: get Parallels + 7 awesome Mac apps for one super low price

Black Friday is nine days away, but that's not stopping companies from advertising huge holiday discounts like there's no tomorrow. Notable deals Cody told you about in the past week or so include 28% off the iPhone-controlled Cobra iHelicopter, 46% off id America's iPhone 5/5s accessory bundle, 55% off Jony Ive and Inside Steve’s Brain book combo and more.

You can put Parallels on your shopping list as the virtualization company is now offering eight great Mac apps for the price of Parallels Desktop 9 alone - that's 82 percent off or a cool $356 in savings right off the bat...

Tumblr redesigns iPhone and iPad app for iOS 7

Tumblr, the popular blogging platform that Yahoo acquired for north of $1 billion earlier in the year, has won me over with its sleek little iOS app.

I'm sure the millions of mobile bloggers would agree that Tumblr for iPhone lets really just about anyone publish their own news stories, images, videos and other content in just a few taps, without too much hassle or messing with complicated CMSs.

Though Tumblr wasn't immediately updated for the new iOS 7 look following the software's September 18 release, today's refresh has seen to that. Tumblr for iPhone and iPad has been bumped to version 3.5 and the biggest news is of course the revamped user interface which now follows overall aesthetics and animations of Apple's latest mobile OS.

As the saying goes, that's not all for Tumblr now has a few new tricks up its sleeve that allow for even easier mobile blogging. As per usual, I've included a few nice screenies along with some highlights after the break...