iPhone News

Microsoft lures iCloud users with 15GB free SkyDrive storage upgrade

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 7, 2013

Oh Microsoft, you're so cunning. Taking advantage of the impending iCloud storage downgrade, the Windows maker has tweeted out a tempting offer meant to promote its SkyDrive cloud storage service whilst luring customers away from Apple's iCloud.

If you are a former MobileMe member and have received an email from Apple announcing your complimentary iCloud storage is expiring soon, just forward it to HelpMeSkyDrive@outlook.com to claim your fifteen gigabytes of SkyDrive storage, free for a year.

You should take advantage of the promo because Microsoft otherwise sells an additional twenty gigabytes of SkyDrive storage for ten bucks a year so that's nearly ten bucks saved right off the bat...

Publishers file objection to DoJ’s e-book settlement proposal on Apple’s behalf

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

The Wall Street Journal is reporting this evening that the five book publishers who settled with the US government in the e-book antitrust case have filed an objection with the court on Apple's behalf.

In the filing, the companies argue that the Department of Justice's settlement proposal for Apple, which it submitted last week, would violate their settlement agreements they had before the trial began...

Apple seeds OS X Mavericks Beta 5 with iBooks for Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 1, 2023

Just 24 hours after seeding the fifth iOS 7 beta (here's what's new) to its registered iOS developers, Apple on Wednesday issued the fifth beta of the upcoming OS X Mavericks.

The software is available for download to paid members of the Mac developer program through Apple's Mac Dev Center or via Software Update in the Mac App Store.

The new OS X Mavericks Developer Preview now for the first time includes iBooks for Mac, a brand new native Mac app Apple promised to include in the final Mavericks release come this Fall...

Poll finds most users actually prefer the look of iOS 7 over iOS 6

Cody Lee ∙ Updated November 29, 2016

The responses to the radical user-facing changes Apple has made in iOS 7 have been a mixed bag thus far. While some users welcome the new designs and like the way the software looks, others dislike the update so much they say it could kickstart Apple's downfall.

But it looks like the voices in the latter camp are just the loudest, and don't necessarily represent the majority. Because according to this online poll conducted by Input Factory's Polar platform, most folks actually prefer the overall UI design of iOS 7 to that of iOS 6...

Quality issues reportedly prompt Apple to cozy up to Samsung for iPad screens

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 7, 2013

It's no secret Apple's been working around the clock to decrease its reliance on Samsung for components. I'm also sure you know the two frenemies have been entangled in a complicated web of lawsuits the world over for two years. Now, various market repots have indicated Apple months ago showed Samsung the door by introducing other mobile display makers to the iPad supply chain, namely LG Display and Sharp.

In an interesting reversal, research firm NPD DisplaySearch said Wednesday it believed Samsung actually gained on the iPad screen supplier LG Display because Apple in April and June reportedly sourced more 9.7-inch iPad panels from LG Display than from Samsung...

Instagram update brings video importing, automatic straightening, and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Instagram just announced its first major app update since it introduced its new video capture and posting feature last month. Today's update brings the client to version 4.1, and it includes a handful of some highly requested enhancements.

Easily the biggest change in today's update is the ability to import videos from your Camera Roll (though jailbreakers have been able to do this for a while now). This means you can now upload clips shot outside of the app to Instagram's network...

AT&T expands 4G LTE coverage

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 7, 2013

Despite falling behind rival Verizon Wireless in terms of the deployment of the fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) cellular radio technology, AT&T's LTE is still the fastest and most reliable.

As for coverage, the nation's second-largest telco a week ago flipped the switch on LTE in ten new markets. This was just a week after the company had added seven new cities to the list of LTE-supported markets.

Looks like those weekly updates are becoming a thing for the telco as it announces expanded LTE coverage is now available in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, with six new markets now LTE-friendly...

Apple acknowledges that the iTunes Store is down for some users [updated]

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

If you're having trouble downloading music, or otherwise accessing the iTunes Store, you're not alone. A number of users have taken to Twitter to report that the digital content front is down, and Apple itself has now acknowledged the problem.

As of about 11:30 am this morning, Apple's system status page shows that the iTunes Store is down, with the issue affecting 'some users.' A detailed timeline on the page shows the outage has lasted over an hour and is affecting iTunes purchases...

AppleCare to launch iOS-friendly web UI and 24/7 chat support next Monday

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 7, 2013

According to the well-informed blogger Mark Gurman, the iPhone maker is about to unveil a revamped support interface on the web that should play nicely with iOS devices, allowing customers to access materials and browse the support sections comfortably from their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

The current interface is not optimized for iOS devices so constant pinch-zooming is required. In addition, the company is rumored to be introducing round the clock chat support as early as next Monday.

In giving customers ability to chat with a live agent at any time of day or night, using an iOS-friendly web interface, Apple is hoping to further improve upon its praised customer service...

The iPhone 5S may incorporate dual-LED flash independently of camera lens

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

The not-entirely-accurate Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes back in June 2011 incorrectly reported that the then rumored iPhone 5 would incorporate dual-LED flash. That hasn't panned out, but the rumor lives on. Numerous reports and a purported backplate seemingly point to Apple adopting dual-LED flash on the iPhone 5S.

But unlike the standard implementations, Apple engineers may have chosen to incorporate the LED flash module completely independent from the camera lens, potentially reducing interference with the camera module...

Infuse 1.3 drops: AirPlay, Wi-Fi file transfers, fullscreen TV out and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

FireCore, the guys who brought you the aTV Flash Black for jailbroken Apple TV boxes, back in April launched their iOS media player app, Infuse, on the App Store.

My initial review praised the attractive user interface and support for more than a dozen non-iOS media formats, but criticized lack of wireless media transfer capability and non-existent AirPlay support, including lack of subtitle streaming over AirPlay which has seriously hampered Infuse's potential to become my go-to iOS media player.

Staying true to its promise, the team in the meantime has been hard at work expanding on the app's initial feature set. I've been testing today's 1.3 update for the past week or so and I'm happy to report that - much to my delight - the new version addresses most of the initial complaints I had with it.

Read on for the full reveal...

WhatsApp adds unlimited voice messaging

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 7, 2013

WhatsApp is arguably the most popular cross-platform mobile messaging solution out there and while it currently lacks a desktop client (unlike its rival Viber), it's just become a whole lot more useful by introducing a significant new feature: voice memos, a pet project of its CEO over the past six months.

Unlike Facebook's Messenger iOS app that requires three taps to make a voice recording, it only takes a single tap to record and send a voice memo in WhatsApp. And no, it's not a staggered release: the new WhatsApp with push-to-record voice messaging is available now simultaneously on iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and Nokia...