Tim Cook was spotted in China again this week, reportedly talking to local carriers about recent less-than-stellar iPhone sales in the area. The CEO was said to have met with China Telecom, the third largest provider in the country.
But today, spokespeople for China Mobile confirmed that Cook also met with chairman Xi Guohua during his visit to discuss "matters of cooperation." China Mobile's the largest carrier in the world, and has yet to ink an iPhone deal...
Despite Google's recently refreshed Nexus 7 now boasting a Retina-class 1,920-by-1,200 pixel resolution screen (check out Jeff's awesome Nexus 7 vs. iPad mini video showdown), Apple's seven-inch iPad mini by contrast remains stuck with the rather pedestrian 1,024-by-768 pixel screen.
And now, seemingly corroborating a flurry of rumors pointing to a Retina iPad mini upgrade in 2014, references a developer discovered in the iOS 7 SDK suggest Apple has been testing a new iPad mini with a faster A6 chip, but without a Retina display...
Imagine if you received a recommendation proclaiming you were marginally better than your competitors. Well, that's the case with Samsung, which has two smartphones that scored "marginally higher" than the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5 in a new customer sat survey, to use Tim Cook's jargon talk.
Samsung's 14-month-old Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note II each scored 84 out of 100 - a full two points better than the nearly year-old iPhone 5 and the almost two-year-old iPhone 4S. Before you get too carried away with chants of 'yeah two points!'
Let's get to the details...
My favorite iPhone photography software, taptaptap's Camera+ for the iPhone and iPad, has been updated today with some long-expected improvements. Specifically, the tremendously useful effects layering feature, which was first added to Camera+ for iPad last September, is now at last available on the iPhone. Now the new Camera+ 3.9 for iPhone finally lets me layer two or more effects for unique results, with each layer having its own intensity.
Effects layering is non-destructive (your originals are always preserved) and indispensable for complex touch-ups or creating your own custom effects. In addition to that, both the iPad and iPhone build now comes with a brand new effects pack and contains other improvements, all mentioned right after the jump...
Google has named the next mobile app to be retired as its killing spree continues. Starting with August 15, the Internet company will stop supporting the Google Catalogs program on iPads and Android tablets (they've never gotten to releasing an iPhone version).
The app, basically a glorified magazine-like browser with window-shopping experience, will continue to be supported on both platforms until August 15.
For those oblivious to its existence, the app features a comprehensive catalog of products sold by apparel and fashion merchants and lets you save items for later - even create your own collages. And when you see something you like, a single tap produces a nearby store information or takes you to the merchant's website to make a purchase...
Starbucks drinkers will be glad to learn that Google will soon replace AT&T as the coffee chain's preferred partner to power the Wi-Fi network of its 7,000+ US stores. Additionally, Google Fiber access, where available, will be provided as well.
According to a post over at the official Google blog:
That’s why we’re teaming up with Starbucks to bring faster, free WiFi connections to all 7,000 company-operated Starbucks stores in the United States over the next 18 months. When your local Starbucks WiFi network goes Google, you’ll be able to surf the web at speeds up to 10x faster than before. If you’re in a Google Fiber city, we’re hoping to get you a connection that’s up to 100x faster.
How great is that?
The popular cross-platform instant messaging software Viber has been updated to version 3.1, bringing a few noteworthy improvements.
In addition to fun new emoticons and a new 'Seen' status that lets you know when your messages have been seen, Viber version 3.1 features expanded support for the Viber Desktop application on Windows and Mac.
If you have the desktop app on your Mac or Windows PC, you can can now seamlessly transfer a call in progress from your iPhone to your desktop. There are other improvements in this Viber update as well, mentioned right after the break...
If you have ever found yourself short on cash, or even worse, overdrawn, because you forgot about a recurring automatic payment, then you could use a friendly reminder to help you keep track of upcoming debits to your account.
Expense Planner does just that. You can add an upcoming expense, set a date to be reminded, and forget about it until later…
Kik users will be happy to hear that a major update for the iOS client has posted to the App Store this morning. The update, which brings the popular messaging app to version 6.5, hops on the recent stickers trend, adds third-party games, and more.
The stickers in Kik 6.5 work just like you'd expect them to—you can embed the emoticon-like images into any of your conversations. And as far as the third-party game offerings go, launch titles include new releases by both Zynga and TreSensa...
Nearly three years after it was first announced, Isis is finally set to debut on the national stage. Bloomberg is reporting this morning that the carrier-backed mobile payment service will see a nationwide rollout this year.
For those unfamiliar with Isis, it's a joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, looking to change the way consumers pay for things using NFC and other tech. And after 9 months in testing, it's ready for launch...
The Unthreaded jailbreak, the cheaper iPhone, fingerprint scanning, and iOS 7 beta 4 are all hot topics on this week's episode of Let's Talk Jailbreak. Join us as we discuss these topics, along with new jailbreak tweaks like Control Unlocker, VineDownloader, BMarks Bar - Chrome, and of course, BuddyLock. Suffice it to say, you don't want to miss Cody and Jeff's discussion in this action packed episode.
A new knowledge base document has appeared on Apple's support site this evening, introducing a new spam reporting tool for iMessage users. The document outlines a way for users to report unwanted messages, or spam, directly to Apple.
The posting comes ahead of the release of iOS 7, which adds a new Contact blocking feature for phone calls and messages. Apple has obviously discovered that spam is a problem for its messaging platform, and it's doing something about it...