iPhone News

Google CEO: our work on Maps is ‘clearly more appreciated now’

When Larry Page became the CEO of Google, taking over from Eric Schmidt who is now the company's chairman, he immediately began the Jobs-ification of the Internet giant. He axed a bunch of projects and put more wood behind fewer arrows in order to make the company more agile.

Page then set his sights on so-called moon shots, ambitious projects which could become the pillars of Google’s future growth. The decision gave birth to such projects as self-driving cars and Minority Report style Project Glass, for example. Page sat down with journalist Steven Levy who wrote a book on Google called "In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives" (a $15 download from the iBookstore), here's what came out of him...

iPod Godfather explains Apple’s secret design sauce

Tony Fadell needs no introduction. The brains behind the Nest thermostat, this former Apple engineer also helped engineer the iPod music player and led the development of the first eighteen iterations of the iPhone. He recently talked Apple, Steve Jobs and secrecy inside the walls of Apple’s Cupertino HQ.

He also commented on Forstall's departure in an interview with BBC and told Bloomberg that he is "not that dumb" to compete directly with his former employer. And now, Fadell at the Bloomberg Design conference this week once more tried to explain Apple's secret sauce which results in the sexy gadgets people lust after. He also explained the difference between designing products at Apple and Phillips, here are some highlights...

WSJ: AT&T considering a merger in Europe

Faced with constraints on growth at home, U.S. carrier AT&T is reportedly considering entering new markets in Europe via a merger with one of the key players in a major European market such as the United Kingdom, Germany or the Netherlands, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The carrier is allegedly hoping to bring its technological expertise in building 4G networks to the table.

European telcos have been slow to roll out fourth-generation networks so AT&T through its European partner could help roll out the latest in 4G technology in order to then introduce "more lucrative pricing strategies". European carriers get most of their revenue from voice plans and text messaging, unlike in the United States where telcos have shifted to new plans that charge subscribers based on their data use... 

Sprint to start offering TEP insurance on iPhones this month

After initially saying that it would not be offering its Total Equipment Protection (TEP) insurance to iPhone customers, Sprint appears to have had a change of heart. A new leaked internal memo shows that the carrier is gearing up to roll out the service to new Apple handsets later this month...

Sprint rolling out LTE to 28 new markets

Great news today for Sprint subscribers who have been lusting for LTE. The carrier just announced plans for a major expansion of its new 4G network, that will see the service added to 28 new markets over the next few months including Branson, Missouri, and Columbus, Georgia. We've got the full list of cities after the break...

Temple Run 2 now available in the App Store

The second installment to the popular run'n'jump game should be hitting Apple's iTunes servers in New Zealand and Australia just about any minute now. Like it's predecessor, Temple Run 2 is a free download for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices and Android smartphones and tablets. Those with a US account on the App Store should check the store at around 11pm Eastern, 8pm Pacific Time, when Temple Run 2 is due to hit US shores. The original Temple Run hit over a hundred million downloads across iOS and Android, with more than 75 million downloads in 2012 alone. Admittedly, the sequel should prove just as popular...

UPDATE: Temple Run 2 now available in the US

The Daily Recap – Jan 16, 2013 edition

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnygQnwVoS4

Welcome to The Daily Recap for January 16th, 2013. Watch our video for a quick look at some of the top stories from the day in less than two minutes. If you missed out on any of today's big news, this is a great way for you to get caught up fast.

For your convenience, you'll also find links to all of the stories listed in today's recap inside...

Auxo designer creates concept video for silent Do Not Disturb alerts

On Monday, we reported on Sentry's Do Not Disturb concept. The original concept makes use of a "pull to refresh" gesture in Notification Center to toggle iOS 6's Do Not Disturb mode, instead of relying on a timer. The DND concept looked elegant and intuitive, and in many ways, Sentry outdid Apple's implementation of Do Not Disturb. In fact, Sentry even has one more thing up his sleeve to show us.

Early this morning Sentry posted another video to YouTube which expands on the original concept, this time focusing on Alerts in Do Not Disturb mode. Normally, in iOS 6, Do Not Disturb mode applies only when the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch is locked, but Sentry has found a way to deliver silent, unobtrusive alerts while the device is still in use...

Firemonkeys posts new Real Racing 3 Developer Diary video

I've been looking forward to the new Real Racing title, Real Racing 3, ever since Firemonkeys first unveiled it last August at the EA Summer Showcase press conference. The graphics in the trailer they showed off were very impressive.

We haven't heard much about the game since then, as it seems like the developers are really taking their time with the racer. But judging by this new Developer Diary video the team just posted, all of that extra work is really going to pay off...

Microsoft launches free natural disaster helper app

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPYVHmW5GX8

Available now as a free download on Windows Phone, Android and iPhone, HelpBridge is Microsoft's new mobile app that everybody should have on their handset, just in case. Should you, God forbid, ever find yourself at the epicenter of a large scale natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy, the software will help you connect with those that matter to you most.

As a bonus, you can also use HelpBridge to rally everyone around one cause - that is, donate your money, time and resources to support relief and rebuilding efforts. The above clip shows off the Windows Phone version of HelpBridge, but you get the idea...

Facebook begins rolling out free Messenger VoIP feature to the US

Earlier this month, we told you that Facebook had added a free VoIP calling feature to its Messenger app in Canada. It was clearly a test, to ensure that the social network's servers could handle the added bandwidth. And apparently the tests went well.

Today, many users, including us, have noticed that Facebook has quietly started rolling out the VoIP feature to the US version of its Messenger app. It comes by way of a new 'Free Call' button, which will allow you to telephone your FB contacts for free...

iOS concept video shows off Quick Settings, App Flow multitasking and more

André Luis Moreira, an animator who shares a name with a football player from Brazil, posted a video of a concept for an iOS overhaul back in September, which contains a few surprising features. Keep in mind this isn't a tweak, just a video concept produced with Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, and Premiere.

The animation focuses on three main concepts for improving iOS. Quick Settings, a pane that collects the most used options from the settings page; App Flow Multitask, which adds a full screen preview to the app switcher panel; and Dynamic Settings, which provides shortcuts that allows users to quickly jump to a specific app's settings...