Instagram has been taking a lot of heat this past week and while everything seems to almost be back to normal, what better way to remind everybody that Instagram is the best way to share underexposed waffle pictures than releasing a new filter?
Just about 10 days after launching the new Willow filter, the Instagram app has been updated with one new filter labeled Mayfair, as well as the usual bug fixes...
Google Maps made its triumphant return to iOS last week, and there's no question that it's a massive hit. It saw 10 million downloads in its first 48 hours, and it's still the #1 free app in the App Store.
For those of you who haven't tried Google Maps yet, or haven't figured what all of the commotion is about, Google today published a list of 10 tips that will help you get the most out of the software...
This is pretty interesting. The Wall Street Journal is reporting this afternoon that id8 Group R2 Studios, a home automation startup founded by Slingbox's Blake Krikorian, is in talks to be acquired. Not much is known about the company outside of its Crestron remote control app, but there are reportedly some big names participating in the buyout talks, including Apple...
Back in October we posted a tidbit on an iOS app switcher concept that was making waves across the Internet. Initially posted on The Verge forums, designer @Sentry_NC's concept was met with approval by many, including readers here on iDB.
A lot of times, though, these sorts of things never go anywhere. Concept photos and videos are nice, but rarely do they evolve into anything more than that. Well, I'm happy to tell you that Sentry's concept hasn't followed the status quo in this regard. Bent on making his concept a reality, he collaborated with developers, Jack Willis, and JamieD360, to bring the idea to fruition.
We've been fortunate enough to gain access to the final build of the real live working tweak. Auxo is its name, and changing the stock iOS app switcher for the better is the game...
Not to be outdone by rival Verizon and AT&T which rolled out their fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks to 29 and five new U.S. cities this week, respectively, T-Mobile USA today announced that its iPhone-friendly HSPA+ service on the 1900MHz band is launching in fourteen new metropolitan areas.
The carrier says these markets can take advantage of voice and data enhancements, improved signal strength and in-building coverage. The $4 billion network modernization plan announced ten months ago already enhanced coverage for more than a hundred million people, T-Mobile said...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaKQP-TuCgg
Rockmelt social browser has been available on the iPad for nearly two months now and today the team refreshed the app, adding the all-new iPhone and iPod touch experience. Rockmelt version 2.1 is available now as a universal binary supporting all form factor iOS devices natively. On the iPhone, the program boasts a design “optimized for the thumb alone" (they must have watched Apple's iPhone commercials) while offering the familiar feature set.
You'll still enjoy a Pinterest-like streaming interface with scrollable tiles and navigate your way around the app via gestures. As a bonus, the app keeps all your Rockmelt copies across different devices in sync, just like Google's Chrome browser does...
Here’s a nice little nugget. Though it's now taken for granted, the Safari browser was almost named "Freedom". Yes, "Freedom", of all the monikers. Steve Jobs apparently considered a bunch of silly names for Apple’s browser that included “Freedom”, “Alexander” and “iBrowse” before settling with “Safari”.
He also spent some time trying “Freedom” because he liked the sound of it and how it signified Apple’s freedom from Microsoft and Internet Explorer. One programmer who worked on the Safari project shares an anecdote describing how he persuaded Jobs to drop the “Freedom” name as it sounded like a “feminine hygiene product”...
Apple's smaller iPad is indeed turning into competitors' worst nightmare. After announcing sales of three million new iPads in three days, the iPad mini is now outselling full-size iPads and could easily comprise half of all iPads sold in December.
And with eight out of each ten iPad owners planning to stick with Apple, no wonder the Cupertino firm has now increased orders for the 7.9-inch tablet, with the volume reaching twelve million iPad minis by year's end...
Apple's Passbook app in iOS 6 has seen an encouraging uptick as various brands continue to implement Passbook support for loyalty and coupon cards and tickets, like Starbucks, mobile payment startup Square, Coupons.com, MLB, Discover, Apple (of course) and a host of airlines, to name a few. Passbook is also used by real estate agents and now Passverse founder Tomas McGuinness has brought an unofficial support for Passbook to the Clubcard from Tesco, UK’s biggest supermarket chain...
Carrier Verizon Wireless Thursday morning announced another wave of expansion, bringing its fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network to 29 more markets in the United States, including Selma, Alabama; Clarksburg, West Virginia; and Port Angeles, Washington.
With the addition of these 29 cities, Verizon's LTE is now available in 470 markets to more than 250 million people in the United States...
The European Union will "very soon" charge Samsung over its practice of filing injunctions against Apple in Europe, Reuters reported Thursday. The news arrives after Samsung dropped all of its injunctions and injunction requests against Cupertino, California-based Apple's gadgets in Europe and following a U.S. ruling that threw Samsung's alleged jury misconduct claim out of the window.
The European Union in January launched a formal investigation into a potential breach of EU antitrust rules concerning Samsung's use of standards-essential patents...
We've seen the United States Patent and Trademark Office reject or invalidate a few important Apple patents in the last few months, including one covering the infamous 'rubber banding' UI feature, and one covering the iPhone.
Today, the USPTO added another key patent to the list, tentatively declaring Apple's US 7,844,915 invention — widely referred to as the pinch-to-zoom patent — invalid. It's just a preliminary decision, but it's still a fairly big deal...