iPhone News

iPhone 5 launching in India and other countries on November 2

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Echoing an earlier prediction by BGR India, The Economic Times has it on good authority that Apple is ready to launch the iPhone 5 in the 1.24 billion people market of India this coming Friday, November 2. The App Store now accepts local currency and everything is seemingly ready for the launch as Apple works to achieve its self-imposed goal of bringing the iPhone 5 to a hundred countries across 240 carriers by year's end. According to web reports, come November 2 the iPhone 5 will also land on store shelves in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Malta, Romania and Thailand and is also expected to hit the Dominican Republic and Mexico...

First gameplay video of Angry Birds Star Wars

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 29, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yq9idnT1OM

A new Star Wars-themed Angry Birds game, part of a broad merchandizing partnership with toy maker Hasbro, is due November 8. It's currently marketed under an SEO-optimized Angry Birds Star Wars moniker and we previously showed you the original teaser and a trailer featuring Princess Leia. Today, Finnish developer Rovio is out with another amusing video depicting romance in the making between Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

It also lets us in on gameplay action and mechanics. Looks like birds-slinging remains the focus of the game. This upcoming puzzler will introduce a host of crazy and officially licensed Star Wars-themed characters, each with its own personality and skills. I love how one of the birds is waving Lightsabers to penetrate the thick walls...

PassHack allows you to hide stock apps directly from Passbook

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated March 12, 2018

We already told you about Rag3Hack, the non-jailbreak solution to hiding stock apps on iOS. Now the folks behind Rag3Hack are back with PassHack. PassHack is essentially the same thing, except for now, you can easily access the URLs necessary to hide stock apps from the convenience of Passbook.

This solution actually has no bearing on Passbook besides the fact that it contains a pass with the URL schemes on its rear. Look at it as a handy bookmark to all of your favorite Rag3Hack URLs. Take a look inside as our video shows you the details...

The Pentagon plans to deploy iOS and Android devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 29, 2012

In a new report from The Washington Post based on a document by the Defense Department, the Pentagon is reported as tapping contractors as it preps to deploy at least 162,500 iOS and Android devices, potentially expanding to up to eight million devices. It's another blow to Canada-based Research In Motion, which despite its single-digit smartphone share in the United States still enjoys a relatively large, albeit diminishing following amongst governmental agencies. This would mark the first time the Pentagon opened its network to iPhones and Android devices...

Hurricane Sandy: Apple closes up to 50 stores, Google cancels Nexus media event, crisis maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 2, 2016

Hurricane Sandy is piling up the water as it's on track for a historic hit on the East Coast of the United States. President Obama has declared state of emergency in New York, suspending subway and bus service, closing schools on Monday and scheduling the Holland and Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to also close at 2pm today.

When it became clear that Sandy would make landfall on the East Coast, Google cancelled its previously scheduled October 29 press conference, postponing the launch of promising new Nexus smartphones and tablets. Dozens of Apple Stores along the East Coast will likely be affected, with many outlets taking precautionary measures in order to protect the products, store space itself and staffers. Several Apple Stores have also been spotted using sandbags as a precaution to protect their storefront from damage...

The banned iPad mini promo video

Sébastien Page ∙ October 29, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Os87PLlyU4k#!

iPad mini is the future. It's the future until May, at least. Probably more like the end of May. Or more than likely, June.

iPad mini is now the future until then.

Microsoft’s Surface is more repairable than iPad 3

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 29, 2012

The repair experts over at iFixit pried open Microsoft's Surface RT tablet (model number 1516) and awarded the device a repairability score of four out of ten (ten is the easiest to repair), thanks to several components being modular and replaceable without requiring desoldering. Plus, the battery can be removed "pretty easily", iFixit notes.

This is better than a score of two out of ten for the third-generation iPad with Retina display, but lower than Amazon's Kindle Fire, which has an impressive eight out of ten repairability score. Google's seven-inch Nexus tablet is the easiest to repair among these tablets with a nice seven out of ten score. More tidbits and teardown analysis right below...

Amazon takes on the iPad mini in homepage ad

Cody Lee ∙ October 29, 2012

With the release of the 7.9-inch iPad mini this week, Apple will essentially be entering Amazon's home turf. You could argue that Apple still dominates the overall tablet market. But with two years of Kindle Fire sales under its belt, Amazon owns the 7-8-inch tablet space.

And as you may have guessed, it's not prepared to concede any of that space to Apple without a fight. Over the weekend, people started noticing that Amazon had placed a comparison chart between the iPad mini and its Kindle Fire HD, front and center on its homepage...

Apple killed the disc drive, but it’s for your own good

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

Apple is no stranger to abandoning features it thinks are heading for the graveyard of technology. I guess you could say the company invented it. The new iMac without a built-in optical drive is the perfect epitome of such forward-thinking that, however, isn't without its pitfalls.

With the revamped all-in-one desktop, club Cupertino risks alienating the old-fashioned types by inconveniencing their daily computing, at least until the rest of the industry catches up. Then again, every Apple customer has always been an early adopter in every sense of the word.

The question is, will other makers follow suit and remove rotating medias from their products? More importantly, what exactly does the new iMac tell us about a Tim Cook Apple?

New app promises to remove purple haze from iPhone 5 pics

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Shortly after the iPhone 5 launched, a number of users started complaining about a "purple haze" in their photos. It's essentially a purple flare effect that comes from a bright, out-of-scene light source while capturing an image.

Apple has already addressed the issue, and a number of other smartphones and portable cameras have been proven to have similar hazes. But if it's still really bothering you, there's a new app that claims it can help...

Why a Galaxy S3 owner is moving back to a shiny iPhone

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

If you follow me on any of the social networks on which we all live these days, then you probably know that I sold my iPhone 4S some time ago, and have been living with a Samsung Galaxy S3 ever since. There were brief flirtations with an HTC One X and Galaxy Note along the way, but that Galaxy S3 has been my daily drivers since long before the iPhone 5 was announced.

As that semi-dramatic title may have tipped you off though, I'm on the verge of ditching that Android flagship handset in favor of a shiny new iPhone 5. At least, I will be once I manage to find somewhere that will sell me one! That's a whole different story though, and I digress.

So, having proclaimed the Galaxy S3 to be the best smartphone I'd ever owned just a few short weeks ago, what's changed, and why am I ready to give it up in favor of Apple's latest and greatest?

The iDownloadBlog top news stories of the week

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

A new week is coming, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on what happened last week. If you think you may have missed a few of the top stories from last week, don't sweat it, we've got you covered.

We've gathered the top 10+ most popular stories from iDB last week for you to check out. As always, make sure that you're friends with us on Facebook, Google+, and that you are following us on Twitter...