Review: the iQi wireless iPhone charger

Wireless charging has long been one of technology's Holy Grails. Being able to charge your devices without them having to be tethered to a power outlet would undoubtedly change the way we work, but seeing as we're still quite some ways away from having electricity beamed to our smartphones and tablets, we'll have to make do with the next best thing - charging plates.

Many phones support what they like to call wireless charging, but as the pedantic amongst us would point point out, that's not strictly accurate. After all,  that charging plate still needs a wire! Get beyond that hangup though, and wireless charging is actually pretty cool even in its current state. Putting your tablet or smartphone on a pad and having it start charging is impressive enough, but unfortunately Apple still isn't up for it. Neither the iPad nor iPhone support wireless charging out of the box, and existing third-party solutions need big cases that come with the required technology built-in, which is far from ideal. Wireless charging should get out of the way, not make itself unmissable.

Enter the iQi wireless charging adapter...

Judge grants class action status to e-book suit against Apple

Reuters is reporting that a federal judge has granted 'class action' status to plaintiffs suing Apple over its collusion with book publishers to increase the price of e-books. The ruling allows the involved individuals to sue the company and collect damages as a group.

The decision came from U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, who also presided over the antitrust case against Apple by the DOJ last summer. Cote says the plaintiffs had "more than met their burden" to file as a group, and has green-lighted their $800 million lawsuit...

BlackBerry wins injunction against Typo keyboard case

BlackBerry won a key victory yesterday in its fight against Typo. A federal judge agreed with the Canadian company that the iPhone keyboard case likely infringes on their patents, and issued a preliminary injunction late Friday to halt sales.

For those that missed it, back in January BlackBerry sued the makers of the Typo iPhone case over patent infringement. The case features a built-in battery, and a physical, backlit keyboard that looks nearly identical to those used in BB devices...

Evasi0n7 1.0.8 is out with support for iOS 7.0 11A466

At some point during the past week or so, the evad3rs released an update for evasi0n7, bringing the jailbreak tool to version 1.0.8. According to the change log, the software now supports build 11A466 of iOS 7.

Apparently 11A466 is a factory build—not available for download—of the iOS 7 firmware that shipped on some of iPhone 5s and 5c units. And up until now, folks with these devices were having issues jailbreaking...

Could Apple be using Japan Display’s new 5.5-inch Quad HD panel in the iPhone 6?

Apple is currently putting the finishing touches on its next-generation iPhone. And if the flurry of rumors and so-called insider reports are to be believed, the handset is going to feature an Ultra Retina display that will come in two sizes: 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch, among other improvements.

With that in mind, you can understand why this new 5.5-inch panel from Japan Display—a long time Apple supplier—is so interesting to us. Unveiled this week, the panel measures 5.5-inches and is of the Quad HD (aka WQHD) variety, with a resolution of 1,440 x 2,560 and a ppi of 538...

Philips expands iPhone-connected line with hue lux, tap and luminaires

Philips' iPhone-connected Hue lighting system has come a long way since we first reviewed it in 2012. The company has added a number of products to the lineup over the years, including LightStrips, Bloom bulbs, and bulbs for recessed lighting installs. And today, it's expanding the line even more.

This morning, Philips announced three new upcoming Hue products. The first is known as the 'hue lux,' a bulb that can only emit white light, the second is the 'hue tap,' which allows you to control the Hue system without the iPhone app, and the third is luminaires, a set of high-end 3D light fixtures...

Shazam revamps content pages, introduces scrollable lyrics, enhanced Rdio support and more

Friday, music discovery engine Shazam has refreshed its iOS apps with some fine new features, starting with a brand new track page design and a new look and feel for video, album, track reviews, artist bios and other pages.

"Many" (but not all) song lyrics will now scroll in time with the music, a handy feature if you're singing along a song trying to remember the lyrics.

Shazam last December added the ability to listen for songs and television shows in the background, tagging them automatically.

Background listening can negatively impact your battery so you'll be delighted to learn that the new Shazam 7.5 apps are more power friendly "so you don’t need to worry about your battery life while it’s running."

Both the free, ad-supported Shazam and the paid Shazam Encore have been updated with these changes...

Camera Plus introduces AirSnap feature that lets you shoot photos remotely

This whole “selfie” phenomenon has just got to go. How many people do you know with one of those top-down, slightly angled pictures of themselves used as their profile image for just about everything? The front-facing camera may have made it easier to snap pictures you are in, but they’ve turned everyone into self-centered paparazzi.

Camera Plus was recently updated to include support for the iPad, but that’s not the biggest news. You can use one device to take pictures with another using AirSnap. Now, those selfies won’t look so staged…

Swiss watchmakers complain about Apple courting their talents

Earlier this month, we relayed reports asserting Apple may be looking to build its rumored wearable project, dubbed iWatch, in Switzerland. The iPhone maker reportedly created a company in the country for this purpose, prompting watchers to speculate that the iWatch could potentially carry the ‘Swiss Made’ label.

Sources claimed Apple had approached some of the world’s finest watchsmiths and attempted to poach talents employed by such watchmaking groups as LVMH.

The Financial Times is now corroborating these reports in a story Friday, writing that Apple's been courting high-level executives and craftsmen at Swiss watch brands to help build the iWatch, in one instance even attempting to recruit a horologists directly.

However, Swiss watchmakers have apparently rejected the possible iWatch project collaboration as they reportedly have no time to enter into any kind of partnership agreement with any of Silicon Valley's technology giants...

Apple seeds OS X 10.9.3 beta build 13D28 to devs

Following the release of iTunes 11.1.6 and OS X 10.9.3 betas to developers and AppleCare employees earlier this month, Apple on Friday seeded another OS X 10.9.3 beta to developers.

Now available in Dev Center for registered Mac developers, a new version (build 13D28) of what would become Apple's third major software update to its desktop operating system focuses on further refinements to Graphics Drivers, Safari, Audio and Contacts and Calendar sync over USB in iTunes...

Apple apparently expanding operations at Arizona plant to increase sapphire output

As rumored yesterday, looks like Apple is indeed planning an expansion at its Mesa, Arizona plant to boost sapphire output ahead of the next-generation iPhone production. According to a new report Friday morning, the company is looking to double the number of high-tech furnaces that make sapphire boules in bulk.

Whereas previous records claimed Apple and its partner GT Advanced would use about 950 furnaces at the site, sources are now saying the firms want to equip the facility with some 1,700 furnaces. That could mean bolstering of yields to increase the plant's output beyond an estimated 100 to 200 million sapphire displays per year.

Apple has poured a cool $576 million into the Mesa facility to secure an exclusive, multi-year output of sapphire products. It's widely believed Tim Cook & Co. have found a way of strengthening the next iPhone's screen by applying a thin layer of sapphire material on top of the handset's cover glass...

Strong demand for Apple products boosts Foxconn and Pegatron’s earnings

Demand for Apple's latest products is as strong as ever, it would seem. After reporting sales of 51 million iPhones and 26 million iPads during the lucrative holiday quarter, as a result Apple's key contract manufacturers - Foxconn and Pegatron - are seeing a nice rise in their earnings, too.

Pegatron, the primary manufacturer of the iPhone 5c and iPad mini, last week reported a cool 22 percent annual rise in earnings attributed to strong demand for mobile products. Apple is responsible for as much as 40 percent of Pegatron's business so the manufacturer's fortunes are closely tied to the iPhone maker's.

As for Foxconn, they reported a 13 percent rise in net profit today. Foxconn is the world's top contract manufacturer and Apple's lead supplier...