iDownloadBlog.com

Several U.S. Apple Stores will be open on Thanksgiving Day

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

I know it may sound blasphemously to some, but the iPhone maker's retail army does get to enjoy turkey with their families as Apple Stores typically close for major holidays such as Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving Day. One notable exception is the flagship glass cube store on Fifth Avenue, open 24/7 every day of the year.

Apple normally allows store employees to spend time with their families on Thanksgiving Day, with some of its retail shrines typically opening as early as 3am on Black Friday. Last year, for example, only the Royal Hawaiian and Las Vegas Forum Shops outlets were open on Thanksgiving, mainly because of tourist who arrived in droves for the start of the holiday shopping season in the United States.

This year will be different. According to a guy who tracks Apple's retail efforts for a living, a bunch of Apple's brick-and-mortar Stores in the United States will be open on Thanksgiving Day, a move apparently that in line with Tim Cook's policy of doubling down on Apple Stores.

UPDATE: Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly cancelled plans to keep additional Apple Stores open on Thanksgiving...

WSJ: Snapchat turned down $3 billion buyout offer from Facebook

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 23, 2017

It was the summer of 2006. Facebook was just two years old, and strictly a college site, with some 8 or 9 million users. And the company's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, met with board members Jim Breyer and Peter Thiel to discuss Yahoo's $1 billion buyout offer.

As we all know, Zuckerberg ended up turning down the money, in what has become one of the most infamous moves in the last 10 years of tech. But the wunderkind recently found himself on the other side of the negotiating table, with even more money at stake...

Facebook launches redesigned Messenger app

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 13, 2018

In line with reports from early October, Facebook has launched a redesigned Messenger app for iPhone users this afternoon. The new design matches the aesthetics of iOS 7, and looks very similar to the updated Messenger app launched for Android a few weeks ago.

In addition to the makeover, today's update also brings about some new features. In the new app, users will be able to see which friends are using Messenger, as well as have the ability to message non-Facebook friends from within the app as long as they have their number...

Pocket 5.0 is out featuring Highlights: your best and most relevant content

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2013

Pocket, the popular read-later service (formerly Read It Later), has undergone a major refresh bringing a few new headline features, including one which analyzes saved articles to surface your best and most relevant content. Available now in the App Store, the new Pocket 5.0 introduces a new sidebar panel navigation, a much better search, Pocket Preferences and more. The full breakdown follows below...

Screenshots of Dropbox’s upcoming iOS 7 app redesign

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Good news today for all of you Dropbox users. The long-awaited iOS 7 redesign for the storage service's iPhone and iPad client appears to be nearing completion. The company snuck the above screenshots into a new blog post today.

Apparently, there are some big things brewing at Dropbox, including some big upcoming changes for its 'Dropbox for Business' enterprise offering. The service has been completely rebuilt for business. But anyway, about this redesign...

Samsung and Apple bosses to meet in January for another round of peace talks

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2013

Following a ruling in March which halved last August's $1.05 billion verdict against South Korea's Samsung, a retrial to recalculate the remaining damages is due later this week. In its opening statement today, Apple's legal representatives demanded $379 million in pending damages. Samsung argues it owes Apple but a paltry $52 million for infringing its iPhone patents and design features.

And as the two parties gear up for a déjà vu retrial, its CEOs will apparently meet for a new round of peace talks - all over again - according to a new report out Wednesday from South Korea...

Jawbone introduces new UP24 fitness band with Bluetooth 4.0

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Big news from Jawbone today. The accessory-maker behind the popular line of Jambox speakers introduced a new version of its UP fitness-tracking band, the UP24, as well as a big 3.0 update for its UP iOS app.

While the new UP looks very similar to its predecessor, it does feature one significant hardware change: it now uses Bluetooth 4.0 to connect to your iOS device, instead of forcing you to plug into your audio port...

Apple being investigated for $1.3 billion Italian tax fraud

Cody Lee ∙ November 13, 2013

Apple is in hot water over international taxes again, this time it's in Italy. According to Reuters, the Cupertino company is currently under investigation by Italian authorities for alleged tax fraud.

The Italian government believes Apple may have hidden more than 1 billion euros (or $1.3 billion US) from the country's tax authority during 2010 and 2011, and Milan prosecutors want answers...

LTE-enabled Retina iPad minis start arriving to Apple Stores

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Yesterday, credible analysts cautioned fans to brace themselves for tight supply of the iPad mini with Retina display throughout the entire holiday quarter, as evidenced by Apple making Wi-Fi models available for in-store pickup only and based on supply chain chatter. Part of the stagerred roll-out, LTE-capable devices have now started slowly but surely trickling into Apple's retail stores in the United States.

As you could imagine, quantities are limited so not all outlets carry cellular minis yet...

Google gives YouTube Capture new video editing features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

YouTube Capture, Google's dedicated iPhone and iPad app for recording and sharing video on YouTube, appears to have been on the back burner for a while because the last major update dates back to early-summer 2013, when the program gained support for YouTube accounts with multiple channels.

Meanwhile, Google posted a new version of the Hangouts app and added multi-account support to the Drive app.

With that off its back, the Internet giant's attention now turns to YouTube Capture. Apart from the flattened icon, version 2.0 finally allows users to pause and resume their recordings. That's just scratching the surface though as the app now lets you combine and rearrange clips and even add a soundtrack.

Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

eBay app, now with AirDrop and Pinterest sharing, in-store pickup and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2013

If you shop at eBay and have used their free iPhone and iPod touch app, there're some nice goodies for you in the latest version 3.2 update. For starters, the iOS 7-ified application now comes with a handy in-store pickup option allowing you to purchase stuff from local retailers on eBay for personal pickup.

The team has added two new sharing options via the iOS 7 AirDrop feature and Pinterest, the latter allowing you to easily share your favorite products to your Pinterest board. The selling features have been improved a bit, you can now swipe through images on the item screen and more...

Bloomberg details Apple’s sophisticated robots and production machinery

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

'Gadgets that build gadgets' should have been the headline of the Bloomberg piece which details Apple's multi-billion dollar investments in custom-engineered manufacturing equipment, machines and robots which dutifully churn out your shiny new iPads and iPhones with their diamond-cut chamfered edges, precision crafted down to the micron.

'The Rolex of smartphones' is impossible to mass-produce using the existing tooling and manufacturing techniques. Because Apple custom-designs everything, it shouldn't surprise you that it also designs its own manufacturing processes, techniques and cutting-edge production equipment.

Just how does the company utilize its billions on these pricey robots?