Comcast customers will be happy to hear that the cable provider has launched a new app today, Xfinity TV Go, for iOS devices. It's actually a rebrand of the previous 'TV Play' app, with a number of new features.
The most important, though, is the ability to stream live television from your iPhone or iPad while on the go. That's right, as long as you are on a Wi-Fi network (not just the one in your home), you can watch TV...
Last week, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration appeased to gadget lovers by announcing that it will allow airlines to expand use of personal electronics such as tablets and smartphones during nearly all phases of flight. The much-welcomed development means busy folks who detest having to switch off their gadgets before takeoff and landing for fear of messing with the avionics now have plenty to smile about.
The new FAA rules pledge responsible travelers on both domestic and international flights to agree to using their devices in airplane mode most of the time. Following the announcement, American Airlines said yesterday it will permit all passengers to use their gadgets gate-to-gate...
Rdio, the popular Internet radio service, has just pushed a long-expected update that has finally enabled a music recommendation engine in its iPhone and iPad app. Fans will remember that the inaugural 1.0 build had that useful feature front and center.
Unfortunately, it was inexplicably pulled as the company started experimenting with stuff like Pandora-style personalized Stations and got busy implementing social features and other enhancements.
It was a little over a month ago that Rdio confirmed plans to bring back the popular music-recommendation capability and today they've made good on that promise...
Early in the game, Apple took advantage of its Volume Purchase Program (VPP) to allow Business and Education customers to buy iPhone and iPad apps carried on the App Store in bulk and with volume discounts.
Following the free OS X Mavericks update earlier in the month, the company has now updated VPP rules to include Mac App Store apps as well. With this change, Education and Business customers can for the first time buy Mac apps in volume.
In addition, the company has introduced a new Managed Distribution feature for iOS 7 and Mavericks devices which lets businesses and education institutions easily assign and revoke app licenses to individual users. Previously, these high-value customers had to rely on redemption codes to distribute software in bulk...
Apple has long been rumored to be adopting Sharp's sophisticated IGZO display technology for iPhones and iPads, but the reported ongoing yields issues have prevented it from making the switch over concerns on maintaining a minimum level of capacity.
At the same time, it hasn't gone unnoticed that the iPad Air achieves the same 10-hour battery life (and 24-hour LTE hotspot performance) in spite of packing in a powerful 64-bit A7 processor and, more importantly, a much smaller battery than its predecessor, 32.9 Whr versus 43 Whr for the iPad 4.
Now, one of the benefits of using IGZO display technologies is vastly reduced power consumption. So, has Apple switched to IGZO panels for the iPad Air or not?
Nike's second-generation fitness-tracker, the Nike+ FuelBand SE, hit Apple's web store this morning and is now available for purchase. The company showed off the new accessory during a media event back in October.
The SE looks and acts very similar to its predecessor, but adds new colorways in yellow, pink, and red, and support for Bluetooth 4.0. There's also a few new features like hourly reminders and a handy one-touch clock mode...
Apple has released an update for iTunes this afternoon, bringing the software to version 11.1.3. Don't get too excited though, it appears to just be a maintenance release with a handful of improvements.
Those improvements include a fix for a known issue where the equalizer may not work as expected, as well as enhanced performance when switching views in large iTunes libraries and other bug fixes...
Apple has issued a public report this afternoon entitled 'Report on Government Information Requests.' The piece details the number and types of requests it receives from governments around the world for user and device information.
The company said it considers it a responsibility to provide its users with "the best privacy protections available," and that it has published the report "in the interest of transparency for our customers around the world." More after the fold...
Yesterday, New Hampshire-based materials manufacturing company GT Advanced announced a multi-year agreement with Apple to provide steady supply of the sapphire glass, a crystalline form of aluminum oxide known for its superior durability and scratch resistance. Apple relies on this pricey gemstone to protect the iPhone 5s's Touch ID sensor and has been using it for camera lens cover on all iOS devices since the iPhone 5.
The strategic supply agreement is valued at more than half a billion dollars in cutting-edge equipment and some folks have combed through Apple's patent filings for a clue to building next-generation iDevices with sapphire glass covers instead of Gorilla Glass.
Here's a video tour of GT's manufacturing process behind making the scratch-resistant, tougher-than-Gorilla-Glass sapphire displays for smartphones...
Philips has expanded its Hue line of iPhone-controlled lighting with a new bulb this week, called the BR30. Unlike previous Hue bulbs, the BR30 is designed to fit into recessed sockets to create the effect of light shining from a hole in the ceiling.
The BR30 bulbs are designed to fit the standard E27 screw base and deliver 600 lumens of light. And like other Hue bulbs, they provide a full range of color, except the light is delivered in a downward beam instead of being omnidirectional...
With the iPhone 5s, Apple made security more convenient by allowing users to unlock their devices with a quick tap of its Touch ID Home button. It's kind of like having a password, without having to type it in every time.
And that's essentially what Knock, a new iOS app by Knock Software, does for the Mac. It allows you to keep your computer secure, without having to type in a password every time. Simply give your iPhone a knock to unlock...
Earlier this morning, T-Mobile filed its September quarter earnings and announced selling 540,000 iPhones amid iPhone 5s shortages, representing fifteen percent of T-Mobile’s prepaid and MetroPCS-branded devices sold. During an earnings call with Wall Street investors, company executives dropped another interesting factoid: just on the iPad Air launch day this past Friday, the Deutsche Telekom-owned carrier has managed to move more tablets than it'd done throughout the entirety of the prior quarter.
It's an ambiguous data point which doesn't reveal much in terms of numbers, nor does it tell us which specific tablet brands moved the needle on the iPad Air launch day. However, it jibes with claims made by other carriers such as AT&T, which yesterday said its Apple tablet activations over the iPad Air launch weekend tripled compared to last Fall’s launch...