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Apple’s Passbook is now a registered trademark

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 30, 2013

Passbook, Apple's iOS app for collecting coupons, board passes and other digital cards, is now a registered trademark. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published the trademark registration Friday. This makes a clean sweep for the app, after its icon was trademarked by Apple earlier this month.

Apple had filed to trademark the app in 2012, just two months after unveiling Passbook during its annual June Apple World Wide Developer Conference.

Today's announcement comes as Apple continues efforts to trademark the term 'startup' as part of its retail services ahead of the expected September launch of the iPhone 5S/5C...

Court rejects faulty iPhone power button suit

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 30, 2013

A California U.S. District judge derailed a potential class-action lawsuit against Apple and AT&T earlier this week, rejecting a complaint that the two companies conspired against fixing a defect in the popular iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S handsets. Two California consumers had alleged a "wiggly" power button presented a safety hazard which both the tech giant and the carrier kept hidden in order to sell more of the handsets.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess dismissed the argument for a racketeering charge, ruling the safety hazards were "speculative" and occurred beyond the product's warranty period. The court's rejection could influence a second similar federal lawsuit still making its way through the legal system...

Details on ‘imminent’ AppleCare+ launch in Europe

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2013

We already told you that Apple has cancelled support personnel vacations from September 15-28 and is now training AppleCare support employees on iOS 7 and iTunes Radio ahead of the iPhone 5S/5C introduction next month.

Yesterday, word on the street was that Tim Cook & Co. were gearing up to roll out the extended AppleCare+ coverage for iOS devices in key European markets.

First details are now beginning to trickle in.

Allegedly, the AppleCare+ launch is now "imminent" in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Switzerland, at least initially. If true, this will be the first time Apple offered the $99 extended coverage and premium support service to customers outside the United States, Canada and Japan...

Apple canceling support staff vacations ahead of iOS 7 launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 30, 2013

Just like it did ahead of every iPhone launch since the original iPhone's release back in the summer of 2007, Apple is now canceling vacations for its AppleCare support personnel ahead of next month's release of new iPhones. Specifically, Apple is restricting employees from taking time off from September 15 and all the way through September 28.

Of course, Apple during this two-week window is expected to announce and start selling the iPhone 5S/5C and release iOS 7 for public consumption. Just earlier today, we reported the firm is now asking its registered developers to update their applications with app icons optimized for the new iOS 7 sizes...

Hacker claims to have iOS 6.1.3 untether binary

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

With iOS 7 on the horizon, many rumblings have been surfacing lately about the possibility of an iOS 6.1.3 jailbreak. First there was UnthreadedJB, who after releasing an obscure iOS 5.1 jailbreak for CDMA enable iPhone 4's, claims to have an iOS 6.1.3 jailbreak. Those claims have never been solidified by any independent sources, so the verdict is definitely still out about its legitimacy.

But there's still hope. iOS hacker winocm, well known throughout the jailbreak community, took to twitter this morning to confirm that he has a binary for an iOS 6.1.3 untethered jailbreak.

Ahead of September’s reveal, Apple now asking devs to submit app icons at new iOS 7 sizes

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 3, 2017

With less than two weeks left until the looming iPhone 5S/5C event, Apple is now reportedly asking developers to submit larger app icons optimized for the new iOS 7 resolutions. Because Apple has slightly enlarged app icons in iOS 7, third-party applications which support only iOS 6 icon sizes appear with a small white border on the iOS 7 Home screen.

The company wants to avoid this so it's now demanding that developers submit app icons in the new iOS 7 120-by-120 pixel resolution for the iPhone and 152-by-152 pixels for the iPad...

Celeste 2 brings much improved Bluetooth file sharing to iOS

Jeff Benjamin ∙ August 30, 2013

The CocoaNuts' original release of Celeste went down as one of the most hyped jailbreak apps in the history of jailbreaking. The fanfare of the release seem to rival some of the more prominent apps to appear on the App Store at the time.

I remember waiting up until 3:00 AM in anticipation of Celeste. It never lived up to the astronomical amount of hype it generated, but it was a decent app, if not a little buggy and complicated to use.

The sequel to Celeste, simply entitled Celeste 2, is a vast improvement over its predecessor. Whereas the original Celeste never quite lived up to its claim to bring simple Bluetooth sharing to iOS, Celeste 2, for the most part, just works.

The purpose of the app is to allow users to transfer files between compatible Bluetooth devices. These devices can include a fellow iOS device such as an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. It can also include Macs, and even Windows machines. Generally speaking, if the device supports Bluetooth file transfer, then chances are your iOS device can talk to it by means of Celeste.

Want to see Celeste 2 in action? Have a look inside at our full video walkthrough after the break...

Official: iPhone trade-in program launches today across Apple Stores in US

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 29, 2016

Despite Tim Cook dodging questions about the then-supposed iPhone trade-in program during June's earnings call, the rumors have turned out true after all.

Apple on Friday officially launched the new iPhone Reuse and Recycling Program, basically a trade-in initiative aimed at boosting iPhone sales at Apple's own retail stores, which currently comprise only twenty percent of iPhones sold (Cook wants to sell half of all iPhones at company stores).

Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

Mophie’s battery cases get playful color options

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Mophie's Helium series of battery-extending cases for Apple's iPhone 5 are a no-brainer for power users who can't get through their day on a single charge. The California-based accessory maker offers the Helium cases in three flavors: the 13 percent thinner standard-edition Juice Pack Helium with a 1,500mAh battery, the even thinner Juice Pack Air (just 0.63-inches thick) with a bigger 1,700mAh built-in battery and the latest Juice Pack Plus which rocks a 2,100 mAh battery, good for an additional ten hours of 3G/LTE talk time/web use.

And now, in time for Apple's September 10 big reveal of the colorful iPhone 5S/5C, Mophie has introduced a burst of color options...

iPad mini becomes in-flight entertainment for Hawaiian Airlines

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 30, 2013

If you plan to fly to Hawaii soon, you may want to spend the travel time with an iPad mini. Hawaiian Airlines says it will offer the iPad as an entertainment option to passengers on more than a dozen aircraft starting September 1, including Boeing 767 flights.

The Apple tablet will be available for rental either before passengers board or during flight. According to the airline, 1,400 tablets will be offered from its Honolulu headquarters to the U.S. mainland, Asia and the South Pacific...

Photoristic makes photo editing on your iPad a treat

Lory Gil ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

If you are feeling disillusioned with Apple’s iPhoto for iOS app and want a little more control over your image editing options, there is another (said in the voice of Yoda).

Photoristic HD is a photo-editing app that lets you use professional quality tools on your iPad. Fix lighting flaws, brighten flat photos, and turn a near-perfect shot into the perfect picture with just a few taps…

In proposed settlement, customers could receive up to $3 per e-book downloaded

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

While much recent discussion regarding Apple's guilty verdict on e-book price-fixing charges, we're now getting the first glimpse at how consumers may benefit. Based on a proposed $162.25 million fund established by the five publishers who earlier settled, consumers could receive up to $3.06 per New York Times bestselling e-book they downloaded to their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

The exact amount depends on whether your purchased e-book was listed on the NYT bestseller list, with a smaller $0.73 disbursed if your e-book did not make it on the list...