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Hires closeups indicate plastic iPhone may borrow logic board design from iPhone 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 19, 2013

The sheer amount of would-be budget iPhone shells and supposed parts coming out from Asia has gotten out of hand.

Case in point: a small electronics company Techdy just recently posted several photographs that purportedly picture the chassis of Apple’s long rumored less-pricey iPhone.

These shots made rounds on the web until someone exposed them for what they are: a publicity stunt. Indeed, all of a sudden Techdy started selling an Android handset that looks like Apple's rumored budget iPhone. This is precisely why iDB passes on dozens of tips we receive on a daily basis and instead selectively tells you about the most interesting "leaks".

Today's nugget fits that description perfectly. Not only does a new set of photos reveal what appears to be some sort of an iPhone shell next to the iPhone 5, they do so in intricate detail unlike most prior leaks. We have high-resolution closeups just after the break...

Apple buys HopStop transit app to beef up Maps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

As pointed out by multiple outlets and tweeted by several reporters, Apple has acquired an online navigation startup HopStop.com to improve its troubled Maps offering, Bloomberg just reported. HopStop makes a free iPhone and Android transit app that features detailed subway, bus, train, taxi, walking and even biking directions.

This is exactly the kind of data Apple's Maps need in order to become a viable alternative to Google Maps. The HopStop software also features real-time transit information via the HopStop Live service, the official transit maps, nearby station search and station-to-station schedules in over 600 cities throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, including 140 major metropolitan areas...

Samsung and Apple renew settlement talks, but no deal yet

Cody Lee ∙ July 19, 2013

Apple and Samsung have reportedly renewed settlement talks, in an effort to put an end to their ongoing, global litigation. Since 2011, the two tech giants have been involved in countless patent lawsuits, in over 10 countries.

Word of their resumed resolution efforts comes by way of The Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the matter, the outlet says the two even came close to an agreement in February, but things have since cooled off...

Google to take Apple’s iPhone head on: August 1 Moto X media event is a go

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 19, 2013

Several big media reporters and technology blog editors confirmed receiving invitations from Google concerning the long awaited Moto X announcement.

The invitation-only event will be held in New York City on August 1, cunningly a few weeks ahead of Apple's rumored iPhone and iPad refresh.

The "Moto X" tagline on the invite leaves no room for ambiguity. The teaser graphics even shows Motorola's actual Android flagship in black and white, down to its distinctive curved top ridge. At any rate, this will be a watershed moment for the struggling handset maker.

The upcoming super phone, as Google CEO Larry Page likes to call it, is thought to feature an always-on assistant, a staggering 4,000mAh battery, a ten-megapixel camera and either a 4.3-inch of five-inch screen...

iTunes Radio, right on cue as streaming dollars replace download dollars

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

You don't get anywhere in consumer tech by being tone-deaf to trends. Apple's decision to get into digital music downloads just as sales of CDs slowed is just an example. Now comes evidence the iTunes Music Store owner is on the leading edge of the latest trend to hit: streaming replacing music downloads.

Apple's upcoming ad-supported iTunes Radio will appear as the number of digital songs sold have been slowing for some time while the number of tunes being streamed across the Internet is skyrocketing lately. Through the first half of 2013, 682 million digital songs were sold, a 2.3 percent drop from the 698 million in 2012.

By comparison, the number of songs streamed has risen 24 percent, according to industry watchers...

Google shamelessly lifts Apple’s patent illustration

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

I was shocked learning about the extent of Google's copying this morning. Apparently one of Google's patent filings with The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) uses a familiar-looking illustration to depict a generic computer.

Let me jut say it: Google's drawing is an exact replica of an illustration accompanying an older Apple patent filing. You'd have thought with all the commotion surrounding Google's plagiarism and Samsung ripping off Apple wholesale that the search giant should know better...

Preview: Auxo’s new Slim Mode

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

If you know me, then you know that I love Auxo; it's one of my favorite jailbreak tweaks and I use it on my daily driver. Auxo is great, because it offers a redesigned app switcher, toggles, and the ability to easily kill apps using gestures. Perhaps the biggest feature of Auxo is its ability to present full previews of apps in the app switcher.

While most users enjoy the privilege of having full app previews, due to the ability to gain context as to what's running on the device, some have balked at the feature. Their beef stems from the fact that the app switcher takes up too much space with Auxo installed, or that it's difficult to quickly identify what's running. Well, folks; the creators behind Auxo have a solution to what ails you. Introducing Auxo's brand new Slim Mode.

Forgetting about Surface disaster, Microsoft’s ad people take another jab at iPad

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 19, 2013

Microsoft just doesn't skip a beat when it comes to its fantasy that the Surface rivals Apple's iPad. Never mind the software giant had to reduce prices on its tablet because no one is buying the device. Never mind Thursday the company took a $900M writedown on those cheaper Surfaces that no one wants.

To mark all the features the Surface has (which no one except paid actors apparently want), the Redmond-based Windows giant has released another sneering ad pitting its tablet against Apple's. This is what lesser-known brands quite often do as they strive to piggy-back on the popularity of the Apple brand...

Apple to webcast June quarter earnings call

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

As per usual with Apple's earnings releases, the company will webcast its upcoming June earnings call. The live webcast will be provided, beginning at 2pm PDT on Tuesday, July 23, and will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

You can tune in to the audio webcast using your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 4.2 or above or a Mac running OS X 10.5 or above. If you're on a Windows PC, you'll want to install QuickTime 7 or later...

Realmac teases Ember, a digital scrapbook for your Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 27, 2016

Realmac Software, the guys who brought you the popular Clear multitouch to-do app for the iPhone and the delightful Analog Camera for iOS, to name just two, is working on a brand new Mac application that wants to become your ultimate digital scrapbook.

Called Ember, it appeases to designers who are desperate to “save, organize, annotate, and share” their work, but it can also be used by ordinary users who are looking to manage their projects and present them as media-rich scrapbooks...

Apple reportedly ordering large amounts of touch panels for next-gen iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 19, 2013

The somewhat reliable Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes yesterday changed course to say a second-generation Retina iPad mini upgrade is in fact launching this Fall, contrary to previous reports by Economic Daily News and NPD DisplaySearch, which called for a 2014 launch.

And in another sign of production ramp-up, DigiTimes reports that Apple's touch panel suppler TPK is expecting its third-quarter performance to improve due to significant One Glass Solution (OGS) touch panel orders from Apple...

Verizon CFO says the carrier won’t change plan pricing after Edge launch

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Verizon joined AT&T and T-Mobile yesterday by introducing a new upgrade program called Verizon Edge. Similar to the other two carriers' offerings, the plan involves customers paying a monthly fee in exchange for the ability to upgrade their device earlier.

After crunching some numbers, we found T-Mobile's program to be the best deal, due to the fact that it separates equipment and service charges. And some folks were hoping Verizon would follow suit here, but CFO Fran Shammo says don't count on it...