Nike+ Running update brings new Nike+ Challenges feature

Nike has posted a significant update to its popular Running app today, bringing it to version 4.3. While the update only includes a handful of improvements, and one new feature, that new feature is a pretty big deal.

It's called Nike+ Challenges, and just as you'd expect, it allows you to challenge your friends to a race. You simply set the distance, send an invite to another Nike+ user, and the app will track each of your progresses...

Foxconn to exclusively manufacture Apple’s iPad mini 2, rumor has it

As we sift through Apple's June quarter numbers and decipher vague hints suggesting a blockbuster Fall, rumors of a next-generation iPad mini continue to swirl. And where DigiTimes sees a Retina iPad mini in October, KGI's Ming-Chi Kuo sees a launch in March or April of 2014 given the battery and performance challenges stemming from driving a much smaller, thinner and lighter Retina display.

A pair of recent supply chain reports points to Apple commissioning Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (aka Foxcon) with assembly of the second-generation iPad mini. The company is additionally said to have included new suppliers in the iPad supply chain...

Apple makes its blockbuster Fall kinda official

If there ever was any doubt fresh Apple gadgets were coming this Fall, one just needs to read between the lines of what Apple's finance boss Peter Oppenheimer said during June quarter conference call with analyst. In a Q&A Session, the exec hinted at a "very busy Fall".

The statement echoes a recent note by a reliable analyst who projected a flurry of Apple product launches throughout September and into late-October. When pressed to explain himself, Oppenheimer dodged giving a straight answer by insisting on leaving it there and instead "go into more detail in October." Touché, Pete, touché indeed!

15 interesting points from today’s earnings call

Apple just announced its earnings for its June quarter, and despite all of the ‘doom’ talk and lowball analyst predictions, the numbers are actually pretty good. In fact, the company set a record for iPhone sales during the 3-month period.

We're just finishing up the conference call, where Tim Cook and his CFO Peter Oppenheimer talked about the quarter, offered some insight and fielded several questions. And as usual, we’ve rounded up the 15 most interesting points for you...

Apple Q3 2013 earnings: 31.2M iPhones, 14.6M iPads, $35.3B revenue

Facing increasing competition from Samsung and other vendors, without a new product in several months, most analysts predicted that Apple's earnings for the June quarter would be somewhat of a disappointment. But Apple just beat most of the Street's estimates.

Apple's earnings are out, and for the most part the numbers are impressive. The company managed to sell 31.2 million iPhones during the 3-month period, where most analysts predicted 26 million. And it also sold 14.6M iPads (very low), and posted $35.3B in revenue...

AT&T activates 3.7 million iPhones in Q2

As we sit and wait for Apple to release its earnings report for the June quarter, let's take a look at how AT&T did. The nation's second largest carrier has had an interesting 3-months, having to deal with increased competition from the scrappy T-Mobile.

The company just released its Q2 financials, and most of the numbers look good thus far. The carrier says it added 551,000 postpaid subscribers from March to June, helping it fuel earnings of 67 cents per share and post a solid revenue of $32 billion...

Sprint’s caption-calling CapTel service for hearing impaired is now iOS-friendly

Wireless CapTel, Sprint's nationwide caption-calling service for the hearing impaired, is now available to owners of Apple's iOS devices. America's third-largest wireless carrier announced Tuesday that owners of the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices who have a hearing loss can download a brand new iOS app, free to users on an Everything Data plan (voice-only plans are not supported).

As the software taps the power of the cloud, a network connectivity is a must. The app lets you speak and listen to your caller while at the same time read everything the other person says, right on your iDevice's screen...

Popular voice and messaging service ‘Viber’ hacked by Syrian Electronic Army

Popular voice and messaging service Viber has been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army, reports The Hacker News. The group has a history of hacking the Twitter accounts of the Associated Press, The Guardian, and other news sources.

Proof of today's attack came in the form of a warning message on Viber's support website (which has since been). The SEA claims that the messaging platform is spying and tracking its users, and it posted a screenshot of alleged evidence...

Motorola introduces the Droid Maxx with 48-hour battery life

Despite the fact that it's gearing up to launch the Moto X next week, Motorola joined Verizon on stage this morning at a very low key event in New York City to introduce a trio of new Droid smartphones: the Droid Mini, the Droid Ultra, and the Droid Maxx.

All 3 handsets seem like decent offerings, but the Mini and the Ultra were most decidedly overshadowed by the Droid Maxx. In addition to its 5-inch, HiDef OLED display and 8-core processor, the Maxx promises up to 48 hours of 'typical use' battery life...

Apple makes ‘clear improvements’ to iDevice crime prevention, SF DA says

At least one critic is satisfied by Apple's efforts to slow a growing number of iPhone crimes. San Francisco's District Attorney, who earlier called on the iPhone maker to install a so-called kill switch in its handsets, now believes a feature in the company's upcoming iOS 7 shows "clear improvements" by the tech giant.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón made the comment Friday after testing Apple's Activation Lock feature alongside the Absolute Software's Lojack running on Samsung's Galaxy S4...

Twitterrific gains Today view, better photo viewing, sleeker UI and notable bug fixes

Twitterrific on iOS with its flattened interface and light typeface may have paved the way for the iOS 7 redesign. But Twitterrific is much more than a prettified Twitter client. I typically use Tweetbot for my daily tweeting needs on mobile and desktop, but Twitterrific has always been my second choice.

In an update today, Twitterrific has gained a sidebar item called Today, basically an overview of your most recent favorites, retweets and new followers...

Realmac’s digital scrapbook app Ember is now available on Mac App Store

I've been growing increasingly frustrated with the note-taking giant Evernote's decision to buy Skitch, my favorite screenshot-taking and annotation app. Very little have I seen in terms of meaningful enhancements and new features post-buyout.

Making matters worse, I've never been a huge fan of Evernote. You could say I downright hate how notebook organization, recipe management, saving web clips or just jotting down a few quick thoughts in Evernote is such a cumbersome and resource-hungry experience (plus, it's high maintenance).

There's definitely a market for a decent scrapbook app out there, one that's been written from the ground up to take advantage of the latest and greatest software technologies, with a strong focus on simplicity and ease of use.

That's where Realmac Software's Ember for Mac jumps in. You can tell it's special because Realmac are the same guys who brought you the popular Clear multitouch to-do app for iOS/OS X and the delightful Analog Camera for iOS...