Samsung and Apple renew settlement talks, but no deal yet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

iPhone 4s

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...

Rovio’s game-syncing ‘Account’ now available worldwide on iOS

Back in May, Rovio began rolling out ‘Account,’ a cloud-based service that allows users to save their progress in games across various devices. And today, the Finnish game-maker announced that it's now available to all iOS and Android users worldwide.

As before, Accounts is currently only available for gamers of the Croods and the original Angry Birds title, but the company says that it is intent on expanding it to other Angry Birds and non Angry Birds titles soon. More on the announcement after the fold...

Apple acquires location-based data startup Locationary

According to a new report, Apple has acquired Toronto-based Locationary, a Canadian startup that provides crowdsourced location data, for an unknown amount. The deal, which has already closed, includes both the company's tech and team.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling has even confirmed the new acquisition, offering up the usual boiler plate response 'Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”