iDownloadBlog.com

NYT spells out Apple’s living room strategy

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 18, 2013

Apple's plans for the living room have rested largely on the Apple TV the company's leadership continues to call "a hobby project." While there's been talk that the tech giant could unveil its own television set, rumors of revamping the television experience have been greeted with industry concern and fruitless negotiations.

However, now comes word Apple wants to be friends with Time Warner, Disney and other content producers - and along the way improve some of the worst aspects of current television viewing.

One result of the partnerships is an upcoming Time Warner Cable Apple TV app that would turn Apple's $99 set-top box into a channel guide for live and on-demand programming much superior to the clunky software now offered by the distributor...

‘SearchAmplius’ brings advanced search features to Spotlight

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

SearchAmplius is a new jailbreak tweak that brings some really cool new features to the Spotlight search page. Normally, I've found that tweaks of this nature absolutely fail to impress me, but SearchAmplius is one of the rare exceptions to that rule.

The tweak, which is simple in design, allows you to configure additional search modules for use in Spotlight. For example, you can search YouTube videos directly from Spotlight, and play them via the official YouTube app with just a tap on the search result. You can also search Cydia releases in much the same way, tapping on the name of the release to be whisked away to the Cydia install page for the tweak in question. App Store apps are there, too, and work much the same.

Other tweaks have tried to do similar functions in the past, but SearchAmplius is definitely at the top of the list when it comes to supercharging Spotlight. Have a look at our full video walkthrough inside for more information regarding the tweak.

Verizon activates 3.9M iPhones in Q2 2013

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 18, 2013

Despite concerns about a shrinking pool of U.S. cell phone owners who have yet to upgrade to smartphones, Verizon Wireless announced it activated 3.9 million iPhones during the second quarter, an increase of 44 percent surpassing analyst forecasts of 3.5 million iPhone subscribers.

In other words, of the 7.5 million smartphones Verizon activated in the June quarter, over 50 percent were iPhones. Smartphones now account for more than half of Verizon Wireless customers, rising to 64 percent from a previous 50 percent, according to the official earnings results the carrier posted Thursday...

Meet Apple’s iWatch dream team

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2013

As evidence pertaining to a rumored Apple smartwatch mounts, so do Apple's recent tech celebrity hirings. For example, the past few weeks saw the poaching of former Adobe CTO and Flash proponent Kevin Lynch, who joined Apple as VP of Technology.

Another example: the outgoing French fashion label Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve is joining Apple to work on special projects as a Vice President reporting directly to Apple’s boss Tim Cook.

Along with the company's long-time hardware guru Bob Mansfield, head of all Design and Human Interfaces across the company, Jonathan Ive, iOS/OS X boss Craig Federighi and other high-profile execs, Apple is assembling an all-star cast tasked with figuring out its next breakthrough - wearables...

Suppliers say Apple ramping up iDevice chip orders

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 18, 2013

We've witnessed recently a mishmash of wildly unlikely predictions, genuine-looking iPhone 5S production shots, plenty of various other leaks and big media confirmations, all seemingly pointing to Apple flexing its manufacturing muscle ahead of upcoming new product launches.

Hot on the heels of this chatter, a Taiwanese trade publication chimed in Thursday claiming Apple's chips suppliers are seeing a boost in orders from Apple, which could be interpreted as another solid indication that the company is ramping up production as it gears up for the next iDevice refresh cycle...

Some of the best board game apps for iOS

Lory Gil ∙ Updated March 14, 2018

If you’ve read some of my previous reviews, you’ll know that I am a huge fan of board games. The more complex and challenging, the more I like it. I love punching out 100 different little cardboard tokens. I like the sound of two six-sided dice clicking together in my hand.

This week, I’ve made a list of some great board game apps that are based specifically on real-life games that I’ve played. It is by no means a full list of the best board game apps out there, but it features games that I’ve tested in both digital and cardboard environments…

HalfPeeled releases Ruby app for easy Reddit viewing

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

For the Reddit fans out there looking for a slick way to interact with your feeds and threads, a new app will solve your woes. Until now, there were limited options in the App Store for easy Reddit enjoyment. Today Ruby hits the market, granting easy access to your favorite threads in a crisp package. Having been a beta tester for the app over previous weeks, I really like the UI and functionality.

This is not HalfPeeled's first time around the app development block. When it comes to apps, their innovation is starting to show. Published by Nate Chiger, a 2012 and 2013 WWDC Scholarship Recipient, Ruby is his newest offering and follows several other quality apps. Take a step inside for a quick run down of the nice features...

Pacific Rim review: giant mechs and sea creatures battling? Yes please!

Lory Gil ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Today is the perfect day to write a review of the iOS version of the Pacific Rim game. I just watched the movie last night. I won’t give anything away for those of you who have not yet seen the epic tale of robots and monsters. But I will tell you that some of the features in the game make more sense after seeing the film.

Pacific Rim is a battle game that pits enormous weaponized robots against colossal sea-dwelling aliens in a melee fight for the possession of humanity…

‘Orangered’ delivers Reddit push notifications to iOS devices

Joe Rossignol ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Reddit has grown exponentially as a link-based community over the past few years, emerging as one of the de facto places for breaking news, funny images, IAMA question and answer sessions, and more. And memes -- lots and lots of memes. The surging popularity of the website can make staying on top of new posts, comments, and mentions increasingly challenging.

Looking to make the Reddit experience more manageable on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, developer Julian Weiss has released a new jailbreak tweak called Orangered. The tweak brings Reddit push notifications to iOS systemwide, including both the Lock screen and Home screen, for the following supported Reddit apps: Alien Blue, Karma, Upvote, iAlien, amrc, and Redditor…

Apple moves to patent in-display fingerprint sensor tech

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

One of the big new features in the upcoming iPhone 5S, Apple's next generation smartphone, is expected to be a built-in fingerprint sensor. To be fair, we've yet to see any evidence of this, but reports have been consistent over past 6 months.

Up until now, most folks have presumed that if Apple were to outfit its handset with such a sensor, that it would build it into the Home button. But according to a new patent filing from the company, it could build it right into the display...

Move over Verizon, AT&T says it now has the most reliable network in the US

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

The wireless provider industry here in the United States is dominated by 4 major carriers: Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. You could actually narrow it down even further, to two carriers, as Verizon and AT&T are much larger than the other two.

And both carriers have their strengths. Verizon is known for having an expansive and reliable network, offering more coverage in more places, while AT&T is known for its network's speed. But AT&T is now claiming it has the most reliable network too...

Apple reportedly in talks with LG over 4K TV panels

Cody Lee ∙ July 18, 2013

With all of the recent chatter regarding the budget iPhone and so-called iWatch, it seems like the rumor mill has forgotten all about Apple's plan to build a television set. Looking back, the last iTV report popped up back in May.

But that doesn't mean the project is dead. In fact, according to this new report from DigiTimes, it's very much alive. The controversial outlet claims that Apple is currently in talks with LG Display over large-sized 4K TV panels...