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Foxconn said to be hiring workers to build next-gen iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ July 10, 2013

According to a new report, Foxconn—Apple's go-to manufacturing partner for many of its iOS devices—has begun hiring workers to help it produce the next-generation iPhone. A recruiting firm that works with the company has reportedly started large-scale recruitment.

The boost in hiring makes sense, as recent reports suggest that Apple has begun ramping up production of its next-gen handset ahead of what is expected to be a fall launch. We saw a similar bolster in Foxconn's workforce ahead of the iPhone 5's launch last summer...

Google shows off new Google Maps features, coming soon to iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2013

As announced on Google's official Lat Long blog yesterday, the company has begun rolling out a major update to Google Maps that was first showcased at Google I/O 2013 in May. The company has issued a promotional clip to detail some of the new features, now available to Android 4.0.3+ users as a free download on the Play store. Although the new build hasn't hit the App Store yet, Google said it will be soon available for iOS 6+ devices...

Apple asks ITC for stay on sales ban affecting older iOS devices

Cody Lee ∙ July 10, 2013

Apple has asked the United States International Trade Commission (or ITC) to stay a ban on sales of older iPhone and iPads while a court considers an appeal. The company filed a motion on Monday arguing that the ban, which is the result of a Samsung patent infringement complaint, will 'sweep away an entire segment of Apple's products...'

Tumblr updates iOS app with new search and discovery features

Cody Lee ∙ July 10, 2013

Tumblr users will be happy to hear that the micro-blogging service has posted a new update for its iOS client. The update, which brings the app to version 3.4, includes a handful of very useful enhancements.

And all of these enhancements have to do with search and discovery. Users can now search for specific tags and blogs, or explore various trending tags and blogs, right from within the mobile Tumblr application...

AT&T to host event on July 16 to discuss ‘what’s next in wireless’

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

AT&T, the second largest wireless provider in the United States by customer base, started sending out invitations yesterday to several major media outlets for a mysterious media event it's going to be hosting on July 16.

Other than the cryptic message "Get ready for what's next in wireless," the invites don't really offer up any details on what the event could be about. But given that AT&T is a carrier, it's not hard to speculate on the matter...

Let’s Talk Jailbreak 18: Cody’s top tweaks

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 9, 2013

In this week's episode, Cody discusses his top five jailbreak tweaks, along with a brief synopsis of p0sixninja's openjailbreak site go-live. Jeff shares his disdain for cable companies, along with his love for XBMC and the Apple TV 2. The pair is also sure to talk about this week's jailbreak tweaks, which include: ScreenFade, LiveWire Pro, VeloxTube for Velox, ayra, and StatusHUD.

iOS 7 smooths out iPhone apps on non-Retina iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 9, 2013

With each passing day we learn more about the subtleties and under-the-hood tweaks that have made their way into the third beta of iOS 7. Today, I want to talk about the iPad's 2x compatibility mode. Hasn't it always bothered you how iPhone apps run pixel-doubled on your iPad mini and other non-Retina iPad devices, resulting in jagged corners and edges and just all-around pixelated appearance?

You can tick that issue off as iOS 7 Beta 3 added a new feature that makes every iPhone app look very clear running on an iPad 2 or iPad mini, in a manner reminiscent of a tweak for jailbroken devices by Ryan Petrich, called RetinaPad...

Microsoft’s fourth iPad-bashing ad touts Windows 8 multitasking

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

iPad-bashing is becoming the recurring theme for Microsoft as the once dominant force in computing struggles to reclaim its relevancy in the post-PC world. Nowhere is this more evident that in Microsoft's inability to hit the ground running with Windows 8 on tablets.

With a few notable exceptions, you can tell an also-ran has run out of ideas when it puts together a television commercial advertising its contender against the industry leader.

Sometimes the strategy of piggy-backing on the top dog's popularity can do wonders (case in point: Samsung), but often times it just backfires. The latter appears to be happening with Microsoft's anti-iPad ads. I'll let you be the judge of that: the latest iPad-dissing 30-second spot sporting two baseball scouts is below the fold...

Plants vs. Zombies 2 lands in Australia and New Zealand App Stores

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Good news this afternoon for those looking forward to the highly anticipated Plants vs. Zombie sequel. Plants vs. Zombies 2: It’s About Time has started hitting App Stores around the world, despite EA's warning that the game wouldn't make its July 18th deadline.

Don't get too excited though. Apparently, today's release is just a limited soft launch to help the developers fine-tune the game's new free-to-play experience. For now, only folks in Australia and New Zealand (or with iTunes accounts in either country) can download it...

Massive outage affects one in three iMessage users

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 9, 2013

We thought Apple by now has figured its customers have come to expect better than this, but here we go again: in a massive outage earlier today, the company's messaging service for iOS and Mac devices went offline for nearly one-third of its installed user base, by Apple's own admission.

Now, I know iCloud now has more than 300 million accounts (Tim Cook labeled it “the fastest growing cloud service ever” at WWDC last month). Likewise, I'm aware that with 800 billion iMessages sent and more than 7.5 trillion push notifications received, Apple no doubt has the scale and computing power to drive iMessage.

But something seems to be amiss here. The more I think of it, the more I tend to be bothered by the frequency and sheer reach of these outages. At the very least, I'm beginning to question Apple's ability to cope with such an exponential growth of its cloud service...

Apple’s lawsuit against Amazon over ‘App Store’ name ends in draw

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 9, 2013

Apple and Amazon have taken off the gloves back in 2011, apparently deciding the 'App Store' name is big enough for both companies. An Oakland, California district court pulled the plug on the dispute at the request of the two app providers. The decision to walk away from just who owns the 'App Store' title follows Apple agreeing not to sue Amazon, according to a report this morning...