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Subway UK implements Passbook loyalty card

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 6, 2013

With just five days left until Apple's WWDC keynote, some notable holdouts are at last integrating Passbook into their business.

The latest example: Subway, an American fast food restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. The company on Thursday updated its free Subcard iOS app with Passbook support for users in the United Kingdom.

This allows Subway customers to access their Subcard ID and recent transactions via the stock iOS 6 Passbook application on their iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices and sync those across Macs and iOS devices via iCloud...

Apple patents hints at ad-supported budget iPhone

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 6, 2013

An intriguing Apple patent application was discovered Thursday, hinting at a solution to how smartphones could be owned in developing nations, such as India. The patent filing describes a way a handset owner could defray the cost of a smartphone's data plan by viewing advertising.

The patent application published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, is entitled 'Method and system for managing credits via a mobile device.'

In the same way Apple's Passbook feature stores coupons and such, this proposed technology would expand the concept of digital wallets...

Kamcord adds voice narration to iOS games

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 23, 2017

If you haven't heard about Kamcord yet, it's a startup which provides technology that enables iOS games developers to offer in-game recording functionality. The Y Combinator service is funded by some of the biggest venture capitalists around, including Google's Ventures funding arm, Andreessen Horowitz, Yahoo's boss Marissa Mayer and others.

And with over a hundred iOS games incorporating Kamcord solutions and over 500 million gameplay videos being recorded in the last six months, Kamcord has clearly hit the ground running. Earlier this week, the firm announced several new features to the service, including the ability to narrate gameplay videos, in real-time...

Gameloft posts first teaser trailer for Modern Combat 5

Cody Lee ∙ June 6, 2013

Fans of the popular first-person shooter franchise Modern Combat will be happy to hear that Gameloft has just posted the first teaser trailer for the next iteration of the game, Modern Combat 5.

As you can imagine, the trailer doesn't offer up too many details about the game itself. But it does feature a handful of entertaining action sequences in near-console quality graphics. Enjoy...

Logitech buys TidyTilt maker TT Design Labs

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 26, 2016

Accessory maker Logitech today announced that it is acquiring TT Design Labs, the accessory maker behind the TidyTilt Kickstarter project.

This iPhone smart cover incorporates magnetic earbud holder and kickstand and has raised north of $200,000 on Kickstarter.

The acquisition gives the two-person startup access to Logitech's "expert engineering, supply chain, distribution, and marketing minds." As part of the collaboration, the company has just started accepting pre-orders for the TidyTilt and JustMount, now marketed under the Logitech brand...

Leaked court order reveals Verizon is handing over call records to NSA

Cody Lee ∙ June 6, 2013

According to a new report, a newly leaked court order has revealed that the National Security Agency (or NSA) is currently collecting the telephone records of millions of United States cell phone users on Verizon Wireless.

The order, which was granted to the FBI by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA), requires the carrier to give the NSA information on all telephone calls in its system from both within the US, and between the US and other countries...

Here’s the crazy machine Apple uses to replace iPhone 5 screens

Cody Lee ∙ June 6, 2013

Last month, it was reported that Apple held a town hall meeting to discuss upcoming changes to its AppleCare service. One of the bigger changes noted was that it was going to be doing more in-store repairs on iPhones.

That change went into effect this week, as we reported on Monday that Apple is starting to repair iPhone 5 screens in store for $149. And in case you were wondering how they do it, here's a photo of the crazy machine...

Snapchat 5.0 is out with updated UI, in-app profiles and more

Cody Lee ∙ June 6, 2013

Popular chat and picture messaging app Snapchat just posted a fairly significant update, bringing the application to version 5.0. The update features a handful of improvements, including a revamped user interface.

Also included in the update, which is apparently code-named Banquo, is swipe navigation, the ability to double tap to reply to messages, in-app profiles, and more. As usual, we have the full change log after the fold...

Azkend 2 HD – The World Beneath is a match-three adventure of mystery and myth

Lory Gil ∙ June 6, 2013

Match-three games like Bejeweled have come a long way since their early entrance into the casual game world. Players have a lot more to do in today’s puzzle games.

Azkend 2 HD – The World Beneath is a match-three puzzle game with all kinds of interesting additions. The best part is that, not only are you matching objects for points, but you will also unlock the secrets of an unknown island as you play this adventure game…

Aping Apple…

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 5, 2013

In an irony likely not lost on executives in Cupertino, at a time when China is becoming Apple's chief market, a Chinese smartphone maker is earning the reputation as the 'Apple of the East.'

Xiaomi, which makes Android-powered lookalikes of the iPhone, is led by a young, brash and wealthy CEO who appears to be the second-coming of Steve Jobs.

From his jeans and dark shirt wardrobe to his company's $1 billion balance sheet, Xiaomi's Lei Jun, sees Apple as the template for moving China from the cheap rip-offs of yesterday to the Fortune 500 of tomorrow, according to a New York Times profile published Wednesday...

Is Apple throttling data speeds on iPhones and iPads for carriers?

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Joseph Brown, the guy behind the recent string of hacked carrier updates, has posted a rather interesting report this morning on why he thinks the hacks have been so successful. And the reason may just surprise you.

As it turns out, Brown has discovered that Apple is working with wireless carriers to implement coding in iOS to purposely slow down or limit the data speeds a device can achieve. And yes, he has the proof to back it up...

Apple releases iTunes 11.0.4 with improved syncing and other bug fixes

Cody Lee ∙ June 5, 2013

Apple has posted an update for iTunes this morning, bringing the software to version 11.0.4. The update comes just a few weeks after the big 11.0.3 release, which included a revamped mini player, support for multidisc albums, and more.

Unfortunately, today's update isn't nearly as glamorous. As you can see in the change log posted above, it's more of a maintenance release, with fixes for two well known bugs having to do with device syncing and user login requests...