iDownloadBlog.com

Tim Cook issues open letter apologizing for warranty issues in China

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

If you've been reading the news lately, you've probably heard that Apple's been having some major difficulties in China. Over the last few weeks, it's been getting bashed by the state-run CCTV network and Chinese celebrities over its warranty policies.

The main issue is that some folks believe Apple provides customers in China with worse after-purchase service than it does in other countries, with reports claiming it replaces their goods with recycled components instead of new ones like in the US.

Apple has been fairly quiet on the criticism, until today...

Reeder goes free on Mac and iPad

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated May 2, 2017

Despite a few complaints by me over the years, Reeder is still my favorite RSS reader on iOS and the Mac. I use it on my iPhone, my iPad, and my Mac. Recently, as have many others, I ditched Google Reader, but Reeder as an app will fortunately live on.

Today, Reeder developer Silvio Rizzi, announced some big changes for Reeder. The big news is the fact that support and development for Reeder will still continue, despite Google Reader's demise on July 1st. The other big news is that the current versions of Reeder on the Mac and iPad are now free.

How to enable HDR on the iPhone’s front facing camera

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 1, 2013

Front HDR is a new jailbreak tweak that allows you to enable High Dynamic Range while using the iPhone's front facing camera. Normally speaking, HDR is a mode reserved for the iPhone's rear camera, and since the rear picture quality is much better than the front camera, it's probably best served there.

Still, there are always those who want to make their iPhone's do things that it was never intended to do, and that's the case with Front HDR. While the tweak does work as advertised, it also poses a few big issues along the way. Check inside for more details.

WeatherIcon comes alive for iOS 6

Jeff Benjamin ∙ April 1, 2013

Rejoice, ladies and gentlemen, because WeatherIcon is back and it brings support for iOS 6 in tow. Aptly dubbed WeatherIcon 6, this jailbreak tweak brings live weather updates to jailbroken iOS 6 devices.

Like its predecessor, this tweak ditches the static "73 degrees and sunny" located on the stock Weather app icon, in favor of live up-to-date weather conditions. One thing you won't find in WeatherIcon 6 is support for status bar weather information, but the developer says that a future update to a dependency will bring status bar support soon.

LS Climacons, a tranquil theme for your Lock screen

Guest Author ∙ Updated January 25, 2017

Well it’s Monday and most of you are returning to work or school and gearing up for the week ahead. What’s going to help, you ask? Well another theme post from your friends over at iDB of course! In this series we lay out instructions on how to turn that boring stock Lock or Home screen into a beautifully crafted setup. The Lock screen has been neglected by Apple long enough so lets make it feel special for once.

Let’s get started…

Handset cost: a common reason why people go Android

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Evidence supporting a call for Apple to produce a budget-minded smartphone keeps mounting. The latest evidence: Android's market share lead over iOS in the US is widening, according to research concluded in February. What once was a 2-point domestic lead for Google's mobile software in 2012 has stretched to 8 points.

Android now has just over half of the US smartphone market with 51.2 percent of sales, according to a survey by Kantar Worldpanel. That is a gain from 47 percent during the same period a year ago. Apple's iOS is in second place in the U.S. with 43.5 percent of smartphone sales, a 3.5 percent slip from 2012, according to Kantar...

Nuance launches Voice Ads platform, now ads can talk back to you

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kusQK7PCXTM

Nuance, which supplies Apple with the voice-recognition engine behind Siri, on Monday introduced a new voice-driven advertising platform. No, this isn't one of the April Fools' Day jokes hitting the web today. They are calling it Voice Ads and with a reason, too: the system gives advertisers an opportunity to literally create conversations with consumers through the power of voice recognition and interactivity.

We're not sure how users will react to mobile ads that talk back to them, but we'll admit that the addition of voice - when used the right way - could enhance mobile advertising by going beyond the limitations of mobile devices' limited screen real estate...

April Fools’ Day: the Internet’s best techy pranks

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-P6jEMtixY

Today is April Fools' Day so don't take everything you read at face value. Practical jokers as they are, Google is pulling a bunch of April Fools' Day pranks so a lot of people will find it difficult to read today's headlines without disbelieving them. Google's jokes range from the Google Nose Beta button in search ("Smelling is believing") to Google Treasure Maps, a new mapping product to help you find treasure in cities to YouTube closing down after eight years.

They aren't the only ones, other brands pulled pranks of their own. Heck, companies are even issuing press releases with April Fools' Day announcements. I've included more stuff right after the break, like Gmail Blue, a Google Maps Street View feature which lets you decorate your house with themes, a Lumia-branded microwave oven, the Samsung Eco Tree and lots more...

ToDoNotes 2 is out with iOS 6 support

Cody Lee ∙ March 31, 2013

In the summer of 2011, jailbreak developers participated in a cool project called tweak week. Several devs each took a week, and released one new jailbreak tweak everyday. It went on for 3+ months, and we got several great tweaks out of it.

One of those tweaks was ToDoNotes, by TwitkaFly developer moeseth, which added a notepad to the Spotlight page that talked with the Notes app, giving you quick access to your memos. And version 2 just came out with iOS 6 support...

Add functionality to the AssistiveTouch feature with MyAssistive

Cody Lee ∙ March 31, 2013

Buried deep in the iOS Settings app, at the bottom of the Accessibility window, is a feature called AssistiveTouch. Apple built this tool to make its mobile devices more accessible to users with impaired physical or motor skills.

Enabling the feature adds a tiny icon to your device's screen that typically, when tapped, opens a menu with shortcuts for a variety of system functions. But with the new MyAssistive jailbreak tweak, you can change that...

iBatteryInfo provides useful battery data when unplugging your device

Cody Lee ∙ March 31, 2013

If your device's battery life is a major concern for you, there are a number of jailbreak tweaks out there that will help you monitor and get the most out of it. There's BatteryDoctorPro, Battery Status and BattSaver, to name a few.

Today we're adding another one to the list, a new tweak called iBatteryInfo. This simple utility offers up all kinds of useful data, like whether or not your battery is fully charged, when plugging in and unplugging your iOS device...

Tiny Troopers 2: Special Ops marches onto the App Store

Lory Gil ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Tiny Troopers made its mark on the App Store in June of 2012. The battle-heavy app mixed team-up gameplay with shoot-em-up action. The minuscule military men are back for more and Tiny Troopers 2: Special Ops is an excellent follow-up to its predecessor.

When I first started playing Tiny Troopers, the one thing that stood out to me the most was the use of military-related catch phrases. Every time a little soldier takes down an enemy, you’ll hear him squeak out a line like, “Hurrah!” or, “Open fire!” It was the thing that drew me in. Those little tough guys are so dang cute.

Tiny Troopers 2 incorporates all of the cuteness of the original while maintaining the manliness you’ve come to expect of war games. You’re not going to be sniping fools a la “Call of Duty,” but you can still get your shooter game action fix...