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Google: missing iTunes Store search links only technical mistake

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

If you're one of those conspiracy theorists, there's a bit of a tempest in a teapot happening over Google's search results. On the surface, it appears web links to iOS apps hosted on iTunes are being buried under related but not Apple-endorsed web sites. Meanwhile, some iOS apps from Google prominently appear at the top of search results. Is Google, which promotes its Android mobile operating system as an alternative to Apple's iOS, using its mammoth search database as a competitive weapon?

Or are Apple fans seeing phantoms? The Mountain View, California-headquartered Internet giant blames it all on a technical problem...

Track down the elusive Mister X as he wanders through Scotland Yard

Lory Gil ∙ April 4, 2013

Scotland Yard is a cops-and-robbers style evasion game that is a digital replica of the 1980s board game of the same name. Players take turns trying to figure out where the elusive “Mister X” is hiding out by tracking his possible whereabouts based on his movement abilities. If you can’t find him after 22 moves, then he has successfully outwitted his opponents. If you choose to play as Mister X, your only goal is to stay hidden until the cops give up.

The Scotland Yard app has been a popular board game app for iOS since its launch in May of 2012. The original European distributor of Scotland Yard, Ravensburger, has recreated the complex board game for iPad and iPhone and we wanted to know how it compares on both devices.

As a die-hard fan of the board game genre, I’ve spent some time with Scotland Yard on the iPhone, as well as the iPad and have an in-depth look at how the game plays on both devices...

Samsung Experience Shops coming to 1,400 Best Buy stores to fight Apple’s retail lead

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated May 2, 2017

Responding to Apple's retail lead, the South Korea based maker of Galaxy smartphones and tablets has made a major move in partnership with Best Buy, which also sells Apple products. Samsung is calling it the final component in a three-legged approach to competing with Apple in the United States. Beginning Monday, April 8, the South Korean smartphone maker will open hundreds of so-called Samsung Experience Shops in Best Buy stores across the country.

The 460 square-foot shops will be at the front of the stores, staffed by Samsung product experts. In a first of its kind move, Samsung will gather all of its products, showing how the Galaxy S4 smartphone can transfer content among the company's smart TVs, laptops, and tablets. By June, the firm hopes to have smaller mini shops in around another 1,000 locations owned by the retail electronics giant, according to a Thursday report...

Big Jawbone Jambox update improves streaming to iOS devices and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

When it comes to portable Bluetooth speakers, the Jambox is by far my favorite. It may not be the best-sounding, or give you the most bang for your buck, but I love its build quality and design, and the fact that Jawbone issues regular updates.

In fact, it just rolled out an update today for its Big Jambox line, bringing its firmware to version 2.0. The update features new AAC support for iOS 6.1, which will provide better audio streaming with less dropout, and improved battery life...

Happy birthday, iPad

Sébastien Page ∙ April 3, 2013

The first iPad was officially launched in the US on April 3rd, 2010, changing mobile computing forever.

Three years ago today, I was somewhere between Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, on a trip around the world with my wife. As an Apple fanatic, I was really bummed I wasn't able to be in the US for the launch of the iPad, Apple's tablet which was just about to create a brand new market of its own.

I had to wait until June to finally get my hands on the iPad. I remember flying from Australia to Los Angeles, getting off the plane, having a friend drive me to the nearest Apple Store, buying an iPad, and going back to the airport to take a flight to Paris. Yes, I came back to the US for about 3 hours just so I could finally get the long awaited iPad...

Colorized budget iPhone concept imagines translucent plastic shell

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 3, 2013

Apple’s rumored less-pricey iPhone has been widely reported by analysts, supply chain sources, pundits and big media as arriving later this year in a range of colors and encased in a super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber. Taking it all in, concept artists Nickolay Lamm and Matteo Gianni have created created an interesting renderings depicting the four-inch device with a curved backside and a translucent plastic shell resembling Apple's G3 iMac...

Walmart now offering 16GB iPad mini for $299

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

Apple received a lot of criticism when it introduced its iPad mini last October for $329. Critics felt that since other 7-inch tablets out at the time, like Google's Nexus 7 for example, were in the $200 range, Apple was crazy for pricing the mini so high.

But these days you don't have to pay quite that much to snag the tiny tablet. Last week we saw Apple offering a refurbished version of the 16GB Wi-Fi iPad mini for $299. And today, it looks like Walmart has matched that price for a brand new one...

Analyst claims iPhone 5S has fingerprint sensor

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

What voice-recognition did for the iPhone 4S, fingerprints will do for Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S, one technology analyst is telling investors. For the second time, an Apple observer forecasts a fingerprint sensor as a key feature of a new iPhone expected this summer. Such a sensor would let iPhone 5S owners use their fingerprints instead of passwords, as well as open the possibility of mobile credit card payments, according to a Wednesday report...

Rdio launches new Vdio streaming video service

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Last week we heard a rumor that music subscription service Spotify was looking to get into the streaming video space. But it looks like their rival has beat them to it. Today, Rdio has launched its own streaming video service called Vdio.

But unlike what we heard about Spotify's plans, Vdio doesn't really look like a Netflix competitor. It's actually a lot more like iTunes, in that it will let you rent and purchase videos from the service and then stream them to your devices...

Safari continues to dominate the mobile browser space

Cody Lee ∙ April 3, 2013

Despite the fact that it has numerous challengers, Apple's Safari has dominated the mobile browser space. And that continues to be the case today, according to a new report from web analytics firm Net Applications.

The firm's data, which stems from its web network that sees more than 160 million visits to more than 40,000 websites each month, shows that last month, Safari accounted for 61.79% of the mobile browser traffic...

Duke Nukem II smashes its way onto your iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 6, 2018

As promised, Interceptor Entertainment and 3D Realms today launched Duke Nukem II for the iPhone and iPad on the App Store. The legendary game has made it to Apple's mobile platform as part of its 20th anniversary. Generation Y readers will remember that the original Duke Nukem II had been released way back in 1993 for Microsoft’s DOS.

It was then followed by Duke Nukem 3D in 1996, a Nintendo Game Boy Color port in 1999 and Duke Nukem Forever in 2011. The iOS version is an enhanced port of the original, which means souped up VGA graphics, a new soundtrack, online leaderboards and more. If you've enjoyed the original release, you'll be delighted to know that all of the 32 original levels have made it to the iOS version...

Apple says its iOS app economy created 80,000 US jobs last year

Cody Lee ∙ April 3, 2013

Apple has come under heavy fire in recent years by critics for outsourcing its manufacturing jobs to Asia. Folks don't like the fact that while the US struggles with unemployment, it pays Chinese factory workers to build its products just to save a few dollars.

In response to the criticism, Apple posted a new page on its website last year touting the more than 500,000 jobs it's either created or supported in the US with its business. In fact, according to its records, its app economy alone created 80,000 jobs last year...