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Qualcomm’s new wireless chip makes a truly global iPhone possible

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 22, 2013

Doesn't it bother you that Apple sells its LTE devices like the iPhone 5 and latest iPads in a bunch of variants, depending on your carrier and geographical location? For example, the iPhone comes in two GSM models and one CDMA version. Blame it on the limitations with existing wireless chipsets, not Apple. Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a fantastic technology, but it's also highly fragmented.

And with nearly fifty different cellular bands in use globally worldwide, no wonder LTE is a bag of hurt, one that has introduced fragmentation unlike any other cellular radio technology before it.

Fortunately, chip maker Qualcomm has announced a new cellular solution which supports as much as 40 different bands on a single chip. It could finally allow Apple to build a truly global iPhone model that could support all implementations of the major cellular technologies used by carriers the world over...

Samsung’s outrageous VoiceOver suit against Apple stayed in Germany

Cody Lee ∙ February 22, 2013

Samsung has taken another hit in its patent war with Apple today.A Mannheim Regional Court in Germany ordered a stay of its infringement suit against the Cupertino company, pending a validity challenge on the patent-in-suit.

On the surface, this case looks just like any other Apple-Samsung court battle. But it's grabbing a significant amount of attention this morning due to Samsung's patent in question, as it's used in the iPhone's VoiceOver feature...

iPhone network locking under fire in Hong Kong

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 22, 2013

Just as an online petition to re-legalize unlocking has surpassed 100,000 signatures in the United States, meaning the White House must issue a response, Apple's phone-locking is under heavy fire in Hong Kong, where a local carrier alarmed watchdogs that it lost big money over the policy. Having discovered that the iPhone 5 wasn't functioning on its fourth-generation network, Hong Kong Telecom (HKT), a unit of telecommunications operator PCCW Ltd., filed court documents and is now seeking to contest the practice...

Brazil lawsuit claims iPad 3 made intentionally obsolete

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 22, 2013

Did Apple withhold features from the third-generation iPad, then make the tablet obsolete just six months afterwards by unveiling the iPad 4 - with the missing items? That's the accusation being made against Apple in a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in Brazil. At the heart of the lawsuit brought by the Brazilian Institute of Politics and Law Software (IBDI) is the charge Apple released the "new iPad" in May 2012, then in October introduced the iPad 4 alongside the iPad mini. By updating the processor and other features Apple has produced planned obsolescence...

App Store and Google Play games top handheld entertainment

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

Is it game over for Nintendo, Sony and other handheld entertainment companies? That's the question as a report released Thursday shows consumers spent more on games downloaded from app stores than those designed for dedicated handhelds. Indeed, during the fourth quarter of 2012, more than 20 billion games were downloaded to smartphones and tablets. Perhaps anticipating today's finding, Sony announced Wednesday its new PlayStation 4 will support used games...

How to back up your jailbreak tweaks before updating in iOS 6

Mike Schnier ∙ February 21, 2013

Many of our regular readers have been asking us about backup solutions for their devices after the release of iOS 6.1.2 and the jailbreak that followed shortly afterwards. I want to be clear here: automated backups can be very bad news. If you restore your tweaks without going through Cydia, and an update breaks a single tweak, you won't have a fun time attempting to find the incompatible package that crashes your phone at startup. While minor updates (like 6.1 to 6.1.2) are less likely to cause conflicts, the risk is never zero.

With that warning in mind, there are a number of options for backing up your Cydia tweaks when upgrading to iOS 6.1.2...

ActiveDock brings an OS X inspired dock to iOS

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 21, 2013

When you hear about an upcoming tweak collaboration between jailbreak community staples like Filippo Bigarella and Surenix, then the tweak is pretty much destined to be good. Unsurprisingly, that is the case for the upcoming ActiveDock, a jailbreak tweak that brings an OS X styled dock to the small screen.

We've gone hands-on with ActiveDock and put it through its paces. Needless to say, we came away impressed. Check out our video walkthrough inside.

Apple releases iOS 6.1.3 beta 2 to developers

Cody Lee ∙ February 21, 2013

Believe it or not, Apple has seeded a beta for another iOS update to developers today. The company has already issue two software updates, 6.1.1 and 6.1.2, in as many weeks, and only released iOS 6.1 three weeks ago.

Today's developer software is marked as iOS 6.1.3 beta 2. The first beta was actually sent out earlier this month, known as iOS 6.1.1 beta 1, but it's been renamed to iOS 6.1.3 due to the recent iOS bug-fixing updates...

Petition to legalize cell phone unlocking will get response from White House

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

On January 26th of this year, the DMCA exemption that made unlocking your cell phone legal, expired, subsequently making the popular practice illegal. Now, folks who go about unlocking their handsets risk serious legal repercussions.

Obviously, people weren't too happy with the way this played out, so an online petition was started to re-legalize unlocking. And as of today, that petition has surpassed 100,000 signatures, meaning the White House must issue a response...

Google Maps SDK for iOS updated, now available to all developers

Cody Lee ∙ February 21, 2013

When Google released its standalone Maps app for iOS back in December of last year, it also seeded an SDK to select developers. The software development kit allows developers to integrate Google's mapping data into their apps.

Today, Google has lifted the limitation, opening up its Maps SDK to all developers. The announcement comes alongside a nice little update to the dev kit, which now features ground overlays, and other new mapping tools...

These rear shell photos could mean colors are coming to iPad mini 2

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

A fresh batch of images purportedly representing the back shell believed to belong to a next-generation iPad mini have popped up on a Chinese forum. On the surface, the back part is reminiscent of the current-generation iPad mini design. On closer inspection, however, it appears to be a little thicker. Per rumor mills, the next iPad mini looks virtually identical to the original, but if the iPad 3 is anything to go by, the Retina upgrade in fact could add thickness in order to accommodate a bigger battery and better graphics, both required to power the Retina display...

Traktor DJ makes the leap from desktop to iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 21, 2013

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

German developer Native Instruments has long been regarded as the maker of some of the finest music and DJing software on the market and today they released Traktor DJ, a pro music mixing $19.99 iPad app that complements the desktop Traktor Pro software with bi-directional content synchronization and a host of other feature.

Unlike virtually all the other DJ apps that tap virtual turntables, Traktor DJ sports touchable waveforms and has two virtual decks, each with dedicated three-band equalizer and filter sections, including eight Traktor effects.

The app relies heavily on multitouch gestures: you can grab audio waveforms with two fingers to set a loop, perform scratches, mark cue points for live re-editing, and scrub, browse or navigate through tracks. Go past the break for additional tidbits and a hands-on video...