GrouPlay brings democracy to your iOS party playlist

Mike Schnier ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

Settling on a good party playlist can be difficult. Say you've got friends with different tastes in music, and your music library doesn't have enough danceable tracks on its own that everyone can enjoy. If it's a big party, you don't want just anyone touching your iPod, and you also don't want someone with questionable taste to hijack the music for the party.

With the GrouPlay app, anyone with access to your Wi-Fi network can contribute songs from their own music library to your temporary party playlist, provided they have an iPhone 3GS, 3rd generation iPod touch, iPad, or later. Once the songs are uploaded, the real fun begins...

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Microsoft’s Surface Pro to land on February 9 with $899 price tag

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

After a bit of a delay, Microsoft today announced launch details for its new Surface Pro tablet. The device will become available for purchase on February 9, and will run $899 for the entry-level 64GB model.

The Pro's release comes more than three months after its less-capable sibling, the Surface RT. And with reports suggesting that it didn't do so well over the holidays, Microsoft is hoping the Pro will be a hit...

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Munster (again) sees Apple shipping iTV and new remote in 2013

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

You gotta give it to Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, arguably for years the most vocal proponent of a full-fledged Apple television set. Speaking to Bloomberg today, Munster re-iterated his belief Apple is working on releasing a standalone television set in 2013. His thinking is apparently based in checks with Apple's suppliers and he also sees the Cupertino firm shipping an intelligent remote that, in his mind, should be an important part of the rumored iTV...

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Orchestra now offering reservations for upcoming Mailbox email client

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Last month, we told you about an exciting new iPhone email client called Mailbox. The app, which has been described as a cross between Clear and Sparrow thanks to its simple, swipe-based UI, is slated to hit the App Store in the next few weeks.

And in anticipation of high demand for the free email client, Mailbox-creator Orchestra opened up a reservation system this morning. It operates on a first-come, first-served basis, and will help the team manage server traffic when the app lands...

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AMD hires ex-Apple and Qualcomm chip experts, looks to move beyond PCs

Cody Lee ∙ January 22, 2013

This is kind of interesting. In an effort to move beyond PCs and expand its market, AMD just hired two high-profile chip experts: Charles Matar of Qualcomm, and Wayne Meretsky, formally of Apple.

The company currently depends on the PC industry for 80% of its profits. And with sales in that business dropping due to rising demand for smartphones and tablets, it's looking to shift gears quickly...

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Bear Motion offers a premium iPad mini folio case at a great price

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Since the mini was released, I scoured the internet looking for new cases, sleeves, and folios for my favorite new Apple device. If you keep up with my reviews, you know I prefer minimalism and always look for premium products. You may also know, I hate paying big bucks for the nice stuff. The epitome of champagne taste and a beer budget, I stumbled upon Bear Motion and found the intersection of my preferences. If you visit Bear Motion's unsuspecting website, you may be surprised at my excitement about their iPad folio case.

On my recent quest for a new mini folio, I was looking for something professional, minimalistic, black, leather, and it could not add too much bulk. A reasonable price is obviously always an important factor as well. Meeting all of these requirements, the Bear Motion folio case comes in black or red and is adorned in 100% genuine Brazilian Buffalo leather...

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Verizon numbers suggest Apple sold over 50M iPhones last quarter

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple is set to announce its iPhone sales and other figures from the holiday quarter tomorrow, in what many are calling its most important earnings report of the last decade. Recently, rumors of slipping iPhone and iPad demand have driven the company's stock down to $500. And this is its chance to start turning things around.

The focal point will be on iPhone numbers, since the handsets account for half of Apple's business. And it needs to have sold in upwards of 50 million of them to avoid disappointing the Street. Well according to analyst Brian White, they hit that mark and then some...

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Apple wins 26 patents, including multitouch and more

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 22, 2013

Apple was granted more than two dozen patents today, including technology for multitouch sensors dating back to 2007, when the original iPhone debuted. Also approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Apple patents covering the iOS magnifying loupe, noise-cancellation and even product packaging.

The multitouch patent, which covers the layout of screen sensors in the first iPhone, as well as future touch devices, follows a broad patent granted earlier this year covering a wide range of potential uses for multitouch, including aircraft instruments. For some time, Apple and its chief rival Samsung have fought over patents, culminating in a $1 billion victory for Apple, which charged the South Korean company infringed upon technology owned by the iPhone maker...

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More research shows Apple leads in US with 51% of smartphone market

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 22, 2013

Apple's iOS has more than 51 percent of the US smartphone market, leading Google's Android, which claims just over 42 percent of the American market share, according to new figures released Tuesday. The numbers are just the latest prior to Apple's quarterly sales report expected later this week. Handset sales research firm Kantar announced Apple gained 6.3 percent of the domestic smartphone market, fueled largely by demand for the iPhone 5. Meanwhile, Android sales in the US slowed lightly, shedding 0.6 percent from the same 12-week period in 2011...

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DigiTimes: jumbo-sized iPhone to debut in 2014

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 22, 2013

The somewhat reliable DigiTimes reports this morning that Apple will this year release two new iPhone models, not three as one analyst predicted. Citing industry sources, the trade publication claims Apple is planning two four-inch iPhone models due around summer, one of them being targeted at the midrange market segment (budget iPhone, anyone?).

Interestingly, both these devices are said to use in-cell display technology featured on the iPhone 5. This last tidbit contradicts yesterday's report out of Japan suggesting Apple asked Sharp to cut orders of iPhone 5 in-cell panels in half for the next quarter. Additionally, past reports asserted Apple is moving away from in-cell tech and evaluating a new display technology for 2013 iOS devices called Touch-On-Display...

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Apple may have ordered ‘very large volume’ of chips from TSMC

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 22, 2013

Morris Chang, Chairman and CEO of the world's largest semiconductor foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), said in a recent earnings call that his company's 20 nanometer process technology will outsell the existing 28 nanometer tech in its first two years. “Enough discussions have taken place, with enough customers who have large requirements (on 20nm), to lead us to believe that the volume will be very large”, he said without specifically mentioning Apple.

Of course, TSMC also makes chips for Qualcomm, Nvidia and other tech giants, but recently rumors have swirled that Apple is about to drop Samsung as a chip supplier and turn to TSMC, which will invest $9 billion this year while spending even more in capital expenditure in 2014 as it moves toward the more advanced 20nm and 16nm process technologies...

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