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YouTube app goes iPad, adds AirPlay, iPhone 5 support

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2012

Following up on its sweet Gmail refresh earlier today, Google's just announced with a post over at the official YouTube blog a long-expected update to its nice YouTube iPhone app. For starters, the program finally runs on the iPad natively, which means you can now search for kitten videos using your beloved tablet and enjoy them in high-definition on that beautiful 9.7-inch Retina display.

The software also takes full advantage of the iPhone 5's bigger display and lets you stream YouTube clips to your badass TV through the Apple TV hockey puck and using AirPlay, a wireless media streaming technology from Apple. Accessibility, video playback improvements and other perks come included with the package. But first things first...

iWork updated with better Microsoft Office support and new features

Cody Lee ∙ December 4, 2012

Apple has this afternoon updated its iWork suite for both iOS and the Mac. The mobile versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote all received fairly significant changes, and their Mac counterparts received minor updates. We've got the change logs for the apps after the break...

Apple: our policy prohibits licensing inventions to competitors

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2012

Apple has an anti-licensing policy in place that strictly forbids licensing its inventions, sans standard-essential patents, to its competitors. That's the gist of court documents patent blogger Florian Müeller uncovered today. He notes the upcoming hearing concerning the Apple-HTC settlement could bring some more clarity about how Apple structures licensing deals and which exceptions and carve-outs it actually imposes.

US District Court Judge Lucy Koh ordered that the patents Apple and HTC are cross-licensing as part of their settlement are to remain unsealed, though the general public won't be able to have a peek at confidential material.

While Apple's previous briefs did deny that its prized iPhone patents are in fact broadly licensed, Apple struck a far-reaching cross-licensing agreement with Nokia before and, as of recently, with HTC. And the plot thickens...

Apple begins work on major Austin campus expansion

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Earlier this year, Apple purchased 38 acres of land on the corner of West Parmer Lane and Delcour Drive in Austin to expand its Texas-based campus. The buildout is going to double Apple’s work force in the area, creating some 3,600 jobs. And according to a new report, construction on the site is underway...

You can now buy as many new iPhones as you like

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2012

As the holiday season kicks into full swing, a report reveals Apple's now lifted restrictions on the number of iPhone 5 purchases allowed. Previously, a customer was allowed to buy just two unlocked iPhone 5 units per transaction. The company further limited purchases to ten units per lifetime. But with the supply chain catching up to demand, Apple has finally relaxed its sales policy.

Starting today, only the sky is the limit as the iPhone maker lets you buy an unlimited number of its latest handsets, though its web store still processes only ten units in a single transaction. The removal of restrictions applies to Apple's web store, as well as brick-and-mortar outlets...

Google I/O 2013 slated for May 15-17 at San Francisco’s Moscone West

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Save the date for Google I/O 2013: today, the search giant confirmed its upcoming annual developer conference will run in San Francisco from May 15 through May 17, 2013. The three-day pilgrimage, just 162 days away, is bound to garner media interest with updates to Google's key consumer products, namely Android, Nexus gadgets and the Chrome browser.

And what technology conference would it be without a few surprise announcements here and there? Curiously enough, with Google I/O 2013 the company is back to holding its biggest yearly event ahead of Apple, whose WWDC normally runs in June or July...

Bored? AnoStyle exquisitely paints and protects your iPhone 5 or iPad mini

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 26, 2017

Looking to pimp your iPhone 5 or iPad mini beyond the stock black & slate and white & silver finish? Talk to AnoStyle, a company that offers quite a remarkable anodization service which paints your device in a bunch of great looking colors. Just send them your brand spanking new iPhone 5 or iPad mini and pick your color of choice.

These include red, pink, yellow, gold, orange, blue, teal, violet, copper, green, blue steel or bronze shades for a brand new look. The conversions is gonna set you back $249 per iPhone 5, or $299 for an iPad mini mod. You can also add an optional $40 Ghost Armor that has been "precisely pre-cut to invisibly protect your device from scratches and dings" with a material that the military helicopter blades, fighter jets' wingtips and the space shuttle's wingtips are made of...

Real estate agents now using Passbook as a business card

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 17, 2014

The iPhone - and particularly the iPhone's Passbook feature - is quickly making the traditional business card extinct. Real estate agents, huge users of business cards, are now one of the biggest proponents of Passbook as Re/Max Regional Services adopts iPhone-based business cards for its 4,500 agents and brokers. Agents in Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Southern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan will use iPhone's equipped with a "CardSense" feature that includes a scannable QR code on the lock screen. A QR reading app then grabs a copy of the business card...

Gmail updated: sleek UI, multiple accounts, search predictions, infinite scrolling

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2012

Google has just updated its Gmail iOS app with multiple account support, a way overdue feature which finally allows you to set up, use and switch between up to five different Google accounts with just a few taps.

Gmail version 2.0, a major overhaul, in addition to a much cleaner and sleeker look has learned a few useful new tricks, like infinite scrolling inbox, threaded conversations, profile pictures, search predictions and auto-complete contact names, to name a few.

But the list of enhancements doesn't end there. Numerous new animations from swivels to transitions will dazzle you. Plus, you can now respond to Google Calendar invites inline, set up real-time notifications for new mail or take advantage of the interactive Google+ posts support to +1 and comment on Google+ posts inline. There's also a new app icon and a redesigned welcome experience. Do any of these features ring a bell? Profile pictures? Multiple accounts? Threaded conversations?

Yup, seems Google made good on its promise to leverage May's Sparrow acquisition towards improving the Gmail mobile experience. The search firm occasionally refreshes Sparrow with maintenance updates, like last month when the Sparrow app gained iPhone 5 and Passbook support...

Qualcomm comes to the rescue, invests $120M in Sharp to help advance IGZO panels

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2012

More good news for people keeping their fingers crossed for Sharp's IGZO panels appearing on iOS devices: Tuesday morning, The Wall Street Journal reported that chip maker Qualcomm has agreed to invest as much as ¥9.9 billion, or approximately $120.4 million, in "what is expected to be the first in a series of capital injections to shore up" Sharp's battered finances and advance its IGZO tech.

That's good news as Foxconn's and Apple's multi-billion dollar deals with Sharp appear to be going nowhere. Sharp's stock was downgraded to junk and the ailing Japanese consumer electronics maker is now trying to obtain investments from anyone, be it Apple, Intel, Foxconn or Qualcomm.

The launch of Sharp's awesome, albeit pricey, 32-inch 4K IGZO pro monitor and the introduction of its own tablet, the Aquos Pad SHT 21, which has a seven-inch IGZO display, both indicate yields are improving and so the likelihood of Apple re-considering IGZO panels in future iOS devices is now growing with each passing day...

Amazon updates Kindle app with X-Ray for Books

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 4, 2012

After updating its Kindle e-reading app for the iPhone and iPad last month with the X-Ray for Textbooks feature, the online retailer Amazon today refreshed the software, having added the useful X-Ray for Books capability. Basically the “bones of the book”, as Amazon puts it, X-Ray for Books helps you learn more about notable characters, places and phrases with nice descriptions from Shelfari.com and Wikipedia. In addition to this feature, the new Kindle app also boasts Manga image rendering improvements, per iTunes release notes. The new Kindle app is still a free universal binary and it looks great on all iOS form factors, including the iPad mini...

Improving iPhone 5 production expected to increase Apple’s profits

Ed Sutherland ∙ December 4, 2012

The picture appears brighter for Apple's iPhone 5. Not only is the new smartphone easier to find in stores, it's also the top searched for gadget in 2012 and looks to be off to a great start in China. Now, improving supplies is reducing cost and increasing profitability for Apple, one analyst said Tuesday. A smoother supply chain has meant shipping time cut in half to just two days, down from four. Additionally, the improvements come as Apple preps to offer its handset in more than 50 countries during December...