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Apple catching up to iPhone 5 demand at US Apple Stores

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 9, 2012

After Foxconn admitted to falling behind iPhone 5 orders, it seems that supply of Apple's popular handset is finally catching up with demand. That's the word from one veteran Apple watcher who told investors Friday that inventory of the smartphone at Apple's brick-and-mortar stores are at their highest level yet. For the first time, availability of iPhone 5 models for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint customers topped 20 percent.

The iPhone 5 version for Sprint remains the most available, with 84 percent of Apple Stores reporting inventory for that model. The AT&T version followed with 54 percent and Verizon with 24 percent, according to a Wall Street survey conducted by Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster...

British Airways working on Passbook integration

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Following a brief period of uncertainty, Apple's Passbook system is off to a solid start. Passbook, as you know, is a new app in iOS 6 that stores your digital coupons like various tickets, loyalty and gift cards, boarding passes and so forth. It's also being supported as an interesting loyalty solution via integration with the Apple Store app, Coupons.com, Starbucks, Target and other retailers.

Airlines like Delta and American Airlines support Passbook for boarding passes and others are scrambling to implement it as well. It's been confirmed today that British Airways, the Waterside-based flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, will implement Passbook digital boarding passes in due time...

Apple donates $2.5 million to the American Red Cross in Hurricane Sandy relief

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Hurricane Sandy that battered parts of United States has left destruction behind it and cost the country lives of people who were unfortunate to be in its path, causing Apple to temporarily close more than 50 stores and prompting some unusual carrier partnerships.

In Sandy aftermath, Apple set up a donations page in iTunes to let people help survivors by making a monetary donation to the American Red Cross. And today, Apple's chief executive Tim Cook announced that the company itself donated $2.5 million in Hurricane Sandy relief...

Blast your way through space with ARC Squadron

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Since first reading about Psyonix's ARC Squadron many months back, I constantly tracked its preparation for launch. The new flight shooter released last Thursday will dominate your favorite iDevice utilizing the Unreal Engine to provide an immersive user experience. Typically, I try to review an app or product without intentional comparisons to other similar products and solely base the merit of the subject on its own qualities. However, it is impossible to not mention Star Fox when talking about ARC Squadron. The new flight combat app is one of the most immersive games I have tested and am happy to report it has earned a top spot on my Springboard...

Fan-made ad teaches Microsoft how to advertise the Surface against the iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 8, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4d5xkULjc50

Instead of a boring teaser, the weird Movement commercial, a meaningless self-made drop test clip, cheesy making-of footage and a whole bunch of other all too easily forgettable videos, maybe Microsoft should have employed the talent of Forest Gibson? The guy clearly has a better idea of how to position Microsoft's Surface tablet against the iPad juggernaut...

Verizon to complete LTE network by mid-2013

Cody Lee ∙ November 8, 2012

With more and more devices coming to market supporting 4G LTE (long term evolution) networks, people are paying more attention to carriers' LTE coverage. And here in the States, no body comes close to Verizon.

With more than a year head start over the other providers, Verizon is the leader in LTE coverage by a mile. It currently has the 4G tech in more than 400 markets, and it sounds like it'll be everywhere by next summer...

Fantastical heading to the iPhone as Clear hits the Mac: it’s about iCloud, stupid

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Two more great apps are making a jump from the Mac to the iOS platform and vice versa. Clear, a simplified and lively personal to-do list which debuted on the iPhone, is now available for the Mac, bringing with it gestures-based interface and classy animations the iOS version is known for.

Fantastical, an awesome calendar and to-do list Mac app, is hitting iOS soon. Neither program feels like a dumbified port, which is a good thing, but what both of these apps are truly about is tight iCloud integration which makes possible smooth, worry-free experience that just works...

Meet iSiri, the best iWatch concept to date

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 28, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=W_mn5rkwyCs

The radical iSiri gadget idea by designer Federico Ciccarese may be the ultimate iWatch concept conceived to date. Falling somewhere in between this eerie-looking Matrix-ified gadget and another conceptual time piece with a FaceTime camera on it, iSiri seems so obvious and inevitable. If only Apple didn't replace the rectangular iPod nano with a tall one...

Apple and MFi makers: Lightning is waterproof, ethical accessories

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 8, 2012

We relayed word mid-October that Apple would hold a two-day discussion with third-parties in Shenzhen, China the following month in order to discuss terms an guidelines pertaining to Lightning-compatible accessories that bear the Made for iPhone / iPod / iPad (MFi) program logo. In spite of secrecy, one publication has learned a few topics that are being discussed at the meeting.

For starters, Lightning I/O is waterproof. So, knowing the dynamically assigned pins of the Lightning connector won't corrode or degrade if dunked into water should make you feel good. I'm just taking a wild guess here, but it's quite possible Apple made this move to appease a cottage industry around waterproof accessories. More tidbits below the fold...

Foxconn reportedly looking to build factories in the US

Cody Lee ∙ November 8, 2012

One of the hot button economic and political issues in the US right now is how do we bring back manufacturing jobs? The unemployment rate is extremely high right now, and a lot of folks are suggesting we try to get back the thousands of manufacturing positions that have been sent overseas.

Apple is frequently brought up in this conversation due to its size and visibility. The company now sells some 50 million iDevices each quarter, and they're all made outside of the country. But that may not be the case much longer. According to a new report, Foxconn is looking to build plants in the US...

AT&T announces new FaceTime over Cellular policy

Cody Lee ∙ November 8, 2012

AT&T has announced today that it is reversing its decision to limit iOS 6's FaceTime over Cellular ability to customers on its new shared data plans. The carrier says that subscribers with LTE devices will now be able to use the feature regardless of what data plan they're on, as long as it's not unlimited...

Suppliers profit up 29% on new Apple product launches

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 8, 2012

A high tide lifts all ships, especially if it is Apple. That's the word today from one observer who says Apple suppliers are enjoying a 29 percent profit boost due to "blockbuster new products" recently released. Apple's key suppliers saw their profits increase dramatically compared to the usual (and paltry) two percent growth and much higher than September's tepid one percent increase, Wall Street analyst Brian White told investors Thursday. The reason: Apple's line of new products, including the iPad mini, iPhone 5, a thinner iMac lineup and refreshed MacBooks...