The many layers of why Scott Forstall was ousted as Apple's iOS chief just keep peeling away. The latest wrinkle: Bob Mansfield, the company's former hardware engineering senior vice president, agreed to come out of retirement to become senior vice president of Technologies, a new group encompassing wireless and hardware tech, only after Apple CEO Tim Cook offered a boatload of cash and the promise he didn't have to talk to Forstall...
Are you worried your priced iOS or Mac gadget may be stolen? Don't fret, Apple's got your back, according to a new patent filing. Apple plans to use the accelerometer inside iOS devices to detect a theft, then sound an alarm.
Key to preventing those annoying car alarm-like false alerts, Apple's idea includes a special controller which ignores normal bumps and drops, instead listening for signals indicating a snatch-and-grab...
Note to Apple: UK judges don't get American snarkiness. The UK Court of Appeals Thursday told the iPhone maker its recent apology to Samsung was "incorrect" and required a new notice on the website "acknowledging the inaccurate comments." At issue: comments from the trial's first ruling in which the judge declared Samsung's tablet "not as cool."
Judge Robin Jacob ordered the changes to Apple's website be made within 24 hours, rejecting the Cupertino, Calif. firm's request for 14 days to make the edit. "This is Apple. They cannot put something on their website?" Jacob reportedly said...
Cygnett ranges four continents and sells product in more than 45,000 worldwide retailers across 40 countries. According to Cygnett's description, the company tries to provide mobile protection solutions that are protective, fashionable, and functional. With a diverse line up of iPhone 5 options, they are doing well in their mission and I had the opportunity to give the SecondSkin a run for about a week.
In a crowded market, it is difficult to make a product truly stand-out, but many case companies continue to press forward, taking their stab at the latest and greatest. If you just nabbed your iPhone 5 or are planning to get one soon, start taking a look at the wide selection. We are here to give you a quick glimpse at the new SecondSkin...
As most of you are aware of by now, the Northeastern part of the United States was hit by a superstorm this week. Hurricane Sandy tore through New York, New Jersey and other areas on Monday night, causing an estimated $60 billion in damages.
For those that are looking to help, Apple has teamed up with the American Red Cross to make it easy for folks to donate money to the relief efforts...
As we told you this morning, some customers started receiving their iPad minis today, despite the fact that the tablet doesn't officially launch until Friday. This gave us early unboxing photos and new details about the product.
One of those details is that on the back of the iPad mini's retail box, it says that the tablet requires iTunes 11 for sync. But, as we all know, Apple has pushed its iTunes 11 release back to November. So what's the deal?
Apple has filed its end of the year 10-K document, a performance report required of all companies by the SEC (Security Exchange Commission), and as you might expect, it contains some pretty interesting information about the iPad-makers.
Perhaps most interesting is that it names Scott Forstall's new official title at the company, following Monday's announcement that he is no longer the SVP of iOS software: Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer...
This is pretty cool: AT&T and T-Mobile have both announced that they will be temporarily combining their coverage in areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy on Monday night.
The deal will allow subscribers from the two carriers to roam on either network without incurring penalties, or affecting their rate plans, and it should greatly improve their service...
In a response to Motorola's motion from yesterday seeking clarification on essential wireless patents (which include both cellular and WiFi standards), Apple has formally acknowledged its willingness to accept a license at a court-determined rate of up to $1 per iPhone through a license agreement on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.
The figure entails worldwide sales of covered products, the iPhone maker said. Apple's position on FRAND licensing is that the industry should set FRAND rates in order to prevent companies asserting wireless standards-essential patents against its rivals by jacking up prices.
Motorola, which is now a wholly-owned Google subsidiary, wrote in the filing that Microsoft's FRAND contract case had explicitly committed to the conclusion of a license agreement on court-ordered terms. Is there finally an end in sight to this patent mess?
Joy of Tech does regular takes on the tech industry's blunders and Apple is often the subject of their daily web comic. This is their view of Monday's executive shake-up that saw CEO Tim Cook fire long-time iOS chief Scott Forstall and retail boss (though he never earned that title) John Browett. Go past the fold for the comic and an additional explanation...
Wow, that was fast. The iPad mini hasn't landed on store shelves yet and already Amazon has removed a comparison ad on its home page which painted the device in unfavorable light to its own Kindle Fire HD tablet. I guess they didn't like mostly raving reviews that describe the device as being beautifully constructed, fast, fluid and hard to resist - price be damned. Or perhaps alarms were raised at Amazon when another report suggested that Apple's marketing boss clarified that the iPad mini does have stereo speakers where in Amazon's ad claimed it didn't? What goes around comes around, Amazon...
Senior Vice President Eddy Cue is known as the fixer at Apple, a reputation he built back in 2008, when Steve Jobs appointed him head of iTunes and online services after giving Apple's cloud team a serious dressing down over the MobileMe(ss) debacle. This 23-year Apple veteran immediately retired the flaky service, built iCloud from the ground up and took control of Apple's iTunes and App Store infrastructure.
Last September, CEO Cook appointed Cue Apple's new SVP of of Internet Software and Services, the role that encompasses the iTunes Store, App Store, iBookstore, as well as the iAd advertising platform and iCloud services.
Monday, Cue assumed Maps and Siri responsibilities after Cook fired iOS chief Scott Forstall for shipping buggy software prematurely, clashing with his peers and refusing to apologize personally for Mapgate (it was Cook who eventually signed the public apology instead). We, of course, already knew all of the above. Today, CNET runs an interesting profile which reveals a couple previously unknown tidbits about this able exec...