iDownloadBlog.com

Bought an iBook? You could be eligible for a credit amid $65M price fixing settlement

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 20, 2016

If you bought Walter Isaacson's official Steve Jobs biography, titles from the New York Times bestseller list or other iBooks from Apple (or e-books from other retailers) between April 1, 2010 and May 21, 2012, you may be eligible for your share of the $65 million settlement in the e-book price fixing scandal. Amazon and Apple started emailing customers that the settlement has been reached between the State Attorneys General and book publishers Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster.

Though Apple has not been sued in this case, the company is "assisting in providing this notice as a service to its customers". Companies will compensate eligible customers from $0.30 to $1.32 per e-book as the named publishers already paid $69 million into a settlement fund...

AU Optronics seen boosting output of iPad mini screens ahead of next week’s unveiling

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 20, 2017

Having solved yield issues, Taiwan’s maker of flat panel displays AU Optronics (AUO) is said to be boosting its output of displays for the iPad mini, with Apple being so confident in AUO's ability to deliver that it upped orders by 50 percent to three million panels (Apple's striving to produce ten million iPad minis).

The screens should trickle down to assembly factories later this month, giving hope that Apple will have ample supply of parts at its disposal to manufacture enough iPad minis for the rumored October 23 introduction. If history is an indication, the iPad mini should be available either right after the keynote or a week or two following the presser...

Amazon said to be looking to buy Kindle chip supplier Texas Instruments

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Online retailer Amazon is considering an acquisition of Texas Instruments, a maker of mobile processors used in a variety of tablets and smartphones. The rumor arrives just as Texas Instruments confirmed it's been struggling to upend its main rivals Nvidia and Qualcomm for orders.

According to Reuters, citing a report by Israeli financial newspaper Calcalist (which last December broke news of Apple's acquisition of Anobit), Amazon is "in advanced talks" to buy Texas Instruments for an undisclosed sum...

Apple and Samsung might not be best frenemies forever

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Apple is quickly cutting its ties to Samsung, moving from a bizarre frenemy relationship to a "one-dimensional" acquaintance. The iPhone 5's A6 chip marked the first time the Cupertino, Calif. company did all the designing and the South Korean rival simply manufactured the silicon.

The relationship between the two companies is "about to become one-dimensional," writes The Korea Time, citing a Samsung source. For some time, Apple and Samsung have been technology's odd couple, one day suing each other and the next cooperating to design and build chips for the iPhone...

Revamped iMacs, 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro due alongside iPad mini next week

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

As October 23 approaches, the word on the street is that Apple alongside the iPad mini will unveil a redesigned iMac with a curved shell "like a water droplet", updated Mac minis a new 13-inch MacBook Pro notebook featuring the Retina display. Hot on the heels of last month's introduction of the iPhone 5, fifth-generation iPod touch and the new iPod nano, Apple apparently isn't done updating its existing lineup, per one analyst who recently called for eight Apple product releases by end of 2012...

New Apple Store opening in Beijing on Saturday

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple's retail web page was updated last week with an announcement of Beijing's third Apple Store, scheduled for grand opening this coming Saturday, October 20. Apple already operates Sanlitun and Xidan Joy City retail outlets in the Beijing region so the upcoming store poses a welcome addition as the company preps to launch the iPhone 5 in China and looks to expand its retail operation in the 1.33 billion people market...

Geekbench: the new iPod touch cannot hold a candle to the iPhone 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2012

Apple's fifth-generation iPod touch has arrived to some raving reviews, representing a major upgrade over the previous model with the same four-inch display as the iPhone 5 (sans a cheaper assembly), the thinner chassis (only 6.1mm), the new Lightning interconnect, a five-megapixel iSight camera with custom optics and the A5 chip, also found inside the third-generation iPad and iPhone 4S. First Geekbench benchmarks show that the new iPod touch is nearly as fast as the iPhone 4S, but not even half as fast as the iPhone 5, Apple's first iOS device to utilize the brand new A6 processor...

Alleged iPad mini prices leak

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2012

According to a purported screenshot claiming to be from an internal system of a German retailer, the iPad mini could cost anywhere between €249 for the entry-level model to €649 for the top of the line model. This translates to $320 for the base model and $840 for the flagship one, although U.S. prices are likely to be lower because gadgets in Europe typically cost more due to a higher cost of doing business on the continent. In total, eight different models are said to be on offer...

Microsoft to launch new Xbox Music service, iOS app in the works

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Microsoft announced Sunday evening that it was going to be launching its new streaming music service, Xbox Music, in the coming weeks. The move will pit Microsoft directly against Spotify, RDIO, and even iTunes.

Xbox Music will debut on — what else — the Xbox, and then roll out to Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 devices as they become available later this month. Microsoft says it's also working on iOS and Android clients...

How to jailbreak iOS 6 with RedSn0w 0.9.15b1

Jeff Benjamin ∙ October 14, 2012

As we reported a couple of days ago, RedSn0w 0.9.15b1 is now available to jailbreak A4 devices and below running iOS 6. This latest version is a pretty massive update with a lengthy change log, but the most important aspect about the update is the ability to jailbreak iOS 6 and install Cydia.

Previous iOS 6 jailbreaks required users to install Cydia manually, but the latest public version of RedSn0w works just as you might expect it would. Take a look inside for our full tutorial.

Japanese carrier Softbank buys 70% stake in Sprint for $20 billion

Cody Lee ∙ October 14, 2012

There were reports last week that Softbank was interested in making a major investment in Sprint. Well those rumors materialized today, as the Japanese carrier is said to have purchased a 70% stake in the company.

The deal isn't exactly official yet, but the two parties are expected to make an announcement tomorrow morning. The purchase will give Softbank the controlling interest in the third largest carrier in the US...

Apple said to start accepting Apple Store gift cards via Passbook soon

Cody Lee ∙ October 14, 2012

A new report is out this morning, claiming that Apple is preparing to push out an update for its internal POS (point of sale) system software later this month that will allow Apple Store shoppers to pay with Passbook.

More specifically, the update will allow Apple's retail employees to accept Apple Store payment cards via Passbook, the new digital wallet app in iOS 6 that stores boarding passes, event tickets and gift cards...