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Annual iPhone cycle helped Samsung destroy Apple in Q2 smartphone sales

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

It appears Samsung is creeping up on Apple slowly but surely. Not content with overtaking Apple and Nokia as the world's largest smartphone and cell phone vendor, respectively, Samsung during the June quarter managed to widen its lead by selling twice as much smartphones as Apple.

Driven by the surprisingly strong start of its latest flagship handset, the Galaxy S III, Samsung has managed to increase its worldwide smartphone share while Apple slid. Man, Apple really needs to refresh the iPhone twice a year because this annual update cycle is becoming the company's Achilles' heel...

Apple and Google duking it out over Kodak patents

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 27, 2012

Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January and Apple's been attempting to transfer its patent dispute with the imaging company out of bankruptcy court ever since, but to no avail. As Kodak now looks to sell off a trove of 1,100 patents related to digital cameras, smartphones and tablets, bidders are lining up, including the usual suspects, technology giants Apple and Google...

Do you know what the most commonly used words in app titles are?

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

As Apple announced on its quarterly earnings call earlier this week, the App Store is now home to more than 650,00 apps. As you can imagine, this makes it tough for developers to come up with all-new ideas.

But it also makes it tough for them to come up with all-new app titles as well. A new report is out today that takes a look at what the 25 most-used words in application titles are. Keep reading to see the list...

Open-source components of Sparrow now available for download

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Sparrow was recently snapped up by Google and people continue to have mixed feelings about this sell-out no one saw coming. The Sparrow team made it clear in a blog post they would cease work on new features (apart from minor updates) as Google has tasked its newly acquired team with improving Gmail mobile apps.

Today, the Sparrow team announced plans to open-source parts of the Sparrow apps for personal use only. If you're good at reverse engineering, why not take a closer look at the Sparrow code?

How to catch all of this year’s Olympic action on the go

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

The 2012 Olympic Games are set to kick off tonight in the newly-built Olympic Stadium in Stratford London. And over the next two weeks, this stadium will play host to the top athletes from around the world.

Whether you're a basketball fan, football fan, or just a fan of sports in general, these next 16 days are going to be packed full of action. And here's how to catch all of that action when you're not near a TV set...

Analyst: Apple bought AuthenTec for enterprise security

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

The news that Apple bought AuthenTec for $356 million is making rounds today, leading many to speculate that AuthenTec's technology will help turn into reality Apple's patented and yet unreleased iWallet and iTravel mobile apps that rely on NFC technology.

One analyst has a different take, saying Apple simply snapped up the NFC and smart sensors maker to keep it from falling into Samsung's hands, potentially making Galaxy tablets and smartphones more appealing to enterprise customers who above anything demand strong security...

Some Samsung tablet buyers thought they were getting iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 27, 2012

A new set of court documents filed ahead of the July 30 mega-trial between Apple and Samsung reveals that retailers like Best Buy informed Samsung that an unknown portion of buyers were returning Samsung's tablets because they thought they were getting iPads. Furthermore, court documents also show that several Samsung employees did discuss the similarities between Galaxy products and Apple's iPhone and iPad themselves...

Microsoft admits Surface competes with PC makers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

In a surprising reversal of its position on competition related to the Surface tablet, Microsoft admits in an annual report its tablet competes with PC makers after all, going as far to note that the Surface might even hurt Windows 8 sales. Redmond has been criticized a lot for entering the hardware game to compete with vendors who make various Windows devices.

PC makers are unable to compete with Microsoft on level ground because their already thin margins are stretched even thinner as they must pay license fees to Microsoft to use Windows 8 on tablets, an added cost that makes their gadgets more expensive...

Relying on Apple for security could be developers’ biggest mistake

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

When it comes to security, Apple has gone to great lengths to make its iOS platform much less prone to exploits and has engineered measures such as sandboxed environment, protected app space and even encrypting every single file created on the iPhone with its own encryption key wrapped in the user’s passcode.

But developers have become increasingly reliant on Apple for app security and as a result security has now become an afterthought for many app developers. That's why security experts attending the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas think developers should take matters in their own hands and add more security above Apple's baked-in protections...

Siri gets it all wrong in latest iPhone 4S ad

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

If you've used Siri in the past, you know how reliable, or how unreliable it can be. For someone like me who speaks with a strong French accent, Siri gets it wrong more often than not, which led me to use Siri for very basic tasks instead of trying to push her limits.

If there is one time where Siri should be right on spot though, it's during commercials or ads. But there again, it seems like Siri, or rather Apple marketing department, isn't on top of its game.

In a recent ad placed on the back cover of the Economist, Siri was asked "what does poison oak look like" and she managed to return the wrong results...

5 things iOS can learn from Android

Jeff Benjamin ∙ July 27, 2012

It's no secret that both Sebastien and I purchased Nexus 7 devices from Google. We may have differing reasons for our purchases, but one reason we share in common is the desire to see how Google is performing in the tablet space. This is especially so with the Nexus, since it's the flagship that's guaranteed to run stock Android with no additives or preservatives.

The Nexus 7 is the first Nexus device I've owned, and I've come away quite impressed; read my thoughts on the Nexus 7 for more details on that. I've even been able to identify a few things that Google is doing well, and that Apple could stand to learn from. Items like widgets, and offline dictation, to name just a few...

Apple snaps up NFC and smart sensors maker AuthenTec for $356 million

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 20, 2017

Apple has made an interesting acquisition, snapping up smart sensors maker AuthenTec in a transaction valued at $356 million, Reuters reported Friday. AuthenTec makes fingerprint sensor chips used in personal computers.

What's more, its swipe sensors can read the live layer beneath the skin's surface and comply with strict government standards. They also produce chips that utilize near-field communication (NFC) technology which is said to be a part of this fall's iPhone hardware refresh...