iDownloadBlog.com

iTunes Match goes live in new markets across the globe

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 30, 2012

iTunes Match, Apple's $25 a year cloud locker and scan-and-match music service, is being rolled out in additional countries, according to web reports. Last time we heard, Apple expanded iTunes Match to 19 countries, with a focus on the Baltic states, Latin America and the Netherlands.

Macstories first spotted that the iTunes terms and conditions for Italy have been updated with new terms suggesting an imminent launch in the country. Other web reports confirmed a similar changes to iTunes terms and conditions for Greece, Portugal, Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria and other markets...

iOS 5.1 jailbreak update: two big vulnerabilities found

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

We've just received a major update on the status of the iOS 5.1 jailbreak. Pod2g just tweeted that he had "a productive weekend," reportedly finding "2 big vulnerabilities. 1 kernel land and 1 root land."

The news comes just 5 days after the hacker posted a poll on his personal website, asking jailbreakers if hackers should continue work on an iOS 5.1 jailbreak or hold off until Apple seeds iOS 6...

The New Yorker profiles infamous hacker George “GeoHot” Hotz

Cody Lee ∙ April 30, 2012

George "GeoHot" Hotz has been described as one of the most famous hackers of our generation. Most of us know him for his work in the jailbreak community, and his original iPhone unlock that launched him into the public eye.

But Hotz is much more than that. He's a a former Facebook and Google alum, and a two-time finalist at Intel's International Science and Engineering fair. And more recently, he's the subject of a lengthy article in The New Yorker...

Rivals left with loose change as Apple, Samsung pwn mobile industry profits

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Apple and Samsung have pwnd the entire cell phone market, which includes smartphones, feature phones and dumb phones, one analyst noted. Together, the two frenemies have managed to gulp literally all of the cell phone industry's profits during the first quarter of this year, leaving rival device makers with inadequate revenues to fund research and development and justify costs associated with carpet-bombing the market with numerous handsets...

Specifically, Apple accounted for a whopping 80 percent of all mobile industry profits while rival Samsung clung onto the remaining 20 percent. Together, Apple and Samsung accounted for more than an astounding three-quarters of the cell phone industry revenues...

Tweetbot gets updated with new gestures and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 21, 2018

A new version of TweetBot for iOS has popped up in the App Store today, bringing the popular Twitter client to version 2.3. The update is a sizable one, featuring a number of new additions and bug fixes.

The theme of 2.3 seems to be all about speed. If you've ever disliked Tweetbot because you felt it was too slow, this new version might be worth trying — it's much faster. Keep reading for the full changelog...

Tony Fadell spills the beans on iPhone prototypes [video]

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 10, 2018

Here's a nice little nugget that sheds more light on how Apple at one point had seriously considered giving the iPhone a physical keyboard, as we learned last week.

The Verge's sweet little teaser for their podcast series features former Apple engineer Tony Fadell (also known as the iPod Godfather) going into detail on different iPhone prototypes Apple originally tested...

“Something even bigger” coming as Angry Birds Space clear 50M downloads

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Angry Birds Space, the latest installment in the popular birds vs. pigs videogame series, has amassed more than 50 million downloads on all platforms in the 35 days since its March 22 launch, Rovio announced on Twitter this morning.

This makes Angry Birds Space "one of the fastest growing games ever" and by far the fastest-growing game on mobile, the company bragged.

Previously, the game zoomed past the ten million mark in less than three days. Rovio largely owes such a successful launch to Angry Birds's seemingly unstoppable popularity, still rising across the globe. Another crucial factor: Apple's iOS platform which now powers more than 365 million devices, as this is where the vast majority of paid downloads occur...

Skype for iOS gets UI tweaks, the ability to move own video preview

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 30, 2012

A new version of Skype for iOS apps is out of the gate this morning, offering the obligatory bug fixes and minor UI improvements. While the interface still remains way too clunky on an iPad and not conforming to Apple's own guidelines, a minor enhancements stands out: you can now finally move your own video preview around. Here, your release notes...

New evidence suggests RIM behind Wake Up stunt

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Last week's childish Wake Up protest outside Apple's retail outlet in Sydney has really infuriated fans of Apple as well as a bunch of observers - yours truly included - who pointed the finger of blame at Samsung on shady clues.

While the South Korean conglomerate denied organizing the flashmob-style stunt, coincidental evidence and the ambiguous official wording have left room for some speculation.

New strong pieces of evidence that surfaced last week link the campaign to the embattled BlackBerry maker, Canada-based Research In Motion, as part of their upcoming BlackBerry OS 10 launch on Wednesday. Who knew, right?

Microsoft takes on Apple, invests $300 million in Nook biz

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

Microsoft just announced this morning plans to invest in Barnes & Noble's Nook division, in an effort to better compete with the likes of Apple and Amazon in an increasingly competitive market for electronic books.

The Windows maker will form a yet-to-be-named subsidiary with Barnes & Noble, pouring a cool $300 million of its own money into the new entity. It will encompass all of the Nook biz, it has been confirmed, in addition to educational college content.

With this investment Microsoft is thinking big, securing a 17.6 percent stake in the new company valued at a whopping $1.7 billion...

Apple and Samsung bosses meeting on May 21-22 to talk patents

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

As previously hinted, top dogs at Apple and Samsung will meet next month to discuss a possible settlement to the ongoing patent war which has seen minor casualties on both sides, but has otherwise failed to produce an outright winner. A new report claims the upcoming mediation will take place on May 21 and May 22, starting on each day at 9:30am.

The court-moderated settlement talk is to seek an alternative dispute resolution to the more than fifty lawsuits the two technology giants have filed against each other in little more than a year in courts the world over...