What Batterygate? The new iPad lasts 25+ hours when hotspotting

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 26, 2012

When used as a personal hotspot only over Verizon's 4G cellular connection, the new iPad gets more than 25 hours of run time, AnandTech found out in their battery life testing published this morning. This is better than your average MiFi device by at least a factor of five. Matter of fact, it gets exactly an hour less in hotspotting tests compared to WiFi benchmarks, which falls in line with Apple's official specs.

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime beats Apple's third-generation tablet when hotspotting in Normal, Balanced and Power Saving profiles. With that in mind, the ability to use your iPad as a personal Verizon hotspot for more than 25 hours is certainly welcome news in a string of negative reports alleging issues with the tablet's much-improved 42.5Wh battery.

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How to replace Spotlight search with a web interface

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 26, 2012

I'm absolutely sure that I'm in the minority on my thoughts about iOS' Spotlight feature. I actually find it useful and helpful for launching apps, finding emails, contacts, etc.

Many of you, however, loathe Apple's inclusion of Spotlight; deeming it absolutely worthless, useless, and a waste of time and energy.

For those who fall into the latter category, then maybe this jailbreak tweak will make you happy. It's called WebSpot, and it allows you to completely replace Spotlight with a customizable web interface...

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‘CmdTab’ lends an OS X inspired app switcher to the iPhone

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 26, 2012

Command+Tab is one of the most useful keyboard shortcuts known to Mac users. It allows you to quickly switch between applications using nothing more than a couple of keys on the keyboard.

CmdTab for the iPhone is a jailbreak tweak that is loosely based on what Mac users have been enjoying forever.

I say loosely based, because it doesn't actually allow you to select your running apps like on the Mac; instead, the developer decided to include a few predefined shortcuts that are accessible via an Activator action.

How does it perform? Take a look inside for the full details on video...

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“Busted” iOS battery algorithm behind shorter iPad run time affects all iOS devices?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

As we told you last week, unplugging your brand spanking new iPad as soon as the battery gauge hits the 100 percent mark entails missing out as much as ten percent of additional run time, or about 1.2 hours. This has been attributed to the iOS battery algorithm, which kinda brings back old memories of a bug in reporting cellular signal levels on the iPhone 4, later fixed with a software update.

According to new findings, this is actually a system-wide behavior in Apple's mobile operating system - thus affecting older iPads, as well as your iPhone and iPod touch. In fact, all iOS devices are affected by what's been called "busted" battery algorithm, it's just more pronounced on the new iPad due to its 70 percent more capacious battery.

What exactly is going on here, you ask...

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The new iPad gets regulatory approval in China

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

Apple debuted its third-generation iPad two weeks ago and announced shipments of three million units during the launch weekend. Although the tablet is not yet officially sold in the 1.33 billion people Chinese market, Apple has just been granted a certification for the device, an important pre-requisite for having the new iPad appear on store shelves.

While the company did not yet indicate where it will launch the gizmo next, the new iPad originally hit ten major markets, including the United States and Hong Kong, one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China (the other being Macau) .

The second phase of the aggressive roll out has brought the iPad last Friday to 24 additional countries, but not mainland China. Thanks to Apple’s ability to keep up with consumer demand this year, some unauthorized Chinese resellers are already seeing smaller return on their investment.

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Angry Birds Space downloaded ten million times in less than three days

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Rovio Mobile, the brains behind the crazy addictive Angry Birds series, surely knows how to milk a franchise. In less than three days of its launch last Thursday morning, Angry Birds Space has been downloaded ten million times, the company tweeted. You'd expect Apple to put these kind of numbers rather than a game developer.

However, note that Angry Birds Space simultaneously launched on the iOS, Android, Mac and PC app stores and we're talking about a gaming series that has become a cultural phenomenon, spawning plush toys, costumes (even bra), animated TV series and allegedly coming to Hollywood as well.

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Woman sues Apple after walking into one of its retail store’s glass doors

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 3, 2018

Just when we thought we had heard it all, this story surfaced. CBS New York is reporting that an 83-year old woman has filed a lawsuit against Apple after she sustained injuries walking into a glass door at its Manhassett Store in Long Island, NY.

The woman's name is Evelyn Paswall, and she's going after Apple for a staggering $1 million dollars in medical expenses and punitive damages. Apparently Evenlyn broke her nose during the incident, and is now suing the company for negligence...

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Apple’s Cook touring China to talk iPhone 5 with carriers (UPDATE: greater investment mulled)

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 7, 2016

Though Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs never visited China (so says the official biography), the new CEO Tim Cook has been spotted at the company’s Apple Store in Joy City, a shopping mall located in Xidan, Beijing. A local news article included pictures of Cook posing with fans, snapped at the store. However, the real purpose of the executives's visit to China is shrouded in secrecy.

Remember, Cook also visited China last year and was photographed at China Mobile's headquarters in Beijing. China Mobile, the nation's largest wireless operator and the world's largest carrier with more than 600 million subscribers, does not yet carry Apple's handset. Nonetheless, they are already hosting some 15 million iPhones on their network, up from 10 million back in October.

Is Cook in China to cut that long-expected iPhone deal with China Mobile?

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Apple to add Baidu as default iOS search engine option in China

Cody Lee ∙ March 26, 2012

If Apple's multiple mapping firm acquisitions and recent iPhoto makeover haven't convinced you that the company is trying to distance itself from Google as much as possible, maybe this will.

Sina Tech is reporting that it has learned that Apple is looking to add Baidu, China's market-leading internet search company, as a default search engine option in iOS. So long Google...

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If approved, Apple will license its Nano SIM to others royalty-free

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 26, 2012

Last week, we told you about two opposing proposals concerning the emerging Nano SIM standard. An Apple-backed solution requires a tray so phones would need to be re-engineered with this in mind. It is largely believed to benefit the ultra-thin design of a sixth-generation iPhone.

The other proposal is led by Nokia and backed by Motorola and RIM. It calls for a Nano SIM variant that doesn't require a tray and is even smaller than Apple’s. The two camps had tabled their proposals to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and now a report has emerged claiming that Apple's solution, if approved, will be offered on a royalty-free basis to any industry player...

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