Apple

Aliens, jetpack and more in Gameloft’s latest Gangstar Vegas update

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 19, 2014

French games maker Gameloft has released an interesting new content pack for Gangstar Vegas, the latest installment in its Grand Theft Auto series which hit the App Store in June of last year.

Available in the App Store as a free update for existing users, the Gangstar vs. Aliens content pack pits you against - what do you know - aliens! The game is still set in the City of Sin and this update brings back the jetpack while adding additional missions, weapons, costumes and vehicles.

If you live Gangstar Vegas, strap on your jetpack and kick some alien butt in the Gangstar vs. Aliens update...

Shazam and Warner Music Group form crowd-sourced record label

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

The media discovery service Shazam and Warner Music Group (WMG) have struck an interesting partnership that will see the former not only discover new acts by analyzing what new songs people tag most, but also sign them to a new Shazam branded label.

Yup, you read that right: the development marks the arrival of the first crowd-sourced record label. Shazam is the world's top music-tagging and discovery engine and WMG is the largest American-owned music conglomerate worldwide, the third largest label in the global music industry and one of the big three recording companies...

TPK said to supply silver nanowire-based flexible AMOLED panels for iWatch

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 19, 2014

Apple is said to have commissioned Taiwan-based touch panel maker TPK to build flexible AMOLED panels for a rumored iWatch wearable device. According to a report by The China Times, highlighted by DigiTimes, the iWatch will include a flexible AMOLED display and 3D protective glass, with '3D' likely referring to a curved appearance of the cover glass.

Moreover, the Apple wearable device could use silver nanowire touchscreen technology developed by TPK. Interestingly enough, TPK recently signed a deal with Japan-based Nissha Printing to mass produce nanowire layers...

Apple announces the very first iTunes Festival to be held in the US

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Apple this morning announced via a press release iTunes Festival SXSW, the very first iTunes Festival to be held in the United States. The music event will be held March 11-15, 2014 at ACL Live at the Moody Theater, which is the home of Austin City Limits.

The lineup of stars includes Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Pitbull, Keith Urban, ZEDD "and more to come". It gets even better as all five nights of the event will be available as a free live and on-demand stream via the iTunes Store on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC devices.

Additionally, music lovers will be able to stream the event in high-definition through the iTunes Festival app on iOS devices and the Apple TV set-top box...

Sketchy rumor claims iPhablet won’t use iPhone branding

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 19, 2014

A new report out of Taiwan reiterates that Apple is working on two new iPhone models, one with a display measuring 4.7 inches diagonally and the other sporting a 5.6-inch screen. However, the story surprisingly claims Apple won't use iPhone branding for the 5.6-inch model because this "non-iPhone" is apparently an "experimental" device.

We're not sure what to think about this as Apple has always branded all of its smartphone models as iPhones. The claim reminds me of an old rumor which said Apple would release a new kind of iOS device, a cross of sorts between the iPhone and the MacBook Air that would justify a completely new branding...

Apple researching headphones with head gestures that track fitness and health data

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2014

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on Tuesday published a new Apple patent No. 8,655,004 for a “sports monitoring system for headphones, earbuds and/or headsets”.

The system could also employ head gestures to control various features and could be a nice companion for an Apple wearable device project.

The invention encloses integrated activity monitors in a set of headphones to pick up such health and fitness related metrics as temperature, perspiration, heart rate data and more...

Apple highlights how mountaineers use iPad for their extraordinary climbs

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2014

As part of its currently running iPad web marketing campaign, Apple on Tuesday morning refreshed its 'Your Verse' website, adding a new feature which highlights the many ways mountaineers Adrian Ballinger and Emily Harrington are using their iPads to plan ahead and climb some of the most feared mountains on Earth.

Their extraordinary climbs see the couple use Apple's tablet and special apps like the Gaia GPS topography app to plan their ascent, see the remote mountain regions in greater detail and more...

Former Apple ad man Ken Segall explains why the iPhone 5c flopped

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 19, 2018

Ken Segall doesn't mince words when it comes to talking about his previous employer. The former Apple ad man has a track record of calling it like he sees on his 'Observatory' blog, where he's talked about everything from the iPhone's name, to the successfulness of Samsung.

In his latest blog post, Segall attempts to explain why the iPhone 5c has been such a failure. Apple hasn't come out and said it, obviously, but there's been quite a bit of evidence suggesting the handset hasn't performed as well as it hoped. And Ken has a few possible reasons why...

Rumor: Galaxy S5 to integrate fingerprint scanner into Home button, not as sophisticated as Touch ID

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

Apple paid big bucks to acquire AuthenTec, the world's leading maker of fingerprint sensors. Following the $356 million deal, it took Apple's teams an additional year or so to apply AuthenTec's technology to Touch ID. An in-house project, Touch ID has rethought what fingerprint scanning on mobile devices should be like, resulting in a seamless and integrated solution that, in Apple's parlance, "just works".

That's not saying Touch ID isn't without pitfalls.

Apple cautions that fingerprint scanning doesn't work well with greasy or wet fingers and there are reports of old people's prints not being recognized properly as a result of a few decades worth of scarring and general wear and tear.

Despite rumors that Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S5 would feature iris scanning, KGI Research analysts instead pointed to a fingerprint sensor.

And now a publication called SamMobile says it's been able to confirm with a Samsung source that the feature will work by swiping one's finger over the handset's redesigned Home button. It would let users unlock the device by swiping and remember website passwords, the latter not (yet) being supported by Touch ID...

Ad execs disparage iAds over Apple’s ‘slow, cocky and downright stingy’ approach

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2014

iAd, Apple's advertising platform, continues to struggle to gain traction and retain big name advertisers. A new report by industry publication Advertising Age claims that Madison Avenue media buyers are unimpressed by the performance of iAds, which they contributed to Apple's "slow, cocky and downright stingy" approach to ad sales.

The problem boils down to Apple's lack of understanding of advertising as a relationship-driven business...

Apple may call Android creator Andy Rubin to testify in Samsung case

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2014

Andy Rubin is one of the original creators of Android and Apple may summon him to testify in a new trial set for late-March as part of the ongoing Apple v. Samsung legal battle. According to a report by TUAW, a witness list Apple filed with the court last week has revealed the iPhone maker is considering calling Rubin to testify on the potentially sensitive topics of the development of infringing Android features. He may also be asked to comment on "Google documents relating to such development"...

Concept: Apple’s rumored health/fitness band

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2014

There has been absolutely no shortage of downright silly iWatch concepts, with a few notable exceptions of compelling renderings doing their best to depict what an iWatch might - but probably never will - look like. The vast majority of the renderings are probably way off mark in their depictions of an Apple-branded wearable device.

But as Tim Cook has reportedly given the nod to Apple engineers to focus on health and fitness functions, it's becoming clear we could see a fitness band from Apple rather than an iWatch. This newest batch of renderings comes from the creative team of the British technology magazine called T3, which posted a nicely done smart bracelet concept dubbed the iBand...