Apple

Some theories on why Apple didn’t buy Nest…

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Google's acquisition of the smart thermostat and smoke detector maker Nest Labs, which came out of the blue yesterday, has certainly set tongues wagging. And when you think of it, the shock and awe didn't stem from the business side of things - it came from buying users of a lovable service in a non-physical space, but whose relationship with the service is part physical.

And to think it all began like a fairy-tale...

Here's a cutesy little startup led by Tony Fadell, a former Apple engineer who used to lead the iPod's development over seventeen generations before leaving Cupertino amid feud with design guru Jony Ive and iPhone software head Scott Forstall to co-found Nest Labs, along with fellow Apple staffer Matt Rogers.

"Starting a business focused on the lowly thermostat seemed like a crazy idea at the time," Fadell wrote yesterday in a blog post. Turned out a lot of people fell in love with his smart thermostat. Just as Nest was about to complete another round of funding, Google swept in and bought the company outright for $3.2 billion in cash.

Sources claim Google was the only serious bidder and Apple was not in the mix. Heck, the iPhone maker didn't even bother to put up a fight. But why? Here are some of the more popular theories floating around (feel free to add your own in the comments)...

VirnetX files motion to add Apple’s newest products to latest infringement suit

Cody Lee ∙ January 14, 2014

VirnetX announced today that it will attempt to add Apple's most recent slate of products—including the iPhone 5s and iPad Air—to its ongoing patent infringement suit against the company. It filed the motion this morning in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

For those unfamiliar with VirnetX, it's a well-known patent holding firm that won in upwards of $400 million in damages from Apple in a case involving the FaceTime feature last year. Apple has since changed the feature to avoid further infringement, but apparently not enough...

‘Moment’ lenses launch on Kickstarter, promise pro iPhone photography experience

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2014

Moment, a new clip-on camera lens attachment for the iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices, has launched on Kickstarter, with a pair of lenses selling for $50 a pop each. Much like Olloclip, the Moment's multi-element lens design promises to take your iPhone photography to the next level.

How?

By allowing for low-distortion imaging and minimal chromatic aberration, with easily swappable lenses coming in handy when you need to quickly switch from shooting a wide scene to capturing detailed closeups. And they certainly look beautiful...

Apple ships 1.4 million iPhone 5s units to China Mobile ahead of Friday’s launch

Cody Lee ∙ January 14, 2014

After several years of negotiations, and following months of rumors, Apple announced in December that it had finally inked a deal with China Mobile. The carrier will officially start offering the company's smartphone on January 17.

And it looks like they're expecting a big turnout. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple supplier Foxconn has shipped roughly 1.4 million iPhone 5s units to China Mobile ahead of Friday's historic launch...

Apple now hiring engineers for Arizona sapphire glass plant

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2014

It was confirmed back in November that Apple has secured multi-year supply of sapphire cover glass by prepaying north of $500 million towards the purchase of sophisticated furnaces that will churn out the protective material on an industrial scale.

The material production would be handled by a company called GT Advanced at a plant in Mesa, Arizona that would create 2,000 U.S. jobs. The iPhone maker has now begun hiring engineers for the Mesa plant for the positions that specifically mention iPhone and iPod manufacturing...

Apple kicks off Back To School promo in Australia and New Zealand

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2014

We're still a few months away from the Back to School season in the United States, but over in Australia and New Zealand the new school year is looming so the iPhone maker's annual promotion for students is in full swing, giving us a taste of what to expect this coming summer in the United States.

Apple's Back to School promos are certainly more generous than their disappointing Black Friday discounts. Students in Australia and New Zealand can save with educational pricing and get a free $100/$50 iTunes gift card with a qualifying Mac/iPod or iPhone purchase.

The full breakdown is right past the jump...

Rumor: TSMC to start churning out Touch IDs for the next iPhone this summer

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2014

According to industry sources, Apple has seemingly commissioned Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to build Touch ID fingerprint sensors for a next-generation iPhone, dubbed by the press the iPhone 6.

The manufacture of the sensors should start in the second quarter of 2014 at TSMC's twelve-inch fab, using the company's 65-nanometer process, according to a report the Asian industry publication DigiTimes filed on Tuesday...

Review: Battle Supremacy, the best WWII tank sim with a tactical twist to it

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 14, 2014

Atypical Games is well-known for its Storm Raiders title and the Sky Gamblers combat flight series (Lory reviewed Sky Gamblers: Cold War, if you're interested).

Last week, their new iOS game was released in the App Store, Battle Supremacy for the iPhone and iPad, now available for $4.99. In Battle Supremacy, you're in control of the World War II tanks such as the Panzer III.

The game is going to delight you with the visual awesomeness, challenge your gray matter with tactical thinking and single player campaigns scattered across the French, Russian and Pacific theaters of World War II and test your skills with a nicely done online multiplayer mode.

Just don't call it yet another tank shooter because that's precisely what Battle Supremacy is not about. Read my full review right below...

Aaron Sorkin finished with screenplay for Sony’s Steve Jobs biopic

Cody Lee ∙ January 14, 2014

Aaron Sorkin has reportedly completed his screenplay for the highly-anticipated Steve Jobs biopic and submitted it to Sony. It was first announced that Sorkin would be working on the project back in the spring of 2012, but we've heard little of his progress since then.

The fact that he's finished the script is good news though, and should appease observers who have been looking forward to the flick. Needless to say, both Sony and movie-goers alike are hoping Sorkin can drum up the same kind of magic he did with The Social Network...

And just like that, Google buys smart thermostat and smoke detector maker Nest Labs

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2014

The Internet giant Google has announced that it has bought Nest Labs, the maker of a family of iPhone-controlled smart thermostat and smoke and carbon monoxide detector devices for connected homes. Nest will continue to operate independently of Google and won't share customer data with them. Nest was founded by the brilliant engineer Tony Fadell who used to work at Apple where he was charged with the iPod music player project.

Yes, the iPod Godfather now works for Google! The transaction is valued at a whopping $3.2 billion in cash. Google paid quite handsomely to buy Nest, didn't they? Considering Nest raised about $80 million in venture funding, the acquisition qualifies as one of the most profitable exit strategies among Silicon Valley startups.

iDownloadBlog's Jeff Benjamin reviewed the Nest learning thermostat and was impressed with its sleekness and functionality, the $249 price point be damned...

New in iOS 7.1: remove over-the-air installer from your device

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 13, 2014

I'm still flabbergasted that many non-techies are totally oblivious to over-the-air iOS updates. I mean, I've seen way too many iPhones out there with a badge on the Settings icon denoting a pending iOS update.

When asked why they didn't act on the notification, the normals usually respond that they couldn't figure out what it was so they just left it sitting there, consuming valuable storage space.

Turns out that the upcoming iOS 7.1 includes a new feature which allows you to delete these over-the-air installation files from your device without applying the update, in order to free up storage space for apps and media...

Snapchat apologizes (yes, apologizes!) for spam increase following data breach

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

Perhaps realizing that apologizing isn’t a sign of weakness, Snapchat, the popular photo messaging application, took to the official blog to apologize for the spam increase observed during the weekend.

"We’ve heard some complaints over the weekend about an increase in Snap Spam on our service," a Monday post reads. The company has tried to make peace with disgruntled users by offering a formal apology. "We want to apologize for any unwanted Snaps," the team wrote.

The spam increase, the post claims, has nothing to do with a recent breach that saw a group of hackers breach its database and post 4.6 million user names and phone numbers on the web...