Apple

Tim Cook issues email to troops commenting on Apple’s new SVP of Retail

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 15, 2013

In a surprising late-night press release, Apple said it's finally found its new retail chief. In case you missed it, soon-to-be-former CEO of clothing retailer Burberry will be joining the iPhone maker as its new SVP of Retail, responsible for both Apple's online and offline stores and retail operations across the world.

Today, CEO Tim Cook issued a memo to Apple employees explaining why Angela - after John Browett's much maligned and short stint as Ron Johnson's replacement - is "the best person in the world for this role"...

Apple sends out invites for October 22 iPad event: ‘we still have a lot to cover’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

The Wall Street Journal-owned technology blog, AllThingsD, reported last week that Apple's next media event will take place on October 22, that's next Tuesday. Sure enough, the company just sent out invites for the October 22 event to select members of the press. The invitation-only press conference will be held at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco and will begin at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT, John Paczkowski of AllThingsD first reported and The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple subsequently confirmed.

The invite graphics features a close up of the Apple logo set against the white background and a bunch of colorful apple leaves. "We still have a lot to cover," reads the tagline...

Sparrow gets iOS 7 style icon, but no UI refresh

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

Sparrow, the Google-owned email client for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, has seen very little changes in the features department since the Internet giant acquired the startup in the summer of 2012.

Matter of fact, the search monster has passed on the opportunity to update Sparrow following the September 18 iOS 7 launch with the new visual appearance.

That said, today's minor refresh leaves a lot to be desired. Aside from the redesigned flat app icon, Sparrow version 1.3.5 contains no new features and it still has the same old user interface that doesn't take advantage of the new iOS 7 visual appearance...

Angry Birds Go! arriving December 11, here’s new gameplay video

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Angry Birds maker back in June teased its upcoming Angry Birds-themed kart racing game. Named Angry Birds Go, the game will be set on a 3D Piggy Island and include tons of characters with unique special powers and a fully rendered 3D world.

Then in August, the Finnish developer released more information, revealing the title will be a tie in with energy drinks maker Red Bull.

On Tuesday, Rovio gave us a release date and published a gameplay video which shows off game mechanics while revealing a bunch of bird and pig characters from the Angry Birds series. I've included the video and a few additional tidbits right after the break...

Speculation mounts over availability dates for new iPads, MacBook Pros and Mac Pro

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

Apple has kicked off its blockbuster Fall with September's double iPhone launch and followed-up by updating the iMac family with Intel's fourth-generation Haswell chips, 8GB of RAM standard across all models, faster graphics and ultra-fast PCIe flash storage and other goodies.

Now, our attention has already turned to other products in Apple's 2013 pipeline. AllThingsD last week claimed Apple will hold an iPad media event on October 22 and today a pretty reliable French blog has published availability dates for the upcoming new iPads, as well as updated MacBook Pro notebooks and the next-generation Mac Pro...

SnapHack for iPhone lets anyone save your incriminating Snapchats permanently

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Your online privacy is an elastic concept. No, I'm not referring to the NSA eavesdropping on your online communications or breaking into your iPhone or harvesting your online address books. Let's talk about Snapchat for a minute.

A quick backgrounder for the uninitiated: developed by Stanford University students, Snapchat is a handy photo messaging application that exploded in popularity soon after people realized they can send their photos to a controlled list of recipients and set a time limit for how long they can view them.

After the cut-off time, the snaps are automatically deleted from both the recipient's device and Snapchat's servers. As a bonus, Snapchat features a built-in mechanism that informs the other side when you screenshot their snaps. Now, you can imagine why Snapchat blew up in no time as some folks predominantly use the application to expose their body parts and share their candid shots.

A new iPhone app called SnapHack changes all that by bypassing Snapchat's screenshot notifications and pulling unopened content from Snapchat's servers. Plus, the company behind Snapchat yesterday detailed law enforcement requests. Jump past the fold for the full breakdown...

Apple serves blog with takedown notice over posting iTunes Radio contract

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 15, 2013

Most of Apple's legal actions happen with other multi-billion tech firms. But sometime, the Cupertino, California company likes to scare to scare the pants off small fry. Take for example Digital Music News (DMN), which Sunday yielded to demands by Apple, removing a copy of an iTunes Radio contract.

The contract, first published by DMN in June, showed how Apple "forced sub-standard terms" on independent music publishers. Apple claimed publication of the contract violated copyright laws, a claim one law professor described as "a jerk move."

Was Apple protecting copyrights or again using legal muscle to manage its corporate image?

Apple hires Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts as SVP of Retail and Online Stores

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 6, 2013

In a surprising late-night press release issued just a few hours ago, Apple announced that it has finally found its new Senior Vice President of Retail. Her name is Angela Ahrendts, and she is the [soon to be] former CEO of clothing retailer Burberry.

According to the release, Ahrendts will begin her new role in the spring of next year, where she will oversee the strategic direction, expansion and operation of both Apple retail and online stores. And like other SVPs, she'll report directly to Tim Cook...

BlackBerry pens open letter explaining why the world shouldn’t write it off (yet)

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2017

You can tell the end is nigh when a company buys full-page print ads to post an open letter making the case for its future. In the case of Canada's BlackBerry, formerly Research In Motion, the writing has been on the wall ever since Steve Jobs took the stage at the January 2007 MacWorld Expo to introduce the world to the iPhone.

Given its former co-CEO's state of denial and just plain stubbornness, I'd written off BlackBerry in my book long before first signs of trouble became public knowledge. Of course, BlackBerry continues to defy critics by insisting that it'll find a way out of the hole it'd dug for itself.

Starting tomorrow, the BlackBerry feel-good aimed at customers, developers and investors will appear in over 30 major print newspapers across nine countries, including The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal in the United States.

Here's the crux...

Flipcase: your iPhone 5c case becomes part of the game

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

To say that Flipcase, a new iPhone game by Dave McKinney and Stuart Hall, is interesting would be understating its cleverness, originality and inventiveness.

This ingenious take on Hasbro's classic four-in-a-row invites you to use Apple's iPhone 5c case with its circular holes on the back as a grid, which makes it fun and more three-dimensional.

Simply attach your case to the device's front and tap through the holes in the case to play. Whoever connects four holes of the same colors wins. How cool is that? Very cool! Jump past the fold for more awesomeness...

Google’s rumored Mobile Meter iOS app will give rewards in exchange for your privacy

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 14, 2013

Privacy-minded folks won't like this: word on the street is that the Internet giant Google is readying a new app for iOS and Android devices that will reward people for tracking their mobile habits and patterns.

Dubbed Mobile Meter, the software has reportedly been conceived to give Google a much deeper insight into how owners of smartphones and tablets use their devices.

This is especially eyebrow-raising given Apple's tight control of its ecosystem. In order to persuade people into installing Mobile Meter on their devices, the search monster will ostensibly reward people in exchange for their mobile trends. More tidbits right below...

iPad rumors: redesigned Smart Covers, Retina iPad mini could bulk up slightly

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 14, 2013

In today's roundup of the somewhat obvious Apple rumors, a new report has suggested that the upcoming iPad mini 2 will be a tad thicker than its predecessor, presumably in order to accommodate a bigger battery needed to drive Apple's power-hungry Retina display. This is newsworthy as none of the leaks to date has pointed to added bulk.

The thicker iPad mini meme isn't unexpected: watchful readers will remember that Apple's third-generation iPad with Retina display turned out to be slightly thicker than the previous iPads, due to the larger battery inside...