Being on the list of ten premium apps and games Apple gave away to users as part of the App Store's fifth birthday was enough to revitalize downloads of Chair Entertainment's elegiac masterpiece, Infinity Blade II.
We're talking some meaningful numbers here: the premium game has racked up nearly six million downloads on the basis of being slashed from its usual asking price of seven bucks a pop to $0...
Users of Uber, the popular private taxi service that operates in 35 cities and fourteen countries, can now use the updated version of their iPhone application to easily split fares in-app with their friends. I use taxi pretty regularly and while Uber doesn't operate in my area, our own Jeff Benjamin is ecstatic about the service, having confirmed it works as advertised (at least in the Chicago area). What's best, billing associated with fare splitting in the new Uber version 2.8.6 is now social, too...
Apple Tuesday was granted a patent on a way to return some of the simplicity of traditional drafting and design to the rather complex process of Computer-Aided Design, also known as CAD. Entitled 'Virtual drafting tools,' Apple outlines how a multitouch interface - such as the iPad's - can make more intuitive tasks like drawing a straight line.
To revive the traditional drafting interface, the 2010 patent application approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the multitouch interface uses tools such as rulers and protractors...
Good news for fans of Apple's pro audio software as the company has just announced this morning an update to MainStage 3 and a major new version of Logic Pro with Virtual Drummer and Flex Pitch features, plus an iOS Remote application to go along with it. Apple pulled a Final Cut Pro X here as Logic Pro X appears to be a reboot of the previous version.
The next-generation audio editing for the Mac, according to Apple's global marketing chief, features a set of advanced tools and a modern new interface designed to streamline the process of creating professional quality music. "Musicians are going to love creative new features like Drummer, Flex Pitch, Track Stacks and the Arpeggiator," he was quoted in a press release...
It wasn't long ago Apple was threatening to fire its retail employees over unauthorized use of iOS 7 betas. Now comes word the company seeks "pie in the sky" suggestions from store workers on ways to improve iPhone sales. The request came in a contest distributed last week, with the winning employees getting an eight-week trip to Apple's Cupertino, California headquarters...
During Tim Cook's D11 interview a few months ago, the CEO said that Apple had bought out 9 companies since October of last year. If that number sounds a bit high, that's because it is, as the iPad-maker usually averages 6-7 acquisitions per year.
And the shopping spree may not be over just yet. According to a new report from an Israeli news source, the Cupertino company is currently mulling over another buyout. This time it's PrimeSense, the motion control specialists behind the Kinect...
Two months following the $1.05 billion August 2012 ruling finding Samsung had infringed Apple's patented technology (non-standard-essential patents, to be precise), the iPhone maker expectedly sought a permanent U.S. sales ban on infringing Samsung devices.
Unfortunately, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple’s injunction request on the merit that it would not be in the public’s best interest to halt handset sales just because Samsung copied a few features from the iPhone.
Shortly after, Apple filed an appeal and today the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has given notice of a scheduling decision - the two parties will face each other off again on August 9...
It appears that Apple's long-rumored TV service is alive, and slowly but surely moving forward. According to a new report, Apple has spent the last year seeking rights from cable companies and TV networks for a new Internet television service.
The offering is said to allow users to watch live and on-demand television programming over an Apple-branded set-top box or TV set, and, as claimed by people with knowledge of the project, it could feature the ability to skip TV commercials...
Microsoft's rumored smartwatch will reportedly compete with Apple's rumored iWatch by designing the product around Surface and Xbox technology, while giving it a cool translucent shell along with a variety of colorized removable wrist bands for a dash of fashion statement. Oh, and it will supposedly do LTE on its own.
Sources familiar with the matter told The Verge that prototype smartwatch testing at Microsoft has moved over to the Surface team. The move is likely in line with a recent company-wide reorganization effort that saw Xbox and Surface hardware divisions folded into a single unit, with former Windows chief Julie Larson-Green now responsible for all of Microsoft's hardware efforts...
Apple for some time has expressed interest in designing products for high-end automobiles, creating Siri Eyes Free to act as a driver's personal assistant. However, with the growing use of scooters - particularly ones electric-powered - the Apple handset is set to become the dashboard, serving up GPS information, speed and more. The iScooters should appear in 2014, one version from the maker of the tiny Smart Car and another from that wonderland of gadgets, Japan...
When it comes to flagship smartphone sales, it's essentially a two-horse race between Apple's iPhone line and Samsung's Galaxy S line. Both companies account for nearly all of the industry's profits, and frequently trade-off the title of top-selling manufacturer.
But Google is looking to change that with its upcoming Moto X handset. The device, which has been the subject of a number of rumors and leaks over the past few months, is the company's first since it acquired Motorola's hardware division nearly two years ago...
A story published this past weekend by a website called SemiAccurate has renewed speculation of Apple's supposed interest in producing the engine for iDevices at a plant of its own, as opposed to simply designing silicon blueprints in-house and commissioning others to build the chips, as has been the case since 2010.
So if Apple really bought into a fab, as the exclusive story alleges, the non-trivial move would span years to complete while costing billions of dollars.
Worse, Apple would expose itself to unforeseen difficulties not limited to yield issues: running a sophisticated chip-making factory requires a disciplined approach to attracting and retaining highly-trained engineers, one analyst cautioned Monday...