Apple

Japan’s top carrier thinks iPhone is no longer king of the hill

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 27, 2013

Remember the days of carriers acting like teenagers at a Justin Bieber concert when it came to the iPhone? That all-out adoration of Apple's flagship device is waning - especially in Japan. The country's largest wireless provider sees no hurry in offering the iPhone as Android alternatives grow in popularity.

In a Wall Street Journal interview today, a senior executive vice-president at NTT DoCoMo says things have changed. The question isn't how many customers the iPhone would attract, but how many customer would leave if the Apple device isn't sold...

AOL releases brand new iPad app for mail, weather, news and video

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 27, 2013

It's not just Yahoo: in a bid to regain its relevancy, AOL is doubling down on software. First, it jumped on the Google Reader bandwagon with its own AOL Reader.

But AOL is just warming up: today, the beleaguered firm has launched an iOS app that lets you access its popular properties like News, Weather, Video and Mail. If I wanted to be cynical, I'd say AOL has been lingering on the brink of relevancy for quite some time now.

The firm's customer base had been reduced to 10.1 million subscribers by November 2007, just narrowly ahead of Comcast and AT&T Yahoo. If you count yourself as an AOL fan, go past the fold for the full breakdown...

Remastered PlayStation classic Colin McRae Rally is now available on iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2019

Avid iOS gamers may have noticed a promising pattern as a growing number of premium classics make their way into the App Store. Starting with XCOM: Enemy Unknown just a week ago and the upcoming iOS port of the award-winning Limbo game, we now also have the 1999 PlayStation racing classic Colin McRae Rally 2.0 (the second game in the series), which has been remastered for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices as simply Colin McRae Rally...

Foxconn showcases its own smartwatch ahead of Apple’s iWatch

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Could Apple's largest contract manufacturer also become a competitor? Foxconn's parent company, Hon Hai, unveiled a smartwatch that connects to your iPhone, displaying phone calls and Facebook messages. The news comes as the Taiwan-based assembler of iPhones seeks ways to diversify income as the industry undergoes some uncertain times.

The watch, unveiled by Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou Wednesday, appears to compete against the iWatch, a rumored device that Apple may introduce. Despite not being an actual iWatch, Foxconn reportedly received 1,000 orders for its product...

‘Designed by Apple’ ads fail to impress viewers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

Apple's new mission-statement ad campaign is epitomized in a television commercial which highlights Apple's California roots and celebrates the firm's famous 'Designed by Apple in California' tagline etched on the back of its products. It's unfortunately not testing very well with viewers.

Ad effectiveness firm Ace Metrix polled at least 500 television viewers who gave the latest commercial a score of 489 on its scale. That's below an industry average of 542 and the lowest score of more than two dozen Apple TV ads in the past year.

By comparison, Apple's past ads often topped 700, so the new campaign isn't as effective as Apple's ad shop TBWA/Worldwide thought it would be...

Apple: ITC ban has ‘much broader ramifications’ than iPhone 4 and iPad 2 sales

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 27, 2013

A limited import ban by the ITC on some Apple devices is under scrutiny and Apple believes the order could have far-reaching consequences, according to papers filed with reviewers. At issue is whether the courtroom win by Samsung may prompt other governments to limit imports of American made electronics and other goods.

In papers filed with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) - which can overturn ITC decisions - Apple argues that the limited ban on iPhone 4 and iPad 2 imports hinges on a Samsung patent the Korean company had declared standard essential...

Skype iOS apps updated with free and unlimited Video Messages

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 27, 2013

Microsoft-owned Skype was testing a new Video Messages feature since mid-February, but it wasn't until mid-June that they opened video messaging to everyone.

Today, the software maker has finally updated Skype for iPhone and iPad with free and unlimited Video Messages, basically short videos Skype users can send to each other, even when offline.

Previously, you could only send 20 free messages up to three-minute long each before being prompted to sign up for a $4.99 premium Skype account...

Reeder for iPhone goes free, support for Google Reader alternatives coming soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 21, 2018

Whenever I feel like skimming through my RSS feeds, I turn to Reeder, Silvio Rizzi's excellent RSS client for the iPhone and iPad. I've been using it for years now and with the impending July 1 Google Reader shutdown, Silvio figured he could kick his value proposition up a notch by making Reeder for iPhone free. In addition, he's busy working on the next update which will enable a number of Google Reader alternatives such as Feedly, Wrangler and others...

Rich iTunes iRadio playlist customization in the works, patent suggests

Ed Sutherland ∙ June 27, 2013

When Apple announced plans to offer iTunes Radio, observers quickly compared the service to Spotify, and other streaming music offerings.

However, a new patent application reveals the iPhone maker wants to go far beyond a simple 'like' or 'dislike' to customize a user's playlist.

Apple's vision of a playlist connects a user's musical preferences already part of iTunes, while offering the ability to tweak a song list on the fly. The application, published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Thursday, also outlines playlist customization based on such ephemeral factors as how a certain song makes you feel...

Yahoo! News modernizes design

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 27, 2013

There's no denying that the Internet giant Yahoo has been on quite a roll lately.

Over the course of just two months, the company has managed to roll out the awesome Weather app (that Apple seemingly copied quite slavishly in iOS 7), launch the Mail app on iPad, update its Search iOS app with Summly summaries and acquire the blogging platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion.

Today, the company announced it is revamping its popular News portal on the web and mobile devices with a new design aimed at creating a more consistent feel across all of Yahoo. The all-new Yahoo News look is also available when browsing the website on your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android devices...

Judge denies adding Galaxy S4 to Apple suit

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 27, 2013

Apple's plan to add Samsung's flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone to its second California suit has just hit a major roadblock as U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal just denied Apple's request on the ground that it would be a “a tax on the court’s resources”. A lawyer for Apple told the judge that excluding the Galaxy S4 “would require Apple to file a new lawsuit” because the Samsung products covered by the case will be out of date by trial next year, Bloomberg reported Thursday...

Verizon’s LTE in 500 markets, VoLTE due in 2014

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2017

Just as U.S. wireless carrier AT&T yesterday said it rolled out its Long-Term Evolution (LTE) radio technology to new markets while expanding coverage in several existing markets, rival Verizon Wireless Thursday said its LTE now blankets five hundred markets nationwide.

The Big Red carrier now has 4G coverage in nearly 200 more markets than AT&T does. Verizon added a hundred new LTE markets in just eight months and was the first U.S. telco to start deploying high-speed LTE cellular technology two and half years ago. The company also announced it will begin rolling out Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology starting next year...