Apple

New iOS 7 concepts: actionable Notification Center, better Safari

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKYvpFxXMSA

What better way to sign off as my weekend starts than a fresh batch of iOS concepts which imagine the capabilities Apple should have long implemented? Above is Shaik Imaduddin's mockup of a more interactive iOS Notification Center with actionable alerts where you could, say, delete email messages, mark them as read and send new ones, all without ever leaving your iPhone's Notification Center.

Very doable and frankly, even Android isn't currently doing that. He's also envisioning making phone calls, responding to text messages (existing tweaks address this) and setting alerts in Reminders to call back a person. The latter makes me wonder how on Earth Apple missed combining Reminders with the Phone app. I've also included a nice iOS 7 Safari mockup right past the fold...

Apple loses iPhone trademark appeal in Mexico

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

Apple's luck protecting the iPhone name has taken a turn for the worse with Friday development that the firm has lost an appeal over its use of the iPhone moniker in Mexico, reports The Wall Street Journal. The ruling marks Apple's second setback in Latin America after a Brazilian patent office a month ago approved the iPhone trademark to a local electronics maker IGB Eletronica SA.

That Brazilian firm, better known by its brand name Gradiente, owned rights to the iPhone name since 2000, long before Apple introduced its handset. In the case of Mexico-based Ifone SA, it had registered the 'Ifone' trademark back in 2003 and was making proper use of it, the nation's Supreme Court ruled Friday...

Comparison video: iPhone 5 vs Galaxy S4

Cody Lee ∙ March 15, 2013

You saw this coming. Since the moment Samsung unveiled its new flagship Galaxy S4 handset yesterday, the iPhone 5 comparisons have been flying about nonstop. So a video comparison of the two devices was inevitable.

This clip from the folks over at PhoneArena shows the i5 and S4 side by side, and their many differences, from display quality to build quality. It also showcases some of the the Galaxy S4's unique new software features...

100,000 die-hard fans want to keep Reader alive, Google wouldn’t budge

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 24, 2018

A petition to keep Google Reader alive, available at Change.org, already has more than a hundred thousand signatures. After the Internet giant Tuesday shocked the tech world announcing it will discontinue the service after July 1, 2013, the petition crossed 50,000 signatures in less than 24 hours as Reader die-hards scrambled to keep the web app alive. While the decision to axe Reader might actually revitalize the industry, Google refuses to change its mind, Friday news reports indicate...

iPad vs. Paper

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR4mlLiyjYo#!

As this commercial amusingly asserts, there isn't an app for everything after all. Apple's tablet can replace paper most of the time and assist us in almost every way but one, revealed at the very end. Meet us in comments...

Budget iPhone: colors, 4-inch screen, super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

Apple's budget iPhone, a rumored all-new design targeted at emerging markets where carriers rarely subsidize cell phones, will be offered in a range of colors and have a "super-thin plastic casing mixed with glass fiber", one reliable analyst wrote in a Friday note to clients. The specs for the device were apparently decided on back in 2011 and call for a four-inch screen resembling the iPhone 5.

Dismissing talk of a 4.5-inch entry-level iPhone, the report argues Apple is "unlikely to abruptly change" its stance on screen size just because Android makers are increasingly building phablets. Jump past the fold for more tidbits...

Inside 2013 Apple TV: redesigned power-savvy A5 chip, cost optimizations

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple shipped five million Apple TVs last year for a nearly $500 million in additional revenue. That’s a very successful hobby and while talk of Tim Cook & Co. building a standalone HD TV set remains just that - rumor mongering - Apple has quietly retooled the $99 set-top box, with most of the under-the-hood tweaks aimed at optimizing production costs.

AnandTech took a peek inside the gadget and found some minor changes. The publication found a significant reduction in the new model’s power consumption, directly related to the optimized A5 chip, leading AnandTech to speculate that perhaps Apple could use this chip for another device, “perhaps one powered by a battery” (hint: iWatch)...

Duke Nukem II coming to iOS in April

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZJc2W8SBE5U

Duke Nukem II side-scroller, which celebrates its 20th anniversary, is coming to Apple's iPhone and iPad in April, Interceptor Entertainment and 3D Realms announced. The universal binary will be priced at $1.99 and include all of the 32 level from the original levels, enhanced with multitouch controls, a new soundtrack, refreshed graphics, online leaderboards and more. Above is the launch trailer above for a look at Duke Nukem 2 iOS in action and I've included a few more details right after the break...

George Lucas-founded THX takes Apple to court

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

THX, a high-fidelity audio-visual reproduction standard, has filed a lawsuit against Apple before a federal court in Northern California, alleging patent infringement, Bloomberg reported yesterday.

THX was founded by the famous Star Wars producer George Lucas, who used to control the company through his Lucasfilm enterprise between 1983-2001.

THX is now independent and no further details, including a copy of the complaint, were available at press time. Neither Apple nor THX would comment on the news...

Apple’s Tim Cook loses top CEO ranking to Facebook in Glassdoor survey

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

It's uncertain what caused it, but the first cracks are appearing in the honeymoon between Apple CEO Tim Cook and company employees.

After being named the top CEO of 2012, Cook slipped to 18th place, behind Google and Amazon. According to employment site Glassdoor, Apple employees gave Cook a 93 percent approval rating, down from 97 percent last year.

By comparison, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg jumped 14 points to land in the top spot for 2013 with a 99 percent approval rating from employees of the social networking giant...

$149 iPhone 5 now available from Strata Networks

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 15, 2013

As promised last week, Strata Networks, a regional U.S. wireless carrier, finally landed the iPhone 5 today. And, in emulating fellow rural telcos, Strata is offering Apple's device with a $50 discount compared to the asking prices at Verizon, AT&T and Sprint. Specifically, the iPhone 5 is available for $149 for the 16GB model, $249 for the 32GB model and $349 for the high-end model with 64 gigabytes of storage. The iPhone 5 is available in all Strata stores in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.

They don't mention web sales, though Strata did update its web site this morning to reflect the devices' availability. The carrier is also selling the iPhone 4S for $49 and the iPhone 4 for free, with a qualifying contract. Would-be subscribers should be pleased to know that the iPhone 5 is compatible with Strata's 4G LTE network that the company started deploying ahead of Christmas 2012...

The state of Maine to share MacBook, iPad contract with other schools

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The U.S. state of Maine plans to make available to other schools its contract for buying students MacBooks and iPads. Although the offer could provide some guidance for educational institutions, perhaps most eye-opening are the low prices state officials were able to get from an eager Steve Jobs. The contract - originally from 2000 - lets the state pay $217 for an iPad and $273 for a MacBook Air.

Although other states are unlikely to strike a similar bargain with Apple today, the Cupertino, California company has expressed interest in putting its iDevices on the desks of US students...