Apple

LG saw 90% drop in iPad panel shipments in January

Cody Lee ∙ February 26, 2013

A new report out of China claims that LG Display saw shipments of its 9.7-inch iPad display panels drop 90% in January, from 6 million units in December all the way down to 600,000. The drop-off is said to be a main factor in LG's poor performance in the month.

The reason for the order cuts? Well according to supply chain sources, it's a combination of a few things including the fact that January was the first post-holiday month, the growing popularity of the iPad mini, and a general shift in the market to lower-priced tablets...

Angry Birds Toons premiering March 16

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5px1IbyAjw

Determined to milk the Angry Birds franchise for all its worth, Finnish developer Rovio is bringing the birds and the pesky pigs to the world of animation with Angry Birds Toons, an all-new animated series premiering on the weekend of March 16 and 17. The animated shorts take place on the Piggy Island and invite fans to get up close and personal with their favorite characters. Rovio says it will air a brand new episode featuring the latest adventures of the birds and pigs every week starting the weekend of March 16...

Staples US web store starts selling Apple accessories

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

After test page ads for an Apple TV and other Apple gear appeared on Staples’ United States web store, and following hints Staples execs dropped which pointed to the retailer partnering with Apple on carrying various products in its Stateside locations, the new Apple-focused mini-store has gone live over at the Staples web store.

The company is offering a range of iPad, iPod, iPhone and Mac accessories and peripherals, including mice, keyboards, Apple's Smart Covers, the $99 Apple TV set-top box, as well as Airport Express, Airport Extreme and Time Capsule wireless appliances...

Another iOS 6.1 trick to bypass the Lock screen

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKOj0GMf810#at=49

So what's up with Apple and the iPhone's Lock screen? I mean, the various Lock screen vulnerabilities have persisted in iOS since the first passcode flaw was discovered in iOS 2.0 - and that was way back in July of 2008. And now, in addition to a simple passcode bypass trick a YouTube user detailed on Valentine's Day, another method of circumventing the Lock screen passcode has been discovered and highlighted in a video above...

Samsung confirms March 14 Galaxy S IV event

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 25, 2013

The South Korean conglomerate Samsung has confirmed that a major media event will take place on March 14 in New York, about two weeks after the currently-running 2013 Mobile World Congress wraps up in Barcelona, Spain. The company confirmed to Reuters that the press conference is a launchpad for a Galaxy S III successor, the Galaxy S IV.

Samsung Monday morning sent out invites to select members of the press to "come and meet" the next Galaxy at the March 14 Unpacked event. The somewhat reliable Jefferies analyst Peter Misek estimates Samsung's enormous build plan calls for a hundred million Galaxy S IV shipments from a March-April launch until the end of the year...

Apple orders Retina iPad mini screens from Japan Display and LG Display

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 25, 2013

Apple, according to a new supply chain report out of Asia, has placed orders with LG Display and Japan Display for high-resolution Retina screens for a second-generation iPad mini. Japan Display is a merger of the mobile display operations of Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba, in conjunction with the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. Now, LG Display and AU Optronics both currently supply 1,024-by-768 panels for the iPad mini, and iDB last week heard the latter has already started mass producing Retina panels for the second-generation iPad mini.

With LG Display and Japan Display now reportedly having been added to the mix - and with leaks like this purported back shell - all signs point to Apple lining up its suppliers ahead of manufacturing, usually a tell-tale sign that the official announcement is around the corner. And if the iPad mini 2 is in fact looming, we're probably looking at a summer launch at WWDC...

Meet Apple TV’s newest competitor, the Samsung HomeSync

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

As you've probably noticed by now, we're huge fans of the Apple TV here at iDB. Apple's set-top box is inexpensive, easy-to-use, and it integrates perfectly with our iOS devices. Plus, older versions of it can be jailbroken.

The device has been doing remarkably well for Apple, despite the fact that it has several competitors. But we'll see if that hot streak can continue now that Samsung's throwing its hat in the ring with its new HomeSync...

Facebook improves iOS SDK with enhanced APIs and better mobile analytics

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 23, 2018

Mark Zuckerberg's social networking company last July released a software development kit (SDK) for programmers to make it easier to write apps that take full advantage of Apple’s deep Facebook integration in iOS 6. It's been updated a few times since and today Facebook announced that it is enhancing the SDK with better APIs and other improvements. This update also includes bug fixes that improve stability, is backwards compatible and can be downloaded now direct from Facebook...

Apple settles in-app purchasing lawsuit with iTunes credits and refunds

Cody Lee ∙ February 25, 2013

Apple today has agreed to settle a nearly two year-old lawsuit with a group of parents over unauthorized in-app purchases made by their kids. The parents complained that the process' lack of password requirement led to massive iTunes bills.

As part of the preliminary deal, which has yet to be finalized by a judge, Apple will pay eligible class members with a $5 iTunes gift card or the same amount in cash. And for those users who spent more than $30, it's offering a full refund...

Apple’s iPhone push in India: wider distribution, new marketing and installment plans

Ed Sutherland ∙ February 25, 2013

After describing India as having less potential than China, Apple is increasing efforts to compete in the world's second-largest cellphone market. The iPhone maker is now hoping installment payments, coupled with increased marketing can turn single-digit market penetration into a weapon against low-cost Androids.

In full-page ads in the Times of India, Apple calls its unsubsidized $840 iPhone 5 "your dream phone" available for a $93 first payment. Why the big push? The nation's smartphone market is expected to grow five-fold by 2016, setting the stage for the next battle between Apple and Google's free mobile software...

Bloomberg: Google’s music streaming service launching worldwide in Q3

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 25, 2013

Piggy-backing on last week's reports by The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times asserting Google's been looking to enhance its Music service with streaming features akin to those of Spotify, Bloomberg today learned from its own sources that the service is likely targeted for a third quarter start. What's more, Google is reportedly planning to release this as a worldwide offering from the get-go.

One of the people familiar with Google's thinking told Bloomberg the service would work on both Android and non-Android devices, without explicitly referring to the iPhone...

Sharp and Foxconn deal has all but fallen apart

Cody Lee ∙ February 25, 2013

For a year now, we've been hearing that Foxconn was going to buy a large stake in Sharp Corp. Speculation of the deal has run rampant, going so far as to implicate that the partnership was part of Apple's plans to build a TV.

But over the last several months, Sharp's business has started to falter, causing Foxconn to rethink things. Since then, the companies haven't been able to come to an agreement. And according to a new report, they won't...