Apple

Vimeo takes on Twitter’s Vine, buys iOS animated GIF-making app Echograph

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps-Hb8DyztI

Video sharing service Vimeo (which in March 2011 released an awesome, free universal iOS client) has snapped up Echograph, an animated GIF app for the iPhone and iPad by Clear-Media. Vimeo wrote in a media release that as part of the acquisition, the Echograph app, previously costing three bucks, is now a free download.

Echograph wants to be the Instagram of animated GIFs by providing easy to use tools to help make animated photography a reality. You can simply paint and touch up moving images as if they were stills and then use your creations in in Final Cut, Keynote, iBooks Author or the web, via HTML5...

New iOS 6.1 Lock screen flaw compromises your iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 14, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP-w436CfvQ

The iOS Lock screen bug has reared its ugly head again. This time around, the security exploit isn't as straightforward as a 2011 issue which let intruders bypass your iPad's Lock screen using a Smart Cover. In a nutshell, this new exploit discovered by a YouTube user involves making and immediately canceling an emergency call and holding down the Sleep/Wake button twice.

As detailed in a video above by The Verge, the method enables an intruder to bypass the unlock feature on the Lock screen and gain immediate access to your private stuff, including iMessages, FaceTime, photos and more. The flaw is iOS 6.1-specific and since it involves using the emergency calling feature, it's likely that iPads and iPod touches are not susceptible. Go past the break for more information...

Chitika: iOS 6 now accounts for 83% of all North American iOS traffic

Cody Lee ∙ February 13, 2013

With Apple releasing iOS 6.1.1 earlier this week—just two weeks after releasing iOS 6.1—ad network Chitika wanted to take a look and see where iOS version distribution and adoption was at in terms of overall percentage of iOS traffic.

To determine this, the firm's analytical arm Chitika Insights took a sample of ad impressions from millions of US and Canadian iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users during a 24 hour period. And they found that over 80% are on iOS 6...

Rumor: 4.8-inch iPhone 6 arriving in summer 2014

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2013

Jeffries analyst Peter Misek is on a roll. First he wrote in a note issued to clients this morning that channel checks led him to believe that the iPhone 5S is entering production in March for a likely June/July introduction.

Then word came that Misek thinks Apple could be holding a media event next month to announce a software development kit (SDK).

The official SDK would enable programmers to write full-screen 1080p apps and games for the Apple TV set-top box. And now, we learn that Misek doesn't see the 4.8-inch iPhone launching this year at all. Instead, Apple is looking to release a bigger iPhone in mid-2014, he writes...

Apple refreshes MacBooks, slashes prices

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2013

Apple Wednesday morning announced it has refreshed Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Air configurations with faster processors and lower price points. The 256GB 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is now a $300 cheaper and has an upgraded processor and its entry-level 128GB counterpart now costs $200 less. Two 15-inch Retina MacBook Pros have also received a slight specs bump up. The MacBook Air is now a $100 cheaper. Full details right after the break...

Apple relaxes 3-device limit on friends and family purchases

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

In another sign of Apple's inventory levels perhaps finally catching up to demand, it has been discovered that the company has relaxed its annual 3-device limit on products bought by employees, their friends, family members and other participating entities. Previously, Apple employees were allowed to purchase up to three devices each year.

Rather than set a new specific number limit, Apple says it's now "a judgment call". And as part of the Employee Purchase Program (EPP), a 15 percent discount applies to select products. True to its form, Apple half-jokingly advises employees against "advertising a 15 percent discount on Apple products for all of your Facebook friends"...

Analyst: iPhone 5 sales decelerating, iPhone 5S enters manufacturing in March

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2013

According to one analyst, Apple's suppliers are getting ready for iPhone 5S manufacturing, which should commence in March with a likely summer introduction in mind.

With the next-gen iPhone just a few months away, Apple is apparently winding down some iPhone 5 manufacturing as sales of the handset are "decelerating faster than expected".

Per the rumor-mill, the iPhone 5S will be a mid-cycle specs upgrade sporting a faster CPU/GPU (likely a new A7 chip). Rumors are also suggesting a higher-resolution camera (possibly a 13-megapixel sensor). Some think Apple will for the first time offer the iPhone in a range of colors, though the handset is expected to retain the current two-tone industrial design...

LinkedIn CEO gives iPad minis to all employees

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2017

It's not just Fortune 500s, contractors, financial institutions, retailers, President Obama, governments, education, military, airliners or enterprise: startups big and small alike are finding it increasingly difficult to resits the allure of tablet computing. The latest example: LinkedIn, a social networking web site for people in professional occupations, gave Apple's iPad mini to every one of its 3,500 employees...

Siri Eyes Free makes its debut today in Chevy’s Spark and Sonic vehicles

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Last summer, during its WWDC keynote, Apple announced that it was going to be taking its digital assistant act on the road. It introduced Siri 'Eyes Free,' a feature that allows qualified iPhone users to interact with Siri over Bluetooth using stock vehicle controls.

A total of 9 major automakers have pledged support for the hands-free system including Audi, BMW, Toyota, Honda, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, and Jaguar. And today, it makes its official debut in Chevrolet's youth-oriented Spark and Sonic vehicles...

Apple appeals Brazil’s iPhone trademark ruling

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2013

In a repeat of the ProView situation, Apple today lost exclusive rights to the 'iPhone' trademark in Brazil to a local company called IGB Electronics S.A. that sells an Android cheapo with 'iPhone' in its name. While this means both IGB and Apple are allowed to market 'iPhones' in the 200 million people country, Apple - keen on avoiding user confusion and public humiliation - has now appealed the decision by the Brazilian Institute for Industrial Property (INPI)...

Apple is killing it when it comes to mobile video

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

There is now confirmation of what we already suspected: Apple is killing it when it comes to mobile video. The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch collectively account for 60 percent of mobile video, with Apple's smartphone and tablet comprising more than half of all mobile clips viewed during 2012, according to a study released Wednesday. By comparison, 32 percent of Android devices are used for viewing mobile video.

That's another acknowledgment of both Apple's tablet dominance and the fact that owners of Apple mobile gear use their devices more often than their fellow Android-totting counterparts. In 2012 alone, mobile video viewing grew sixfold versus the previous year as mobile devices increasingly replace computers as the preferred platform for media consumption...

Apple (again) mentioned in a rumored Loewe takeover bid

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 13, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g19rj1gTcjQ

In a déjà vu moment, Reuters this morning reported that shares of the German luxury TV maker Loewe surged 33 percent on renewed talk of a possible acquisition by Apple. The news gathering organization quotes a trader who claims Apple supposedly wants to bid 4 euros a share for Loewe, or approximately $5,28 a share, a 40 percent premium above the company's closing price on Tuesday.

Loewe's current market cap sits at 53 million euros, or about $71 million. With its $137 billion cash mountain, Apple could buy Loewe outright without blinking. Nearly one-third of Loewe, or 28 percent, is owned by Sharp, an Apple supplier that was involved in the Apple television rumor last summer...