Apple

Apple wants to ‘re-imagine’ iLife and iWork apps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

Apple is looking for some fresh blood to join its iLife and iWork development teams and "re-imagine how user interfaces should be built and work", a series of job ads posted on its web site indicates. In addition to engineers in the iLife Frameworks QA department, Apple is also seeking a QA engineer to help test new features in iPhoto, a Senior User Interface Designer for iWork and two Senior Software Engineer positions which explicitly mention improving the user interface of iLife apps...

Gartner: more than half of mobile apps will be HTML5/native hybrids by 2016

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

A convergence of mobile trends is setting the stage for a day when more than half of the applications will support both HTML5 and native iOS/Android environments. That's the word from research giant Gartner, who predicts companies must support multiple platforms as well as native features, such as mapping, cameras and location-based services. Additionally, the researcher forecasts brand-name smartphone makers could be pushed out of the low-cost market as countries such as China and India produce home-grown alternatives priced as low as $50...

Bureaucracy preventing French from getting LTE on their iDevices until year’s end

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 4, 2013

Owners of LTE-enabled Apple devices in France won't get to enjoy the benefits of speedy cellular downloads before the end of 2013 amid lobbying between the country's wireless carriers and the agency for telecommunications ARCEP.

The country's local carriers like Orange and SFR last year spent to the tune of €1.2 billion, or approximately $1.6 billion, to acquire the 800MHz band.

The problem is, this radio frequency is supported neither by the iPhone 5 nor by many mobile devices from other vendors, including Samsung. Moreover, these carriers are now asking the ARCEP to wait until at least end of 2013 before refarming the 1,800MHz spectrum, which is compatible with Apple's handset...

The iPhone moniker is in jeopardy in Brazil

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 4, 2013

When Apple acquired rights to the iPhone moniker from Cisco ahead of the 2007 iPhone launch, the company probably never dreamed that it could face losing naming rights in Brazil. Reuters in December 2012 relayed a local report explaining that the Brazilian electronics maker IGB Eletrônica SA owns a trademark for the “IPHONE” term in Brazil. And now, another report has it that IGB could indeed be the rightful holder of the iPhone trademark in the country...

iPad mini shipping times drop to 1-3 days in some countries

Cody Lee ∙ February 4, 2013

Apple has had a hard time catching up with demand for its new iPad mini. Since the tablet debuted last November, supply has been extremely constrained, and shipping estimates only recently dropped below a month.

But things are starting to even out now—either due to Apple ironing out supply chain issues or a recent drop in demand—because the mini is now showing shipping times (in some countries) of just 1-3 business days...

Apple introduces new short AppStore.com URLs

Cody Lee ∙ February 4, 2013

Apple last week posted an announcement to its developer portal, informing app-makers that they can now use short (or 'vanity') URLs to send out links to their App Store apps. For instance, a link to the iWork app would be appstore.com/iwork.

Typically, links to Apple-hosted software are comprised of lengthy URLs with ID numbers—nearly impossible for anyone to remember. But Apple is hoping that these new short URLs will make it easier for developers to market their apps...

Apple specialist Sam Sung gets a mention in Samsung’s Super Bowl commercial

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ae7E8J7h7Y

If you live outside the United States, you could be wondering why all the fuss about Super Bowl. But to many of our U.S. readers, Super Bowl is America's favorite national pastime. Regardless of the camp you belong to, pretty much all of us love big-budget Super Bowl commercials, that much is a given. And speaking of advertising, Samsung ahead of Sunday's Big Game has "leaked" its anticipated commercial.

Conceptualized by the Los Angeles-based creative shop 72andSunny and directed by Jon Favreau, it features Knocked Up stars Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd who are called in to pitch their concepts for Samsung's Next Big Thing.

But despite their best effort to bat around crazy ideas with Bob Odenkirk (example: "crowdsourcing... we won’t have to think of ideas!”), Miami Heat star LeBron James makes a tablet cameo and lands the gig instead. Though it takes jabs at both the NFL and ad industry and mocks Psy and his Gangnam Style, interestingly enough the commercial isn't about Apple at all, sans a subtle reference that almost escaped my attention...

How to save SHSH blobs for iOS 6.1

Jeff Benjamin ∙ February 2, 2013

Every time there's a new jailbreak, the same message is preached: Save your SHSH blobs! In fact, even when there is not a jailbreak, it's a good practice to always save your SHSH blobs. These files are absolute must haves if there ever opens up the possibility to downgrade back to iOS 6.1 once newer firmware is released. If you don't save your blobs for a specific firmware, then the possibility of ever being able to downgrade to that firmware is slim to none.

So please, be proactive. Save your SHSH blobs right now. That way, when Apple drops iOS 6.1.1, or whatever its next firmware will be called, you will already have your blobs saved. Apple has been quick about closing its firmware signing window as of late, so once the new firmware is released, it might be too late to save the iOS 6.1 blobs.

If you haven't already done so, there's no need to feel ashamed, but act now. Take a look at our easy to follow step-by-step walkthrough inside, and we'll show you just how simple the process is.

Kodak completes patent sale to Apple, Google consortium

Cody Lee ∙ February 2, 2013

By now, you've all likely heard about Kodak's patent sale. The one-time photography giant filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, so it was forced to sell off a large chunk of its intellectual property to a consortium of companies to help pay off its debts.

The sale, which included over 1,100 digital imaging patents, was approved earlier this month by Judge Allan Gropper. And this week, Kodak announced that it had completed the deal, and it plans to exit bankruptcy within the next six months...

Four days later, 26% of iDevices run iOS 6.1

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 1, 2013

Apple acknowledged in a press release Monday that there are now more than 300 million devices on iOS 6.0 and above, concluding it “may be the most popular new version of an OS in history”. Logs and various other data points support Apple's data. OnSwipe, a service which presents traditional web sites in a format better suited to touch screen devices, found iOS 6.1 installed on nearly 21 percent of iPad and iPhone devices in less than 24 hours following its release.

By comparison, it took a week for 44 percent of users to update to iOS 6. The firm on Friday re-analyzed their logs comprised of thirteen million monthly active users, reporting that iOS 6.1 adoption has now passed the 25 percent mark in the first four days of availability...

Food for thought: translucent iPad concept

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 1, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEBS0s3kXqg

When I stumbled upon a translucent iPhone concept, my first thought was "OMG, somebody apply this to a 9.7-inch canvas". Looks like 3D artist Ricardo Afonso listened to my prayers, creating this iPad concept which calls for a radical transparent screen that incorporates a pair of metallic stripes at the top and bottom, for the home button and FaceTime camera.

In theory, the iPad's motherboard might be small enough to fit inside the top stripe, but we'd need some breakthrough, ultra-thin, ultra-efficient battery design to turn such an extreme concept into a reality.

Regardless, I'm loving how this guy's brain works. An all-screen transparent design - talk about total immersion...

Apple overtakes Samsung as top US mobile phone vendor

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

According to market research firm Strategy Analytics, strong iPhone 5 sales and a record-breaking holiday quarter have pushed Apple ahead of Samsung in US mobile phone marketshare with a brawny 34%.

For the first time ever, the Cupertino company has become the largest mobile phone vendor in the United States. And for the first time since 2008, Samsung is not. We've got more on the report after the fold...