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Serious about television, Google launches Fiber TV service in Kansas City

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Wow, this will come as a surprise to all but seasoned commentators who've been watching Google putting various pieces of the puzzle into place. They call it Fiber TV and it launched today alongside Google's fiber-optic Internet service in Kansas City. For starters, Google Fiber pumps data a hundred times faster than today’s average broadband.

With gigabit speeds you get a very advanced television which lets you record up to 500 hours of programming and up to eight shows at once, including Netflix access and all of YouTube. A combined gigabit Internet package with Fiber TV service will run you $120 a month. This is real TV, folks, with premium programming, a full channel lineup and optional paid content.

Opting for just gigabit Internet will set you back $70 a month with a one-year contract. Google won't throttle your speed or impose bandwidth caps and is sweetening the deal with a free 1TB Google Drive. Heck, you can even get gigabit Internet for free by paying for a one-time $300 construction fee. As an icing on the cake, Google is throwing a free Nexus 7 tablet with each Fiber TV subscription...

Apple patent depicts NFC iPhone-controlled connected home

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

A super detailed patent application by Apple was discovered this week, depicting a connected home controllable by an assortment of Apple devices, ranging from the Apple TVs and iMacs to iPods and third-party devices like a cable box and other devices equipped with a near-field communications (NFC) chip.

An NFC enabled iPhone, Apple explains, could be used to control other devices throughout your home, including Apple's own devices but also the stuff like PlayStation controllers, set-top boxes and even television sets...

Poll: is Mountain Lion worth its asking price?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

As you know, Apple today released OS X Mountain Lion. It will run you only twenty bucks a copy, which includes rights to install the operating system on up to five different Macs. Mountain Lion builds upon its predecessor Lion in that it streamlines your experience with additional iOS tricks, deep integration with iCloud, Facebook and Twitter and interesting new capabilities such as PowerNap and Gatekeeper, to name a few.

It also includes a handful of apps ported from iOS, such as iMessage, Reminders, Notes, Game Center and Notification Center, in the hope that it'll help new Mac owners get up to speed quickly. At that breakthrough price, Mountain Lion should be a no-brainer. But as is often the case, the price is a reflection of the product's perceived value.

For some, Mountain Lion is worth every cent. There are also those who feel that even twenty bucks is too high a price for an OS that underwhelms with just a handful of truly new features while spoiling the fun by insisting on a bunch of glorified iOS apps with that forced skeuomorphic design.

Which camp do you belong to?

Google explicitily warned Samsung against deliberately copying the iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 25, 2012

This is interesting. Google apparently specifically advised Samsung against ripping off the iPhone. Worse, Samsung reportedly was well aware that its Galaxy smartphones and tablets bore a striking resemblance to the iPhone and iPad. On top of that, the South Korean conglomerate apparently discussed this issue and dimissed concerns from both Google and famous designers who felt strongly that Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone “looked like it copied the iPhone too much".

This is per Samsung's own internal documents that Apple intends use against Samsung in the high-profile Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit scheduled to begin July 30 in the United States. More juice details, including quotes, right after the break...

Ex-Apple talent helping rebuild Facebook’s iPhone app, broader overhaul in 2013

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 25, 2012

A little less than a month ago, The New York Times reported that Facebook was working on a brand new version of its sluggish iOS client, re-writing it completely with speed in mind from the ground up in Objective-C, the preferred programming language for modern iOS applications.

The current version owes much of its sluggishness to the fact that it provides a web view through an embedded web browser. A new report out today asserted that the social networking giant tapped some former Apple engineering talent not only to help build a smartphone of its own, but also to re-write the official iOS app...

Apple finally fixes buggy Podcasts app

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 25, 2012

A month ago Apple removed Podcasts section from iOS 6 storefronts and posted a dedicated new app to let folks download, consume and manage audio and video podcasts on the go.

Apart from its skeuomorphic design mimicking a vintage tape recorder, the program was plagued with unreliable performance, unexpected quits and generally a bunch of bugs. These issues are clearly reflected in abysmal iTunes ratings that at the time of this writing barely hovered over two and a half stars out of five.

Our own Jeff Benjamin noticed as much, observing in his video hands-on that the radio-dial interface is interesting at first sight, but not very efficient and syncing often doesn't work as intended. Today, Apple pushed out a minor update that promises to squash these pesky bugs while bringing out a couple of new nice-to-haves...

iPad grows lead over Android tablets

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 26, 2016

Apple's iPad continues to dominate the tablet market, accounting for more than two out of three tablets sold during the second quarter of this year, per market research firm Strategy Analytics. Specifically, the iPad rose from 62 percent in the year-ago quarter to 68 percent global market share, which the research firm says is its highest level for almost two years. So not only did Apple retain the iPad's sizable lead, it's also managed to grow by six percentage points...

iWork for iOS apps updated with iCloud support

Cody Lee ∙ July 25, 2012

iWork users will be happy to know that Apple has updated the iOS versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote today, to support the new Documents in the Cloud feature in OS X Mountain Lion.

The highly-anticipated feature keeps documents in-sync across both Mac and iOS versions of the apps in the iWork suite, and automatically keeps them up to date with the latest changes...

Samsung to Apple: our patents made the iPhone possible

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Continuing a string of accusations between Apple and Samsung ahead of the high-stake July 30 trial in the United States, the Galaxy maker asserted in court documents that the iPhone wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for Samsung's patented technology.

Specifically, Samsung wrote Apple would have sold zero iPhones if it hadn't been for its wireless technology patents that Apple relied heavily upon to enter the telecommunications space. The South Korean conglomerate also pulled an ace up its sleeve: dead-on prior art that allegedly invalidates Apple's patents...

Apple updates iTunes U with note-taking and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 4, 2018

In addition to the long list of other updates we're seeing today in wake of Mountain Lion's release, Apple has pushed out a new version of iTunes U. iTunes U, as you may know, is an iPhone/iPad app that gives users free access to college courses and other valuable resources.

Among the program's new features is a new note-taking option, which allows you to easily take notes while watching or listening to a lecture. Keep reading for a rundown of all the changes...

Broadcom outs new chip that could give 2013 iOS devices Gigabit WiFi

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 4, 2018

Broadcom today announced a new wireless chip that features support for WiFi 802.11ac standard, also known as fifth-generation WiFi and promising theoretical wireless transfer speeds of one gigabit per second.

The Broadcom BCM4335 module also includes Bluetooth 4.0, FM radio and software on a single chip using a 40-nanometer process. As Apple is extensively using Broadcom chips in iOS devices and Macs, this is a likely candidate for 2013 iPhones and iPads. The chip provides for some interesting possibilities...