The Morgan Stanley Research group in Europe believes Apple has all the ingredients to cook up a proprietary mobile payment system, and makes a case for why the Cupertino-based company may launch it soon.
Primarily, Apple in a way is already the "de facto, in the mobile payment space," given it has 400 million credit cards on file through its iTunes Store.
One Morgan Stanley executive makes a strong case, based on public information and not insider Apple information, on why it sounds likely:
Evernote-owned Skitch is one of those apps that efficiently solve real-life problems. In Skitch's case, it's about augmenting your images with catchy annotations while managing to be really fun to use in the process.
It has a robust, easy to grasp selection of markup capabilities that let one quickly share one's annotated images across social networks and export them in a variety of common formats.
I know Sebastien is definitely making the most out of Skitch in his daily communication with the staff and I’ve been using it regularly to annotate and highlight certain items of the screenshots we use in our ongoing how-to series.
Aside from that, Skitch is indispensable if all you want is quickly create viral images, tweet out a funny picture to get your point across and so forth, you get the idea. A new version is now available in the App Store, offering faster sharing, a new paragraph text feature in the annotation tools, general fixes and stability improvements and more. Go ahead, learn all there is about the new Skitch version 3.1.1 right after the break...
The US Patent and Trademark Office published a pair of interesting Apple patent applications yesterday. The filings are titled 'Gesture entry techniques,' and together they describe a device-unlocking feature that involves a user drawing a custom pattern on a screen by connecting illuminated dots.
Apple filed for the patent in late 2012, several years after Google introduced a very similar feature in Android. It would appear, though, that the iPad-maker's version of the gesture-based password is at least slightly more advanced, as it can account for swipe speed, use of invisible dots, and more...
I sincerely hope that you've downloaded last week's Free App of the Week, Warhammer Quest, a triple-A role playing game from Rodeo Games and Games Workshop set in the famous Warhammer world.
Apple does not always highlight premium apps and games in its ongoing promotion, but this one has definitely rightfully earned every avid gamer's attention.
So, how about another not-to-be-missed freebie?
Your prayers have been answered: enter Horn for the iPhone and iPad, Apple's latest Free App of the Week. Normally a $6.99 value, Horn is free until next Thursday, April 24.
This premium third-person action adventure game has you playing as Horn, the young blacksmith's apprentice who must fight monstrous creatures - actually your fellow villagers transformed into dark creatures by a curse.
Released in August 2012, Horn is set in a lush and beautifully rendered fantasy world. The game received some rather raving reviews due to its wonderful graphics, precise controls, Zelda-like appeal, great voice acting completed by Austin Wintory's soundtrack and an addictive combination of puzzle-solving and sword slashing action.
Best you act now and grab it free in the App Store, lest you forget about it later...
Users on iOS 6, iOS 7, and Macs are having issues connecting FaceTime video calls on Thursday.
Many complaints have rung across Twitter and Apple Support communities. Even some of our devices here at iDownloadBlog are unable to connect for unknown reasons.
Apple on March 2 took the wraps off CarPlay, its in-car solution formerly known as iOS in the Car. The company said the feature would premier with only three premium brands - Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Ferrari - while naming two dozen additional manufacturers who pledged their support for the software.
Outside these launch partners, only Hyundai has thus far gone on the record officially confirming that CarPlay functionality will be available on its new mid-size 2015 Sonata sedan that will be available to buy at dealerships. Toyota initially said it would add CarPlay to select 2015 vehicles, but quickly changed its mind.
Realizing there's money to be made from CarPlay, makers of in-car electronic systems Alpine and Pioneer both announced aftermarket CarPlay kits for older vehicles. We wondered whether these kits were Apple-sanctioned. Looks like we've gotten our answer as the iPhone maker has now added Alpine and Pioneer's upcoming kits to its CarPlay webpage...
LG is hoping to make it easier for users to beam media to their televisions, with a new SDK it's making available to developers to integrate into apps on iOS and Android.
Smart TVs have historically been one of the most closed platforms out there, with manufacturers developing features for only their own TVs and set-top boxes, and not the broader market - example being Apple's AirPlay. LG is changing this with its new Integrate Connect SDK, a standard to place into mobile apps to beam media across multiple platforms onto the big screen.
Siri within iOS 7 can be limited sometimes, thanks to Apple's "walled garden", but a new tool called GoogolPlex wants to change that by opening the voice assistant to new commands.
Self described as the "App Store for Siri", GoogolPlex opens Siri to work with Spotify, Philips Hue, the Nest Thermostat and more, just by an iOS user changing a few proxy settings...
Apple's iPad mini with Retina display is great until the reality hits you in your face with a lofty price tag of four hundred bucks for the entry-level model with just sixteen gigabytes of storage and no cellular connectivity. From time to time, Apple makes good-as-new gear such as iPads and MacBooks available for purchase at reduced prices via the refurbished section of its Online Apple Store.
And now, for the first time the company's iPad mini with Retina display is available refurbished, too, starting at $419 for for the Wi-Fi model with 32 gigabytes of storage. That's sixteen percent off for a cool $80 savings over the list price. The 64GB Wi-Fi refurb costs $509, or $90 less versus standard pricing for brand new models...
Social networking giant Facebook is bound to stir controversy all over again as it's just introduced a new friend-tracking feature. Similar to Apple's free Find My Friends iOS app, Facebook's Nearby Friends basically notifies you when your friends are nearby.
It's a rather radical idea, one Facebook said Thursday was designed to encourage people to "meet up and spend time together" in real life. Go figure. Learn more about Facebook's Find My Friends right below the fold...
As promised, Square Enix Montréal has brought its console-only Hitman franchise to iOS with today's release of Hitman Go. Like past Hitman titles, this game puts you in the shoes of the franchise's main hitman character, Agent 47.
But unlike previous releases, Hitman Go is turn-based and involves stealth elements coupled with puzzle solving and requires a strong focus on strategy planning.
The game features diorama-style set pieces and its turn-based approach dictates game mechanics where you navigate fixed spaces on a grid in order to avoid enemies and infiltrate well guarded locations. Your ultimate goal: taking out your target.
The iPhone and iPad game is now available for five bucks a pop. Jump past the fold for more info...
It’s been nearly a month since Apple released iOS 7.1 and now the firm is seemingly prepping the first bug fix update, iOS 7.1.1. As you know, iOS 7.1, the first major update to Apple’s revamped mobile operating system, debuted last September.
It's brought out built-in CarPlay support, Siri and Touch ID improvements, UI tweaks, major bug fixes, improved performance (especially on older devices like the iPhone 4) and a bunch of nice-to-haves.
According to online reports, iOS 7.1.1 is now appearing in web analytics tools, indicating Apple has now started testing the software with a wider group of employees ahead of the official release...