Apple

Walmart rollback: 16GB iPad 2 is now $299

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 25, 2016

Walmart's been frequently offering up various discounts concerning iPad 2 models. For example, its most recent iPad 2 sales promotion shaved $100 off in the form of a $100 electronic gift card.

Starting today, the entry-level Wi-Fi-only iPad 2 model with sixteen gigabytes of storage can be purchased over at the online and retail Walmart stores for as low as $299, a cool $100 saving over its retail price of $399.

The price change is the result of Walmart's rollback promotion, which occurs when a supplier gives Walmart a discount in the purchase price of a product. A rollback can be also the result of high demand.

This particular discount affects only the entry-level iPad 2 model. The Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad 2 still sells for $479, or $50 less versus Apple's asking price...

How Jony Ive almost gave up his industrial design course in college

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2014

Jony Ive, Apple's Senior Vice President of all Design across the company, is the world's top industrial designer and likely the most powerful figure inside Apple: Tim Cook may be steering the ship and making sure the trains run on time, but it's Jony Ive calling the shots in terms of product development and hardware/software design.

But more than twenty years ago, Ive almost gave up on his industrial design course in college, prompting renowned designer Tom Karen to meet with Ive's father and talk some senses into his teenaged son...

Google’s Project Tango: phone that maps 3D environments, senses depth and geometry

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 24, 2017

Imagine directions to a new location not stopping at the street address, or never getting lost in a new building again. Or, how about playing hide-and-seek in your house with your favorite game character or competing against a friend "for control over physical space with your own miniature army"?

That's the promise behind Project Tango, a new Google initiative which seeks to give mobile devices "a human-scale understanding of space and motion".

The brainchild of Google's Advanced Technology and Projects group, Project Tango is, on the surface, an unimpressive Android phone with a five-inch display and a four-megapixel camera.

But scratch deeper and you'll find custom hardware like two Computer Vision Processors, sensors for measuring geometry and seeing in three dimensions, a camera which tracks motion and other goodies that basically turn this handset into a device that can map your environments, track its motion in full 3D space and much more...

Waze gains Calendar support and event navigation

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2014

An update to Waze's free mapping, traffic and navigation app for the iPhone and iPad is about to land on the App Store later today, bringing integration with your iOS Calendar, the company wrote Thursday in a blog post.

More importantly, this Waze refresh allows you to navigate to Calendar events with just one tap, making it easy to access location-based events stored in the iOS Calendar, right within the app.

Waze for iPhone is available free of charge in the App Store. This particular update is expected to launch in the App Store later today...

Google Wi-Fi app being tested, takes the pain out of accessing public hotspots

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2014

Google is testing a new iPhone application which aims to make it easier to access public Wi-Fi hotspots on your handset, Engadget reported Thursday.

The software will make it simple to automatically authenticate and connect users to Google's free hotspots inside Starbucks stores "or wherever they are available".

The publication has learned that the Google Wi-Fi app could even tap users' Google Account to “install a dedicated security certificate on their device to automatically authenticate devices when a connection is available,” bypassing the need to go through the clunky login process when joining public Wi-Fi hotspots...

Two-step Apple ID authentication launches in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Spain

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 20, 2014

Following a flurry of reports which criticized various security holes allowing hackers to break into people's Apple ID accounts, Apple in March of 2013 finally stepped up account security by rolling out two-step verification for Apple IDs in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand.

Two months later, the feature launched in nearly a dozen additional countries: Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland and Russia.

And now, as part of the third wave of expansion, the firm is enabling stronger account security for Apple ID users located in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Spain...

Astro Golf hits App Store, it’s mini golf with robots in outer space

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2018

Quick, what could be better than mini golf? Mini golf, with robots, in outer space - of course! Enter Astro Golf by Bolder Games, now available for the iPhone and iPad for $1.99, or half its regular price to celebrate the launch.

The game marries sci-fi concept to adventure elements and physics tricks allowing you to bounce, jump, fly through space, teleport around the course, ride a black hole and what not. Fun obstacles include killer bots, corrosive goo, steam, fire, trap doors and more.

As you can see, this isn't your Daddy's mini golf game. I've included a nice promo video, a few screenies and additional tidbits below the fold...

Fleksy’s predictive touch keyboard now available to all iOS developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 29, 2017

After releasing its predictive touch keyboard, Fleksy, in partnership with select launch partner apps such as Launch Center Pro, GV Connect, Blindsquare and Wordbox, the San Francisco-based startup behind the software has moved the SDK out of private beta so now all iOS devs can incorporate Fleksy as an alternative soft keyboard within their apps.

The Fleksy SDK requires no sign up, allows for different keyboard themes and is now available completely free of charge...

Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirms talks with Apple, but says sale unlikely

Cody Lee ∙ Updated September 24, 2017

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, in an interview Bloomberg today confirmed speculation that his Palo Alto-based electric car company has held talks with Apple. He wouldn't comment on what the conversations revolved around, but noted that an acquisition was "very unlikely."

Musk's comments follow a report by The San Francisco Chronicle earlier this week that suggested the two were in buyout discussions. The paper claimed that the meeting took place in Cupertino between Musk, Tim Cook and Apple’s chief of mergers and acquisitions Adrian Perica...

New job listings call for Apple TV content partner and software engineers

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 16, 2018

While it seems like everyone is focused on Apple's rumored iWatch, and the various features it could offer, the company is believed to be quietly working on another major project: a TV device. Not the television set we used to hear rumors about, but a new set-top box.

Adding to recent reports from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal regarding the project are a pair of job listings recently discovered on Apple's website. They call for a Content Partner Engineer and Software QA Engineer—both of which will work on the Apple TV team...

Apple reportedly secured three year’s worth of sapphire glass

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 19, 2014

With a larger of the two jumbo-sized iPhones rumored to arrive later this year rocking a massive 5.5-inch screen, Apple's adamant to buy huge amounts of thin sapphire laminates, likely to strengthen the handset's cover glass. We know Apple invested nearly $500 million in high-tech furnaces and equipment for its Arizona sapphire plant.

The firm is operating the facility in partnership with GT Advanced.

We've also known that Apple and GT have signed an exclusive multi-year agreement and now Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth has gone on the record claiming that Apple has acquired three-year supply of sapphire screens...

Minecraft – Pocket Edition to gain bigger maps, improved AI, inventory and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 19, 2014

Minecraft – Pocket Edition, a mobile version of the popular sandbox indie game conceived by Swedish programmer Markus "Notch" Persson and developed and published by Mojang, is about to get new features in the next update.

One of the more prominent enhancements: a lot bigger maps. Also on tap: an improved artificial intelligence, a better inventory system and more.

A quick update shared on the Minecraft blog also mentions "a bunch of other things" coming. Jump past the fold for more tidbits...