Apple

Apple believed to have acquired mapping firm BroadMap, note-taking app Catch

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

During Apple's latest earnings call, Tim Cook noted that the company made 15 'strategic acquisitions' during its fiscal 2013. But out of those 15 purchases, we've only heard about 9 or 10 of them, begging the question: who else did Apple buy this year?

Mark Gurman over at 9to5Mac has a pretty good theory about at least two of them. Citing sources inside Apple, as well as evidence from LinkedIn and other sites, Gurman is reporting that Apple also acquired mapping firm BroadMap and Catch this year...

Poll: who has the best holiday ad – Apple, Samsung or Nokia?

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 23, 2013

Apple a week ago begun airing its nicely done iPhone 5s holiday ad. Titled 'Misunderstood', the tear-inducing video tells a tale of an introverted teenage boy who surprises his family with a thoughtful holiday gift, an iMovie clip he created on his iPhone 5s to cherish the time his family spent together.

The 90-second spot bursts with emotion and is now all over the place: it's been prominently featured during yesterday's NFL game, for example. More importantly, it seems to have been well-received due to its powerful emotional aspect.

Samsung and Microsoft-owned Nokia meanwhile have fired their own ad salvo in their national battle for the hearts and minds of consumers this holiday season...

Revamped Things 3 coming in 2014 with ‘great new features’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 18, 2018

German developer Cultured Code is celebrating the millionth sale of Things, it's high-end to-do and productivity application for the iPhone, iPad and Mac, so the team fittingly announced the upcoming arrival of Things 3. A major revision, Things 3 will bring substantial user interface redesign but it won't be just about the looks as Cultured Code promised some "great new features" to go with the redesign.

And in celebrating the app's milestone, the team is giving away some Mac hardware on Christmas Day. Full details follow below...

New rumor calls for 12.9-inch iPad in October 2014, iPhablet in May 2014

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 23, 2013

A new rumor out from Taiwan alleges that Apple will release a large form-factor iPad with a screen measuring 12.9 inches diagonally in October of next year, primarily aimed at the education market. The next iPhone, the one with a larger screen compared to today's four-inch iPhone 5s/5c, is apparently scheduled to go on sale in May 2014.

I'm not buying the May release date because Apple has never released an iPhone in May. Besides, this would break Apple's tradition of releasing new iPhones in Fall, the practice Tim Cook established with the iPhone 4s introduction on October 4, 2011...

Apple officially signs deal with China Mobile

Sébastien Page ∙ December 22, 2013

The rumor that Apple was to sign a deal with China Mobile was almost as old as the iPhone itself, but it only started gaining speed within the last few weeks, based on reports from the WSJ, which were followed by contradictory reports.

But today, it's official. Apple and China Mobile have inked a deal that will bring the iPhone to the largest carrier in the world...

iDB holiday gift guide 2013: Chris’ picks

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

You’ve already heard from Cody, Lory, Oliver and Jim about their gift suggestions so it’s my turn now to articulate some of my favorite gadgets and accessories to possibly make your holidays merrier.

My personal picks may not be what you'd call tremendously diverse, but they do reflect the values I'm all about: innovation, practicality, power and true passion for awesome design which doesn't sacrifice form over function and inspires folks to get the most from their gadgets.

Plus, I stand by these products as a direct result of using them myself and have voted for each and every one of them with my wallet. It's my hope these suggestions will help you choose something worthy of that special someone with a technological bent, or at least give you some fresh ideas on boosting your everyday computing.

I proudly present Christian's favorite holiday gift ideas...

EU lawmakers drafting legislation that could force Apple to change its Lightning plug

Cody Lee ∙ Updated February 9, 2016

EU lawmakers agreed yesterday to draft legislation that will force all mobile phone manufacturers to consent to the use of a common standard for battery chargers which can fit any device. The draft could be voted on by the EU Parliament as early as March 2014.

While many see this as a huge win for consumers, who would no longer have to purchase new charging accessories for different devices, it would be a huge blow to Apple. The company uses a propriety plug, the Lightning connector, in all of its iOS product lines...

App Santa: deep discounts on 15 popular iOS apps

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 17, 2019

With less than 24 hours until the annual App Store holiday freeze, developers are pushing out last-minute app updates like crazy.

But more importantly, 'tis the season when not-to-be-missed promotions and discounts become available as an early Christmas present.

Cody yesterday covered a bunch of notable iOS games discounts from the likes of Disney, Warner Bros and others and today a brand new holiday deal on iPhone and iPad apps goes live to help your wallet.

App Santa, a collaborative effort by high-profile developers, is offering deep discounts on fifteen popular iPhone and iPad applications, including 1Password, Tweetbot 3, Launch Center Pro, Screens, Clear+ and more. You can grab these fine apps with as much as 60 percent discount. Your download links are right after the break...

Samsung said to develop Galaxy Band wearable device, headed by Apple’s former Siri engineer

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 20, 2013

The Galaxy Gear smarwatch may have failed to meet Samsung leadership's expectations in terms of sales, with the reported less than million units shipped (not sold), but that doesn't mean the South Korean conglomerate is giving up on its new wearable brand. Quite the contrary, a report alleges Samsung would soon expand the family by unveiling a new wearable device, tentatively-named Galaxy Band.

What's more, a former Apple engineer who worked on Siri is reportedly overseeing this project. But what exactly would this presumed Galaxy Band device be capable of?

According to a story by Seoul-based Digital Daily, it's a fitness type of device which packs in a flurry of sensors, including a power-sipping motion sensor akin to Apple's M7 motion coprocessor inside the iPhone 5s...

New concept dreams up iOS 7-ified OS X 11

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Some pundits continue to call for the merging of OS X and iOS into a monolithic operating system that would simplify app development and allow Apple to engineer consistent user experiences across its desktop and mobile platforms.

I'm not so sure the time is right for an iOS-ified OS X.

That, however, hasn't stopped designer Andrew Ambrosino from envisioning what the future of OS X might look like. Introducing Andrew's OS X 11 concept, which brings Apple’s desktop operating system in line with the flattened appearance of iOS 7...

Apple patent details rich Maps layers, new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ December 19, 2013

Apple's Maps for iOS - and now for Macs running OS X Mavericks - still pales in comparison with Google's offering and will continue to struggle for some time until Apple achieves some sort of feature parity.

Google Maps are not only more accurate, they sport more features that put Google's rich data sets amassed in years past to good use.

For instance, Google Maps have long had layers, basically objects that consist of one or more separate items that can be manipulated as a single unit.

Traffic, transit, bicycle, weather, clouds, photographs - these are all map layers.

Apple, too, is working on various layers of information for its digital maps offering, but with a twist, a new patent filing published Thursday has indicated...

CNN gives its iPhone and iPad app iOS 7 makeover

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

One of the first premium news apps for the iPhone worth checking out came from CNN, "the biggest name in news". The 24/7 news organization released the CNN for iPhone app on the App Store in September 2009.

I immediately fell in love with its sleekness, responsiveness and overall branding. In fact, it was Godsent because CNN's mobile website was very pedestrian at the time (and still is!)

But that was before Flipboard and a host of other fine apps came along vastly improving on the rather clunky news-reading iOS experience.

The iPad edition followed in October 2010. Soon after, both versions went permanently free as CNN had realized that folks were reluctant to shell 99 cents for the privilege of following the Time Warner-owned network's software on their iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

And how does CNN's latest iPhone and iPad update feel like on iOS 7? How about giving the screenies below a quick look?