Apple

Steve Jobs had hand in newly-patented glass entryway for Shanghai store

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated December 6, 2013

Typically, Apple patents technology sold within its retail locations. However, today the company received a patent for the design and construction of the glass cylindrical entrance to its Apple Store in Shanghai. Unlike most entrances, the one in Shanghai shapes huge slabs of glass, connected by a complex arrangement of fittings to form a building unto itself. To top it all off, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is among the patent inventors...

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Carl Icahn pushes Cook for $150B stock buyback over NYC dinner

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Dinner with billionaire investor Carl Icahn often gives corporate CEOs heartburn. Icahn is known for buying company shares, then pushing for changes - and it is no different with Apple. Monday night Icahn asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to increase to $150 billion the amount of stock the iPhone maker plans to buy back, more than doubling Apple's previously pledge of $60 billion. Last night's New York City dinnertime discussion comes after Icahn invested somewhere near $2 billion in Apple in August. Reports say the activist investor sees Apple shares still undervalued...

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Vevo and NHL channels hit Germany in international Apple TV push

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 1, 2013

Although Apple has updated its Apple TV box a few times this year, making it much more useful by enabling a bunch of additional channels, most of the premium content sources are limited to users in the United States due to licensing restrictions. A good example is Netflix, which just rolled out crisp Super HD video streaming that's unfortunately of little use to the folks living outside the 41 Netflix-supported markets around the globe.

It's not just paid streaming services: some of the most popular free channels come region-restricted as well. Take Vevo, for example, which got added to the $99 streamer late-August but did not work in all regions. In a sign that Eddy Cue and his team have been able to negotiate a better deal, Apple TV users in Germany are now reporting sightings of both Vevo and NHL channels on their device...

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Former MobileMe members lose 20GB free storage, here’s what to know

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 22, 2023

Apple gave former MobileMe members a complimentary twenty gigabytes of free cloud storage upgrade after moving to iCloud between October 12, 2011 and August 1, 2012. The company's been sending email notices ahead of the cut-off deadline a few times now.

Unfortunately, today marks the day when your complimentary storage expires. Yours truly used to be a paid MobileMe member and today my iCloud storage got automatically adjusted to the free entry-level 5GB iCloud tier. Here's what you need to know about the change and how to avoid service interruption...

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iPhone boosts T-Mobile sales, overtakes Android in Japan

Ed Sutherland ∙ October 1, 2013

The iPhone has fueled smartphone sales by Apple's latest U.S. carrier partner, Deutsche Telekom-owned T-Mobile USA. In the three-month period ended in August, the service provider saw its share of domestic smartphone sales jump to 13.2 percent, up 1 percent.

According to a report released Monday, the carrier began in April attracting owners of feature phones upgrading to smartphones. Now, however, 56 percent of consumers buying an iPhone from T-Mobile are coming from another smartphone. Indeed, more than 38 percent of T-Mobile's smartphone purchasers previously owned Android handsets...

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Apple taps Blue Jays assistant GM to head up App Store sports section

Cody Lee ∙ October 1, 2013

In a somewhat odd move, Apple has hired away the Toronto Blue Jays' assistant manager Jay Sartori for a position on its App Store team. I mean, the company frequently snags top talent from silicon valley, but the MLB?

Apparently, Sartori will be taking over as the manager of the 'sports and entertainment' category in the App Store for the Cupertino company—a major departure from his contract and bargaining duties with the Blue Jays...

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Facebook now searches your posts, status updates, photo captions, Notes and check-ins

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2013

You can kiss good-bye good ol' days when you could count on limited exposure to your Facebook friends due to theirs not having enough time to meticulously comb through your entire Timeline.

But starting today and onwards, figuring out where you were, what you commented on your ex's photos, whether you mentioned "drunk" or F-words  in posts and much, much more can become unravelled pretty easily.

That's the power of Facebook's updated Graph Search for you. After first experiencing Graph Search in action earlier this year, I went ecstatic. Finally, I could use Facebook's search field for something more complex than barebone friends search. For example, as an avid photography fan I absolutely love the ability to filter just the photos my mom took in Prague back in 2007, or those of my significant other I snapped up last year.

That was merely warming up - Facebook now includes more of your content in Graph Search than ever before, things like your posts (way overdue), status updates (useful), photo captions (fun), Notes (meh) and check-ins (creepy)...

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Apple loses fight to stop patent troll Lodsys

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

The beat goes on for primo patent troll Lodsys. Apple's attempt to intervene in a concerted clipping of iOS developers failed after a patent-owner friendly judge dismissed the tech giant's legal motion. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap in East Texas ruled Apple's motion "is far outside the scope" of his courtroom.

The decision effectively opens the door to Lodsys settling all cases with defendants, thereby ending a 2011 effort by Apple to shield hundreds of thousands of individual iOS developers from being sued for patent-infringement by Lodsys...

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Volkswagen shows off augmented reality iPad app for repair technicians

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Apple's iPad has been used for a number of various augmented-reality applications which impose real-world information over live video feed. The car industry seems to be particularly keen on embracing the Apple tablet. Cody last month told you about eKurzinfo, an Audi app that uses an iOS device camera to help identify parts and features on your car.

Today, Volkswagen is highlighting a similar augmented-reality software, but aimed at repair technicians and car dealers. It's called MARTA (Mobile Augmented Reality Technical Assistance) and Volkswagen showed it off ahead of the InsideAR Conference, the world's largest augmented reality conference slated to run October 11, 2013 in Munich, Germany...

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Refurbished 128GB iPads now available in Apple’s web store

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Folks in the market for a high capacity-model iPad will be happy to hear that Apple has begun offering refurbished versions of its 128GB tablet in its web store at a nice discount.

Over the weekend, the top-end storage model for the fourth-generation iPad popped up on the company's website, in a variety of configurations, at up to $140 off their original prices...

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Prepaid carrier Boost Mobile said to land iPhone 5s/5c soon with Shrinking Payments

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2013

Not to be outdone by fellow prepaid telco Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile is said to soon start carrying Apple's iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c handsets. According to EVLeaks, the Irvine, California headquartered Boost Mobile should start selling both new iPhones soon on its no-contract unlimited monthly plan with Shrinking Payments.

Again, Boost is a prepaid carrier so they'll be likely selling full-price, unsubsidized handsets with plans probably starting at around $50 per month, decreasing every six months until the plan pricing hits $35...

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Cook to employees: take a Thanksgiving week off, you deserve it

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2013

"I realize many of you worked tirelessly to bring us this far. I know it required great personal sacrifice," wrote Apple's boss Tim Cook in an email to the company's employees before making a surprise announcement.

"In recognition of your incredible efforts and achievements, I’m happy to announce that we’re extending the Thanksgiving holiday this year," reads the memo.

Although the extended Thanksgiving holiday won't apply to Apple's retail and support army "so we can continue to serve our customers," the rest of Apple will shut down with pay on November 25, 26, and 27, Cook wrote. I've included the full contents of Cook's email to employees right below...

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