Apple

Rumor: Amazon considering making its rumored smartphone free, contracts be damned

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 6, 2013

Having entered the tablet race with its Kindle Fire lineup in September 2011, the online retail giant Amazon has long been rumored to have been working on a smartphone of its own. The elusive product thus far has remained a pipe dream, which isn't saying Amazon isn't readying it.

In the meantime, the world has gone from reaping the profits from the lucrative high-end of the smartphone market to selling inexpensive Android handsets to emerging markets that now increasingly fuel growth. A $0 smartphone could be disruptive and a huge game-changer, but just what strings might be attached for customers here?

Apple can keep 30 percent cut on sales, injunction in DOJ ebooks case confirms

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 6, 2013

Like a prisoner on Death Row, Apple has delayed its penalty for weeks, offering up objection after objection to a proposed Department of Justice ebook antitrust settlement. Friday, federal judge Denise Cote issued an injunction, giving federal lawyers much of what they wanted.

Among the prohibitions against Apple: a five-year ban on so-called 'most-favored-nation' clauses in publisher contracts that would prevent ebook sellers from using rival services, such as Amazon. Also part of the penalty package was a requirement that Apple stagger contract negotiations with the five publishers that had already settled...

Blurry images claim to show iPhone 5S Home button with a silver ring around the edge

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 29, 2016

We're just days away from Apple's big reveal. Oddly enough, there's been little - if any - credible leaks to support the fingerprint scanning thesis, which analysts and industry insiders alike believe to be the handset's killer feature. So, either Tim Cook & Co. have tripled-down on secrecy or the rumor-mill has been taking us all for a ride.

Unless someone comes out with a better piece of evidence than these blurred photographs of a supposed iPhone 5S packaging, we'll have to speculate whether or not anything has changed about the iPhone's iconic Home button.

Have a closer look at the images right after the break, pinches of salt and everything...

Google-owned Motorola becomes first convicted patent troll

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 6, 2013

Google may have become the first convicted patent troll, after a federal jury Thursday fined the internet giant $14.5 million related to licenses held by Motorola. The Seattle-based jury upheld Microsoft's claim that the Google-owned Motorola demand $4 billion to license Wi-Fi and video patents that were supposed to be available under fair and reasonable terms.

The finding comes just a week before Apple's appeal of a similar claim against Motorola is to be heard. This week's judgement against Motorola opens a legal can of worms for both Google and Motorola, according to one keen patent observer...

The line starts forming outside Apple’s landmark Fifth Avenue glass cube store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 14, 2016

Like every year, this year's iPhone launch is expected to be the biggest ever for the Cupertino, California firm. Unlike past years, however, 2013 is the first time Apple gets to release two new iPhones simultaneously, one a so-called S-upgrade to the existing iPhone 5 and the other essentially an iPhone 5 with a less-pricey polycarbonate plastic case.

This change in tactics and the resulting flurry of media coverage appears to have renewed interest in the Apple smartphone. And while we're certainly not expecting lines to stretch around whole blocks like in 2007, campers are already lining up outside Apple's flagship glass cube store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue...

Estimate: 13M iPhone 5S/5C sales in 10 days, 31M iPhones in Q4

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 6, 2013

Although Apple's much-awaited September 10 announcement remains days away, analysts are already weighing the potential benefit for the all-important fourth quarter. Can Apple get a much-needed bump in end of the year sales by launching the upgraded iPhone 5S and the new iPhone 5C, as well as potential distribution deals in China and Japan?

At the heart of new estimates for the September quarter is Apple's ability to quickly announce, then begin sales of the new hardware. Lucky for Apple, before becoming CEO, Tim Cook was the iPhone maker's supply chain maestro...

Twitter puts Twitter into Twitter #music

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

After updating its official iOS client with the somewhat controversial conversation redesign (hint: blue lines), the micro-blogging service Twitter now turns its attention to its music discovery app, Twitter #music. In a new update issued Friday, Twitter #music now shows tweets along with each track right in your #NowPlaying feed.

"We've put the Twitter into Twitter #music," the company boasted. That's not all, as these tweets are fully actionable, which makes me wonder whether the company will eventually fold the #music app into the Twitter mobile client down the road...

Reuters: China Unicom/Telecom to start taking iPhone 5S/5C pre-orders next week

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 6, 2013

Yesterday, China's state-owned #3 carrier China Telecom supposedly inadvertently let slip that it will start selling Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S upgrade and the new mid-range iPhone 5C beginning September 20. The official pre-order page had even gone live briefly before the telco killed it.

I'm always doubtful of such "leaks" and tend to dismiss them as the perfectly legitimate PR stunts designed to drum up the excitement ahead of the launch. Be that as it may, Reuters on Friday confirmed with its sources that both China Telecom and China Unicom will indeed start taking preorders for the new iPhones as early as next week...

Apple could release OS X Mavericks late-October

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 6, 2013

Fans have been kinda keeping their fingers crossed for a September release of OS X Mavericks ever since Apple at June's WWDC formally announced the new version of the desktop operating system for Macs. The guiding logic was that the company would need to release both iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks simultaneously because the two releases complement each another. For example, Mavericks with its native Maps app lets you create a route and send it wirelessly to your iPhone for navigation.

Or, reading a notification on your iOS device now automatically clears it on your Mac and all of the other devices. However, a reliable blogger now quotes sources with knowledge of the launch plans as claiming that OS X 10.9 Mavericks is due at the end of October so Apple could "focus the majority of its software engineering resources on pushing out iOS 7 alongside the new iPhone hardware over the next couple of weeks"...

40 percent of online ads delivered via iDevices

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Another sign appeared Friday further suggesting Android's 'build it and they will use it' mantra just isn't working. Apple's family of iDevices - ranging from the iPod touch to the iPhone and iPad - represent 40 percent of online ads delivered. Despite Android's numerical advantage, Samsung placed second with 26 percent, per ad network Millennial Media...

iOS in the Car cannot come soon enough

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

I recently purchased a new top of the line 2013 Nissan Pathfinder and am very pleased with the family decision. Everything is exactly what my wife was looking for in a vehicle, sleek exterior, beautiful interior, mandatory leather seats, and room for future 2.2 kids and a Great Dane. The size, we felt, was a little lacking, but it stood up to its rivals with a bit of finesse.

We get our new, fresh smelling, SUV home and start playing with it in the driveway like two kids and a new toy on Christmas morning. But, we obviously are attracted to different things. My wife wanted to climb all over the back seats, adjust the driver seat, and set the memory locks for her key fob. I go straight for the dashboard entertainment center.

I took a fairly hard look at the infotainment center on our various test drives, but once I had my iPod classic freshly synced and plugged into the Pathfinder, I quickly grew upset. Below the fold is a personal reaction to the system in our new vehicle and a highlight of how things could be done in a more fluid way...

Meet the Philips M1X-DJ sound system: it’s the ghettoblaster reinvented for today

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Philips, the Dutch multinational engineering and electronics conglomerate, today at Berlin's IFA show introduced a novel DJ controller which doubles as a powerful portable speaker dock. Designed in partnership with Armin van Buuren, a Dutch trance music producer and DJ, the M1X-DJ system has a built-in Lightning port and a place to easily dock your iPhone, iPod or iPad device for hassle-free mixing or music playback.

Oh, it also happens to combine best of both worlds by augmenting a mixer and onboard turntables with 80-Watt speakers and a handy shoulder strap so you can lug this thing around with ease. Jump past the fold for the full reveal...