Apple

Google starts injecting ‘relevant ads’ in Google Maps app search results

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 8, 2013

In another showing of the key differences between Google and Apple, the Internet giant on Thursday announced that relevant advertising will now start appearing in the native Google Maps app for iOS and Android devices.

Relevant advertising will appear at the bottom of the screen after you perform a search, Google said, adding that ads may include a title, ad text and a link to get directions.

Great, Google, just great! You can go ahead and sell me at a premium to advertisers all you want, but I hate ads and am switching over to Apple Maps as we speak...

Apple reportedly setting up R&D center in Taiwan to create future iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 8, 2013

It is no secret that Apple operates a few research and development centers overseas. In Israel, for instance, the company runs three R&D centers: one in Haifa, another stemming from its acquisition of the flash memory developer Anobit and the third opening soon in the Israeli city of Ra’anana.

Yet another R&D facility is scheduled to open later this year in Pudong, Shanghai and now we learn that an all-new R&D center dedicated to iPhone development will be opening in Taiwan, where most of Apple's suppliers are located...

T-Mobile to carry ‘a whole array of Apple products’, CEO promises

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 28, 2016

I haven't forgotten what T-Mobile said last December about selling Apple products in 2013. “T-Mobile USA has entered into an agreement with Apple to bring products to market together next year,” the carrier's parent Deutsche Telekom wrote in a press statement back then.

Four months later, the nation's fourth-largest telco finally landed the iPhone and is now looking to add additional products to the mix. According to its outspoken CEO John Legere, T-Mobile is looking forward to carrying "a whole array of Apple product."

It's kinda expected that T-Mobile should next start offering iPad and perhaps iPod touch devices as well. The way Legere framed it sounds like the company may be eyeing non-iOS gear, too, such as Mac notebooks and perhaps even Apple's AirPlay wireless appliances...

Microsoft now takes swipes at iPad mini

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 8, 2013

Wow, there's just no stopping Microsoft's marketing people in their anti-iPad crusade. As it’s done several times this summer, the Windows giant yesterday posted a Surface commercial which predictably takes swipes at Apple's full-size iPad, criticizing its $499 asking price, lack of SD card slot and limited Office compatibility (go figure).

You'd have think Microsoft's ad agency would not release another iPad bashing commercial until next week. Much to our surprise, however, a mere 24 hours later a new commercial has surfaced on YouTube, this time on Microsoft's WindowsVideos channel.

And for the first time, the software giant is targeting the iPad mini by pitting Acer's 8.1-inch Iconia W3 tablet against Apple's popular 7.9-inch $329 device. I've included the ad for your viewing pleasure right after the break...

1Password 4 for iOS discounted by more than 50 percent ahead of Dropbox API changes

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 4, 2013

Dropbox retiring its legacy API in favor of a next-generation one on September 1 is inevitably going to break apps which plan to continue syncing data through the popular cloud storage service using the legacy API.

Among them: AgileBits' 1Password 3 for iOS and Mac. Now, this rather useful password management utility has been using Dropbox to sync its secure database across devices for ages.

Users on 1Password 4 are on the safe side because the app already uses the latest version of the Dropbox API so it'll continue to sync with Dropbox just fine. If you're on 1Password version 3.x and sync with Dropbox, however, you'll need to upgrade to the latest version to prevent syncing issues come September 1, or switch to Wi-Fi sync.

So, if you've been thinking about upgrading to the latest version, now's a good time because AgileBits has just sweetened the deal by discounting 1Password 4 by more than 50 percent, for a limited time...

Apple researching audio hyperlinks technology to control devices from podcasts

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 8, 2013

Remember the hokey demonstrations of hypnotism, where people are given commands to honk like a duck when a bell rings? Substitute podcasts for the hypnotists and a hyperlink for a duck quack and you've got Apple's latest patent application.

The application, published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, outlines a way to encode device commands in audio signals. While Apple uses the example of enhanced podcasts which embed commands to visit a webpage or view an image stored on your device, the technology is also seen as a way to include ads in the upcoming iTunes Radio service...

New iOS video editing app MixBit by YouTube creators now available for download

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen on Thursday launched a brand new video editing app for the iPhone and iPod touch called MixBit. The software builds on the popularity of Twitter's Vine and Instagram Video by giving you the power to easily combine short video snippets called "bits" into a longer video that plays seamlessly even though the individual "bits" are store as independent elements. It's a lot of fun and already catching on with early adopters so jump past the fold for the full reveal...

Apple’s PC share drops as iPads cannibalize Macs

Ed Sutherland ∙ August 8, 2013

The PC market - once comprised of hulking desktop machines and slim laptops - increasingly relies on tablets for a fresh infusion of sales. The latest instance of this new world order comes from market researcher Canalys, out with its PC forecast which includes tablet shipments.

Viewing tablets as PCs results in Apple losing more than eleven percent in PC sales. Why? Because iPad sales are cooling amid lack of a refresh. Although just twenty percent of Apple sales are traditional PCs, the firm continues to lead the PC market. However, in a post-PC era, delays of introducing a new iPad means Apple's lead was trimmed during the second quarter of 2013, the research firm announced Wednesday...

A closer look at Frequent Locations in iOS 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 8, 2013

Apple's iOS 7 upgrade, when it lands this Fall, will allow users to opt-in to mapping where they've been since installing the software, how many times and for how long. The Frequent Locations feature, which first appeared in iOS 7 Beta, is found in Settings. When enabled, it permits iOS devices to use GPS coordinates of the places you frequently visit, Apple explains.

The opt-in, consumer-facing feature is provided for the purposes of improving Maps (and other location-based products and services), providing useful location-related information and letting you check out a handy map history of the places you've visited. Here's what you need to know about Frequent Locations in iOS 7...

Your iPhone 4 is actually gaining value, study finds

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Unlike the auto which loses much of its value the moment you drive off the dealer's lot, iPhones tend to remain valuable to owners. According to new research, Apple's handset does better at retaining its value, compared to Android phones. In a related study, trade-in programs are increasingly important to smartphone owners deciding on carriers.

Although the value of Android phones fell by as much as a third in three months, iPhone prices actually go up. The price of an iPhone 4 asked on eBay was 10.3 percent higher than at the start of the three-month period, one Wall Street analyst found...

IDC: Apple’s smartphone OS share falls while consumers wait for new iPhones

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 28, 2017

The long wait before Apple introduces new iPhone models is causing its iOS smartphone platform to lose marketshare to Android. The iPhone's iOS slipped to 13.2 percent of the smartphone market, a drop from 16.6 percent during the same period in 2012.

Meanwhile, Android's lock on the smartphone market grew tighter, nearing 80 percent as Samsung and a bevy of Chinese brands boosted the Google-made software. Despite the small drop, No. 2 iOS is expected to regain its lost turf when Apple unveils new products in September, according to market research firm IDC...

Apple rolls out Movies in the Cloud to Japan, Italy and more

Cody Lee ∙ August 8, 2013

Apple has rolled out movie support for its iTunes in the Cloud service to a number of new countries this morning. The list features Japan and seven additional European countries including Italy, Lithuania, Austria and Spain.

For those unfamiliar with the service, it allows you to stream and re-download previously purchased iTunes content on all of your registered iOS devices. It's available for all content, but today's rollout is restricted to movies...