Apple

Google posts Zagat iOS restaurant guide app, makes ratings available on the web

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 29, 2013

The streamlining continues on over at Google. Two latest products to fall victim of the company's re-newed focus on stuff that matters: the Shopper and Google+ Local app for the iPhone.

Basically the reincarnation of Google Places, the Google+ Local app will get pulled from the App Store next month because its features have been recently folded into the latest Google Maps update.

Although Places lets you use your voice to search for nearby restaurants and businesses, it became the prime candidate for removal after Google had bought Zagat in September 2011. And just like clockwork, Google on Tuesday issued a standalone Zagat app for iOS and Android devices and for the first time has made those reviews available on the web, free of charge...

Pegatron investigation seemingly confirms plastic iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 29, 2013

The Wall Street Journal yesterday shared a report by New York-based China Labor Watch which had counted 86 labor rights violations in three manufacturing facilities operated by Pegatron, Apple's contract manufacturer which assembles older iPhone 4 and 4S models.

It hasn't escaped the attention of eagle-eyed bloggers that the working conditions report also mentions an alleged less-pricey iPhone through the mouth of one of the interviewed workers tasked with assembling Apple’s rumored device at Pegatron's Shanghai plant.

As you know, the rumor-mill, pundits and big media alike are widely expecting the budget iPhone to feature a less-pricey polycarbonate body...

iTunes 11.1 Beta 1 drops with built-in iTunes Radio

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 29, 2013

Alongside today's release of iOS 7 Beta 4, Apple has also seeded a new version of iTunes to its registered developers. The first beta of the upcoming iTunes 11.1 is now available via Apple's Dev Center (the current iTunes build carries a version number of 11.0.4). The beta software contains the iTunes Radio feature, which on desktop is currently available only in the United States on OS X 10.7 or later Macs...

Gruber: there’s nothing punitive with Bob Mansfield’s role change

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Yesterday, a jarring change was discovered on Apple's executive leadership page: the company's SVP of Technologies Bob Mansfield had been completely removed. Apple later confirmed the news, saying that Bob would no longer be on Apple's executive team.

And despite the fact that Apple said that he would stay on with the company to work on 'special projects,' the news was worrisome, as Mansfield has been crucial to Mac and iOS device success. But a new report claims there's "nothing punitive" about the role change...

Shazam now lets you buy multiple songs at once through iTunes

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

The music discovery engine Shazam has been on a roll lately. May brought an exclusive background television-tagging features to Shazam for iPad and last month the company added a new Pulse feature to ease music discovery by analyzing the trending real-time charts. In today's update, your Shazam apps have received another useful feature: multi-track purchase...

Play this now – Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 19, 2018

Montreuil, France-headquartered games publisher Ubisoft last Thursday released Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame, its highly-anticipated reboot of the award-winning Prince of Persia game franchise.

The new iPhone, iPad and iPod touch game has already scored some raving reviews from the specialized press and is highly recommended to gamers who are in the market for an action adventure with console-grade graphics, interesting storyline and challenging puzzles.

It should be an impulse purchase for fans of the Prince of Persia franchise like myself. Your download link and launch trailer are right after the break...

Authenticity of leaked ‘iPhone 5C’ boxes questioned, but name said to be real

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2013

Over the weekend, some photos of packaging allegedly belonging to Apple's low-cost iPhone surfaced on the internet. Admittedly, the boxes looked fake, as there were a number of visible inconsistencies, but the 'iPhone 5C' branding on them was intriguing.

Today, our friends over Nowhereelse.fr confirmed our suspicions, highlighting a number of issues with the boxesm including odd blurred and distorted areas, and missing Apple logos. But as it turns out, the name 'iPhone 5C' might actually be legitimate...

Former Apple store employees file lawsuits over lost wages due to bag searches

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2013

Former employees at Apple stores in both New York and Los Angeles have filed a class action suit against the Cupertino company, claiming the iPad-maker owes them lost wages. The filing alleges that Apple forced them to stand in line for up to 30 minutes, without pay, every shift and wait for a manager to search their bags.

The lawsuit was filed by Amanda Frlekin, who was employed at Apple’s Century City location in Los Angeles, and Dean Pelle, who worked at Apple's prestigious Soho store in New York. Both worked as specialists until this spring, and are now looking to sue on behalf of thousands of Apple workers across the United States...

AT&T and others supporting Apple in looming U.S. ban of older iPhones and iPads

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 29, 2013

As an August 4 ban on U.S. sales of some of Apple's most-popular products looms, the iPhone maker is picking up business support. AT&T, Verizon, Intel and other companies are asking that U.S. President Barack Obama overturn an ITC-ordered ban on the sale of some Apple products judged to infringed upon standards-essential patents owned and asserted against Apple by rival Samsung.

At issue is whether Samsung is unfairly using essential patents as a weapon to gain an upper-hand in U.S. smartphone sales. The iPhone 4, for instance, is one of Apple's best-selling handsets...

Chinese scalpers now selling Genius Bar appointments online

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Scalpers stop at nothing to make a few bucks off Apple's popularity around the world, and especially in the 1.33 billion people market that is China. As you know, large-scale buyers are known for paying scalpers to stand overnight in snaking queues and buy Apple devices in bulk to resell at a premium.

According to a report Monday, scalpers now have a new innovative technique: they are booking up all available Genius Bar appointments in Apple's retail stores in China for the purposes of selling these slots online...

Apple trims Android’s U.S. smartphone lead as Verizon sells most iPhones

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 29, 2013

Apple is making a slight dent in Android's lead among U.S. smartphone owners, picking up more than three percentage points of market share at the end of the June 2013 quarter. By comparison, Google's mobile software slipped a bit, giving up almost one percent, according to new research.

By the end of the June quarter, Apple's iOS had 42.5 percent of the U.S. smartphone market, up from 39.2 percent a year earlier. By contrast, Android fell to 51.5 percent from 52.6 percent during the same period, according to research firm Kantar Monday...

Apple to distribute free iBooks to employees ahead of Mavericks, iOS 7 Launch

Cody Lee ∙ July 29, 2013

Apple will begin providing its Apple Store employees with free iBooks titles next week as part of a new 'iBooks Discovery' program. According to a new report, the company announced the initiative at its quarterly retail meetings, which took place over the weekend.

The move is said to be part of an effort to get retail staffers more familiar with both the iBookstore and the iBooks app ahead of the arrival of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks this fall. Apple is reportedly looking to make a heavy retail push for both operating systems...