Apple

iTravelGo, your no-nonsense iPhone guide to the world’s 36 most famous cities

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

I'm a Sagittarius so traveling, meeting fresh new people and exploring interesting new places I've never been to is my thing. As any world traveller could tell you, planning a journey normally involves doing extensive research about your favorite destination. But yours truly is a lousy planer: I'm the type of person who instead pulls an iPhone out of my pocket to check out the top places to eat or stay, educate myself on a specific landmark, learn a little history and so forth.

But as much as I'm inclined to research places on the spot, roaming charges on my wireless bill are a painful reminder that pulling quick facts from the web, while abroad, is a big no-no. Having tried lots of similar apps that offer offline functionality, the iTravelGo app by developer Oleg Baranovskyi in my view is one of the more compelling city guides on the App Store.

Not only does it look nice, it sports a high-quality database of points of interests and is packed with useful information on the world's 36 most famous cities. And as a bonus, there's even a handy glossary in seventeen languages...

Apple touts 1 billon podcast subscriptions

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 22, 2013

Apple on Monday quietly announced its users have subscribed to one billion podcasts through iTunes. The milestone is being celebrated via a special iTunes section that includes the What's Hot and New & Noteworthy sections.

Additionally, Apple highlights cherry-picked shows like This American Life, TEDTalks, 60 Minutes, Happy Tree Friends, etc.

There are now 250,000 different podcasts in more than a hundred languages available through iTunes...

Analyst: iPad 5/iPhone 5S/budget model in September, no Retina iPad mini in 2013

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 22, 2013

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is fast becoming the de facto most reliable Apple watcher. Expanding on his April note which advised investors to brace themselves for a delayed iDevice roll-out over manufacturing "challenges," his just-updated shipments timetable now offers more in way of detail.

Long story short, the analyst is expecting the iPhone 5S in late-September, but in limited quantity, with the oft-rumored plastic iPhone (he's calling it an 'iPhone Lite') becoming available even sooner than the iPhone 5S in early-September because its chassis is easier to make than the two-tone iPhone 5S design.

Early September will also bring us an updated iPad 5, he said, but there will be no iPad mini successor this year due to engineering issues. As for the Mac family, Kuo sees a mid-September launch of a Haswell-enabled Retina MacBook Pro, with a Haswell-driven iMac up for a late-August introduction. The full breakdown is right after the break...

Apple refunds father $6000 for App Store purchases made by 8-year-old daughter

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 16, 2022

I don't have kids yet. But when I do, I'm going to make sure that I take all of the necessary steps to prevent them from making purchases in the App Store. There are various ways to do this, and for me it's just common sense—I wouldn't leave them with real money.

But apparently, it's not such a cut-and-dry matter for some folks. Take this story by UK's Mirror publication, which went viral this weekend, about an 8-year-old girl racking up a staggering $6000 App Store bill on her father's iPad by making several in-app purchases...

Rhapsody gains offline mode, exclusive playlists curated by human editors

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 22, 2013

I'm a simple guy when it comes to listening to digital music: the iTunes/iTunes Radio + Spotify combo pretty much has me covered these days. That's not saying I'm not on the lookout for music solutions outside the Apple-Spotify landscape.

Take the once relevant jukebox app and music subscription service Rhapsody (remember them?), which has been trying to become relevant for years now.

Just two months ago, the firm has renewed its efforts by overhauling its aging mobile app, adding tons of goodies.

In another update issued today, Rhapsody version 3.5 brings out standard social sharing features and the useful offline playback mode whilst putting exclusive curated content front and center...

Older iPhones comprise almost half of Apple’s U.S. handset sales

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 22, 2013

Apple's iPhone 5 accounts for just over half of the company's smartphone sales, with 48 percent coming from the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, according to new research. That compares to the iPhone 4S which comprised about 75 percent of Apple sales almost a year after launch.

The figures illustrate how a larger portion of Apple's smartphone revenue is being generated by lower-cost iPhone models, a concern for investors heading into Tuesday's third-quarter financial report...

Canary motion detector bolsters up home security while looking stunning

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

iOS continues to change modern living for the better by improving upon the connected home promise through various innovative app-enabled accessories from third-parties, like the beautiful and smart Nest thermostat, the intelligent Philips light bulbs and clever locks by the likes of Jawbone and Kwikset, to name just a few.

Canary, "the world's first smartphone security device for everyone" by a New York-based startup, promises to beef up your home security by bringing motion detection, push alerts, streaming spycam video and other goodies to your iPhone by way of an IndieGoGo crowd-funded project.

The stylish device, reminiscent of Jony Ive's industrial design work, comes packed with a 720p HD camera, wide angle lens, Wi-Fi connectivity and smart sensors that detect motion, and is easy to set up on your mobile device. I've included a promotional video for your viewing pleasure just after the break...

Nervous Wall Street expects flat June quarter on lack of major product launches

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Tuesday is either report card day or judgement day for Apple, depending on your particular doom-and-gloom scenario. The iPhone maker is expected to report a flat mid-summer quarter as investors question whether the best days of the company are behind it.

At the same time, observers see the third quarter as peculiar, given that no new iPhone or iPad has been announced, opening up CEO Tim Cook's leadership to speculation and questions whether the iPhone maker can come back from two consecutive quarters of disappointment...

High-end smartphone market gone, warns analyst

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 22, 2013

Welcome to the commoditization of smartphones, or the Emachining of the iPhone. As the handsets move from only the hands of first-adopters to something even your grandma owns, prices are plummeting. It is to the point where one analyst declares the end of the high-end smartphone gold rush.

The average price of a smartphone has fallen nearly $100 in the past year as consumers dismiss talk of 4G and other technical debates, concentrating on just one question: is it good enough and within reach of their wallet...

Apple: dev portal breach hasn’t compromised iTunes accounts or credit cards

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 22, 2013

You're probably aware by now Apple's portal for its registered developers has been down since noon on Thursday, July 18. The firm on Sunday updated the standard "we'll be back soon" message at the service's landing page to warn the "maintenance will take longer than expected".

Adding fuel to fire, Apple soon after emailed developers with details on what they revealed as a nasty security breach that may have left some private information exposed. Unfortunately, the company stopped short of detailing precisely what information might have been compromised and how.

Be that as it may, the seeming privacy scare has left many scratching their head over the potential unpleasantries that might transpire next. Apple on its part did confirm the breach won't affect consumer iTunes account and said no credit card data had been compromised...

Beat Jony Ive at his own game using this interactive iOS 7 design tool

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 22, 2013

After June's iOS 7 announcement us bloggers have gotten to become premium design experts. So much ink has been spilt on the new look of Apple's mobile operating system, with observations of armchair analyst, resident critics, the quotidian and alike touching on such topics as Apple's golden ratio, the icons, the flatness, the colors and just about every aspect of the software overhaul one could think of.

And that's perfectly okay. And now, those who insist they could do a better job at revamping iOS 7 can take a crack at it. An amusing tool by Usvsth3m lets you create your own iOS 7 design masterpiece by customizing the iOS 7 icons, wallpapers, fonts (good-bye Helvetica Neue, no?), color scheme, corners, shadows - and even put in their own slogan. Will you give it a go and let your inner designer shine through?

Researcher claims he alerted Apple of developer center vulnerability

Cody Lee ∙ July 22, 2013

As you've probably heard by now, Apple's developer center was hacked. The portal has been down for over 4 days now, as the company says it is completely overhauling its systems, updating its server software, and rebuilding its entire database.

A statement from Apple claims ‘an intruder’ attempted to secure personal information about developers from the site, but it provided no further details about the incident. Now, a security researcher is claiming responsibility for the attack...