Apple

Samsung worried second damages trial could see Apple extract north of $1 billion

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 30, 2013

As you know, United States District Judge Lucy Koh shaved $450 million off the $1.05 billion verdict the jury handed to Apple in the high-stake Apple v. Samsung patent trial last August, citing “an impermissible legal theory.” She ordered a new trial for the remaining fourteen Samsung products and Nokia - of all companies - filed a brief with the appeals court on behalf of Apple, claiming Judge Koh got it all wrong. And in the latest twist to the ongoing legal saga, the South Korean conglomerate in court documents expresses worries that the second damages trial could see Apple win even more than before...

Apple reportedly pushing hard for summer iRadio release

Cody Lee ∙ March 29, 2013

There's been a lot of speculation over the last several months regarding Apple's streaming music service. Rumors of the company working on a Pandora-like service have been bouncing around for years, but late-2012 reports have rekindled the story.

It was initially believed that Apple's iRadio project would launch sometime in early 2013, but that plan was reportedly derailed by conflicts with record labels over pricing. There's a new report out today, though, that says the new goal is this summer...

How to embed Vine clips in web pages

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Twitter's Vine is fine for random sharing of six-second videos and today they issued an interesting new update promising to make embedding own or someone else's clips easy as a pie. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

The new version won't let you just grab an embed code in-app. For reasons beyond our comprehension, the software sends you to a special web page where the embed code can be created.

It's not the end of the world, but the solution is cumbersome and inelegant, though it works. To start injecting those beautiful Vines into your blog posts, web pages, email newsletters or pretty much into any other other type of HTML content, just follow our quick guide and you should be fine...

Ceramic device body patent hints at budget iPhone

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 29, 2013

We are getting more hints at how Apple could create a cheaper iPhone, a device also dubbed by the press the iPhone mini and apparently meant to improve Apple's standing in emerging markets such as India. In a new patent filing, the iPhone maker describes a production method similar to laminated fiberglass, but using ceramics. Zirconia and alumina could be combined to create a new kind of Unibody shell.

The use of zirconia would mesh both with a report earlier this month that a low-cost iPhone could include a fiberglass housing, while also potentially drawing on a 2006 Apple patent regarding zirconia as being radio transparent...

Ahead of Opening Day, MLB refreshes iOS apps with new features, revamped UI

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 29, 2013

Major League Baseball (MLB) has some of the most highly-regarded sports apps on the App Store.

Specifically, MLB.com's At Bat and At The Ballpark software includes rich content such as in-game audio, live video streams, highlights, news and more for the entire MLB season, from Spring Training to the World Series.

With just a few days until Opening Day, MLB has updated both apps with some welcomed and timely new features, including a revamped interface, even deeper Passbook support and more multimedia content, to name just a few of them. Jump past the fold for additional details...

Chatter hints June 20 iPhone 5S, budget iPhone launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 24, 2016

With Apple's annual developers conference approaching fast, we're starting to see some credible leaks pertaining to the iPhone 5S, Apple's seventh-generation iPhone. We've already seen the leaked Home button and vibrator parts earlier this week and claimed speaker parts from before. And with analysts predicting a June launch for the device and Macotakara claiming earlier this month that Foxconn has already started the iPhone 5S production, now the same Japanese blog issues a new report that gives as the reportedly official announcement date for both the iPhone 5S and a more affordable model for emerging markets: Thursday, June 20...

China’s oldest animation studio sues Apple over improper downloads

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 27, 2016

Apple's legal woes in the 1.33 billion people market of China have worsened as Shanghai Animation Film Studio filed a lawsuit over the allegedly improper iTunes downloads. The studio asserts that Apple's been illegally selling its content and is seeking north of half a million dollars in damages. Shanghai Animation is China's first and oldest animation studios and their complaint alleges in no ambiguous terms that Apple blatantly stole their content without paying any royalty at all.

Note that Apple doesn't offer movies on the Chinese iTunes Store so the issue is thought to involve App Store apps which bundle the studio's movies. Apparently, Apple made available as much as 110 unlicensed Shanghai Animation titles for download via the App Store back in July 2012. The suit was reportedly filed with the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, which has allegedly accepted the case.

So what's going on here? Did Apple intentionally steal and pirate someone else's content through its content store?

Apple rolls out new ‘Why iPad’ web campaign

Cody Lee ∙ March 28, 2013

Hot on the heels of its recently launched 'Why iPhone' web campaign, Apple has rolled out a similar advertising theme for its iPad. And as before, it showcases a number of reasons why the tablet has been so popular.

The new ‘Why iPad’ page highlights everything from awards, to features, and of course the iTunes ecosystem. Unlike tablets on other platforms, there are 300,000+ iPad-specific apps available in the App Store...

Grab your Arc reactor and suit up: Iron Man 3 smashes onto iOS on April 25

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 28, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKflXaTdszs

Tony Stark is back, in style! Not only is he the star of a second Iron Man sequel, Iron Man 3, but you also get to play as the eccentric billionaire in a movie tie-in launching on iOS and Android soon, in time for the flick's domestic May 3 release.

French games maker Gameloft did a nice job on the original Iron Man and Iron Man 2 games so small wonder they're behind this latest installment, too. And if the first gameplay trailer is an indication, we're in for a surprise: Iron Man 3 appears to incorporate juicy graphics and fast-paced action as you lead Tony fighting the AIM around the world to prevent their dark schemes from succeeding...

Apple launching redesigned ‘Report a Problem’ tool for iTunes purchases

Cody Lee ∙ March 28, 2013

Earlier this month, Apple started rolling out a new 'Report a Problem' tool to a select group of customers. The feature, for those who haven't used it before, allows iTunes users to report a problem with a recent purchase of an app, song or other iTunes content.

And the tool's been redesigned this month to be easier to use, and more accessible to users. The previous version was only available in the actual Mac/Windows iTunes app, and the new edition will be available through any device with a web browser...

Jailbreak hack lets you enjoy T-Mobile LTE speeds on your iPhone 5

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 26, 2016

Yesterday, iDB reported that T-Mobile's iPhone 5 is actually a factory tweaked version of the existing AT&T model A1428 device, with support for T-Mobile's LTE AWS bandwidths. As a result, existing AT&T customers cannot use their iPhone 5 to take full advantage of T-Mobile's LTE speeds until after the Deutsche Telekom-owned telco launches its iPhone 5 on April 12, at which point Apple will replace the existing A1428 hardware with this re-tooled version.

But a hack has come along claiming to make AT&T's A1428 iPhone 5 - jailbroken and unlocked (officially or unofficially) - work on T-Mobile's LTE on the 1700MHz band. It accomplishes this by using a custom carrier firmware that enables support for T-Mobile's LTE AWS bandwidths. However, it won't make your AT&T device compatible with T-Mobile's speedy 3G DC-HSDPA on the 1700MHz band nor will your Verizon iPhone be fooled into accepting T-Mobile's LTE bands...

Apple updates Find My Friends app with new UI

Cody Lee ∙ March 28, 2013

Apple has released an update to Find My Friends this morning, bringing the app to version 2.1. This is the first Find My Friends release since 2.0.1 came out last October, which added new location-based notifications.

Today's update adds what Apple is calling a "New UI to search for and set location-based notifications." No, that doesn't mean that the ugly leather texture is gone. But it does mean that some parts of the app look better...