Apple

Apple facing temporary closure of Italy operations over warranty scandal

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 4, 2018

Just as Apple escaped a snowballing PR catastrophe in Australia over false "4G" iPad advertising (it settled with Australian watchdog for $2.25 million), the company is facing trouble in Italy, where antitrust authorities are threatening closure of Apple's operations in the 60 million people market over misleading consumer with coverage advertising. The company has 30 days to make its case.

Cupertino was found guilty of selling its $99 a year AppleCare coverage even though a two-year warranty is mandated by the European Union. Furthermore, Apple's warranty covers only its products, while EU consumer protection laws require sellers to provide coverage for both first- and third-party products.

What's Apple gonna do in Italy?

2016 is the year the iPad displaces the notebook

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 3, 2012

We've been hearing about the post-PC revolution since the original iPad came into full view two and a half years ago. It immediately killed off the netbook and sales have been rising steadily ever since. But what about the notebook? It's still the most popular mobile PC. The question is, for how long?

According to a new survey, in a little over three years from now more people will be buying tablets as their primary mobile PC than notebooks. So much about the iPad not being suitable for content creation...

Rumor: iPad mini with Sharp’s IGZO Retina display to cost $249-$299

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

If you believe the rumor-mill, smaller iPads have been spotted at Apple. And if you believe the usually cred§ible Wall Street Journal, Apple's in fact been developing a shrunken iPad to address the low-to-mid range of the market. And with Amazon's Kindle Fire and now Google's Nexus 7 tablet fighting for these customers, no wonder the iPad mini rumors are beginning to surface all over again...

ITC denies Apple’s request for emergency import ban on 29 HTC devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) denied Apple's emergency request to temporary detain all shipments of 29 different HTC devices at the U.S. border, including the EVO 4G LTE and the flagship One X smartphone, Bloomberg reports. Apple last week demanded an emergency import ban of HTC phones, arguing the Taiwanese vendor lied to Customs in order to free up shipments...

Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview now available in iTunes

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 28, 2017

Late last year, some forgotten footage of a Steve Jobs interview from 1996 was discovered in the garage of a TV director. The tape featured an epic 70 minute conversation between Jobs and Robert Clingely.

The recovered interview ended up garnering so much interest, that it actually made it into theaters all across the U.S. But don't worry, if you didn't get a chance to see the film, you can now rent it in iTunes...

Apple updates iCloud Beta website with Notes, Reminders and more

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Apple rolled out a significant update to its iCloud Beta website last night. The page, which only appears to be accessible by registered developers, now features web versions of Reminders and Notes.

As you may recall, these two new web apps were leaked back in May, as Apple was caught testing the iCloud Beta website a month ahead of WWDC. But now it's live, and available for all developers...

Judge rejects Samsung’s motion to stay Galaxy Tab injunction

Cody Lee ∙ July 2, 2012

U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh has rejected Samsung's motion to stay the Galaxy Tab ban this evening. Koh handed down the injunction ruling last week, citing "clear patent infringement."

Apple has already posted a $2.6 million bond to push the ban into effect. So as it stands right now, it looks like Samsung will soon have to stop selling its marquee tablet in the United States...

Amazon takes on Apple and Google, snaps up 3D mapping startup UpNext

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2018

While you were away: not to be outclassed by Apple or Google, online retailer Amazon has just entered the mapping business by allegedly acquiring a mapping startup UpNext, according to an exclusive GigaOM report. The New York-based company is behind an interesting three-dimensional mapping app for iOS devices, UpNext Maps for iPhone and UpNext HD Maps for iPad (Android and Kindle versions are also available).

Both free downloads, these programs offer both the traditional map view, but also have built-in deals and social features and offline mode. There's also a three-dimensional view with models of more than 50 cities in the United States. Something tells me the apps will soon be gone from the App Store as Amazon makes these exclusive to its own tablet...

Apple to announce Q3 2012 earnings on July 24th

Cody Lee ∙ July 2, 2012

As noted by multiple tech sites, Apple has updated its Investor Relations page this afternoon to announce that it will be holding its Q3 2012 earnings call on Tuesday, July 24th.

This will cover the performance of the company during its third fiscal quarter of 2012, April - June, and will run down iOS device and Mac sales, stock performance, and other metrics...

Google re-brands Places app as Google+ Local, adds features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

Google's been streamlining their confusing set of web services and mobile apps since Larry Page took over the reigns as CEO from Eric Schmidt last year. As part of this simplification of Google, the company just updated its Places app for iOS. It's now re-christened as Google+ Local and comes with a few new interesting features, including voice search and Zagat reviews...

Food & Drink section coming to App Store on July 8

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 2, 2012

According to several iOS developers who've received an official word from Apple, the App Store will soon add a new section dedicated to apps related to food and drink. The change takes effect this coming Sunday, July 8, and will affect all existing apps that are food- or drink-related, including apps that manage recipes or help find restaurants....

iPhone’s share in US nearing 1 in every 3 smartphones

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 2, 2012

Research firm comScore is out with a new survey of the United States smartphone market and the numbers paint dire picture for everyone but Apple and Samsung. More importantly, data shows that the iPhone's growth during the three month average period ending May 2012 outpaced Android, with Cupertino's market share approaching 1 in every 3 smartphone subscribers...