Editorial

Apple’s most underrated WWDC announcement

Looking back at it, there was no shortage of announcements during Apple’s WWDC keynote on Monday. An all-new MacBook model, major updates to its desktop and mobile operating systems, and a new Maps app — not bad for an afternoon.

But amongst all of the oohs and ahhs of the new products and updates, there was one particular announcement that sort of flew under the radar. According to Apple, it now has more than 400 million active credit card-linked iTunes accounts…

Why Apple would want to make the iPhone’s screen bigger

According to recent rumors, reports and speculation, Apple’s next-generation smartphone will finally receive a bump in screen size. It seems like everyone is convinced that the next iPhone, expected to drop later this year, will be sporting an all-new 4-inch display.

But while we’ve heard a number of theories regarding how Apple could go about implementing such a change, we’ve yet to hear any explanations for why it would want to. Why would it all of a sudden want to change the iPhone’s display size after 5 years?

Two months on – why I am still glad I didn’t buy a new iPad

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have already spotted that the title says “two months on” and, clearly, we are beyond the two month mark since the new iPad was made available to an expectant public. The reason for my tardiness is that this post has taken the better part of two weeks to write, and I almost scrapped it on a few occasions.

To understand why that is, let’s delve right on in to why I didn’t buy the new iPad and, importantly, why I am glad about that fact.

So, before we continue, and before I open myself up to more than my fair share of abuse, I suggest you make yourself a good cup of coffee, and get yourself comfortably. We’re about to begin…

Samsung’s hand shown, will Apple come through with the next iPhone?

We may still be a good five months away from Apple’s expected iPhone 5/Next iPhone announcement, but Samsung has already shown its hand with the Galaxy S III.

Building on the already hugely popular Galaxy S II handset, the third generation of the Galaxy S line will feature some interesting software additions alongside a reasonable speed bump and rather large screen. All in, it’s an impressive-looking update for a company that has already shown that it is more than capable of going toe-to-toe with Apple when it comes to kicking out huge sales numbers and satisfied customers.

But shy of taking the Roman numeral approach to naming conventions and calling the next iPhone the iPhone V, what will Apple do to take the fight to Samsung now that the Koreans have firmly placed their stake in the ground? What must Apple do in order to compete with a handset that has seen almost as much excitement and expectation as any Apple product? The truth is that it might not actually need to…

Who says all jailbreakers are pirates?

“After all most jailbreak users are only in it for running unlocks and pirating apps.” This was the last line in a series of tweets by infamous iDevice hacker I0n1c, talking about the state of the jailbreak. While I’m not typically the kind of person to get riled up over such an ignorant comment, I feel like there’s a similarly negative consensus about jailbreaking that needs to be addressed.

It’s a fairly true statement to say that all iOS app pirates are jailbreakers. After all, I don’t know of any other way to pirate apps – and if there is, it can’t be easier –  than by jailbreaking. But to say that all, or even “most” jailbreakers are pirates is asinine. From where I’m sitting, the jailbreak community looks pretty awesome. And it’s made up of much more than just pilferers….

Thoughts on the 4-inch iPhone theory

Yesterday, an intriguing theory on how Apple could build an iPhone with a 4-inch screen made its way around the tech world. The idea is based on the fact that Apple could make the display larger, without drastically increasing the size of the handset.

Judging from the feedback I’ve gathered from our readers, on Twitter, and on other websites, the consensus seems to be that this theory is way off base; Apple would never do anything like it. But to me, it feels like everyone is overlooking a few things…

Thoughts on the new iPad

The new iPad has been out for nearly three weeks now, and most of the folks who are going to weigh in on the tablet, have. The Retina display looks great, and LTE is lightning-fast. But otherwise the consensus seems to be that it’s not much different than its predecessor.

This has spawned quite the debate throughout the internet on whether or not iPad 2 owners should consider upgrading to the newer slate. And the, once again, consensus seems to be that it isn’t. Does this mean that Apple is losing its touch? Read on for my thoughts…

What Apple should do with its money

Sunday night, when Apple announced that it was going to be holding a conference call the following morning regarding its plans for its massive cash pile, the internet ran wild with speculation.

We heard all kinds of theories, ranging from a surprise Twitter buyout to a small carrier acquisition. But Apple’s actual announcement of dividends and stock buybacks was much more tame.

While this outcome might have appeased investors, it left some of us wanting more. Here’s what I think the company should do with its money…

Does Apple need to create an entirely new product to stay on top?

Apple is sitting on top of the world right now. It has the most popular handset and tablet on the market, it broke nearly every company sales record last quarter, and it’s currently the most valuable corporation in the world.

The company’s real accomplishment, however, is how quickly it has risen to the top. Less than two years ago Apple’s market cap was only $200 billion. And now it’s teetering around the $500 billion mark. But how long can it keep up this ridiculous pace?

Should Apple be worried about HTML5 apps?

Apple’s handset has been seemingly unstoppable as of late. The company sold more than 37 million iPhones last quarter, making it the top smartphone manufacturer in the world over the three month period.

But what is it about the iPhone that makes it so popular? What sets it apart from the competition? Is it the sleek hardware? Is it the polished operating system? Sure. These are both big factors. But a lot of folks will tell you that it’s all about the apps…

Tim Cook says Apple’s working on new products that “will blow our minds”

Apple hosted its annual shareholder’s meeting yesterday in Cupertino, California. This marked the first time that Tim Cook addressed the company’s board and its investors as Apple’s CEO.

Topics of the meeting ranged anywhere from Apple’s record-breaking quarter last year, to its relationship with Facebook. Those who attended the affair described Cook as witty, knowledgeable, and passionate as he talked about Apple’s future…

Does Apple care about jailbreaking anymore?

When Apple unveiled iOS 5 last summer, a lot of folks saw it as a direct shot at the jailbreak community. The new software included a number of new features that replaced popular jailbreak tweaks like Notified and Xpandr.

And not only that, but the iOS update included new security measures to make downgrading to previous firmware versions extremely difficult. So you can see why it appeared that Apple was looking to stop jailbreakers in their tracks…