Aside from small additions like displaying alternate routes and the Show Traffic option, the Maps application received little attention from Apple during the recent iOS update. Some pundits expected the app to at least receive turn-by-turn directions.
But a revamped Maps app might still be in Apple's plans. 9to5Mac is reporting that Apple has just quietly acquired "mind-blowing 3D mapping company" C3 Technologies, and that the Cupertino company is looking to take iOS maps to the next level...
There's a headline bouncing around the tech blogs this morning that goes something like this: "Samsung Overtakes Apple to Become Top Smartphone Manufacturer." The news comes in wake of Samsung's earnings report it issued to investors this morning.
The Korean handset maker didn't offer any specific numbers, but it did tell shareholders its smartphone shipments were up 40% this quarter. Some analysts are estimating that the increase equals 28 million smartphones, which clearly beats Apple's 17 million, right?
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse recently made a few interesting comments about the iPhone on his network. Namely, Hesse noted that Android users put more of a strain on Sprint's network than new iPhone owners.
Android apps are "more chatty" with the network, and iPhone apps do a better job of handling data via W-Fi networks and offloading information. Due to the iPhone's light footprint on Sprint's network, the carrier plans to continue offering an unlimited data plan for the indefinite future.
Apple has spent the last several years revolutionizing the way we interact with our mobile gadgets. Sure, there were touchscreen devices before the iPhone. But none of them worked as well Apple's handset. And the same can be said about Siri and voice control.
It appears that Apple isn't going to settle for just touch and voice controls. A new patent application has surfaced that reveals that the Cupertino company is experimenting with non-touch gesture controls for its iOS devices. And here's how it would work...
We've expressed our opinions on Android software multiple times here on iDB. You can imagine that, as an iPhone blog, we are a little biased towards the iOS platform, but our issues with Android don't come unwarranted.
One of our beefs with Android is that its apps seem to lack the polish that iOS apps have — even in software that is available on both platforms. Why is that? Well, not only do developers have to worry about multiple screen sizes, they also have to worry about multiple versions of Android...
The Seas0nPass jailbreak tool has been updated with support for the Apple TV on iOS 4.4.2. Apple pushed out the minor 4.2.2 update for the Apple TV 2G a few days ago.
Seas0nPass supports a tethered jailbreak for iOS 4.4.2, meaning that you will have to re-jailbreak every time your Apple TV reboots. More details after the break...
The ongoing Apple versus Google war can be traced back to Google's entry into the smartphone market. Apple launched its iPhone in the Summer of 2007, and within two years Google answered back by releasing its mobile OS, Android.
This led to a series of events, and eventually an onslaught of litigation between the two companies over "copycatting." The jury is still out on who copied who, but Daring Fireball points to some evidence that seemingly falls in Apple's favor...
When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone back in 2007, he had a blast showing off the company's first handset. One feature he particularly enjoyed demonstrating was the phone's unlocking mechanism — the now famous Slide to Unlock component.
He loved that users could unlock the phone so easily, and it wasn't something that could be triggered by accident in a pants or coat pocket. He loved it so much, that he didn't want anyone else to have it. So naturally Apple filed a patent application...
Here's a pretty useful little iOS tweak, especially if you've got kids who like to go tapping icons on your iPhone, with little regard for your saved game progress or super-important work document you've been editing.
Just as AppLocker's name might suggest, this $0.99 tweak adds a new pane to Settings.app, in which a password lock can be added to all your iOS applications, meaning they won't launch unless you know the special word.
That's all fine and dandy, but AppLocker goes one step further than that...
How many times have you realized you needed to continue your iPhone browsing session on your laptop or desktop PC? What about when you come across an app for your Mac that you want to download to your PC, not your iPhone?
Sure, there are plenty of options for downloading something to your iPhone or iPad, or even to Dropbox , but there is an unparalleled advantage to seamlessly transferring a link or webpage to your Mac. Whether you want to send a DMG, an installer package, a torrent, or a website that only supports Flash, your options are limited when you try to view them from an iOS app.
Luckily, there are several solutions that have sprung up over the past year. Pushing from a browser to an iPhone has been relatively simple for quite some time, but one-tap solutions to go from iOS to Mac are finally available. Read on for our list of creative services that offer you just that…
All the rumors and all the betas are over. Now we're all using Apple's iCloud. We're syncing, we're backing up, and (to certain extent) we're streaming. Life is good... kind of.
For those of us who remember the debacle that was Apple's launch of the now-replaced MobileMe. the initial iCloud launch is undoubtedly leagues ahead of the chaos and server failures that accompanied the arrival of Apple's previous cloud service. iCloud seems to be more robust, but does it actually do what most of us want?
First, let's take a quick look at the good parts of iCloud before moving onto the bad and the crazy...
Apple has released a minor iOS update for the Apple TV 2G. Following the release of iOS 5 to the public last week, iOS 4.4 was released for the latest Apple TV.
Update 4.4.1 brings bug fixes and minor improvements. Apple is likely tightening up some of the features that it introduced in the last update.