iPad

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Social apps become the third highest App Store category in terms of revenue

Last year saw the rise of social networking apps. While not as dominant as games, apps such as Facebook, Twitter and Skype helped revenue for the category skyrocket nearly 90 percent, compared to the previous year. Likewise, social networking apps flew to third place on Apple's App Store, behind only games and productivity. That's a notable jump from 2011, when social apps ranked only twelveth.

Revenues for the category on the App Store jumped 87 percent year-over-year in January 2013, with a 30 percent rise in monthly downloads now accounting for fiver percent of total downloads. On Google Play, social networking apps became the number one category, besides games, an app research firm announced Friday...

Judge orders Apple to reveal app review process

Are reviewers of entries to Apple's App Store being threatened with death? That is the implication lawyers for the iPhone maker gave a California federal court earlier this week.

Despite the allegation, a judge overseeing a privacy lawsuit against Apple ordered the company to reveal how it reviews submitted apps, as well as condemned a three-month wait for internal documents.

Today is the deadline for Apple to turn over to U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal its process for gathering documents it must submit to plaintiffs. Attorneys for the plaintiffs charge the firm with collecting location data of iPhone owners without their permission. Earlier this week, Grewal issued the order, writing he cannot rely on Apple to turn over documents first requested in November 2012...

Apple trailed 2012 tablet shipments in India – that is, if you counted phablets

Many observers view India as the next China. There is huge potential waiting for the smart device player able to offer India's mobile consumers a low-cost, prepaid product. In just the latest example of analysts scrambling for data to define the market, new research coming from India suggests an explosion of tablet sales - until you dig into the details.

According to India-based CyberMedia Research, tablet shipments in the world's second largest market rose to 3.11 million units by the end of 2012. Demand was particularly on fire during the last two quarters with around 1 million tablets shipping. Although Apple was reported in third-place behind Samsung and an Indian manufacturer, there's a question of whether researchers counted tablets or a cross category of smartphones nicknamed 'phablets'...

New webstore offers all of your favorite Apple-related Kickstarter projects

Are you an iPhone or iPad user who's always looking for cool new accessories? If so, you might be interested in knowing that there's a new website out (well, it's relaunching) that offers a range of Apple add-ons that aren't typically sold in stores.

The site, called BiteMyApple, is billed as a one-stop accessory shop for the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Mac computers. And its entire inventory is filled with products that were once successful Kickstarter projects. More details after the fold...

Skype updated with all new calling experience

Good news today for all of you Skype users out there. The video-chatting service released a solid update for both its iPhone and iPad applications this morning with some UI changes, and other improvements.

Those improvements include a fix that makes one-on-one chats [finally] show up in correct order, and the ability to quickly dismiss your recent chats as 'read.' But the star of the update is the new calling UI...

The original Angry Birds game goes free for the first time on iOS

It appears as if Angry Birds maker Rovio is changing strategy lately and switching away from paid downloads to free ones. Having briefly experimented with a massive 99-cent sale of its iPad titles last month and adding free, ad-supported downloads to its puzzler Amazing Alex, today the company has made the game that started it all - the original Angry Birds - free for the first time ever on Apple's mobile platform. Unlike free Angry Birds downloads on Android, this one doesn't come with in-app advertisements and Rovio also has added 15 new levels to keep you going...

Apple (again) mulling shifting production of iPhone and iPad chips to Intel

A report Wednesday revives the old rumor that the world's leading chip maker, Intel, is working on a strategic deal to manufacture processors that power Apple's iPhones, iPads and iPods.

What's different this time around, though, is the timing: Intel's CEO Paul Otellini is on his way out and with CEO search still underway, the semiconductor giant could be poised to take its relationship with Apple to the next level.

The gist of the report is that Apple could contract Intel as a foundry, meaning the chip giant would tap its world-class manufacturing expertise to produce iPhone and iPad processors, as designed in-house by Apple, rather than persuade Tim Cook & Co. into adopting Intel's own mobile Atom x86 chip architecture, which hasn't made much inroads yet...

Path 3.0 brings private messaging and new digital content shop

Personal social network Path released a significant update to its iOS app this afternoon, bringing the software to version 3.0. The update includes your usual bug fixes and improvements, as well as two new major features.

The first one is private messaging, allowing you to talk with your Path friends in real time and share various types of media. And the other is The Shop—a digital content store of sorts, with premium photo filters and more...

This is Rupert Murdoch’s iPad killer for education

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT8s66oXP_A

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and his publishing empire, News Corp, used to be strong believers in Apple's iPad and its digital publishing prowess, so much so that he greenlit a substantial investment in The Daily, an iPad-exclusive magazine.

Apple and News Corp had worked side-by-side to develop The Daily, having launched the app on February 2, 2011 during a lavish press conference at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Apple's online services head Eddy Cue joined Rupert Murdoch on stage, who publicly praised Apple for being “a highly disciplined company that makes beautiful products”, attributing late co-founder Steve Jobs with having "such power inspiring the people around him."

But after slashing staff by a third last summer, News Corp soon pulled the plug on the project. Enter 2013: News Corp's education division called Amplify Wednesday announced it is launching its own Android tablet mean to compete with Apple's iPad in education...

Twitter refines iOS app search, but also removes Vodpod, Posterous and Mobypicture

After discontinuing its mobile TweetDeck apps for iPhone and Android in favor of the web client, the micro-blogging service Twitter today refreshed its iOS client with better search, refined layouts, support for traditional Chinese and other perks.

Unfortunately, this update also kills off support for external video services like Mobypicture, Vodpod and Posterous as the company supposedly is building a rumored video uploading service of its own.

Note that Posterous, a micro-blogging platform Twitter bought a year ago, is shutting down for good on April 30. Twitter also recently acquired Vine and launched a corresponding brand new app for recording and sharing short 6-second clips that can be easily tweeted out and viewed in-line on Twitter. With this update, TwitVid and yFrog are now your only video uploading choices in Twitter’s iOS app...

Apple asks judge to dismiss iPhone monopoly lawsuit

Is Apple operating a monopoly? That's the question before an Oakland, California judge. Tuesday, the iPhone and iPad maker urged the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed in 2011, alleging the company runs a monopoly by offering apps for the smartphone only on the App Store. Apple underscores it doesn't set prices for third-party software and argues charging developers 30 percent to distribute items for iPhones, iPods and iPads on its App Store does not violate antitrust laws...

Rumor: iPhone 5S in August, new iPads possibly as early as next month

If a new report from a fairly accurate source is to be believed, Apple could be gearing up to launch next-generation iPads as early as next month, with both a fifth-generation 9.7-inch model and a second-generation 7.9-inch iPad mini apparently being considered for April, and each rocking Apple's high-resolution Retina display.

As for the iPhone 5S - a seventh-generation iPhone and a specs upgrade over the current iPhone 5 - Apple is looking to release this phone in late-summer, approximately around August...