Apple is once again in U.S. District Court, attempting to derail a lawsuit claiming apps for the iPhone and iPad collected location data and other personal information without explicit permission from users. Responding Thursday to an effort by plaintiffs' attorneys to classify the lawsuit a class action, Apple's legal team argued no harm was suffered and suggested the call for class action status is a "desperate attempt" to collect legal fees...
iPad
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Oxford University researchers show off iPad-powered self-driving Nissan Leaf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaPMmniK4o4
Forget Google's self-driving cars, here's something totally different and unique. Researchers at Oxford University have developed a new auto-drive technology drive by Apple's iPad which allows drivers to hand control of the wheel to the robot system to drive itself. Unlike Google's self-driving cars, this technology combines the best of both worlds: drivers can control their vehicle themselves, but the iPad can optionally take over when the system determines it knows a route.
They built the tablet into the dashboard of a Nissan Leaf and the driver can activate the autonomous driving mode with a single tap. Of course, this technology is still in its infancy and far from commercialization. Currently, the prototype navigation system costs a whopping £5,000, or about $7,500, but researches believe that over time it will work its way down to about just a £100, or approximately $150. I've included a bunch of interesting clips just past the break...
Apple sold eight million iPads to education institutions worldwide
The iPad is the perfect epitome of the 21st century learning. When schools and faculties integrate these things into their workflow, anything is possible. The iPad, as you know, debuted as the first mainstream tablet and it immediately bolstered Apple's already strong and undisputed credibility in education.
Of course, the gizmo owes much of its success to a strong library of more than 300,000 apps designed specifically for it. That said, it shouldn't really surprise anyone that Apple's tablet is replacing textbooks fast and becoming an indispensable teaching tool for educators and an interactive learning aid for students.
Thursday, the company officially confirmed it has sold a cool 4.5 million iPads to U.S. education institutions alone and a total of eight million iPads to education institutions worldwide - a notable rise versus about 1.5 million iPads found in U.S. education institutions as of January 2012.
While Samsung shipped as much tablets to the entire market during the holiday quarter of 2012, the South Korean giant did not break down sales by region or industry verticals so we really can't tell how strong Galaxy tablets are in education, but our guess is they're virtually non-existent...
Files hits iOS: manage all your files in one app
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bjO2sLw2AU
One of the biggest iOS drawbacks (or blessings, depending on your view) compared to other mobile operating systems is that users cannot mess with the file system directly. That Apple doesn't provide an app to pull all your documents together in one place doesn't help either. Enter Files, a new app German developer Sonico Mobile created with the very specific purpose of tackling this issue.
It's available now at a special introductory price of 99 cents, optimized for all your iThings, including the original iPad. I've been playing with the software for the past couple of days and will be posting a thorough review over the weekend. In the meantime, here's how Files makes your mobile computing easier...
Samsung hires judge who ruled against Apple
Remember a UK judge who took at face value the ruling that Galaxy devices didn't infringe any of Apple's patents because Samsung's tablets "are not as cool" as the iPad? The one who recently chastised Apple for lack of integrity and opined for the appeals court it should be ordered to apologize in newspaper ads for asserting Samsung's tablets had copied the iPad? Yeah, that guy.
A well-known patent blogger revealed Thursday that same judge is now receiving paychecks from Samsung as a legal expert through a law firm which represents Samsung Electronics in its case against Ericsson. Conflict of interest, much?
Analyst warns Apple could be headed for rough two years
If you thought Apple had already been through a rough period, just wait. That's the message from one Wall Street analyst who predicts the iPhone maker is "facing a very rough two-year period."
Although Apple's chief executive Tim Cook spent Wednesday defending his company's horde of cash, those concerns could evaporate as Apple spends billions to prop up slowing iPhone sales and works to improve demand in emerging markets.
Apple could see capital expenditures double, according to Jeffries' analyst Peter Misek, forecasting billions in payments for supplier upgrades, emerging-market payment plans and expensive technology updates all while iPhone sales plunge...
Samsung fails in its bid to block iPhone and iPad sale in Japan
Samsung has lost its patent lawsuit over Apple's iPhone and iPad in Japan as a Tokyo court ruled Thursday in favor of Apple. Needless to say, Samsung said it was disappointed by the court's decision and promised to conduct a thorough review of the ruling and "take the measures necessary to protect our intellectual property rights", Reuters reported this morning.
The Tokyo District Court said Samsung hadn’t negotiated “sincerely” with Apple over patents, also ruling the Galaxy maker now cannot seek damages from Apple...
Apple announces iTunes U downloads topped 1 billion
It could be the largest educational institution which never handed out one diploma. More than one billion downloads of class lectures, quizzes and assignments were downloaded from iTunes U, Apple announced Thursday.
In a press release, the technology firm unveiled class attendance numbers that would make even the best Ivy League schools jealous - if they weren't already offering part of the service.
More than 250,000 students are enrolled in the service with content from 1,200 colleges, universities and K-12 schools. While Yale, MIT and Stanford are among the U.S. schools involved, a growing majority of schools from outside the U.S. are also taking part, the iPhone maker said...
Apple patent wants iPhones to exchange your GPS location with iWatch?
Apple Tuesday was issued an interesting patent that could relate to recent headlines about a device known as the iWatch. The patent approved by the United State Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) describes an "accessory device" that could receive GPS data from your iPhone. For some time, speculation has surrounded Apple was working on a wristwatch device that can communicate with your smartphone or iPad.
According to the patent, location data could be transmitted either wirelessly or through a hard connection, displaying either a map with navigation or simply points of interest. The technology permits either data to be sent from the iPhone to an accessory device, from the accessory device to the iPhone or to whichever device is deemed most accurate...
The Etre Fivepoint gloves add a touch of tech to touch tech
Inevitably, we all need to use our iPhones in the cold and our tiny little fingers hate the cold. Thankfully, technology entered the clothing world and taking off our gloves to use the phone is a thing of the past. Etre entered the scene after successfully establishing themselves as a web design company. Turning toward fashion, they promise "each piece is lovingly crafted in the British Isles, using responsibly sourced, time-honoured British materials." There are many implementations of the "connected" glove and some companies get it right, others do not. Today, we take a look at the Etre Fivepoint gloves, and thankfully, these guys got it right....
Star Wars Pinball arrives via Zen Pinball update
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOajo2uBvbE
As promised, Star Wars Pinball from Zen Studios has arrived on the iOS platform, launching today as an add-on to the company's Zen Pinball (a free universal binary download). Celebrating the launch, developers have released a new teaser trailer which highlights the intergalactic bounty hunter Boba Fett.
The previous trailer covered a table on the main deck of a Star Destroyer, based on the Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back movie. Each of the three tables is available as a separate $1.99 purchase from Zen Pinball. Zen Studios has pledged to release the game as a standalone download and we'll update the article with a link to that version as soon as it hits the App Store...
Amazon launches Cloud Player on iPad
If you keep your music in the Amazon cloud, you were able to stream it to your iPhone and iPod touch through Amazon's free Cloud Player app. Today, the online retailer has pushed a major update which finally runs natively on iPads. It has an updated look on both the iPhone and iPad and new settings to manage caches and more. Cloud Player originally debuted on the iPhone eight months ago and the new version arrives just as Spotify has revamped its iOS client and Apple rolled out iTunes in the Cloud support in a dozen European markets...