iPod Touch

Open-source components of Sparrow now available for download

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Sparrow was recently snapped up by Google and people continue to have mixed feelings about this sell-out no one saw coming. The Sparrow team made it clear in a blog post they would cease work on new features (apart from minor updates) as Google has tasked its newly acquired team with improving Gmail mobile apps.

Today, the Sparrow team announced plans to open-source parts of the Sparrow apps for personal use only. If you're good at reverse engineering, why not take a closer look at the Sparrow code?

Relying on Apple for security could be developers’ biggest mistake

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

When it comes to security, Apple has gone to great lengths to make its iOS platform much less prone to exploits and has engineered measures such as sandboxed environment, protected app space and even encrypting every single file created on the iPhone with its own encryption key wrapped in the user’s passcode.

But developers have become increasingly reliant on Apple for app security and as a result security has now become an afterthought for many app developers. That's why security experts attending the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas think developers should take matters in their own hands and add more security above Apple's baked-in protections...

Apple snaps up NFC and smart sensors maker AuthenTec for $356 million

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 20, 2017

Apple has made an interesting acquisition, snapping up smart sensors maker AuthenTec in a transaction valued at $356 million, Reuters reported Friday. AuthenTec makes fingerprint sensor chips used in personal computers.

What's more, its swipe sensors can read the live layer beneath the skin's surface and comply with strict government standards. They also produce chips that utilize near-field communication (NFC) technology which is said to be a part of this fall's iPhone hardware refresh...

Google Earth, now with 3D cities on iPhone 4S and iPad 2 or later

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 26, 2012

Google on June 6 held a hastily organized presser to announce "the next dimension in Maps", in an effort to beat Apple's in-house mapping solution unveiling which came five days later at the company's annual developers conference in Sam Francisco.

While Apple Maps won't launch before fall, when the company is set to release iOS 6 alongside the next iPhone and possibly a smaller iPad, the Internet giant is set to beat Apple by updating its Google Earth app for the iPhone with a new 3D view later today.

UPDATE: the new version just went live on the App Store...

Ex-Apple talent helping rebuild Facebook’s iPhone app, broader overhaul in 2013

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 25, 2012

A little less than a month ago, The New York Times reported that Facebook was working on a brand new version of its sluggish iOS client, re-writing it completely with speed in mind from the ground up in Objective-C, the preferred programming language for modern iOS applications.

The current version owes much of its sluggishness to the fact that it provides a web view through an embedded web browser. A new report out today asserted that the social networking giant tapped some former Apple engineering talent not only to help build a smartphone of its own, but also to re-write the official iOS app...

Apple finally fixes buggy Podcasts app

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 25, 2012

A month ago Apple removed Podcasts section from iOS 6 storefronts and posted a dedicated new app to let folks download, consume and manage audio and video podcasts on the go.

Apart from its skeuomorphic design mimicking a vintage tape recorder, the program was plagued with unreliable performance, unexpected quits and generally a bunch of bugs. These issues are clearly reflected in abysmal iTunes ratings that at the time of this writing barely hovered over two and a half stars out of five.

Our own Jeff Benjamin noticed as much, observing in his video hands-on that the radio-dial interface is interesting at first sight, but not very efficient and syncing often doesn't work as intended. Today, Apple pushed out a minor update that promises to squash these pesky bugs while bringing out a couple of new nice-to-haves...

Broadcom outs new chip that could give 2013 iOS devices Gigabit WiFi

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 4, 2018

Broadcom today announced a new wireless chip that features support for WiFi 802.11ac standard, also known as fifth-generation WiFi and promising theoretical wireless transfer speeds of one gigabit per second.

The Broadcom BCM4335 module also includes Bluetooth 4.0, FM radio and software on a single chip using a 40-nanometer process. As Apple is extensively using Broadcom chips in iOS devices and Macs, this is a likely candidate for 2013 iPhones and iPads. The chip provides for some interesting possibilities...

Developers think iOS will win the battle for enterprise

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 27, 2017

Apple's iPad and iPhone are picking up steam in enterprise lately as big business abandons RIM's sinking BlackBerry platform. Apple's main rival in the enterprise market is of course Google, whose Android is lagging behind iOS in corporate email and security features, but Google makes up for it with its online suite of Office replacement apps called Google Apps, something Apple doesn't have in its offering.

Despite this advantage, developers polled by the mobile platform company Appcelerator and market research firm IDC think iOS has a significant lead over Android. Moreover, 53.2 percent of respondents think iOS will win the battle for enterprise versus 37.3 percent saying that Android will win...

Viber for iOS updated with refreshed UI, all-new voice engine

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 24, 2012

Viber, an extremely popular VoIP app released last December by a small Israeli startup, got a huge update today, bringing a re-worked user interface with group messaging, profile photos and more, in addition to an all-new voice engine said to deliver improved voice quality.

Like Vonage and Skype, Viber lets you talk to people using your device's cellular or WiFi data connection, exchange instant messages and images, all the while bypassing the carriers' costly voice minutes and text/MMS messages.Unlike Skype, there’s no need to create an account with Viber...

New iPod touch said to feature a 4-inch display, A5 chip

Cody Lee ∙ July 24, 2012

Hot on the heels of last night's note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, comes a new report regarding the future of the iPod touch. If it holds true, the mp3 player could be getting quite the makeover this fall.

According to the new dispatch, the next-generation iPod touch will feature the same 4-inch display that the new iPhone is rumored to get, as well as an A5 processor and other internal upgrades...

New report calls for revamped iPod touch and iPod nano this fall

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

It looks like the next-gen iPhone and smaller iPad aren't the only new products Apple is planning on unveiling this fall. This according to a new report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

Kuo has been known to be a credible source for information regarding future Apple products, and he believes that the Cupertino company has an all-new iPod touch and iPod nano in the works...

iOS 6 Beta 3 finally lets you download free apps without Apple ID

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 23, 2012

We received several tips this past weekend that the latest iOS 6 Beta 3 which was released to Apple's registered developers last week finally does away with Apple ID requirement for free apps. Normally, when you download a free app from the App Store, Apple requires you to enter your existing Apple ID or create a new account.

This never made any sense to ordinary users: I can't tell you how many times my friends (some of whom only download free stuff) asked me if there was a way to drop that pesky requirement. It also doesn't support Apple's 'cut the cord' initiative that lets one set up and use an iOS device without a computer and iTunes...