(You're reading all posts by Killian Bell)
About Killian Bell
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the UK. He has an interest in all things tech and also writes for TechnoBuffalo. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell, or through his website.(sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)
Twitterrific Update Brings Readability & Droplr Integration, Lots Of Improvements
Twitterrific, one of my favorite Twitter clients on iOS, got a new update this week that adds Readability integration for bookmarking tweets you want to catch up with later, as well as support for image hosting service Droplr. The update also comes with a ton of bug fixes and improvements.
iPhone 5S To Get Sapphire Crystal Home Button With Fingerprint Sensor [Rumor]
The iPhone 5S could come with a sapphire crystal capacitive touch home button that incorporates a new fingerprint sensor, according to supply chain sources in Taiwan.
Apple is expected to do away with the traditional physical home button, which has long been one of the most unreliable components on iOS devices. It’s thought that using sapphire crystal, which has a hardness second only to diamond, will prevent the button from getting scratched and ruining the fingerprint sensor.
Pegatron Undercuts Foxconn To Steal Apple Orders [Report]
Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, has long been Apple’s biggest manufacturing partner, with around 60-70% of its revenue coming from the Cupertino company. But local rival Pegatron is hoping to change that.
By offering Apple more competitive prices and sacrificing its profit margins, Pegatron appears to be securing iPhone and iPad assembly orders that would have normally gone straight to Foxconn.
Killing iOS Apps Is Easy With Slide2Kill [Jailbreak]
Killing iOS apps — not just closing them, but killing them completely — is nowhere near as simple as it should be.
First you have to double-tap the home button to open the multitasking tray, then you have to tap and hold the app’s icon, and then you have to close it by tapping the tiny circle. That’s a pain if you have several apps you wish to kill at once.
But with a new tweak for jailbroken iOS devices called Slide2Kill, you can completely kill iOS apps with just a swipe.
500 Million iTunes Users Are Spending $40 A Year On Average [Report]
iTunes users spend an average of $40 a year on digital content, according to the latest report from Asymco’s Horace Dedio. And with more than 500 million users, Apple is raking in over $5.5 billion in iTunes sales revenue every single quarter.
That’s more than some technology companies see in total, and Apple’s making it on just one service.
Flipboard Update Delivers New Profile Pages, Friends Category, SMS Sharing
Flipboard for iOS has received a number of new features in its latest update, which is available to download from the App Store today. Users can now enjoy profile pages with readership and curation statistics, as well as a new Friends category in the Content Guide. There’s also the ability to share stories via SMS.
Bill Gates Emotionally Recalls His Last Visit To Steve Jobs [Video]
For a long time, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were two of the biggest competitors in the technology industry. They were both early pioneers of desktop computing, and their companies were battling each other for every ounce of market share they could get their hands on.
But those shared experiences eventually led to the two becoming good friends. In a new interview for CBS’ 60 Minutes, Gates fondly remembers his old foe, and emotionally recalls his last visit to Jobs’s Palo Alto home before he passed away in October 2011.
Apple Decrypts iPhones For The Police, But It Makes Them Wait [Report]
The security features built into Apple’s iOS software are so good that the police are unable to gain access to defendant’s iPhones when they need to. Apple itself is able to bypass the security software and decrypt locked devices — and it do so when the police request it. But the company has so many requests that it has to add police to a lengthy waiting list.
Apple Unexplainably Bans Gift Sharing In Line Messaging App
Asian messaging service Line, which has been a big success on iOS, turned over $58 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2013 with its new monetization model. But it’s just been dealt a massive blow by Apple.
The Cupertino company has unexplainably forced Line to remove its gift sharing feature, which allowed users to send stickers priced around $1.99 to their friends.
Apple Building Another Store In Beijing Ahead Of Fall Product Launches?
Apple looks to be building another retail store in Beijing, which could open its doors in time for the launch of new iPhones and iPads this fall. Construction has begun on a building that bears a strong resemblance to a typical Apple retail outlet in Beijing’s China Central Place Shopping Center.
