Alex Heath - page 73

You may have thought it had already happened, but today Facebook has finally purchased Instagram. The proposed $1 billion buyout was announced back in April, but the FTC just recently closed its investigation and gave Facebook the go-ahead to make the purchase.

Due to Facebook’s stock decline, the deal’s value is now estimated to be around $750 million instead of the original $1 billion. Facebook today reaffirms its promise to keep Instagram’s 80 million+ users happy by allowing the app to run independently.

Subatomic Studios has released a massive update for the original Fieldrunners iPhone game. The App Store tower defense classic has been updated with Retina display support, a new soundtrack, and other improvements. To celebrate the update, the game is also on sale now for $0.99 in the App Store.

Fans of popular task management app Wunderlist will be happy to learn that the next major version is slated for a release later this year. 6Wunderkinder, the company that makes Wunderlist, has announced that Wunderlist 2 is nearing the beta stage, and the beloved task manager will be rewritten from the ground up as a native application for each platform, including OS X and iOS.

The unfortunate news is that 6Wunderkinder has also decided to can Wunderkit, its collaborative project management tool. Wunderkit will not be receiving any more updates, and Wunderlist will become the main focus for 6Wunderkinder moving forward.

Grove, maker of quality bamboo cases for the iPhone, has just begun pre-orders for its new iPhone 5 case. The design of this case is milled from a solid block of bamboo and sanded/oiled by hand. You have the option to get a custom engraving too.

Apple devices currently account for over half of all mobile web traffic in the U.S. and Canada, according to Chitika. During August 2012, Apple’s share of web traffic on mobile devices grew from 63.75% to 65.03%. Samsung trails behind at a distant second place with a 12.47% share.

“With the iPhone and iPad, Apple dominates the mobile market when it comes to web usage,” reports Chitika. “The company had another stellar month, and now its devices generate over 65% of all mobile traffic.”

In the days leading up to an Apple product announcement, the rumor mill goes into full swing. This year’s iPhone 5 is definitely no exception. We’ve already seen dozens of part leaks of the new hardware, and the latest series of hi-res photos to surface reveal an assembled iPhone 5 next to the current iPhone 4S.

Today’s pics show just how much thinner the iPhone 5 will be.

Apple is pretty much the most cryptic company on earth, so everything related to Apple is heavily scrutinized, including the media invites it sends out to select members of the press. An Apple invite is like a confirmation from above — months of speculation and wishful thinking is confirmed or shot down in a single moment.

Apple event invites are often read like magical tea leaves; hints are usually contained in the invite itself that foreshadow what to expect.

Today Apple sent out invites for its iPhone event next Wednesday, September 12th, 2012. We thought it would be as good a time as any to take a look back at Apple’s past iPhone and iPod invites from the last several years, starting with the original iPhone.

Apple has officially sent out invites for its rumored September 12th iPhone event. The media event will take place at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco on Wednesday, September 12th. The invite itself features the number “5,” indicating the unveiling of the iPhone 5.

Apple is also expected to release iOS 6 alongside the iPhone 5. The rumored ‘iPad mini’ will likely not be announced until October.

Place your bets: “The new iPhone,” or “iPhone 5?”

Source: The Loop

The Tweetbot for Mac saga continues, and this time the guys at Tapbots have come out of left field to release the official beta of their Mac client. The app is available for free now, but there’s a catch: you have to already be a Tweetbot user.

Multiple updates have been released for the alpha version of Tweetbot for Mac, but Tapbots announced earlier this week that it would be discontinuing public testing of the app before it officially launched in the Mac App Store.

Adobe has just announced that Photoshop CS6 will be getting Retina support this fall. Lightroom 4 will also be updated with Retina graphic support in coming months, although a specific release date has not been given.

2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display owners will be able to use CS6 in full HiDPI mode when the update drops.

Unfortunately, the App Store has become home to thousands of poorly designed copycat apps that try to ride the coattails of other popular titles. Such apps use a similar name, look, description, and even icon to trick customers into downloading. While Apple is known for the stringent requirements it puts in place for third-party developers, many clear ripoffs still manage to slip through somehow.

It appears as though Apple is starting to crack down on copycat apps with more force. App Store submissions that uses icons similar to other popular apps are now getting banned.

If you’ve been watching Twitter, you know that U.S. President Barack Obama is participating in Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit. While celebrities and tech personalities will often opt to use Reddit as a tool for fan engagement, this is the first time anyone as high up as the big ‘O’ himself has jumped on board.

You can find Obama’s AMA thread here, but Reddit seems to be buckling under the weight of traffic. If you can’t get through, try hitting refresh.

Obama has been spotted using Apple products multiple times in the past, and is a self-admitted fan. During one interview he noted that Steve Jobs had personally given him an iPad “early.”

Via: @BarackObama

A California court recently ruled in favor of Apple in a high-profile patent case against Samsung, and the immediate fallout means that Samsung is forced to pay Apple over $1 billion in damages. Federal Judge Lucy Koh will hold an injunction hearing in December to see if Apple is permitted to ban several Samsung phones from being sold in the United States.

The court’s decision was by no means a simple one, as this Apple vs. Samsung case is considered the most important tech patent lawsuit in history. That’s why every bit of the ruling process is being put under the microscope, including Jury Foreman Vel Hogan, the man who led the jury to rule against Samsung last Friday.

A new report reveals that a possible conflict of interest could have affected the case’s ruling.

Subatomic Studios has released its first update to Fieldrunners 2, the popular sequel to the original tower defense game for the iPhone. Version 1.1 of Fieldrunners 2 is now available in the App Store, and the update brings an easier Causal mode, new map updates, Game Center integration, Endless mode, and more.

For a company that’s wanting to “sell against the iPhone,” T-Mobile still wants whatever business it can get from unlocked iPhone owners. Earlier today we told you about T-Mobile’s new microSIM kits that will easily unlock an iPhone 4/4S to run on its GSM network.

It appears that T-Mobile is also readying flyers that say “Bring Your iPhone to T-Mobile for BIG SAVINGS!” But can T-Mobile’s network really support iPhone users on 3G and eventually 4G speeds?

iLounge has shared the first pics of what it claims are accessories designed for Apple’s new dock connector. A smaller 8-9 pin dock connector is expected to debut in the iPhone 5 next month, and we’ve seen plenty of part leaks showing the connector itself. This is the first time we’ve seen an accessory designed for the smaller dock, however.

Apple is planning to launch an enhanced version of its AirPlay streaming technology in September, according to a new report from The Telegraph. Called “AirPlay Direct,” the new version of AirPlay would allow users to wirelessly stream music without the need of a WiFi network.

Instead, iOS devices would be able to create their own ad-hoc-style networks with AirPlay-enabled accessories and peripherals.

Apple’s retail division has come under fire recently regarding staffing cutbacks and layoffs. Earlier this month, Apple’s newly-appointed head of retail, John Browett, admitted that he “messed up” with the new staffing formula, and that things would go back to normal for retail employees.

According to a new report, Apple’s retail stores are still suffering from new policies that have been implemented under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook and Senior Vice President of Retail John Browett. The internal focus has started to shift towards a more revenue-driven strategy instead of a strategy that prioritizes the customer experience.

You’ve read plenty of rumors surrounding the iPhone 5 on Cult of Mac by now, but what about the big picture?

Our friends at Nowhereelse.fr have put together a handy infographic detailing all of the marquee iPhone 5 rumors and the likelihood of each one actually making its way into the phone next month. Some big tech and Apple blogs were consulted for the making of this graphic, including Cult of Mac. Here’s the results:

Popular cloud storage service Dropbox has introduced two-step verification in order to provide greater security for its users. After the ‘epic’ hacking of Wired’s Mat Honan digital life, online security has become a hot topic once again in the tech community.

Like Google, Dropbox now allows all of its users to login with a password and additional code sent via text. An authenticator app can also be used on the web or mobile devices like the iPhone for the second step.

Apple has announced a restructuring of its executive lineup today. Craig Federighi and Dan Riccio have both been promoted to the level of senior vice president.

Bob Mansfield, who had planned to retire back in June, will remain at Apple and report directly to Tim Cook and work on “future products.” Mansfield has been an instrumental part of Apple’s success since he joined the company in 1999. He has led the hardware engineering for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac since 2005.

Tapbots, the company behind Tweetbot for iOS and Mac, has announced that the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha is no longer available as a public download. Tweetbot for Mac has been gearing up to enter the public beta stage before its official release in the Mac App Store, but Twitter’s new restrictions have forced Tapbots to remove the download link for the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha.

Several updates have been pushed out to Mac users running Tweetbot since Tapbots released the alpha on July 11th. Existing users can keep using the app, but everyone else will be left out in the cold until the app goes on sale in the Mac App Store.

Over the weekend I noticed that the Tweetbot for Mac Alpha was no longer working on the Tapbots website, and today’s news reveals the reason.

If you needed any more confirmation that the next iPhone is launching during the second half of September, look no further. Verizon has put a vacation blackout in place for its employees starting September 21st, and now TechCrunch is reporting that AT&T has the same blackout in place from September 21st to the 30th.

Apple is expected to announce the next iPhone on September 12th with pre-orders beginning on the same day. In-store availability would then begin the next Friday, September 21st.

We’ve heard little about the next version of the iP0d nano, or if Apple will even release another one at all. While a new iPhone and smaller iPad look to be on the cards, the future of the iPod lineup is a tad uncertain.

According to a new report today, the next iPod nano will come with Wi-Fi functionality for iTunes in Cloud. “iPad mini” name may also be the official name Apple decides to go with for its smaller tablet come October.

Following Apple’s decisive victory over Samsung in court yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook sent out a corporate memo to Apple employees noting that it was “an important day for Apple and for innovators everywhere.”

Samsung has been ordered by U.S. court to pay Apple over $1 billion in damages after it was ruled that Samsung products infringe on Apple’s design patents.