Luke Dormehl - page 340

Citing people close to the situation, a new report by the WSJ claims that Amazon is planning to introduce an advertising-supported streaming television and music-video service.

This free service would represent a break from Amazon’s policy of linking video to its $99-a-year Prime subscription service. According to the rumor, Amazon would feature both original series and licensed content — and has discussed the effort with the creators of “Betas,” a show about a Silicon Valley startup produced for Prime last year.

Major League Baseball mobile companion app MLB.com At the Ballpark has just received a significant update.

While one new feature is the expected iOS 7 redesign, the most exciting update relates to Apple’s iBeacon technology. As Cult of Mac wrote back in September, MLB has installed iBeacons at 20 ballparks around the U.S. to offer iOS-using spectators point-of-interest mapping and other relevant contextual information during the 2014 MLB season. With MLB.com At The Ballpark version 3.0 support for iBeacons is included.

Apple’s possible plans for an iPad smart cover reminiscent of Microsoft’s Surface were revealed in a patent application published Thursday. The design differs from Microsoft’s iPad competitor in that Apple’s keyboard would double as a Multi-Touch gesture keyboard, eliminating the need for a touchpad.

Drawings filed with the patent show how it would be possible to use the iPad cover in various configurations. Several hinges allow the iPad smart cover to fold away with the tablet and keyboard, while the cover would feature magnets to lock its various components in place. In one embodiment of the patent, Apple suggests that electromagnets could be used.

Would you pay an extra $100 for an iPhone “phablet” with a larger display?

At least 33% of you would, according to new survey data published by Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt. The study suggests a third of U.S. iPhone users would be willing to pay an extra hundred bucks for an iPhone with a larger display than its predecessors.

When Facebook acquired Oculus VR for $2 billion, Mark Zuckerberg said virtual reality was the natural follow-up to mobile as a platform. And while Apple might have missed the boat on Oculus, has Cupertino really missed out on virtual reality?

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Apple has been investigating this area for the better part of a decade — well before the Oculus Rift gaming headset appeared on Kickstarter.

For the company behind Candy Crush, developer King Digital don’t exactly seem to be crushing it in their public market debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shares in the popular developer — which grossed $1.88 billion last year — were valued at $22.50 on Tuesday. They then debuted at $20.50 on Wednesday, before quickly dipping to $19.06.

Guitar Hero will vanish from the App Store at the end of this month.

Not the best rhythm game available, but still a lot of fun, we praised Guitar Hero back when it first arrived on iOS in 2010. With its price now reduced to 99¢ as a parting gift, it’s absolutely worth picking up if you’re interested in the genre.

Ultra-addictive iOS game Dots has just received a major update, adding a significant new feature.

Called “Challenge Mode,” the addition circumvents the hassle of taking screenshots of individual dots counts — or else comparing scores via social media — by letting players face off in real-time, head-to-head competition.

Following news of Facebook’s surprise acquisition of Oculus VR for $2 billion, Mark Zuckerberg shared some impressive numbers regarding the social network’s sustained mobile growth. Facebook has an “active” mobile user base of 1 billion, Zuckerberg announced, while the Facebook-owned Instagram has 200 million active users of its own.

This means that Instagram has added 100 million users since Facebook acquired it back in April 2012. Under Facebook’s control the Instagram iOS app has been regularly updated, much like Facebook’s own iOS app.

In the fourth quarter of 2013, Facebook had 945 million active mobile users, out of a total of 1.23 billion users.

iPods are being used in a nursing home pilot program designed to help rekindle the memories of residents with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

The program uses iPods, equipped with personalized playlists, to help improve the mood and interactions of residents. It is also replacing the need for medication in some cases.

Ahead of the next round of the Apple vs. Samsung legal battle, one of the original iPhone engineers, Greg Christie, spoke to the WSJ about the development of Apple’s breakthrough smartphone.

Much of what he discusses in the Apple-approved interview is already well known, but a few neat details emerge.

At one point, Christie says that Jobs gave the team a two week ultimatum, after which he would move the project to another team if they were unable to create what he was after.

“Steve had pretty much had it,” said Mr. Christie, who still heads Apple’s user-interface team. “He wanted bigger ideas and bigger concepts.”

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Apple has bolstered its online retail ranks by hiring former Delta vice president Bob Kupbens. Kupbens joins Apple as its new Vice President of Apple Online Retail.

At Delta, Kupbens was involved with the company’s marketing and digital commerce strategies. Prior to that he pioneered the e-commerce operations at Target.

I’ve been on a zombie movie kick as of late, and once I’d caught up on Walking Dead and vintage George Romero films, I expanded my sights towards the App Store, where I discovered Useless Creations’ delightful Zombies Everywhere! Augmented Reality Apocalypse.

Apple was granted a patent on Tuesday related to a GUI modified for disabled users of iOS devices and MacBooks.

Entitled “Devices, Methods & GUI’s for Accessibility using a Touch-Sensitive Surface,” the patent describes several methods for allowing a person with impaired vision to use a touch-sensitive surface, including a touch screen display or a track pad.

A new high quality video was posted online Monday — showing the demolition of a building on the site of Apple’s forthcoming Campus 2.

The video was uploaded to YouTube by an anonymous user under the name Apple Internal. It depicts the destruction of a building along Ridgeview Ct., one of the main arteries running through the 100-acre plot of land Apple will use to build its new 2.8 million square-foot “spaceship” headquarters.

85% of iOS devices are running iOS 7 or later, Apple claims.

Refreshing its iOS usage numbers on Monday, Apple measured usage of its most recent mobile OS for a seven‑day period ending March 23, 2014.

Tim Cook might have claimed that iPhone 5c demand “turned out to be different than we thought” on Apple’s recent quarterly earnings conference call, but there’s one company that doesn’t seem too upset about the 5c’s performance: Apple supplier Pegatron.

Essentially the Garage Band of coding, smart iPad coding editor Codea has received a major update.

Adding a new iOS 7 interface and full 64-bit support for the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display, Codea 2.0 also includes “a brand new unified asset system that supports sounds, music, images, and more,” according to developer Two Lives Left.

Apple is set to start producing all its iPhone batteries on automated production lines starting later this year, according to a report from DigiTimes.

The decision is reportedly related to minimum wages rising in China — combined with labor shortages and high turnovers of staff, who have to be trained to use the manufacturing machinery.

Have UK Apple users seen the end of 69p app downloads?

Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has closed a tax loophole, which may result in iTunes and App Store prices in the UK rising by as much as 20% from 2015. The loophole meant that international companies including Apple were able to sell digital content in Britain through Luxemburg, where tax is as low as 3% — compared to the 20% it is charged at in the UK.

Apple has continued rolling out its 3D Flyover support to Maps users — adding Perth (Australia), Saint-Tropez (France) and Cordova (Spain) to its list of available cities.

It’s well known that Apple products are regularly the target of pickpockets, but apparently iThievery extends to less evolved primates also.

A 10-year-old girl visiting New Zealand’s Auckland Zoo had her brand new iPod touch (a combined birthday and Christmas present) pilfered by a sneaky spider monkey.

Three months after its launch, kart racing game Angry Birds Go! has received its first major update.

The update ushers in a change in weather by adding a snowy theme, which sees a brand new track covered in slippery ice.

Want to take good night photos using your iPhone, but find that the device’s in-built flash — consisting of a couple of LEDs — doesn’t result in the kind of pictures you want?

If so, you may be interested in this Kickstarter campaign to build a new iPhone 5/5s case, packing a whopping 56 LEDs into a hard case to provide a bright panel of lights for all your nocturnal photographic needs.

Jony Ive has made it to the final ten to crown the UK’s Designer of the Year at The Drum Design Awards in April.

“This is the cream of the UK’s design crop,” says The Drum editor Gordon Young. “Each individual here is a pioneering presence in design and thoroughly deserves to be celebrated for their ongoing contribution to this dynamic industry”.