News - page 1498

The latest from The Wall Street Journal is that Apple is working on bigger screens for the iPhone, with experiments ranging from 4.8 to 6 inches. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard such claims; the Journal itself said Apple was testing larger iPhones and iPads in July.

It sounds like Apple is still in the experimentation stage “with screens ranging from 4.8 inches to as high as six inches.” But the Journal says “people familiar with the company’s internal deliberations and plans indicate it [Apple] appears more willing to move ahead than in years past.”

Google’s mobile apps share a common and easily distinguishable design language, for the most part. The iOS app for Google Drive has been in desperate need of a redesign, and a revamped version has been released today in the App Store.

Google Drive now includes the card-like interface seen in other apps, which Google calls “thumbnail view.” You can quickly toggle between viewing thumbnails of files and the traditional list view. There are a number of other additions, including simpler file sharing and the ability to edit in landscape mode.

2K Drive, the highly anticipated racing game from the creators of titles like Project Gotham Racing, has launched as an iOS-exlusive title in the App Store. We’ve been covering the story of 2K Drive for awhile, and Cult of Mac Games Editor Rob LeFebvre got to play it over the weekend at the Penny Arcade Expo.

Yeah, that Call of Duty.

Activision today announced the exclusive to iOS launch of Call of Duty: Strike Team.

This is the first time Activision has released a mobile title in the incredibly popular and well-selling military first-person shooter franchise that breaks all kinds of records on consoles, Mac, and PC.

You’ll be able to play with a squad of four in the new iOS game, customizing the loadouts and skills of each team member, then switch between first-person action to a top-down, third-person viewpoint, giving you a more strategic take on the battles. Here’s a great video that explains more.

This morning a report from China Labor Watch accused a factory in Apple’s supply chain for a number of worker abuse violations. Instead of Foxconn or Pegatron, the factory in question was Jabil, a smaller Apple supplier in the Wuxi province. The undercover investigation found that Jabil was enforcing mandatory overtime beyond the legal limit, poor training, and hiring discrimination.

Since the whole Foxconn scandal blew up last year, Apple has been much more public about its commitment to workers’ rights. In response to this most recent allegation against Jabil, Apple has said it is investigating the accusations.

The iPhone is headed to Japan’s largest wireless provider, DoCoMo, this fall, according to a new report from Japanese business publication Nikkei. Apple and DoCoMo recently agreed on the terms of the partnership, and the iPhone will likely be officially announced on DoCoMo the same day as Apple’s September 10th unveiling of the iPhone 5S and 5C. Japan’s other carriers, KDDI and SoftBank, already sell the iPhone.

We’re just a few days away from learning all the details (and price) of the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S, which means retailers like Best Buy are scrambling to clear all their old iPhone 5 inventory off shelves. Best Buy is taking $50 off the price of the iPhone 5, in an effort to lure new customers in.

This isn’t the first time the retailer has sold the iPhone 5 for $149, but T-Mobile customers are still out of luck, as the offer is only available to Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon customers. However, considering Apple’s about to release a newer, more colorful and cheaper variant of the iPhone 5, we’d recommend sitting out on this deal, no matter how desperate for a new iPhone you are, and wait to see what Apple announces Tuesday.

Source: Best Buy

PayPal announced a major update for its iOS app today that includes a new iOS 7-styled redesign focused on giving users more options to use digital payments at brick and mortar locations.

The update allows customers to pay for items in-store, transfer money to friends, split bills, check-in to locations, and even open up a line of credit with the new Bill Me Later feature. PayPal is also working with restaurants to allow users to order and pay for items within the PayPal app, rather than having to download a separate app for all your favorite restaurants.

The new update will be available for free on Google Play and the App Store later today.

Here’s an intro video PayPal released for the redesign: :

Since it’s introduction last year, Apple’s iBooks Author app has only supported the creation of iBooks for iPad, but some new evidence on Apple’s website suggests  iPhone support might be on its way soon.

Apple’s added ebook support for the iPad mini and previewed the arrival of iBooks for Mac WWDC, leaving the iPhone as the only major Apple device that can’t view ebooks created with Apple’s proprietary software. However, Serenity Caldwell at Macworld noticed some curious changes to Apple’s requirements message:

https://youtu.be/0sJDQt3XwSw

We think of Steve Jobs as one of the most media-savvy guys around, but as this video shows, the first time he appeared on camera, he thought he was going to puke.

Way back in 1978, a very young Jobs appeared on San Francisco news station KGO-TV to talk about the Apple II. The footage of the interview itself seems to have been lost by time, so we don’t really know how he did, but the prep footage of his interview still exists… and boy, is he new at this.

It’s kind of endearing. He’s totally amazed to be on television at all. In fact, he says he’s “deathly ill, actually, and ready to throw up at any moment.” Was he actually sick, or just nervous to the point of vomiting?

Via: Mental Floss

One of the big problems from a developer perspective about the Mac App Store is that it doesn’t allow developers to sell paid upgrades to their apps. Similarly to the iOS App Store, if a developer wants to make money off of a particularly juicy update, they need to sell it as an entirely new app or else… tough beans. Especially on the Mac, this is an issue, since many developers monetize on-going development of apps by selling paid upgrades. But if you sell in the Mac App Store, it’s just not an option.

Last week, the Omni Group released a little app called OmniKeyMaster. The ingenious little app essentially allowed people who had purchased versions of Omni’s apps on the Mac App Store to essentially “break out” their apps from the MAS into standalone licenses which were eligible for paid app upgrades. Guess who didn’t like that idea?

Sadly, whenever Apple is about to launch a new product, we tend to hear about violations of workers’ rights in Apple’s supply chain. It makes sense. A lot of companies bid against each other for Apple’s business in Asia, then don’t have the money to hire enough workers to fulfill Apple’s huge orders. The result? They force the workers they have to do more work over longer hours for less pay. It’s scummy, but as long as Apple isn’t operating every aspect of its manufacturing itself, it’s probably unavoidable.

This year’s no different. According to the China Labor Watch, employees at a Chinese factory owned by Florida-based Jabil Circuit which is reportedly making Apple’s iPhone 5C are being given inadequate training, and being forced to work long hours without overtime.

Speaking of the iPad 5 and the next iPad mini, a YouTube user has post a new video online comparing the rear shells of the iPad 5 with the next-gen iPad mini.

Everyone agrees that Apple will unveil the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C next week at their September 10th event. It’s not in contention. What is in contention is when Apple will release the next iPad and iPad mini. Furthermore, what about the million-dollar question: will the iPad mini 2 have a Retina Display, and if so, will Apple be able to ship it before Christmas?

According to respected, usually accurate analyst Ming-Chi Kuo from KGI Securities, the answer is yes.

The Nova is yet another external “flash” for your iPhone, only this one is different in a few ways: It’s Bluetooth, it’s iPhone-controlled, and it fits in your pocket or even your wallet.

Who knew that those free charging stations at airports could be such disgusting repositories of viral filth? Not me, that’s for sure. I’m the kind of guy who sticks his things into any available hole at the slightest invite, and airports have the extra bonus of always seeming so anonymous. What happens in LAS stays in LAS, if you know what I mean.

Except you might be leaving behind more than just bad memories and hangovers; according to the folks behind the LockedUSB, “identity theft, government surveillance, ‘rogue’ and unstable chargers, are also on the rise,” meaning that those innocent and attractive-looking USB ports could be festering hives of malware, ready to suck your data right out of your iPhone.

This is another “why has nobody done this before” product. The mBAck is a small, bus-powered USB 3.0 hard drive that mounts onto the stand of your iMac.

The Good: Fantastic idea
The Bad: Those prices. LOL

Viewfinders are the new fast lenses, or something. At least according to Nikon, which has put a proper viewfinder back in its P-series cameras with the new P7800. And when I say proper, I mean “proper” – the viewfinder isn’t a nice bright optical one but an electronic model.

At last, the Sony QX “lens cameras” are officially official. They’re a pair of regular compact cameras built-into lens-shaped bodies, and they’re made to pair with your smartphone, using it as both a viewfinder and a controller.

The lenses connect via Wi-Fi, and if you’re using an Android phone then they’ll pair with it using NFC.

The details follow:

Despite the fact that the new Bluetooth speaker looks like it is little more than a regular JamBox that has been sliced lengthwise down the middle, the Mini Jambox a whole new thing. Built like the unibody MacBooks, the new Mini Jambox is carved from a single block of aluminum. This means that despite its diminutive size, it still sounds a lot bigger than it looks.

VMware announced the release of its latest virtualization software for Mac, VMware Fusion 6, which allows Mac users to run Windows applications inside OS X. Along with Fusion 6, the company also released VM Fusion 6 Professional which is geared toward enterprise admins deploying corporate desktops.

Fusion 6 is compatible with both OS X Mavericks and Windows 8.1 and promises more efficient battery performance thanks to its new Haswell processor optimization. While Fusion 6 only weighs in at $59.99, Fusion 6 Professional will set you back $129.99, but an upgrade for exsisting customers drops the price to $69.99.

Full release notes after the break:

Apple just sent out an email to developers that promotes the upcoming Mavericks fature of Safari Push Notifications. The subject line reads, “Get ready for Safari Push Notifications,” and features the above image, with a push notification from well-known site, CNN, prominently displayed.

Apple is set to unveil the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S during a press event at its Cupertino campus on September 10th, but rather than letting the mothership have all the fun, Apple plans to spread its marketing message with three satellite launches in Europe and Asia.

Apple seeded a the latest beta of OS X 10.8.5 to developers this afternoon with Build 12F36. Devs can pick up the update from the Developer Center or Mac App Store.

The latest beta build comes more than a month after Apple’s last beta for OS X Mountain Lion. The seed notes asks developers to focus on Wi-fi, Graphics, Wake From Sleep, PDF viewing, and Mobile Device Management. Developers will also find a new beta of Safari 6.1 in the Mac Dev Center that’s focused towards testing extensions for compatibility with Safari 6.1.

Source: Apple

Over the past ten years, some Apple customers have argued that the iTunes store is an illegal monopoly because songs purchased inside the store can’t be played on Apple devices, but an appeals court in California has finally thrown out those claims once and for all.

A three-judge panel confirmed that Apple’s digital right management system known as FairPlay has not broken any antitrust laws, after a long-running class action lawsuit claimed Apple is running a monopoly by forcing iTunes users to also buy Apple products to listen to their songs.