News - page 1575

AppGratis is a popular App Store app that’s used by more than 12 million iOS users. The company consists of 45 employees and recently raised $13.5 million in funding. AppGratis offers promotions and discounts for popular paid iOS apps in conjunction with third-party developers, and the company has continued to thrive over the last few years.

Everything was going great until Apple threw down the hammer over this past weekend. Without much warning, AppGratis was suddenly pulled from the App Store for violating some developer guidelines. Poof. Gone. Now it’s a matter of working with Apple to try and fix what caused the problem. The app’s removal came as a shock to AppGratis and has left the CEO wondering how the App Store review team “could have possibly changed their minds overnight.”

Another publisher is feigning surprise about Apple’s App Store policies today, claiming that Cupertino has “banned” an upcoming issue of a digital combic book from being sold in any iOS app due to “two postage stamp-sized images of gay sex.”

The Big Jambox is pretty much the rockingest portable Bluetooth speaker you can get, but at $299, it’s not cheap. If you don’t mind a couple of minor aesthetic blemishes, though, you can now get a Big Jambox for about the price of the regular Jambox: around $158.

The deal is being made over at All4Cellular, which is offering the Big Jambox speaker (refurbished) for about half off in Graphite Hex and White Wave colors. They might come with a few dents and scratches, but they’ll sound just the same and come fully covered with a 90 day warranty.

We’ve previously reviewed the Big Jambox and loved it, with one caveat: it’s best when you’re cranking everything up to 11.

Source: All4Cellular

Even though it’d probably be pretty cool, we’ve concluded that a touchscreen MacBook Air or iMac probably wouldn’t be fun to use for an extended period of time, thanks to gorilla arm syndrome.

But what if Apple made an iPad/MacBook Air hybrid? It turns out that Apple has been considering the idea of it for sometime, and based on its patent filings, the iPad/MacBook hybrid would look a lot like some of the PC options that are already on the market.

Google Chrome is the best third-party browser for iOS, and it just received a healthy update that features a number of new improvements that makes it even more of a crime that Apple won’t let any other browser but Safari act as default browser under iOS.

Spotify has released an update to its desktop app that adds a new “Follow” tab on the left sidebar. This feature started slowly rolling out to users late last year, and now it should be available for everyone. Opening Spotify on the Mac should cause the app to want to install a new update and restart. Then the Follow tab will be available.

Services like Spotify and Rdio take great pride in helping their users discover new music, and Spotify’s Follow tab is meant to change the way you find new jams and interact with other users. It replaces the useless “People” tab with friends to follow and tailored recommendations.

Panic makes some of Cult of Mac’s favorite apps for the Mac. Transmit, Coda, Unison… they’re all classics of Mac app design, and recently, Panic has made the leap into iOS apps with Diet Coda and Prompt.

Now, rumor has it that Panic is about to release a brand new app for the iPad…. and it looks like it’s going to be a super-sexy dashboard app.

Since 2011, Cory Moll has been in charge of the Apple Workers Union, an initiative that has worked to help improve working conditions for thousands of Apple Store employees around the world. Moll has been an Apple employee since 2007, and today is his last day at the company.

There have been some absurd Apple rumors that hit the web this morning, but here’s one that actually has a chance of happening in the real world.

Apple will be updating its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro line of laptop just in time for Worldwide Developers Conference this June. 

Topeka Capital analyst Brian White received some criticism last week when he revealed in a note to investors that he expects Apple’s much-anticipated television set to come with a “mini iTV” tablet and an “iRing.” But rather than going into hiding until the whole thing is forgotten about, White has revealed his predictions for the iPhone 5S.

The device will be available with “at least” two screen sizes, White claims, giving those who might switch to Android for a larger display a reason to stick with the iPhone.

One thing that we really hope Apple adds to iOS is the ability to toggle certain settings right from the homescreen. There are a number of jailbreak tweaks that let you do it, but we’d love a Cupertino-brewed solution.

Ran Avni has a new iOS 7 concept that solves a lot of the problem with toggles. With his tweak you’d be able to adjust brightness, change songs, turn on Bluetooth or Wifi, and change your device orientation, all from a simple menu on the lockscreen. The UI isn’t perfect, but we’d love it if Apple put something similar to this in iOS 7 so we’d have one less reason to jailbreak.

Source: YouTube

It’s hard to believe that the man behind the glass-eyed animatronic freak show of Chuck E. Cheese is the same person who founded Atari, and that both these men are the same person who discovered that diamond-in-the-rough, Steve Jobs. But it’s true: Nolan Bushnell incarnates all of his men. And in his most recent book, Finding The Next Steve Jobs, Bushnell talks about his experience finding Steve.

The Starbucks Pick of the Week promotion has finally gone digital, allowing you to download free apps and books on your iOS devices without a card or redemption code. All you need now is the Starbucks app, which will allow you to download the latest giveaway when connected to an in-store Wi-Fi network.

The HBO Go app for iOS has today been updated to add some great new features, including support for AirPlay multitasking. Game of Thrones fans will also be able to enjoy enhancements to the interactive experience on iPad.

Apple is now offering its latest 27-inch iMac refurbished with up to 15% off via the Apple Online Store. Prices start at $1,529 as opposed to the normal $1,800 for the entry-level machine, which offers a 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and a 1TB hard drive.

Apple’s fifth-generation iPad will enter production between July and August, according to supply chain sources in Taiwan. The device is expected to sport a thinner, lighter design much like that of the iPad mini, with smaller bezels around its display.

Pano Glitches are a the new fake light leaks. Only they’re better. Pano Glitching involves setting your iPhone to shoot a panorama and then dicking with it on purpose. Instead of following the instructions to smoothly sweep the iPhone across the scene in front of you, you can quickly switch views, or just jerk the phone in your hand. 

Panasonic’s new GF6 Micro Four Thirds camera has two new gimmicks: NFC and Wi-Fi, with the latter acting as a fast way to set up a Wi-Fi connection between the camera and an NFC-enabled phone.

Along with this it brings a new 16MP sensor, fast startup and the promise of great low light performance. Let’s take a look.

Vine’s co-founder and Creative Director, Rus Yusupov, tweeted today that Vine, the social video app of the moment, has hit the top spot on Apple’s own Top Free Apps list in the App Store. He attached a screenshot of the App Store from his iPhone, showing Vine sitting on top, ahead of hot (and highly advertised) games like Warner Bros’ Injustice: Gods Among Us, and Sega’s Sonic Dash.

Here’s what Yusupov said on Vine’s parent company’s own social networking service: “Hey guys, remember that time we made the No. 1 most popular app in the world? @ckb @dhof @bobby @vineapp”

Google today announced the final step in the process of moving from the Unique Device Identifier (UDID) of Apple’s older iOS versions to the newer Identifer for Advertising (IDFA), as per Apple’s instructions to developers last month.

Ron Johnson, the man who helped create the Apple Store alongside Steve Jobs, has left his role as the CEO of JC Penney. Johnson resigned from Apple back in 2011 to accept the JC Penney position.

Morale at JC Penney has weakened since Johnson was put in charge 16 months ago. The company has been bleeding money, and Johnson’s retail strategies have not seen success. Johnson’s departure doesn’t come as much of a shock to those who have been following his failed attempts to revitalize the department store chain.

Last year Tim Cook said that Apple was working on “something really great” for the Mac Pro in 2013, and now it has been revealed that we could see a completely new model as soon as this month.

Even though Apple has included Thunderbolt ports on its Mac line since 2011, the technology hasn’t really taken off yet as a go-to connection for accessory makers. Despite that, Intel is making Thunderbolt even better by doubling its data-transfer rate.

What would make the next iPhone truly exciting? That’s what people are wondering. A lighter body, better camera, and iOS 7 probably won’t cut it for most. How will Apple deliver the pizazz we’ve all grown accustomed to?

Software is always evolving, and Apple has arguably the best software experience out there for mobile devices, period. But unfortunately software by itself isn’t that exciting. You need new hardware. Now it looks like Apple is working on some interesting fingerprint sensor-related hardware off the coast of Florida.

We’ve seen a lot of nutty fake iPhone prototype mockups. Most of them are based off the whims of some artsy designer, but this lastest concept is a even whackier because it’s a Photoshop rendering based off an actual Apple patent. 

In the future, smartphones might look like this. I sure hope not. What’s the benefit of having a slightly curved display rather than a flat surface? Won’t videos look weird and distorted on a curved display? Plus, what’s up with the volume rocker on the edge of the display? If anything, Apple’s latest patent shows us that while some ideas might look cool on paper, the actual product would be a joke.

Source: NoWhereElse