News - page 1588

There’s never been much chance that Apple was going to release a new iPad mini with Retina display before later this year.

Although it’s true that Apple refreshed the fourth-gen iPad last just eight months after introducing the third-gen iPad, that refresh had the hallmark of being an exception aimed at making sure every iOS device was compatible with the new Lightning cable.

So it’s unlikely we’re going to see a Retina iPad mini this spring, and here’s further proof: current iPad mini sales aren’t tapering off, giving Apple no reason to upgrade their mini any earlier than necessary.

In response to Samsung’s Galaxy S4 announcement last Thursday, Apple has updated the iPhone 5 pages of its website to remind visitors why people love the iPhone. “Loving it is easy. That’s why so many people do,” the landing page reads, before going on to list all the reasons why the Cupertino company’s smartphone is so popular.

This week’s roundup of must-have iOS apps kicks off with, The Croods, the latest game from Angry Birds maker Rovio. It’s the official game for the upcoming motion picture from DreamWorks, and it sends you back to the Stone Age for a pre-historic adventure. We also have Calendars, the latest app from Readdle; the hugely addictive Super Stickman Golf 2, and more.

Or rather, “have someone drive you home.”

After being vilified so much for contributing to dangerous roads (along with all other smartphones, of course), the iPhone will soon turn Samaritan, and maybe help to make the roads a little safer. That’s thanks to the new Breathometer, “the world’s first smartphone breathalyzer.”

The Steve Jobs biographical film,”jobs,” starring Ashton Kutcher, has been delayed. Originally set for an April 19th release, the distributor, Open Road, feels like it hasn’t been able to create enough buzz for the flick before this date.

There’s no new release date announced, either, though it’s fairly atypical for a distribution house not to set a new one when the orignal date is delayed. We can only assume that Open Road will want to avoid the Aaron Sorkin film on the same subject, not wanting to go up against The Social Network screenwriter, no matter how much star power they hoped Kutcher would bring to the project.

The rumors that Apple’s making a cheaper iPhone have kind of died down a bit with all the iWatch madness, but there’s a new rumor to add some more smoke to the situation.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that the low-cost iPhone is indeed coming, and it will have the same 4-inch screen as the iPhone 5.

Even though Apple’s iOS feature, Newsstand, hasn’t really taken off, Google might be looking to launch its own similar feature.

Google’s newspaper feature will be called Google Play News, and it will be come in issues and subscriptions, similar to the way content is distributed on Apple’s Newsstand.

Whether you love it or hate it, the world still runs most of its computer “work” through Microsoft’s Office suite of apps. It’s pricey, and Office 365 requires a monthly subscription, but you can get the latest version of Office, Microsoft Office for Mac 2011, for cheap right now.

Add microscopes to the list of things your iPhone can replace. A group of scientist visiting Tanzania were able to convert their iPhone 4S into a microscope using nothing by a $7 lens, some double sided tape, and a torch.

After macgyvering the iPhone 4S into a microscope, the scientest then used it to take pictures of stool samples to determine the presences of eggs in some schoolchildren. Amazingly, the iPhone picked up 70 percent of the infections.

If you didn’t hear the news already, Samsung announced their new flagship phone last night, the Galaxy S 4. It looks a lot like the Galaxy S 3. It’s made of plastic. Has a huge screen. And it comes with some weird software features you might use, but probably won’t.

We were on hand last night to test out the Galaxy S 4, and while it’s an impressive phone, it leaves the door open for companies like HTC and LG to capture the Android crown.

Here’s a video comparison of the Samasung Galaxy S 4 next to the iPhone 5:

Even though Mailbox for iOS has only been out for a month, it’s taken no time at all for the buzzworthy app to get bought up by a bigger fish.

Dropbox is buying Orchestra Inc., makers of the popular new email app, Mailbox, that allows users to control their email in a new way.

We iPad owners can be pretty smug about all the things we can do with our device while everyone else is using paper like some kind of cave man, but as this commercial by COlumbia’s SiceVENDE proves, there’s at least one thing you can’t — or wouldn’t want — to do with an iPad.

Via: TUAW

Apple has been sued by THX, the company founded by Star Wars producer George Lucas, in a patent case filed in a federal court in Northern California. The case was part of a list of new filings in the court clerk’s office, Bloomberg reports.

Fingers is a concept design, but it’s so simple and clever, and so easy to make for yourself with just a piece of stiff card and a pair of scissors, that it seems worth taking a look. It’s yet another desk-tidying cable manager, but you’re going to love it, I promise.

John Browett, who spent nine months as Apple’s senior vice president of retail before being ousted alongside Scott Forstall last October, has admitted that he “just didn’t fit” in with the way Apple ran its business. Browett still feels Apple is a fantastic company and says he loved working there, but he told The Independent that he was “rejected for fit rather than competency.”

MyEditor is another iOS text editor. It works with iCloud, it’ll export to Dropbox, yadda yadda yadda. But this one has a couple of very neat features that might just be enough to make you forget the plain and frankly ugly user interface. It has a clipboard history, it can capture your clipboard whilst in the background, and it can run your text through Javascript, uh, scripts.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has replaced Tim Cook as the highest-rated CEO in tech, according to employee approval ratings on Glassdoor. Cook’s 97% approval rating from 2012 has dropped down to 93%, which takes him from first position all the way down to 18th. Zuckerberg now has an impressive 99% approval rating.

Remember Unbound? I called the iOS app “the best dropbox browser I have ever used,” and it’s still up there in the top two (the other is the excellent Heliog). Now — or at least soon — Unbound will be coming to the Mac. What’s more, it’ll be compatible with the neat little Leap Motion box that lets you control your Mac with wavy hand gestures.

We mix it up on this week’s CultCast! Join us for a very special hour with guest Jeff Cannata, former co-host of The Totally Rad Show (TRS) on Revision3 and current co-host of CNET’s Always On.

For all of you who used to watch and love TRS, we remember the show and relive how its cutting-edge virtual set — all made with just one camera and a Mac Pro — made it one of the most popular and beloved podcasts on the internet. Plus, what’s it feel like Kickstarting over $100,000 for a new show? Jeff knows, and shares his amazing experience.

All that and Mr. Cannata reveals his favorite iPad apps and gadgets! Subscribe to The CultCast now on iTunes to download our newest episode, or just hit play in the player below to listen right in your browser.

Show notes up next!

KitCam has become one of my favorite photography apps for the iPhone, and it continues to improve with every update. The latest promises to bring you better low-light photos, and a number of nifty new features — including a front-facing flash, TIFF support, live exposure, and more.

My 27-inch iMac hangs on my wall, freeing up desk-space and terrifying me that it will fall off as I sleep and crush me in my bed. To get it up there I had to hit up Amazon and order the VESA wall mount, plus an adapter to replace the iMac’s huge foot with a VESA-compatible set of holes.

The result is very sturdy, and very neat. But there’s one problem: where the hell do I put that giant (and heavy) aluminum foot? If I were buying new iMac, I could just order a version without the stand, and instead equipped with a built-in VESA mount.

3D Realms (Max Payne, Duke Nukem) and Intercepter Entertainment (Rise of the Triad) announced today the upcoming release of Duke Nukem II for iOS. Coming in April 2013, Duke Nukem II lets you guide a 2D Duke of mayhem across 32 classic levels from the original game, blowing the crap out of everything that gets in the way.

If you haven’t heard, Samsung’s got a new phone that they’re going to debut in New York right now.

The event was supposed to start at 7pm EST, but thanks to some delays, reporters are still waiting to sit down. Even though the show is all about the Galaxy S 4, which has been leaked everywhere by now, LG and HTC are at the event to troll the hell out of Samsung, and it’s beautiful.

Here’s some pictures of the trolling in action:

After releasing the 14th beta build of OS X 10.8.3 to developers earlier this week, Apple has now released the latest build of Mountain Lion to the public.

OS X 10.8.3 includes a couple of new features, such as the ability to redeem iTunes giftcards in the Mac App Store using Mac’s FaceTime camera. Support for installing Windows 8 via Boot Camp, is now available, along with some other bug fixes.

Here are the full release notes:

Even though the iPad mini and iPad 4 have been on the market for over 5 months, Apple hasn’t offered any refurbished models until now.

The Online Apple Store just added refurbished iPad Minis and 4th-gen iPads to its catalog, so if you’ve been waiting to get a better deal, this is your chance.