As you may have noticed, Cult of Mac brought in a new week with a brand spanking new redesign. Besides updating our old color scheme to be more subtly evocative of OS X Lion’s design instead of Snow Leopard’s, the guiding principle behind the new Cult of Mac design is to make it easier for our readers to know what’s new, what’s hot, what’s being talked about and what’s going on. Here’s everything you need to know about what’s new.
Crash analytics firm Crittercism released a new study this week, claiming that iOS applications crash more often than Android applications. After monitoring over 215 million apps across a wide range of different platforms, the report concluded that iOS 5.0.1 had the highest rate of application crashes. iOS in general also had more app crashes than its top competitor Android. These are interesting numbers that contradict the long held belief that iOS and the apps that run on it, are more stable than that of Android’s. So why such a large number of crashes on iOS?
Jailbreak developer Filippo Bigarella has brought his incredible jailbreak app, Springtomize 2, to the iPad. iPhone jailbreakers have already been using Springtomize 2 on iOS 5, and now iPad owners can get in on the action.
In case you didn’t know, Springtomize 2 offers incredibly thorough customization of iOS. You can change animations, add more apps to your dock and Home screen, customize your lockscreen, resize icons, tweak Notification Center, and more. If you want to tinker with the look and feel of your jailbroken iPad, look no further than Springtomize 2.
Where To?, the popular discovery app for the iPhone, has received its latest update today, introducing support for another five navigation apps, and a number of handy new features including support for multiple images for each place listing, more reviews, and new categories.
If you’re still boasting a grandfathered-in unlimited iPhone data plan, AT&T’s just effectively said they’re going to stop honoring it. If you use more than 2GB of data per month, AT&T will now throttle your data speeds down to completely unusable levels.
Speak to most IT people about supporting Macs and you’ll hear the conventional wisdom that Apple doesn’t care about selling to large businesses or supporting enterprise customers. It’s an argument that has been made for years and it isn’t without some truth. But, like the conventional wisdom about Apple products always being more expensive than their competition, it’s starting to get a little stale.
MacWindows reiterated the story this morning while covering Forrester’s prediction that enterprise customers will spend $47 billion dollars on Macs and iOS devices within the next two years.
I’ll be one of the first to admit that Apple rarely behaves like other enterprise hardware vendors. The idea of offering up an 18 month or longer product roadmap, for example, runs completely counter to Apple’s DNA. But that doesn’t mean that Apple completely ignores its business and enterprise customers to the extent that is often portrayed.
When you ask most iPhone 4 owners why they didn’t get Siri in a software update for their devices when the almost-identical iPhone 4S came out, the common answer is extremely cynical: Siri is the arbitrary, software-only feature that Apple decided to limit to the iPhone 4S simply to differentiate it from the iPhone 4 in marketing,
The truth? Apple may not be as cynical as all that. In fact, according to a new report from a chips analyst, it all comes down to special noise-reduction circuitry unique to the iPhone 4S’s A5 chip.
Known for being overly protective of its “i” brand, Apple has taken aim at another iPhone case manufacturer whose name is dangerously close to that of Apple’s most popular products. The company in question is called “driPhone,” and it produces a waterproof case for the iPhone and other mobile devices. But that could be about to change if Apple has its way.
We’ve seen a number of Siri parodies since the feature made its debut on the iPhone 4S late last year, but this one is most certainly the best one yet. It’s called “Psycho Siri” from AndrewMFilms, and features some terrific special effects. There’s also a great storyline that will leave you terrified of your new iPhone 4S.
A rumored Apple television set has received just as much — if not more — attention than the company’s upcoming iPhone 5 in recent months, but the questions we’ve all been asking about its specifications have been answered… by Best Buy.
The retailer has been issuing surveys to its customers to obtain feedback on potential new products and services, but many were surprised to find details on a 42-inch “Apple HDTV,” which will apparently be available for $1,499.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgfknZidYq0
Samsung’s bashing of iPhone users is becoming a regular occurrence. Its latest swipe came during yesterday’s Super Bowl, when it ran a commercial for its new, super-sized Galaxy Note smartphone, which sports a huge 5.3-inch display and includes a stylus.
Yes, “it’s got a pen!”
Please don’t look at the following images on a full stomach:
Avid has been making professional video editing software for decades, and with the introduction of the “pro-sumer” Final Cut Pro X, many industry leaders have turned back to Avid for their editing needs.
Interestingly, Avid has launched an official app called Avid Studio for the iPad. With more features than the iMovie iPad app, Avid Studio is the first semi-professional editing tool to hit Apple’s tablet.
Apple has released a software update for the Apple TV that brings Genius recommendations for movies and TV shows to the set-top box. The service works like Netflix’s recommendations to give you suggested titles based on your previous purchases.
Adam Lashinsky is a veteran Silicon Valley journalist and Senior Editor at Large for Fortune. Lashinsky wrote a riveting feature last year on the inner workings of Apple’s secretive culture that prompted him to publish Inside Apple: How America’s Most Admired–and Secretive–Company Really Works in January of 2012.
Inside Apple is a short read (about 180 pages) that provides several peeks behind the thick veil of secrecy Apple keeps between itself and the outside world. After reading Lashinsky’s portrayal of the company, you should have a better understanding of how Apple works and what makes it tick. Your perception of the world’s most valuable technology company should be challenged with fascinating stories from inside the walls of Cupertino.
Laaaaaaaaaaadies and Gentlemen, welcome to Friday Night Fights, a new series of weekly deathmatches between two no-mercy brawlers who will fight to the death — or at least agree to disagree — about which is better: Apple or Google, iOS or Android?
After this week’s topic, someone’s going to be spitting teeth. Our question: Is Siri Really A Revolutionary Feature? Android’s had voice actions and voice recognition for years, so what does Siri really bring to the table that’s new? Is it all just hype?
In one corner, we have the 900 pound gorilla, Cult of Mac; in the opposite corner, wearing the green trunks, we have the plucky upstart, Cult of Android!
Place your bets, gentlemen! This is going be a bloody one.
Labor activist Qiang Li says Apple is doing a much better job of monitoring factory conditions than Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Nokia and many others.
“I compared Apple with other cell phone companies, such as Nokia. And the conditions in those factories are worse than the ones of Apple,” he said.
However, Li says that conditions in the supply chain are not the responsibility of the suppliers themselves or the Chinese government. Apple ultimately bears responsibility, and the company should spend some of its record profits in improving conditions.
Touchable design and tablet computers like Apple’s iPad are revolutionizing the way companies brand. This new platform demands a new way of thinking and designing and a radical shift in customer experience and understanding.
Cult of Mac got these exclusive excerpts from iPhone photography and design guru Dan Marcolina, also the author of iPhone Obsessed. His thoughts about where the world of iPad design is headed are part of the forthcoming fourth edition of “Designing Brand Identity” by Alina Wheeler. The book will be published in March, 2012.
In Apple’s iconic “1984” commercial, it wasn’t a stretch to realize that the big brother figure was meant to represent IBM. That makes it very ironic that IBM now has more Macs, iPads, and iPhones deployed than any company except Apple.
The extent to which Apple devices are being used at IBM became clear during a presentation at MacWorld|iWorld last week by Chris Peppin that detailed the initiatives of Big Blue related to Apple. Those initiatives are pretty shocking considering the fact that IBM was once Apple’s number one adversary in the business technology market.
When Apple first released their incredible new iBooks authoring tool (called — wait for it — iBooks Author) there was a fair amount of scandal that the EULA included provisions that gave Apple exclusive publishing rights to the book. It meant authors couldn’t publish their books in iBook and the Kindle Store at the same time, for example.
We were skeptical from the start that this was what Apple meant. In fact, it seemed pretty clear to us that Apple misspoke in the EULA, and only meant to keep people from using iBooks Author formatted e-books on other platforms, not the actual content inside.
But if there’s still any doubt, Apple has gone ahead and clarified EULA, making it even clearer that they don’t claim your content to own, nor do they care if you sell your book on another store: you just can’t sell it in iBooks Author format elsewhere. Seems fair enough to me.
A few months ago, Days of Wonder released the $2 iPhone version of their overwhelmingly popular, award-winning board game, Ticket to Ride. Ticket to Ride Pocket amazed everyone by including all the elements of the iPad version in a smaller, tighter, but just as engrossing package — only with one huge hole: While you could play real people around you via a Bluetooth connection, there wasn’t any way to play against people who weren’t in the same room with you. All that changed yesterday, making TTR pocket one of the best board game on the iPhone, right up there with chess and Words with Friends.
Yesterday we brought you a story all about how Apple is inadvertenly censoring rappers and their profane lyrics, but it looks like Cupertino isn’t happy with just ruining rap music… they also want to make sure your Newsstand magazines don’t talk about penises, even in a clinical, scientific sense.
Our favorite cloud storage service has a nice little treat for anyone brave enough to beta test their latest app. Right now, Dropbox is offering up to an extra 5G of storage for testing out their new automatic upload feature. For every 500MB of photos and videos you automatically upload, Dropbox will reward you with a 500MB space bonus, up to 5GB. Automatic upload seems to be the primary feature added in this beta build, but here’s what they list as new on their site:
Following the introduction of AirPlay mirroring to Apple’s iOS operating system, game developers have been slowly adapting their games to support gameplay on the big screen. The App Store is now home to a number of terrific titles for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, that allow us to hook our devices up to our televisions and enjoy games as if they were being played on a traditional console.
In this App Guide, we’ve rounded up the best the best games with AirPlay support currently available. There’s something for everyone here — whether you’re into first-person shooters, soccer simulators, or adrenaline-pumping racers.
It’s no secret that RIM’s attempt to create an iPad-killer with its PlayBook tablet didn’t deliver a success. In a move that was common of last year’s parade of iPad competitors, the PlayBook shipped almost as a public beta with core functionality like a native email app missing from the device. The PlayBook’s dismal sales haven’t exactly inspired positive reactions from developers, which could signal the death of not just RIM’s tablet but also future smartphones based on the QNX operating system that powers the PlayBook.
In a desperate attempt to build up a developer community, RIM has turned to an unlikely source: Android developers. The company has already developed tools that allow Android apps to be ported with relative ease to the PlayBook, but interest hasn’t exactly been high. Now, the company is hoping to entice more developers by offering a free PlayBook.