News - page 2016

Eight years after retail giant Walmart announced its ‘iTunes-killer’ 88-cent MP3 downloads, the company is waving the white flag and closing shop later this month.

Verizon has followed AT&T’s lead and taken measures to block customers from tethering their iPhone’s data connections illegally. Customers have long been using jailbreak apps to avoid their carrier’s additional monthly fee for tethering, but this method may no longer work if you’re signed up to AT&T or Verizon.

MacRumors had a really bright idea: why not take those iPhone 5 case designs that have been knocking about and hire a design studio to turn them into rendered mockups?

The results are stunning, and our best look yet at what Apple might have envisioned for the iPhone 5: a slimmer design, a larger display and a wider capacitive home button. I’m not personally so sure about the iPod Touch like silver back, but even so, these are just great…

If you thought Apple was already doing well, think again. The tech giant, already challenging the likes of Exxon-Mobile, is on track to double or even triple its market share, according to one Wall Street analyst.

Apple has extended its electronics recycling program to introduce a new “reuse” option that provides users with the option of selling their old iOS devices and Macs back to the Cupertino company in return for an Apple gift card.

Someone must use Facebook’s chat system, because the social networking giant just released Facebook Messenger, a dedicated iOS app that allows you to send and receive messages or chat with friends on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. It even comes with push notifications so you won’t miss any messages.

More interestingly, though, Facebook’s Messenger app contains files that hint at future video calling functionality to come.

Apple has reportedly turned to Samsung and Chimei Innolux for iPad 2 displays having suspended orders from LG Display due to quality issues.

Amazon’s not the only company to use the latest change in Apple’s in-app purchase policies forbidding links to outside e-stores as an excuse to cut the umbilical: Vudu has also shifted its streaming movie service over the web for iPad users.

Apple has apparently released an update to its Safari web browser to registered developers which features support for the company’s upcoming iCloud service. Safari 5.1.1 introduces syncing for iCloud bookmarks and the new Reading List feature.

Amazon’s Kindle application was recently at risk of being removed from the App Store because it contained a link to purchase content outside of Apple’s ecosystem — something Apple no longer allows developers to do under its latest App Store terms. In order to secure its place in the App Store, Amazon issued a last-minute update to its app to remove the link, but in a move that subtly tells Apple where to stick its new rules, Amazon has launched a web-based Kindle reader with support for the iPad. And it’s awesome!

Apple has released two new updates within the last week according to a Software Update pop-up this morning. Apple now offers HP Printer Software Update 2.7, Logic Express Update 9.1.5 and Logic Pro Update 9.1.5. Learn more about these updates by clicking the read link below.

Why bizarrely cool? Forget that it’s an app-enhanced fitness gadget that sands data to your iPhone; sure, that’s neat, but there are a stack of devices out there doing the same thing.

No, Scosche’s little myTREK fitness gadget is that nifty because it tracks bio data using a method straight out of the future — it uses light beams.

Several Apple stores in the U.K. are clearing their show floors in case of a fourth night of rioting.

Stores in Manchester, Liverpool and Kent have been emptied, while police have taken up a heavy presence on Regent Street, a popular shopping street and location of Apple’s biggest flagship store in the U.K.

Following the news that Apple has more cash on hand than the US government, it’s just been announced that Apple has surpassed ExxonMobil to become the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.

Apple’s reign didn’t last that long, as Business Insider is reporting that Exxon is now back on top.

In the land where you can see Russia from your front porch, Apple will open its first retail store. That’s right, Alaskans will soon have access to all of the retail goodness that Apple has to offer. A new location is set to open in the 5th Avenue Mall in Anchorage this Saturday.

Separately, Apple is also set to unveil four more stores this Saturday, including another US store and three international stores in Canada, Australia and Italy.

Want another reason why the newspaper industry is going down the tubes? How about this: the owner of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times wants to create an Android-powered tablet for its subscribers. The device, reportedly to be manufactured by Samsung, is expected to miss a mid-August deadline.

Boxee has launched its official, free iPad app, allowing users to watch streaming content on the tablet device and transfer playback from the iPad to the Boxee Box.

Additionally, the new Boxee Media Manager allows you to stream video to the iPad from a Mac or PC. Alongside the new apps, Boxee has brought AirPlay support and Lion compatibility to its set-top box.

Sometimes, you can’t get a break. That could be the thinking at Android handset maker HTC, which now faces another trade complaint by Apple. Tuesday, the U.S. International Trade Commission announced it launched an investigation into whether five Apple patents were violated.

Tony Bongiovi (yes, if the name sounds oddly familiar, it’s because you’re probably thinking of his cousin, Jon Bon Jovi) should know a thing or two about sound, hopefully; he’s had a hand in producing albums from the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith, and of course, his famous cousin.

Father Paolo Padrini is the Italian priest who developed iBrevary, an app that puts morning prayer, evening prayer and night prayers on the iPhone.  It was the first iPhone application sanctioned by the Holy Roman Church, Padrini also works with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
Cult of Mac talked to him about what’s next app-wise and what place religious apps have in iTunes.

Apple already has around 20 stores in Canada, the latest will open Aug. 13 in Waterloo, Ontario hometown of beleaguered BlackBerry maker Research in Motion. As RIM’s fortunes decline and Apple’s ascends, the store becomes a metaphor for the long-running battle between the smartphone foes.

Apple’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City is a beautiful piece of architecture, with its shining glass exterior and 20,000 square feet of underground retail space. The giant Apple logo suspended midair in glass is an unmistakable landmark for daily commuters and tourists alike.

Apple started renovating its Fifth Avenue store last summer. The $6.6 million project focuses on upgrading the plaza and iconic glass cube that stands on top of the retail space.

First, Apple kicked Nokia out of New York, then European operations were curtailed, now comes word Apple will likely attack the cell phone pioneer in China, the hottest market for smartphone makers. A “drastic realignment” in that Asian giant’s mobile marketplace is expected later this year.

Students lobbied to have a ban removed so they can use their iPads on the way to and from school.

The Manatee County School district in Florida had obliged kids to take the journey to and from school unplugged from iPods, iPads and the like.

It’s all how you look at things. If Apple were measured only by its notebook computers, the tech giant would be in last place, behind HP and others. However, throw the iPad into the mix and the Cupertino, Calif. company jumps to the head of the class with 20 percent of the market and ahead of PC goliath HP. But no matter how you cut it, Apple is thriving while the PC languishes in a ‘stagnant’ ecosystem, a report claims.