Apple has bought a personal assistant iPhone app called Cue for between $40 and $60 million, according to a report from TechCrunch. Originally called Greplin in the App Store, Cue specialized in using data from multiple social networks and users accounts to create a daily agenda. Cue recently pulled its app saying “the Cue service is no longer available.”

Cue was doing Google Now-like contextual notifications before Now and Siri were introduced. The purchase of Cue probably has something to do with enhancing the contextual awareness of the iOS calendar and Siri itself.

Over the last couple of years Samsung has earned itself a reputation for using Apple products as “inspiration” and then copying them in the most blatant ways possible.

The fury of Apple fans was ignited again last week as Samsung was caught shamelessly copying the Apple’s new golden iPhone  creation – the golden iPhone 5s – when the South Korean smartphone maker announced it would be selling a gold variant of the Galaxy S4.  Apple fans were quick to dismiss the smartphone as another copycat move,but Samsung took to its corporate blog to explain that it’s totally not copying the gold iPhone because they’ve made tons of gold phones in the past (kind of).

You can now purchase the iPhone 5s from Apple.com and collect your order from your local Apple retail store. The Cupertino has the brought in-store pickup service back to the new device following a very brief stint this time last week — but who knows how long it will last.

A German court has ruled that one of Apple’s patents for the “rubber-banding” feature in iOS is invalid, but not because Samsung and Motorola had valid claims to it before Apple. No, the bullet that killed Apple’s patent was actually fired by El Jobso himself when he unveiled the iPhone at a keynote back in 2007.

Both Samsung and Motorola had injunctions laid against by Apple using its patent in different European jurisdictions, but thanks to the keynote video of Jobs presenting the original iPhone features back in January 2007, the Munich-based Federal Patent Court of Germany ruled that Steve disclosed the “bounce-back-effect” to the public five months before the priority date of the German patent of June 2007:

If you want a new iPhone but don’t have the cash, here’s a round-up of contests we’ve found offering the latest iPhones as prizes.

Major caveat: since Apple’s crackdown on third-party giveaways, there have been fewer legit freebies. The Cupertino company has nixed a large number of these contests – in one case not approving a company’s app until it pulled the contest – but it has been hit and miss. Apple did not respond to a request for comment as to whether it is actively pursuing companies that violate its giveaway guidelines.

In any case, if you want to get your hands on one without spending any cash, it’s worth a shot.

Just about all of the contest are no-brainers that ask you to tweet or give your details in exchange for the chance to win, although some have age and geographical restrictions.

If you hear of others, let us know. And remember your due diligence.

Good luck!

Wired UK

O2

 Square Trade

iSkin

Protect Your Bubble

AMC Theaters

Crowdtilt

Peterest

Lidtime

Carter Holt Harvey

Just about any way you slice it, those new iPhone sales are pure gold for Apple. The Cupertino company moved 9 million iPhone 5s and 5cs over the weekend in the 11 countries around the globe where it dazzled buyers.

We thought it’d be interesting to track the number of iPhones sold compared to the ratio of countries it was available in for that first, breakout weekend.

And it turns out Apple is definitely still in the money. For example, the iPhone 3G launched in 22 countries but sold one million phones over the first three days. Its sales-to-availability ratio is about 450,000 per country, that’s about half amount compared to the new iPhone. The iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 were available in seven and nine countries, respectively, but their sales hover around the same ratio at about 550,000 per country. (Clearly, China’s inclusion for the first time in the launch helped move a few units, despite the underwhelming  launch event.) Apple started releasing first-weekend sales info with the 3G model.

Compare that to another fun metric: it took 74 days to sell the first one million first-gen iPhones: appetite for new Apple products seems to only increase with time.

While we knew almost everything there was to know about the iPhone 5s prior to its official unveiling last week, I don’t think anybody expected Apple to announce a fancy new case to go with it.

The Cupertino company has released an iPad case or cover for every model it has ever made, but this is the first time it has provided first-party iPhone protection since the iPhone 4 Bumper back in 2010. But I’m glad it’s back in the case business.

The new iPhone 5s case — which fits the iPhone 5, too, by the way — is made from soft, premium leather and designed to “look and feel luxurious,” Apple says. It is precision crafted for a tight fit that maintain’s your iPhone’s sleek, slim design, and its microfiber lining promises to protect its aluminum shell from scuffs and scratches.

The case is available in six pretty colors, and it’s priced at $39.95. That’s pretty expensive for a case of this kind, but is it worth it?

It just got a lot easier to set up your Apple TV. Apple has detailed a new way to input login and WiFi network information when setting up a third-gen Apple TV with an iOS device. All you have to do is physically tap an iPhone against the Apple TV to instantly transfer settings over Bluetooth LE (low energy). The Apple TV needs to be on the latest 6.0 update, and the other device needs to be running iOS 7.

A fake iOS 7 advert that promises iPhones will become waterproof after being updated to Apple’s latest software has reportedly fooled owners into destroying their beloved smartphones.

The poster, which went viral on social media sites after iOS 7 was made available to the public last week, claims the update “prevents any damage to your iPhone’s delicate circuitry” when it is exposed to water. Surprisingly, some believed it.

Getting a gold iPhone 5s has become nearly impossible the last few days – unless you’re willing to shell out some cash on eBay. As demand has ramped up to a fever pitch, online shipping estimates have slipped deep into October. To keep track of all the changing shipping estimates Walter Piecyk at BTIG shared the following chart on Twitter this afternoon.

All carriers and the Online Apple Store are now estimating that new iPhone 5s orders won’t ship until October regardless of color, so if you’re wanting an iPhone 5s before the holidays you better jump on it. Keep in mind that even though the online shipping estimates appear dire, if you want to get an iPhone 5s sooner you can still check for stock at your local Apple Store which should be receiving new iPhone 5s shipments nearly every day.

Source: Walter Piecyk