A third-party app allowing iOS devices to stream music via Amazon’s Cloud Drive has been yanked from the App Store amid reported legal concerns, and that’s not all: the developer says Apple is delaying approving an update for another music app that streams music from Google’s similar cloud music service.
Google ‘On the Verge’ Of Launching ‘Fantastic’ Native Gmail App For iPhone
The App Store is yet to offer any third-party email clients, but that’s all about to change thanks to Google. The company is reportedly “on the verge” of launching a “fantastic” Gmail app for the iPhone that may have already been submitted to Apple for approval.
Google’s Android Boss Doesn’t Think Siri Is Cool
Andy Rubin, Google’s senior vice president of mobile, doesn’t particularly care for Siri and the idea that the iPhone 4S could be your personal assistant. Rubin says it’s just a little weird for people to be talking to their phone. Those words he’s going to eat.
Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus Was Built to Avoid Apple Patents
While sometimes it may seem that Samsung tries its hardest to taunt Apple’s legal department, the company’s mobile president has revealed that its latest Galaxy Nexus smartphone was built to avoid Apple patents, saving the Korean company yet another legal battle.
Actors, Musicians, CEOs and Former Presidents Pay Respects at Steve Jobs Memorial
A Steve Jobs memorial held at Stanford Memorial Church on Sunday attracted a huge number of people who came to pay their respects to Apple’s former CEO and co-founder. Among them were a long list of celebrities, musicians, CEOs, and even a former president.
Google Just Opened Its First Chrome Store In London
If retail stores are good enough for Apple, they’re good enough for Google.
iPhone Knocked Off Top Spot of ‘Cool Brands’ Index by Aston Martin
Despite its unprecedented success and staggering popularity the world over, Apple’s iPhone is no longer Britain’s coolest brand, having been knocked off the top spot of the ‘Cool Brands index’ by Aston Martin.
Apple Joins Digital Due Process Coalition, Along With Dropbox
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has revealed that both Apple and Dropbox have joined the Digital Due Process coalition — a group whose mission is to pressure Congress into updating the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
Google Says that 2/3rds of All Mobile Search Happens on iOS Devices
Suzanne Michel, a high-level employee in Google’s legal department (and former FTC Official), testified in court today at the Senate Judiciary hearings that Google, Microsoft and Yahoo all bid to become Apple’s default search engine in Safari on iOS.
You’d think that Android would hold a considerable chunk of Google’s mobile search, due to the integration that Google has with the OS and Android’s substantial market share. That doesn’t seem to be the case.
Before being cut off at the end of her testimony, Michel said that 2/3rds of Google’s mobile search comes from iOS devices.
That says something.
(via 9to5Mac)
Google Arms Android with 1,023 More IBM Patents But Will It Protect Them From Apple?
In the current wave of patent wars, Google has become an arms supplier, buying technology from other firms to increase Android’s ability to fight back against Apple. In its latest purchase in the Silicon Valley’s version of an arms bazaar, the Internet giant snapped up 1,023 IBM patents.
Will HTC Be the One to Buy webOS in a Move Against Apple?
Now that Samsung has denied that they are eying webOS as a potential platform for its mobile devices, HTC could end up being the one to purchase Palm’s former OS to compete against Apple’s iOS.
Not only would HTC buying webOS make sense financially, but it would also position HTC in a unique position to combat the growth of iOS in the mobile market.
Google’s Blogger App for iPhone is Finally in the App Store
While blogging services like Posterous, Tumblr, and WordPress have long catered to those of use who like to write up posts on our iPhones, Google made us wait a long time for an iPhone app for Blogger. But now it’s finally here, and it does a great job.
Google Drops a Sexy New iOS Web App for Google Music
Google has just released an HTML 5 optimized iOS web app for its Google Music cloud service.
Now you can play your tunes on any iDevice from the browser.
Forget Apple, Google Wants to Buy Hulu
Hot on the heels of the rumor that Apple is considering the acquisition of TV/movie streaming and subscription service Hulu, it’s now being reported that Google has entered the potential buyer foray with a handsome bid to put the others to rest.
Currently, Amazon, Yahoo, and the Dish Network are eying Hulu for a potential buyout, and there’s always the possibility that Apple could step in at the last minute. As of right now, Google may be the one that gets to take Hulu home.
Jobs Made Google Change Their App Logo Because They Didn’t Use The Right Shade of Yellow
Following Steve Jobs’ decision to step down from the position of Apple CEO yesterday, the internet is awash with reaction pieces and opinions from some of the industry’s biggest names. MacRumors points to a rather humorous anecdote from Google’s Vic Gundotra, in which he pays tribute to Steve’s meticulous attention to detail — which Gundotra believes every CEO should have.
97% of Apple Employees Approved of Steve Jobs
If you’re a regular visitor to Cult of Mac, you’ll already have some appreciation of how terrific Steve Jobs is. But do his employees share the same opinion of him as us fans? Well, according to the employment reviews and rating site Glassdoor, 97% of them approved of him as CEO — making Steve one of the most successful CEOs among those rated on the site.
McAfee: Android Malware Rapidly Grows 76% While iOS Is Unaffected
The security experts at McAfee have published details of a new study that found during the second quarter of 2011, Android-powered devices faced a staggering 76% increase in malware than that of the first quarter — while Apple’s iOS devices remained unaffected by malicious exploits.
Android Isn’t Free: Google Licensees Might Face Global Crackdown Over Linux License Violations
Google, along with a number of other companies who distribute the Android operating system, could be without the necessary license required to distribute Linux-based software and may therefore be using the operating system unlawfully, potentially at the risk of a complete shutdown of the Android OS.
Google’s Photovine Photo Sharing App Now Open To All
We covered Google’s new Photovine photo sharing app when it first hit the App Store back in July, but it was initially available only to a select few users who were lucky enough to get an invite. But now we can all join in on the fun, because today Photovine is officially open to all.
Why Google’s Purchase Of Motorola Is A White Flag Of Surrender, And How Apple Won The Future of Tech [Opinion]
This morning, Google made a bold move and purchased Motorola’s mobile business for $12.5 billion. In doing so, Google brought the hardware design and manufacturing of Android devices in-house, just as Apple has always done with its products, starting with the original Macintosh and continuing all the way to the iPhones and iPads of today.
This is nothing short of a capitulation. By purchasing a smartphone maker, Google has all but admitted that it needs more than just a free operating system and loads of partners to compete with Apple: they need to duplicate Apple’s successes by totally controlling both the hardware and software of their devices.
Moto Deal Won’t Keep Google Out of Court
Now that Google owns a handset maker, will the $12.5 billion deal end Motorola’s patent-infringement complaints against Apple? Not likely, says the Android creator.
How to Get Google+ Running in Your Mac’s Menubar
Have you fallen in love with Google+? Do you find yourself checking the social network frequently throughout your day?
There’s a free app in the Mac App Store that let’s you run Google+ from your Mac’s menubar, and it’s called Tab for Google+. With this app, you can easily check and interact with Google+ while doing just about anything on your Mac.
Gmail Web App Gets Pull to Refresh, Retina Display UI on iPhone
Google’s Gmail web app for the iPhone delivers a nice new update this morning that makes it even more iPhone-friendly, introducing the iOS trademark pull to refresh function, and an enhanced interface.
Apple in Hunt to Buy $5B Worth of Mobile Patents from InterDigital
Fresh from its purchase of the Nortel patent cache, Apple is in the hunt to purchase mobile technology owned by InterDigital. Cupertino “frenemies” Google and Samsung are also bidding, hoping Apple won’t lay claim to another piece of technology that Android is dependent upon.
Nasty Android Malware Secretly Records and Saves Your Calls [Report]
Apple’s main mobile competitor, Android, isn’t exactly known for being the most secure platform. While Google’s ‘open’ mentality has proven beneficial in many ways for the Android OS, a non-curated system often leads to compromises in security.
We’ve already seen numerous malware programs surface on the Android OS, and the latest one is particularly villainous.