Google Play Books for iOS was updated yesterday to a version 1.6.0. Now one can highlight the text and take notes from the scanned files as well as rent books and read them in a sepia mode.
Google Maps app for iOS and Android are now showing 'relevant ads'. Starting this day, each time you search for a particular place e.g. cafe or restaurant on top of the list you’ll the businesses that pay Google to be promoted.
A new listing at Macfixit Australia shows us a black iPad 5 front panel. It is believed to be a genuine Apple detail as it is marked by the number 821-1892-02 - and this is the format the company from Cupertino uses for its components. Look at the photos below to see what I’m talking about.
Another Microsoft ad comparing iPad with a Surface RT tablet was released yesterday on the company’s official YouTube channel.
This time we can see a Windows RT tablet and an iPad 4. Microsoft ad-makers claim that their device is surely better than the Apple gadget. Well, as usual, they show how the multitasking works, how to connect a USB flash drive to the Windows RT tablet and how the prices for both devices differ. Boring...
Twelve South has launched a new HiRise stand for the iPhone and iPad mini. The design of the stand enable it to be compatible with the Apple Lightning Cable and most cases available on the market.
Using one of three different adjustable clips and your Apple Lightning Cable (not included), HiRise positions the Lightning connector at a raised height to connect and charge your iPhone 5 or iPad mini. This allows HiRise to work with most cases, including cases with recessed connections no other dock can fit, like the OtterBox Defender, Speck CandyShell and, of course, the BookBook for iPhone. The rear support also adjusts forward and back to accommodate the different thicknesses of various cases and shells.
Apple has released iOS 7 Beta 5 for the developers. As usual, this version has some interface changes as well as minor bug fixes and operating system tweaks. Let’s take a look at them.
This day can be called the day of ads since such tech giants as Apple (see the article below) and Nokia released new ads. And if the company from Cupertino simply advertises its FaceTime app, the guys from Finland mock the iPhone 5 camera and compare it to the Nokia Lumia 925’s photo sensor.
According to the latest rumors, Apple is going to change its main iMac supplier. Digitimes reports, that the company from Cupertino is currently thinking about shifting its iMac and probably MacBook Air and MacBook Pro production from Quanta to Pegatron. So far the latter one has been working mostly on iPhones and iPads.
It was reported earlier this week that Apple executive Bob Mansfield has given up his management duties at Apple. He is rumored to have focused on 'special projects', concerning development of new products for Cupertino company. So his responsibilities will be taken over by other executives.
Dan Riccio will be responsible for Apple's antenna design team. Moreover, he will still lead the department of Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod engineering. Dan Riccio was promoted to lead Apple's hardware engineering teams when Bob Mansfield first retired last year.
Jeff Williams will acquire the job of managing Apple's special projects engineering teams. He is the Senior Vice President for Operations and has bee working with Tim Cook for years now. Though it is Mansfield who will focus on Apple's newest and most innovative designs. Thus he will not be distracted with management issues any longer.
Apple stll has not found the head of Retail department, although the sales of Cupertino company are dropping for the first time in a 4-year period.
Apple's search for a replacement, handled by recruiters Egon Zehnder International, has gone slowly, people familiar with the matter said, and the company has yet to settle on a finalist after interviewing several external candidates. Among those interviewed but rejected as a poor fit were wireless and telecommunications-industry executives, one such person said. A CEO of a privately held retailer in France spurned Apple's overtures, believing it would be hard to change Apple's culture as an outsider, another person said.
Now Apple has tuned from searching inside the company to outside, as no current candidate is suitable for the post. After the firing of previous Retail sales John Browett, CEO Tim Cook is handling the retail responsibilities. It was Browett's idea to focus Apple's retail stores on sales and cost cutting rather than on customer service. As a result, the employees were upset as well as the customers, whose satisfaction is declining gradually. The idea seemed unreasonable and John Browett left the post after 6 months. Read the rest of this entry »
According to WSJ, the Obama Administration has vetoed an ITC ban on the sale of older iPhones and iPads. The law would have prohibited selling of such models as AT&T iPhone 4 and iPad 2.
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman made the decision to veto the ban on the Apple devices, citing concerns about patent holders gaining "undue leverage." He said Samsung could continue to pursue its patent rights through the courts. The action marked the first time since 1987 that a presidential administration had vetoed a product ban ordered by the U.S. International Trade Commission.
Since now the problem has risen of allowing companies to use standard essential patents to block rival products.
A video, showing something very similar to the iPad 5 with translucent logo and thinner bezel, has been posted on YouTube by a Japanese website Mac Otakara. There’re no internal details - only the front and back covers assembled together.
One of the most interesting Samsung Galaxy S4’s features is probably Smart Pause. This is the feature that automatically pauses video playback each time you look away. For quite a long period of time those who use iPhones had to put up with the fact that there’s nothing similar for the iOS platform. And then FaceHalt was released.
There’re some leaked photos on the Internet that show how would the new iPad 5 rear shell look like. Without wasting much time on talking about when would Apple release its new tablet, I’ll simply quote the FanaticFone description of the leaked panel:
Our great sources have given us TWO unreleased iPad 5 rear housings, which shows some new exciting features. The iPad 5’s dimensions are surprisingly enough 24×16.8 cm and weighs only 100 gram, which is clearly both shorter and lighter than its predecessors.