News tagged ‘Time’

Last week, SFWeekly has published reports about how the iPad is helping children of autism. The publication visited the family of Leo Rosa, a nine-year old that suffers from autism. Despite his limitations, Leo is learning to communicate better with his family thanks to a new iPad.

Since the iPad’s unveiling in April, autism experts and parents have brought it into countless homes and classrooms around the world. Developers have begun pumping out applications specifically designed for users with special needs. Through the devices, some of these children have been able to communicate their thoughts to adults for the first time. Others have learned life skills.

For Leo, the introduction of the iPad into the family home has been life-changing. Leo’s mother won the iPad in a school raffle for $5. She stated:“With the iPad, Leo electrifies the air around him with independence and daily new skills”.

New report published in the San Jose Mercury News reveals that recently Apple’s global supply manager Paul Shin Devine was accused by the US Internal Revenue Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation in a fraud scheme. It is claimed that Devine was using his security clearance to obtain confidential information about Apple’s upcoming products and provide it to the company’s suppliers. The latter then used the info to make favorable deals with Apple and after that paid Devine kickbacks. One of the suppliers was Andrew Ang from Singapore, who is also named in the indictment as an accomplice, as Devine was sharing his kickbacks with him.

To receive payments Devine held a series of accounts inside and outside the US. Payments were marked as “samples” so no attention was attracted. Bank accounts were registered under his and his wife’s names. It is reported that sometimes Devine received bribes on the meetings with suppliers in Asia.

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Recently iStorytime has announced a new application for reading texts with children called Danny the Dragon. It's not the content of the selected stories, which we admire. This application for the iPhone and iPad devices is one of the first that includes video stories being read in a beautiful and understandable language.

Well, if you are waiting for something extraordinary or high tech, you have come to the wrong place. This application includes simple video narrations being read by the woman. Nevertheless, it is quite useful and necessary application for each family that has a child and has no time to go shopping in search of paper books.

Apple has removed the updated of the Camera+ application from the App Store within two weeks. It happened because Cupertino found out that the current app has some hidden downsides allowing let the volume buttons on the iPhone side to act as a camera shutter button, each time a user comes opens Mobile Safari and searches for the URL camplus://enablevolumesnap.

It definitely violates the regulations and rules of Apple, that’s why the company decided to get rid of this application quite unceremoniously. What does it mean? It means that when you try to buy the app, you’ll get the following error: “the item you are trying to purchase is currently unavailable”.

The developer of the Camera+ photography application, TapTapTap, might think about creating new versions of the app in future, but we hope it won’t have such “surprises”.

First Apple’s iAd was Nissan Leaf ad. Users who viewed Nissan's Leaf electric car iAd spent 90 seconds with the interactive advertisement -- ten times longer than customers will spend with a traditional ad. Moreover, people are five times more likely to click on interactive advertisement than they are a traditional online display ad. One more proof of iAd success was made by Unilever, maker of Dove shower products, said its initial advertisement proved to be successful, with 20 percent of viewers checking the ad multiple times, and a percentage in the double digits seeking further information about the product. iAds are also popular among iPhone users,  because they don't have to leave their app and launch a browser to view them.

iAd success helps Apple to take up more than half of the mobile advertising market in 2010. And developers, too, have found success with the new iAd platform: Apple providing them a 60 percent cut of the advertising revenue.

We’ve gotten exclusive legit details of the upcoming Verizon (unicorn) iPhone 4. The iPhone 4 supposedly will gain a 1.2 GHz next-gen A4 chip, a larger 3.7 inch retina display, an all new internal antenna, all in a more durable design. To be honest that just sounds like the probable iPhone 5 launching in June 2011.

To prove all that, we may say, that Verizon isn’t likely to want launching in January an iPhone 4 that has identical specifications to the current AT&T model. Another possibility, if this is all true, is that the probably iPhone 5 launching in June '11 will be the first (AT&T model too) and will carry the rumored features.

It is much of a rumor that there is going to appear a new iPad sporting a 7-inch display. Now Digitimes specifies the possible features that this Apple device may get.

It is that at the beginning of 2011 Apple is going to launch an upgraded iPad with 9.7-inch display that will feature 512MB of RAM and a new processor based on ARM Cortex-A9. The 7-inch iPad will use an IPS panel having 1024 x 768 resolution and a similar processor.

Except the introduction of the iPad, it is rumored that in December we’ll get a CDMA iPhone. It is going to be supplied to China Telecom and Verizon Wireless. Evidently it will feature an integrated antenna and a metal backplate.

According to UBM TechInsights, Apple had been testing an InvenSense gyroscope in its iPad prototypes, but final version of the next-gen iPad will use a component from STMicroelectronics, which is also used in the iPhone 4. The company's product manager Steve Bitton wonders why there is no gyroscope in the current iPad.

“It seemed strange at the time that a product like the iPad would have been designed to not include a gyroscope but an iPhone 4 that was being designed at around the same time would”.

Moreover, Bitton disassembled an iPad and found an empty space where gyroscope exactly fits. And if InvenSense unit requires 24 pads, STMicro L3G4200D unit needs only 16 pads and is already used in the iPhone 4, so it obviously will be easier for Apple to use a component, which is also already supported by an iOS4.

"Apple probably chose to wait until the next iteration of the iPad to introduce gyroscope capabilities [and plans] to use [the] ST Micro’s L3G4200D to reduce the amount of [software] development required”.

This Tuesday well-known blogger John Gruber posted a note on his Daring Fireball blog, where he said that the upcoming tablet device from Dell called Streak will cost $550 (without a contract from AT&T) and that new iPod touch will have new features that Streak doesn't have.

"That's almost twice as much as a good iPod touch, and if you wait a few weeks to buy the Touch, you'll get one with a Retina Display and dual cameras. If Dell can't make an iPod touch competitor, who can?"

Though Gruber did not say whether he obtained this information from his sources or not, previous rumors confirm that the next-gen iPod touch will support FaceTime (which requires two cameras).

Today iPhone and iPad Box.net apps were upgraded and now allow saving necessary files for offline access, which means that with a new version you can use Box.net services even if no Internet connection available. When collaborator makes changes to documents on any of the Box platforms, previously saved files may be synchronized with its updated versions. The update also includes iOS4 support, high-res graphics and fast app switching.

One of the Box.net's co-founders Aaron Levi said that the investments in the mobile strategy are caused by several facts. First of all, the increasing number of business tasks may be now performed on mobile devices and everybody should take it into account. Besides that the service's competitors like Microsoft Sharepoint haven't yet created strong mobile offerings, which is a chance for Box.net to increase its share on this market.

At the moment iPhone and iPad apps that implement Box.net services have been downloaded 150 000 times. Levie said that up next are Blackberry and Android apps.

Macrumors have found a new option in the iOS "Contacts" application that allows users to make FaceTime calls using either a phone number or an email address. This basically adds FaceTime functionality to non-iPhone devices such as iPads and iPods. Email FaceTime support will also increase the privacy, since it will be allowed to make calls without showing out the phone number.

According to Brazilian resource MacMagazine, Apple will introduce new iPod lineup on the event that will take place either Aug. 16 (Monday) or 17 (Tuesday). As you may know, traditionally Apple holds this event in September.

The publication reveals that a new iPod touch will be announced and it will have front-facing and rear (with flash) cameras and gyroscope.

Since the event is music and media-centric, Apple may also introduce new versions of its apps. According to another report, this time from a French site Mac4ever, the company will introduce 64-bit versions of iPhoto, iWeb GarageBand and another mystery application that will became a part of a package.

CNet specialists will show how to jailbreak using jailbreakme.com and how to turn on FaceTime over 3G (out tutorial is available here):

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Along with "Try Before You Buy" Apple added Genius section to the iPad App Store. Though there was no official announcement, according to MacRumors the section appeared as far back as last night.

"Genius" option can be found next to "Updates" section at the bottom of the store. If you click on it for the first time you'll need to agree to the terms of service and activate the feature.

Genius is designed to create lists of recommended apps that based on users' previous purchases. That makes it easier for users to uncover, download and buy more relevant applications.

Genius page also includes "iPad Upgrades" section that has iPad versions of apps that have been earlier developed for iPhone.

This Thursday Macrumors received photos of one of the next-gen iPod touch parts, which reveal a hole above the display that will be most likely used for the camera. The pictures were sent by an unknown iPhone parts supplier.

Previously some resources reported about the presence of a camera and flash on the back of upcoming iPod touch. If all this information is true, the next-gen device will have two cameras to support FaceTime like the iPhone 4.

Apple wanted to build camera into the last iPod touch a year ago, but due to the technical problems the decision was annulled. When the final version of the player appeared on the market a space for camera was found inside of it after disassembling.

FaceTime support in iPod touch will be no surprise as previously Steve Jobs said that this year Apple will ship millions of devices compatible with FaceTime.