7/19/2013

iDownloadBlog.com

iDownloadBlog.com


Apple comments on two day-long developer center outage

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 05:20 PM PDT

dev center down 1

If you’ve tried logging in to Apple’s dev center over the past few days, but were unsuccessful, you weren’t alone. The portal, which is where the company stores downloads, documentation and other resources for developers, has been down for 48 hours.

This isn’t your typical ‘maintenance’ downtime, as those only usually last a couple of minutes—or at worst, a few hours. And as you can imagine, developers are starting to get frustrated with the service, which Apple charges a $99 subscription fee for…(...)
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US government gets approval to continue tracking phone records

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 04:29 PM PDT

NSA-Logo

In June, an order granted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to the FBI leaked, revealing that Verizon was handing over millions of private telephone records to the US government. Of course, we later found out that it wasn’t just Verizon giving up user data.

As you may have known, that court order was set to expire today, meaning that the government would no longer be authorized to collect such records. But according to the office of the Director of National Intelligence, FISA has just renewed its authorization…(...)
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Hires closeups indicate plastic iPhone may borrow logic board design from iPhone 5

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 03:15 PM PDT

Budget iPhone vs iPhone 5 (yellow, ASCII 004)

The sheer amount of would-be budget iPhone shells and supposed parts coming out from Asia has gotten out of hand.

Case in point: a small electronics company Techdy just recently posted several photographs that purportedly picture the chassis of Apple's long rumored less-pricey iPhone.

These shots made rounds on the web until someone exposed them for what they are: a publicity stunt. Indeed, all of a sudden Techdy started selling an Android handset that looks like Apple’s rumored budget iPhone. This is precisely why iDB passes on dozens of tips we receive on a daily basis and instead selectively tells you about the most interesting “leaks”.

Today’s nugget fits that description perfectly. Not only does a new set of photos reveal what appears to be some sort of an iPhone shell next to the iPhone 5, they do so in intricate detail unlike most prior leaks. We have high-resolution closeups just after the break…(...)
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Apple buys HopStop transit app to beef up Maps

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 02:35 PM PDT

iPhone 5 (white, three-up, Maps)

As pointed out by multiple outlets and tweeted by several reporters, Apple has acquired an online navigation startup HopStop.com to improve its troubled Maps offering, Bloomberg just reported. HopStop makes a free iPhone and Android transit app that features detailed subway, bus, train, taxi, walking and even biking directions.

This is exactly the kind of data Apple’s Maps need in order to become a viable alternative to Google Maps. The HopStop software also features real-time transit information via the HopStop Live service, the official transit maps, nearby station search and station-to-station schedules in over 600 cities throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, including 140 major metropolitan areas…(...)
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Samsung and Apple renew settlement talks, but no deal yet

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 02:32 PM PDT

Samsung anti-iPhone ad (it doesnt take a genius)

Apple and Samsung have reportedly renewed settlement talks, in an effort to put an end to their ongoing, global litigation. Since 2011, the two tech giants have been involved in countless patent lawsuits, in over 10 countries.

Word of their resumed resolution efforts comes by way of The Wall Street Journal. Citing people familiar with the matter, the outlet says the two even came close to an agreement in February, but things have since cooled off…(...)
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Google to take Apple’s iPhone head on: August 1 Moto X media event is a go

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 02:05 PM PDT

eric-schmidt-moto-x-640x426

Several big media reporters and technology blog editors confirmed receiving invitations from Google concerning the long awaited Moto X announcement.

The invitation-only event will be held in New York City on August 1, cunningly a few weeks ahead of Apple’s rumored iPhone and iPad refresh.

The “Moto X” tagline on the invite leaves no room for ambiguity. The teaser graphics even shows Motorola’s actual Android flagship in black and white, down to its distinctive curved top ridge. At any rate, this will be a watershed moment for the struggling handset maker.

The upcoming super phone, as Google CEO Larry Page likes to call it, is thought to feature an always-on assistant, a staggering 4,000mAh battery, a ten-megapixel camera and either a 4.3-inch of five-inch screen…(...)
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iTunes Radio, right on cue as streaming dollars replace download dollars

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 11:10 AM PDT

iTunes Radio (teaser, iPod touch, iPad, MacBook Air, Apple TV)

You don’t get anywhere in consumer tech by being tone-deaf to trends. Apple’s decision to get into digital music downloads just as sales of CDs slowed is just an example. Now comes evidence the iTunes Music Store owner is on the leading edge of the latest trend to hit: streaming replacing music downloads.

Apple’s upcoming ad-supported iTunes Radio will appear as the number of digital songs sold have been slowing for some time while the number of tunes being streamed across the Internet is skyrocketing lately. Through the first half of 2013, 682 million digital songs were sold, a 2.3 percent drop from the 698 million in 2012.

By comparison, the number of songs streamed has risen 24 percent, according to industry watchers…(...)
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Google shamelessly lifts Apple’s patent illustration

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 10:06 AM PDT

Apple logo (space 001)

I was shocked learning about the extent of Google’s copying this morning. Apparently one of Google’s patent filings with The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) uses a familiar-looking illustration to depict a generic computer.

Let me jut say it: Google’s drawing is an exact replica of an illustration accompanying an older Apple patent filing. You’d have thought with all the commotion surrounding Google’s plagiarism and Samsung ripping off Apple wholesale that the search giant should know better…(...)
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Preview: Auxo’s new Slim Mode

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 08:59 AM PDT

Auxo Slim Mode Featured

If you know me, then you know that I love Auxo; it’s one of my favorite jailbreak tweaks and I use it on my daily driver. Auxo is great, because it offers a redesigned app switcher, toggles, and the ability to easily kill apps using gestures. Perhaps the biggest feature of Auxo is its ability to present full previews of apps in the app switcher.

While most users enjoy the privilege of having full app previews, due to the ability to gain context as to what’s running on the device, some have balked at the feature. Their beef stems from the fact that the app switcher takes up too much space with Auxo installed, or that it’s difficult to quickly identify what’s running. Well, folks; the creators behind Auxo have a solution to what ails you. Introducing Auxo’s brand new Slim Mode.(...)
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Forgetting about Surface disaster, Microsoft’s ad people take another jab at iPad

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 08:45 AM PDT

apple-surface2

Microsoft just doesn’t skip a beat when it comes to its fantasy that the Surface rivals Apple’s iPad. Never mind the software giant had to reduce prices on its tablet because no one is buying the device. Never mind Thursday the company took a $900M writedown on those cheaper Surfaces that no one wants.

To mark all the features the Surface has (which no one except paid actors apparently want), the Redmond-based Windows giant has released another sneering ad pitting its tablet against Apple’s. This is what lesser-known brands quite often do as they strive to piggy-back on the popularity of the Apple brand…(...)
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Apple to webcast June quarter earnings call

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 08:17 AM PDT

Apple Q213 webcast teaser

As per usual with Apple’s earnings releases, the company will webcast its upcoming June earnings call. The live webcast will be provided here, beginning at 2pm PDT on Tuesday, July 23, and will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

You can tune in to the audio webcast using your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 4.2 or above or a Mac running OS X 10.5 or above. If you’re on a Windows PC, you’ll want to install QuickTime 7 or later…(...)
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Realmac teases Ember, a digital scrapbook for your Mac

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 07:50 AM PDT

Ember for Mac (teaser 001)

Realmac Software, the guys who brought you the popular Clear multitouch to-do app for the iPhone and the delightful Analog Camera for iOS, to name just two, is working on a brand new Mac application that wants to become your ultimate digital scrapbook.

Called Ember, it appeases to designers who are desperate to "save, organize, annotate, and share" their work, but it can also be used by ordinary users who are looking to manage their projects and present them as media-rich scrapbooks…(...)
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Apple reportedly ordering large amounts of touch panels for next-gen iPads

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 07:17 AM PDT

iPad in hands (two-up, iPad, iPad mini)

The somewhat reliable Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes yesterday changed course to say a second-generation Retina iPad mini upgrade is in fact launching this Fall, contrary to previous reports by Economic Daily News and NPD DisplaySearch, which called for a 2014 launch.

And in another sign of production ramp-up, DigiTimes reports that Apple’s touch panel suppler TPK is expecting its third-quarter performance to improve due to significant One Glass Solution (OGS) touch panel orders from Apple…(...)
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Verizon CFO says the carrier won’t change plan pricing after Edge launch

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 05:16 AM PDT

iPhone 4S Verizon LTE

Verizon joined AT&T and T-Mobile yesterday by introducing a new upgrade program called Verizon Edge. Similar to the other two carriers’ offerings, the plan involves customers paying a monthly fee in exchange for the ability to upgrade their device earlier.

After crunching some numbers, we found T-Mobile’s program to be the best deal, due to the fact that it separates equipment and service charges. And some folks were hoping Verizon would follow suit here, but CFO Fran Shammo says don’t count on it…(...)
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Rovio’s game-syncing ‘Account’ now available worldwide on iOS

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 04:38 AM PDT

Rovio-ID

Back in May, Rovio began rolling out 'Account,' a cloud-based service that allows users to save their progress in games across various devices. And today, the Finnish game-maker announced that it’s now available to all iOS and Android users worldwide.

As before, Accounts is currently only available for gamers of the Croods and the original Angry Birds title, but the company says that it is intent on expanding it to other Angry Birds and non Angry Birds titles soon. More on the announcement after the fold…(...)
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Apple acquires location-based data startup Locationary

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 03:36 AM PDT

locationary

According to a new report, Apple has acquired Toronto-based Locationary, a Canadian startup that provides crowdsourced location data, for an unknown amount. The deal, which has already closed, includes both the company’s tech and team.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling has even confirmed the new acquisition, offering up the usual boiler plate response ‘Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."(...)
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Apple’s plans for TV growing less ambitious with Time Warner deal

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 03:15 AM PDT

Apple TV (teaser 001)

As we've heard a few times over the past month, Apple and Time Warner Cable appear to be very close to inking a deal that would bring a TWC app to the Apple TV's Home screen. It would mark the first time that the set-top box would be capable of streaming live TV.

Initial details regarding the service have been scarce, but a new report this morning helps add a bit of color. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg warns users not to get too excited, as the TWC app will save them little more than a click of the remote…(...)
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Fruit Ninja creators tease new game ‘Colossatron: Massive World Threat’

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 02:34 AM PDT

colossatron teaser

Gamers will be happy to hear that Halfbrick, the creators of popular iOS titles like Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride, have a new game coming out. The studio made quite a bit of commotion when it made the announcement yesterday at PAX Australia.

The game is called Colossatron: Massive World Threat, and it’s a tower defense-esque title that has you managing a massive robotic snake known as the—you guessed it—Colossatron. And you essentially have one goal: destroy as much stuff as you can…(...)
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Unauthorized charger likely the blame for Chinese woman electrocution

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 01:56 AM PDT

iPhone charger

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that a 23-year-old China Airlines flight attendant died after being electrocuted by her iPhone 5 charger. She reportedly suffered a fatal electric shock when she answered a call using her iPhone 5 that was recharging.

At the time, details surrounding the event were a bit foggy, with officials saying that they could not identify the source of the current that killed her. But a new report is out this morning claiming that a ‘knockoff’ charger could have been the culprit…(...)
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DigiTimes: iPad mini with Retina display coming in October

Posted: 19 Jul 2013 01:23 AM PDT

iPad mini (landscape, in hand, display)

The inexact DigiTimes is reporting this morning that the next-generation iPad mini will feature a Retina display, and is expected to be introduced in October. The report is in direct contradiction to the publication’s own scoop from earlier this week.

On Monday, the Taiwanese outlet added to speculation that Apple was delaying the launch of its Retina iPad mini until 2014 due to panel shortages. But apparently, LG has made significant progress with its production, and it’s back on track for the fall…(...)
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