Category: Apple

Apple iPhone 5C 8GB Officially Launched

Apple has officially unveiled the 8GB variant of the iPhone 5c on the UK Apple store for a price of £429.00 For an unlocked variant. It is worth noting that the price is about £40.00 cheaper than the outgoing 16GB model which costs US $ 549 in the US and Rs. 39000 here in India. Which means that the price for the iPhone 5c 8GB model for the Indian market should be Rs. 34,500 or around that region.

The iPhone 5C has received huge response since its launch alongside the iPhone 5S in India last year, especially thanks to the EMI and cash back offers from banks. The Apple iPhone 5c features a 4-inch LED-backlit IPS LCD display with a resolution of 640×1136 pixels and a 326ppi pixel density. It is powered by the Apple A6 chipset, which is also seen on the iPhone 5. It also features a hard-coated polycarbonate body an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera. Essentially the 5c is the iPhone 5 in new clothes.

Stay tuned for more updates.

March 18, 2014
Apple Rolls Out CarPlay, Allows More Fun Use of iPhone in the Car

Apple has officially announced CarPlay, which is a new in car interface that will be compatible with Ferrari, Mercedes and Volvo cars.

CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing. “iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction. We have an amazing lineup of auto partners rolling out CarPlay, and we’re thrilled it will make its debut this week in Geneva.”

Once iPhone is connected to a vehicle with CarPlay integration, Siri easily access your contacts, make calls, return missed calls or listen to voicemails. When incoming messages or notifications arrive, Siri provides an experience by responding to requests through voice commands, by reading drivers’ messages and letting them dictate responses or simply make a call.

Users can easily control CarPlay from the car’s native interface or just push- and-hold the voice control button on the steering wheel to activate Siri. Vehicles from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo will premiere CarPlay to their drivers this week, while additional auto manufacturers bringing CarPlay to their drivers down the road include BMW Group, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai Motor Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Nissan Motor Company, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota Motor Corp.

[Apple]

March 3, 2014
Apple Details iPhone 5s Touch ID Scanner

Apple has updated its iOS Security document to include intricate, detailed information pertaining to the Touch ID sensor that is found on the iPhone 5s.

Apple reiterates that Touch ID and its Secure Enclave store only data from scanned fingerprints, rather than actual images. Using a secure boot process, the Enclave – a coprocessor inside of Apple’s A7 processor – verifies and signs information independently of other iOS hardware and software.

All Secure Enclaves can function independently even if a kernel is compromised and each one contains a unique ID inaccessible to other parts of the system and unknown to Apple, preventing the company or any other third parties from accessing data contained within.

“Each Secure Enclave is provisioned during fabrication with its own UID (Unique ID) that is not accessible to other parts of the system and is not known to Apple. When the device starts up, an ephemeral key is created, tangled with its UID, and used to encrypt the Secure Enclave’s portion of the device’s memory space,” the document said.

“Additionally, data that is saved to the file system by the Secure Enclave is encrypted with a key tangled with the UID and an anti-replay counter.”

And while the A7 processor deals with data from Touch ID, this information is encrypted by the scanner, making it unreadable to the rest of the phone. Only Secure Enclave can authenticate the data.

“It’s encrypted and authenticated with a session key that is negotiated using the device’s shared key that is built into the Touch ID sensor and the Secure Enclave,” the document reads. “The session key exchange uses AES key wrapping with both sides providing a random key that establishes the session key and uses AES-CCM transport encryption.”

Apple has also spelt out that it has strict no-third party app rule when it comes to TouchID data. “Touch ID authentication and the data associated with the enrolled fingerprints are not available to other apps or third parties,” reads the document.

February 27, 2014
Tim Cook : Google Was Not Committed to Motorola

There’s plenty to talk about with the sale of Motorola to Lenovo, from what it means for the future of the American Smartphone manufacturer to the reasons Google bought them in the first pace, and everyone seems to have an opinion, including Apple’s CEO Tim Cook.

“I wasn’t surprised,” said Cook in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “Google gets rid of something that’s losing money, something that they’re not committed to.” Cook went on to state that becoming a company that melds hardware, software, and services together is quite difficult and that Google obviously hasn’t quite gotten proficient in this arena, which makes “Apple so special.”

The CEO further took dig at Google’s Android OS, calling the experience on its tablets ‘crappy,’ because the app is nothing more than a stretched out smartphone app.

When asked if Apple will do a larger screen iPhone, Cook responded, “What we’ve said is that until the technology is ready, we don’t want to cross that line. We want to give our customers what’s right in all respects – not just the size but in the resolution, in the clarity, in the contrast, in the reliability. There are many different parameters to measure a display and we care about all those, because we know that’s the window to the software.”

Other comments from Cook revolve around Google’s acquisition of Nest, stating that he and Apple both feel that buying large companies simply for the sake of “being big” and buying them is not what Apple wants or believes in. They are not against buying a large company, they simply care more about buying one that is fit right for them.

February 8, 2014
Video : iOS in The Car Functionality Shown Off

Last week, app developer Steven Troughton-Smith shared a series of screenshots of what seemed to be Apple’s “iOS in the Car” feature announced by Apple as “coming soon” to iOS 7 devices.

The developer has now taken this a step further by posting a video showing the feature running via iPhone Simulator. The video below shows iOS in the car running on iOS 7.0.3 in the iOS Simulator software which is available for developers, the in dash display is shown by an 800 x 480 pixel window.

[youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5OZMu5u0yU”]

Apple first demoed the new feature at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2013. During an earnings call last summer, Apple CEO Tim Cook called the feature a “key focus” for the company.

Since then, a number of car manufacturers have announced their support for the feature. These have included: Acura, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo, Opel, and Jaguar.

Troughton-Smith points out that the iOS in the Car feature supports multiple resolutions of external displays, touch input and hardware controls, and voice input.

– Supports Multiple Resolutions
– Supports touchscreens (presumably single-touch?), hardware buttons, wheels and touchpads
– Does not support multitasking – car display will always show same current on-screen app as iPhone (which can be locked/asleep)
– Whitelisted to specific Apple apps – no public API for developers [yet?]
– Has no keyboard UI – voice recognition as input
– UI clearly subject to change
– Missing functionality in video is due to iOS Simulator not containing all the stock iOS apps

January 28, 2014
Report: Apple to Build a Mobile Payment Service

After adding the touch sensor to the iPhone 5s, Apple is looking to do more with the fingerprint sensor it seems. As per a report, Apple is looking forward to build a Mobile Payment Service.

The Wall Street Journal reported that, Eddy Cue, the company’s senior vice-president of Internet software and services, has met with “industry executives” to discuss Apple’s role in handling payments for physical goods and services. The mobile payment service is not used by many as people are sceptical about it, with companies like PayPal are working to give easier experience to users to pay for physical goods with their smartphones.

Having said that, the App Store is the only store with these many users registered with credit cards. In June of 2012, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that its then cache of 400 million iTunes accounts with credit cards made it “the store with the most credit cards on file anywhere in the world by far.”

As per the report, Apple is building a payment service which will not only be used in the app store but for other purchases as well. Apple has not commented on this yet, stay tuned for more.

January 26, 2014
Twitter For Mac Users Gets Updated to Version 3.0, Brings Detailed Tweets and More

Not very long ago, Twitter updated its mobile application with in-line media previews. And now, the company is doing the same with Mac computers. The Twitter application for Mac users gets updated with some new features.

The Twitter 3.0 for Mac users bring in-line photo views and detailed tweets. The Timelines now display previews for Twitter photos, making it easier to go through new Tweets. Whereas, now when you click a Tweet, you’ll be taken to a detailed view that includes photos, favorite and retweets , and other Tweets in the conversation.

Other than adding new features and some tweaks the company has also changed the design of the application to make it cleaner and more modern.

[App Store]

December 13, 2013
Apple: 74% of App Store Users Are Using iOS 7

Three months back, Apple launched its latest OS – iOS 7 in the market. Ever since then, users have treated the iOS 7 with mix reactions, as for some it is improved and for some it lags and freezes.

Despite of the mixed reactions from users, the iOS 7 is now on 74% of Apple devices registered in the App Store. Apple has mentioned this on its developer page. This is a 10% increase in iOS 7 users from the month of October. Coincidentally, Google also announced that in just a month of release, 1.1% of Android users are on KitKat OS.

However, alongside the iOS 7 other iOS versions are still in use. As per the report from Apple, 22% of users in the App Store are still on iOS 6 and 4% users are still on older versions of iOS. The rest 26% might want to know what is iOS 7 all about from the video below:

[youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5-KmW1QhcE”]

[Apple]

December 6, 2013
Apple Acquires Twitter Analytics firm Topsy, Wants to try hand at Social Again

With many a failed attempts at Social markets, looks like Apple is far from giving up. Apple has acquired Topsy Twitter analytics, for a reported $200 million. Most Companies use Topsy to utilize the data for tweet mapping, and trend filtering on Twitter. What Apple’s intentions are, however is currently unknown.

Apple had earlier launched Ping as a social network which, was a software-based, music-oriented social networking and recommender system service developed and operated byApple. It was announced and launched on 1 September 2010, as part of the tenth major release of iTunes.The service launched with 1 million members in 23 countries. The service allowed users to follow artists and see short timely postings by both friends and artists. Ping was also accessible via iTunes for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Apple officially closed the service on September 30, 2012 and replaced it in iTunes with Facebook and Twitter integration. Lets hope a better fate can be received to Topsy.

December 3, 2013
Now You Can Control a Paper Airplane With Your Smartphone

Building paper airplanes have been a delight in some point of everyone’s life, whether it is in your own childhood or your kids childhood. Creating a paper airplane that travels faraway might now develop into an easy task.

PowerUp 3.0 has boosted up a regular paper airplane with a small attachable propeller and rudder for a little more speed and steering control. The company uses the Bluetooth technology to connect the airplane to various iPhones and iPad mini.

Watch the video below to know how it works:

[youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9bpp7zmM_A”]

Users just have to tilt the smartphone left or right for the airplane movement. The device is made by a crash proof carbon fiber frame. This new device from the company charges through micro USB cable, and supports devices like, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5, iPhone 4s and iPad mini.

Check out the source for more information, and this product is now available for pre-order.

[PowerUp 3.0]

December 2, 2013
Apple Confirms Buyout For PrimeSense, Get Ready For Motion Controlled Future

Apple has confirmed its acquisition of the Microsoft’s Kinect maker, Prime Sense. Last week, an Israeli news source Calcalist confirmed that Apple has acquired PrimeSense for $345 Million.

Now in an official statement to All Things D, an Apple spokesperson said: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans”. The deal is said to have been completed on Sunday and the total cost involved was around $360 million.

Apple’s intentions behind this acquisition is not clear, but one can sense a motion controlled future ahead. Apple is also believed to use this technology for its rumored iTV. Like many other Apple rumors, only time will tell what Apple will do with this tech.

[via]

November 25, 2013
Samsung to Pay $290 Million More To Apple

A jury on thursday decided that Samsung will have to pay Apple a sum of $290,456,793 more for its patent infringement case. This comes after Samsung has already been asked to shell out 1 billion US $ to Apple. This amount is still less than what Apple had demanded, which was $390 Million.

The total money Samsung has paid or will pay to Apple has now reached approx. $930 million, just to let you get a fair idea it is approx. 5833,23,90,000 in Indian Rupee.

For Apple, this case has always been about more than patents and money,” Apple said in a statement. “It has been about innovation and the hard work that goes into inventing products that people love. While it’s impossible to put a price tag on those values, we are grateful to the jury for showing Samsung that copying has a cost.”

Samsung, said it is “disappointed by today’s decision, which is based in large part on a patent that the US Patent and Trademark Office has recently deemed invalid.”

While we move forward with our post-trial motions and appeals, we will continue to innovate with groundbreaking technologies and great products that are loved by our many customers all around the world,” the Korean company said in a statement.

During the session, Apple said that if Samsung did not use infringement devices they would have sold alot of iPhone’s throughout the world. Apple claimed that Samsung was the reason for the company to not earn more profits from iPhone’s, so Samsung should compensate it.

On the other hand, Samsung showcased reports of why people bought Samsung phones. Samsung showcased that all of its consumers got attracted towards bigger screens, better battery and alot more.

However, as said by the jury members: Samsung didn’t provide enough information to make its case. We hope this ends the lawsuit, and both the companies continue the innovation and stop the endless war.

Have something to say? Share your view below.

November 23, 2013
Google+ Update On iOS Now Gets Full Resolution Photos and Dedicated Search Box

The Google+ app for iOS has been updated, and finally brings some long missing features. The new update for Google+ adds features like full size backup of your photos and more.

The version 4.6 update for Google+ on iOS now alos lets users to upload images and videos at its original resolution, as long as there is enough cloud storage. Other features that add up with this update are location sharing (already available for Android users), inline translation of posts and comments and a single search box for posts, people, photos and communities. Update your app from the link below.

[App Store]

November 23, 2013
Apple Buys Kinect Co-Creator: PrimeSense

Apple has just acquired Kinect Co-Creator PrimeSense for a whopping sum of US $ 345 Million, according to Israeli news source Calcalist.

If the news is true, this could mean that Apple’s future devices may have motion sensing technologies. Alternatively it could mean that Apple could make displays with this technology built in. Maybe Apple’s rumored iTV will have this tech inbuilt to interact with the hardware. According to reports, the last time Apple tried to acquire PrimeSense, the deal was scrapped due to legal woes. However this time around the company was eager to acquire the ex-kinect maker to improve on the Apple TV.

[VIA]

November 18, 2013
iOS 7.0.4 Update Brings Bug Fixes and Improvements

Apple has released iOS 7.0.4 update for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch which is now available for download as an OTA update as well as via iTunes.

According to the company iOS 7.0.4 brings bug fixes and improvements, including a fix for FaceTime call issue which used to fail for some users. The update also include a security features which fixes a issue where app and in-app purchases could have been completed with incomplete authorization.

Users with iPhone 4 or later, iPod touch 5th generation or later and iPad 2 or later running iOS 5 or later, the iOS 7.0.4 should be available as an OTA update. If you did not get the update automatically you can try to check it manually by checking the Software Update part of your iPhone/iPod/iPad.

[Apple]

November 15, 2013