Category: Apple

Apple Releases iOS 6.1.3, Fixes Lockscreen Passcode Vulnerability

Apple released iOS 6.1.3 Tuesday, a software update that makes improvements to Maps in Japan and, more importantly, fixes a bug in iOS that allowed someone to bypass the lock screen on an iPhone and access the phone app.

Built into the latest point release of iOS, 6.1.3, the fix repairs the flaw, which when exploited granted access to a device’s contacts, voicemails and photos.

The update is available for iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S, iPhone 5, all iPads following iPad 2 and all iPod touch devices after the 4th generation iPod touch. The size of the update for the iPhone 5 is 18.2MB, while it is 28.5MB on the iPhone 4S.

The new version appears to be rolling out in waves, and iOS device owners will at some point receive a notification that their devices are eligible for an update.

The new release of iOS comes nearly a month after Apple pushed out a beta build of 6.1.3 with a fix for the lockscreen bug.

The update also contains fixes for the Apple Maps application for Japan. Apple has been tweaking the Maps app for Japanese iDevice owners since February, focusing on pronunciation and other aspects of turn-by-turn navigation.

Updating the iPhone’s mapping capability via a system software update, however, suggests that Apple is tying Maps deeper into the base operating system itself. Apple’s Map Kit Framework Reference already enables embedding maps directly into third-party apps, as well as supporting annotations, overlays, and reverse-geocoding lookups.

[toggle title=”Change Log”]About iOS 6.1.3 Software Update
This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

Fixes a bug that could allow someone to bypass the passcode and access the Phone app
Improvements to Maps in Japan
For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.[/toggle]

March 20, 2013
Analysts : Apple Could Be Holding $170 Billion In Cash By The End Of The Year

Moody’s Investors Service figures Apple’s cash could balloon beyond $170 billion by year’s end if the company doesn’t start returning some cash to shareholders, whether it be through buyback, increased dividend or even distributing those perpetual preferred iPref shares that Greenlight Capital founder David Einhorn proposed.

According to Moody’s, “Unless Apple changes its philosophy towards liquidity/shareholder returns by increasing its $10 billion annual common dividend, or if Apple increases it stock buyback program, we estimate Apple’s cash balances could increase by another $35 billion in 2013 and exceed $170 billion,”

Moody’s Senior Vice President Richard Lane said that if Apple keeps its current dividend levels, it would be holding $40-45 billion in domestic cash since it makes about 20 percent of its “cash flow” in the U.S.

There is no company even close to having as much cash as Apple. Number two on the list is Microsoft who has $68.3 billion. (Yes, Apple has twice as much) Number three is Google with $48.1 billion, and then Pfizer with $46.9 billion. Finally, rounding out the top five is Cisco Systems with $46.4 billion.

If Apple wanted to take on a humanitarian cause, the cash could feed every hungry person in the world three basic meals per day for 245 days based on the most recent statistics!

Apple said it’s been discussing ways to return more money to stockholders, but so far the company has had nothing concrete to offer. Apple has been under pressure from a hedge fund manager named David Einhorn and other major investors to return some of that cash to shareholders.

[All Things D]

March 19, 2013
Apple New Patent Reveals Interactive Augmented Reality System

Apple has been granted a patent today for their invention relating to synchronized, interactive augmented reality displays for multifunctional devices or iDevices.

Image Courtesy : Apple Insider

Published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple’s U.S. Patent No. 8,400,548 for “Synchronized, interactive augmented reality displays for multifunction devices” describes an advanced AR system that uses various iOS device features like a multitouch screen, camera and internet connectivity, among others, to facilitate advanced AR functionality.

Patently Apple reports :

According to Apple, the granted patent is about a device that can receive live video of a real-world, physical environment on a touch sensitive surface. One or more objects can be identified in the live video. An information layer can be generated related to the objects. In some implementations, the information layer can include annotations made by a user through the touch sensitive surface. The information layer and live video can be combined in a display of the device. Data can be received from one or more onboard sensors indicating that the device is in motion. The sensor data can be used to synchronize the live video and the information layer as the perspective of video camera view changes due to the motion. The live video and information layer can be shared with other devices over a communication link.

Image Courtesy : Patently Apple

According to Apple Insider, The patent describes an AR system for iOS devices, which can be used in a variety of different ways. At its most basic, it works by labeling elements of an image in a live video feed, as when it names the parts of a circuit board being shot with the rear-facing camera on an iPad-like device in Apple’s patent.

The iOS device employing the AR tech is also described as being able to show both the straight image itself, and the version with overlaid information at once in windows side-by-side, allowing both an unobstructed view and one with all the contextual information.

Interesting!

[Patently Apple, Apple Insider, Tech Crunch]

March 19, 2013
WhatsApp Yearly Subscription Model To Come To iOS In 2013

Users of Apple’s iOS platform who are utilizing popular instant messaging application WhatsApp could be looking at subscription fees headed there way this year if reports prove true.

WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum recently revealed in his statement to a Dutch journalist Alexander Klopping that the service will be introducing annual paid subscriptions to its iOS app this year. Once it takes effect, users will have to pay annually to use the app instead of paying a single download fee at the outset. The new subscription model will only apply to new users, and not to existing users.

Currently, one of the perks to owning iOS is that WhatsApp for iOS is a onetime payment of $0.99. Other platforms like Blackberry, Windows Phone and Android get to download the app for free, but after a year they are expected to pay $0.99 in subscription fees every year. It’s not a very huge fee but ultimately it could cost more than its iOS counterpart.

Koum hasn’t identified an exact date on when the subscriptions would begin, nor did he clarify much on why WhatsApp decided to change its pricing model, although a likely cause could be increased competition with the likes of LINE, Kik Messenger, and KakaoTalk, along with a number of other apps, most of which have exceeded 100 million users total with the exception of KakaoTalk, who had 57 million registered users as of August 2012, and is likely coming close to the 100 million mark.

For those waiting on a desktop version of WhatsApp to be used with Windows 7, Windows 8, and Mac devices, Koum revealed that, unfortunately, a desktop version is not in the pipeline:

“We get that question asked a lot. We feel strongly that the world is moving to mobile and … we want to be mobile-only. Your phone is with you all the time, and desktop is to many becoming a secondary experience. … our answer is no, not anytime soon.”

March 18, 2013
BlackBerry CEO : iPhone UI Is Old, Lacking Innovation

Thorsten Heins, BlackBerry’s CEO, has been on a mission to bring back the glory days of the smartphone maker. A huge sign of adoption occurred last week when BlackBerry revealed that an unknown partner signed up to purchase 1 million BlackBerry 10 smartphones – this was the “largest ever single purchase order in BlackBerry’s history.”

Now Heins has laid a burn on the iPhone, pointing out that its software is starting to look a bit dated. He is currently visiting Australia for the launch of the Z10 and had some choice words for their competitors, namely Apple.

Heins said “Apple did a fantastic job in bringing touch devices to market… They did a fantastic job with the user interface, they are a design icon. There is a reason why they were so successful, and we actually have to admit this and respect that. History repeats itself again I guess… the rate of innovation is so high in our industry that if you don’t innovate at that speed you can be replaced pretty quickly. The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about is now five years old.”

Mr Heins said one area that the new BlackBerry phones had surpassed the iPhone was in the ability to multi-task – running multiple apps at once – meaning that users could work in the same fashion on their smartphone as they liked to on a laptop.

Apple’s future direction with iOS and its user interface are now a point of interest for the company, as it parted ways with its previous iOS software chief, Scott Forstall, late last year. That role, along with control of the design of OS X, has been handed to Jonathan Ive, who has overseen development of the company’s iconic hardware for years.

[Via Financial Review]

March 18, 2013
THX Sues Apple Over Speaker Patent

Apple Inc. has been accused by THX Ltd., a company founded by “Star Wars” producer George Lucas, of stealing speaker technology used in iPhones, iPads and iMac products.

According to the complaint, Apple knowingly infringed and continues to infringe upon THX’s U.S. Patent No. 7,433,483 for “Narrow profile speaker configurations and systems,” a property granted in 2008 describing methods to effectively enhance sound quality in compact speaker arrangements integrated into consumer electronics like computers and televisions.

As noted by Bloomberg, THX claims Apple’s violation caused monetary damages and irreparable harm, and seeks royalties or damages to make up for lost profit.

Given the products Apple allegedly uses the technology in, it is reasonable to assume that monetary damages could be a substantial sum.

THX originated as a way to make sure that the audio in Lucas’s Star Wars movies could be properly produced outside of the theater. The company did this by establishing standards, as well as a certification for sound systems, reports Bloomberg.

This year, San Rafael, California-based THX announced its first mobile application, THX tune-up, available in Apple’s iTunes App Store, according to a Jan. 29 statement from THX. The app allows consumers to use an Apple device with the iOS operating system to adjust the performance of televisions, projectors and speakers, according to the statement.

Neither company would comment outside of THX which simply said that this was a “pending legal matter”.

[Via Bloomberg]

March 16, 2013
Apple Suffers Setback In iPhone Trademark Apple In Mexico

Apple’s appeal to overturn a previous ruling against its sole ownership of the “iPhone” trademark in Mexico was rebuffed on Friday, with the Mexican Supreme Court saying a local tech company holds the official rights to the “iFone” name in the country.

In a case of David vs. Goliath, the Mexican Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling that iFone, a small IT company in Mexico City, is the rightful owner of the iPhone name in that country.

The company registered the name in 2003, four years before Apple rolled out the smartphone it dubbed the iPhone, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The case goes back to 2009, when Apple tried to register the phone brand name in Mexico and the Mexican Industrial Property Institute said it was already taken. Apple tried to take the name by suing, arguing that it had expired for iFone, but a federal court disagreed.

Ifone, based in Mexico City, specializes in server-based telecommunications systems, such as software that controls IP telephony, and is the local representative for software-based communications solutions provider AltiGen Communications Inc.

The ruling marks another setback for Apple in Latin America. A month ago, Brazilian authorities rejected Apple’s attempts to register the iPhone name because Brazilian electronics maker IGB Eletronica SA, better known by its brand name Gradiente, already owned rights to the name.

Last year Apple fought with Chinese company Proview over the rights to the iPad trademark in the country. That dispute, which threatened sales of the popular tablet, was settled last July for $60 million.

[Via LA Times]

March 16, 2013
Duke Nukem II Coming To iOS

Duke Nukem 3D is already available to play on the App Store now, and just in time for the sequel’s 20th anniversary, Duke Nukem 2 is coming to the App Store soon.

Interceptor Entertainment, the team behind the Rise of the Triad reboot, is handling the reins of the project, with 3D Realms overseeing.

The game will include 32 levels of carnage from the original game, but with new music, touchscreen support, replays and integrated leaderboards. The port preserves the original’s 256-color palette and “future” game setting of 1998. The wisecracking hero can use four weapon types, and fights aliens to save the Earth from invasion.

“Before Duke Nukem 3D, before the sunglasses, before the one-liners, and before the strippers – many gamers never knew there was another incredible alien ass-kicking Duke game, a cutting-edge game for its time that still holds up 20 years later,” said CEO and co-founder of 3D Realms, Scott Miller.

The game was originally released in late 1993 for DOS, but was successfully ported onto the Color Gameboy later that decade, though the latter edition had substantial differences. It arrived two years after the original Duke Nukem, and is set a year after the original story, with Nukem having to escape a kidnapping by the evil Rigelatins, foiling their plan for enslaving the Earth and saving the day.

Check out the trailer below :

March 15, 2013
Apple Releases OS X 10.8.3 With Boot Camp Enhancements

After a significant amount of time in beta, the next version of Apple’s Mountain Lion, 10.8.3 has finally been released to the public.

The main people that will be happy with this update are Boot Camp users. First of all, Windows 8 is now supported with Boot Camp, which is obviously a big deal for those of you who dual boot your Macs. Secondly, Boot Camp now supports Macs with a 3TB drive.

The 10.8.3 update is recommended for all OS X Mountain Lion users and includes features and fixes that improve the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including the following:

– The ability to redeem iTunes gift cards in the Mac App Store using your Mac’s built-in camera
– Boot Camp support for installing Windows 8
– Boot Camp support for Macs with a 3TB hard drive
– A fix for an issue that may cause Logic Pro to become unresponsive when using certain plug-ins
– A fix for an issue that may cause audio to stutter on 2011 iMacs
– Includes Safari 6.0.3

For detailed information about this update, please visit:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5612

Overall, OS X 10.8.3 spent three-and-a-half months in beta, with 13 different beta version being released over that timeframe. That’s a long time for such a small OS update, but this isn’t anything new from Apple. They’ve been known to release several beta versions of updates before seeding it out to the public.

The newest version of Mountain Lion is available for download from the Mac App Store or the software update option on your Mac.

[Via SlashGear]

March 15, 2013
Apple Marketing Head Phil Schiller Tweets Link To Android’s Security Flaws

Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller has been known to take to Twitter and email to voice his opinions on rival services and platforms in the past. Today, the Apple executive appears to be taking a jab at Android by tweeting out a link to a recent study from security firm F-Secure that compares security threats on mobile platforms.

Be safe out there: f-secure.com/static/doc/lab…

— Philip Schiller (@pschiller) March 7, 2013

Schiller is noted for his taunts at competition, but he hardly uses the microblogging website, so when he does it seems to have an impact. The last activity on his Twitter account before this dig at Android was on 25 December, wishing everyone a happy Christmas.

The F-Secure report indicates that around 96 new families and variants of Android threats were discovered in the fourth quarter of 2012, which was double the number recorded in the previous quarter and that on the threat side, Android’s share rose to 79% in 2012 compared to 66.7% in 2011, while iOS’ share was just 0.7%. While the report is certainly not the de facto pronouncement of mobile OS security, and is based on a specific methodology, a senior Apple executive citing it to pan competition does raise eyebrows.

The reality of the situation is that if you stick to Google Play, you’d be safe in most of the cases. And if you run 4.2 Jelly Bean, you’d be protected even against malicious apps in third-party stores.

Still, Google’s anti-malware bouncer platform and constant quick clean-ups of Google Play cannot protect you from yourself. Rogueware and spyware apps do exist on third-party app stores, and earlier Android versions might be vulnerable. But then again, that’s the price you pay for your freedom of choice, something that other platforms cannot boast about.

March 8, 2013
Nokia Joins Apple In Bid For Samsung Ban

In a surprising twist, Windows Phone device manufacturer Nokia has filed a brief with US courts in support of Apple’s ongoing legal battle against Samsung.

Acting as an amicus curiae (friend of the court, a party who offers information to a case they are not directly involved with), Nokia has filed a brief on behalf of Apple to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit this week.

In the brief, Nokia asked the court to permit permanent injunctions on the sale of Samsung phones that were found to infringe Apple’s patents.

As part of its ongoing legal battle with Samsung, Apple has repeatedly requested the courts to impose an injunction on the sale of Samsung products that have infringed on the iPhone maker’s patents.

As noted by Reuters, the brief itself is currently sealed, but an accompanying motion supplies an overview of Nokia’s argument. The company questions Judge Koh’s December ruling requiring a patent holder to first establish a “causal nexus” between a patented feature and customer demand before securing a permanent injunction against offending products. If such a precedent were set, Nokia asserts, the ability of patent holders to obtain sales bans would be crippled.

[quote]The “causal nexus” requirement as applied by the district court here, making the evidentiary standard for obtaining a permanent injunction so burdensome and strict that it may rarely, if ever, be met, will essentially lead to a compulsory-licensing system wherein patent holders are forced to license patented technology to competing firms, which could in turn harm incentives to innovate.[/quote]

In her ruling late last year, Judge Lucy Koh said that sales bans on Samsung products will not be given, and they can only be removed from sale if the feature deemed to infringe on a patent is one that is solely responsible for consumer demand for the product.

[Apple Insider]

March 7, 2013
Report : Intel in Talks to Build Chips for Apple

Intel is reportedly in talks with Apple to take over Samsung’s role to manufacture iPad and iPhone processors. Even if Apple is not using Intel’s x86 CPU’s in its mobile products, it would be an attractive deal for Intel to fill the capacity in its own fabs and take away business from its most significant chip manufacturing rival in the market.

Intel’s next CEO is likely to shepherd the top chipmaker into a growing contract-manufacturing business, a strategic shift that could lead to a deal with Apple Inc and give it a fighting chance to make inroads in the mobile arena.

According to Reuters, a source “close to one of the companies” claims that executives from both Apple and Intel have met over the past year to discuss the idea of Intel making chips on a contract manufacturing basis. That would mean that Intel used its foundries to create chips designed to Apple’s own specifications.

This is not the first time rumors of an Apple-Intel partnership have cropped up. A report from May 2011 suggested that Intel showed interest in building Apple’s A4 and A5 SoCs, though no action was taken and the idea was apparently shelved as the so-called Ultrabook initiative gained momentum.

As for Apple, a move to Intel is easier to imagine, as the Mac lineup already runs on x86 processors. It has also been rumored that the company wants to distance itself from current A-series SoC manufacturer Samsung, with which it is ensnarled in a worldwide patent struggle. The Korean electronics giant is also Apple’s biggest competition in the mobile marketplace, with a variety of Android-based devices going jockeying for position against iOS products like the iPhone and iPad.

[Apple Insider, Reuters]

March 7, 2013
Google Maps For iOS Updated To Version 1.1

Google has released its first update to Google Maps for iOS, bringing some features over from Android and the web.

Version 1.1, available on the App Store on Tuesday, now allows users to search for addresses based on their Google Contacts if they choose to log into their Google accounts. Additionally, the app now allows users to search for general categories like “restaurants,” “bars,” “gas stations,” and so on. Non-US users will also rejoice at the ability to choose between kilometers and miles for the app’s distance estimates.

Users can now sync up previously-searched locations based on contact information, so if you have an address saved under Mom, searching by name will point you to the place on the map.

Google asks customers to note that some of these features “may not be available in all countries.”

Google Maps is a free download from the App Store.

[toggle_box title=”Change Log” width=”Width of toggle box”]

Full change log for Google Maps version 1.1:

– Search your Google Contacts; sign in to have your saved addresses show up when you search for friends and family by name.
– Quickly search for local places by selecting popular categories such as restaurants, bars, cafes, gas stations, etc.
– Choose between Kilometers or Miles for your preferred distance units.
– Note that some features may not be available in all countries.

[/toggle_box]

March 6, 2013
Rumour : Apple iPhone 5S Coming In August With Faster Processor and Improved Camera

We all know that a new iPhone will be hitting stores’ shelves this year, but what exactly will this device bring to the table?

As soon as a new iPhone is announced the next wave of rumours begin. Surfacing today is a report from iMore noting that Apple is planning to announce the follow-up to the iPhone 5 with the iPhone 5S (if that’s what it would be called!) sometime this summer, possibly in August of this year.

As for the design, no plans for this new iPhone 5S to come with a laser keyboard or holographic display, but will keep the same overall general style as the iPhone 5 and come with a better camera and faster processor – possibly “A7.” According to previous rumours the iPhone 5S will also come with a fingerprint sensor under the home button for added security, plus additional details revealed camera will have an improved LED “SmartFlash” sensor.

More specific rumours point to a 13-megapixel camera, and a storage capacity as high as 128GB.

Without compromising with overall design and thickness of casing, Apple is trying to raise the bar of upcoming iPhone 5 only to stay above than the competition.

Despite of high-sales of iPhone 5 and iPad Mini, the year 2012 remained below expectations for Apple and for investors. However, with a line of products reportedly scheduled in 2013 at regular intervals – Apple iPad Mini 2 in April, Apple iPhone 5S in August and Apple iWatch by end of the year – last three-quarters could make Apple swipe off the market beating expectation with significant margins.

[iMore]

March 5, 2013
Apple iPhone Could Have Been Called ‘Telepod’, ‘Tripod’ or ‘Mobi’!

Before Apple settled for iPhone, Apple considered several other names for its first smartphone. Not only was the name iPad originally in contention for the phone rather than it later being used for the company’s tablet, but it also almost went with TriPod. Really.

Considering that Apple named their desktop computer system the iMac and their portable media player the iPod, it isn’t surprising that they decided to name their mobile phone the iPhone. However that wasn’t always the case and according to former Apple marketer, Ken Segall.

Speaking to 9to5Mac, Segall said that Apple considered the names “Telepod” and “Tripod” for the smartphone at one point.

The former brand would bring “telephone” together with the iPod, while the latter would refer to the iPhone’s three core capabilities – a phone, an iPod and a device to get onto the internet.

According to Segall, Apple also evaluated the name “mobi” as a play on the word “mobile”, and could even have called the phone “iPad”. That brand was used for Apple’s tablet computer product that debuted in 2010.

But Apple co-founder Steve Jobs previously revealed that the firm actually started working on the tablet before the phone, only to end up prioritising the iPhone in its product strategy.

So yeah, looking at what names Apple might have picked for its iconic smartphone, we’re glad it chose the “iPhone” eventually. Otherwise, we would now be talking, tweeting and snapping photos using our Tripods, and that just sounds silly. Don’t you agree?

[Via 9to5Mac]

March 5, 2013