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Sprint CEO sees iPhone as 'quite profitable' by end of 2015

Wed, 16 May 2012 19:25:00 GMT

Sprint's deal with Apple for the iPhone will ultimately prove "quite profitable" for the carrier, said CEO Dan Hesse during a company shareholder meeting on Tuesday. The pact will end up costing $15.5 billion by the end of 2015, which has prompted some worried shareholders to challenge it. Hesse in fact recently returned $3.25 million in personal compensation back to Sprint when it was pointed out that the company hadn't factored in the impact of the iPhone before tallying worker bonuses....

Briefly: OWC 32GB RAM Kit for iMacs, ARWU turns one

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT

Other World Computer has announced a new 32GB Memory Kit for 2011 iMac and 2010 27-inch iMac models. The OWC PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz chip has been fully tested to meet all Apple memory design and compatibility specifications and comes with a lifetime replacement warranty and step-by-step installation video. The upgrade kit can be purchased for $360, $240 less than Apple's own 16GB RAM kit....

Sorkin to pen Sony's Jobs biopic

Wed, 16 May 2012 18:26:00 GMT

Aaron Sorkin -- a writer for The West Wing, Sports Night, and HBO's upcoming The Newsroom -- has officially signed on to script Sony Pictures' forthcoming biopic about the late Steve Jobs. The film will be based on Walter Isaacson's bestselling biography on the Apple co-founder....

Reuters sources support claims of 4-inch iPhone displays

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:11:00 GMT

Sources for Reuters are supporting Wall Street Journal claims that Apple is using 4-inch displays for the next iPhone, and has already begun to place orders for the new parts. As with the earlier report, Reuters says that LG Display, Sharp, and Japan Display are handling production, which is allegedly in early stages; full production orders could begin in June. iPhone assembly could start as soon as August, if Apple follows normal patterns. One source comments that it's still uncertain what share of display production each supplier will have....

Flipboard 1.9 brings Audio category, SoundCloud support

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:02:00 GMT

The latest version of Flipboard, 1.9, now includes an Audio category, its developer has announced. The content is available through the Content Guide, and includes clips from NPR and PRI shows, as well as recommendations from SoundCloud. This includes access to lists and followed users, as well as highlighted content. Once audio is playing a person can continue reading other sections of Flipboard without it being interrupted; a menu option lets users control playback....

China Mobile still in talks for iPhone, chairman says

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:05:00 GMT

China Mobile is in talks with Apple to offer the iPhone, confirms Mobile chairman Xi Guohua. The executive made the statement on Wednesday at a shareholder meeting in Hong Kong, his first since replacing Wang Jianzhou, who retired in March. Apple has refused to comment, and Xi didn't elaborate much further at the meeting, saying he couldn't predict if a deal would be reached this year. "China Mobile and Apple both have the will to strengthen cooperation," he commented. "When there is more specific news, we will disclose it."...

iPhone Apps: AVStreamer, Monster Wars, WhitePages

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:53:00 GMT

WSJ says Apple has ordered 4-inch displays for next iPhone

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:20:00 GMT

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple has placed orders for iPhone displays measuring ëat least 4-inches diagonallyí for its sixth generation iPhone expected in October. Citing ëpeople familiar with the situationí production on the new displays is set to begin next month. Apple is said to be working with LG, Sharp and Japan Display (a newly formed partnership between Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba) on the new screens, which can be expected to be Retina Display-class....

Samsung and HTC stock nosedive, both thanks to Apple

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:04:00 GMT

Samsung and HTC stock have both taken a hit thanks to separate actions instigated by Apple. Samsungís stock saw $10 billion wiped off its value following a report by DigiTimes indicating that Apple had placed a large order for DRAM from its struggling Japanese competitor Elpida. Separately, HTCís shares also slumped by over 6 percent following an Apple initiated ITC injunction being enforced by US Customs, stopping the importation of its hotly anticipated One X and EVO 4G LTE handsets....

E-book price-fixing civil suit adds to Apple, publisher woes

Wed, 16 May 2012 07:00:00 GMT

In addition to the lawsuit from the Department of Justice and 17 states against Apple and two major publishers alleging the companies conspired to keep e-book prices artificially high, a US District Court judge yesterday approved a class-action civil lawsuit targeting Apple and five major publishers on the same charges, filed "on behalf of e-book customers." The judge rejected a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in a strongly-worded opinion....

Toshiba Canvio 3.0 drive adds Mac NTFS write support

Wed, 16 May 2012 04:45:00 GMT

Toshiba has added two higher-capacity models to its Canvio line. The line is now buttressed by the Canvio 3.0 and Canvio Basics 3.0, which now offer up to 1.5TB of storage space. The Canvio 3.0 includes software allowing OS X to both read and write the NTFS file system....

Google versus Oracle jury starts patent deliberation

Wed, 16 May 2012 03:10:00 GMT

The same California jury that couldn't decide on the "fair use" aspects of the Google versus Oracle is now debating Oracle's patent claims. Oracle began this suit in 2010, claiming that Android infringes on its Java patents. Google says that it has not infringed and furthermore, Oracle can't copyright certain parts of Java, an open source language. Closing arguments were made today in phase two of the three-phase, multi-year trial....

Apple files to dismiss Siri lawsuits

Wed, 16 May 2012 02:36:00 GMT

Apple has filed to dismiss a range of lawsuits filed against it over the performance of Siri, the digital assistant featured on the iPhone 4S. Apple contends in its motion that the plaintiffs in the case lack standing to pursue their case, have improperly interpreted Apple's advertising of Siri, and have failed to pursue other means of redress beyond litigation....

Apple CEO meets with US House Speaker John Boehner

Wed, 16 May 2012 01:38:00 GMT

In a surprise move, Apple CEO Tim Cook was in Washington DC today and met with US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). The speaker's office released a picture of the two men in mid-conversation, but did not release any details about what they talked about or the length of the meeting. Apple has recently been criticized by Washington insiders for its historically low (but rising) spending on lobbying....

Baidu wants platform on Android, iOS, Windows

Wed, 16 May 2012 00:29:00 GMT

Fresh off the announcement of its new mobile phone, Chinese search company Baidu has told TechCrunch that it has big plans the Baidu Cloud Smart Terminal system that runs its new phone. Baidu wants to see Baidu Cloud make an appearance on all major mobile operating systems, including Windows Phone and iOS....

Apple iOS6 traces appear in developer's usage logs

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:40:00 GMT

An unnamed app developer informed 9to5Mac earlier today that users accessing its software had been identified as running iOS 6 by analytics. Other unidentified developers polled have also been seeing the hallmarks of the new iOS version since late April. Versions of iOS 5 appeared prior to the 2011 Apple World Wide Developer's Conference in the same manner....

Disney Corp may add ESPN to Apple TV

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:45:00 GMT

The Walt Disney Company's network executive Sean Bratches said in an interview today that Disney would consider allowing the WatchESPN service application on the Apple TV set top device. Prior authentication of cable access would be required to view. No deal is imminent....

Apple secures QuickTime 7 for Windows, Macs unaffected

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:22:00 GMT

Apple has issued an updated version of QuickTime 7, now at version 7.7.2, for Windows systems in order to address a number of security flaws. The vulnerabilities listed either do not exist on the Mac version of QuickTime 7, or are already addressed in Lion. Most but not all of the flaws were discovered by researchers working in conjunction with HP's "Zero Day Initiative" and are duly credited. A total of 17 flaws are addressed in the update....

Briefly: Audi/BMW iOS RC cars, AirPrint support passes 200

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:45:00 GMT

A new line of iPhone-controlled RC Cars has been launched by iHelicopters.net. Models include a range of popular Audi and BMW cars such as the Audi Q7, Audi R8, BMW X6, and BMW 5 Series. Each car includes a RF transmitter that connects to an iOS device via the headphone jack and allows users to control the car from up to 20 meters away. The new BMW and Audi models are set at $60 each including free worldwide shipping....

Netgear ships first 802.11ac router, intros USB adapter

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:40:00 GMT

Netgear has released its first 802.11ac router using the new Wi-Fi specification. The R6300 router, which is said to be capable of combined Wi-Fi speeds of up to 1750Mbps, ships at the same time as announcements for a more budget-conscious R6200 router and the A6200 Wi-Fi dongle, aiming to be the first 802.11ac dual-band USB adapter to market....

Retina update also coming to MacBook Air, sources say

Tue, 15 May 2012 20:00:00 GMT

Apple will also announce Retina display-equipped MacBook Airs at this year's WWDC, supply chain sources for 9to5Mac say. The company is already believed to be preparing news of Retina MacBook Pros and iMacs, and an Air would complete the lineup of Macs with built-in displays. 9to5 claims that unlike the Pro, though, the Air's update will be almost entirely about the display, rather than incorporating any major design changes....

Chrome 19 stable release brings cross-platform tab sync

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:25:00 GMT

Google has announced that Chrome 19 is now available as a stable build, enabling users to try out the new features that were announced early last month. The latest overhaul to the company's browser broadens sync capabilities between devices and platforms. Users can open multiple tabs on the desktop browser, then pick up their Android 4.0 phone and access the same content from the mobile Chrome beta....

BBC to stream 24 HD Olympic Games channels online

Tue, 15 May 2012 19:05:00 GMT

The BBC has explained how it will cover the London 2012 Olympic Games. The home-nation broadcaster will stream 24 live feeds in HD to cover every event, matching the increase in video feeds for digital broadcasts in the UK during the event....

Facebook account leaks App Store review process

Tue, 15 May 2012 18:13:00 GMT

App developers got a brief glimpse into the workings of the review process yesterday when photos emerged of what appeared to be the work desk of an App Store reviewer. As ReadWriteWeb discovered, the photos -- posted on a test Facebook account -- showed an iMac, several Apple products, and what appeared to be app review guidelines....

Greenpeace stages iCloud protest at Apple's Cupertino HQ

Tue, 15 May 2012 17:37:00 GMT

Environmental activist group Greenpeace has staged a protest at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, notes AppleInsider. Images were projected onto the main building overnight, including supportive messages from users on Twitter and Facebook. Activists also secured themselves inside a so-called "survival device," measuring 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Four activists dressed themselves as iPhones, complete with screens again displaying messages from Twitter and Facebook....

Further reports suggest MacBook Pros going back to NVIDIA

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:27:00 GMT

Two new reports may reinforce claims that Apple is switching back to NVIDIA GPUs for the new MacBook Pro. The Verge cites a "trusted source" as saying Apple is migrating away from AMD video. ABC News is echoing the same view from its own sources, but further suggesting that Apple will use the GeForce GT 650M....

Forum roundup: 10.7.4 quiet fixes and more

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:10:00 GMT

Yesterday in the MacNN forums Mac Enthusiast bojangles points out a quiet bug fix in Mac OS X 10.7.4 that affects Screen Sharing on multiple displays, click here to read more. Also Yesterday one forum member was replacing a G5 Xserve with a late 2008 Xserve and had some questions, read more here....

Analysts: iOS Chrome to spark browser wars

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:07:00 GMT

Google is likely to launch a version of its Chrome browser for Apple's iOS line of devices in the coming months, according to analysts at Macquarie Capital. Macquarie sees the iOS Chrome launch as the opening salvo in a new round of Browser Wars, the likes of which the Internet hasn't seen since the late 1990s....

DealNN roundup: SteelSeries Shift Gaming Keyboard, only $34

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:20:00 GMT

Today's deals from DealNN include discounted keyboards, headphones, and more. Newegg.com has recently lowered the cost of the SteelSeries Shift Gaming Keyboard with eight programmable hotkeys, two USB 2.0 ports, multiple media controls, and on-the-fly macro recording. Currently featured at DealNN, the gaming keyboard is now available for the discounted price of $34.99 and offers savings of up to $55....

Rumor has 7.85-inch iPad using thin-film touch technology

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:54:00 GMT

Apple's often-reported 7/7.85-inch iPad will use "G/F2" thin-film touch technology, a rumor from DigiTimes claims. The site says that Nitto will supply thin-film materials, while Nissha Printing and TPK will produce touchscreens. For Apple the advantage should not only be a thinner display, but also reduced costs, which may be essential if the tablet has a $200-250 pricetag rumored elsewhere....

Apple refurbs: MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and more

Tue, 15 May 2012 14:39:00 GMT

At Apple's online store today save on refurbished MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros and more. The refurb. 11.6-inch MacBook Air with a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM and a 128GB of flash storage is now only $799 after a $300 price cut. A $180 price cut is offered on the refub. 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.4GHz Intel dual-core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive, now $1019....

iPhone Apps: Fandango Movies, Inkflow, Sparrow

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:53:00 GMT

Reviews: Nokia's Lumia 900 for AT&T

Tue, 15 May 2012 13:50:00 GMT

Nokia's Lumia 900 represents the pinnacle of the company's new smartphone strategy, pairing premium components with a unique design and Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system. In our full review, we try to determine if the LTE radio, large display and other high-end features will help Nokia and Microsoft fulfill their dream of finally reestablishing themselves in the US smartphone market. ......

iMac said to be among upcoming Retina Mac systems

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:41:00 GMT

Apple is not only working on Retina MacBook Pros, but also Retina-equipped iMacs, says ABC News. The site quotes "its own sources," which also back up the upgraded MacBook Pros, but offer no other details. It's generally believed that Apple will introduce one or more upgraded systems at this year's WWDC, which starts June 11th....

Psystar finally rebuffed by Supreme Court

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:26:00 GMT

In a case that many thought long-settled, the US Supreme Court today closed the final chapter in the winding saga of would-be legal "hackintosh" seller Psystar. The court refused a request to review the lower court decision, which granted a permanent injunction preventing the company from selling any previous or future versions of Mac OS X along with its "Rebel EFI" hack to allow installation on non-Apple PCs....

Appeals court overturns Galaxy Tab 10.1 affirmation

Tue, 15 May 2012 05:02:00 GMT

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has reversed a previous judge's ruling that there was no merit to Apple's copyright complaint against Samsung. Prior judgements on iPhone versus the Galaxy Nexus phone were left untouched. The original ruling against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 was that Apple's patent was "obvious", meaning that the original patent should never have been granted....

Perian to close doors, open-source project

Tue, 15 May 2012 04:19:00 GMT

The group of developers that had begun and maintained the Perian video-codec project over the last six years is calling it quits, and will release one more version of the popular video translator before shutting down support and posting the code on a public repository for others to (perhaps) take over. The final version "may or may not" work under Mountain Lion, and the code will eventually be posted on Google Code or Github....

Apple vs. Motorola, HTC suit combined, moved to 2014

Tue, 15 May 2012 03:40:00 GMT

Apple has won a scheduling victory over Motorola and HTC in the latest round of the giants' patent battles in Florida today. An exasperated judge consolidated the disparate trials, which consist of of patent infringement claims by Apple against both companies and counter-claims from them, in part because of a lack of cooperation between the parties. The new combined trial will take place in April 2014....

Court: Jobs convinced last publisher to use 'agency' model

Tue, 15 May 2012 02:32:00 GMT

As the e-book lawsuit from the Justice Department against Apple and two other publishers expands, some recently-unsealed evidence shows that former Apple CEO Steve Jobs personally intervened to convince a holdout major publisher that the "agency model" -- a standard pricing model in the book industry that lets publishers set prices for books -- was the way to go, and succeeded in convincing the publisher....

New version of Rdio application for OSX launches

Tue, 15 May 2012 00:35:00 GMT

A new version of the subscription streaming music service Rdio has launched, bringing with it a native Mac OS X application for the first time. Previous versions were web-based. The new version is available on browsers, and applications Windows, the iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 7. All versions allow listening to over 15 million tracks on the Rdio service....

Bloomberg backs talk of Retina MacBook Pros at WWDC

Mon, 14 May 2012 23:52:00 GMT

Recent rumors of a refresh in Apple's MacBook Pro line received a bit of support today, with Bloomberg now reporting that the new line is indeed on its way. Bloomberg has the new line of MacBooks arriving in June, sporting many of the features earlier rumors have suggested....

Oracle: Google found Java subcontractors 'super shady'

Mon, 14 May 2012 23:50:00 GMT

Oracle and Google continued the debate over how to proceed with the ongoing Java patent infringement suit. During the discussion and filing with the Judge William Alsup, Oracle presented a document summarizing why it is entitled to Google's profits from the case -- "super shady" contractors from Noser in Google's Android team. Google disputes the relevance of the filing....

Tomb Raider: Underworld coming to Mac on May 31

Mon, 14 May 2012 23:02:00 GMT

Tomb Raider: Underworld, the eighth in the series of games features adverturess Lara Croft, will debut on the Mac on May 31st. The game, originally released for the PC in late 2008, is a direct sequel to Tomb Raider: Legend game (never released officially for Mac) but also contains plot elements drawn from the Tomb Raider: Anniversary reboot, which reinvented the original game with a modern game engine....

Apple posts twin security updates for OS X Leopard

Mon, 14 May 2012 21:50:00 GMT

Apple has posted two separate security updates for OS X Leopard. The first, Leopard Security Update 2012-003, disables versions of Flash without the most recent security updates, and instead provides a method of getting the latest release from Adobe. Apple's update is 1.11MB and requires at least OS X 10.5.8....

Kaspersky denies rumors of working on OS X security

Mon, 14 May 2012 21:12:00 GMT

Security firm Kaskpersky Lab is denying claims that Apple has asked it to research vulnerabilities in OS X, a statement reveals. "On Monday, April 14, computing.co.uk published an article titled 'Apple OS 'really vulnerable' claims Kaspersky Lab CTO' that includes an inaccurate quote regarding Apple and Kaspersky Lab," the company writes. "The article reports that Kaspersky Lab had 'begun the process of analyzing the Mac OS platform at Apple's request' to identify vulnerabilities. This statement was taken out of context by the magazine -- Apple did not invite or solicit Kaspersky Lab's assis...

Morning outage hit 12 percent of all iCloud users

Mon, 14 May 2012 20:31:00 GMT

A Monday morning iCloud outage affected 12 percent of subscribers, or about 15 million people, according to the service's status page. Between 8 and 9:30 AM Pacific time, iCloud email was inaccessible for the affected group. As of 9:42 AM, all services were listed as online....

Rumor: Flexible iPhones in the future thanks to new OLEDs

Mon, 14 May 2012 20:03:00 GMT

The coming years could see bending, twisting, and even wearable iPhones and other devices, if The Korea Times is right in its interpretation of one Samsung executive's remarks. Samsung reports sizable offerings for its bendable OLED displays, and analysts believe the quantities on order could signal that Apple is interested in bringing the technology to future devices....

Foxconn denies chairman leaked news of Apple TV set

Mon, 14 May 2012 19:21:00 GMT

Foxconn is disavowing suggestions that chairman Terry Gou leaked news of an Apple TV set, writes The Next Web. Last week, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou was believed to have confirmed the existence of an Apple-branded TV. The executive was misquoted, Foxconn now says, and the company can neither confirm nor speculate about any such hardware....

Apple to announce iCloud photo sharing at WWDC, report says

Mon, 14 May 2012 18:49:00 GMT

Apple will announce several new iCloud feature upgrades at June's WWDC, claim sources for the Wall Street Journal. One of the highlights is expected to be photo sharing. While users can currently sync photos via Photo Stream, these are only accessible under the same Apple ID. The sharing feature would not only allow people to make photosets public, but to make comments on others' collections....

Sparrow 1.2 adds landscape mode, label/folder management

Mon, 14 May 2012 17:06:00 GMT

Sparrow has released a new version of its iPhone email client, bringing it up to 1.2. The release makes several important changes, for instance allowing landscape composition for the first time, and navigating between messages by swiping up or down. Users can now edit or create labels and folders, and the app has been localized for nine languages in total: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Russian, and Chinese....