Well, that was quick: Only a few days after Apple announced its new subscription music service, Apple Music has replaced the iPod at the top of the company’s site. Here’s where everyone starts checking the deathwatch clock. [More]
iphone
BlackBerry Settles Patent Dispute With Makers Of Slip-On Keyboard
By 6.1.15
After another round of fighting over whether keyboard company Typo Products’ was infringing on BlackBerry’s patents, the two sides have decided to settle their dispute. Typo will still get to sell slip-on keyboards — as long as they’re of a certain size. [More]
Apple Working On Fix For Text That Instantly Crashes iPhones
By 5.27.15
It sounds like something out of a horror movie…if mobile phones watched horror movies. A certain string of Arabic characters, when sent to an iPhone, can crash the device and force it to restart immediately. It’s a hilarious prank, but also a nasty security flaw that could disrupt important phone calls. [More]
Apple Now Requires ResearchKit Apps To Get Ethics Board Approval
By 4.29.15
Since introducing ResearchKit, its open-source framework for scientists to develop iPhone apps for medical research, Apple has made a few tweaks to the submission guidelines for apps that aim to collect and use sensitive medical data. One new addition is that anyone submitting an app that does research on humans must submit proof that the study has been approved by an independent ethics review board. [More]
Sprint Customers Can Now Make Phone Calls Over WiFi With Latest iPhone Update
By 4.9.15
Minutes? What are these “phone minutes” you speak of? The latest iPhone update is basically going to do away with the need to count voice minutes for Sprint customers, who’ll be able to make phone calls over WiFi soon. [More]
Video Shows Galaxy S6 Edge Will Bend; Samsung Says It’s Misleading
By 4.6.15
You might remember a little controversy last fall called bendgate, in which Apple’s new-at-the-time iPhone 6 Plus was found to bend if you applied enough pressure. Following the flurry of stories and issues surrounding that device, it comes as no surprise that Samsung’s newest smartphone, the Galaxy S6 Edge, would be subjected to similar tests, thus introducing us to a possible bendgate 2.0. [More]
iPhone Owner Watching Thief’s Selfies Post To Her Facebook Account
By 3.27.15
Vanity, thy name is smartphone thief: We’re no strangers to the tale of the narcissistic villain who’s ultimately caught after uploading photos taken on the pilfered phones somewhere the owner can see them. That’s the ending one iPhone owner is hoping for, as she’s been watching the person who stole her device unwittingly send them straight to the owner’s Facebook account. [More]
Apple Clarifies Requirements For Medical Research Apps
By 3.12.15
Earlier this week, Apple announced HeathKit, an open-source software framework to help medical researchers use iPhones to gather data for medical research. This raised some concerns about researchers’ plans to share data collected from the apps, as well as consent and privacy. Now Apple has revised their App Store guidelines before the kit launches, but is that enough to keep study participants informed and safe? [More]
The Privacy And Consent Issues With Apple’s New ResearchKit
By 3.11.15
Earlier this week, Apple gave us wrist computers and took away almost all of the ports in its notebook computers, and also announced something that gadget fans may not have expected: a set of apps called ResearchKit designed to help medical researchers collect data from ordinary citizens for their research. Tens of thousands of people have already signed up for studies, which is potentially great for science. Is it good for us, the potential research subjects, though? [More]
Lawsuit From Ericsson Wants To Ban Apple From Importing iPhones, iPads
By 2.27.15
Another day, another lawsuit against Apple: This time around, the company’s facing a lawsuit from Ericsson that seeks to ban imports on all iPads and iPhones amidst a dispute about licensing fees for several patents. [More]
BlackBerry Suing Makers Of Slip-On iPhone Keyboard Again, Claiming New Version Is Infringement
By 2.17.15
BlackBerry has a bone to pick with Typo, the makers of a slip-on iPhone keyboard that the mobile phone company already sued once with claims that the case infringes on its patents, and it’s not ready to let that bone go anytime soon. A new lawsuit against Typo is now on the books, this time aimed at the company’s second iteration of slip-on accessories [More]
Slip-On Keyboard Company Has To Pay BlackBerry $860K For Continuing To Sell iPhone Accessory
By 2.5.15
BlackBerry’s trying its very best to stay relevant, and as such, it’s going after one company that actually seems to admire its phone design: After suing the makers of a slip-on iPhone keyboard by Typo Products that was similar to its own keyboard and successfully nabbing an injunction against sales of the accessory, BlackBerry will now get $860,000 after it claimed the company continued to sell the product. [More]
How Blackberry’s Official Account Ended Up Tweeting From An iPhone
By 1.15.15
On Tuesday, sharp-eyed users of third-party Twitter programs noticed something very telling on Blackberry’s Twitter feed. A Tweet urging users to download the official Twitter app for Blackberry phones had been posted from an iPhone. Yeah, why should the company’s representatives use a Blackberry to make a Twitter post urging customers to tweet from a Blackberry? [More]
Study Shows You Can’t Think Straight When Your iPhone Is In The Other Room
By 1.12.15
A day without my smartphone is a day I couldn’t even imagine (scary, I know). And a new study by scientists at the University of Missouri says that not only is this separation anxiety very real, but that it can impact our cognitive abilities. [More]
Apple’s Future iPhones Might Be Bendy On Purpose
By 1.8.15
The iPhone 6 caught a lot of heat for being a bit more prone to bending than other phones before it. But in the future, iPhones might be super flexible on purpose. The Apple Insider blog reports that this week, Apple won a patent for “a flexible electronic device” that can fold up like a trifold wallet. In the future, perhaps bendiness will be a feature, not a bug. [Apple Insider] [More]
Unlocked iPhone 6 And iPhone 6 Plus Now Officially Available In The U.S.
By 1.6.15
Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have been on the market since September, but one thing that hasn’t been available for customers in the United States was an unlocked, carrier-free phone. People who want Apple’s newest phone and phablet unlocked and unsubsidized can now order it that way directly. Technically, this was available on launch day: Apple just didn’t spell it out. [More]
iPhone Users Sue Claiming False Advertising, Cloud Storage Hawking
By 12.31.14
Two iPhone owners who live in Florida have filed a class action suit against Apple, claiming that the company advertises devices as having more storage capacity than they really do, of loading creating an operating system download that requires excessive space when first downloaded, and pushing paid cloud-storage services on customers who fill up the smaller-than-advertised hard drives on their phones. [More]
Walmart Slashes Prices On iPhone 6 To $129, 6 Plus To $229
By 12.11.14
If you have been meaning to buy yourself or a loved one a new iPhone 6 or 6 Plus but haven’t managed to get around to plunking down the cash for it, your procrastination has paid off. Walmart has cut prices on these devices to $129 and $229, respectively, for customers willing to sign up for a two-year contract with AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon. [More]
