Apple

Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

Spring is in the air, it’s getting just a bit warmer out, and miracle of miracles, the sun is still shining when you get out of work! We’re celebrating the only way we know how: by downloading some sweet new Android, iOS, and Windows Phone apps. Multi-Platform Updates Flickr The original name in online photo…

Facebook Adds “Nearby Friends” to Show You Where Everyone’s At

Facebook’s newest feature, Nearby Friends, begins rolling out today. The opt-in app addition lets your friends know when you’re close by, with the option to show your precise location on a map, if that’s the kind of thing you want to share with your friends. Making its way to Facebook’s Android and iOS app in…

Bloomberg: iOS 8 Will Have Shazam’s Song Identification Baked In

Can’t name that tune? No worry: Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is partnering with Shazam to embed song identification software right into its forthcoming iOS 8. The news agency reports that two of its sources believe Apple is “planning to unveil a song-discovery feature in an update of its iOS mobile software that will let…

According to Recode, Yahoo is trying to persuade Apple to drop Google and make Yahoo its default iOS search engine. Because that would mean more money for Yahoo and less money for Google. The free market works!

What could Apple possibly want with a dam in Oregon? Is raising condors with hand puppets going just a bit too far? Why should we all start eating prickly pears? Hey, it’s time for this week’s Landscape Reads. Apple Bought a Dam to Power Its Data Center When you upload your data onto iCloud, it…

Jobs’ Death “Best Opportunity to Attack iPhone,” Wrote Samsung Exec

The longrunning legal battle between Apple and Samsung has certainly had its low points, but an internal email unearthed by CNET sent by a Samsung executive just five days after Steve Jobs’ death sheds new light on just how callous the competition got. In this case, the subject was how to leverage the death of…

The Smartphone Industry Pledge That Could Stop Your Phone Being Stolen

The likes of Apple, Google, Microsoft and other major figures in the smartphone industry have signed a pledge that will make it harder to steal cell phones—from July 2015, at least. The pledge sees the companies promise to enable every smartphone user with the ability to remotely brick and wipe their phones when they’re stolen.…

Apple CarPlay Comes to Pioneer’s Aftermarket Infotainment Systems

Apple iOS car integration is coming to loads more vehicles now, thanks to a firmware update that’ll make CarPlay available through Pioneer’s popular aftermarket in-dash infotainment systems. Apple is at long last jumping into in-car “infotainment” systems. As we recently saw in a Volvo demo, CarPlay basically puts iOS in your car’s dash, allowing you…

A Simple Silicone Sleeve Turns Your iPhone Into a Game Boy

The touchscreen generation might not know any better, but those of us who grew up with Game Boys know that physical control pads and buttons will always trump on-screen alternatives. Entire this slide-on silicone sleeve, called the G-PAD, that turns your smartphone into an even better handheld gaming machine. Created by Aws Jan who’s currently…

Flash Drives Go Wireless, Flossing Gets Smart, iDevices Get Buttons

This SanDisk flash drive is part of the company’s Connect line. The drive streams your media, including documents and video, to your Mac, PC, iPhone, Android, or Kindle, and doesn’t need to be plugged in or have a router or an Internet connection to work. The 64GB model is sitting at its lowest price ever,…

You’ll Never Leave a Charging Cable With a Built-in Alarm Behind

It wouldn’t be surprising if Apple made as much money selling replacement charging cables as it did phones and tablets. Those white Lightning cables are easier to lose than socks on laundry day, but now there’s an alternative that will actually remind you to pack yoursup when you’ve unplugged your phone. The ChargerLeash looks and…

Before the iPhone Launched, Android Didn’t Support Touchscreens

It’s virtually impossible to imagine now, but back when the iPhone was launched in 2007, Google wasn’t planning to make Android for touchscreen devices. Revealed in court documents that form part of the current Apple-Samsung legal argument, a Google report explains that Android “was designed with the presence of discrete physical buttons as an assumption.…

Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

Rejoice, the weekend’s here. Whether you sprinted or hobbled across the finish line, we made it. Now let’s download some apps! Android Distiller We loved Distiller for iOS, and praise the heavens, now it’s here for Android. This handy app suggests a whiskey based on where or how you’ll be enjoying it, and helps you…

Weev Is Free to Troll Again After Appeals Court Tosses Out Conviction

Hoards of internet enthusiasts crowed in unison, when Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer was convicted of computer fraud in 2012 and later sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. And on Friday, those cries were justified. A federal appeals panel just overturned the conviction but not for the reasons some activists might’ve hoped for. The judges actually threw…

How Apple Decided It Wanted to Sue Samsung for $2.19 Billion

If you’ve ever wondered how companies like Apple settle on a figure for which to sue their competitors in the many and varied legal trials you hear about, you’re in luck. Court filings have revealed how Apple came to the $2.19 billion sum it’s currently pursuing Samsung for. Apple is currently seeking payment from Samsung…

Adobe Lightroom Mobile Review: Edit RAW Photos On Your iPad, Sort Of

Adobe’s Lightroom is a staple in the editing workflow of most photographers. The new, much-anticipated mobile version shows off a clever workaround for handling RAW files in a simple, if limited, interface. What is it? An iPad app (with future versions for iPhone and Android devices) that lets you sync and edit non-destructively from photos…

Mophie Space Pack Review: All the iPhone Storage You Need (Plus Bulk)

Mophie invented the battery charging iPhone case eons ago, saving legions of email addicts from mid-day phone death. With its new Space Pack case, Mophie hopes to once again give iPhone users something they’ve never had before: Extra storage space. What is it? A 1700 mAh battery case for iPhone 5/5S that doubles as an…

Our Favorite Android, iOS, and Windows Phone Apps of the Week

Smell that in the air? It’s the smell of the weekend. The scent of freedom. And the aroma of this week’s best new apps. Mmmm, stings the nostrils. Android Fleksy Keyboard If you’re a heavy Android user, you probably know Fleksy’s slick, intuitive keyboards. This most recent update adds My Fleksy Cloud, linking all your…

An Always-Listening App That Alerts the Hearing Impaired To Alarms

In an ideal world, every audible alarm would include a visual indication that something was wrong, so that the hearing impaired would immediately be notified too. Until that happens, a cheap $1 app called Deafalarm could serve as a viable alternative—keeping an ear out for alarms and alerting the user through text and vibrating alerts.…

How Steve Jobs’ Passion Shaped Pixar Into an Oscar-Winning Studio

While Apple was Steve Jobs’ first professional love, the Pixar animation studio that he helped foster was far more than a mere pet project. As Pixar President Ed Catmull explains in his upcoming book, Creativity Inc, Jobs’ involvement with the studio proved a revolutionary experience for both parties. Here’s a brief look at the Steve…