Google says to overhaul ad-tracking system on Android devices

Google announced plans Wednesday to limit ad tracking on its Android operating system, a sensitive privacy issue that rival Apple has already moved to curtail on its iPhones.

Tech giants are under growing pressure to better balance privacy and ad-targeting, as users complain, regulators threaten tougher rules, but the companies try to maintain access to the data key to their many billions in ad revenue. 

Apple and Google's operating software run on the majority of the world's smartphones, thus any changes they make to their policies have the potential to impact billions of users.

"Our goal... is to develop effective and privacy enhancing advertising solutions, where users know their information is protected, and developers and businesses have the tools to succeed on mobile," Google said in a statement.

For its part, Apple announced last year that users of its one billion iPhones in circulation can decide whether to allow their online activity to be tracked for the purpose of targeting ads -- a change which it said shows its focus is on privacy, but which critics note does not prevent the company itself from tracking.

Agence France-Presse

Goodbye, iTunes: Once-revolutionary app gone in Mac update

SAN FRANCISCO — It’s time to bid farewell to iTunes, the once-revolutionary program that made online music sales mainstream and effectively blunted the impact of piracy.

That assumes, of course, that you still use iTunes — and many people no longer do. On iPhones, the functions have long been split into separate apps for music, video and books. Mac computers follow suit Monday with a software update called Catalina.


Music-subscription services like Spotify and Apple Music have largely supplanted both the iTunes software and sales of individual songs, which iTunes first made available for 99 cents apiece. Apple is now giving iTunes its latest push toward the grave. For anyone who has subscribed to Apple Music, the music store will now be hidden on the Mac.

Sidelining the all-in-one iTunes in favor of separate apps for music, video and other services will let Apple build features for specific types of media and better promote its TV-streaming and music services to help offset slowing sales of iPhones.

In the early days, iTunes was simply a way to get music onto Apple’s marquee product, the iPod music player. Users connected the iPod to a computer, and songs automatically synced — simplicity unheard of at the time.

“I would just kind of mock my friends who were into anything other than iPods,” said Jacob Titus, a 26-year-old graphic designer in South Bend, Indiana.


Apple launched its iTunes Music Store in 2003, two years after the iPod’s debut. With simple pricing at launch — 99 cents a single, $9.99 for most albums — many consumers were content to buy music legally rather than seek out sketchy sites for pirated downloads.

But over time, iTunes software expanded to include podcasts, e-books, audiobooks, movies and TV shows. In the iPhone era, iTunes also made backups and synced voice memos. As the software got bloated to support additional functions, iTunes lost the ease and simplicity that gave it its charm.

And with online cloud storage and wireless syncing, it no longer became necessary to connect iPhones to a computer — and iTunes — with a cable.

Titus said he uses iTunes only to hear obscure Kanye West songs he can’t find streaming. “At the time it seemed great,” he said. “But it kind of stayed that same speed forever.”

The way people listen to music has changed, too. The U.S. recording industry now gets 80% of revenue from paid subscriptions and other streaming. In the first half of 2019, paid subscriptions to Apple Music and competing services rose 30% from a year earlier to 61 million, or $2.8 billion, while revenue from digital downloads fell nearly 18% to $462 million.

“The move away from iTunes really does perfectly mirror the general industry move away from sales” and toward subscriptions, said Randy Nelson, head of insights at Sensor Tower.

Rachel Shpringer, a 35-year-old patent agent in Los Angeles, spent years curating playlists on iTunes. But over time, she realized that was cutting her off from new music. She now gets music through a SiriusXM subscription.

The Mac’s new Music app, which gets the old iTunes icon, is the new home for — drum roll — music. That includes songs previously bought from the iTunes store or ripped from CDs, as well as Apple’s free online radio stations. It’s also the home for Apple’s $10-a-month music subscription.

Apple Music subscribers will no longer see the iTunes music store, unless they restore it in settings. Non-subscribers will see the store as a tab, along with plenty of ways to subscribe to Apple Music. (On iPhones, iTunes Store remains its own app for buying music and video.)

The iTunes store for TV shows and movies will still be prominent on Macs, though now as part of the TV app. Video available to buy or rent will be mixed in with other movies and shows — including exclusive offerings through Apple TV Plus.

The new Podcasts app gets a feature that indexes individual episodes, so you can more easily search for actors or fads that don’t appear in the podcast’s text description. The Mac previously got separate apps for voice memos and books, including audiobooks. The iPhone syncing and backup functions traditionally found in iTunes have been incorporated into the Mac’s navigation interface, Finder.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Apple cuts prices, ramps up services as iPhone 11 launches

CUPERTINO, United States — Apple unveiled its iPhone 11 models Tuesday with a price cut for the most basic models while also laying out plans for streaming and gaming services as it bids to weather the slump in the global smartphone market.

Price appeared to be a key consideration as the tech giant reduced the entry level price for the iPhone 11 to $699 (P36,438) and undercut rivals for its gaming and streaming television subscriptions.


Apple unveiled three versions of the iPhone 11 including “Pro” models with triple camera and other advanced features starting at $999 (P52,077) and $1,099 (P57,290), unchanged from last year’s prices, touting upgraded features including ultra-wide camera lenses.

The surprise from Apple was the reduction in the starting price at $699, down from $749 (P39,045) for the iPhone XR a year ago even as many premium devices are being priced around $1,000 (P52,130).

The new iPhones are “jam-packed with new capabilities and an incredible new design,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook told a launch event in Cupertino, California as the company set plans to sell the new handsets on September 20.

Content as ‘sweetener’

Apple’s announcements appeared to be aimed at emphasizing value as the company looks to shift its business model to reduce its dependence on smartphones and tie in digital content and other services to its devices.

“We got a stream of nonstop product launches, with content being used as a sweetener,” said Avi Greengart, analyst and consultant with Techsponential.

“I think the iPhone 11 is compelling and may convince people to upgrade earlier than they might have otherwise given the lower price and longer battery life, not just an improved camera.”

With the new devices and services, “I think there are more reasons to stay with Apple than to defect from Apple,” said Patrick Moorhead, analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

Streaming and gaming

Apple TV+ service will launch November 1 in more than 100 countries at $4.99 (P260) per month and will include a “powerful and inspiring lineup of original shows, movies and documentaries.”

While Apple’s streaming service will have limited content at first, its price is below the $6.99 (P364) for the forthcoming Disney+ service and the more expensive plans from Netflix.

“Clearly Cupertino is looking for market share coming out of the gates with these surprising price points that we loudly applaud,” said Daniel Ives of Wedbush Securities.

Apple is featuring scripted dramas, comedies and movies as well as children’s programs in the service, which will compete against streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon.

“With Apple TV+, we are presenting all-original stories from the best, brightest and most creative minds, and we know viewers will find their new favorite show or movie on our service,” said Zack Van Amburg, Apple’s head of video.

Apple said customers who purchase an iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch or Mac will get the first year of the service for free.

The company’s online gaming subscription service, Apple Arcade, will launch next week, offering exclusive titles for mobile and desktop users.

The new service, which will also cost $4.99 per month, will include more than 100 game titles made for Apple devices and will be available in some 150 countries.

“You can’t find these games on any other mobile platform or subscription service. No game service ever launched as many games, and we can’t wait for you to play all of that,” product manager Ann Thai told the Apple media event.

Apple also unveiled updates to its iPad tablet and Apple Watch smartwatch, also emphasizing stable or lower prices with cuts to older versions.

“We think the lower iPhone 11 price point and trade-in program will help promote upgrades, specifically in China, while the Apple Arcade and TV+ offerings will help accelerate services growth,” CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino said in a note about Apple.

Apple shares ended the formal trading day up slightly to $216.70, while streaming television rivals Netflix and Disney both finished down about two percent.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Facebook says Apple its restoring a key developer tool

NEW YORK  — Facebook says Apple is restoring a key development tool that the iPhone maker disabled Wednesday.

Late Tuesday, TechCrunch reported that Facebook paid teens and other users who agreed to download an app called Facebook Research. That app could extensively track their phone and web use. Apple said Facebook was abusing the tool , known as a developer enterprise certificate, to distribute the app in a way that allowed the social network to sidestep Apple restrictions on data collection.

By revoking the certificate, Apple closed off Facebook’s efforts to sidestep Apple’s app store and its tighter rules on privacy.

Apple did not immediately respond to a message for comment Thursday afternoon. Facebook did not say whether it agreed to any conditions for the certificate restoration.

In an internal memo sent on Wednesday, Facebook told employees it is “working closely” with Apple to reinstate access. It also told workers to install the public versions of apps from the app store. Apps that it said “may not work” included internal versions of Facebook, Workplace, Instagram and the Ride app, which helps workers with transportation. WhatsApp was not affected.

While Facebook engineers could still write code and work on the apps for iPhones and iPads during the shutoff, their ability to test them in the field was limited.

In a statement, Facebook said it is “in the process of getting our internal apps up and running.”

The company noted that the issue had no impact on its consumer services.

During the shutoff, Facebook also lost the ability to create and push out apps such as internal tools and apps to its own employees. That’s a big deal since Facebook likely publishes tools and future products to its own team to test them before it provides them to the public, said Marty Puranik, CEO and founder of cloud hosting company Atlantic.Net.

Puranik, who regularly works with developers, said the certificate revocation also meant developers lost the ability to publish their apps without vetting by Apple. Those in the program can skip Apple’s compliance and user safety checks, which leads to faster updates.

Still, the shutoff didn’t seem to debilitate Facebook’s ability to work. Its developers work on code on Facebook’s internal systems. And version 206.0 of the Facebook app for iPhones was sent out on Thursday morning, while the shutoff was still in effect.  /muf

source: technology.inquirer.net

Apple unveils $999 iPhone X with facial recognition

CUPERTINO, California — Apple has broken the $1,000 barrier with its latest, and most expensive, phone, the iPhone X.

With a price starting at $999 and a host of new features, the phone will be a big test for both Apple and consumers. Will people be willing to shell out really big bucks for a relatively fragile device that’s become an essential part of daily life?

On Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook called the iPhone X “the biggest leap forward” since the first iPhone. (“X” is pronounced like the number 10, not the letter X.) It loses the home button, which revolutionized smartphones when it launched; offers an edge-to-edge screen; and will use facial recognition to unlock the phone.

Apple also unveiled a new iPhone 8 and a larger 8 Plus with upgrades to cameras, displays and speakers.

Those phones, Apple said, will shoot pictures with better colors and less distortion, particularly in low-light settings. The display will adapt to ambient lighting, similar to a feature in some iPad Pro models. Speakers will be louder and offer deeper bass.

Both iPhone 8 versions will allow wireless charging, a feature already offered in many Android phones, including Samsung models. Some Android phones have also previously eliminated the home button and added edge-to-edge screens.

Apple shares were mostly flat after the announcement, down 64 cents to $160.86.

Steve Jobs homage

This was the first product event for Apple at its new spaceship-like headquarters in Cupertino, California. Before getting to the new iPhone, the company unveiled a new Apple Watch model with cellular service and an updated version of its Apple TV streaming device.

The event opened in a darkened auditorium, with only the audience’s phones gleaming like stars, along with a message that said “Welcome to Steve Jobs Theater.” A voiceover from Jobs, Apple’s co-founder who died in 2011, opened the event before CEO Tim Cook took stage.

“Not a day that goes by that we don’t think about him,” Cook said. “Memories especially come rushing back as we prepared for today and this event. It’s taken some time but we can now reflect on him with joy instead of sadness.”

The iPhone X costs twice what the original iPhone did. It sets a new price threshold for any smartphone intended to appeal to a mass market.

‘What Apple does best’

Gartner analyst Brian Blau said the iPhone X’s augmented reality features will “change the way people use apps” and give app developers new, “cool things” to do. Apple showed off a simple use for this new, sophisticated camera technology with “animoji,” which lets people animate emoji characters with their facial expressions. Showing off a new technology with something that everyday people can use and understand, he said, is “what Apple does best.”

Blau also praised the extended battery life for the phone, saying “you don’t often get that” with new smartphones.

Other analysts such as Carolina Milanesi, an analyst with Creative Strategies, don’t believe the $1,000 price tag will present much of a hurdle to Apple buyers, at least to those with means or access to installment plans. And people who won’t spend that kind of money, she added, have a choice of other products that will keep them “within Apple versus looking at the competition.”



New Watch

Apple’s latest Watch has built-in cellular service. The number on your phone will be the same as your iPhone. The Series 3 model will also have Apple Music available through cellular service. It won’t need a new plan, but will require a data add-on to your existing plan.

“Now, you can go for a run with just your watch,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer and in charge of Watch development.

Apple is also adding more fitness features to the Watch, and says it is now the most used heartrate monitor in the world. Now, Apple Watch will notify users when it detects an elevated heart rate when they don’t appear to be active. It’ll also detect abnormal heart rhythms.

The Series 3 will start at $399. One without cellular goes for $329, down from $369 for the comparable model now. The original Series 1, without GPS, sells for $249, down from $269. The new watch comes out Sept. 22.

Cellular plans for smartwatches typically cost $5 to $10 a month. AT&T says its plans are $10 a month. T-Mobile said the Watch connection will be free for the first three months and $10 a month after for unlimited talk, text and data.

Apple TV gets upgrade

A new version of the Apple TV streaming device will be able to show video at “4K” resolution — a step up from high definition — and a color-improvement technology called high-dynamic range, or HDR.

Many rival devices already offer these features. But there isn’t a lot of video in 4K and HDR yet, nor are there many TVs that can display it. Apple TV doesn’t have its own display and needs to be connected to a TV.

Apple said it’s been working with movie studios to bring titles with 4K and HDR to its iTunes store. They will be sold at the same prices as high-definition video, which tends to be a few dollars more than standard-definition versions. Apple said it’s working with Netflix and Amazon Prime to bring their 4K originals to Apple TV, too.

The new Apple TV device will cost $179 and ships on Sept. 22. A version without 4K will cost less.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Apple remains in dark on how FBI hacked iPhone without help

WASHINGTON, United States — The FBI’s announcement that it mysteriously hacked into an iPhone is a public setback for Apple Inc., as consumers suddenly discover they can’t keep their most personal information safe. Meanwhile, Apple remains in the dark about how to restore the security of its flagship product.

The government said it was able to break into an iPhone used by a gunman in a mass shooting in California, but it didn’t say how. That puzzled Apple software engineers — and outside experts — about how the FBI broke the digital locks on the phone without Apple’s help. It also complicated Apple’s job repairing flaws that jeopardize its software.

The Justice Department’s announcement that it was dropping a legal fight to compel Apple to help it access the phone also took away any obvious legal avenues Apple might have used to learn how the FBI did it.

Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym vacated her Feb. 16 order, which compelled Apple to help the FBI hack their phone, on Tuesday.

The Justice Department declined through a spokeswoman to comment Tuesday.

A few clues have emerged. A senior law enforcement official told The Associated Press that the FBI managed to defeat an Apple security feature that threatened to delete the phone’s contents if the FBI failed to enter the correct passcode combination after 10 tries. That allowed the government to repeatedly and continuously test passcodes in what’s known as a brute-force attack until the right code is entered and the phone is unlocked.

It wasn’t clear how the FBI dealt with a related Apple security feature that introduces increasing time delays between guesses. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to discuss the technique publicly.

FBI Director James Comey has said with those features removed, the FBI could break into the phone in 26 minutes.

The FBI hacked into the iPhone used by gunman Syed Farook, who died with his wife in a gun battle with police after they killed 14 people in December in San Bernardino. The iPhone, issued to Farook by his employer, the county health department, was found in a vehicle the day after the shooting.

The FBI is reviewing information from the iPhone, and it is unclear whether anything useful can be found.

Apple said in a statement Monday that the legal case to force its cooperation “should never have been brought,” and it promised to increase the security of its products. CEO Tim Cook has said the Cupertino-based company is constantly trying to improve security for its users.

The FBI’s announcement — even without revealing precise details — that it had hacked the iPhone was at odds with the government’s firm recommendations for nearly two decades that security researchers always work cooperatively and confidentially with software manufacturers before revealing that a product might be susceptible to hackers.

The aim is to ensure that American consumers stay as safe online as possible and prevent premature disclosures that might damage a U.S. company or the economy.

As far back as 2002, the Homeland Security Department ran a working group that included leading industry technology industry executives to advise the president on how to keep confidential discoveries by independent researchers that a company’s software could be hacked until it was already fixed. Even now, the Commerce Department has been trying to fine-tune those rules. The next meeting of a conference on the subject is April 8 in Chicago and it’s unclear how the FBI’s behavior in the current case might influence the government’s fragile relationship with technology companies or researchers.

The industry’s rules are not legally binding, but the government’s top intelligence agency said in 2014 that such vulnerabilities should be reported to companies.

“When federal agencies discover a new vulnerability in commercial and open source software — a so-called ‘zero day’ vulnerability because the developers of the vulnerable software have had zero days to fix it — it is in the national interest to responsibly disclose the vulnerability rather than to hold it for an investigative or intelligence purpose,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement in April 2014.

The statement recommended generally divulging such flaws to manufacturers “unless there is a clear national security or law enforcement need.”

Last week a team from Johns Hopkins University said they had found a security bug in Apple’s iMessage service that would allow hackers under certain circumstances to decrypt some text messages. The team reported its findings to Apple in November and published an academic paper after Apple fixed it.

“That’s the way the research community handles the situation. And that’s appropriate,” said Susan Landau, professor of cybersecurity policy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She said it was acceptable for the government to find a way to unlock the phone but said it should reveal its method to Apple.

Mobile phones are frequently used to improve cybersecurity, for example, as a place to send a backup code to access a website or authenticate a user.

The chief technologist at the Center for Democracy and Technology, Joseph Lorenzo Hall, said keeping details secret about a flaw affecting millions of iPhone users “is exactly opposite the disclosure practices of the security research community. The FBI and Apple have a common goal here: to keep people safe and secure. This is the FBI prioritizing an investigation over the interests of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.”

source: technology.inquirer.net

Twitter suffers limited blackout

WASHINGTON, United States – Twitter on Sunday experienced a partial outage, the nature of which was not immediately clear, the company said.

“Something is technically wrong,” the microblogging service’s welcome page said. “Thanks for noticing—we’re going to fix it up and have things back to normal soon.”

Users reported problems on the Twitter application for Android and iPhone smartphones, while tweets on the computer application TweetDeck were showing up as having been posted a year ago.

Twitter claimed 284 million active users at the end of September.

Sony earlier this month was hit by a sophisticated hacking attack that stole massive amounts of data from its servers.

The US has blamed North Korea for the attack, with the reclusive state furious at the release of Sony film “The Interview,” which parodies leader Kim Jong-Un.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Apple Watch straps computing to the wrist

SAN FRANCISCO–Apple strapped computing to the wrist Tuesday with Apple Watch.

“Apple Watch is the most personal device we have ever created,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said, while announcing the hotly anticipated move into wearable computing.

The watch comes in two sizes and an array of choices of interchangeable, fashionable wrist straps.

Cook introduced Apple Watch with the “one more thing” introduction that was a trademark of iconic Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

“It is the next chapter in Apple’s story,” Cook said of the first new product category to be entered by the company since the death of Jobs in 2011.

“We invented intimate ways to connect and communicate directly from your wrist; it works seamlessly with iPhone and it is also a comprehensive health and fitness device.”

Apple watch will start at $349 when it is released early next year, according to Cook. The smartwatch will work with iPhone 5 models and newer.

Apple has been working on Watch for a long time, and didn’t just shrink the iPhone and strap it to the wrist, Cook told a rapt audience in a performing arts center in Silicon Valley where Jobs introduced the Macintosh computer 30 years ago.

While Apple Watch has touch-screen capabilities, many controls were designed into a “digital crown” button so fingers do not block screens.

Sensors can detect a wearer’s pulse, and the devices tap into motion sensing features in iPhones to provide a “comprehensive picture of activity” and help work toward fitness goals, according to Apple senior vice president of design Jonathan Ive.

Applications for the watch include map software that guides people to destinations with gentle “taps” on the wrist.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Instagram launches time-lapse video app for iPhone

SAN FRANCISCO–Facebook-owned photo-sharing service Instagram on Tuesday launched an application for capturing time-lapse videos using Apple mobile devices.

The Hyperlapse ”app” was designed to let people easily make high-quality time-lapse videos even while moving around with a smartphone, according to Instagram.

Hyperlapse videos can be saved on mobile devices and shared on Instagram.

“From documenting your whole commute in seconds or the preparation of your dinner from start to finish to capturing an entire sunset as it unfolds, we’re thrilled about the creative possibilities Hyperlapse unlocks,” Instagram said in a blog post.

Hyperlapse applications were made available only for mobile devices powered by Apple software.

Market research firm eMarketer said in a report in March that nearly 35 million people in America accessed Instagram at least once each month as of the end of 2013, a jump of more than 30 percent from a year earlier.

And the report said nearly 25 percent of smartphone users in the United States will use Instagram at least once a month by the end of this year — bringing the total user base to more than 40 million.

Instagram in November began displaying ads as Facebook moved to start making money from the smartphone photo sharing service it bought in a billion-dollar deal in early 2012.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Apple plans August early launch for iPhone 6, says report

TAIPE—Apple plans to release its new iPhone in August, a month earlier than expected, after sales were hit by new big-screen models from its rivals, a major Taiwanese newspaper reported Friday, citing supply chain sources.

The Economic Daily News quoted unnamed sources as saying Apple had acquired parts from various Taiwanese suppliers such as wafer maker Visual Photonics Epitaxy Co and Largan Precision, a leading maker of lenses used in mobile phones, for the handset expected to be called iPhone 6.

Taiwanese electronics contract makers including Foxconn and Pegatron have also been notified by Apple to start their assembly lines for the new handsets likely around late June, said the mass-circulation national newspaper.

US-based Apple has decided to roll out the 4.7-inch screen version of the new model in August, a month early, as recent sales have been affected by the launch of bigger-screen phones from rivals such as South Korean giant Samsung and Taiwan’s HTC, the report said.

A high-end variant of the iPhone 6 with a 5.5 or 5.6-inch screen will still be unveiled in September as previously planned, it said, adding that Apple expected total sales of 80 million units for both versions.

Japan’s Nikkei business daily reported in March that Apple would release its next iPhone in September, its latest salvo in the smartphone wars where it has lost global market share to rivals such as Samsung.

Apple released its current iPhone 5 in September 2012 and newer versions in the series last year.

A number of top Taiwanese electronics companies have been behind the production of the iPhone series by supplying components or assembling the handsets.

The latest to come onboard is the world’s biggest contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which reportedly started producing chips for the next iPhone in February.

That news fed rumors that Apple is reducing its reliance for parts on Samsung, its main competitor in the mobile phone market and a bitter rival with which it is contesting several copyright court battles globally.

The companies named in the Economic Daily News report declined to comment.

source: technology.inquirer.net

iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C Hitting US Cellular On November 8th

US Cellular customers patiently awaiting the arrival of the new iPhone 5S and iPhone 5c finally have a date to circle on their calendars. The carrier recently updated its website to announce the availability of the two popular smartphones — November 8th.

The top four carriers have all been offering the new iPhone models since late september, where people have been lining up in droves to purchase the devices. Now, even though it’s a bit late to the game, US Cellular is finally getting the same treatment. This is the first time for the carrier to offer the iPhone, so this is pretty great news for US Cellular customers.

source: intomobile.com

Apple Tells Us Why iPhone Is the Best After Galaxy S4 Launch

You've seen the specs: a 5-inch screen with 441 pixels per inch, 1080p display, a quad-core 1.9GHz processor and a 13-megapixel camera. Feature for feature, Samsung's next-generation Galaxy S4 has the iPhone beat.

But just two days after the S4's launch, Apple released a webpage explaining why its flagship smartphone is better than the competition.




"There's iPhone. And then there's everything else," the page's headline blares. Apple goes on to cite all the reasons why its phone is "unlike anything else," some of which are listed below:

• The iPhone has received eight consecutive J.D. Power and Associates awards for customer satisfaction with consumer smartphones.
  
• Only the iPhone and other Apple products have Retina display.
  
• The iPhone has a long battery life — including up to eight hours of talk time — while maintaining a "thin and light design."
  
• The iPhone has "ultrafast" wireless and LTE.
  
• Only the iPhone and other Apple products have access to the iTunes Store and the App Store, which offers over 800,000 apps. What's more, they are all reviewed by Apple to protect against malware.
  
• Only the iPhone has Siri, the intelligent personal assistant.
  

Check out the entire list, here.

source: mashable.com

Twitter enhances search for Web, iOS, Android

 

Mobile users of Twitter can now have an easier time searching for photos and videos, after the micro-blogging service enhanced its search functions for such media.

 

In a blog post, Twitter engineer for search and relevance Tian Wang said this complements other recent enhancements such as autocomplete and related queries.

 

"(S)tarting today you’ll see better search results that highlight the photos, videos and news shared on Twitter, all wrapped up in more social context tailored for you," he said.

 

Wang said the feature will be available on the Web interface and on its updated mobile apps for Apple's iPhone and Google's Android.

 

He said Twitter users who do a search will now see three new elements:

 

• View photos and videos first: When you search for a person, an event or a hashtag, you can now see a grid of the most relevant media above the stream of Tweets.

• See headlines and photos: You can also see media instantly in your search results stream on iPhone and Android, with photos and article summaries.

• Understand context: Context information like who favorited or retweeted right there in the Tweet.

 

A separate article on Mashable said the Twitter "Discover" tab also gets a "media-heavy makeover."

 

“We want Discover to be the place where you find the best of that content relevant to you, even if you don’t necessarily know everyone involved,” it quoted Daniel Loreto, Engineering Manager of Search and Relevance at Twitter, as saying. — TJD, GMA News

 

source: gmanetwork.com

The Best iPhone Applications

Anyone with an iPhone who has spent time in the Application Store on iTunes knows there are thousands of applications available for Apple´s phone, making it very hard to pick the best, as even some of the not so great ones, get a lot of downloads.

1. Things – A listing application; Things helps to organize & schedule & prioritize the to-do´s by due date, searchable tags along with a "today" screen listing the top-priority to-do´s in an easy access location. Things makes task management easy, simplified & yet powerful. So everything that you do in Things syncs back to the application on your Mac via Wi-Fi, so you stay organized wherever you go making your to-do´s a seamless & painless affair.

2. Wikipanion – Wikipanion is the best & fastest Wikipedia browsing application on the iPhone. It´s a simplified version of Wikipedia without leaving out any of the site's extra features. Simply put, the iPhone gives the ability to wiki via the many Wikipedia linked applications in the Application Store.

3. Road Trip – How many of us know what should be done to take care of our cars & how it should actually be done. Keeping track of your vehicle´s health is important & Road Trip is the fastest, easiest logbook application for tracking your car's fuel economy, maintenance & expenses.

4. ZenBe – A list making applications providing collaborative to-do lists with multiple iPods or iPhones & the web. The ability to connect & synchronize with other ZenBe applications & the ZenBe online interface, make it most useful. Create them, use them & sync them, coordinating your lists & multiple iPhones & keep track of progress as each item on the list is checked off throughout the day.

5. I Can Haz Cheezeburger – The entertainment application. It links to the online Cheezeburger Network sites as in FailBlog, Totally Looks Like, LOLCats & LOLDogs, Engrish Funny, & others providing endless humor on the go.

6. WeatherBug Elite – The premier source for the best weather-reporting application currently available, provides users access to the largest network of professional weather stations in the US & thousands of locations around the world.

7. Free Memory – The iPhone is great at multitasking. This at some occasions could lead to applications crashing. The Free Memory gets into the running process list & instantly frees up 40 MB of active memory, preventing the iPhone from freezing up & dropping its functions.

8. AT&T Easy Wi-Fi – This application simplifies the process of logging onto AT&T's Wi-Fi hotspots all over the country. Simply install the application, register once & from then on whenever in the range of the AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot, you will be logged on to the internet.

9. Kindle/Stanza – A digital book reader application. One of the many applications, that lets you download (for free or cheap) & read complete books.

10. Yelp! – The perfect application to help find whatever you need close to you. Look at business hours, contact info, reviews & maps to the location. A lifesaver!

Earn a free iphone today by taking advantage of our offers.

Article Source:
http://www.articlebiz.com/article/451857-1-the-best-iphone-applications/

Apple sued over iPhone 4S 'assistant' Siri

SAN FRANCISCO — An iPhone 4S buyer has sued Apple for promising more than it delivered with automated “Siri” voice-activated assistant software built into the coveted smartphones.

A suit filed in a California federal court argued that Apple advertising touting the wonders of Siri amounted to “intentional misrepresentation” and unfair competition, according to documents available online Tuesday.

Lawyers representing a New York City man who bought an iPhone 4S want class action status to represent millions of people who bought the latest generation Apple smartphone.

The suit included Apple—which runs showing people asking Siri to help them find restaurants, learn chords to songs, tie neck ties, and even figure out if there is a rodeo in town—had disappointed some users.

Lawyers representing the iPhone 4S buyer, identified as Frank Fazio of Brooklyn, argued that Siri claims were “misleading and deceptive,” and are calling for California-based Apple to pay unspecified damages.

“Promptly after the purchase of his iPhone 4S, plaintiff realized that Siri was not performing as advertised,” the lawsuit said.

“For instance, when plaintiff asked Siri for directions to a certain place, or to locate a store, Siri either did not understand what plaintiff was asking, or, after a very long wait time, responded with the wrong answer.”

Apple does not comment on pending litigation.

Siri has been a hit since its US debut with the iPhone 4S in October and was even referred to as a direct challenge to Google’s search engine by the Internet giant’s chairman Eric Schmidt.

Siri artificial intelligence software was derived from research conducted to make computers more intuitive at understanding and working with soldiers in action.

Siri is designed to understand context so people can speak naturally when asking it questions.

For example, spoken queries of “Will I need an umbrella this weekend?” and “What is the traffic like around here?” will prompt online searches for local weather forecasts or road conditions.

Siri helps make calls, send text messages or email, schedule meetings and reminders, make notes, find local businesses, and get directions. Siri will even perform mathematical calculations if asked.

source: japantoday.com

Instagram hits 27 million users, says Android app coming 'soon'

Austin, Texas (CNN) -- Instagram, the iPhone photo-sharing app that turns almost anyone into an artful photographer, is growing at an astonishing rate.

The app now has 27 million registered users -- up from 15 million in December, its co-founders announced Sunday. And a long-awaited version of Instagram for the Android platform is coming soon.

"We've been able to put together one of the most incredible Android apps you will ever see," said CEO Kevin Systrom told audience members during a session at the South By Southwest Interactive conference, waving an Android phone with a prototype on it. "It's extremely fast."

Systrom said he's been using the Android phone since shattering his iPhone while climbing out of an Austin pedicab.



Systrom said the Android app is in private beta but will be released to the public "really soon." Instagram also is looking at WIndows Phone 7 as another possible future platform, he said.

"It's a very exciting time for us. We're growing faster more quickly than anyone right now," he said.

Launched by Systrom and partner Mike Krieger less than two years ago, Instagram already has more users than location-based network Foursquare, despite only being available on Apple's iOS.

Systrom and Krieger attributed their dramatic growth rate to the popularity of the iPhone 4S and Apple naming Instagram as its 2011 App of the Year. The pair also were featured in a Best Buy ad that aired during the Super Bowl last month.

The app lets users enhance their photos with filters, share them with their friends or other people and comment on friends' photos. Like Twitter, Instagram also allows people to follow other users.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Instagram is raising a new round of funding that would value the company at up to $500 million. Systrom declined to comment on that Sunday.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/11/tech/mobile/instagram-sxsw/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

iPhone more searched than Kardashian on Yahoo in 2011

The iPhone topped every celebrity, every natural disaster, every political upheaval to earn the top spot at the most searched term on Yahoo in 2011.

The Yahoo Year In Review list, now in its 10th year, has only once before had a tech gadget come in at No. 1. And that happened in the first year of the review, when Sony's PlayStation 2 topped the chart.

Subsequent years have seen Britney Spears come in first. She actually landed the top spot every year from 2005 to 2008. Michael Jackson took the top spot in 2009. And last year, the BP oil spill was the most searched phrase.

The iPod's ascension came in a year with much speculation about what the newest version of the iPhone would look like and when Apple would released it. The company ultimately unveiled the iPhone 4S in October. Interest in the device no doubt increased as Apple chief executive and co-founder Steve Jobs stepped down from the company in August and passed away in October.

The results differ from data collected by Microsoft regarding the most widely searched terms on Bing in 2011. Microsoft compiled the data slightly differently than Yahoo, not listing an overall top search word or phrase. Instead, Microsoft grouped searches in specific categories. In the most searched consumer electronics device, the "iPhone 5" (a rumored model that has yet to launch) came in fourth, behind Xbox, Playstation, and Kindle. That may be because Microsoft separated iPhone searches by models, even though it didn't do that for the Xbox.

As for the Yahoo list, six of the seven phrases that followed iPhone are all tabloid fodder--Casey Anthony, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, Lindsay Lohan, and Jennifer Aniston. American Idol, Japan earthquake, and Osama bin Laden round out the top 10.

The iPhone 5 was the most popular mobile search on Yahoo, followed by Powerball and MLB. As for news searches, the Casey Anthony trial topped the list, followed by the royal wedding, and the death of bin Laden.

source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57334350-93/iphone-more-searched-than-kardashian-on-yahoo-in-2011/?tag=mncol

Apple iOS 5 with Over 200 New Features

Apple made the iOS 5 update available for your iPhone 4, ipad 2, ipad, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and iPod touch, bringing new features and according to Apple, iOS 5 comes with over 200 new features.


Keynote 1.5 allows you to present wireless on Apple TV via AirPlay. The Notification Center, notifications don’t interrupt you and disappear quickly, iMessage, iCloud, Newsstand, Reminders, and systemwide Twitter integration.