Jordan manages the internal Partner Program for sponsorships and partnerships across the 9to5 network’s media brands including 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, Electrek.co, SpaceExplored and DroneDJ.com.
From 9to5Toys.com:
Rogue Amoeba, developers of several popular Mac apps (who also ran into a bit of trouble with Apple over its iOS apps), is today throwing a big sale in celebration of the company’s ten year anniversary. To celebrate, the company is offering big discounts on many of its best Mac apps with with savings up to 67% off on the apps listed below. The sale only last until the end of the month, so you’ll want to head over to the tenth anniversary sale page to take advantage of the discounts before then: Expand Expanding Close
…following the introduction and record debut weekend of 5 million units for the iPhone 5, Samsung expects the new Galaxy Note 2 to sell three times as many units as the original Note in the first three months.
Designer Peter Zigich posted this detailed modular Mac Pro design concept to his blog at iPack3D.com (via TheLoop). The highly customizable, stackable design would allow various pro and consumer configurations, as highlighted in the images above and below. Zigich has many more images on his site.
We have been following Facebook’s improvements to its SDK for iOS in recent months. In July, Facebook released a beta featuring iOS 6 Facebook integration and a new Dev Center for iOS developers. It has maintained that beta alongside version 3.0 of its SDK up until today with the official release of Facebook SDK 3.1 for iOS. Facebook officially announced the release of the SDK, which features new tools for mobile app developers interested in taking advantage of Facebook’s native integration with iOS 6 in their apps, on its Developer Blog earlier today.
Facebook’s Eddie O’Neil walked through some of the new features of the SDK, including: Native Facebook Login, native Facebook share sheets, and ready-to-use UI controls: Expand Expanding Close
Many of the third-party transit and maps iOS app developers have been updating their apps following the launch of iOS 6 to include integration as a routing service in Apple’s new Maps app. Many have also been hoping to pick up some new users looking for alternatives, as Apple abandons Google’s backend and faces some controversy in the process from users who view the new Maps experience as a downgrade.
As always, we’ll update the list below as more updates hit the App Store…
Play BlackJack version 1.2: Developer RockLive has been known to partner with celebrities in the past for titles such as Mike Tyson Main event, Cristiano Ronaldo’s iOS game, and Usain Bolt’s “Bolt!“. One of its other popular titles gets an update today with a ton of new features, the ability to earn more free chips, and and number of fixes and enhancements. The developers told us that all of their partners, including Justin Bieber, Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson, and more, are using the app to play with their fans.
– iOS 6 and iPhone 5 compatible
– Improved password recovery
– Redesigned registration flow
– Bug fixes and other improvements
HopStop Transit Directions for iPhone: One of our favorite transit apps for iPhone, covering dozens of locations in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, gets a welcomed update today in the face of the iOS 6 Map controversy that brings iOS 6 and Maps support. The update also includes more maps, iPhone 5 display support, and new features:
– iOS 6 and Apple Maps support
– iPhone 5 display support
– Smart Route: multiple route suggestions
– Added NYC Manhattan Bus transit map
– Various bug fixes and improvement
– Start a new text right from the inbox.
– Fallback option to call without Google Voice if call fails (will use your mobile caller ID).
– Bug fix for dialing from iPad and iPod Touch.
– Minor text-related bug fixes.
– Support for the iPhone 5 4-inch display!
– Usability enhancements to our new restaurant map.
– Bug fixes.
FIFA Soccer 13:EA today released the latest edition of its FIFA Soccer franchise for iOS. The game is available starting today for $6.99 and features the ability to “save a Manager Mode or a Tournament game onto iCloud on one device – then continue playing on another.
Snapheal version 2.0: The Snapheal Mac App Store app gets a major update today in version 2.0 including Retina display and iCloud support, Lightroom 4.0 imports, and number of new features: Expand Expanding Close
MacRumors pointed us today to an analysis of Apple’s new Lightning connector from developer Rainer Brockerhoff. There was some controversy surrounding Apple’s decision to go with the new connector, but Brockerhoff outlined some of the benefits of the Lightning connector’s all-digital, adaptive interface, including its ability to detect and adapt to connecting devices:
-Lightning is adaptive.
-All 8 pins are used for signals, and all or most can be switched to be used for power.
-The outer plug shell is used as ground reference and connected to the device shell.
-At least one (probably at most two) of the pins is used for detecting what sort of plug is plugged in.
Despite record sales of 5 million units for the iPhone 5’s debut weekend, Apple is apparently facing shortages that, according to analysts, kept the company from selling as many as 8 million to 10 million new iPhones at launch. According to reports from earlier today, Apple’s new in-cell display technology is likely to blame, with suppliers LG, Japan Display, and Sharp having difficulties meeting demand. Both retailers in the U.S. and Apple already confirmed that initial supplies are sold out, while pre-orders are being pushed to an unknown date in October. What exactly does this mean for Apple’s Sept. 28 rollout to 22 more countries? Carriers in countries included in the upcoming international launch this Friday already started informing customers they will be unable to meet all pre-order requests by Sept. 28. Expand Expanding Close
A new report from the NYPD (via Gothamist) shows crimes involving Apple products in the city have increased 40 percent between Jan. 1 and Sept. 23, which is 10x the 4 percent increase that all crime in the city experienced over the same period. According to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly and the NYPD, 11,447 incidents involving stolen Apple products were reported in comparison to just 3,280 the year before. We heard similar stats in the past, but Gothamist provided some of the NYPD’s numbers today to show how Apple-related crimes contributed to crime by category this year:
Following Apple announcing record sales of 5 million units for the iPhone 5 launch weekend, analysts were quick to point out original estimates of up to 8 million units could have been achieved if it wasn’t for supply shortages—especially at the retail inventory level. A report from Bloomberg today suggested the reasoning behind the shortage was the device’s new in-cell screen technology, which allows for a thinner design due to the combining of the touch sensor and display. Citing analysts from Barclays, Bloomberg noted Sharp was unable to start shipments of displays before the iPhone launch and main suppliers LG and Japan Display were having trouble keeping up too. So, it appears Apple’s inability to hit sales estimates might have been simply a supply chain issue. Even before the device’s launch, delays from Sharp lead to concerns about the iPhone 5 possibly experiencing initial shortages, and that appears to be exactly what is happening:
Apple used the technology in the first major iPhone overhaul since 2010 to make the device more svelte, an attribute that helped lure a record 5 million buyers in three days. Yet producing in-cell screens is also more painstaking than earlier screen types, contributing to bottlenecks… Manufacturing enough of those parts for Apple has been challenging for LG and Japan Display, analysts at the London- based financial-services provider said… As manufacturing of in-cell screens improves, Apple may sell 45.2 million iPhones in the December quarter and 170.7 million through next September, Barclays said.
The report also mentioned delays from Qualcomm, which supplies the iPhone 5’s LTE chip, could also potentially contribute to supply shortages.
Adobe took the wraps off its new Edge suite of HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS3 tools today at its Create the Web event in San Francisco. Included in the new tools and services is a few renamed, redesigned tools, such as Edge Preview, which is being renamed and released today as “Edge Animate version 1.0.” The Adobe tools made available today include: Adobe Edge Animate 1.0, Adobe Edge Inspect 1.0 (formerly codenamed “Shadow”), Adobe PhoneGap Build 1.0, and a preview of Adobe Edge Code.
Adobe also plans to release a preview version of Adobe Edge Reflow, a CSS-based layout-visual design tool, which was demoed at the event today. In addition to Typekit, the new Edge Tools & Services includes Edge Web Fonts—a free web-based, open source font service for website and apps.
While the company expects to launch Edge Animate at $499 or USD $14.99 per month, it is currently being made available for free. Adobe said the decision is to “encourage web designers to create using the interactive capabilities of the modern web.” At today’s event Adobe also took time to highlight recent open source contributions its made to the web platform, one of which was CSS Custom Filters (you can find a demo here).
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOTqwUeQCgE&feature=player_embedded] MapQuest version 3.1:In the face of Apple’s iOS 6 Maps controversy, many mapping and navigation apps are updating with new features and hoping to gain users searching for alternatives. MapQuest today gets an update with a couple new features and many enhancements:
Added Stuff
• Favorites! You can now add any location as a favorite for quick access!
• Add a point: You can now press-and-hold on the map anywhere to route to a point (without searching or typing)
Improved Stuff
• Your contacts now appear automatically as you type in a search box (try their name or address)
• Your recent locations and searches now appear automatically when searching
• We now show more of the road ahead while you’re navigating
• For multi-stop routes, we now show time & distance summaries for each leg of the trip
• Improved application launch speed
• Bug and crash fixes that will blow your mind
Fortune Magazine version 6.3: Fortune Magazine is launching what it calls the first “Newsstand iPad app that allows users to move seamlessly between print magazine and digital content.” The update is free but you’ll need a digital subscription which currently comes with one free month.
It offers a unique view of FORTUNE content with magazine and online features side-by-side, integrated in one comprehensive reading experience. The app updates FORTUNE’s existing magazine app, is free to download and offers full articles.
When Apple announced sales of 5 million iPhone 5 units this morning for the device’s launch weekend, we noted the number was significantly under the up to 10 million predicted by many analysts. While Apple previously announced pre-orders for iPhone 5 doubled the iPhone 4S with 2 million in 24 hours, sales only grew roughly 25 percent from the 4-million iPhone 4S units sold in its opening weekend. The chart above, courtesy of BusinessInsider, shows Apple’s launch weekend sales experienced a large slow down this year. Sales from iPhone 4 to 4S were up 135 percent compared to the 25 percent growth between the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 launch, despite the new device selling in an additional two countries. However, according to one of the analysts, Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster, Apple’s numbers did not include up to 1 million units pre-ordered and expected for delivery in October (via BusinessInsider):
Apple beats out YouTube and Aston Martin as the coolest brand in the United Kingdom in a new CoolBrands study that included responses from 3,000 consumers and 39 experts. BBC has the full story.
Apple just posted a press release announcing debut iPhone 5 sales topped 5 million units sold since going on sale on Friday and pre-order Sept. 14. The Cupertino-based company also announced 100 million iOS devices are now running iOS 6.
CEO Tim Cook noted, “While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date.”
Apple had sales of 4 million iPhone 4S last year in the opening weekend. It is clear Apple could have sold many, many more iPhone 5s had it been able to supply more units. Apple will spend the coming months trying to catch up to demand, and the numbers for the quarter will likely indicate what Apple can make and not what it can sell.
Analyst Gene Munster estimated first weekend unit sales of 6 million to 10 million units, and he called 6 million being the “worst case scenario.” With Apple failing to reach analyst expectations, AAPL stock is down 2 percent in morning pre-trading (above).
Apple might not list any iPhone 5 cases on its website yet, but there are a few options if you want to get a case for your new iPhone today. Some of the big case makers, like Belkin, Incase, and Otterbox, have new cases for pre-order and “coming soon,” but you can already grab a number of great cases from Amazon and other retailers. We will update this post as we find more great cases popping up online…
Cygnett: I used a couple of Cygnett’s cases over the past few months on both iPhone and iPad and can vouch for the quality. The company already has a few designs for iPhone 5 available, including an aluminum version of its UrbanShield case in black and white and a genuine carbon fibre version (both pictured above).
Bumpers: If an Apple-style bumper is what you are after, you can get a number of them ranging from $2.99 to $9.95 on Amazon. Like Apple’s own bumper for previous-gen iPhones, there is not much to them. Most have metal buttons and opening designed specifically for the iPhone 5, however.
The media and public have been making a lot of noise over the shortcomings of Apple’s new iOS 6 Maps app. Apple already responded to the criticism by telling customers it launched the “new map service knowing it is a major initiative” and “the more people use it, the better it will get.” While recent comments from one of Apple’s own mapping partners, Waze, pointed the finger at TomTom’s weak data sets as the source of the poor Maps experience, an expert in cartography said TomTom is “not the source of their [Apple’s] problems.”
Dr. Mike Dobson, an expert in cartography and owner of local search and mapping consulting company TeleMapics, recently published a lengthy post on his company’s blog to explain the problems with Apple’s new Maps app. Dobson explained Apple’s biggest issue is that its “team relied on quality control by algorithm and not a process partially vetted by informed human analysis”:
We already looked at the insides of the new iPhone 5 and brought you a ton of first impressions of its design, iOS 6, and the new Maps experience. Today, we are teaming up with iFixYouri to put the device through its first drop and durability tests. There have been some reports that the finish on the iPhone is more susceptible to scratches than previous generations; and for that, we have put a shiny new iPhone 5 up against some sharp objects. We also put the device through a number of drop tests that you would encounter in everyday situations. The result? The new iPhone 5 could be one of the most durable we have seen yet. Check out the video above for the full results, and go to iFixYouri for its thoughts on the test.
Aspyr Media is bringing Call of Duty: Black Ops, originally released in 2010 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360, to Mac OS X later this month with the release of the game through Steam, GameAgent Store, and a Mac App Store release shortly after. The title will hit Macs for $50 and come bundled with the First Strike Content Pack DLC.
In addition to Call of Duty: Black Ops, the Rezurrection Content Pack will also be available for purchase at launch for $14.99. This content pack will be available through the same retail outlets as the game and as an in-app purchase for those that buy the game from the Mac App Store. The other two Black Ops Content Packs, Escalation and Annihilation, will be available on the Mac later this year as a bundle…Game requirements can be found on the Aspyr.com product page or on GameAgent.com, where players can use the site’s Mac Match feature to determine whether or not the game will run on their machine. To find additional info on the game, including a FAQ, please visit the GameAgent Blog.
We were just sent what appears to be a legitimate internal memo floating around BestBuy’s systems. It confirmed the retailer would not fulfill all iPhone 5 pre-orders based on “current inventory allocation.” Originally expected for delivery by today, the memo confirmed BestBuy sent emails to some customers informing they will not receive the pre-ordered iPhone 5 by this weekend. Instead, BestBuy is promising to fulfill preorders by mid-October—”no later than 28 days from launch.” Shipping times for the device slipped to “3-4 weeks” even on Apple’s website, but this is confirmation from a major retailer that some pre-order customers promised delivery by this weekend will not get their device. We recently posted documents showing Walmart’s internal iPhone 5 launch plans, which confirmed the retailer will also not guarantee Sept. 21 availability for preorder customers.
As people continue to line up and the iPhone 5 goes on sale around the globe, we have put together some of the sights and sounds from launches worldwide where customers are getting their hands on the first iPhone 5s released to the public. The image to the right is courtesy of Reddit, and it claims to show thousands of iPhone boxes making their way through the FedEx distribution center today. We see an image of the Woz lined up in Australia below, as well as images we snapped of lines forming at the Grand Central Apple Store this morning.
An image from outside the Fifth Avenue store is above, showing police officers registering the serial numbers of customers’ new phones as part of its Operation ID initiative. The Gothamist has the full story.
The device is already on sale and in the hands of customers in Australia, Japan, many locations in Europe, and now the United States. Preorders should arrive anytime, as we already have word from readers, such as those on T-Mobile in Germany, that pre-orders are hitting their doorsteps.
We have a roundup below of what it looked like outside Apple Stores over the last 24 hours with videos and photos from the launch and first impressions. Expand Expanding Close
iPhone 5 launch day is officially upon us and the first impressions are already starting to roll in while most in the U.S. and elsewhere still wait in line to get their hands on one. We already showed you some of the early reviews the other day, but The Verge took the new iPhone to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night for a some hands-on first impressions of the device’s new “barely thinner” design and “Laser Technology Engineering” capabilities (full video below). If you want a bit more of an in-depth look at the device, The Verge also has its full, lengthy review, which includes the 7-minute video review above.
You may think you’ve seen this device before, but trust me: until you’ve held the new iPhone, you really haven’t seen it at all. While the basic design of the phone mimics the look of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, the actual components, materials, sizing, and weight make it seem like another device entirely… When running graphically-intensive games, there are clearly some improvements in frame rates, as well as a noticeable lack of stutter on the iPhone 5. General multitasking and app performance was superb. In particular, the new Maps 3D Flyover view pushed the phone hard, and the differences between the older and newer models was clear. Basically — there’s not much to complain about when it comes to speed on the new phone. It’s really, really fast. Expand Expanding Close
PDF Expert for iPad version 4.3: Readdle’s popular PDF reader app for iPad gets an update today, bringing it up to version 4.3, adding iOS 6 compatibility and a few new features. Among the improvements: Syncing is now up to 5 times faster with services such as Dropbox and Box, and the ability to store multiple signatures. Also included is one highly requested feature: Tabs in PDF viewer, allowing you to easily flip between multiple documents at once.
–This update includes optimizations for iPhone 5 and improved social sharing on iOS 6 devices.
SoundCloud version 2.3: SoundCloud is updated today with “Completely rewritten recording”, the ability to listen to songs privately through your iPhone’s earpiece, and new “resume” and “trim” features for the rewritten record mode. Unfortunately iPhone 3G users are no longer supported with this update. Expand Expanding Close
So, who exactly is to blame for the downgraded Maps experience in iOS 6? Apple’s strategic decision to drop the Google Maps backend has sparked perhaps as much controversy as hardware issues plaguing past iPhone launches. Apple’s new app is being called out for features that have been stripped from previous versions, such as transit, Street View, and local search, but the basic map data is also an issue for many users worldwide (as highlighted in the tweet above and image below). Did losing Google’s data sets play the only role in the downgraded experience, or was Apple unable to build a competitive app in such a short period despite partnering with some of the biggest mapping-data providers?
Samsung isn’t worried about the iPhone 5 slowing down Galaxy Note 2 sales…
Despite record sales of 5 million units for the iPhone 5’s debut weekend, Apple is apparently 
MapQuest version 3.1:
The media and public have been making a lot of noise over the 
