Jordan Kahn

• AAPL Company
• Mac
• update
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• Mac App Store

Evernote adds Descriptive Search feature to Mac app

Jordan Kahn Feb 4 2014 - 11:00 am PT

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Evernote announced today that it’s adding a Descriptive Search feature for english users of its Mac app. Evernote says the new feature allows users to search using “everyday language to find notes the way he/she remembers them.” That means you’ll be able to use a number of descriptive words that act as filters to search for notes. Among the descriptive words, or filters, that will be recognized by the new feature are dates, apps, places, documents, images, audio, devices, web sources, type of content, notebooks, and tags. Evernote gives the example of searching for vegetarian recipes using phrases such as “recipes tagged as vegetarian” or “vegetarian recipes.”

Descriptive Search makes suggestions based on actual contents of your Evernote account, such as notebooks, contents of your notes, tags, and devices. Other examples of searches and results include:

Search –> Result
‘Notebook project with pdfs’ –> all the notes in the project notebook with PDFs attached
‘Web clips created last month’ or ‘web clips last month’ –> every web page clipped this month
‘Notes from japan’ or ‘in japan’ –> all the notes created while in Japan
‘Notes from phone with audio’ or ‘phone with audio’ –> all the notes created on a phone that have an attached audio file or recording

No word on when the update will be available to mobile users but the new Descriptive Search feature will be available initially in English to all Evernote accounts through the Mac App. The update should be rolling out to the Evernote for Mac app shortly.

A full list of filters for the new descriptive search feature is below:

• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• iOS
• App Store
• update
• notifications

Google Wallet iOS app gets loyalty card scanning, notifications for nearby merchants

Jordan Kahn Feb 4 2014 - 9:44 am PT

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After rolling out the update to Android devices last week, Google today updated its Google Wallet app for iOS with the ability to scan physical loyalty cards. Rather than having to type out your account information to join a new program within the app, scanning a physical loyalty card from a supported retailer will auto-populate your info and automate the process.

The updated app also now includes new notifications for nearby retailers related to loyalty programs you’ve joined. If you’ve joined the Walgreens program, for example, you’ll get notifications reminding you “to shop and earn rewards” when close to a brick and mortar retail location.

The updated Google Wallet iOS app is available on the App Store now.

• Apps
• iOS
• App Store
• Pebble
• watchfaces

Pebble launches smartwatch app store w/ 1000 apps & watchfaces through iOS app

Jordan Kahn Feb 3 2014 - 10:35 am PT

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Previously revealed in December alongside a new SDK for developers, smartwatch maker Pebble is today launching its dedicated app store for the device. The company’s blog post says the store is now live through the Pebble app on iOS and currently offers over 1000 apps and watchfaces:

The appstore features separate areas for apps and watchfaces, with six app categories: Daily, Tools & Utilities, Notifications, Remotes, Fitness, and Games. This makes it easier than ever to find your next favorite app — whether you’re tracking your workout, managing your music, or controlling your thermostat.

Since Pebble is only capable of running eight apps at any one time, the app also features a locker feature that will allow users to store and manage downloaded apps. All content in the store is currently offered for free as Pebble does not yet allow developers to charge for apps or watchfaces.

You can download the updated Pebble Smartwatch app rolling out today for iOS to check out the new app store.

• Apps & Updates
• Apps

Google brings Google Now notifications to Chrome beta for desktop users

Jordan Kahn Feb 3 2014 - 9:27 am PT

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After appearing in a developer build of Chrome last month, Google announced today that this week it will be rolling out Google Now notifications to the desktop through the latest beta version of Chrome. Google Now notifications were previously available to Android and iOS users, but can now be accessed through the Chrome notification center on Mac (that little bell icon in your menu bar) as well as through Chrome on Windows and Chromebooks. Google notes that Chrome will show a a subset of the cards that appear on iOS and Android including “weather, sports scores, commute traffic, and event reminders cards.”

So the next time you’re finishing up emails at your desk, Google Now might suggest that you leave the office a bit early to beat the heavy traffic on the way to your dinner date. To view the notifications, click on the bell icon on your desktop (on Mac and Windows) or the numbered box (on Chromebook) to open the Chrome notification center.

The feature can be enabled for Chrome beta users by signing into the same Google Account used for Google Now on Android or iOS device. The feature is only available in English when it rolls out this week, but Google says it will be adding support for other languages in the future. Now that the feature has finally hit the beta channel, it won’t be long before Google rolls out Now functionality to all Chrome users.

(image via GigaOM)

• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• iOS
• iPad
• iPhone
• App Store

Evernote iOS apps get new customizable home screen w/ three color themes & much more

Jordan Kahn Jan 30 2014 - 8:25 am PT

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HOROMnILMo]

Evernote pushed out a nice update to its iOS app today that brings a new customizable homescreen that will offer a few ways for users to personalize their experience. First off, the new home screen includes three color themes– Light, Dark, and Classic– but it will also now let users “add, remove, and rearrange sections” and quickly hide & reveal details for each:

The first thing you’ll notice are the redesigned New Note buttons that now sit at the top of the screen. They’re big, clear and easy to tap. Right above them, is the Settings gear. Tap it to get to the home screen customization options.

Also new in today’s update is the ability to automatically save scanned business cards to your contacts and adjust the quality of audio notes to “optimize for sound or file size.” Another new option will put the sync status bar below the Settings gear. In addition, Evernote said in a blog post that the new app is faster and more responsive:

We’ve made the app snappier and more responsive. For example, titling and retitling notes is now approximately a lot faster. Tap into the note title and the cursor pops in right away, note title suggestions appear to make things even quicker. We’ve also tweaked the note editor to make frequently used features easy to find. No more delays. In and out.

Version 7.3.0 of Evernote for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• Privacy
• New York Times
• Angry Birds
• NSA

Rovio responds to claims Angry Birds was targeted by NSA smartphone surveillance program

Jordan Kahn Jan 28 2014 - 6:07 am PT

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Yesterday we reported on new leaked docs from Edward Snowden reported by The New York Times and others that detailed secret NSA and GCHQ programs used to siphon data from popular smartphone apps on both iOS and Android. While Apple and Google have yet to respond to the reports, today one of the main developers singled out in the claims has. Rovio, maker of the popular Angry Birds game that was mentioned several times in the reports, today posted a response on its website.

The developer confirms that it in no way works with NSA, GCHQ or any other government organization to provide data about users, but it does point to third-party advertising networks as a possibility of the leaks:

The alleged surveillance may be conducted through third party advertising networks used by millions of commercial web sites and mobile applications across all industries. If advertising networks are indeed targeted, it would appear that no internet-enabled device that visits ad-enabled web sites or uses ad-enabled applications is immune to such surveillance. Rovio does not allow any third party network to use or hand over personal end-user data from Rovio’s apps.

Referring to the third-party advertising networks, Rovio CEO Mikael Hed said the company would have to “re-evaluate working with these networks if they are being used for spying purposes.”

Angry Birds wasn’t the only app specifically mentioned in the leaked docs, however. The reports claim the NSA program is capable of intercepting information ranging from location, age, and sex of users to address books, buddy lists, phone logs, geographic data and more from various mobile apps and third-party ad networks. Twitter, Google Maps, Facebook and others were also specifically mentioned in yesterday’s reports.

• iOS Devices
• Apple News
• iPod touch
• iPod
• 2014

Apple Q1 2014: iPod sales decreased by more than half since last year

Jordan Kahn Jan 27 2014 - 2:12 pm PT

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You might have noticed that the main text in Apple’s press release today for its Q1 2014 results didn’t mention device sales for the iPod alongside iPhones, iPads, and Macs. That might because it’s the only product line that has experienced a huge decrease in sales over the last year, which isn’t helped by the fact Apple hasn’t updated the products in over a year apart from a minor refresh. It does, however, still have to disclose units sold in its unaudited summary data that accompanies the press release. To be precise, Apple’s results show it only sold a little over 6 million iPods during the holiday quarter. That’s a decrease of 55% year over year for revenue and 52% for units when looking at the 12.7 million it sold in Q1 2013.  That’s also the biggest year over year drop ever for the iPod, which fell from 15.4m units in Q1 12 to 12.7m in Q1 13 before being cut in half this year. The iPhone, iPad, and Mac lineups, on the other hand, all experienced growth during the quarter.

During the conference call, Cook noted that they “have known for some time that iPod is a declining business” and that it would impact the overall results and guidance.

It’s not the first time Apple decided to leave out mentioning its iPod sales. It actually hasn’t done so since the year ago quarter when it announced the 12.7 million units sold for Q1 2013. Either way, the numbers will certainly have analysts questioning the future of Apple’s iPod line in the months to come. Apple announced back in May that it had sold 100 million iPod touch units since the device launched in 2007, but Apple has been selling less and less iPods each year.
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• AAPL Company

Will this be the year Apple finally starts to wean itself off of Samsung chips?

Jordan Kahn Jan 27 2014 - 7:25 am PT

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Could this year finally be the year that DigiTimes gets a story right? Will Apple finally drop Samsung as the sole supplier of its Ax chips for iOS devices and move production to TSMC or elsewhere? Like it does every year, the publication today claimed that Apple’s next-generation chip, the A8, will be produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. According to the report, TSMC is preparing to ramp production of the chips using its 20nm process sometime in the second quarter of 2014, while Amkor Technology, STATS ChipPAC, and ASE have obtained packaging orders for the chips. We know, you’ve heard this one before….

Amkor Technology and STATS ChipPAC have each obtained 40% of the total packaging orders placed by Apple for its next-generation A8 processor, with the remaining 20% will be taken over by Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE), according to industry sources… TSMC reportedly will start ramping up production using 20nm process technology for Apple’s A8 chip in the second quarter of 2014.

This of course isn’t the first time DigiTimes has reported that Apple would make the switch from Samsung. It didn’t do it for the last generation of devices, but there is reason to believe that this year could finally be the year that Apple stops relying on Samsung, its biggest competitor in the smartphone space, to supply one of the most important components of its iOS devices. Adding a little more credibility to the DigiTimes reports is the fact that the The Wall Street Journal backed up the reports in June by claiming that TSMC had struck a deal with Apple to produce chips for iOS devices likely starting sometime in 2014. Whether the reports are true or not, it’s unclear if Samsung might also remain as a supplier or if TSMC will take over production for the entire run of A8 chips. A report in September claimed that Samsung would still handle around 30 to 40 percent of orders with TSMC picking up the remainder.