Mark is an award-winning journalist who worked at 9to5Mac for over six years. He covers Apple and other topics related to the consumer technology industry.
Today, Skype has updated both its iPhone/iPod touch and iPad applications with an improved calling user-interface. Additionally, the company has added a new handy feature to mark all recent text-based conversations as read in a quicker fashion. The updates also include general fixes and improvements. Earlier today, we highlighted updates to Path, Fantastical, and a few others apps. Expand Expanding Close
Twitter has updated its application for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with much improved search functionality. Notably, the company has also removed video uploading support for Mobypicture, Posterous, and Vodpod. This will make Telly/TwitVid and YFrog the exclusive video uploading services via Twitter’s iOS app.
This update includes enhancements to search and other improvements.
• As you search you’ll see more topic and user suggestions for your query, based on what’s happening in real time. You’ll also see these suggestions when adding a hashtag or username as you compose a new Tweet.
• Top Tweets from big moments in the past pop out when you search for a given term. For example, searching for “election” might highlight Tweets from several months ago.
• When you open a web page you can now see the related Tweet for more context. Just pull the tray icon up or down to see or hide the Tweet.
• It’s easier to see long conversations in the Tweet details view, which now shows all of the replies to any Tweet
• When you block a user in the app, their Tweets will instantly disappear from the Connect tab in the app
• Pull-to-refresh in Discover shows a new, smoother animation
• Support for traditional Chinese
• Logout support (iOS 6 only)
• Uploading videos vie Mobypicture, Vodpod and Posterous is no longer supported
• Additional bug fixes and improvements
The update features a larger and more timely presence of Top Tweets. Additionally, a new gesture will allow for seeing more of a related tweet when viewing a web page. A new longer conversation view and various other interface tweaks are also present. Also notable is new support for traditional Chinese.
FreedomPop‘s previously announced Burst home router is now available, according to the company. The FreedomPop Burst uses a wireless router in conjunction with fast 4G cellular data to bring internet to the home. While the router costs $89 up front, the company will provide customers with 1GB of data per month for free. Additional data packs will be available for purchase.
According to Reuters, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Apple Senior Vice President of Internet Services Eddy Cue met with Beats CEO Jimmy Iovine (pictured) last month in regards to Beats’ upcoming streaming music service. According to the report, Cook wanted to learn more about the upcoming “Project Daisy” streaming service from Beats.
Apple’s Internet products chief Eddy Cue, a key player in setting up its iTunes Music Store, also joined the meeting, at which Cook expressed interest in Daisy’s business model and its rollout plans, although the two did not discuss specifics of a deal, the sources said. The meeting between Cook and Iovine, who is also chairman of music company Interscope-Geffen-A&M, was “informational” and covered a broad range of music-related topics, the sources said.
It is currently unclear if the two companies have struck or are nearing striking a deal regarding streaming music services. The reported meeting is interesting in light of rumors regarding an upcoming Apple streaming music service. Multiple reports have claimed that Apple plans to announce its own Pandora/Spotify-competitor, dubbed “iRadio” as soon as this year.
Earlier this year, Iovine recounted his experience with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Iovine unsuccessfully tried to convince Jobs to pursue a streaming music model. As we know, Jobs instead pursued a pay-per-download format with the iTunes Music Store. (Image via ATD).
Following up on the new version of iBooks, which was released this morning, with greater support in Asia and support for books from Japanese publishers, Apple has published a press release with some new details. Notably, Apple says that the iBooks application for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch has been downloaded 130 million times worldwide. iBooks originally launched in early 2010 alongside the iPad and was brought to the iPhone and iPod touch later that year.
In addition to the numbers, Apple notes which publishers is struck deals with for today’s expanded launch of iBooks in Japan. Apple names major publishers Kodansha, KADOKAWA, Bungeishunju, Gakken and Gentosha. Some of these publishers were forecasted by reports from earlier this year. Addtionally, Apple says “the iBookstore has a wide selection of emerging and established authors including Shyotaro Ikenami, Jiro Akagawa, Atsuko Asano and Ryu Murakami.” Apple has also included quotes from Apple Senior VP Eddy Cue and various executives from Japanese publishing firms.
iMore‘s Rene Ritchie claims that Apple plans to release its next-generation iPhone, the “iPhone 5S,” in August. An August release would be a few weeks earlier than 2012’s mid-September iPhone 5 launch. In line with Apple’s previous “S” generations of the iPhone, the next iPhone is expected to retain the design of the iPhone 5 but add improved camera and processor systems. Earlier today, an analyst claimed that the “iPhone 5S” will arrive in July with a faster chip, improved camera system, and a fingerprint sensor under the home button.
At an event at the University of Arizona’s Department of Marketing, former Apple advertising lead Ken Segall has shared some additional details into the naming behind Apple’s massively popular smartphone. While Apple ended up calling its industry-changing smartphone the “iPhone,” Apple considered a few other names.
Our own Scott Buscemi was on the ground at the event, and he has shared the details for this article. In addition to iPhone, Apple considered “Telepod,” “Mobi,” “Tripod,” and “iPad.” More details below:
Apple design chief Ive pictured with Ikepod designer Newson
Apple is building a device for the wrist, and it may even launch later this year. One of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ most famous sayings is that “we build the products that we want to use.” Apple was not pleased with the crop of phones that existed prior to the iPhone, and the iPhone arrived in 2007 and has changed the entire smartphone landscape.
Enter the watch.
Apple’s top executives, the minds that control Apple’s future product pipeline, have demonstrated an interest in watches. So, it is interesting and intriguing to take a look at this interest of Apple’s product planners in light of the aforementioned “Jobsism:”
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has re-affirmed his January claims regarding Apple’s 2013 iPhone roadmap, as noted by MacRumors. As he previously said, Kuo expects Apple to release both an iPhone 5S and a lower-cost iPhone later this year. Kuo adds that the launch is expected to occur this July after an announcement in June alongside iOS 7.
The “iPhone 5S,” following in the footsteps of the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4S, is expected to retain the new design of the iPhone 5, but it will add a smaller, faster processor (presumably an “A7″ chip”), an improved LED “SmartFlash” sensor on the back, and a tweaked camera sensor. Kuo also adds that a China Mobile-compatible version of the “5S” will be released by September.
Earlier today, Evernote, a popular note taking application that works across multiple devices, reported that customer data such as usernames, passwords, and email addresses had been breached and accessed by a third party. However, user content stored within Evernote was reportedly not accessed. Evernote also notes that all user passwords are encrypted (hashed and salted), but, in an “abundance of caution,” all Evernote user passwords have been reset.
While our password encryption measures are robust, we are taking additional steps to ensure that your personal data remains secure. This means that, in an abundance of caution, we are requiring all users to reset their Evernote account passwords. Please create a new password by signing into your account on evernote.com. After signing in, you will be prompted to enter your new password. Once you have reset your password on evernote.com, you will need to enter this new password in other Evernote apps that you use. We are also releasing updates to several of our apps to make the password change process easier, so please check for updates over the next several hours.
In addition to announcing the breach, the company says that it will release updates to its software to make the password change process simpler.
The Mac app update has already been released (not on the Mac App Store), as noted by MacStories. In addition to the password enhancement, the new Mac app update adds a new “QuickNote” popover (pictured below) for quick inputting of notes into Evernote:
Apple seems to have finally caught up with demand for its latest iMac models. Both the new 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs are now shipping from Apple’s online store in 1-3 business days. Up until earlier today, Apple’s new iMacs were quoted as having a shipping time of 2-3 weeks for the 21.5-inch model and 3-4 weeks for the larger 27-inch configurations.
Image via <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-22/apple-shareholder-vote-blocked-at-greenlight-s-request-1-.html"><em>Bloomberg</em></a>
David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital has dropped its lawsuit against Apple, as noted by AllThingsD. Greenlight’s lawsuit against Apple called for a block of Apple’s shareholders’ ability to vote on a preferred stock proposal.
A judge recently blocked Apple from allowing its shareholders to vote on the preferred stock proposal.
Apple CEO Tim Cook previously called the situation a “silly sideshow:”
During tonight’s Academy Awards event, Apple has aired a new iPad TV commercial. Unsurprisingly, the ad titled “Hollywood” focuses on applications for filmmakers. For example, the ad highlights Apple’s own iMovie iPad application and a virtual clapperboard app. The ad is of similar style to the two new iPad TV ads that debuted last week.
Today, we have received the first photos of a carrying case for this redesigned 9.7-inch iPad. Once again, this new evidence of a redesign points to a form-factor that is narrower in comparison to previous full-sized iPads.
Following Greenlight’s win in court earlier today against Apple, both Greenlight and Apple have issued statements on the matter. CNBC (1, 2, 3) has tweeted bits of these statements:
-Apple says disappointed with court ruling; proposal #2 part of our efforts to further enhance corporate governance.
-Apple says due to today’s court decision, shareholders will not be able to vote on Proposal #2.
Apple is obviously disappointed in the ruling, but seems to accept that shareholders will not be able to vote on Proposal #2. This proposal is for Apple shareholders to have to vote for Apple to issue preferred stock shares.
On the other hand, Greenlight calls the win “significant:”
Greenlight Capital statement on Apple court ruling: This is a significant win for all Apple shareholders and for good corporate governance.
Facebook has updated its official iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch application with a number of enhancements. Notably, version 5.5 of the app includes a new button design that makes Liking, commenting, and sharing stories easier. Additionally, Facebook has brought the free calling to friends feature from the Messenger app (as seen in the above screenshot) right into the standard Facebook app.
The Google Glass heads-up-display device will be iPhone compatible, as noted in The Verge‘s extensive look at the device.
The device gets data through Wi-Fi on its own, or it can tether via Bluetooth to an Android device or iPhone and use its 3G or 4G data while out and about. There’s no cellular radio in Glass, but it does have a GPS chip.
The report is unclear about what this compatibility will entail, but it does seem to infer that Glass will be able to use an iPhone’s data connection. Google Glass, as previously revealed, will be able to send text messages, but it seems unclear whether or not it will work with an iPhone in this manner.
iOS includes APIs to allow accessories to use iPhone functions. For example, the Pebble smart watch can read text messages and iMessages from an iPhone.
Google Glass iPhone compatibility to not a major surprise seeing how supportive Google is of Apple’s products. For example, Google offers most of its services in app form via Apple’s iOS App Store. Google also offers software for OS X.
Google Glass is said to launch as a consumer product by the end of the year. 9to5Google previously reported that Glass would be sold in Google Stores in the U.S., which are planned for opening by the end of the year.
As we previously covered, iOS 6.1.3 includes several enhancements to the Maps application for Japan. Notably, the upcoming iOS 6.1.3 update will also fix the recently publicized Lock Screen bug, according to Apple.
Purported back shells for the next-generation iPad mini have surfaced on the WeiPhone Forums, however the shell’s authenticity is unverified. It appears that these shells are marginally thicker than those for the current generation iPad mini.
Obviously, if these truly are thicker, natural speculation points to these shells being supportive of a Retina display iPad mini. When Apple moved to a higher-resolution display in the third-generation, the product’s casing was thicker to accommodate new graphics and battery components.
Matching previous rumors regarding Apple’s first iPad mini revision, the casings appear to look very similar in design and ports/buttons to the casings for the current iPad mini model. With the iPad mini also rumored to gain a Retina display, the slightly thicker enclosure may point to these shells being legitimate…
Ahead of Twitter’s new third-party application API rules that take effect on March 5th, Tapbots has updated its popular string of Tweetbot for iOS and Mac applications to comply with the new rules. Many of the changes have taken place on the backend, but users will notice subtle user-interface tweaks. These changes are mostly prominent on the iOS application updates. The Mac update also adds native Vine preview integration and much improved notifications options. Notably, users must install the new updates prior to March 5; the previous versions will stop working on that date.
Java for OS X 2013-001 delivers improved security, reliability, and compatibility by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_41.
On systems that have not already installed Java for OS X 2012-006, this update disables the Java SE 6 applet plug-in. To use applets on a web page, click on the region labeled “Missing plug-in” to download the latest version of the Java applet plug-in from Oracle.
Please quit any web browsers and Java applications before installing this update.
The update is available in the Software Update pane under the Mac App Store application. It is also available for direct download from Apple’s website. Apple also provides a document on the security information related to the update.
In January, we reported that Apple will stop selling its current generation Mac Pro in Europe on March 1st over new product regulatory standards. Today, Apple’s Mac Pro desktop computer is showing as “currently unavailable” from severalEuropeanApple Online Stores. In line with the regulatory standards only affecting Europe, the computer is still available from the United States online store. It is unclear why the machines have been removed today if the new regulatory standards only go into affect in roughly two weeks. However, one possibility is that the removal has to do with Apple’s 14 day return policy. Apple’s internal memo about the Mac Pro discontinuation specifically said sales will stop on March 1st. Resellers can sell remaining inventory after that date. Thanks, Marco.
Gassee discusses the rumored Apple wrist-device in the context of Apple’s other products. Profiling Apple’s current Apple TV business, software business, and hardware acumen, Gassee believes that the so-called “iWatch” is Apple’s next step of personal computing.
It’s hard to imagine that Apple would merely integrate an existing accessory into a new iPod. Sales of the iPod proper are decelerating, so the iPod-as-iWatch could give the line a much needed boost, but it’s difficult to reconcile the rumors of “100 people” working on the project if it’s just a retrofit job. Is Apple working on an iWatch that can be experienced as an Even More Personal personal computer — an “intimate computer”? If so, many questions arise: user interface, sensors, iOS version, new types of apps, connection with other iDevices… And, of course price. This would be much more interesting than the perennially in-the-future Apple TV set. Of course, iWatch and Apple TV aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
Tonight, Apple has aired two new television commercials for both the full-sized iPad and iPad mini. The new ad showcases reading with iBooks, collaborative gaming, and several apps from the App Store. Above is the “Alive” ad and after the break is “Together:”
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publishers, Apple has 
