Mark Gurman

Facebook has just launched an app to compete with Snapchat, Poke. Poke lets you “Poke” friends with a message, photo, or video. Like Snapchat, you can choose how long your friend can view your Poke. Also like Snapchat, your friends need to hold down your Poke to view it. Potentially Poke’s biggest strength over Snapchat is the built-in ecosystem of all of your Facebook friends.

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Apple has released iOS 6.1 beta 4 to developers. The new update just hit as an OTA update for those with iOS 6.1 beta already installed.

Additionally, Apple has seeded a new preview of Xcode 4.6 and a new Apple TV beta to developers.

Thanks, D! 

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Apple has announced that opening weekend sales of the iPhone 5 have topped two million units in China.

Customer response to iPhone 5 in China has been incredible, setting a new record with the best first weekend sales ever in China, said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “China is a very important market for us and customers there cannot wait to get their hands on Apple products.

The iPhone 5 went on sale in China on December 14th. Apple previously announced that the iPhone 5 would go on sale in 100 countries by the end of the year.

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According to Digitimes, Apple’s next-generation iPad mini’s enhancements will center around the device’s display resolution. Digitimes says its sources did not specify whether or not this new iPad mini would feature a Retina display, but knowing Apple’s want to ensure application compatibility, it is highly likely that if Apple goes higher-resolution on the iPad mini, they will be going to the third and fourth-generation 9.7-inch iPad’s resolution of 2048 x 1536 (something to note is that Digitimes says that the current 9.7-inch Retina Display iPad has a resolution of 2058 x 1536, which is incorrect.)…

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Approximately two weeks following the launch of the revamped iTunes 11 application, Apple has released iTunes 11.0.1 via the Mac App Store Software Update tab to users.

This update to the new iTunes addresses an issue where new purchases in iCloud may not appear in your library if iTunes Match is turned on, makes iTunes more responsive when searching a large library, fixes a problem where the AirPlay button may not appear as expected, and adds the ability to display duplicate items within your library.

The update is generally a bug fix release. It includes fixes for items from iCloud not properly appearing in user libraries, an issue with the AirPlay button not appearing, and making libraries with several items more responsive.

Additionally, this new update restores the ability to display duplicate items in user libraries. This was a feature notably lost in the transition from iTunes 10 to iTunes 11. Apple promised these updates earlier this month.

iTunes 11 includes a completely redesigned player, UpNext, a new MiniPlayer, enhanced iCloud integration, a redesigned iTunes Store, and more.

Thanks, Peter! 

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Facebook has updated its iOS application with improved speed for your timeline, newsfeed, and photo uploading. This update comes a couple of versions after Facebook completely re-wrote its iOS app using native code.

Post your photos to albums and enjoy a speedier app.
• You can now choose an album when uploading photos
• News feed loads more quickly
• Completely rebuilt timeline opens faster on your iPhone

Earlier today, Facebook rolled out Facebook 2.0 for Android with a re-written, native codebase.

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TwelveSouth has announced and released an iPad mini-compatible version of its popular BookBook case. The case, which we recently reviewed for the iPhone 5 and full-sized iPad, is akin to a vintage style book. It comes in black, brown, and red. It sells for $69.99. We really enjoy the case for our other iDevices, and we’re looking forward to reviewing the iPad mini version.

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Just in time for the holidays, Apple has restored the ability for a user to buy (“gift”) an App Store app for another App Store user via an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. The gifting feature, which was present for iOS 5 and below, never launched with iOS 6. Apple did not explain why, but it likely had to do with iOS 6 featuring a redesigned iOS App Store. To gift an app, a user needs to click the action sheet button and then click the gift button. Users can even specify when the application should be delivered (up to 90 days advance).

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Apple has rolled out a more granular System Status Page for its slew of online services, as noted by The Next Web. The new page covers the system status of all of Apple’s internet services, stores, and individual iCloud features.

Additionally, the new website features an easy to track time graph of downtime across all of Apple’s online services.

Earlier today, we noted that Apple’s iCloud services had been seeing unexpected downtime over the past few days. The new addition also comes at a time where Apple’s internet services, namely those integrated with iOS (Maps and Siri), have been highly criticized due to reliability issues.

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[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/54553882 w=700&h=520]

Mailbox, announced today, is an application launching next year that brings a fresh email experience to iPhone users. It is a completely new approach to email management that allows you to reach “inbox zero” more quickly. It is built with the concept of to-do-list management, allowing you to simply mark emails as tasks to get done at your time of choosing. Mailbox’s promotional video above provides a look at the app.

The Verge posted a comprehensive look at the application, noting the ease-of-use and speed with its swipe-heavy user-interface controls:

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As the days left of 2012 dwindle down, Apple has opened up a new section in iTunes to commemorate the year. Apple’s new Best of 2012 section highlight’s the companies selection of best Apps, Music, Movies, TV Shows, Books, and Podcasts. Each section is split up into several categories, such as types of apps and movies, and Apple lists the top sellers for every general category. For apps, Apple has separate iPad and iPhone sections.

The top choices from every category:

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According to a tweet issued by Bloomberg News, a U.S. court has ruled that Apple’s iPhone violates three patents from the firm MobileMedia.

FLASH:U.S. court finds Apple iPhone infringes three Mobilemedia patents

— Bloomberg News (@BloombergNews) December 13, 2012

MobileMedia is a company that owns a series of technology related patents. The company holds over 300 patents, according to its website’s about page:

MobileMedia Ideas is the patent portfolio licensor of inventions adopted by manufacturers of smart phones, mobile phones and other portable devices including personal computers, laptops, netbooks, personal media players, e-book readers, cameras and hand-held game consoles. We own more than 300 patents worldwide that are important to those mobile device companies incorporating in their products innovations such as call handling, speed dial functions, database searches, audio download and playback, and still picture and video processing. MobileMedia Ideas offers access, clarity and convenience enabling licensees to build predictability into their business models.

It is currently unclear which patents Apple is infringing, but MobileMedia took Apple to court in recent months over patents relating to the iPhone’s screen orientation and call rejection features.

Update: Bloomberg shares additional details from the trial, reporting that it was a week long trial. The jury took four hours to reach their decision in deliberation. MobileMedia’s CEO Larry Horn is quoted as saying: “We’re very pleased. “We think it’s justified.” In addition to the aforementioned screen orientation and call rejection patents, this trial covers a camera-system-related patent which Apple was also ruled to have infringed with the iPhone.

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David Pogue, in his review of Google’s new Google Maps application for iPhone and iPod touch, shares a couple of interesting tidbits from Google. First, Google reportedly has admitted that its iOS Google Maps application is better than its implementation on Android devices:

Google admits that it’s even better than Google Maps for Android phones, which has accommodated its evolving feature set mainly by piling on menus.

While the version for iOS takes much of the Android version’s functionality, it does still lack offline mode and full-tablet support. After noting the lack of offline map saving and iPad support, Pogue shares that Google said “that goodies like those will be coming soon.”

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In line with expectations from earlier today, Google has released an official Google Maps application for Apple’s iOS platform. The application runs on the iPhone and iPod touch.

Navigate your world with Google Maps, now available for iPhone. Get comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps with built-in Google local search, voice guided turn-by-turn navigation, public transit directions, Street View and more. Use Google Maps to discover great places to eat, drink, shop and play, with ratings and reviews from people you trust. Sign in to save your favorite places and quickly access all your past searches and directions from your computer, right on your phone.

Search
* Find addresses, places and businesses around the world with Google local search.
* Discover places to eat, drink, shop and play, with ratings and local reviews.
* Sign in to sync your searches, directions, and favorite places between your computer and your phone.

Directions
* Get voice guided, turn-by-turn driving directions.
* Find your way by train, bus, subway or walking directions.
* Access live traffic information in cities across the world.

Street View and imagery
* View 360-degree panoramas of places around the globe with Street View.
* See inside more than 100,000 businesses worldwide.
* View high resolution satellite imagery of locations around the world.

Simple and easy to use
* An entirely new Google Maps experience on your iPhone.
* Newly designed and streamlined interface for even easier navigation of your world.
* Use gestures to explore the map and browse results.

The free application arrives following several rumors about the app, and comes in the weeks following Apple’s official launch of iOS 6. iOS 6 was the first version of iOS to not include a Maps app with a Google backend. Instead, it uses Apple’s own backend that has been the source of much controversy. So much controversy that two senior Apple employees who worked on the project, Scott Forstall and Richard Willamson, were pushed out of Apple for reasons relating to the app’s flaws relating to data reliability.

Even with flawed data, Apple’s new Maps application has been praised for its speedier design, 3D Flyover feature, and turn-by-turn data. However, it lacks the popular Street View and Transit directions features from the Google Maps-based app found on Apple mobile devices prior to iOS 6’s release.

Some videos about Google Maps for iOS:

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Apple Maps icon compared to Google Maps iPhone web app icon

According to AllThingsD, Google plans to release its long-rumored Google Maps for iOS application tonight. The report does not share any details about the application’s features, or which Apple devices it will work with. However, previous rumors point to the application including the turn-by-turn navigation support that Google would not offer in Apple’s Google Maps app in iOS versions prior to iOS 6. Additionally, rumored screenshots of the application reportedly leaked out a couple of months ago, but those images have yet to be confirmed or corroborated as legitimate.

Apple’s iOS devices included a Maps app with a Google backend up until version iOS 6. Apple’s in-house Maps application includes a 3D Flyover mode, turn-by-turn directions, and Yelp integration. However, even with those helpful features, the application has been filled with controvrsy over unreliable data, broken satellite imagery, and other errors. Apple’s former iOS Senior Vice President and a Senior iOS engineer, Scott Forstall and Rich Williamson, have even both been pushed out of the company in connection to the iOS 6 Maps app.

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Image Credit CNET AU

Samsung is back with yet another marketing ploy against Apple. This time, the company is apparently hitting Apple in Australia over the recent iOS 6 Maps error in Australia that led Australian Police to say that Apple Maps is potentially life threatening. According to CNET Australia, which snapped the above photo, Samsung is now showing of its maps app in a campaign that shows a muddy SUV besides a tent and other camping equipment. It seems that this is Samsung’s dig against Apple Maps users in Australia reportedly getting lost in high temperatures outside of civilization.

In related news, another Australian jurisdiction has issued a warning against using Apple Maps. But it isn’t just Apple that has issues.

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