We knew
The Daily was to be just the first drop what's destined to be a flood of titles with in-app purchases for the
iTunes store, but we weren't quite sure how hard Apple would be twisting the faucet -- until now, that is. According to
The Wall Street Journal, Cupertino will reject any newspaper or magazine app that doesn't take subscription payments through the iTunes store. It doesn't have to be
solely Apple's store -- developers can still sell through websites
in addition to the mandated in-app option. (If you recall, this is the same issue that
Sony Reader for iOS just faced.) There are a few big questions lingering out there: will the 70 / 30 revenue sharing apply? Does the "rejection" apply to apps already in the store like Amazon's
Kindle? You bet your (virtual) bottom dollar we'll be finding out soon enough.
Apple to require in-app subscriptions for periodicals by March 31st, fine print still a bit fuzzy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 23:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We were wondering how Apple was going to handle two
different button configurations for its AT&T and
Verizon iPhones, and well, the solution couldn't be simpler. One reader visiting the Apple Store stumbled upon a bumper with a slightly different packaging. Thankfully, this intrigued him enough to pick one up and do a side-by-side comparison between this new "universal case" and the old first-party solution. The only change, since volume buttons are mapped identically between the two, is a slot for the mute button that's decidedly less mute. Definitely works with his AT&T model and should theoretically fit Verizon's model, too. Tough luck if you're making a move to Big Red and trying to bring an old case, but let's be honest... you'd be paying a pretty penny for the new device anyway, so what's a few more dollars for physical protection? Video comparison after the break.
[Thanks, Alex!]
Continue reading Universal iPhone bumper found in Apple Store, mute button gets more space (video)
Universal iPhone bumper found in Apple Store, mute button gets more space (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Eighth graders of the world: you're not overachieving enough. Meet Robert Nay, the subject of today's feel-good story. The 14-year old Utah native designed a simple-and-fun mobile game and managed to rack up a million downloads within two weeks of its December 29th launch. Which thrust his game to the top of the
iTunes Free Apps list (and subsequently netted another 400,000 downloads, according to
AllThingsD). Bubble Ball's the game, also available in the Android Market. Give it a shot, and then do more with yourself, k?
14-year-old dev's first game tops iOS free apps list (we'll just say it: aww...) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 00:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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History lesson, folks. If you dig far enough into iOS's code, you'll eventually come across iPhone3,1, which is the AT&T iPhone 4, and the analogous
iPhone3,2 (i.e.
Verizon iPhone). It's nothing we haven't seen before, but then along comes iOS 4.3 with a handful of new mystery identifiers to spurn speculation -- namely, two new-generation iPhones (4,1 and 4,2) and three iPads (2,1; 2,2; and 2,3). Speculate all you want, but there isn't much else at all we can say definitively here, but if we had to take a guess, it's the GSM and CDMA variants of the next-gen models (plus a WiFi-only iPad). It is interesting to note the lack of an "iPhone4,3" given the yet-to-be-revealed
iPhone3,3 is still there -- will the last member ever see the light of day? Outside of iOS 4.3 but still very much related,
BGR is claiming it's heard from sources that the next iPhone / iPad models will eschew the physical home button altogether in lieu of the
new multi-finger gestures and that employees at Cupertino are already testing such devices. That seems a little more out there to us; five-finger pinch to home feels extremely clunky. The real takeaway here? We can finally have an iPhone rumor that doesn't involve wondering if it'll head to a new US carrier.
iOS 4.3 code reveals new iPhone and iPad models, rumor mill suggests a dislike of the home button originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It's time to start penning the epilogue to
the story of how
Verizon and the iPhone came to be happily betrothed yesterday. We've already heard a good deal about how the
last suitor failed to live up to expectations, but this report keeps the focus predominantly on the newlyweds and their courtship. The agreement came last year and was brokered by Verizon President Lowell McAdam and Apple COO Tim Cook, with input from CEOs Ivan Seidenberg and Steve Jobs (naturally), and though the commercial aspect only took about a day, the preceding technical hurdle was a six-to-nine months ordeal. That entailed putting Verizon cell towers at Apple HQ to check signal and avoid reliability troubles, as well as having Verizon's Executive Director of Technology David McCarley work in Cupertino for more than a year. As for the rest of the deal, both parties agreed to share inside knowledge (Verizon's network plans for Apple's device plans -- wouldn't
you like to know) and Verizon had to agree to a logo-free device. Which, given the
sure-to-be mindblowing sales, probably isn't a hard pill to swallow.
A brief and anecdotal history of the Verizon iPhone 4 deal originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Someone must really like you -- otherwise, how did you end up with an iPhone this holiday season? Yeah, we know,
iPads don't really fit into stockings. Besides, your parent or significant other got you an arguably better gift in the cheaper (with two-year contract, of course), more compact, and more recently updated iPhone 4. We've given you some
app suggestions before when the device first launched, but that was six months ago, and in technology time, that's like seven years. Want a run-down of the best apps, our favorite accessories, and the essential tips and tricks? Just follow along after the break!
Hey Android friends, we got you covered, too! Did you get an iPad? Check out our guide here!Continue reading Just got an iPhone? The best apps, accessories, and tips
Just got an iPhone? The best apps, accessories, and tips originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Dec 2010 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Of course you knew this was coming, you probably just didn't expect it so soon. If Apple keeps up with its usual schedule, we don't expect an iPhone 4 successor to rear its head until summer 2011, but already some KIRF scientists are making forward-looking projections and produced what it thinks might be
the KIRF iPhone to go tête-à-tête with the presumed iPhone 5. Resolution's apparently low, but it does its best to make up for it with dual SIM capabilities, WiFi, Bluetooth, a microSD slot, built-in camera with flash, an all-too familiar UI -- all at a price guaranteed to assuage regret: about 700 yuan (US $106). The future is now, why wait? Video after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Continue reading Keepin' it real fake: iPhone 5 provides foresight to a falsified future (video)
Keepin' it real fake: iPhone 5 provides foresight to a falsified future (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Dec 2010 10:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We don't normally cover the "business crime" beat, but there's a pretty interesting gadget angle here. As part of a larger crack down on insider trading, three technology executives and a "salesman for an 'expert network'" have been arrested for leaking confidential tips to hedge funds. What sort of secrets, you ask? A certain executive for Flextronics, Walter Shimoon, happened to pass on information concerning an iPhone update and the
iPad well before they became official (Flextronics supplied Apple parts). "At Apple you can get fired for saying K48 ... outside of a, you know, outside of a meeting that doesn't have K48 people in it. That's how crazy they are about it," he said during an October 2009 phone call intercepted by authorities, where
K48 was the codename for the iPad, which didn't see the light of day until 2010 (we're assuming here that's not
all he said). The others arrested hail from AMD (leaking financial details) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and a fifth person already pled guilty (a former Dell global supply manager). Remember, kids, crime doesn't pay.
Apple secrets leaked early by inside traders, arrests reveal originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Word on the street -- and by that we mean a
Nikkei Business Daily report -- is that Toshiba's dropping a cool 100 billion yen (around $1.2 billion in US currencies) for a new factory in the
Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. Its
raison d'être? L
ow-temperature polysilicon LCD panels, primarily for the iPhone (no indication on which version; Apple is said to be investing in a portion of the factory, as well). Construction begins early next year and production is apparently slated to commence in the second half. More than enough time to stockpile unicorn tears for the assembly line.Toshiba building new factory to churn out iPhone LCDs, says Nikkei originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 22:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Your iPhone's passcode entry can't block everything, it seems -- at least not with
iOS 4.1. We're hearing various reports that simply inputting a random number in the emergency call field and then promptly hitting the hardware lock button will take you to the Phone app, thereby granting you access to the call history, voicemail, and address book. We've tried this with iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4, all with the same result. We can't get out of the field without trying to place a call, and after that we're still stuck back at the passcode screen. Additionally, selecting "share contact" and then the camera icon will give you access to the photo album. Pay mind that your particularly paranoid pals could probably use this to see if you really
did stop calling your ex and delete all his or her pictures. We won't judge, but they will. Video proof of concept after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Continue reading iOS 4.1 glitch lets you bypass lock screen to access Phone app, photo album (video)
iOS 4.1 glitch lets you bypass lock screen to access Phone app, photo album (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple's all aglow with its fiscal triumphs, but that's nothing new. Here's something else that follows the Cupertino company like night follows the day:
Verizon iPhone rumors.
Boy Genius Report claims it's heard from one of its "solid Apple sources" that iPhone 3,2 (seen previously
in iOS code) has hit "AP testing phase," which reportedly means final hardware and near-final software. Said source also claims it has a SIM card slot, which would be fine except for
BGR's assertion that 3,2 is the oft-rumored CDMA iPhone -- you know, the one that
Wall Street Journal is all but certain is
coming next year. So how might these two apparently contradictory elements form some tangible paradox machine? One possibility the publication is suggesting is a CDMA / GSM dual-mode "global" phone that'd work on virtually all major carriers. Then again, it could just be a GSM iPhone 4 with some design finagling (
antenna revision?). If any of this pans out, that is, but at least you can say you witnessed the Verizon iPhone rumor merging with existing iPhone 4 to form a mythical "carrier Voltron" device. Or something like that.
iPhone 3,2 rumored to be in near-final testing phase, cue the CDMA speculation originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 21:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Back when Apple initially said it'd offer
free iPhone 4 cases to assuage reception concerns, there was a September 30th deadline given for the program. After which, according to Steve and company during the
post-press conference Q&A, Apple would "evaluate" the prolonged need for such an offer. Well, looks like the decision has been made. In a statement on its website, Apple has confirmed the free case program will be discontinued for all iPhone 4s sold after September 30th, and the return policy for the smartphone will return to normal, pre-
antennagate rules. Evidently, said the statement, "we now know the iPhone 4 antenna attenuation issue is even smaller than we originally thought." It had to end sometime, folks.
iPhone 4 free case program to end September 30th, get one while you still can originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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