Verizon Reports 25% Rise in Activations, Accounts for 55% of Total Smartphone Activations

Verizon iPhone

Verizon was first of the four major carriers in the United States to have reported their first quarter of 2013 earnings results. Last week, Verizon announced that they activated a total of 7.2 million smartphones during the quarter with 4 million of those being iPhones. This comes out to be … Read the Full Story →

Twitter Launches Music App, #music, For iOS and Web

Twitter music

On Thursday, Twitter launched the music app that was nothing but a rumor for the past several weeks. Twitter released the app early Thursday, and called it Twitter #music, with a hashtag in the title to reflect the popular feature from the social networking site. The app integrates a number … Read the Full Story →

Facebook Hires Apple’s Former Maps Manager Richard Williamson

facebook timeline

On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Facebook has hired Apple’s former Maps manager, Richard Williamson. Williamson was in charge of Apple’s iOS mapping team, and was fired in November after the new Maps application was released with many issues and faced intense criticism. By hiring Williamson, Facebook is expanding its mobile … Read the Full Story →

USPTO Grants Apple iOS App Folders and “Jiggle Mode” UI Patent

iPhone Jiggle Mode Patent

Apple introduced iOS app folders in iOS 4 and has had the ‘Jiggle Mode’ UI since iOS 1. On Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple the patent for iOS app folders and the ‘Jiggle Mode’ UI. The patent, which is listed as U.S. Patent No. 8,423,911, describes the … Read the Full Story →

Verizon Increases iPhone Subsidy Wait Time to 24 Months

Verizon iPhone

With Apple’s iPhone 5S expected later this year, carriers are beginning to shift around their plans and smartphone upgrade structure to match the upcoming refresh. On Friday, Verizon reported that they will now be extending the wait time for an upgrade to 24 months, up from the current 20 months … Read the Full Story →

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to Supply 650,000 iOS Devices to U.S. Department of Defense

Department of Defense

According to a report from Electronista, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) will be supplying iOS devices to the United States Department of Defense, replacing all of the 470,000 BlackBerry devices currently in use by employees. Until this year, the DOD handed out a Blackberry to each of its employees for answering emails, … Read the Full Story →

Walmart to Expand ‘Scan & Go’ iPhone Self-Checkout Systems To Over 200 Stores

Walmart Scan Pay Go iPhone App

According to a report from Reuters, Walmart is expanding its ‘Scan & Go’ Self-checkout system to over 200 of its retail stores. The system, which is similar to Apple’s own EasyPay system is modeled around iOS devices and allows customers of Walmart stores to pay for their shopping items at … Read the Full Story →

China Mobile Announces Major LTE Expansion No Word on iPhone

China Mobile

China Mobile is looking to make its mark in the LTE market, with an announcement from the company noting that it is planning a major LTE push to improve its network and implement it more broadly. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company is looking to spend $7 billion … Read the Full Story →

Twitter to Introduce Standalone ‘Twitter Music’ App Bringing Music Streaming to iOS Users

Twitter

According to a report from Bloomberg, popular social networking and microblogging service, Twitter is planning to introduce a standalone music app, being called ‘Twitter Music’. The app will bring streaming music capabilities to iOS users, similar to other services such as Pandora and Spotify. The report does note, however, that … Read the Full Story →

‘Google Now’ for iPhone and iPad Video Leaked to YouTube

Google Now iPhone iPad

Earlier this week, Google introduced a new design to its mobile gmail web app, bringing over features from its Gmail iOS app. Google had previously done this with its Maps application for iOS, which is now a very popular alternative to Apple’s own Maps. Now, it appears that Google is … Read the Full Story →

Gmail iOS App Style Comes to Google’s Mobile Web App

Gmail

Google appears to be dominating the iOS experience, not only with its Google Maps for iOS application but also with its Gmail app. On Monday, Google updated its mobile web application with a design very similar to its native iOS application. The company did something similar with their Google Maps … Read the Full Story →

Facebook Updates News Feed with Synchronized Experience Across Devices

facebook timeline

Facebook recently unveiled a new version of its News Feed, with an emphasis on larger photos, reduced clutter and a synchronized experience across devices. This means that the design of the news feed would appear the same whether the user was browsing through it on an smartphone, tablet, or a … Read the Full Story →

Obama Administration Supports Petition for Unlocking Mobile Phones and Tablets

Obama Administration Supports Petition for Unlocking Mobile Phones and Tablets

Earlier this year, a new law was passed in the United States that prevented owners of mobile phones from unlocking their devices and using it on another network without carrier authorization. The law also prevents users from taking unlocked phones abroad and using them on local carriers there. However, the … Read the Full Story →

Google Announces Updated Maps for iOS SDK, Allows Developers to Replace Apple’s Maps App

Google Maps iPhone

Google appears to be getting back at Apple for introducing its own Maps application and removing Google’s data from the iPhone. Following major issues with Apple’s Maps application for iOS, Google introduced its own application for the iPhone. Now, Google has updated the Maps for iOS SDK, which allows developers … Read the Full Story →