iOS 9 Built-in Apps

Apple is improving built-in apps that iOS already has and even bringing new default apps to iOS 9. Every-time the company expands functionality of some of its existing apps or introduces new apps it tends to disrupt the business of some of the third-party apps.

News

In iOS 9 Apple is all set to introduce News which will bring personalised news stories based on the type of articles you read and the topics you are interested in. Sounds a bit like Flipboard right? Apple will be releasing special set of tools to enable publishers to create content for the News app. This content will include immersive design, interactivity and beautiful typography.

These special print style layouts would be great for editorial and in-dept articles.

Notes

The Notes app in iOS 9 is getting a lot of love from Apple. The updated app will allow you to do more than just note taking. It now includes creating a checklist, adding photo, map or a URL to your note. Another addition to the app is the ability to sketch with your finger.

I use Notes app a lot and even though my devices have many third-party apps I’ve always gone back to the default Notes app in iOS. These new features would certainly make Apple’s Notes app a whole lot powerful and iCloud syncing will support all these features between OS X and iOS.

Maps

Ever since Apple and Google’s maps licensing ended, the company has been hard at work to improve its mapping solution. Apple Maps were initially criticised for inaccuracies and limited features. In iOS 9 Apple is bringing Transit vier with routes and directors. The new maps app will also include Nearby search to find local businesses from categories such as Food, Shopping, Fun, and more.

Wallet

Passbook has been renamed to Wallet app in iOS 9. It will not just store credit cards you use but also include reward and loyalty cards. You will be able to use Apple Pay to redeem rewards or apply offer.

CarPlay

Apple has pulled the cord from CarPlay for the new cars that support wireless connection to your iPhone. You can have your iPhone in the pocket never take it out and still access CarPlay. The updated app will also support apps developed by car manufactures so that you can use the car’s features without leaving CarPlay.

iOS 9 for iPad

With iOS 9 Apple has taken multi-tasking on the iPad to a whole new level. The upcoming software update will support slide over, split view and picture in picture which will utilise the true potential of the iPad. Apple has also improved the QuickType feature introduced in iOS 8.

Multitasking

Slide Over allows you to quickly take action in another app without ever leaving the first one. Split View allows you to have work in two apps simultaneously. Picture in Picture takes any video content and floats in on the screen when you press the home button.

QuickType

Selecting text, copying and pasting while these tasks have been very easy to do on iOS. However, for getting some serious work done receptively selecting text, copying and pasting involves constantly lifting your finger from the keyboard the tap and hold on the screen to have controls appear on the screen. All this is changing with iOS 9. Two finger tap on the new keyboard in iOS 9 for iPad transforms it into a trackpad allowing you to move the cursor and then use dedicated keys for cut, copy, paste, text formatting and adding attachments.

Intelligence

Siri received a major upgrade in iOS 8 and now with iOS 9 it is getting much better. Apple is allowing Siri to search built-in apps to source answers, deliver results faster and even offering suggestions proactively.

Siri can now offer you quick access to different apps depending on the time of the day and your location. It can automatically create events when it detects invitations in an email and much more.

Foundation

Apple has made a number of under-the-hood refinements to iOS 9 to make its performance faster and even improve battery life.

One of the biggest hurdles in users upgrading to iOS 8 was the amount of free space the software requested for over-the-air update. In iOS 9 Apple has reduced it by more than 70%. A new developer API called App Thinness will allow the App Store to download assets for the app that match the users screen density.

Security has also been improved in the OS. The devices will now require a six-digit passcode. Two-factor authentication will be required when you sign in from anew browser or on a new device.

Conclusion

iOS 9 brings many features that will enhance users productivity in performing day to day tasks. Intelligence and improved multitasking are certainly some of the best new features in iOS 9.

The public beta will be available in July followed by final release this Fall.

Apple Inc. is no alien to lawsuits and counter lawsuits. The most talked about lawsuit the company has been involved in is against Samsung. Time and again we hear that companies sue Apple for alleged infringement in the U.S.. However, this time Ericsson has beefed up its attempt to make Apple pay royalties by suing the company in Germany, the U.K, the Netherlands in addition to U.S. filings.

Kasim Alfalahi, Ericsson’s chief IP officer said, “Everybody needs to take a license for the technologies we are providing to them”. He further added, “It’s a very serious thing, regardless of who the company is.”

Apple Inc. had singed a licensing agreement with Ericsson and paid royalties for use of its intellectual property until the license expired in mid-January. Failed talks over renewal fees is likely the cause behind Ericsson now seeking court ruling in this matter.

When the news about this lawsuit broke Ericsson shared took a huge leap of 6.3 percent. The company ‘s market value has risen to $38 billion.

Apple in its complaint in January mentioned that Ericsson, “seeks to exploit its patents to take the value of these cutting-edge Apple innovations” and referred to their tactic as “abusive licensing practices.”

Legal battles aren’t new in tech industry and we will just have to wait and see how this one turns out. Many intellectual property activists have highlighted the need to reform patent litigation given the massive scale and implication of these lawsuits.

This review is not about Illustrator vs Affinity Designer. Neither will I mention every feature of the app. I will cover those features which stood out to me as I used the app over the last few weeks.

It’s not often that we get to see people challenge what has become a ‘norm’ or an ‘industry standard’. A quick search on YouTube or Google for tutorials on learning how to draw vectors, learn web design or UI design will lead you to professionals using Illustrator and Photoshop as their preferred choice of software. If Affinity Designer for Mac needs to make its presence felt in an area dominated by Adobe, it needs to prove to users that it is better at accomplishing tasks related to graphic design.

For any application its UI is crucial to its success or failure. However, if you take a look at Illustrator or Photoshop their user interface isn’t all that comforting for beginners, yet pro users seem to have got accustomed to it. Over the years Adobe’s  software suite has increased the number of features it has however, not much has changed in terms of its UI and UX (user experience).

This is exactly where Affinity Designer makes its first big impression. The user interface of Affinity Designer for Mac is everything you’d expect from a modern app. While there is instant familiarity with the workspace from Illustrator, the user interface is more beginner friendly and is very intuitive. The software takes a more visual and gesture based approach rather than features being hidden deep inside menus.

The way we interact with software is increasingly changing. With the advent of touch based interactions on our smartphones and tablets, trackpads on notebooks and desktops, gestures have become a ubiquitous interaction mechanism. It’s great to see Affinity Designer embracing gesture based interactions. The software does this by creating active drop zones in the layer panel.

For example, you can create a clipping mask by simply dragging the object halfway under the main object. You can also mask a vector shape by dragging other vector next to its thumbnail in the layer panel. But, it doesn’t stop there as you drag the object in different drop zones the app shows you live preview of what a clipping mask or layer mask will look like. This feature is fantastic. If you never knew how these features work trying and testing with live previews makes experimenting a lot of fun.

Experimenting can only be fun if you can undo and get back to previous state in case you don’t like the changes. Affinity Designer features a modern take on undo function. You can slide through more than 8000 steps of history so there will never be a moment where you feel that you messed up your file.

It’s worth mentioning that Affinity Designers’ full compatibility with popular file formats such as .psd, .ai, and .pdf will play a critical role in its success. The developers spent almost four years in R&D while developing the software and compatibility with Adobe’s suite of apps is a great achievement.

Affinity Designer for Mac when under development carried a codename ‘Persona’. Although the app was named differently when released, Personas bring a new workflow to the mix. The app features three Personas, Draw, Pixel and Export.

Draw Persona is all about vector drawing however, you are greeted with a pleasant surprise when you click on Pixel Persona. The app geniously brings pixel brushes, selection and effects like smudging, blurring, erasing vector brushes, sharpening and more to a vector drawing app. Want to apply a grunge brush to your vector art? No need to switch the app you are using. Affinity Designer can handle both.

The developers didn’t just stop at adding pixel persona, they added an intelligent assistant to make your tasks easier and enable you to work in an intuitive manner.

If I switch from draw to pixel persona and add a pixel brush stroke to my artwork technically I would need to first add a ‘pixel layer’ however, with the assistant working in the background you don’t have to worry about it as it automatically does the needful. The assistant can also place mask layer inside the vector when erasing. It can rasterise vector layer and then apply other brushes, automatically add adjustment as child layer to selection and rasterise layer and then apply filters.

Even the layer blending modes have received some love and gained live previews. Scrolling through different blend modes such as overlay, multiply, soft-light etc. will show you a live preview of what your design will look like so that you can make better choice quickly. This feature again goes onto show that the developers have paid close attention to the details.

Affinity Designer features dedicated gradient and transparency tools. These allow you to apply multiple gradients in an intuitive manner without the need to open any dialogue boxes.

Once you’re done creating your graphic design you can use the export persona to export your design. You can choose to export your design as 1x, 2x and 3x which is important as you may be creating design for retina displays or even mobile devices.

Another feature I’ve really liked is continuous export, once selected it automatically updates the exported file in the specified format and setting even as you continue to make edits and make alternate design decisions. It’s great to know that your final artwork folder will always contain the latest file no matter how many times you choose to make changes. Since the exported file is always overwritten you won’t have to deal with any duplicates.

Can Affinity Designer replace Illustrator? The answer to this question will depend on whether you are doing a feature by feature comparison or questioning its capabilities as a graphic design software.

There’s no doubt that Illustrator wins when it comes to the number of features. However, this doesn’t takeaway the fact that Affinity Designer is a very promising and extremely powerful graphic design software for the Mac. If you never knew Illustrator existed and used Affinity Designer for your project, you’d be able to accomplish nearly everything.

Affinity Designer is not fighting a feature vs feature battle rather it sets an example of how keeping usability in the forefront can result in a more productive and intuitive experience. The developers have said no to many features and yes to the ones that don’t sacrifice usability and provide reliable experience without adding any clutter.

If you are a beginner in vector drawing and graphic designing, I would recommend that you start right here with Affinity Designer. If you are a pro user who has been using Illustrator all this while, give Affinity Designer a try (trial available) and you won’t regret it.

Even though the application overall has highly impressed me there are a few concerns. If you’ve been using Illustrator you’ve got accustomed to certain keyboard shortcuts. In Affinity Designer you may need to learn different shortcuts. The software currently lacks any sort of symbols management. You can’t type text on a path. The only way to work is with layers, there’s no support for pages or art-boards.

It’s important to note that Affinity Designer was released on October 02, 2014. With the set of features already available in V 1.x it’s exciting to wait and see how the developers expand the current feature set.

Another point worth mentioning is that Serif Labs has opted to sell the software for a one-time price and not a subscription model. This alone is a very attractive investment for anyone from beginners to professionals.

Affinity Designer for Mac brings a fresh breath of air to the traditional vector drawing applications. Its focus on usability without sacrificing on advanced features is applaudable.

Watch Affinity Designer Features Overview Video

The company unveiled its new mobile operating system during the world wide developers conference earlier this year. This release doesn’t just include a number of user facing features but also opens hundreds of new API’s for third-party developers.

With iOS 8 users will experience a completely new Messages app that borrows a number of features from Whatsapp, new Messages app now includes audio messages, instant photo messages (Snapchat?), mute conversation and more. Typing on the new iOS has also been enhanced as Apple introduces QuickType which intelligently recommends words as you type and overtime it learns and adapts to your writing style. QuickType in iOS 8 doesn’t just learn your writing style but also remembers how you communicate with different people.

Apple has heard the requests of its customers and finally introducing iCloud Drive, a central location to find all your documents from Mac, PC or iOS. Did this make you think of Dropbox? Access any of your file from any device connected to iCloud without having to worry about its version. However, it’s worth noting that it is advisable to not opt in for iCloud Drive when setting up your iOS 8 device until OS X Yosemite is available for download. Files stored in iCloud Drive will only work with iOS 8 devices and OS X Yosemite.

Handoff in iOS 8 allows you to continue working on your choice of device while picking up from where you left off, but this will also require OS X Yosemite.

Third-party apps greatly benefit from this update as Apple has finally allowed developer access to Touch ID, Camera API, PhotoKit, HealthKit,  HomeKit and CloudKit.

The update is now available for download over-thir-air for compatible devices.

Have you upgraded your devices already? What do you think about the new update? Let us know your experience in the comments below.

Apple added a new feature for developers in iOS 8 called extensions; it works as a plugin giving access to third-party apps to plug into native apps and offer extended functionality. Some of the use cases of this feature could include allowing developers to add custom sharing services, provide photo filters within the Photos app or add a custom action to add things to a list.

iOS 8 is the biggest release for developers since the introduction of the App Store. It opens up new areas of iOS, allowing developers to extend the reach of their app content and functionality.Apple

Things for iPhone $9.99 and iPad $19.99 is a hugely popular task manager application. The developers recently published a video showcasing iOS 8 extension capability. The video shows an iPhone with a website open in Safari. After copying some text and then tapping the share action button reveals Things custom action button called “Add to Things” to create a new task.

Things 2.5 update will bring this new feature to the app. The current version of the app hasn’t been updated to match the iOS 7 flat look and feel however, the developers are working on Things 3.0 which bring all new features and new user interface.

With more than 4,000 new API’s developers will be able to take advantage of new custom keyboard, Touch ID authentication, notification centre on the lock screen and much more.

iOS 8 is expected to be made available to the public later this fall. The upcoming update has been in testing stage since its beta availability to registered developers. Are you excited about the new extensions feature in iOS 8? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

With the of iPhone 5 Apple for the first time since the introduction of iPod changed the charging connector on its mobile devices. The iPhone 5 featured a lighting connector which was smaller and also added the convenience of not knowing which side up, as the connector is reversible. Apple’s executive in support of the new charging connector said that it was going to be standard for the next ten years.

Latest rumours point to evidence that Apple is working on new iPhone 6 charging cable. Sonny Dickson, who is known to share information about Apple’s future product roadmap, posted a photo of the new cable on his Twitter account.

A new smaller lighting cable allowed Apple to make the sixth-gen iPhone thinner and its reversibility made charging your device even easier. Now, it seems that the company may release new lighting to USB cable with the USB port being reversible which will make it very convenient to connect the cable without failing the first few times trying to figure out which direction is correct.

Apple is certainly not the first when it comes to reversible USB cables. There are many third party cables and flash drives that offer reversible ports. However, it will be interesting to see if this rumour turns out to be true.

iPhone 6 is expected to be announced during a special media event on September 9th. It will be made available in two screen sizes 4.7 inch and 5.5 inch variations. The high end model is rumoured to feature sapphire glass. Other features could include NFC, 1GB RAM and better battery life.

At an event earlier today Motorola, a Google company unveiled its latest ‘budget’ smartphone called “Moto G”. The theme of the entire event and the ideology behind the product was to make premium features available at a non-premium price.

While announcing the new Moto G product Motorola executives mentioned Apple’s iPhone 5s, Samsung’s Galaxy S4 and HTC a few times. Moto G features 4.5 inch high resolution screen with 329 ppi and 720p. The executives were quick to point out that the screen has better quality than Apple’s flagship iPhone 5s. Moto G runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 clocked at 1.2 GHz, 1GB RAM, and offers “all-day” battery life with around 14 hours of talk time on 3G networks. In comparison, iPhone 5s according to Apple offers 10 hours of battery life on 3G.

After unveiling the hardware features and sharing the idea behind creating a budget phone Punit Soni who is responsible for software product management for Moto G took the stage to talk about software. Soni mentioned the three main tenets of their software strategy for Moto G. The first being build on pure foundation of Android, second build experiences that compliment Google services and not compete with them and lastly ensure that the software can give value back to the users.

If you’ve ever seen any Android device in the market manufactured by Samsung, HTC or Sony among many others you will immediately realise that all these companies have two things in common. They add a layer of their own software to the stock OS and bundle services that compete with Google’s software services.

Soni began to elaborate on the three main tenets by saying:

In today’s ecosystem mobile manufactures have a very confused relationship with Android they build on top of it but then they add all of these custom skins which detract from the user experience and hogs resources then they go ahead and put duplicative software on top of it which basically compete with Google services.

He goes on to mention that devices bundled with multiple mail apps, app stores, video players and music players results in “non-intuitive” and “cluttered” user interface.

At the time of purchase of Motorola by Google for a record  $12.5 billion the search giant claimed that they bought the company to secure Android’s position in future by acquiring key patents. Even though Google claims to treat all Android partners equally, at today’s event Soni was sending an indirect yet strong message to ‘other’ Android device manufacturers.

While referencing to the custom skins the slide Soni used had TouchWiz, Sense UI and Xperia UI. Clearly, targeting the top three Android manufacturers to convey that Moto G’s software strategy is superior to other Android partners. So, in essence Motorola a company owned by Google called Samsung, Sony and HTC “confused”.

Soni then goes on to advocate the use of “pure Android” in mobile devices and says:

A device that’s built on pure Android with minor optimisations is gonna have an incredible high performance

Here again Soni is sending out a clear message that any device with custom UI layers may be missing out on high performance as other non-stock apps and skins may hog more resources than required.

This could have a long term effect on customer mindset when they buy Android devices. Users could soon start associating “real” Android experience with Motorola (since Google owns Motorola) and “spinoff” experience with other smartphone manufacturers.

When it comes to smartphones most devices are beginning to look quite similar in terms of hardware so ultimately manufacturers try to differentiate their products with custom skins and other software services. However, at today’s event it appears that Google might have used the announcement of Moto G as an opportunity to convey Google’s stand on device manufacturers trying to add custom layers.

If this wasn’t enough, Motorola went on to compare performance of Moto G in terms of answering calls, making calls, launching browser, returning home and booting to Samsung Galaxy S4 to show how stock Android OS was clearly the winner.

This is the best validation of a strategy which involves disciplined software which focuses on optimisation that creates value for the user

In his attempt to bring attention to stock Android experience Soni suggests that software strategy being followed by other Android device manufacturers is rather indisciplined.

So, in conclusion on one hand Google’s Motorola tried to highlight the features of its new low-priced smartphone but on the other it clearly didn’t fall short of ridiculing Google’s Android partners.

It will be interesting to see how Samsung, HTC and Sony respond to Motorola claiming that their devices are non-intuitive, have cluttered interface and custom skins that hog resources.

On Thursday, CNET reported that Apple is reportedly very close to completing a deal with both Warner Music and Universal Music Group for its rumored iRadio service. Earlier this week, reports suggested that Apple was looking to launch the service as early as this summer, and with new reports of the companies finalizing deals, it appears that the previous rumors may be correct.

With its iRadio service, Apple will reportedly be using a different revenue stream and adding features not seen in other streaming music services such as Spotify and Pandora. Initial reports suggested that negotiations slowed because of Apple’s offering of low royalty which have likely been resolved since then. It is unclear, however, if the record labels settled for a lower rate or if Apple offered a higher rate.

That includes a quick way for consumers to buy a song they hear, potentially boosting download sales from iTunes, as well as a revenue share of new audio ads Apple is planning to add to the free service, according to sources.

The product would be tied to iTunes, and available on mobile devices.

The service, according to sources, most closely resembles Pandora because it doesn’t offer on-demand listening. Apple is building some unique features, such as the ability to jump back to the beginning of a song, according to one person briefed on the company’s plans.

It is possible that Apple would launch the new service at the company’s WWDC conference during the summer. Warner Music and Universal Music Group will be enough for the company to launch the service, however, they will also need to strike a deal with Sony Music Group to get the full library of songs. It is possible for the deals to fall through, with content and royalty rate negotiations still continuing, but with all of these reports, it is all but confirmed that Apple will be launching a streaming music service later this year.

{Via MacRumors}

According to Reuters, Nokia is now in support of Apple in its court battle against Samsung over a number of infringed products. Apple filed suit against Samsung to block the sale of products that were previously ruled as infringed. Nokia’s attorney Keith Broyles filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals, claiming that Judge Lucy Koh was wrong in when she ruled that Apple would have to justify the relationship between the patented feature and the demand for a product before an injunction could be filed.

Apple and Samsung have been locked in an all out legal war, after the two companies disputed over a patent in 2009, which was later settled through a licensing agreement. Nokia’s brief was not filed in direct support of Apple but was instead done under the terms that Koh’s ruling could potentially harm the United States patent protection operations. Without patents being rightfully granted and injunctions being rejected, Broyles believes that innovation could take a negative hit.

Nokia has recently been involved in numerous U.S. patent lawsuits, as both a plaintiff and defendant. Nokia is thus both a significant patent owner that might seek an injunction to protect its patent rights, and a manufacturer in an industry in which patent owners routinely issue threats of injunctions for patent infringement.

In recent months, Samsung has become a serious competitor for Apple in the mobile devices market, particularly with positive sales of its Galaxy S and Note devices. With the patent battle ongoing in court, and competition in the market heating up between the two companies, it is not surprising that a company such as Nokia would come out in support of Apple.

Without injunctions and some products being banned from sale, the innovative drive in the mobile devices market is lost, instead producing a number of clone copies of one device such as the iPhone.

{Via MacRumors}

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 law is now being protested by many users who believe that they should be able to switch their mobile phones to any carrier they choose.

Soon after the law went into effect, a “We The People” petition was created which stated that if 100,000 people signed, the White House would release a response on the issue. As of Monday, the Obama Administration is fully supporting the petition and White House advisor R. David Edelman issued an official response, mentioning that consumers should be able to unlock both mobile phones and tablets without facing penalties.

The White House agrees with the 114,000+ of you who believe that consumers should be able to unlock their cell phones without risking criminal or other penalties. In fact, we believe the same principle should also apply to tablets, which are increasingly similar to smart phones. And if you have paid for your mobile device, and aren’t bound by a service agreement or other obligation, you should be able to use it on another network. It’s common sense, crucial for protecting consumer choice, and important for ensuring we continue to have the vibrant, competitive wireless market that delivers innovative products and solid service to meet consumers’ needs.

This is particularly important for secondhand or other mobile devices that you might buy or receive as a gift, and want to activate on the wireless network that meets your needs — even if it isn’t the one on which the device was first activated. All consumers deserve that flexibility.

Despite Edelman’s response detailing plans for negotiation on the issue with both the Federal Communications Commission and mobile carriers, the Library of Congress is defending its position on the issue. Unlocking mobile phones, particularly Apple’s iPhone has been a major issue that has affected many users. This is an issue that is now being taken to a governmental level, although it is arguable that this is an issue that can be solved between the consumers and carriers.

{Via MacRumors}

In late 2011, the NYTimes reported that Apple was working with wearable technology that could potentially become a wearable iPod wristband of sorts. Now, Nick Bilton of the NYTimes is once again reporting that Apple is working on a smartwatch device, dubbed the “iWatch”.

Bilton mentions that Apple is experimenting with curved glass on its smart watch and could potentially take advantage of Corning’s new bendable glass, called Willow Glass which would allow the watch to wrap a user’s wrist. Corning is the maker of the popular Gorilla Glass, which is used on a number of mobile devices, including some of Apple’s devices. With the original iPhone, Apple had plans to include curved glass but could not because the technology was not as advanced as it is now.

In its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., Apple is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass, according to people familiar with the company’s explorations, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they are not allowed to publicly discuss unreleased products. Such a watch would operate Apple’s iOS platform, two people said, and stand apart from competitors based on the company’s understanding of how such glass can curve around the human body.

Smart watches are gradually becoming one of the many focus areas of the mobile devices industry, such as Pebble’s e-paper display Smart Watch and other wearable fitness “smart watches” such as the Jawbone UP, and the Nike FuelBand. It is only a matter of time before Apple enters the industry, although the company rarely introduces a product unless others fail to make a substantial impact on the market.

Apple has also been rumored to be working a television set, which is very likely when considering the “Smart TV” market has already had a number of failures. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is currently a Nike Board member and mentioned that wearable devices are an “an interesting area” and that “the book hasn’t been written on that yet.” If Apple is in fact working on a smartwatch, expect leaked images and parts of curved glass and wrist-friendly accessories.

{Via MacRumors}

The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas always brings to light the newest and most advanced technology related to the mobile devices industry. Often during this event, many company’s unveil iPhone cases and other technology for Apple’s iOS devices. During the first official day of CES 2013, Hyundai, a leading South Korean car manufacturer, announced that it will now support Apple’s “Siri Eyes Free” feature in some its newer cars. The company has synchronized Siri’s commands with its infotainment systems inside of the car.

As a result, users can seamlessly make calls directly through their phones, listen to texts, and play music without having to go through a layer of software from Hyundai. The system does, however, require an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 6.

The Siri Eyes Free feature was introduced alongside iOS 6 and is slowly becoming standard with car manufacturers, with Hyundai being the tenth auto maker to adopt the new feature. Other companies include, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, Chrysler, Honda, and GM. GM only supports two models, the Chevy Sonic and Spark.

With Siri Eyes Free, drivers now have Siri as a universal technology on their mobile devices, computers, and now their cars as well. Hyundai has also added other technology to help make the experience with voice navigation and Siri much better for drivers:

Dragon Drive: Developed by Nuance, this automotive-grade voice services platform enables drivers to speak naturally and conversationally with in-car systems for tasks such as dictating messages, searching for music, finding real-time weather and asking for directions.

Mobile High-Definition Link: Delivers 1080p60 uncompressed video with up to eight channels of digital audio from a mobile device to a dashboard display, all while charging the device.

Next-Generation Hardware: Hyundai’s new vehicles will feature the latest hardware with high-resolution multi-touch displays, Bluetooth 3.0, and Wi-Fi/3G connectivity options.

{Via AppleInsider}

Hulu Plus, the popular streaming television service was introduced a little more than two years ago, making primetime television shows from popular US channels available for streaming on a number of mobile devices, including game systems and Apple Inc. (AAPL) iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

On Tuesday, the streaming giant brought their service over to the Apple TV, for users to stream on their HDTV. Hulu made an official announcement of the arrival of the service on the Apple TV on their Hulu Blog.

Keeping up with the latest episode of Family Guy, MasterChef and New Girl on Hulu Plus just got a little easier. And my living room just got a whole lot happier.

Hulu Plus arrives on Apple TV today.

Hulu Plus is available for $7.99 / month subscription and requires an account for use on the Apple TV. It has numerous categories for movies and TV shows such as popular, favorite, and recent which can be navigated with the physical Apple TV remote or the Apple Remote app.

For those of you who are new to the service, Hulu Plus is the only online premium video subscription that streams current and classic TV programming on demand from hundreds of content partners, including top broadcast networks ABC, NBC, FOX, The CW and Univision. Hulu Plus subscribers can watch on any enabled devices for $7.99/month with limited advertising. For many popular shows on our service, Hulu Plus offers every episode of the current season.

Hulu Plus on Apple TV is currently only available in the United States and is subscription based with limited ads.

{via iMore}

Earlier in the year, Apple removed the iTunes U category in iTunes from iOS and introduced a standalone app dedicated to providing university and educational materials. According to a report from AllThingsD, the Cupertino company is planning to also introduce an app dedicated entirely to podcasts in iOS 6.

Like iTunes U, this would also push the podcast feature out of iTunes and into its own app, which would also operate and access data from Apple’s servers entirely on its own. Apple appears to be taking a similar approach to Facebook, by removing secondary but important features and giving them full fledged accessibility and support.

People familiar with Apple’s plans tell me that when its new iOS 6 software becomes widely available this fall, podcasts will have their own app, where users will be able to discover, download and play them on mobile devices. Users who access iTunes via laptop and desktop machines will still find them in that version of iTunes, though.

The report also mentioned that Apple is working on podcast producing technology which will likely be included in this app for users to create podcasts and share. Apple has removed Audiobooks, iTunes U, and now Podcasts out of the iTunes application, and is continuing to give smaller categories in iTunes, more features.

As a result, the company will likely witness an increased adoption in podcast usage and sharing as well as a boost in revenue from the Audiobooks category. The podcast category will become its own app and is expected ot be introduced in the public release of iOS 6 which will arrive later this fall.

{via 9to5 Mac}

The company released Pages Manager, an app that allows users to manage all of their pages on Facebook within one app. The app can be used to edit and post on the pages as well as edit settings for the pages.

Facebook has posted an update for Pages Manager in the regular application in the form of a banner atop the News Feed. Facebook has also changed some small features, enlarging images, setting trending topics higher in the feed, and allowing users to scroll through trending articles. Facebook is slowly expanding each of its apps and features to make it more easily accessible on mobile devices.

The company started this new drive into mobile after the introduction of the new timeline feature in both the web version and the Facebook app. The Messenger app and Pages Manager app are only the two of the first set of applications that Facebook is likely to release to continue its push into mobile.

{via iMore}

Music streaming service, Spotify, gained popularity in Europe before debuting in the United States last July, allowing users to stream music from major music labels on their Macs, PC’s, and portable devices. Spotify is one of the first streaming services to combine users music libraries, as well as online streaming and allow them to sync their devices.

Today we’re extremely proud to present our native iPad app in all its green-hued glory. Features include:

– Retina graphics for iPad – dazzling display, razor sharp images, richer colors
– Even easier to browse and explore Spotify’s entire 18 million* song catalogue
– New ‘Now Playing’ full-screen view with high-definition cover art
– Search for playlists, users and music – all from the same view
– Check out what’s hot and find trending playlists & songs amongst your friends
– Inbox grouped by user for easy searching
– Gapless playback and crossfade
– AirPlay integration

Spotify has long been available on the iPhone since its release, operating on a pricing model, as opposed to the free model on the desktop computer. On Tuesday, Spotify announced that their new iPad application is now available in the App Store, utilizing the iPad’s 9.7 inch screen. The app is available via an upgrade to the existing app, which will be downloadable as both an iPad and iPhone app.

Spotify Premium is currently offering a free 48-hour trial for new users , allowing them to extend for up to 30 days if they sign up on the website. Premium users who use the service on the iPad, iPhone, and other mobile devices are the option to sign up for a subscription for $9.99 per month.

{via MacRumors}

As we all know, Apple Inc. (AAPL) has released its newest version of the much ballyhooed iPad, dubbed “The new iPad”. Why doesn’t AAPL give it some crazy sleek name to promote it? They don’t have to. The iPad is currently outselling HP in total PC Sales in units. Impressive? Yes, especially when you add to that list Dell, Lenovo and Acer.

The numbers alone are impressive but this just further proves how big of a market disruptor the iPad is. This slide was surely tough for PC manufacturers to stomach when they saw it at the launch of “The new iPad”. Apple CEO Tim Cook sure looked like he was proud of it. Matt Rosoff wrote an article on the Business Insider stating “Apple sold 15.4 million iPads last quarter. That’s more than any PC maker’s total PC sales during the same quarter.”

Between the iPad, iPhone and iPod, Apple sold 172 million devices last year. All PC makers combines to sell 350 million PCs last year. Sure they got beat, but that is an insane number when you are considering mobile devices versus laptops. Who’s job doesn’t require a PC anymore?

The transition to the mobile devices such as the iPad has caused some to speak of a possible “Post-PC” era that is looming. While I don’t think we’ll see a true “Post-PC era” for some time, we’re definitely seeing a shift in how people use their devices.

On Friday, it was reported by AllThingsD that Ex-Apple executive Jon Rubinstein, who also worked for and left Palm is now leaving his latest position at HP. Jon Rubinstein is best known for his work on the iPod, Apple’s intro to the portable music player market, better known to some as Apple’s “gateway drug”, that has now led to the successful adoption of the Mac, iPhone, and iPad.

After Rubinstein left Apple, he moved over to venture firm, Elevation Partners and eventually made his way to Palm where he replaced Ed Colligan as CEO in 2009. Rubinstein assisted in the transition from Palm’s PalmOS to WebOS. WebOS went on to appear in the Pre, Pixi, and Veer smart phones.

Jon Rubinstein later moved back to an executive position after Palm was acquired by HP and oversaw the mobile division of HP. After numerous failed attempts of HP’s mobile strategies, Rubinstein was given a “product innovation role” to help lessen the blow to the company following Rubinstein’s departure.

Rubinstein has not yet announced what he plans to do next, although it is very likely going to be another excutive role at another tech company. However, if Rubinstein has learned anything, attempting to rush great software on sketchy hardware is not the best way to go, especially from his transition from Apple, who is currently leading the mobile devices market to HP who is at the bottom of the barrel.

{via TUAW}

In a report from think broadband, it was revealed on Wednesday that a privacy flaw in UK carrier O2’s handling of web traffic on mobile devices released phone numbers of their customers to websites. Any customer who used a 2G or 3G network from O2 to browse the internet had their phone numbers sent to the websites, embedded among the website’s coding.

If you’re reading this news article using your O2 mobile phone, you’ll be pleased to know that O2 have already sent us your mobile phone number within the HTTP headers which normally contain information about how content can be displayed on your device. These headers are not normally seen by users, and usually not logged by most websites, but the flaw allows malicious sites to get more personal information about you than you may be willing to share.

For example, if you open an e-mail which includes references to external images, the mere action of opening the e-mail would divulge your phone number. This could be used by anyone undertaking a phishing attack or other scam to get more information from you. The opportunity to abuse this is potentially endless.

The flaw was discovered by Twitter user @lewispeckover who set up a website to see what information users were releasing while visiting the website. He noted after a few hours, perhaps after O2 fixed the glitch, that the mobile number stopped appearing on the website while accessing from his O2 device.

This issue is not exclusive to the iPhone and may affect all smart phones on the network, which is the second-largest carrier in the UK. O2 was the exclusive carrier of the iPhone back in 2007 during its initial launch.

The carrier appears to have fixed the issue, however, privacy issues continue to be a concern. Although mobile phone numbers are not necessarily private to the carrier, it is a matter of concern when there is a chance it may be released to websites and to the actual public. O2 has not released any statements on the privacy issue to the press or to its customers.

{via MacRumors}

Polar Rose are the company behind the facial recognition technology that was built into Facebook and Flickr, and used for photo tagging.

After that success Polar Rose continued to refine its tools, culminating in an Android app called “Recognizr”, which uses Augmented Reality and Facial Recognition to create a very unique user account feature for Android devices.

Basically it used facial recognition to have different home pages for different people’s profiles on a device. User accounts, something which is common place in desktop operating systems is something that people have been clamouring for on the Apple iPad for some time now.

A more mundane use might simply be face tagging in iPhoto. More likely is facial recognition on mobile devices and if this will factor into the Near Field Communications technology Apple are rumoured to be working on for financial transactions is another matter for consideration.

Apple has bought quite a few technologies in the last year or two. Many of which that have not actually shown up in products yet.

When one thinks back to Apple’s purchase of LaLa (a music streaming service), Siri (a new kind of search technology in the form of a kind of digital PA) and hirings like Near Fields Communications expert, Benjamin Vigier, there is almost a tangible feel of lots of jigsaw puzzle pieces coming together…

Most certainly all these pieces have a relationship to one another.

What do you think Apple is up to? Have your say in the comments…

Intel seems to have quite a roadmap ahead of itself these days. It is dabbling in the GPU market, whilst blocking competitors from accessing its own architectures. Its also working on its own line of mobile silicon. Some still suggest that Intel may try to buy ARM if its own mobile offerings don’t fair too well.

Intel are also looking towards security at a silicon level for future CPU iterations, as is borne out by its purchase recently of computer security expert outfit, McAfee. Something we should all pay much more attention to as our devices, and our data, become more mobile and “constantly connected”.

Short term the Infineon purchase will not really affect Apple, or other manufacturers too much. Other than the possibility of Intel driving mobile commas the way it wants to go, and perhaps pricing levels being controlled by Intel for a large portion of the mobile silicon market.

But at the end of the day Intel wants to sell chips. That’s what they do. And they want to ensure they keep their place as a leader in the fast evolving mobile computer market.

Does Intel’s acquisition concern you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments…

This week is no exception. VirnetX has filed a patent infringement suit against several companies, including Apple.

The specific patents that VirnetX claims have been infringed are specifically associated with all of Apple’s mobile devices; iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch, and their implementation of certain network communication protocols.

What is seedy about these cases is that these companies tend to have patents for very broad implementations, and lie in wait until enough big fish have fallen foul of them.

VirnetX even describes itself as “engaged in commercialising its patent portfolio by developing a licensing program.”

Loosely translated : “We are a Patent Troll”.

What is worrying, for Apple, is that the case has been filed in a district of the US state of Texas which is known to be sympathetic to these cases, and Microsoft set a precedent by settling with the company some time ago. VirnetX’s haul there was a cool $200 Million!

Do you think Patent Law is confusing, unfair and open to abuse? Or is it OK that these companies can have a business model based around suing over ideas? Let us know your view on this in the comments…

..if you wait a few weeks to buy the Touch, you’ll get one with a Retina Display and dual cameras.

Whether he has heard something specifically, or is simply chancing his arm to gain credit for a 50 / 50 call on what we all know may be coming, he did not say.

But there you have it… iPod Touch, Retina Display and two cameras. Apparently.

A problem with 2 cameras on the iPod Touch is that fitting the iPhone 4’s 5 Mega-Pixel camera into the existing iPod Touch case is going to be challenging. To say the least!

So it seems more likely that if there is a stills camera on the back of the iPod Touch it will be 3MP, or less. A wild, but unlikely possibility, is that Apple are going with a more iPhone 4 style iPod case design.

What Gruber did not mention was a Gyroscope. Something we think is more certain to show up in the new iPod Touch than dual cameras. Apple has made a big thing of gaming on the iDevice eco-system. And repeatedly said that they see the gyroscope as an important facet in their push into gaming on mobile devices. So to leave it out seems a little silly.

What’s your guess on the new iPod Touch specification? Let us know in the comments…

The amount of developers for Android is growing steadily, and currently stands at just over 10,000 in number. But the Android Marketplace is still top heavy with free apps, and devs. don’t seem to be making that much money there.

In contrast Apple’s App Store has around 43,000 active developers producing software for it.

Around 1400 developers are said to be targeting both platforms. But with what success is not clear. Many may well just be dipping a toe with titles they can easily port and have already covered costs on with Apple.

Part of the reason that Google’s Android Market place is not taking off is that when compared to Apple’s it is actually a lot less easy to get into as a developer. Although Google makes the apps it distributes on behalf of developers available in 46 countries, they only allow 13 countries to have paid apps. And even less countries, 9 in total, are open for devs. to distribute apps through the Android Marketplace from.

Apple, on the other hand, sell in more than 60 countries, and I think allow developers from pretty much anyplace that has indigenous human life!

Distimo’s analysis of the two different app store ecosystems also paints a fairly clear picture of why developers are making money in Apple’s App Store over the Android Market. The average price of Apps in Apple’s iPad and iPhone App Stores is over $4.00. With top grossing apps coming in with a whopping average price of between $9.63 and $13.12 for the iPad and iPhone stores, respectively. It seems that some devs. at least are starting to push prices up.

That is actually a good thing for us all in the end. Higher prices, means more quality apps, and that the software market for Apple’s mobile devices is maturing – and will support more quality developers. Something that is essential for it to grow with us as customers, and produce more product of better quality for us.

Google’s Android Market average app prices languish in third place in Distimo’s report, beneath the Blackberry App Store, at between $3.29 and $4.27 for all paid apps and the top 100 paid apps, respectively.

What both these reports miss though is that the fragmentation of the hardware in the Android platform, with lots of incompatible OS versions, different screen sizes, and diverse hardware – whilst exciting for spec sheets – makes developer’s lives harder. It is simply not possible to produce an app that will run on all Android devices. This is a problem that developers working on software for iDevices don’t face, and consequently makes Apple far more attractive as a platform. Not to mention the 20 Million+ devices out there that Apple have sold already.

Do you think the Android Market will continue grow, and ultimately threaten Apple’s App Store dominance? Or is it too late already?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

[9to5mac] ]]> https://touchreviews.net/apple-app-store-developers-choice/feed/ 1 https://touchreviews.net/kobo-iphone-4-ereading-app-app-store/ https://touchreviews.net/kobo-iphone-4-ereading-app-app-store/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:54:06 +0000 https://touchreviews.net/?p=7621 Read More]]> Press Release

Kobo, a global eReading service, today announced the availability of its new iPhone application, built specifically for iPhone 4 and the iOS 4 operating system. The application features additional reading format options, automatic syncing, multiple bookmarking and faster navigation. In addition to iPhone, Kobo is available on iPad, Android, BlackBerry, netbooks, tablets and dedicated eReaders – including the Kobo eReader. All of Kobo’s applications connect to the Kobo eBook store, which features more than two million titles including best sellers, classics, and thousands of free books.

“Our iPhone application has always been one of our most popular apps and we’re excited for our users to see Kobo on iOS 4,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO of Kobo. “Kobo users now have even more flexibility when reading free books and best sellers. It’s all about ensuring that our customers continue to have the best and easiest reading experience on any device.”

The new and improved Kobo iPhone application adds the following new features:

• Retina Display: The iPhone 4’s high-quality screen makes reading easier on the eyes.
• Multitasking Functionality: Users stay connected to Kobo while performing tasks such as texting and email.
• Rich Text & Images: Read books in their original format as ePubs and select from different font sizes and styles.
• Bookmark Syncing: Kobo for iPhone automatically syncs a user’s last read page across all of their devices so users can pick up where they left off from device to device.
• Multiple Bookmarks: ‘Dog ear’ favorite pages in several books to easily come back and continue reading later. Kobo will also store the date and time of the last bookmark.
• Easier navigation: Kobo now includes the ability to advance pages and chapters in a book without losing one’s place.

Kobo is a global eReading service with customers in more than 200 countries. In addition to building applications for existing mobile devices, Kobo recently started selling the affordable eInk Kobo eReader, with a goal of making eReading more accessible for consumers. Kobo’s open approach enables consumers to read their content on any device anytime, anyplace – including downloading purchases and reading on popular third-party devices and software. Kobo believes customers should have the freedom of choice, and be able to build their eBook libraries independent of any device or service.

To download the free Kobo app visit www.kobobooks.com or visit the App Store. Customers who currently have Kobo on their iPhone can download the update directly on their device.

About Kobo, Inc.

Kobo is a global eReading service backed by majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music, Borders Group, REDgroup Retail, and Cheung Kong Holdings. Kobo believes consumers should be able to read any eBook on any device. With a catalog of over two million eBooks, and an open platform, Kobo enables retailers, device manufacturers and mobile operators to bring the joy of eReading to customers everywhere. For more information, visit www.kobobooks.com.