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May 02

Jawbone releases Big Jambox Bluetooth speaker

Posted on May 2, 2012 by admin

If you’re in the market for a portable hi-fi sound system, Jawbone has announced its US9 Big Jambox speaker, which vows to turn any Bluetooth-capable mobile device into a sophisticated sound system.

One of the neat things about the speaker is that you can hook it to a computer and download software updates and apps to further customize it. TechCrunch took it for a quick spin and was impressed with the LiveAudio feature that’s native on the Big Jambox (and available on the original via software update).

While the portability, the ability to use the Jambox as a speakerphone with FaceTime, Skype or GoogleTalk, and other features are a plus, the price might be a turn off to some.

The Big Jambox is available for pre-order and will ship by May 15.

Jawbone releases Big Jambox Bluetooth speaker originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 02 May 2012 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog

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Apr 17

AAPL declines again, S&P and Nasdaq see an impact

Posted on April 17, 2012 by admin

When it comes to stocks, Apple is an influencer and any changes in its stock price will affect US stock indexes. That’s what happened on Monday when the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged and the NASDAQ and S&P fell because of Apple, says a report in Forbes. The NASDAQ and S&P both include Apple, and the company’s five day decline is dragging the two indexes down. Apple’s stock is now sitting at US0.13, a 4.2 percent decline from its previous high of 0.28.

AAPL declines again, S&P and Nasdaq see an impact originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 02

You’re the Pundit: Will a Siri update introduce frequent user reward points?

Posted on April 2, 2012 by admin

When it comes to discussing the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today’s topic is Siri.

Launched last Autumn, Siri has yet to offer any really major enhancements beyond a few extra quips here and there. What is Apple holding back on? What kinds of features do you want to see in the next big Siri iteration? Do you think we’ll be seeing better ties into sports scores? Or integration with top news feeds?

You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your analysis.

View Poll

You’re the Pundit: Will a Siri update introduce frequent user reward points? originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog

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Mar 18

Teardown of New Apple TV Reveals Same 8 GB Flash Storage, Bump to 512 MB RAM

Posted on March 18, 2012 by admin

Following the release of the third-generation Apple TV late last week, one forum member at XBMC.org has performed a teardown of the device, revealing a number of details about its internals.



As Apple notes on the tech specs page for the new Apple TV, the device utilizes a unique single-core A5 system-on-a-chip, an upgrade from the A4 package found in the previous generation but lacking the dual-core processor found in the A5 chip used in the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S. The Apple TV teardown reveals a typical-looking A5 chip at first glance, carrying date codes suggesting it was manufactured during the seventh week of 2012, or mid-February.






The processor inside the new Apple TV’s A5 package is identified as APL2498, indicating a variation on the APL0498 processor found in the standard dual-core A5. The part number for the RAM included in the chip suggests that it is a 512 MB chip from Hynix, a boost from the 256 MB of RAM found in the A4 package on the previous-generation Apple TV.



As for flash storage, the format of the part number stamped on the chip implies that it is an 8 GB part from Toshiba, meaning that the device carries the same storage capacity as found in the previous-generation model. Given that the Apple TV is a streaming-only device, on-board storage is only required to support the operating system and buffering of streaming content.



There had been some speculation that Apple could boost the on-board storage in order to handle larger 1080p content supported on the updated model, but it appears that Apple still views 8 GB as sufficient given limited increases in file size for 1080p content. Maintaining 8 GB of on-board storage undoubtedly also helps Apple maintain the $99 pricing on the Apple TV given other improvements such as the A5 chip.



Finally, the new Apple TV appears to contain a second antenna that was not present in the previous-generation model, although it is unclear exactly how the new antenna is being used to improve performance.




MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors – All Stories

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Mar 03

25 billionth app downloaded from the App Store

Posted on March 3, 2012 by admin

Sometime this evening, some lucky person downloaded the 25 billionth app from the App Store. The graphic you see above showed up between midnight and 1 AM ET, although I wasn’t able to capture the exact time.

If you’re the winner of Apple’s US,000 App Store credit, we’d love to talk to you. The rest of you? Tell us what you downloaded from the App Store to enter Apple’s commemorative giveaway. My pick? It was Paper Karma, an app to reduce the amount of junk mail you get.

25 billionth app downloaded from the App Store originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 03 Mar 2012 01:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Feb 17

After Beta, Messages Will Be Exclusive to OS X Mountain Lion

Posted on February 17, 2012 by admin




Consomac has discovered that the OS X Lion Messages Beta that was released yesterday will not be a permanent feature for Lion users. Messages is the new iMessage-compatible version of iChat that will be included in OS X Mountain Lion. Apple also released a public beta version for OS X Lion users to try the app in the meanwhile.



Based on the text strings found in the App’s resources, it has been revealed that Messages will no longer be available for Lion users once the beta expires. Instead, Apple tells users to visit the App Store to purchase OS X Mountain Lion to continue to use Messages:

Thank you for participating in the Messages Beta program. With the inclusion of Messages in OS X Mountain Lion, the Messages Beta program has ended.



To continue using Messages, please visit the Mac App Store and purchase OS X Mountain Lion.

OS X Mountain Lion will be a paid update and is expected to be released in late summer.




MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors – All Stories

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Feb 03

The Daily celebrates a year with 100,000 paid subscribers on iPad

Posted on February 3, 2012 by admin

One of the iPad’s first regular periodical publications (if not the first one) The Daily launched a year ago. It’s been a fairly rocky year. Originally, the Rupert Murdoch-funded app hoped it could get at least half a million subscriptions to keep its publication going; a few months ago we heard that there were 120,000 daily readers, and now Mashable says the paper boasts 100,000 paid subscriber. Despite not nearly reaching its original goal, The Daily still seems to be rolling on.

Publisher Greg Clayman says that when the app originally launched, the goal was to make an experience unique to the tablet. That’s why The Daily began only on the iPad and has only recently added content on the Android platform, via the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Clayman says that while the company has kept its choice of platforms slim, The Daily has been delivering on its promise to break news; it was the first to report on the story of Paula Deen having diabetes and Alec Baldwin wanting to run for mayor in New York. Clayman says that The Daily is still headed for profitability “over the next couple of years,” which he says is actually better than most traditional publications.

The Daily might not have the readership that it hoped to have, but a year into its existence Clayman seems optimistic about the publication’s future. “We now have a fully baked, fully functional app CMS, and a large, engaged readership,” he says. “A year ago we were asking how to build the boat. Now it’s about understanding the best way to steer the boat.”

The Daily celebrates a year with 100,000 paid subscribers on iPad originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 22

Sign up for an interview with TUAW at Macworld|iWorld 2012

Posted on January 22, 2012 by admin

Do you have an awesome app, accessory or hardware product you’d like to demo for the TUAW audience? We’d love to see it. While we’re going to focus on what’s on the Macworld|iWorld floor during the event, we’d like to take the opportunity to talk to anyone at the event for later publication.

In particular, if you have a hot new unreleased product you’re excited about, we’d like to see it. Similarly, if you’ve enjoyed stellar success on the App Store, tell us your story. We only have a limited number of interview times, so you’ll have to use this form to apply.

We’ll be recording interviews on Wednesday and Thursday (Jan. 25-26), so let us know when you want to sit down and chat.

Sign up for an interview with TUAW at Macworld|iWorld 2012 originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 07

TUAW Best of 2011 wrap-up and editor picks

Posted on January 7, 2012 by admin

It’s January 6th, 2012, and today marks the end of the TUAW Best of 2011 awards. This was a massive undertaking, with 25 separate categories all requiring their own nominations and voting from our readers. We’ve learned some lessons for next year’s event — start earlier, watch for astroturfing in the nominations, drop some unpopular categories — and the Best of 2012 will be even better.

The editorial staff here at TUAW agreed with many of the reader picks, but we had our own opinions on some others. We want to thank all of the thousands of TUAW readers who took time to consider their favorite accessories and apps, nominate them for an award, and then vote in the competition.

Without further ado, here’s the full list of winners as well as our picks for the TUAW Best of 2011:

Mac Categories in the TUAW Best of 2011

Best Mac Hardware from Apple: 13″ MacBook Air
Editor picks: 13″ and 11″ MacBook Air, 13″ MacBook Pro

Best Mac Peripheral or Accessory: OWC Data Doubler and OWC Mercury 6G SSD
Editor picks: Magic Trackpad, OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD

Best Mac Utility App: Alfred
Editor picks: Growl, 1Password, Grand Perspective

Best Mac Productivity App: Evernote
Editor picks: OmniFocus, Scrivener, Evernote

Best Mac Game App: Machinarium
Editor picks: Civilization V, Full Deck Solitaire

Best Mac Music App: Reaper
Editor picks: Simplify, Rdio, djay, Capo, GarageBand, iTunes

Best Mac Photo App: Flare
Editor picks: Pixelmator, Aperture, Adobe PhotoShop, FotoMagico

Best Mac Video App: Final Cut Pro X
Editor picks: Wirecast, Video Monkey

iPhone Categories in the TUAW Best of 2011

Best iPhone Accessory: Apple TV (2nd Generation)
Editor picks: Mophie Juice Pack Air, Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation, iChair

Best iPhone Game App: Jetpack Joyride
Editor picks: iMAME, Infinity Blade 2, Mage Gauntlet, Dungeon Raid, Jetpack Joyride

Best iPhone Photo App: 360 Panorama
Editor picks: Camera+, Instagram

Best iPhone Video App: iMovie
Editor picks: FiLMiC Pro, Reeli

Best iPhone Social Networking App: Tweetbot
Editor picks: Tweetbot, Instagram, Twitter

Best iPhone Productivity App: Dropbox
Editor picks: Siri, CardMunch, CalenGoo, OmniFocus, Mint, 2Do, Reminders

Best iPhone Utility App: 1Password Pro
Editor picks: LastPass, Groceries, Grocery IQ, Find My Friends, 1Password Pro, TripIt

Best iPhone Navigation App: Navigon
Editor picks: Navigon, Waze, MotionX GPS Drive

Best iPhone Music App: Spotify
Editor picks: Guitar Toolkit, Radio Paradise, Pandora, Shoutcast, Rdio

iPad Categories in the TUAW Best of 2011

Best iPad Case: DODOcase
Editor picks: Apple Smart Cover, AViiQ Smart Case,Twelve South BookBook, ModulR System, OtterBox Defender

Best iPad Accessory: BubCap
Editor picks: Apple TV, iCade, Mophie Juice Pack Powerstation

Best iPad Game App: Osmos for iPad
Editor picks: Battleship, Anomaly Warzone Earth HD, Jetpack Joyride, Sword & Sworcery, Scribblenauts Redux

Best iPad Photography App: flickr hd
Editor picks: iStopMotion for iPad, Photogene, PhotoSync, Snapseed, iMovie

Best iPad Social Networking App: Skype for iPad
Editor picks: Twitter, FaceTime, Skype, Zite

Best iPad Productivity App: OmniFocus for iPad
Editor picks: OmniFocus for iPad, 2Do, Pages, Pocket Informant HD, Evernote

Best iPad Utility App: 1Password Pro
Editor picks: AirPort Utility, Skitch, Air Display, Codea

Best iPad Music App: GarageBand
Editor picks: Planetary, 5-0 Radio HD

TUAW Best of 2011 wrap-up and editor picks originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dec 19

T-Mobile USA Spectrum Refarming Lets Some iPhone Users Access 3G Data Speeds

Posted on December 19, 2011 by admin

While T-Mobile USA has yet to officially offer the iPhone due to an inability to reach an agreement with Apple on the development of new hardware to support T-Mobile’s 3G/4G network standards, that hasn’t stopped the carrier from quietly targeting iPhone owners with micro-SIM cards and over one million users from taking their unlocked iPhones to the carrier.



Those users have, however, been limited to T-Mobile’s slower EDGE network due to the iPhone’s incompatibility with the 1700/2100 MHz bands used by the carrier for its faster data networks.






TmoNews now reports, however, that T-Mobile USA has begun refarming some of its spectrum capacity in order to advance its next-generation HSPA+ 84 network, with those changes resulting in the carrier’s 3G network moving over to the iPhone-accessible 1900 MHz band in some “pockets” of the country.

First and foremost, the area we’re specifically talking about is Nevada as that is where this individual unlocked iPhone owner lives. However, Nevada, parts of Northern California and the Pacific Northwest are also seeing some pockets of 1900MHz spectrum refarming for HSPA+. There are other parts of the country T-Mobile can refarm the 1900MHz spectrum but, the focus is on the Pacific Northwest, Nevada, Utah and California for right now from what we’re told. We should emphasize and emphasize greatly that this post does not mean that all of the aforementioned areas are seeing this refarmed spectrum, just pockets inside those areas.

The report notes that T-Mobile iPhone user access to 3G will remain “rare” as the spectrum refarming will only result in the required transition taking place in limited areas around the country. But for those users lucky enough to be in one of those pockets, they are already seeing data speeds well above what the iPhone has until been limited to on the carrier’s EDGE network.




MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors – All Stories

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