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Posts tagged with "apple"

Viber 2.0 Brings Free Text Messaging Between Users

Viber, the iPhone app that lets you make free calls to other Viber users was today updated to version 2.0 and brings with it free text messaging. Admittedly there are a lot of free messaging apps in the App Store but the advantage of Viber is that it now offers both texting and calling in the same app and already has a user base of 10 million people.

The messaging service becomes one of the bottom tabs and will store all your messages in a very similar manner to that of the iPhone’s ‘Messages’ app and can effectively replace the need for SMS messages between any other friend or colleague - if you can convince them to download Viber.  There has also been some redesign of various screens in the app including the contacts interface which can now refine your contacts list to just display those who have Viber or those which you have “favorited”.

Finally the basic calling mechanism has been tweaked to give the user more information about the state of a call. When you first place a call the app enters a “Calling” state, once contact is made with the other person’s Viber app it will enter a “Ringing” state to let the user know that there is a connection.

[Via TechCrunch]

Apple Investigates Possibility Of Dual Camera System For 3D Photos

Patent applications from Apple made public this week show that they have considered adding an additional camera to a device such as the iPhone to enable users to shoot 3D photographs. AppleInsider discovered the patent, called “Systems and Methods for an Imaging System Using Multiple Image Sensors” which details how they would implement the dual-camera system for the capture of 3D images.

In particular it differentiates itself from current offerings, claiming that it is a “paradigm shift from the known software-based approaches” that “guess” at how to combine the two images into a single 3D photograph. Apple says that their approach would avoid creating images with artefacts by implementing a hardware-based approach for more accurate processing. Such a system would involve multiple sensors that determine the luma, chroma and depth of the two images to unify them into one.

Furthermore the patent describes how the system could also record video in 3D and only require a simple, one-time, calibration by the user. The Nintendo 3DS which has just recently been released resembles the aims of this patent with its feature of dual rear cameras to let users to take 3D photographs and play augmented reality games that render in 3D on the fly.

[Via AppleInsider]

Global Marketing VP Allison Johnson Is Leaving Apple→

Global Marketing VP Allison Johnson Is Leaving Apple

John Paczkowski at All Things Digital reports this morning Apple’s Global Marketing VP Allison Johnson is leaving the company after 6 years for a new marketing firm she has co-founded with a former Facebook PR executive.

At Apple, Johnson has managed global advertising for some of the company’s most revolutionary products and the iconic ads for them. Those ads have been created by TBWA\Chiat\Day, which plays a powerful role at Apple.

Of course, this key part of Apple’s business is watched over closely by CEO Steve Jobs, to whom Johnson has reported directly.

Johnson, former senior vice president of marketing at HP, came to Apple in 2005 to “take a top marketing post” during the sales explosion of the iPod line. Johnson lead several of Apple’s marketing campaigns since then, and it’s surely a big loss for Apple. In January, Apple’s Design Director Sarah Brody left the company as well for Paypal.

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Woman Tragically Dies After Senseless iPhone Theft

A very sad story today comes from Chicago Breaking News in which the theft of an iPhone has led to the tragic death of an innocent bystander. Sally Katona-King, a 68 year old Church Receptionist, was pushed down a flight of stairs at Fullerton Station after a thief stole a nearby commuter’s iPhone and was hastily running off. Sally was hospitalised after her fall and unfortunately died on Tuesday from what is presumed to be a cerebral haemorrhage.

Her son told reporters on Tuesday that Sally was a known in the community as a generous and altruistic woman helping those that were disadvantaged. “To die over an iPhone? It’s senseless,” her son said. Detective Cmdr. Garyu Yamashiroya said on Tuesday that the increased incidence of smart phone theft is “something that police departments across the country are trying to find solutions to.” The thief is still at large but police are hoping to identify them through local surveillance video.

[Via TUAW]

 

Apple Releases 10.6.7 Supplemental Update For the 13” MacBook Air

MacBooks have been getting their fair share of updates recently, and today Apple is providing a supplemental 10.6.7 update for the 13” MacBook Air (Late 2010) to resolve unresponsiveness when using iTunes. The previous 10.6.7 v1.0 (build 10J869) update must be installed in order to apply the supplemental update. If you have a 13” MacBook Air, check Software Update or download the 461 KB file from the posted support page below.

Supplemental 13” MacBook Air Update: DL1370

2011: $100 Billion Revenue Year for Apple?→

2011: $100 Billion Revenue Year for Apple?

With the success of iOS devices and Macs, and the release of the iPad 2 that saw huge lines across the world, analysts are now revising their estimates for Apple’s revenue in 2011 and are predicting Apple might be on track for a $100 billion revenue year:

This morning, Needham analyst Charlie Wolf raised his FY 2011 revenue forecast for the company to $103.9 billion from $98.9 billion; his EPS forecast goes to $23.25 a share from $22.25. For FY 2012, he now sees $125 billion in revenue and profits of $27.35 a share, up from $118 billion and $25.50. The higher estimates, he writes, reflect a revised forecast for iPad sales: he now sees the company selling 30 million units this year and 40 million next, up from 20 million and 30 million previously.

Last night we reported Apple will announce its Q2 2011 financial results on April 20th. The company is expected to provide sales numbers for the iPad 2 and the Verizon iPhone, which was initially rumored to have sales “below Apple’s expectations”. There is no doubt the release of the iPad 2 will play an important role in Apple’s 2011 strategy; the iPhone 5, in the meantime, is generating different reports about a possible “delay” that is making Wall Street Analyst update their estimates again.

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Justin.tv iPhone App Adds AirPlay Support

Today an update to the Justin.tv iPhone app brings AirPlay functionality to the app, letting you stream one of the thousands live-streaming Justin.tv channels straight onto your big screen television via an Apple TV.If you aren’t familiar with Justin.tv, it is a similar service to Ustream, which gives users the power to create a live video stream and broadcast themselves to the world live.

The app update also fixes a couple of bugs that were causing some users to experience the app crashing on them. Also remember that some third-party apps let you use AirPlay to stream to other devices, helpful if you don’t have an Apple TV but want to stream it somewhere else.

 

iFixit Tears Down, Compares WiFi, GSM And CDMA iPad 2s

If you’ve been intrigued by what exactly is different between the WiFi, GSM (AT&T) and CDMA (Verizon) versions of the iPad 2, well iFixit has you covered yet again with some very nice comparisons of the internals of those three base models. The above photo shows you the logic board of the three (WiFi up top and 3G below the ruler) but iFixit also documents the other key vitals of the iPad 2 on their site from the various antennas, 3G chips and the headphone jack.

The key differences to note are that the CDMA model has an additional antenna compared to the GSM variety and it also uses a Qualcomm Gobi dual-mode radio with integrated GPS that actually supports both CDMA and GSM, but the GSM compatibility is unused by the iPad. As for the GSM models, they use an Infineon GSM chip and a Broadcom GPS chip. Interestingly the hardware for both the CDMA and GSM iPad 2 follows the iPhone 4, in which the GSM versions used that Infineon and Broadcom chips whilst the Verizon CDMA version used the single Qualcomm one.

Want to see more? Jump through to the iFixit site and don’t forget to have a look at the full iPad 2 teardown and Smart Cover teardown that they also did earlier this month.

[Via Engadget]

 

iPods And Other Gadgets Could Be Charged By The Mere Movement Of Your Body

Ah science, where would we be without it? Well it turns out that in a few years time we could all be using iPods and mobile phones that don’t even require batteries or mains power for their source of power. Instead they could rely on the movements of our own bodies to generate electricity – whether it be our heart beating, our legs moving or the pinch of our fingers!

A team of scientists presented their findings at a National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, in which they used zinc oxide nanowires to generate electricity when strained and flexed.  Dr. Zhong Lin Wang of the team said of their findings:

This development represents a milestone toward producing portable electronics that can be powered by body movements without the use of batteries or electrical outlets.

Our nanogenerators are poised to change lives in the future. Their potential is only limited by one’s imagination.

Their latest development of the concept was thousands of times more powerful than their previous attempts and Dr. Wang is hopeful that if they can sustain the rate of improvement the nanogenerator could be used for a “broad range of other applications that require more power.” Five nanogenaroters can currently produce a cumulative total of about 1 microampere at 3 volts, which is equivalent to 2 AA batteries – a substantial increase from previous versions.

[Via The Telegraph]