Apple Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Serious Startups

Google Unveiling “The Next Dimension Of Maps” On June 6

Google Maps has been the king of maps for a while now, due to its stellar service and incredible iOS and Android applications, but things haven’t been looking very good as of late. When Google decided to start charging for its Maps API’s (in high-usage situations) companies like FourSquare dropped it as its maps provider. Other startups and companies began to do so, and before we knew it Apple is about to release their own Google Maps replacement. This isn’t only because Google began to charge, but it’s also because Apple undoubtedly enjoys their independence, especially from Google.

In the midst of all of these issues, however, Google has still kept improving their Maps platform and applications, adding things like indoor maps and directions and integration into Google+. Now they have announced that they will be unveiling “the next dimension of Maps. On June 6 they are holding an event to showcase this, and it is still unknown what exactly the next dimension of maps is. There are possibilities of a literal meaning such as adding a new 3D spin to Google Maps, or it could be something completely unrelated. Either way, we will be covering it every step of the way so be sure to stay tuned for what Google has in store for the Maps service.

Source: Google

Cricket Becomes First Carrier To Offer iPhone On Prepaid Plan

As of today, Cricket Communications is the first carrier to offer a pre-paid iPhone plan. The company announced that they will begin offering the iPhone on June 22 with a plan of unlimited voice, text, and data for $55. This plan is, obviously, contract free, so the price of the iPhone will be higher, but users will not be locked in for any amount of time. They will offer the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S, $399 for the 8GB iPhone 4 and $499 for the 16GB iPhone 4S.

Because this is a CDMA network, these devices are not unlocked, and you cannot buy an unlocked version from Apple and use it on Cricket’s network. It must be bought directly from Cricket, and they are currently not offering the iPhone online so you will need to call and order via phone or in-store until they do so. This should be a pretty big deal for any Cricket users trying to find their next high-end smartphone, and it’s another big step for pre-paid carriers in the US. The iPhone has finally started to branch out here in the states after going to Verizon, then spreading to Sprint and trickling down to smaller carriers such as Cricket. We’re still nowhere near the UK when it comes to purchasing any phone and taking it to any network, but it’s nice to see steps in that direction. Be sure to give your Cricket store a call on June 22 to pick up a shiny new iPhone.

[Opinion] The Facebook Phone And What You’ll Actually See

This article is based on theories in which I’ve presented to people before certain sites took what was an idea and called it their own. I’m basing a couple of the features/products within based on speculation and possible rumors in which have happened in the past and ones we’ll surely hear in the close future when it comes to the Mythical Facebook Phone…

Yahoo Kills Livestand

Yahoo, a company with a brand new CEO, Ross Levinsohn, is shutting down it’s News stand that it started just months ago. In an application I nor many of you have ever heard about Livestand, was supposed to be Yahoos response to Flipboard which like many of Yahoo’s recent projects has failed. In an attempt to turn the company around Levinsohn is trying to streamline what the company does.

While we received great feedback on Livestand’s design and it earned a 4-star rating in the App Store, we committed ourselves to continuously measure and scrutinize what’s working and what isn’t. We have learned a lot from Livestand and are actively applying those insights toward the development of future products that are better aligned with Yahoo!’s holistic mobile strategy.

Regan Clark mentions on Yahoo’s Blog. While never making any inroads or showing any interest in Android, Yahoo is said to be wanting to push full steam ahead with Mobile, as seen with it’s recent launch of Axis.

Groupon To Go Head To Head Against Square On Mobile Transactions

Groupon the daily deals site is reportedly interested in entering the Mobile Commerce field to compete with the likes of Square and most recently PayPal. The company who is embroiled in controversy in almost anything it does, from how it reports it’s profits to how it stock raises, wants to handle your money.

Business Insider is reporting that it’ll charge 1.8% transaction fee and a $0.15 per transaction charge for payments that they process. Whereas Square charges 2.75% with no per transaction fee and PayPal Here charges 2.7%, also with no transaction fee. In a risky move, Groupon will provide not only the device that retailers can charge customers, but also an iPod Touch to take the payments with. Like Yahoo, which recently made waves by releasing a semi browser for the web, and an iOS application, Groupon which keeps failing and is being mishandled would rather throw as many things against a wall and see what sticks versus fixing what’s wrong and instead is trying to hide from this.

Source: Business Insider

Google+ Updates Its Android App To Mimic It’s Update To iOS

Google has finally updated their Android app to follow the model of the iOS version they released to make the mobile experience “more beautiful.” Many Android users were pretty jealous to see the beauty iOS users were beholding, and they now can finally have it themselves. With some glitches though, the tablet version is still a little lacking as seen below. Most of the update takes what was a bland boring application and just makes it pop with the photos and posts, as well as some other major updates that we’ve all been waiting for and hoping for.

Launching Tonight Yahoo’s Answer To Chrome, I Think

Yahoo, tonight is launching what they are calling a “Chrome Killer”. But there is a problem, as you can see right now you can download a plugin to use it on…guess what? Chrome.

I don’t get it either. As of now, when you go to axis.yahoo.com you are able to “Download it now”(Chrome Extension) view a video of it or see an ad for it. While having a new choice in browsers is nice, I’m still not sure why Yahoo will try something else it’ll fail at instead of fixing their problems they have now. Visually, it looks good until you realize how much quicker Chrome is to use, and return to using it.

Apple Now Censors Jailbreak From iTunes Store

Apple, taking a page out of Twitters arsenal and censoring things it doesn’t like has added another one. The word JailBreak will no longer be found in the iTunes store. For those that don’t know, Jailbreaking: iOS jailbreaking, or simply jailbreaking, is the process of removing the limitations imposed by Apple on devices running the iOS operating system through the use of custom kernels.

So with Apple, not liking the fact that people pay hundreds of dollars, or even body parts, to own not rent/barrow the device. They are trying to get rid of any and all evidence about such products. So besides Applications being disallowed for political reasons into the iTunes store, any mention of Jailbreaking will now be as well.

Source: Cult Of Mac

Rumors: 2012 15 Inch MacBook Pro Specs

9to5Mac is reporting both full specs, as well as mock ups of the new 2012 MacBook Pro. What you’ll quickly noticed from the picture above besides both a difference in size, but also the fact that no Optical Drive will be there. Taking que from the Air, and other Ultrabooks to cut down on size. For those that still need an Optical Drive, USB 3.0 port(s) will now come standard as both Apple and other companies are now starting to make them standard as the higher transfer speeds on average of 5 Gbps are being needed more and more.

Samsung Posts First Galaxy S III Commercial

Samsung held an unpacked event May 3rd in London. If you were fortunate enough to be in the audience, like we were, then you got to see not only the Samsung Galaxy S III but the Samsung Galaxy S III commercial as well.

Samsung has taken a break from beating up Apple fan boys and gone after Apple in other ways with their advertising. The commercial for the Galaxy S III is very Apple-esque with a variety of people in all kinds of situations. There are several scenes of a wedding, new born baby and snuggling. Most Apple iPhone and iPad commercials feature some kind of snuggling.

The voice in the commercial is warm and inviting.

What’s supposed to be the final stab at Apple is the official tag line “designed for humans” somehow implying that iPhone customers/fanboys are a little less than human. In a lead up to the Galaxy S III release Samsung posted a teaser video that featured a flock of sheep, that were supposed to be Apple fans.

Samsung may not win any awards for this one but it’s heartfelt and shows off the phone in a great light.The built for humans slogan is a bit of a stretch, but hey there’s a war going on here.

The Samsung Galaxy S III will make it’s world wide debut in two weeks in Europe and Asia and later this summer in the US and Japan.

Check out the commercial below:

Ashton Kutcher Prepares For A-Grade Role As Steve Jobs

TV and Movie star turned technology investor Ashton Kutcher was selected for the Role of Steve Jobs in an upcoming independent film about the co-founder of Apple. The movie is currently being titled Jobs: Get Involved and is said to focus on the earlier parts of his career, much in the way Pirates of Silicon Valley did.

The movie will profile Jobs years starting Apple and then through NeXT and Pixar. There’s no word if the script will dip into his triumphant return to Apple and his later years.

Sony Pictures has picked up the rights to Walter Isaacson’s biography about Steve Jobs which became a best seller when it’s release coincided with the death of the Apple founder. Sony is said to be in discussions with Aaron Sorkin the mastermind behind the NBC hit drama series West Wing, as well as the screen writer for the Mark Zuckerberg biographic movie “The Social Network”.

Sony is reportedly looking at booth George Clooney and Noah Wylie to take on the role of Jobs for their movie. Wylie played Jobs in the cult classic Pirates of Silicon Valley which aired several times in the US after Jobs’ death.

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Patent Wars: Samsung Accused Of Destroying Evidence

The judge in the Apple vs Samsung patent case has been throwing the book at the Korean manufacturer. They recently went under fire for failing to turn over source code pertaining to a work-around that Samsung has used to protect itself from a patent Apple holds for “overscroll-bounce”.

Samsung didn’t give that source code up in the allotted time frame and Apple asked the presiding Judge Paul Grewal to essentially disqualify any work around source-code from Samsung’s patent defense. Grewal granted that Apple request, laying down these sanctions:

Samsung shall be precluded from offering any evidence of its design-around efforts for the ‘381, ‘891 and ‘163 patents, and shall not argue that the design-arounds are in any way distinct from those versions of code produced in accordance with the court’s order. Samsung must instead rely solely on the versions of code that were produced on or before December 31, 2011

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Target Drops Kindle For Apple Mini Stores…. Wow!

Target has issued a statement confirming rumors that have been developing over the last two days suggesting that they are ending their sales relationship with Amazon and Kindle. The Minneapolis based retail chain said in a statement to The Verge:

“Target continually evaluates its product assortment to deliver the best quality and prices for our guests. Target is phasing out Kindles and Amazon- and Kindle-branded products in the spring of 2012. We will continue to offer our guests a full assortment of ereaders and supporting accessories including the Nook.”

The department store’s decision to stop carrying the Kindle line, including the Kindle Fire, is most likely to clear shelf space for Apple mini stores, or SWAS (store within a store), that were reported back in January. Targets been carrying iPods, and iPads for quite some time. Intomobile and other sites reported in January that they were going to expand that format and add more products.

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Uh Oh iPhone App Downloads Dipped 30% In March

Something has happened and the world is undoubtedly all shaken up about it. Fiksu has reported that Apple iOS app downloads dipped 30% in March 2012. Yes, take cover, this is news of monumental proportion.

The number of daily iPhone app downloads decreased from 6.35 million in February 2012, to 4.45 million in March. Now we bravely wanted to suggest that it may have possibly been caused by the mad rush to get to 25 billion apps. Apple was holding a huge contest to commemorate that huge milestone. Unfortunately for the month of March, that happened on March 3rd.

This feeble attempt to look at the possible bright side was foiled by more data from Fiksu. They found that iPhone users downloaded fewer apps in March than any other month since the iPhone 4S launched in October.

Fiksu contributes part of the decline to the cooling off period that came right after the honeymoon period for new iPhone 4S users. Also, we can take into consideration those who upgraded from a previous iPhone. Upgraded iPhone users have probably used their previous iPhone to download and try as many apps as possible to vet the apps that they really like. Now, graduated to a new iPhone they don’t need to download every app they come in contact with.

Business Insider also reports that Apple has cracked down on developers using third party bots to download their apps and over inflate their number of downloads. This may actually be a more clear picture of the health of the iTunes app store. Don’t for a second though, think that 4.5 million downloads is shabby.

source: SAI