Apple

AdAge has an interesting article on the risks and challenges advertisers face when displaying ads on mobile devices. Besides the potential that users may never actually tap on your ad, there's also the risk that an advertiser's ads may not display correctly on various devices. If you're an advertiser and that keeps you up at night, you only have one real option for choosing a reliable ad network: Apple's iAds. That's because iAds are the only major mobile ad network yet to be accredited by the Media Ratings Council. As AdAge explains: Apple's iAd earlier this month became the first major mobile-ad network to be fully accredited by the Media Ratings Council as adhering to the standards the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Mobile Marketing Association jointly released earlier this year. During the auditing process, iAd demonstrated accurate reporting of impressions, taps, tap-through-rate, visits, views, views-per-visit, average time spent, conversions, unique devices and unique device visits. Apple said its mobile ad network is more streamlined than others and that it only charges for ads that fully render on users' screens. AdAge notes that Google's DoubleClick is currently going through the process of getting accreditation, but other ad networks like MoPub are debating on whether or not to try to get accreditation because it can cost more than US$100,000.iAds gets full accreditation by the Media Ratings Council originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 23 May 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Yesterday TUAW showed you how voice search on Chrome for Mac has improved, now providing eerily Siri-like functionality in Google Search. According to a post yesterday on the Google Chrome Blog, the next target for voice search is iOS -- and we should see the update in just a few days. The update won't require users to point Chrome at the Google home page. Instead, whenever you tap on the omnibox (the combination address/search field), a microphone appears. Tap it, speak your search query, and your results appear in a flash. As with the Chrome for Mac update yesterday, some of the results come back in the form of both a screenful of information and a spoken response. The Googlers say that the update will also enable "faster reloading of web pages by using the cache more efficiently when the network is slow," perfect for when you're using Chrome on the road. Other iOS apps will also be able to give you the option to open links in Chrome and then return to the app with one tap. We'll update this post as soon as the update is available. [via iMore]Google: Voice Search coming to Chrome for iOS soon originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 23 May 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lenovo has managed to reach new records in annual sales and annual pre-tax income over the last year, according to its latest quarterly financial update. The computer producer reports annual sales of $34 billion for the entire year, an increase of 15 percent compared to last year, and a 38-percent increase on taxable income to $801 million....

Smule, one of the early high-profile developers for Apple’s App Store, has launched a new app to follow-up on its taste for music software. The company, today, launched a new free game called “Guitar!” The app sources music from its own with the company’s “Sing!” karaoke app, and this new guitar app works as a virtual guitar for the iPhone’s display. As you improve in your gaming skills, your awarded points will increase in the game. Guitar! by Smule brings you the unique experience of musical collaboration between guitarist and singer. Our carefully crafted list of guitar songs have been paired with real vocals from our Sing! Karaoke app, giving you the true feeling of playing with a live singer. You create the invaluable foundation for your singer as you strum the chords of the song. Add personal flourishes on individual strings, a bit of vibrato, or emphasis on particular notes. And for advanced players or those who just want to jam out and sing to your own tune, check out our freestyle mode! You always sound good, but practice makes perfect and it pays to play! The more you play, the more you earn. Start off in easy mode, and keep playing to earn new difficulty levels and more challenging songs. As you continue your journey, try out new guitar sounds by unlocking our Electric and Rock guitars. This first version has a limited songbook because we wanted to make sure every song was fun, satisfying, and a bit challenging. We’re working on adding many more songs and singers, and we would love your feedback. Please suggest new songs from inside the app! The current songbook includes: ** When I Was Your Man – Bruno Mars ** I Won’t Give Up – Jason Mraz ** Bubbly – Colbie Caillat ** Stand By Me – Ben E. King ** I’m Yours – Jason Mraz ** Your Song – Elton John ** The A Team – Ed Sheeran ** Home – Phillip Phillips ** Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen ** Amazing Grace ** …more songs coming soon! Suggest songs in the app! Every song includes vocals provided by the talented singers from our Sing! Karaoke app. (Thank you!) PLAYING TIPS: * Strum – swipe your finger across the strings * Pick – tap a single string * Change the chord – select from the colored tabs on the left * Create vibrato – shake the phone * Emphasize a strum – swipe faster and you’ll play louder

Microsoft has released a new ad featuring the Windows 8 ASUS VivoTab Smart tablet and an iPad. The commercial slams the iPad pretty hard by picking and choosing examples of things the iPad can't do that Windows 8 tablet can, like live updating of tile apps, its inability to use multiple apps at once, and lack of Microsoft PowerPoint support. The kicker here is that the ad is narrated by actual responses from Siri. The ad ends with Siri asking, "Should we just play chopsticks?" -- poking fun at a previous iPad mini commercial. Windows 8 has received significant criticism for its elimination of the Start button and there are strong reports that Microsoft is looking to redesign the OS in a hurry to stop plummeting PC sales. Microsoft's new ad slams Siri hard originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

This week the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published 26 newly granted patents for Apple, and among them were the Cupertino company's take on a push-to-talk feature and a double-sided touch-sensitive panel, both of which could possibly appear in future iPhones.

Evernote has today rolled out a new Reminders service to its clients on the Mac, iOS, and the web. The new service rolls three of Evernote’s most-requested features into one, delivering in-app and email alarms, quick note-based to-do lists, and the ability to pin notes to the top of your note list. You can use Reminders by clicking on the alarm icon located at the top of a note on Mac and the web, or at the bottom of a note on your iPhone or iPad. You can then set a time and date for when you’d like to complete the note, or when you’d just like to be reminded of it. When the time comes, Evernote will present you with an in-app alarm, as well as an optional email the day the Reminder is due. You’ll also be able to see all of your Reminders together within the new Reminders section at the top of your notes list. You can change the order of Reminders in this section simply by dragging them up and down the list. When they’re complete, simply tap the check box, or, on iOS, swipe the Reminder away. Completed Reminders are removed from the list automatically. To make Reminders even more powerful, and to keep them neatly organized, Evernote has made them notebook-specific. So when you add a Reminder inside one notebook, you’ll only see it inside of that notebook — not inside others. You can see them all together inside the “All Notes” view, however. Just like notes, Evernote syncs Reminders across all of your devices — though initially Reminders will only sync to other devices that support the new feature. Those created on your iPad won’t show up in the Windows app, or on an Android-powered device, then. Evernote encourages you to use Reminders for remembering birthday gifts, project planning, vacation packing, and for remembering appointments. To find out more about Evernote Reminders, click the source link below, or check out the trailer at the bottom of this post. And if you don’t already have Evernote, you can download it now — for free — from the App Store and the Mac App Store. Source: Evernote Blog Related StoriesForget The iWatch: Brando’s Crappy ‘Fashionable Bluetooth Vibrating Bracelet’ Is Here Right NowClear App Updated On iPhone & Mac, Coming To iPad SoonMailbox Is Now Available On Your iPadEasily Open A Second Finder Window From The Same Folder [OS X Tips]Following App Store Ban, AppGratis Turns To Android For Survival

MarketWatch takes a look at the state of the repair industry for the iPhone 5, noting that costs for display replacements remain very high eight months after the device's launch in the United States. The report points to Apple's tight control over components as being the major contributor to high costs, even as the device's new design makes it simpler to replace the display than on previous models.There is a tight control on iPhone 5 components in the market, [repair firm iCracked founder AJ] Forsythe says. “Market forces determine the price,” he says. “Apple sells about 300,000 iPhones a day and, as the repair market grows, prices will get lower.” “Apple controls everything from the manufacturing to the gear for the iPhone 5,” says Jeff Haynes, editor at deal site TechBargains.com. As the iPhone 5 is larger than the 4, the cost for replacement parts rises, he says.The display is the most frequently cited repair item on the iPhone, given the frequency with which users break the glass front of the device, and it is also the most costly component. For the iPhone 4S, repair firm iFixit currently sells the display assembly for $95, with users needing to follow a difficult 37-step guide to perform the repair. On the iPhone 5, iFixit is charging $200 for the corresponding part, with the white version not even available at this time. But for those who can get their hands on the part, the replacement process requires only a 23-step guide judged "moderate" in difficulty. The report notes that many repair firms have even not yet begun offering iPhone 5 display replacements, due to both the shortage of parts in the market and the high costs. Apple itself frequently performs repairs by swapping out the user's device, then putting the damaged device through a refurbishment process and reselling it at a discounted price. Recognizing the prevalence of accidental damage issues with its mobile devices, Apple rolled out an AppleCare+ extended warranty plan alongside the iPhone 4S in October 2011. The $99 plan extends warranty coverage to two years and includes coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage with $49 deductibles. The plan is not, however, universally available throughout Apple's global sales footprint yet. Apple is said to be planning to revamp its AppleCare offerings later this year, with Apple reportedly moving to perform more repairs on iPhones rather than simply swapping them out. The company is also said to be transitioning AppleCare into a subscription agreement that would cover multiple devices owned by a customer, rather than having to purchase coverage separately for each device. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories • Shazam for iPad Rebuilt as Universal App With Background Auto-Tagging and More • Gmail Management App 'Mailbox' Gains iPad Compatibility • Microsoft Releases Windows 8 Tablet Ad Highlighting iPad's Flaws, High Price • Clear Updated with List Emailing Functionality, iPad Version Coming Soon • Casemaker OtterBox Acquiring LifeProof • Voice Search Coming Soon to Chrome for iOS • Former Gartner Research Director Michael Gartenberg Joins Apple's Marketing Team • Twitter for Mac Updated with Notification Center Integration, Bug Fixes

HTC has pulled its impending launch of the HTC First in the United Kingdom, after enduring a poor reception in the United States. The Android smartphone, preloaded with the Facebook Home launcher, has failed to take off in the US, despite AT&T's attempts to revive the device by selling it on-contract for $1 instead of its original $99 price....

Embroiled in controversy over alleged tax avoidance, Apple is jumping into the fray in Washington, as the iPad maker is reportedly on track to double the amount of money it spends lobbying politicians.