So much for the new iPhone being available in China early! It looks like many Chinese Apple fans will be forced to wait for the latest and greatest phone once again, as Apple has suspended online preorders of the iPhone 5S, although the slightly cheaper 5C is still available. Despite concerns that the 5S might not be well received in China, preorders of the device sans telecom bundles sold out in half a day after being launched yesterday. Fans can still order the 5S bundled through telecom partners China Telecom or China Unicom, but it’s not clear when they’ll...
While BlackBerry is rumoured to be pursuing a sale -- to be wrapped up as quickly as November -- and preparing another round of layoffs, the embattled Canadian titan is still releasing devices and plowing ahead with plans to roll out BBM to the iPhone and Android platforms. The once exclusively BlackBerry-only club will open its doors on 21 September and there is no cover charge -- BBM will be available as a free download in Google Play and the App Store. Why would you leave the comfort of iOS 7's swanky new messages app or your swiss-army knife of...
So here we are, in the aftermath of the announcement of Apple’s new iPhones, and as usual the entire world has exploded. This time the story is that Apple has failed in China by offering what everyone thought was going to be its “inexpensive” phone at a price point that borders on offensive in the Middle Kingdom. If you google “iPhone China” right now, you get a lot of headlines like this, suggesting that Apple has failed in its attempt to appeal to China’s market with a cheap smartphone. Now, to be fair, it’s certainly true to say that the...
MusicTiles is a new app for iPhone designed by acclaimed artist Peter Gabriel which will allow users, via a simple tile interface, to create, record and share remixes of their favourite music tracks. While it is also a rather obvious way for Gabriel to revive his status in the music world as his album So is featured quite prominently, the app does create a new and easy way for amateurs to play...
Google Maps is back on the app store, and it looks like it's once again stolen the march on Apple. When Apple decided to abandon Google's mapping service in favour of its own, things didn't work out so well. Bridges disappeared, roads melted and, egg on face, Tim Cook had to apologise. All the while, Google tried to give iOS users the best experience it could via its web app and quietly got to work on an iOS Maps app. Now that app has arrived and it looks pretty damn good. Not for nothing does The Verge call it "the...
I think we've already forgotten that it took so long for us to get to the year of the mobile that was 2010, that we’re expecting similar speed in the roll-out of mobile payments solutions. Everyone and their grandmother expects that in the next year or two, your mobile phone will become your wallet and your credit card and that in order to pay, all you’ll need to do is wave it at a point of sale (POS) terminal or at another mobile handset, so that money can be magically transferred from your bank account. Credit cards and cash...
Apple has dived into the Christmas holiday with aplomb as the iPhone 5 goes on sale today in Asia, three months after its first release. This represents Apple's biggest roll-our ever, covering more than 30 countries. Showing a no-holds-barred approach, the iPhone 5 also goes on sale in South Korea, home of its main rival Samsung. According to a report by Chosun Ilbo, operators SK Telecom and KT had huge events to...
China has, at present, 390-million mobile internet users among its billion-strong phone subscribers. And now new data for 2012 Q3 from Beijing-based mobile analytics startup Umeng claims that, among all those mobile users, Chinese consumers have snapped up just over 200-million iPhones and Android smartphones. Of those, 60-million are iPhones, and 140-million of them are Android-powered devices. The researchers reckon that 200-million figure has rocketed up from a mere 87-million iOS and Android phones in China in 2012 Q1. Though these stats are not based on sales figures, it’s good to have a reasonable sounding figure for only Apple’s and...
Nick D'Aloisio has designed an app, Summly, that will summarise the news you want to hear in about three to four paragraphs, receiving millions in backing from all over, including celebrity investors like Stephen Fry and Ashton Kutcher. The app launches today and has been chosen by Apple as its "app of the week". Nick still lives with his parents. The 17 year-old has been programming since he was 12, having taught himself. Using complex algorithm, Summly will summarise news stories into three paragraphs and allow users to customise categories. If a user likes a specific article, they can...
The Apple vs Samsung patent war is heating up again with the two tech giants once more trading punches. The US injunction that the Cupertino company won earlier this year on the sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, has been reversed by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. It said that the district court in California "abused its discretion in entering an injunction". This is a reversal of the ruling that...
Apple announced a new Safari “feature" in iOS 6 last night that made me grin. And when you’re posting a photo or video to eBay, Craigslist, or another site, you can take photos and video -- or choose from your Camera Roll -- without leaving Safari. If you’re a web developer, you might have noticed that it wasn’t possible to allow iOS Safari users to upload a picture or video to your website using the standard HTML file input type (input type="file"). It made sense because iOS doesn’t really have a user-facing file system and traditional file concepts. In the past you...
When you ask Siri "What is the best smartphone ever?", you'd expect it to spout some pro-Apple response like "the iPhone 4S, duh." So when Apple's personal assistant responded with "The Nokia Lumia 900", it was actually quite funny. Alas, the joke is over. If you ask the same question now, you'll be met with a response like "You're kidding, right?" or "The one you're holding." The Gearburn editor tried it out --...
Aah, citizen journalism and social media... the trends that have professional photojournalists clutching their Nikons in fear. Well, kinda. The power of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to spread news, share photos, and videos of events and organise protest actions (most notably during the Arab Spring) is well documented. Technological convergence has resulted in a device which can tweet, share, film videos, capture images and sound, send messages and communicate news...
Despite RIM’s fall from grace, BlackBerry still enjoys large-scale endorsement from celebrities as well as the president of the United States, something once acknowledged on video by RIM’s ex-CEO Mike Lazaridis -- shortly before abruptly ending the interview. Most agree that iPhones are cool and you see plenty of celebrity Twitpic mirror shots with those, but how about Android and Windows Phone? I couldn’t find many celebrities using Android. Android isn’t cool yet and in an industry where image is everything, endorsing Android right now could be a faux pas. I found someone called Jose Canseco an ex-MLB player...
Apple fans, mark down 4 October on your calendars as this is the day that Apple will most likely reveal the iPhone 5. Sources close to Apple have said that 4 October is the date that the company has picked to present the iPhone 5 to the public, further adding that the anticipated smartphone will be available for purchase a few weeks after the announcement. The iPhone 5 is not the only hot item on show at the company showcase. This will be new CEO Tim Cook's initial introduction where he will be giving a presentation to the Apple-hungry...
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