The reminders are pretty easy to set up as well. All you do is select the note that you want reminded about, and click the small alarm clock icon in the upper-right corner. From there, you just set the time and date, and the reminder is created and ready to go. You can also set other parameters, like how you want to be notified (through an email, notification, etc.).

This feature can be extremely handy, especially for work or school purposes where you have a deadline or due date for a particular project or essay. Personally, I really wish I had this feature during my college days, as I would save research notes and then quickly forget about them as I move onto another project.

Reminders are also synced across platforms, so setting a reminder on your Mac will also have it appear in the iOS app and web app as well. Sadly, Evernote hasn’t yet rolled this feature out to Android or Windows apps, but it should be only a matter of time before that happens. In the meantime, you can use the web app on Windows if you want reminders that badly.

Evernote is continuing to outpace its competitors by becoming more than just a minimal note-taking app. It may have started off as one, but it quickly became a feature-filled product that act as an all-in-one file cabinet of sorts, allowing you to save websites, images, documents, and other notes, as well as the ability to take photos and scan documents and have them upload straight to Evernote. Other apps are trying to keep up, but Evernote already has a strong hold on the note-taking market.

VIA: Evernote Blog

SOURCE: Evernote, iTunes App Store, Mac App Store

Bloomberg reports that Apple devices running iOS 6 or higher can be used, including the iPhone and iPad. Previously, the US Department of Defense approved Samsung devices earlier this month, as well as BlackBerry devices running BlackBerry 10. This makes Apple the third company to get security clearance at the Pentagon.

The recent approvals are expected to give BlackBerry a fight for government market share, a sector that BlackBerry has controlled for a long time now. With Apple and Samsung devices making their way into the Pentagon, it could spell even more trouble for the Canadian company, who has already been struggling in a world dominated by iOS and Android.

With the adoption of iPads alone, the US Air Force says they expect to save $50 million over 10 years, mostly due to the dropped weight of flight bags in planes in favor of lightweight iPads that would contain all of the flight manuals needed. American Airlines recently gaine approval for this same thing, so it makes sense that it would expand to the Air Force as well.

The Samsung Galaxy S 4 was approved earlier this month, and thanks to its new Knox security features, the US Department of Defense thinks that the new device is ready for Pentagon prime time, beating the iPhone and iPad to the punch, although that probably won’t stop iOS devices from being handed out as much as Samsung handsets. Either way, prepare for BlackBerry to lose a little grip in the government sector as Apple and Samsung are making their way inside.

SOURCE: Bloomberg

According to the numbers, iOS is now the leading platform for consumer spending on mobile games, overtaking “gaming-optimized handhelds” like the 3DS. Google Play is accelerating fast, however, and while still lags behind iOS, is predicted to exceed traditional gaming spend by the end of the current quarter.

App Annie blames seasonality for most of the slump that Sony and Nintendo are seeing, but warns that ad-revenue isn’t included in its numbers. That could mean even more of a gulf is opening, considering many Android titles follow the so-called freemium model where a free download is offset by in-game marketing.

For traditional platforms, the DS and DSi saw the biggest proportional slump, with App Annie suggesting that gamers are shifting over to 3DS instead. However, that’s not to say the 3DS gaming spend is much more reassuring, almost halving between Q4 2012 and Q1 2013.

Games represent around 40-percent of downloads in both the iOS App Store and Google Play store, the research company says, and are the number one motivator to store growth. In total, spending on games across iOS and Android amounted to nearly 3x that of gaming-optimized handhelds in the three month period.

The disparity is only likely to become more pronounced now that Google has waded fully into mobile gaming. At I/O this week, the company unveiled Google Play Games Services, a cross-platform rival to Apple’s Game Center which leverages Google+ for social leaderboard sharing, among other things.

Google is yet to fully address arguably one of the biggest issues facing Android game studios, however, that of software piracy. Some developers have complained of a 95-percent piracy rate for their Android titles, with users reluctant to pay even $0.99 for a game.

VIA: TUAW

When you open up the app, you have the ability to register for an eBay account by either filling in a bunch of text boxes, or you can simply scan your driver’s license to have the app do most of the filling out for you, such as your name, city, state, etc. Of course, privacy might be a big issue for some users, and while you’re already submitting personal information their way, scanning your driver’s license makes room for unnecessary information to get through.

UPDATE: We’ve received more info from eBay about its driver’s license scanning feature regarding privacy, and they say that “only the name and address are pulled to complete the initial registration form. eBay does not send or store any other driver’s license information.”

As for the new UI, it’s looks relatively the same from past iterations, but boxes and text are a lot smoother now and it looks a lot cleaner overall. And while Android users have been enjoying the new shopping cart where you can check out multiple items at once, that feature is now available to iPhone and iPad users, so they no longer have to deal with a mess of a shopping cart that past versions were plagued with.

The app also now comes with the ability to view larger photos, which have always been a bit cumbersome in the past when browsing through the app on a mobile device, and since photos are crucial in an eBay listing, it seems the company is finally giving them more attention. Other than that, you can expect the usual bug fixes and overall performance improvements to the app. Both the iPhone and iPad versions are available now in the iTunes App Store.

It’s said that the latest iPhone will look practically identical to the iPhone 5, similar to how the iPhone 4S had the same design as the iPhone 4, but the iPhone 5S is suggested to be getting a major internal redesign in order to pack in even more features, including a rumored fingerprint scanner that could be built right into the Home button.

Boy Genius Report has obtained a few high-resolution photos of what are said to be parts going into the iPhone 5S. These include the loud-speaker bracket, ear speaker bracket, vibrating motor assembly, WiFi ribbon cable, and the SIM card tray. Overall, there’s nothing too special about these parts other than a slight redesign in them to make them a bit smaller.

However, photos of two different SIM card trays reveals something interesting. BGR points out that not only is the SIM card tray smaller than the iPhone 5S, but the photo includes two trays that are different colors, which could suggest that the next-generation iPhone will come in different color variety. Of course, this could also just be for the two different colors of the aluminum band that’s on the iPhone 5S, where the black model has a black band, and the white model has a silver band.

These parts don’t tell us much other than the fact that they’ve been slightly redesigned. However, if the iPhone 5S body is staying the same, the only reason for redesigned internals is to make room for something else, and that something else could be a variety of things, including the aforementioned fingerprint scanner or even NFC. The iPhone 5S is rumored to launch in August, and it’s expected that iOS 7 will be revealed at WWDC next month. Stay tuned!

SOURCE: Boy Genius Report

“At this point it is iOS and Android, and that’s iOS phones running iOS 6 and higher” Bhardwaj said of the app. “Smartphone is our real focus and again it comes back to what BBM is. If you look BBM and the engagement and the activity, it’s because it is mobile, because people are on the go.”

Expanding BlackBerry Messenger support across rival platforms has been a long-rumored strategy for BlackBerry, though there’s controversy around whether the decision will now be too little, too late. BlackBerry OS has dropped a place in the worldwide smartphone OS market share league, it was announced today, with Windows Phone taking third place instead.

Whether that will mean BBM for iPhone and Android works as a gateway drug of sorts, or merely as a route for BlackBerry owners looking to leave the platform behind and yet still keep in touch with old friends on a new device, remains to be seen.

Even without a dedicated iPad version, that’s not to say iPad and iPad mini owners won’t be able to access the iPhone BBM app. However, they’ll be stuck using screen-doubling until BlackBerry gets around to coding up a tablet-specific interface, and there’s no telling when that will actually happen.

Still, there’s at least a hint that such support is in the pipeline, as well as other form-factors where BBM could roost, beyond mobile. “I think when you look at things like Smart TVs and desktops, those are definitely areas for exploration,” Bhardwaj teased.

IMAGE: BlackBerry Blog

350,000 of those are native iPad apps, Apple highlights, perhaps a small dig at Google which has struggled to see the same developer engagement in Android tablets. Yesterday, during the opening keynote to Google I/O, Google confirmed that over 48bn Android apps had been installed.

The 50-billionth iOS download itself was Say the Same Thing by developer Space Inch, Apple confirmed, downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio.

The App Store has been a lucrative endeavor for not only Apple but developers as well. The company has supposedly paid out more than $9bn to coders over the past five years. The 50bn figure doesn’t include re-downloads or updates, only the first app install.

In the intervening period, the number of available apps a smartphone OS has to offer has become an important metric in the potential success of the platform. Microsoft, for instance, paid developers ahead of the launch of Windows Phone, to make sure certain key titles were available. However, more recently, the focus has turned in part to app discovery, with well-stocked download stores struggling to present good titles in an efficient way. That’s something iOS 7 is expected to address later on in 2013.

That’s a 79.5-percent increase year-on-year for Android, while iOS managed a 6.6-percent climb from its share in Q1 2012. Microsoft saw the biggest increase, however, up 133.3-percent over the course of 12 months, to hold 3.2-percent globally.

BlackBerry OS, however, declined 35.1-percent year-on-year, down to 2.9-percent. There’s still a comfortable buffer over other platforms dwelling at the bottom of the barrel, but it suggests that BlackBerry 10 still has plenty of work to do if it’s to leverage the company back into the mainstream.

For Windows Phone, 7m units were supposedly shipped in the opening three months of this year. That’s predominantly down to Nokia devices; the Finnish company shipped 5.6m Lumia Windows Phones in the period, making it the most popular vendor for Microsoft’s mobile OS. Nokia’s expectations are high for Q2, too, with estimates of as many as 7m sales by some analysts.

In Android, Samsung dominates the segment, with 41.1-percent market share of smartphones overall. Earlier this week, Strategy Analytics estimated Samsung devices comprised 95-percent of Android smartphone sales.

“The intra-Android competition has not stifled companies from keeping Android as the cornerstone of their respective smartphone strategies,” IDC concludes, “but has upped the ante to innovate proprietary experiences.”

For Apple, it’s the company’s most impressive volume for iPhone sales, but IDC blames iOS stagnation for lower year-over-year growth than the market as a whole. That’s likely to change, it predicts, when iOS 7 debuts later in 2013.

This chat system will be available for Android and iOS as well as on the web starting today. This cross-platform initiative works with group video as well as video chat, and all of it without charge. Though this may seem obvious for some, there have been systems similar to this in the past where chatting with your camera cost extra cash – can you name that system?

With Google+ Hangouts, a Google+ account will be needed to chat. This account is the same as a user’s Google account for Gmail and the like, but the social networking sign-up will need to be done.

This system will also be launching with photo storage with Google+ at 15GB at full size. This means that if you want to automatically upload photos to Google+ with your Android or iOS device, you can upload 15GB worth of full-sized photos. If you want to upload limited-size photos, you can upload as many as you like.

Google+ has also been updated with a system that can break down your collection of photos to find what’s best based on a variety of pre-selected criteria. This system as well as Google+ Hangouts will be launching today with Google+ photo enhancement abilities far beyond those available in the past. Stay tuned to SlashGear’s Google I/O tag portal all week long for more developer action as it occurs, piece by piece!

In contrast, only 5-percent of iOS users pirated Towelfight 2, Butterscotch revealed on the DroidGamers forums. On both platforms, the game was priced at $0.99; “these numbers are dwarfed by the size of an audience we could get with a free title” the developers suggest.

“While it’s great that the pirates are playing the game, and we’re happy for the exposure, they are operating “off the grid”. That is, our app rank doesn’t jump up in the app stores when a pirate downloads it, they can’t review it, and they tend not to contact us for support if something goes wrong with the game. They play the game in the shadows” Butterscotch Shenanigans

Although the statistics are from one game developer’s experience, and shouldn’t be extrapolated across the entire Android app industry, it’s not the first time we’ve seen Google’s platform criticized for how relatively straightforward it is to find and install unofficial apps. Last year, another developer made headlines by blaming “unbelievably high” piracy rates for being forced to drop the Android version of its game from $0.99 to the “freemium” model, where a free-to-download app is monetized with adverts.

That freemium switch is the approach Butterscotch will be taking with its newest title, the developer team says, with monetization “solely based” on in-app purchases. Progress within the game will be achievable both by beating goals and by paying for access, with cut to the price if partial-progress has already been made.

Attempts have been made to curtail Android piracy – last year, the US Department of Justice and FBI seized and shut down three app pirate sites for instance – but the more open nature of the Google Play store versus Apple’s App Store has meant circuitous routes to find and load titles without paying for them remains a key issue for the OS. Last month, one developer attempted to use irony to highlight the issues of stolen content, lacing a specially-leaked version of their dev-studio simulator game with inescapable failure through piracy, though many players didn’t appear to understand the message.

For Butterscotch, the initial piracy numbers were a tough lesson in how to monetize in different ways on different platforms. “We made a free game” the developers concluded, “we just didn’t know it at the time.”

The app is essentially a re-launch and re-branding of the network’s older ABC Player app, but Watch ABC can still playback TV shows on demand, as well as stream live television. This makes ABC the first major broadcast television network to offer their own live TV streaming option in the US. However, the app only works in New York City and Philadelphia, but more cities are expected be added throughout the year.

With Aereo, you don’t need a cable subscription to watch live television, but the Watch ABC will require one by July 1. The app is currently open to anyone for the next few weeks, but ABC will soon require a cable subscription in order to have the ability to watch live ABC shows. You’ll need either a Comcast, Cablevision, Cox, AT&T U-Verse, Charter, or Midcontinent subscription.

After July 1, ABC plans to expand the app’s availability to more big cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, and Fresno. We’re guessing the app will exit its preview version and will be released in full on that date, but specifics are yet to be revealed on exactly what the plan is for Watch ABC.

As for the app being a viable competitor to Aereo, the effort is certainly there, but it’ll most likely be no cigar for ABC, and Aereo still includes some advantages over ABC’s live streaming options. Aereo doesn’t require a cable subscription to use, although you’ll have to pony up $8 per month in order to use Aereo, while ABC’s app is free. Watch ABC also doesn’t have DVR functionality, which may be an instant turn-off for some users. Overall, ABC is trying to offer something that’s cool and useful, but there’s simply too many restrictions still that is holding the network back.

SOURCE: iTunes App Store

The BBM app will support all iOS devices running iOS 6 and higher, as well as Android devices running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and higher. BlackBerry said that it would be bringing some of the same features of BBM over to iOS and Android, including groups functionality, as well as voice features and screen sharing in later releases.

BlackBerry also announced what they’re calling BBM Channels, which is a new social feature for BBM that will allow companies and celebrities to create a fan page of sorts that BBM users can follow. Whenever a BBM Channel gets updated with new content, users who follow these pages will see notifications for the updates in BlackBerry Hub. Users will also be able to comment and share posts with friends, as well as the ability to create their own channels. In the simplest of terms, Channels is essentially BlackBerry’s version of a social network.

Channels is still in beta, but the company is planning to update it several times until it will fully launch sometime this summer — most likely in conjunction with the BBM launch for iOS and Android. It’s still up in the air whether or not Channels will be the boost that BlackBerry needs to gain more users, but we’ll certainly find out come this summer. The company already has 60 million BBM users, with 10 billion messages being sent every day. With the release of an iOS and Android version, those numbers should jump significantly.

The update also comes with “improved navigation for Google Reader RSS folder,” which hopes to make the process easier for those inevitably switching over from the soon-to-be deceased Google Reader RSS service, and it’ll hopefully ease the process for users switching over to find their content quicker this time around.

As for the refreshed profile pages, this gives users insights into their readership and curation activities, as well as the ability to discover “magazines” created by their friends thanks to the new “Friends” category. The update also comes with improved sharing options, which now allow you to send interesting articles and magazines to friends through SMS messaging.

Overall, not a major update by any means, but it does include some small new features that could prove useful for many Flipboardists. Just last week, The Android version of the app was updated to version 2.0, bringing the popular magazine curation feature to Google’s mobile platform and allowing users to create their own magazines that they could share with other users.

Flipboard 2.0 has been out for almost two months now, and by the second week since the app’s update, the company announced that a half a million magazines had already been created by users, proving that users are really enjoying creating their own digital product of sorts. Furthermore, the service claims to have over 50 million users who are flipping over six billion pages per month on average.

SOURCE: iTunes App Store

The new app from Amazon can automatically upload photos that you take with your iPhone directly to your Amazon Cloud Drive, and within the app, all your photos will be organized and ready to browse or share. However, just like with Dropbox’s automatic photo upload feature, it only works when the app is open due to limitations within iOS.

The Android version of the app launched back in November, and unlike iOS users, the app is able to upload photos directly to Amazon’s Could Drive whether the app is open or not. However, unlike Apple’s Photo Stream, you can view the photos in a web browser from any computer, just like with Dropbox and even Google Drive, which begs the question: Is Amazon’s cloud offerings good enough to take on Google and Dropbox?

Amazon offers users 5GB for free to start out with, and paid options are available for those who need more storage space (plans start at 20GB for $10 per year). With Google Drive, you also get 5GB free, with paid options starting at just $2.49 per month for 25GB). As for Dropbox, you start off with a measly 2GB for free, but can upgrade for $10 per month, which will land you 100GB. So, all of these options clearly offer different paying schemes, but if you’re already invested in Amazon’s ecosystem, the addition of Cloud Drive Photos will be a welcomed.

VIA: PC Mag

SOURCE: iTunes App Store

The game puts players behind the controls of World War I biplane as they battle to take control of the skies. The game is described as a strategic aerial combat title and will work on both the iPhone and the iPad. Players will use their aircraft to defend their base camp and allies.

Players will be able to progress through various campaigns across Europe while the upgrade their skills, improve the aircraft, and perform other tasks. Players will be able to choose from 30 vintage and historical World War I aircraft. The game has a total of over 120 missions and players can choose their team of Aces each offering a special skill to expand options during play.

Players will also be able to upgrade and promote their top pilots throughout the course of the game campaign. The game can be played as a turn-based single-player title, a two-player hot pad game, or as synchronous multiplayer through Game Center. The game is available as a free download on the App Store and as you can imagine the will be hoards of in game purchase options.

[via Take2Games]

Both of these features could be a convenient addition to some users, as it encourages binge-watching while you’re away from home. Of course, watching anything more than an episode of a TV show on your iPhone is enough to make your eyes hurt, so we’re guessing that iPad users will most likely get more use of these new features.

The updated app also improves on its second screen options, as well as comes with the usual slew of bug fixes and performance enhancements. These updates were included in the Android app update that was released yesterday. It wasn’t a big update by any means, but iOS users are now getting the bug fixes from yesterday.

The Netflix app is available for free to download, and it’s compatible on pretty much any mobile device. However, you’ll need to pay $8 per month in order to take advantage of the unlimited streaming. The service’s movie options are bit limited, but you can get access to quite a bit of good TV shows and stream them while on the go.

Here at SlashGear, as well as at several other websites, we have noticed iOS 7 traffic appear in our logs: seven visits all occurring on May 2. Other websites have reported traffic starting around the April 29 mark, which looks to be the day that Apple either started or expanded its internal testing program for the new iOS version.

According to mobile site conversion company OnSwipe, most of the iOS 7 traffic was coming from either San Francisco or Cupertino, where Apple’s headquarters are located. Plus, iPhones accounted for 75% of the iOS 7 traffic, with iPads taking care of the other 25%. Let’s just hope no beta tester leaves an iOS 7 device in a bar this time.

As for what we’ll see in iOS 7, there’s expected to be a major redesign of features and default apps, since design guru Jony Ive has taken over iOS. There’s really no solid details other than rumors, but we could see a more flat, minimalistic design throughout the new look, but we’ll have to wait and see what Ive has up his sleeve come next month.

[via TechCrunch]

Both Android and iOS devices working with Amazon Cloud Player are ready for action with Ford SYNC AppLink-equipped vehicles. The iOS version has been outlined this week with dashboard controls as well as voice recognition abilities. Users will also be hearing their tunes with high-quality 256kbps audio straight from their vehicle’s speaker system.

With Amazon’s system, users will have the ability to play music wirelessly from their iOS device or through their Cloud Player. With Cloud Player, music is accessed through Amazon’s online archive, this allowing the user’s vehicle and iOS device to free up local storage space for alternate media.

This push is affecting the 2013 Ford Fiesta, Mustang, Focus, C-MAX Hybrid, E-Series, F-150, Expedition, Fusion, and Super Duty models, and will quite likely be appearing on future vehicles with Ford SYNC AppLink embedded as well. This connectivity should be appearing on and with your vehicle and iOS device starting today. Android users should, by all means, have had this connectivity working nicely since February – if you’re still waiting, make a move!

As T-Mobile offers the iPhone with their unique pricing plans, customers seem to have flocked to the light. The off-contract iPhone 5 with T-Mobile is advertised as starting at $99.99 down with payments of $20 per month for 24 months. Even with this price built-in, you’re getting the device in the end for $579.99, this ending up being cheaper than the straight-up off-contract purchase price that all other carriers offer the device at, that being $649.

So once customers broke the pricing down or simply saw the iPhone 5 for a hundred bucks and ran with it, they made with the purchase. According to T-Mobile back on the first day of sales for the Apple device, customer reactions to the release were better than the carrier had expected.

This quarter has also seen T-Mobile’s first branded customer growth since 2009, a turnaround the carrier is certainly excited about. Have a peek at SlashGear’s T-Mobile USA tag portal for more information on the carrier and their recent merger with Metro PCS as well – big things happening for big pink!

While the iPhone 5 has seen significant success since its launch last year, OPPO’s launch of the Find 5 has been limited. The OPPO Find 5 is only out in and around China, and if you’re planning on using it in the USA, you’ll need to make more than a little bit of effort to have it sent to you. Once you have the Find 5 in-hand, you’ll find it impressive as a non-major-brand device can be.

The OPPO Find 5 works with a 5-inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixel resolution, this bringing it up to 441 PPI. Meanwhile the iPhone 5 has a 4-inch display with 640 x 1136 pixel resolution, putting it at 326 PPI. Both devices have generous viewing angles, and the operating systems running on each device is optimized for the screen size they’re working with

Android and iOS can be compared, but because they’re working with completely different app ecosystems, it’d be a mistake to compare the iPhone 5 to the OPPO Find 5 in any more than a piece-by-piece fashion. It really comes down to user preference when you see these devices in action, and with both using Google or Apple’s newest operating system right out of the box, basic system abilities are more similar to one another than they’ve ever been before.

The iPhone 5 is significantly smaller than the OPPO Find 5, coming in at 123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm (4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 in) with a weight of 112 g (3.95 oz). The OPPO Find 5 is sized at 141.8 x 68.8 x 8.9 mm (5.58 x 2.71 x 0.35 in) with a weight of 165 g (5.82 oz). You’ll find the iPhone 5 fits the palm of your hand in a more natural way while the Find 5 brings a display size better suited to those looking to play high-powered games and high-definition videos.

The iPhone 5 and the OPPO Find 5 take fine photos and video, but the Apple product is perfected in a way that allows basically any user to take really nice looking shots. The Find 5 has the ability to capture media that looks nice, but it’s not quick to do so. A user not ready to hold their device steady against a solid surface for every photo and video should beware, for certain.

Have a peek at our iPhone 5 review as well as our OPPO Find 5 review and see for yourself which device is ready to command your hand. This selection will likely be based a bit more on your location on this planet than your preference for smartphone prowess and the release size is quite different between these two bits of technology – and let us know if either strikes your fancy.

Boingo has roughly 600,000 WiFi hotspots located around the world, and if you can’t get free WiFi on your laptop and you dare not choose to pay extra for tethering, you can use Boingo, which charges $7.99 per month. This really only seems reasonable if you travel a lot, but if you need WiFi and don’t just a free public network, Boingo is always an option.

Of course, if you don’t want to use the new method of paying for your monthly Boingo subscription, you can still stick with the old ways of doing things and manage your payments through the Boingo service itself. The iTunes payment method is just a few cents more than the traditional method, but that’s really not a huge deal.

For those wondering, yes, Boingo is most likely giving Apple a 30% cut because of this new feature, since it’s technically an in-app purchase, but it seems the company is willing to take the risk of losing money at the chance of getting more users to hop on board now that they have an easier payment method to take advantage of.

The first update to the iPad mini will likely come right before the Fall school season begins, this lodging the tablet directly into the minds of those prospective users looking to maximize the excellence of their backpack setup. This machine falls in line with users hoping to own their own piece of Apple equipment without going full-sized with the standard iPad. The main line iPad will have reached its 5th generation, more than likely, by the end of this year.

NOTE: This analysis suggests that the report from April 29th from KGI Securities was only referring to the 3rd-generation iPad mini. We shall see!

The iPad mini will be seeing a push to a new display technology, it’s also said, including a possible inclusion of LTPS, the same technology used in the iPhone 5. LPTS is also known as low-temperature polysilicon, and it’ll be sharpening up the iPad mini significantly. The first run of iPad mini units used the same number of pixels as the original iPad, allowing it to be a bit more dense than that first-gen tablet, but still falling well below the current-gen iPad with so-called “retina” display.

This set of predictions has the iPad mini with Retina display and higher-powered processor set for the first quarter of 2014 while the end of summer will be a likely plant-point for the iPad mini with just a bit of a display boost on its own. Meanwhile it’s expected that a new low-cost iPhone may be appearing before the end of the year alongside a specifications-boosted iPhone 5S. Of course this is all speculation as Apple keeps its real plans under notoriously tight wraps.

[via CNET]

Though this update is a minor one, you’ll want to initiate it as soon as possible. It’s not unheard of that Apple will include minor security updates inside a software update directed at a single model device. Though we’ve got no official suggestion from Apple noting security specifically in this update, fixes for minor bugs have always been a part of software update pushes such as this.

The iPhone 5 has been tipped to be seeing iOS 7 before the end of the year, with the developer conference WWDC 2013 coming up quick. This developer conference, taking place at the Moscone Center in California as in years’ past, will play host to not only a new iteration of Apple’s mobile operating system, but will introduce a new edition of the desktop user interface as well.

With Jony Ive behind the wheel of the UI for Apple’s future here in 2013, users will see what’s been tipped to be a much more flattened-out set of graphics and an overall smoother experience. Have a peek at our Apple hub to follow the company into their developer conference WWDC 2013 June 10th through the 14th – we’ll be there!

Frankly, the app is a bit overdue. Over the years, Blockbuster has been on the decline, due to the failure to adapt to a changing world, where streaming movies was becoming more popular than physically renting them. The company released mobile apps, but they didn’t include any streaming component, until now.

The iOS version of the app is similar to the Android version, and unlike Netflix, where you pay a monthly fee for unlimited streaming, Blockbuster On Demand has you paying on a per-movie basis. The benefit, though, is that you get access to a lot of movies that you don’t have access to on Netflix, which is a service that has been lacking a good movie selection for some time now.

Plus, the Blockbuster On Demand app streams movies in high definition with support for surround sound, which would seem a bit overkill if you were to watch films on your smartphone, but you could easily hook up your ipad to a stereo system to boost the sound level a bit, given that any speaker will provide better quality than the built-in speaker on the iPad or iPhone.

Adobe’s group product manager for Lightroom, Tom Hogarty, demonstrated an early prototype of the app on The Grid, which is an online web show hosted by photography guru Scott Kelby. Hogarty goes through some of the features of the app, including adjusting the temperature of a photo, as well as edit RAW files right in the app.

Lightroom iOS demo starts at 18:09:

The app will be constantly synced through the cloud, so while you make edits on your iOS device, the changes will appear on the file on your computer in Lightroom. You can edit certain things like exposure, clarity, shadows, highlights, and white balance, as well as zoom in to 100% for fine detail work on an image.

Of course, the app isn’t a full-fledged version of Lightroom, so you won’t be able to do any of the more advanced stuff, but it still looks like a decent way for photographers to edit their images on the go using something more advanced than iPhoto. Adobe hasn’t named the app yet, but it could be an extension of Lightroom, such as Lightroom Mobile or something along those lines.

[via CNET]

Chatter of just how much of a challenge the mobile overhaul was turning out to be peaked earlier this week, with unofficial reports from inside Apple suggesting that the extent of the company’s plans may force a staggered release of sorts. As well as aiming to change the aesthetics of iOS, chief designer Jony Ive is also believed to be looking to rework certain core apps, including email and calendar.

Whether those refreshes would be ready in time for the main iOS 7 release was unclear, the insiders pointed out, with some concerns that their arrival might be pushed back into 2014.

So as to avoid any delay – though, to be fair, Apple hasn’t yet pegged a public release date on iOS 7 – the company has been “borrowing” engineers from the Mac team to work on the iOS project. It’s a move that has some history; Apple did the same back in 2007, shifting OS X coders to the iOS 5 team so as to meet its deadlines for that release, too.

The end result may well be worth waiting for, though. Though iPhone and iPad sales have remained impressive, there has been a growing call for the company to look at the cleaner, less fussy examples set by rival platforms and reconsider its wood- and leather-effect designs, which attempt to mimic real-world materials or devices, in most cases unnecessarily.

iOS 7, therefore, will be “de-glitzed” according to one unnamed source, with elements like the green-felt finish in Game Center to be removed in favor of a more authentic finish. That’s also been described as “a much-needed ‘de-Forstallization” by another source, referring to former interface chief Scott Forstall who left the company in 2012, and who was known as a strong supporter of skeuomorphic design.

Exactly what parts of iOS 7 will be ready for WWDC in June 2013 remain to be seen. If the preview takes the same form as in previous years, however, Apple will likely pick ten key features to highlight and save the rest until closer to release.

But what most people can agree on is that Apple truly understands hardware. For years now, the company has been delivering the most innovative hardware designs in the industry. And its success in the marketplace has largely been a result of that.

Still, I’m suspect of claims that Apple still holds the crown as the world’s best hardware designer. Yes, the company’s products are nice-looking and I’ll freely admit that the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro with Retina Display have rightfully earned Jonathan Ive his place in the spotlight. But when we take the entire industry as a whole, is it not possible for us to accept the idea that maybe – just maybe – Apple’s design cred has been hurt a bit?

Looking at Apple’s products, I’m not all that impressed any more. Although the iPhone 5 came with some design improvements, it’s basically the same device we’ve been seeing for years with a few changes here and there. And since so-called “major” updates only come out every other year, I sit and see nothing that’s so revolutionary that I’d commend the company on design.

Moving to the iPad, I think we can say the same thing. The iPad is certainly nice-looking, but is it really so much better looking than any other device on the market right now? Samsung, Google, and Amazon are all offering tablets that have similar designs, and they’re no less appealing.

But it’s in the notebook space that I think we need to seriously reconsider the idea that Apple is the world’s best hardware designer. Sure, the MacBook Pro with Retina Display is nice-looking, but is it really any better than any Ultrabook on the market right now? And when it comes to innovation, who can really take issue with what Lenovo is doing with half-tablet, half-notebook IdeaPad Yoga? It appears that Apple is the company that now likes to stay the course, and it’s allowing other companies to deliver the truly interesting products.

So, I pose this question: has Apple officially lost its credibility as the technology industry’s leading hardware designer? Apple fans will instinctively say that it hasn’t. But perhaps it’s best if we take a step back and evaluate what’s really going on in the marketplace. Apple is by no means a design slouch and its products are good-looking. But can we stop pretending like it’s the only company that truly understands what design is all about?

It might have taken competitors longer to catch up to Apple on design, but catch up they have. And it’s high time we accept that and give credit where it’s due.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Pentagon will approve Samsung and Apple devices separately, as it’s said that Samsung devices will be approved for internal email use, while iOS devices will be approved for other “nonclassified communication” methods. This seems that the Pentagon is dealing the approval with slight caution, which is unsurprising since they’ve relied on BlackBerry for so many years.

The Pentagon isn’t a huge market for Apple or Samsung, but the approval could give both Apple and Samsung permission to boast about the security of their two platforms, which in turn could result in more sales for the two companies. And while the Pentagon isn’t pushing out BlackBerry, we could see a drop in BlackBerry devices being used in the Pentagon.

When Samsung announced its GALAXY S 4 smartphone, it also announced a new security platform called Knox, which is made to secure your sensitive work information, but while also keeping your personal life separate and readily available. The Pentagon could be looking at this as a crucial feature in their approval process.

[via Wall Street Journal]

Instead, the insiders claim, Apple might debut its aesthetic alterations first, and then follow up in future iterations with new features to the core iOS apps. Most noticeable is a shift away from so-called skeuomorphic design, which attempts to replicate real-world objects such as day-planners and file cards using on-screen graphics that resemble them.

That style of design, though making iOS one of the more easily-grasped platforms in the smartphone and tablet space, has also left the software looking comparatively dated, with the core interface little modified since the first generation on the original iPhone. Changing it is the responsibility of designer Jonathan Ive, who has reportedly been shaking up Apple’s internal processes with the project, just as much as he has been threatening the existing UI.

For instance, insiders say, Ive is now encouraging more communication between hardware and software teams, which previously – such as under former CEO Steve Jobs – would have been kept in isolation. That interaction also apparently includes bringing some members of the Mac team on to help the mobile software redesign, a temporary measure which has some history given Apple did the same thing in the run up to the original iOS release.

In the center of the endeavors is Ive himself, who is supposedly “methodically reviewing” all fo the new designs. That’s meant to be a preventative measure to avoid the Apple Maps saga of 2012, but also keeps him centrally updated in the process as a whole. The design chief also regularly attends meetings held by the software teams, it’s said, taking a more passive role while getting up to speed with the challenges of interface coding.

Chatter of a “flatter” iOS 7 broke earlier this week, with reports that the aesthetic was being tamed so as to leave it looking less dated and more akin to the “pure technology” ethos Microsoft chased with its Metro interface on Windows Phone. Other leaks indicated a new notification center which would gather together at-a-glance updates, along with a fresh batch of app icons.

Apple is expected to give a preview of iOS 7 at WWDC 2013, to be held in early June.

The second new feature being added is a Twitter classic. You are now able to mention users in your Vine messages by using the @ symbol. By typing @ and a person’s username or real name, you will be offered suggestions of people you would like to mention in your message. This new feature will promote social interaction in Vine and encourage more conversations and usage of the app.

For those of you who don’t know, Vine is a social app released by Twitter that allows people to send each other short video messages. Each message can be up to 6 seconds long, and is easily shared to the internet. You can choose to upload your content to only Vine, or you can choose to upload your content simultaneously to Twitter and Facebook as well. Once your content is uploaded, it will be in public view for anyone to see.

Currently, Vine is only available for the iPhone and the iPad, but it should be making its way to Android devices sometime in the future. It’s unsurprising for these apps to head to iOS before they’re ported over to Android. The same thing happened with Instagram, which came to Android 2 years after its debut on iOS. Now 50% of Instagram users come from Android, which shows developers the importance of bringing their apps to both operating systems. If you want to take advantage of the new Vine update, you can download it from the App Store right now. For those of you patiently waiting for Vine to head over to Android, it shouldn’t be too long now before that’ll happen.

According to 9to5Mac, several sources “familiar with the initiative” say that Apple is in talks with multiple auto makers to bring iOS integration to more cars once iOS 7 hits the mainstream. It’s said that Apple is trying to get auto makers to add native iOS integration to infotainment systems in more vehicles in time for the launch of iOS 7.

It’s not exactly certain as to how Apple wants its products to be integrated into cars, but one possibility is that users can plug in their iPhones into the infotainment system and have a redesigned version of Apple Maps show up on the infotainment display, instead of using the iPhone’s smaller screen.

Siri would also be another feature that Apple is trying to get inside of more cars. It would be similar to what Ford and Chevrolet offer, which we took a look at both recently. Chevrolet is putting Siri integration into the new Sonic, and Ford has its SYNC program, which we also took a look at during CES back in January.

[via 9to5Mac]

Alongside the new, flat look, Ive will also be replacing all of Apple’s native app icons with new, fresh icons. He will also be implementing polarizing filters that will make it more difficult for onlookers to spy on what you’re doing. He wants to implement a “glance-able” interface that will let you view more information within one screen. The interface would be like a notification center.

According to 9 to 5 Mac, Jony Ive has always been against Apple’s skeuomorphic interface, but Apple iOS’s former Senior Vice President Scott Forstall was all for it. Now that Forstall is gone from his position, Ive has creative freedom to do as he wishes, and Tim Cook is all for it. In an interview with Bloomberg, Cook stated,

“Jony, who I think has the best taste of anyone in the world and the best design skills, now has responsibility for the human interface. I mean, look at our products. The face of this [iPhone] is the software, right? And the face of this iPad is the software. So it’s saying, Jony has done a remarkable job leading our hardware design, so let’s also have Jony responsible for the software and the look and feel of the software, not the underlying architecture and so forth, but the look and feel.”

Ive’s past work includes designing the hardware for Apple’s iPad, iPhone, iPod and Macs, so Cook has faith that Ive’s software changes would be a hit among consumers. Despite the revamped user interface coming in iOS 7, the sources tell 9 to 5 Mac that the learning curve isn’t any more difficult than previous versions of iOS. The core apps and system fundamentals will perform similarly to the way they do now.

Jony Ive and Tim Cook are looking to revamp iOS altogether, and to stray away from the skeuomorphic design that was not only loved by Scott Forstall, but also by Steve Jobs as well. A former Senior User Interface Designer at Apple stated in an interview,

“Before Forstall, it was Steve Jobs who encouraged the skeuomorphic approach some say. iCal’s leather-stitching was literally based on a texture in his Gulfstream jet. There was lots of internal email among UI designers at Apple saying this was just embarrassing, just terrible.”

It seems like its not just Ive and Cook who are on board with a new UI revamp, but other designers as well. The two are taking a big risk by overhauling iOS’s interface, because many iPhone users are comfortable and enjoy the skeuomorphic designs offered by the current iOS. Some say its one of the major aspects iOS holds over Android. But who knows, perhaps a new, flattened interface will be welcomed by the masses. We’ll see for sure when WWDC 2013 rolls around June 10th-14th. Stay tuned with SlashGear where we’ll be providing live coverage of the event.

[via 9 to 5 Mac]

Much like the Android version of Google Now, this interface shows several different kinds of cards, each of them containing information based on the unique user that’s using them. If a user has worked with Google Now outside of iOS before they sign in initially, they’ll find cards based on their use of Google waiting for them. In our example here, two sports teams recent game scores appear, a map to work appears, and several birthday announcements appear.

Google Now is part of a user’s Google Search experience, meaning they’ll be getting results – cards, that is – based on what they’ve worked with in the past for search terms. If a user has never searched for anything in Google while being logged in to their Google account at the same time, results will appear as example cards. Example cards show what COULD be displayed for the user if they’d agree to have their search results utilized.

With the iPhone and iPad versions of Google Now, it would appear at first that the user’s calendar will not be used as it would in an Android device. If one does use Google Calendar separate from iOS, they’ll still be able to see dates of Birthdays, connections to events, and etcetera. Birthday announcements can be sourced from a user’s Google+ social networking account as well, as this connection is also made possible via the user’s all-encompassing Google account.

One of the key reasons a user might prefer using Google Now with an Android device rather than with an iOS device is their ability to access the system easily. With some Android devices, the user is able to hold their finger down on their on-screen home button and swipe up to move into Google Now. Some devices working with Android allow access to Google Now with a long-press of a back or menu button.

Intrepid iOS hackers have already made inroads to similar access with apps like “Activator”. This app allows Jailbroken (read: hacked) iPhones to launch apps using a variety of gestures and button presses. Tie your home button to Google Now for a real slick experience.

Users will be able to check this Google Now experience out by updating (or downloading) Google Search for iOS on their iPhone or iPad starting today. Let us know how you’re liking it – or if you’re avoiding it – in our Google Now chat in Google+ right this minute!

According to 9to5Mac, OS X 10.9 will cater towards more power users, but will still keep features that also cater towards everyday users. However, it’s said that OS X 10.9 won’t be a complete overhaul like OS X Leopard or OS X Lion was, but we can still expect some new features in the upcoming OS that will see the the platform taking baby steps to closing the gap with iOS.

Furthermore, both Finder and Safari will be getting some updates that will cater towards those power users, including tabbed browsing in Finder, as well as a redesigned backend in Safari for improved page loading and overall efficiency of the browser, which should put the web browser in the running up there with Chrome and Firefox.

Of course, there are plenty of third-party utilities that offer these kinds of features, including tabbed browsing in Finder (and much, much more), but it would be nice if OS X came with these features by default. Finder has always been a stubborn file browser, and it seems third-party apps are the only way to truly experience a great file browser. Internally, OS X 10.9 is said to be codenamed “Cabernet,” but we’re guessing that won’t be the final name for the OS, as Apple has always been naming OS X after various wild cat names.

[via 9to5Mac]

Android users have had Google Now for several months, this system having been launched originally approximately a year ago at Google’s developer conference. At Google I/O 2012 we had our first hands-on look at Google Now with the Samsung-made Galaxy Nexus handset which you’ll be able to have a retro look at below this paragraph. The update for iPad and iPhone will be available in the iTunes app store immediately if not soon.

Google Now 1.0 at launch with Android – see our iOS hands-on soon!

Google Now for iPhone and iPad will not be offered as a separate app, but integrated into the original Google Search app experience. Because of this, many users will find the Google Now environment appearing in an update they’d be running automatically. This system will be working on a voluntary opt-in basis, this allowing users to decide if they want to use the personalized system or not.

Note: this version of Google Now is NOT able to access your iOS calendar, it seems – stay tuned for more hands-on revelations.

Google Now uses search results and terms typed in by the user as tuned by their Google account. If the user has a Gmail address, they have a Google account – and if the user wants to use Google Now, they’ll need to have an account to make it all work. Have a peek at the launch video here and get ready for SlashGear’s full hands-on experience as well, coming up soon!

Check out SlashGear’s Google Now tag portal for more information on this system and have a chat with us in today’s Google Now post up on Google+, the search giant’s social network.

Whenever you send a message using one of those phrases, the last word would be omitted and be replaced with a series of spaces. However, when you copy and paste the message, the original message appears unaltered. The bug seems to be affecting mainly users who use iMessage on their iPhones or their Macs running Mac OS X Mountain Lion. Users who message via their iPads seem to be safe from the issue.

This issue has existed for a few months now, however, Apple has yet to issue a fix for it. But hey, at least it’s not as dangerous as the bug that allows others to spy on your iMessages. Last year, it was discovered that you can access someone’s entire archive of iMessages just by placing their SIM card into your iPhone. Even if you completely wiped your phone, others would still have access to your messages.

There’s also a potential exploit that hackers could use to DDoS your iPhone and your Mac via iMessage. Hackers who have access to your email address could send you an unlimited amount of iMessages at a fast pace, quick enough to stall your device. The message spam could stall your device, or crash your iMessages app and prevent you from re-opening it. The only way to prevent the attacks is by disabling the iMessage app altogether. Hopefully Apple has fixes for these bugs soon.

[via The Verge]

Last November, VirnetX stated that Apple infringed on 4 of its patents involving the establishment of virtual private networks (VPN) in order to allow secure communications to take place. The technology was used by Apple for its FaceTime video calling feature. The court ruled in favor of VirnetX, requiring Apple to pay a $368.2 million fine. In addition, Apple also stated that with iOS 6.1 and later, it would change its VPN On Demand feature, removing the “Always” option and replacing it with the “Establish if needed” option. The new option led to less-than-stellar results for users.

However, a report discovered yesterday shows that Apple has decided to undo its changes to the VPS On Demand feature and it will be restoring the “Always” option. In the report, it states that it has issued an update to a previous article due some “potential changes to the behavior of VPN On Demand due to a lawsuit by VirnetX.” It seems that Apple is certain that it will be successful in combating the infringement ruling.

VirnetX has sued many other companies in the past over patent infringement, including Microsoft, Cisco, Siemens, and many more. It has another lawsuit against Apple, accusing its iPhone 5 and iPad Mini of infringing on the same patents its other devices infringed on. It also has another complaint against Apple that is currently under investigation by the U.S. International Trade Commission.

It sued Microsoft back in 2007 and 2010, and won a $200 million settlement from the Windows OS company. It also recently filed another complaint against Microsoft over its Skype software, accusing it of infringing on 6 of its patents. We will keep you posted on any updates regarding Apple’s case against VirnetX, as well as any updates regarding VirnetX’s case against Microsoft.

[via CNET]

While Arment could have sold the app to anyone, he thought long and hard about the company that would do his app great justice. He states that he had a sudden realization in the middle of the night, and he immediately hopped out of bed and emailed Betaworks to see if they were interested. Betaworks was immediately on-board because according to Arment, “we both knew it was a great fit.”

There’s a variety of reasons why Arment sold Instapaper. He stated that he isn’t one to lead, but in order for Instapaper to prosper, he needed to hire a full-time staff. He also felt like he wanted to explore more newer creative opportunities. He decided Betaworks was the company that should acquire Instapaper because any other company “would probably just shut it down in six months.”

With Betaworks in control of Instapaper, Arment states that the company will make “Instapaper’s health and longevity as the top priority”. The deal he made with Betaworks also states that there will be incentives that will ensure that the app will continue to prosper well into the future. Arment will continue to advise Betaworks on the app “indefinitely”, but Betaworks will handle all of the other aspects in growing the app. Just last year, Betaworks acquired the struggling social news service, Digg, and revamped it to the more organized news app it is today. It’ll be interesting to see how Instapaper will evolve now that its in Betaworks’s hands.

[via Instapaper]

In a recent Reddit AmA, Swype VP Aaron Sheedy answered a question regarding whether or not the company “had any contact with Apple,” and whether or not there were discussions “to see if they might have been interested in licensing” Swype’s keyboard technology. Sheedy was rather vague, and simply said that they have indeed “chatted with them.”

In a follow-up question asking Sheedy “as to why that hasn’t happened yet” (regarding iOS integration with Swype), Sheedy glaringly dodged the question, and that particular thread ended there. This may hint that while Swype and Apple have been in contact with each other, things still may be in the mulling stages, where both sides are quite ready to lay out any details yet.

However, it could also be Sheedy’s way of saying that while the two companies conversed about the idea to include Swype integration in iOS, nothing really came out of it, with Apple having no plans to include the keyboard tech in their software. Either way, things are still a bit of a mystery, but it’s interesting, nonetheless, that Apple and Swype were in talks.

[via 9to5Mac]

According to their most recent study, Yankee Group has found that 9 percent of Apple device owners plan to switch to another platform when they next need to make a phone purchase. This is low compared to the percentage of users owning Android devices looking to switch away from Android specifically is 24 percent of those surveyed. Yankee Group also found that 18 percent of Android device owners planned on switching specifically to Apple products in their next smartphone purchase.

This same study by Yankee Group found that consumer intent to purchase Samsung phones is “less than half of that of iPhones” in the USA. They go on to note that iPhone intent to buy is “statistically tied” with intent to purchase “all Android phones combined.”

Howe suggests that these figures point toward Apple’s powerful “black hole” ecosystem. With this system of devices and software Apple uses, Howe says, there’s a following of consumers who never leave. Howe and the Yankee Group’s study say that Android smartphones are “losing one out of every six customers to manufacturers” while Apple grows.

With these points in place, Howe says Apple ownership will be driven “well past” android ownership by 2015, and will go on to “reinforce Apple’s dominance in tablets” as well.

[via Yankee Group]