The announcement of the Acer Aspire R7 was the best example of the company's assertion that it was moving from computers designed with touch to computers designed for touch. But if having a fancy, even unprecedented, hinge is what defines a touch-optimized notebook, Acer is a bit late to the party.

Last October, Switched On discussed the role that laptop-tablet hybrids -- namely convertibles and detachables -- would play in the differentiation of Windows 8 devices. Both types have seen their share of support. Detachables have included HP's Envy x2, ASUS' Transformer-inspired VivoTab and Microsoft's Surface. (Dell's XPS 10 is available only with Windows RT.)

Filed under: Apple, Microsoft

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The Defense Department has officially given the thumbs up to Apple devices running iOS 6 -- paving the way for iPhones and iPads to become standard issue around the Pentagon. The move was hardly shocking. In fact, the Wall Street Journal had it on good authority weeks ago that the DoD was planning to give iOS its seal of approval. With Samsung devices running the Knox security suite and BlackBerry 10 already trickling into the hands of Pentagon employees, the decision sets the stage for a three-way bout for military market supremacy. And we're sure the government drones can't pick sides fast enough. After all, who wants to live under the tyranny of BlackBerry 7 any longer than necessary?

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple

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Source: Bloomberg

This week many TV networks are putting on "upfront" where they lay out their content plans for the next year, and The CW President Mark Pedowitz announced it's bringing full TV episodes streaming to the Apple TV. The CW already has ad supported full episode streaming on several platforms including iOS and Android, Windows 8 and it launched last month on the Xbox 360 (pictured above). Pedowitz indicated the network is working to reach more viewers on more platforms, so Apple TV is probably not the last. In a note to MacRumors The CW confirmed it will mirror the experience on other platforms, with episodes available the day after they air, no cable TV authentication required and supported by advertisements. Les Moonves is president of CBS (which is a part owner of The CW, along with Warner Bros.) and previously remarked on turning down participation in an Apple subscription service funded by advertising revenue. Of course, CBS now does full episode streaming on mobile iOS devices, so we'll see if this a sign of more changes on the way, although with no release date we don't know how long we'll have to wait.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Apple

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Via: MacRumors, 9to5Mac

Source: Deadline

When Apple's Tim Cook revealed that his company would once more assemble a Mac line in the US, there was a flood of questions almost immediately: which model? Where would it be made? While the CEO isn't revealing all his cards quite yet, he just gave us a better sense of those domestic production plans through a Politico interview. The American Mac will be a new iteration of an existing family, Cook says. It also won't just be a collection of parts shipped from overseas, as multiple pieces will come from Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Texas. We're glad to hear that Apple's partial shift to US manufacturing is sincere, although the timing of the news isn't coincidental: Cook is about to defend Apple's growing offshore cash supply in front a Senate committee, and any visible support for the US economy is likely to burnish his firm's image.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Apple

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Via: The Verge

Source: Politico

Cutting through all the Google I/O news is this update from Apple: today, Cupertino released iTunes version 11.0.3. This isn't just an incremental refresh, as several new features are on board, including an improved Songs View and the ability to view multi-disc albums as a single album. The update also brings enhancements to the MiniPlayer, such as a new album artwork view and a progress bar. Of course, those changes are accompanied by the usual performance improvements and bug fixes. You can get iTunes 11.0.3 now through Software Update.

Filed under: Software, Apple

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Via: 9to5Mac

Pebble released an SDK update today which lets developers create apps that support two-way communication via Bluetooth. While the new software (called PebbleKit) was hinted at before, it represents a major step forward for the platform by allowing third-party developers to send / receive information between the smartwatch and a smartphone. This opens the door to weather, stock, traffic and remote control apps -- among others. Also launching today is the Pebble Sports API which is already being used by two recently announced apps: RunKeeper and FreeCaddie. Since the Pebble SDK was first introduced last April, it's been downloaded 8,000 times and developers have built 5,000 watch faces and games (such as Droptype, RadarClock and Nyan Watch) which have been installed 300,000 times -- not too shabby, if you ask us. Finally, after raising $10 million through Kickstarter last year, the company's just received $15 million in Series A funding from Charles River Ventures. Let the good times roll, right? PR after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables, Mobile, Apple, Google

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Source: Kickstarter

Smartphone camera flashes are notoriously weak compared to dedicated models, but what if you could fire them from several handsets at once? Since none of us have the millisecond timing needed to do it manually, Apple has filed a patent application to let any number of iOS (or other devices with a flash) fill in the light automatically. It'd work by using a master device as the camera, which would trigger slave devices positioned around the subject to fire their flashes when the shutter is opened. A test image would first be taken and analyzed by the software, which would then remotely adjust the intensity of the slave flashes to produce the final photo. The filing allows for virtually any device with a sensor to act as the capture device and a broad variety of illumination devices, including dedicated lights, smartphones, tablets or camera flashes -- though we imagine Apple would concentrate on its own products. If you're already planning to use friend #1 for a kicker light, friend #2 as an eye-light and friend #3 as a hair light on that next outing, please remember it's still just an application for now.

Filed under: Cellphones, Apple

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Source: USPTO

You think 50 billion is a big number? It's certainly a bit bigger than some other numbers that spring to mind, such as 48 billion, and that in itself gives Apple something to celebrate. As is customary with these App Store milestones, whichever lucky jackanape triggered their download at just the right millisecond will receive a gift -- a $10,000 iTunes voucher, no less -- while 50 runners-up will get $500-worth of credit each.

But none of that is the really big, big news. What matters here is the rate of growth, which seems to have accelerated during the course of this year. It took 14 weeks for the App Store to get from 40 billion to 45 billion downloads between January and April, but less than 4 weeks to get from 45 to 50 billion. Now, we're totally dependent on Apple's internal stock-takers, not to mention an erratic ticker ("for illustrative purposes only"), but if those numbers are even remotely accurate then they represent something of a popularity surge.

Update: Apple has issued a press release (available after the break) for the 50 billionth download, performed by Brandon Ashmore downloading Say The Same Thing and snagging a $10,000 App Store gift card for it.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

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Source: Apple (1), (2)

Square just announced a new product meant to replace traditional point-of-service systems: the aptly named Square Stand. The hardware turns an iPad (2 or 3; support for the Lightning connector is coming later this year) into an all-in-one POS with an integrated card reader that accepts cash, plastic and Square Wallet payments. Available for pre-order today, the stand will set business owners back a rather steep $299, but the sleek design has a decidedly smaller footprint than the cash registers of yore, and it offers merchants real-time analytics for tracking sales via the Square Register app. Of course, if you want the full retail setup, you'll still have to spring for Square's receipt printer, barcode scanner and cash drawer.

Though the Square Stand won't be available until July 8th, several merchants throughout the country, including Cafe Grumpy in New York City and Morelli's Ice Cream in Atlanta, will be operating the device starting tomorrow. And given Square's partnership with Starbucks, we wouldn't be surprised if the system soon shows up at the coffee chain as well.

Filed under: Software, Apple

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Source: Square

Just as it revealed in an interview this weekend after months of rumors, the Disney / ABC Television Group has launched Watch ABC as an "open access preview" for New York and Philadelphia residents. Available on the web and as an iOS or Kindle Fire app in place of the old ABC Player, it still offers video on-demand playback of the network's shows, but is the first to add live network TV streaming in those two areas. It will require customers to log in with their cable / satellite TV account details (Comcast, Cablevision, Cox, Charter, Midcontinent and AT&T U-verse are all signed up already) for access starting July 1st, but for now there's no such restriction. ABC is promising a launch in all ABC-owned station markets by the start of the fall broadcast season, though most areas will need to wait for agreements with their local affiliates.

Currently scheduled for launch after July 1st are Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno, while Hearst Television has already signed on to launch streaming in its 13 markets as well. The app itself should resemble the WatchESPN and Watch Disney services we've seen roll out previously, and AirPlay streaming is disabled. The press release mentions Kindle Fire support, though we didn't see it in the Appstore yet, and it's coming to Samsung Galaxy devices "soon." There aren't any other Android devices mentioned, but hopefully more platforms will follow quickly. Hit the source links below for the app or to watch on the web, and there's a press release after the break with more details.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD, Mobile

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Source: iTunes, WatchABC.go.com

If you've been following the trends, Gartner's mobile phone market figures for the first quarter of 2013 won't surprise. The research firm estimates that Android was on 74.4 percent of all smartphones sold in the period, with Samsung the key beneficiary of such dominance. While the Korean behemoth doesn't release solid sales figures, Gartner believes its market-flooding strategy has paid off, topping the league with 30.8 percent market share -- Apple has a firm grip on second place, with 18.2 percent, which is well ahead of LG, which has 4.8 percent. Samsung is also king of the mobile phone space, owning 23.6 percent of the market, ahead of Nokia, which has fallen to 14.8 percent share. Gartner's research also found that feature phone sales are slowing, so we guess that it's only a matter of time before the humble candybar goes the way of the netbook.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, Nokia, LG

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Via: TechCrunch

Source: Gartner

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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After a month of offering the iPhone 5 for $100 down, T-Mobile has quietly increased the upfront cost by $50. Even with the price hike, it's still less expensive than on most other carriers, but some type of warning would've certainly been appreciated. As for the rest of T-Mobile's new pricing scheme, its $20-a month, two-year amortization schedule remains intact. Consider us skeptical, but hopefully this is just a case of growing pains, and unannounced promotions won't be part of the UnCarrier's game plan going forward.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, T-Mobile

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Via: TmoNews

Source: T-Mobile

Are you using an iPhone 5 on T-Mobile? Are you in an area with re-farmed 1900MHz HSPA+ spectrum? Well rejoice! Some enterprising folks over at TmoNews have hacked Apple's carrier update for T-Mobile to boost data speeds on the 1900MHz (PCS) HSPA+ band. Better yet, this tweak applies to both T-Mobile's iPhone 5 and the AT&T / unlocked versions -- no jailbreak required. While the official carrier update enabled LTE for the iPhone 5 on T-Mobile, it also decreased data speeds on re-farmed PCS HSPA+ spectrum for many users. The hacked file makes a number of adjustments: it enables Release 9 for dual-carrier HSPA+ and sets the band preference to "auto" from AWS. Follow the source link below for more details and step-by-step instructions.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple

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Source: TmoNews

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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On April 28th, the iTunes Store turned 10. Back in 2003, Apple opened up shop for its digital goods and the impact on the industry is still quite evident today. In a new edition of our weekly, we examine the iTunes influence and whether or not streaming services could cut into its success. Eyes-On goes after a set of Ultimate Ears, Switched On spends three days without Google Glass and Fall Out Boy's Joe Trohman tackles the Q&A. Unfortunately, we couldn't include a slide of cake with each download, but you can rest assured that there's plenty of fresh-baked digital goodness via the usual repositories.

Distro Issue 90 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Google Play Store
Distro in the Windows Store
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile

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Source: iTunes, Google Play, Windows Store

Canalys is back with its latest worldwide estimates of mobile device shipments, and while the analyst group has a divisive way of combining figures, there's plenty of insight to discover in its breakdown of the smartphone and tablet realms. First off, Canalys reports that Android accounted for 75.6 percent of all smartphone shipments during Q1, which is an increase from the 69.2 percent it reported for the previous quarter. As a whole, Canalys estimates that 216.3 million smartphones were shipped during Q1, which is roughly steady when compared to the three months prior. It should come as no surprise, but Samsung is said to lead the category with nearly a third of all smartphone shipments, while Apple accounted for roughly 17 percent of the pie. Meanwhile, Huawei, LG and ZTE are next in line, each with less than 5 percent of the market.

Given the prevalence of the iPad, you could just as easily guess that Apple continues to dominate the tablet category and still be right. Here, Canalys estimates that Apple holds a 46.4 percent market share, but qualifies that win, as that the company is losing ground to its Android-based rivals. On the upside, Canalys reckons that the tablet market has more than doubled from the previous year, which means there's plenty of pie to go around.

[Image credit: Jon Fingas, Flickr]

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets

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Source: Canalys

It's just been a few weeks since Netflix for iOS was suited with a novel audio menu and episode selector, but the app has now already reached version 4.1. While this particular release isn't as major as, say, v2.0, some of the post-play features that have rolled out on TV connected devices and PCs are trickling down to the mobile platforms. Namely, once an episode is over, the next one starts playing automatically without any intervention required (it requires a prompt to proceed after every other episode). In the case of movies, you can expect to see a new recommended selection once the credits roll, and Netflix also promises some other more minor improvements elsewhere in the app, including under the hood tweaks to its second screen experience. Finally, Netflix also announced today that it's signed a multi-year deal for five Disney Junior and Disney XD shows: Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Tron: Uprising, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso, and JoJo's Circus.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Mobile, Apple

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Via: 9to5Mac

Source: App Store, Netflix Official Blog

Whenever a company involved in making Apple products adds to its workforce, the internet is flooded with "cheap iPhone" and "iWatch" stories. The latest event to perk up the rumor mongers is Pegatron, which announced that it'll be hiring 40,000 more workers in China for the second half of 2013. During an investor call, company president Jason Cheng predicted that revenue from "communication products" would increase by 16 percent between July and December -- so hopefully he's seen something on his order book to make him that confident. That said, the only solid fact we have is that the company has stated it'll be producing Haswell-powered laptops for a variety of companies, but we won't let that stop you staring at your wrist and hoping.

[Image Credit: Jay Greene/CNET]

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Apple

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Source: Reuters

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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I've known my friend Jeff since I was 2 years old. He was one year ahead of me in school, but in everything else -- little league, school, girls -- we were extremely competitive. We both had two sisters and looked to one another as brothers and yardsticks for prepubescent success. He was better at baseball and I usually had better luck with the ladies. Being better at baseball helped him with the ladies and having a way with the girls made the baseball thing kind of irrelevant. In short, I was better.

I saw Jeff last week, and as we reminisced about the good old days of baseball and babes, he reminded me of what he called The Great Computer Cold War of 1982.

"The great what?" I asked him.

Filed under: Misc, Software, Apple

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It's not the first time that Kwikset's dabbled in wireless locks, but today the company's introducing Kēvo, a smartphone- (and tablet-) friendly lock powered by UniKey. The concept is pretty simple: pair a handset (running a special app) with Kēvo via Bluetooth, and simply touch the deadbolt to lock or unlock your door. A keychain fob is also available for those who have not yet joined the smartphone revolution. Kēvo only responds to touch when an authorized device or fob is detected nearby. A triple tap lets anyone lock your door, which is useful if a visitor leaves after you. The deadbolt is battery-powered using four AA cells that last more than a year with normal operation. It features a ring of RGB LEDs for feedback and a standard physical key for backup.

Most of the magic is made possible by tech developed by UniKey. The key (natch) to the entire system is the Kēvo app which lets you manage eKeys. Once logged into the app, you can send and delete eKeys, or transfer them to another device (this also deletes the eKeys associated with a lost handset, for example) -- you can even create eKeys that only work once. Currently, the app is only available for iOS, which is a major limitation, but it supports push, email and SMS notifications and keeps a detailed log of which eKeys have accessed Kēvo and when. Pricing and availability remain a mystery, but all in all the system looks pretty clever. Stay tuned for more details, and check out the link below.

Filed under: Cellphones, Household, Tablets, Wireless, Software, Mobile, Apple

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Source: Kwikset

Flush from that springtime financing boost from Samsung, Sharp's reportedly readying production of new screens for Apple's next smartphone. According to Nikkan Kogyo, one of Japan's business dailies, the display manufacturer will start making LCD panels for the next iPhone in its Kameyama plant this June, although there's no specifics about size and resolution differences compared to the iPhone 5. Company team-up Japan Display (which includes Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba) and LG Display have also allegedly received orders from Apple, with production already underway. With the combined might of all those screen-makers, Apple should be able to sidestep any possible screen component delays.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple

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Via: Apple Insider

Source: Nikkan Kogyo

A few months back Chromium whiz François Beaufort spotted a piece of code in the open source web browser that hinted at Google Now possibly coming to Chrome. Today, the programmer has uncovered an issue log pointing out notification center enhancements for OS X. An entry, listed as "[Mac][MC] Implement notification updates and relayouts" could possibly indicate Google Now having a future on Apple's desktop platform. With Google's I/O a little over a week away, hopefully we won't have to wait too long to find out. In the meantime, we'll reach out to the company for a comment on Beaufort's findings and see what turns up.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

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Via: The Next Web

Source: François Beaufort (Google+)

When Jon Rubinstein left HP, it wasn't certain whether he would retire (again) or once more respond to the siren's call of technology. Clearly, he couldn't resist -- Qualcomm has confirmed that Rubinstein is joining its board of directors. It's not hard to understand why the firm would be interested, mind you. Between NeXT, Apple, Palm and HP, Rubinstein has extensive experience with Silicon Valley technology in general, and mobile in particular. While Qualcomm is already doing blockbuster business without his help, it no doubt wants to keep the money train going. Us? We're just happy to see a familiar name back in the limelight.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Apple

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Source: Qualcomm