iOS

Apple CEO Tim Cook: Mobile payments still in their infancy

Apple doesn't seem ready to leap into the mobile payments arena, at least according to comments made Tuesday by CEO Tim Cook.

During Tuesday's conference call announcing fiscal second-quarter earnings, Cook responded to a question about mobile payments.

"I think it's in its infancy," the Apple CEO said. "I think it's just getting started. Just out of the starting block."

Reading between the lines, that likely means Apple has no plans to jump onto the mobile payments bandwagon, at least not at this point. Past rumors have continually suggested that the company … Read more

Apple sets WWDC for June 10-14

This year's edition of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, the place to find out about what's in the works for Mac OS and iOS, is set for June 10 to 14.

The five-day event will take place at San Francisco's Moscone West Center, bringing together Apple executives and engineers with developers from around the world working on apps and other software technologies for the iPhone, iPad, and Macs.

"Our developers have had the most prolific and profitable year ever, and we're excited to show them the latest advances in software technologies and developer tools to … Read more

Halo still in effect: Apple sees iPads as gateway to Macs

When the iPod first came out, Apple hoped it would help drive sales of the Mac. The reason was simple: at first, you needed a Mac to use the svelte little MP3 player. The phenomenon was dubbed the halo effect because customers would be expected to gravitate to Apple's other products.

Of course, what ended up happening instead was that Apple soon made iTunes and its music store available for Windows users, switched from Firewire to the more ubiquitous USB, and went on to sell millions of iPods, dominating both the digital music and MP3 player markets in the … Read more

Apple adds 'download later' option for iTunes purchases

iTunes users seeking a full TV season or box set of music can buy now and download later.

The new option is in place for an array of different items, including movies, music box sets, and full seasons of TV shows -- as well as individual shows.

Purchasing one of the above items now asks you if you want to download it immediately or later. Choosing the download later option adds the selected item to your iTunes account where you can stream it or download it in the future. The major benefit is that you can purchase a TV series … Read more

Chinese firm finds way to get apps onto iPhone, iPad -- for free

A firm in China has found a way to get users in China to download applications to their iPhones or iPads without having to pay a dime.

According to Venturebeat, which discovered the exploit, a Chinese "app store" known as 7659.com has taken advantage of a loophole in Apple's bulk enterprise licensing that allows users to download paid applications for free without having to jailbreak their devices, as they would in previous exploits.

Apple's enterprise app distribution platform allows a major company to deploy programs across all corporate devices, as long as they have a … Read more

Apple hangs onto your Siri data for two years

All those curse words and other commands you yell at Siri hang around a bit longer than you may think.

In response to a Wired story expressing concern about Siri's privacy policy, Apple has revealed exactly what happens to your Siri chats. Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told Wired on Thursday that Apple may keep your Siri data for up to two years, albeit in an untraceable state.

Here's how the process works, according to Wired.

Whenever you talk to Siri, your commands are uploaded to Apple for analysis. Apple then assigns you a random number, which it associates … Read more

Facebook launches new tools for mobile, including Open Graph

Facebook on Thursday announced three new products, including Open Graph for mobile, to boost its presence in the fast-growing smartphone and tablet markets.

The company said in a blog post and at its mobile developer conference in New York that along with making it easier to implement Open Graph on mobile, Facebook also is improving Facebook Login and is releasing a new SDK 3.5 for iOS.

In addition, Facebook also announced a new partner program to help developers integrate Facebook on a variety of mobile platforms. Some early partners include C# SDK for Windows 8 by Microsoft, Corona SDK … Read more

Image leaks of lower-cost iPhone with plastic case

A plastic, cheaper iPhone might be a reality, after all.

After rumors surfaced recently suggesting Apple would launch a thicker, cheaper, plastic iPhone, an image seeming to be just that device has hit the Web. Earlier today, mobile case maker Tactus shared a photo of what it claims is the rear, plastic casing on Apple's next iPhone.

It's not clear how Tactus might have received the casing or whether it's real, but it follows a rumor in February from Japanese Apple-news site Macotakara, which claimed that a cheaper, plastic iPhone was on the way to store shelves.… Read more

Yahoo launches Mail app for iPad, Android tablets

Yahoo on Thursday released a Mail app for iOS and Android tablet users and a Weather app for iPhone owners.

A Yahoo Mail app has already been in play for the iPhone and Android smartphones, but the new version takes advantage of the larger screen size of tablets. A full-screen reading mode lets you flip through your e-mail messages as if you were reading a magazine.

Flipping through messages this way feels so much more natural than having to tap on each e-mail in the inbox to read it, especially on a tablet. It's an innovative and welcome approach, … Read more