Mobilityfeeds

iOS 6' new Passbook aims at making your shopping more efficient

Passbook is a new feature announced for Apple's iOS 6 that will be able to store all of your digital tickets, boarding passes, store cards and coupons in one easy-to-access app.

The best way to think of it is like a Newsstand - which keeps all of your magazine subscriptions together on an iPad - for tickets and passes.

At the keynote address at Apple's tech fest WWDC 2012 this week, Passbook was shown accessing a whole host of apps.
How complete it will be when iOS 6 is finally launched in a few months' time will depend on whether or not developers adopt it for their apps.

Take the Starbucks app, for instance.
It currently has a dedicated section within it for your card, which you can use to pay for drinks and check your balance. If this, along with all of your other store cards, were kept in one easy-to-access app on your home screen, it would save you a lot of time swiping between screens and tapping on folders.

For most users, all smartphones are iPhones and tablets are iPads, regardless of manufacturer and OS

More than eight in ten mobile phone users are confused about the meaning of the word ‘Android’ even though many use Google's mobile Operating System (OS) on a daily basis – according to a new poll.

The survey, by mobile casino Roxy Palace, found than 83% of those quizzed were unable to define what Android meant even though many were using the Operating System on their smartphones and tablet devices.

Some thought Android was a mobile phone manufacturer with others believing it was the model name of their device.

Apple didn't learn from Android - iPhone fragmentation officially on the way

Way down in the fine print about Apple's upcoming iOS 6, you'll find a little note that says new features like Flyover and turn-by-turn directions are only available on the iPhone 4S, or the iPad 2 or higher.

A note immediately below that says Siri is only available on the iPhone 4S or third-generation iPad, the 'new iPad'.

Since the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad 2 are all actively for sale and still being marketed by Apple, we have to wonder:
Is Apple on the road to fragmenting the iOS experience?

iPhone 5 expected to launch with iOS 6 this fall - Rumor

Apple has announced the new generation iOS, the Operating System (OS) that runs its iPhone devices, at its WWDC 2012.

However, the news on the iOS 6 seems to have stirred more interest for the next iPhone, namely iPhone 5, than for the Operating System itself.

The iOS 6 revealed at Moscone West in San Francisco on Monday is currently available for Apple developers.
Although the time has not been confirmed yet officially, people expect it to be available to the public by September. And consequently, the iPhone 5 is rumored to be launched at or around the same time.

Apple sees its future in mobiles

Almost exactly 2 years ago, Steve Jobs outlined his view of personal computing.

We used to be an agrarian nation, he explained, and as a result our vehicles were largely trucks. As the USA became more urban and suburban, we moved to an era where the highways were dominated by cars, not their lumbering counterparts.

The same thing was happening in the technology world — and, with the iPhone and the iPad, the movement was accelerating.

"PCs are going be like trucks," Jobs said at the 2010 All Things D Conference. "They are still going to be around, but only one out of x people will need them."

Clearly, he didn't expect x to be a big number.

Apple unveils iOS 6 at WWDC 2012 - 8 best features

Apple spent two hours delivering stats, news, and demonstrations during its WWDC 2012 presentation on Monday.

Looking specifically at iOS 6, Apple's next-generation mobile platform adds more than 200 new features and is primed to debut this Fall.

Here's what looks good and what Apple appears to have left out.

Facebook: 
Apple has finally included Facebook integration in iOS 6.
It delivered Twitter integration in iOS 5, and that left many users crying foul over the lack of Facebook support.

That changes with iOS 6. Once it arrives, iOS device users will be able to fire off status updates, share photos, and share links directly from within other iOS applications.
The new sharing tools bring Facebook to the iPhone in a long-overdue way.

Apple OS X Mountain Lion new features preview

We were able to see an in-depth preview of Apple's next Mac Operating System (OS) - OS X Mountain Lion - this year at WWDC 2012.

Here are the big changes coming to your Mac this July.

 

Game Center

Perhaps the biggest news for gamers is the Mac's integration with Game Center - the gaming hub for iPhone and iPad.

Game Center allows you to play friends online, compare achievements ("points") and add friends - it's the Xbox Live of the mobile world, and now it's making its way to Mac with OS X Lion.

Apple WWDC 2012 - iOS 6, MacBook, OS X Mountain Lion, Apple Maps

Apple on Monday refreshed its MacBook hardware, announced that OS X Mountain Lion will be available in July for US$20 (€16), and delivered a beta version of iOS 6 to developers.

Apple's voice input technology Siri opened the company's Worldwide Developer Conference  (WWDC) in San Francisco, California, ridiculing Google's Android release names, Ice Cream Sandwich and Jelly Bean.

Such lighthearted payback for Google's prior jesting at Apple's expense during Google's developer conferences shouldn't obscure Apple's serious determination to have the last laugh by reducing the scope of Google services in Apple products - a goal exemplified by Apple's iOS 6 Maps app, which no longer relies on Google map technology.

Linux' Project Magenta aims at giving users the iOS experience on any device

Where most of the excitement exists today when it comes to Operating System (OS) advancements is not in Microsft's Windows and Apple's Mac.

Nope, it’s within the intensely competitive space that contains Google's Android and iOS.

And just like any strong and exciting segment in the consumer electronics industry, this market is now the target of a new initiative that wants to push its way to the front of the pack.

Enter Project Magenta.

Discussing what to expect while waiting for WWDC to start Monday

Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), the annual gathering where the secretive company hosts folks who make a living writing software for its products, kicks off Monday.

And while the event is designed around presentations to help developers, its keynote address has also become an opportunity for Apple to roll out new products not just to developers, but to the world.

Two iPhones and several Macs have had their coming-out parties at WWDC, along with a host of Operating System (OS) overhauls.

Which raises the obvious question:
What will Apple announce on Monday?

Apple WWDC 2012 expected to mainly target Android

When Apple kicks off its annual conference for software developers on Monday, all the power players in the Apple universe will be on hand, save the one that is in many ways driving the agenda: Google.

More than ever, the consumer electronics juggernaut finds itself in a pitched battle with the online search giant - in smartphones, cloud computing and the never-ending competition for the hearts and minds of the best software developers.

Apple on Monday is expected to announce its own mapping application, challenging the position of Google Maps as one of the most-valued features on the iPhone.
It will unveil closer integration of its iPhone apps and iCloud storage service with all its devices, the latest riposte in its battle with Google's Android smartphone software.

Few days before Apple's WWDC, iPhone 5 video leaked

The momentum for news surrounding an Apple's iPhone 5 release date has not slowed down, and this is also paired with the demand seen for both an existing iPhone 4S model and the upcoming 6^th generation phone from Apple.

The hype increases around this time every year thanks to the World Wide Developer Conference being just 3 days away.

One of the latest rumors has come thanks to a video; you can see it after the break, which shows what seems to be an iPhone 5 backplate or middle section.
The video runs for a few minutes and really does look like the real deal, although that wouldn’t be too hard to replicate considering this iPhone part matches all what we have heard about the  new iPhone.

Microsoft wants you to be able to start playing a game on your Xbox 360 and finish it on your mobile

According to a reliable source, Microsoft plans to unveil a new feature known as Xbox Live Companion.

Not to be confused with its social and marketplace app Xbox Companion, Xbox Live Companion is a system where developers of Xbox 360 console games can stream content directly to a mobile phone or tablet.

This source says the feature was internally known as Smart Glass, lending some credibility to rumours of an ability to stream content from your console to a phone or tablet.
From what the source tells us, though, it appears Microsoft's ambitions for such a feature are a little more focused on games.

According to new rumors, Microsoft Office suite for iOS to be launched on 10th November

Some rumors have been floating around that Microsoft will be releasing their popular office suite for Google's Android later this year.

It will most likely be called Microsoft Office Mobile.
We reported on this last month that it would possibly land around November but now some sources claim that to be the official time frame.

According to reports and images from The Daily, the same sources who leaked the original pictures of Microsoft Office on the Apple's iPad, claim the suite will arrive for Android and iOS on 10^th November 2012.

Rumors that say that Facebook is readying its own smartphone are back

This is a topic that has been going on and off, but here it goes again:
Facebook is said to be hiring smartphone hardware and software engineers in order to build its own smartphone.

That’s what Nick Bilton from the NYTimes has just published, and looking at our own circles here in Silicon Valley, the hiring seems definitely real.
Facebook has been hiring a number of engineers who have nothing to do with social networks, Web development or network infrastructure, and it has done so for some time now.

The question is:
What is their mission?

Apple patents a stylus to be used with tablets

Steve Jobs is said to have had nothing but disdain for a stylus for smartphones and tablets, but a newly published patent application suggests Apple is working on an advanced pen-like device that can give haptic feedback and improve the User Interface (UI).

Apple continues to spend time and research funding on a future pen-like device that’s being designed to work with all of Apples tablet-styled devices.

According to the patent application, Apple’s smart pen won’t be a straightforward stylus, but one that takes advantage of a user’s sense of touch and sight by creating perceivable forces, vibrations, and motions.

Facebook brings its Camera app to iPhone

Facebook is expanding its mobile app presence even further today, as it has just announced the new Facebook Camera app for the Apple's iPhone.

The standalone Facebook Camera app lets users snap photos, add filters, and then upload them directly to their Facebook accounts.

If this sounds familiar, it's because Facebook attempted a similar tact with its Google's Android app a few weeks ago.

Facebook had added a direct shortcut to the camera section of its Android app and placed it in users' app trays. It has since updated the Android app yet again to remove the Camera shortcut, but it appears that Facebook still plans on moving forward with standalone mobile camera apps.

Microsoft is readying its Office suite for Android and iOS for the end of the year - Rumor

Microsoft appears to be closing in on a release of Microsoft Office for both Apple's iOS and Google Android this fall, despite previous denials.

The software is expected to be ready for a release in November 2012, according to sources.
This would match up with a previous report from The Daily, which claimed to have seen a working prototype of Office on an iPad.

Microsoft was quick to deny, calling the report “inaccurate rumors and speculation.”
So much for that: sources claim that the Office they saw looked “almost identical” to a picture shown by The Daily, so maybe the folks in Redmond weren’t entirely truthful.

Hackers target your banking mobile app as well as Macs, iPhones and iPads

Neal O’Farrell, Executive Director of the nonprofit Identity Theft Council, spoke about the seriousness of mobile security as part of San Francisco Small Business Week.

“There were more data breaches than US residents last year and more cases of identity theft than just about all other crimes combined,” O’Farrell said, adding that unless users are encrypting their devices, they are essentially asking for trouble:
Hackers hit with automated bots and the ease with which you synch your contact information from your laptop to your iPhone and do your banking on it make all your data vulnerable.

“You’ve got to wake up [and] protect yourself, even if you use a Mac,” he said, citing the massive Flashback virus that affected more than 600,000 Mac computers.

iPhone 5 launch is nearing; Apple registered iphone5.com domain name

The Samsung Galaxy S III might be the most anticipated of all Android-powered phones for this year, but it will have a stiff competitor “on the job” so to speak, and that would be none other than the next generation iPhone from Apple.

While we are still up in arms over the naming convention, as many were thrown off the trail with the 'new iPad' name instead what many expected to see – the iPad 3.

Well, word has it that Apple has just registered the iPhone5.com domain name, with Bloomberg citing a source ‘with knowledge of the plans’ that points toward the inevitable release of the iPhone 5 in due time, which has also seen its fair share of input and involvement from the late Steve Jobs.