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User satisfaction of Apple’s new iOS 6 mobile operating system is down slightly from that of iOS 5, according to a new poll conducted by mobile research firm On Device and revealed by TechCrunch Wednesday. The drop in satisfaction is small but notable as it represents the first time that iOS user satisfaction has decreased upon…

Many companies sell carbon fiber covers for current Apple products. Apple may be working on products made from carbon fiber, according to sources close to suppliers in Asia, Macotakara reported Wednesday [Google Translation]. The strong yet ultra-light material would allow the Cupertino company to continue its quest to reduce the weight and thickness of future…

Apple built a separate Maps app for China, according to The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper said that mapping restrictions in China and other issues specific to the communist country resulted in Apple building a special version of maps for customers inside China. According to the report, there are only 11 companies who have a…

Over 5 million iPhone 5 smartphones were sold during the first three days of availability, which was below financial analyst estimates. Despite the lower than expected number, Apple still beat last year's iPhone 4S launch by a million units, and Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um thinks the company could still report sales through September that…

Scalpers have been hogging some iPhone 5 lines at Apple Stores in the U.S. A reader report from the Rockingham Park Apple Store in New Hampshire said resellers were buying iPhones two at a time with stacks of Apple gift cards, while on the other side of the country, Forbes reported that line sitters were…

Apple may soon be facing a legal challenge from the Swiss Federal Railway, SBB, for using a design nearly identical to that of the railway’s station clocks as part of the new Clock app for iPad in iOS 6, Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported Thursday [Google Translation]. The design of the clock is licensed by SBB…

Apple has purchased another 200 acres near its Maiden, NC data center, presumably for a second solar farm in an effort to meet its pledge to run the facility on 100 percent renewable energy by the end of the year. This new land will double the size of the solar array producing power for the…

When I first saw the Throne Poison headphones from I-Mego I thought: wow. They are big and bold and reminiscent of the radio mics of the 1950’s. The Throne Poison design is chrome with muted purple. These headphones were designed for vocals and acoustics that suit classical or new age music.   Throne Poison headphones…

Apple has a dominant lead in the mobile device world with its iPhone, iPad and iPod touch ecosystem, and that's going to help push the company's stock up to US$1,650 in 2015, according to Ironfire Capital founder and analyst Eric Jackson. Google will do well in the mobile market, although Apple has already won over…

Alongside the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft has announced a major shift in Office pricing and packages for small businesses and consumers. With Office 2013, slated for release in November,  Microsoft is shifting its primary focus from traditional, “perpetual” licenses to a yearly subscription model. Depending on users’ individual usage models and needs, and Microsoft’s…

Prerelease iPhone 5 Parts Leak via Nowhereelse.fr Apple’s new iPhone 5, set for release this Friday, carries a bill of materials (BOM) of US$199 for the low end model, according to an analysis and virtual teardown by IHS iSuppli Tuesday. With an estimated $8 manufacturing cost, Apple’s total cost to build a 16 GB iPhone 5…

“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” — George Bernard Shaw The iPod nano, now in its 7th generation, has traveled a convoluted journey through time. While first conceived as a smaller, more convenient iPod for youngsters and for exercise, its various incarnations have transmogrified according to shifting technical winds, never quite settling…

Shares in Apple Inc. crossed the US$700 mark for the first time in after hours trading on Monday. The stock ended the regular session up just shy of the $700 mark, but crossed that line after the markets closed. AAPL's official closing price for Monday was $699.781, a gain of $8.501 (+1.23 percent), on moderate…

Earlier today we provided a spec comparison between the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3. Starting Sunday, Samsung will make its own comparison between the two best selling smartphones with a large print ad in national and local newspapers across the United States, CNET reported. With the headline “It doesn’t take a genius,” Samsung…

My friend Carmen is a busy woman. She travels on business a lot, constantly on the go. When she went looking for a smart phone several months ago she originally bought an Android device. I forget which one, but she quickly found that incorporating it into her daily routine was not as easy as she'd…

Apple released a security bulletin listing 163 vulnerabilities in iTunes that were patched with version 10.7 this week. The underlying WebKit engine is the (open) source of these vulnerabilities, and Google was credited with fixing 74 of the 163 issues. iTunes 10.7 was released on Tuesday and added support for iOS6 and the latest iPod nano…

Apple Store surveillance of a robbery offers us a wonderful glimpse at massive getaway driver FAIL. The robbery took place last week at the Promenade Temecula Apple Store, when Equonne R. Howard (age 22), allegedly crashed his own 2003 BMW X-5 through the front of the store. Smash-n-Grab (You can see the full video below)…

At the iPhone 5 media event, we witnessed a parade of Apple executives, each with his own speaking style. Some were great and some not so great. ______________________ Apple's iPhone 5 (and music) media event was a big deal, covered by the TV networks and likely seen all over the world now that the video…

Verizon Wireless will not charge customers extra or require that customers purchase specific data plans in order to use FaceTime over its cellular data network, the U.S.-based mobile carrier stated late Wednesday in a press release. FaceTime over cellular networks will also be available for U.S. iPhone customers on Sprint, although AT&T has controversially restricted…

Apple’s Greg Joswiak introduced an all-new iPod nano at Apple’s media event today. The seventh-generation of the popular music player features a multitouch display and Apple’s new “Lightning” interface. At 5.8 mm thick, it is the thinnest iPod nano ever. Physical buttons on the side of the device control playback, and a 2.5-inch multi-touch display…

A video has been posted to YouTube claiming to be the “Official iPhone 5 Promo Video for September 12 2012.” It's a brilliantly made video, but we're calling it a fake. With the world holding its breath in anticipation of Apple's media event on Wednesday, fake or not, it's worth a looksee. Frame from Fake…

The Phiaton PS 210 BTNC sells for US$159, which may sound like a lot of money to the average earbud user. But for those who revel in headphones, the price is not too bad at all, especially given all that they can do. The PS 210 BTNC Ear Pieces My reference earphones are Etymotic●4 that…

Following last month’s controversy over drastic changes to Apple Retail Stores, Apple Retail Chief John Browett addressed retail employees during the company’s quarterly meeting Sunday night, according to an audio recording obtained by 9to5Mac.  Speaking to the stores via a video message, Mr. Browett spent most of his three minute speech talking about Apple Retail…

The one million unique device identifiers (UDIDs), unique codes that correspond to individual iOS devices, released by hacker group Antisec last week were likely stolen from the servers of a mobile app publishing company and not from an FBI laptop, as the group claimed, according to NBC News. An analysis of the data released by…