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Apple added a subscription engine to the iOS software development kit (SDK) earlier this year, and the company requires that any publisher offering subscription access in an app include the ability to subscribe from within the app itself, meaning through Apple’s engine. While publishers can continue to offer access via other avenues, Apple requires that…

Cell phones aren’t perfect. No matter how smart their features, their ability to make and receive reliable calls often suffers. Sometimes it seems that just moving your head or a change in wind direction is all it takes for a call to drop. The Z-Boost METRO YX-540 offers a solution for apartment or condo dwellers…

Amidst this, however, there are some contrary winds. The disaster in Japan and consequent parts shortages and reports of the continuing rise in market share of Android seem to have investors spooked. Over the weekend, Henry Blodget at the Business Insider suggested that the iPhone is Dead in the water. His analysis was based on…

“Based on strong sell-through trends during March for both iPhone and iPad and our belief Apple is successfully leveraging its leading market position to secure component supply through the Japanese tragedy, we believe the company will maintain dominant value share of both the tablet and smartphone markets,” Mr. Walkley said. “We maintain our BUY rating…

“We Believe” offers quick views and close up shots of the iPad 2 being used for business tasks, family photo viewing, playing music, reviewing medical data, education, and more. The ad is also a departure from Apple’s recent faster-paced commercial style for the iPhone.Apple’s “We Believe” ad is available at the company’s YouTube channel.

I throughly enjoyed the odd angle Mr. Shyamalan took on the super hero legends by planting seeds in the realm of the possible instead of the highly improbable from where so many super heros hail. Think about it. How likely is it that a radioactive spider bite would give rise to a web-flinging, wisecracking teen…

Acer spokesman Henry Wang said the company is going to focus on profitability, not volume. Businessweek noted that Apple’s profit margin was 21.5% during its last fiscal year, while Acer’s was just 2.3%. Acer CFO Tu Che-min told Businessweek: “There is good consensus among the board members that the tablet is the way to go.”Mr.…

In addition to the glint of direct revenue opportunities sparkling in the eyes of cable network execs, Dow Jones reported that the networks were also fearful of a hit to ad revenue as there are no established means of measuring viewership on an iPad. Time Warner had reported that its app was seeing high demand…

Image Capture gives you a second chance to manage photosEnter Image Capture, a little-used application that comes standard on all Macs. Once you’ve opened it with your iPhone (or other camera) connected, you’ll see a list of the photos in your camera roll. From here, you can choose to selectively delete any of the pictures…

Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform (currently Windows Phone 7) will grow markedly over the next four years to become the #2 smartphone platform by 2015, according to research firm IDC, behind Android at #1 and ahead of Apple’s iPhone, at #3. IDC believes that the alliance between Microsoft and Nokia, which has chosen Windows Phone 7…

When an event that hosts 5,000 people sells out in one day, that’s good for Apple. Each year, lately, the event sells out faster and faster. Last year, WWDC 2010 sold out in just eight days. Of course, the crowds, excitement and anticipation are good for Apple. Will Steve Jobs give the keynote? Will the…

WWDC passes top $2,500 on eBayApple hosts the annual event to give iOS and Mac OS X developers a preview of the company’s OS road map and to give developers and IT professionals some face time with its engineers. With the conference selling out so quickly, there are likely many developers wishing they acted sooner…

The U.S. ITC is expected to announce before the end of the day on Friday, March 25, its final decision on whether or not it will uphold Judge Paul Luckern’s ruling from January that Apple and RIM aren’t infringing on Kodak’s patents, according to Bloomberg.Kodak CEO Antonio Perez is keeping his fingers crossed hoping the…

BlackBerry PlayBook runs a new OS called BlackBerry Tablet OS based on technology acquired when RIM bought QNX Software Systems early in 2010. The device is built from the ground up to fit into Enterprise environments, just like the company’s once market-leading BlackBerry smartphones. While the device is markedly smaller than iPad and iPad 2,…

AirPlay allows users to to stream video and audio from iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad to Apple’s own Apple TV 2, and the company currently licenses AirPlay to third party companies, but only for audio streaming. Apple has had some success with this licensing program, even though it is effectively limited to speakers and stereo…

“The Walt Disney Company considers itself fortunate to have Steve Jobs as a member of its board of directors,” the company said in a statement after the meeting, which was held today in Salt Lake City, Utah. NPR noted that Mr. Jobs’s influence at Disney has ranged from the company having many iPhone and iPad…

Apple blocks Exodus International appThe Exodus International organization described itself as “committed to encouraging, educating and equipping the Body of Christ to address the issue of homosexuality with grace and truth,” and was promoting the app as a tool to help with its anti-gay program geared at “curing” homosexuality.Exodus International received warning on Tuesday that…

U.S. Senators aren’t hip on DUI checkpoint appsIn a letter to Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iPhone Software, Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Tom Udall (D-NM) stated:We write today with grave concern regarding the ease with which downloadable applications for the iPhone, iPad, and other Apple…

The company offers its MiKandi App Store app for Android for free. It acts as a repository for adult-themed and pornographic apps that users can purchase and install on their Android devices. Titles like SweetJamJam, iBoob Uncensored, Adult Friend Finder, and Erotic Lesbian Stories are available through MiKandi App Store.Apple wants “app store” to itself,…

Both of these warnings/restrictions serve to nicely highlight both a weakness and a benefit in Google’s open Android platform compared to Apple’s curated “walled garden” iOS ecosystem. On the benefit side, users have an array of choices for where and how to get their Android apps. On the detriment side, those choices mean there is…

Apple CEO Steve Jobs speaking at a 2010 media eventInstitutional Shareholder Services isn’t keen on retaining Mr. Jobs, either, although the organization isn’t going so far as to advise its clients to vote against him. “Jobs’ poor attendance in three of the past four years, and recent leave of absence from his primary employer, raises…

This sleek new product from Schosche, called the goBAT 11, will charge or provide backup battery power for two of your iOS products at the same time using an internal 5000 mAh Lithium polymer battery. Four blue LED lights let you know how much battery life remains in the unit when it’s plugged into a…

U.S. Magistrate Judge Howard R. Lloyd said “The court finds that Jobs has unique, non-repetitive, firsthand knowledge about the issues at the center of the dispute over RealNetworks software,” in his ruling.The class action lawsuit against Apple alleges that the company updated the iPod software to prevent the RealNetworks Harmony software from working with the…

Listeners to our Mac Geek Gab podcast have heard my distate of multiple-person, panel-based presentations for the SXSW Interactive event (because they tend to be nothing more than boondoggles for the panelists, many of whom seem to think they can show up unprepared and just blather on promoting their company or latest belief du jour),…