Macnn | Iphone News

Rumor: Pegatron squeezed by Apple on ASUS Zenbook production

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 07:45:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/asusux31-ces.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />A tentative rumor has had Pegatron allegedly forced to choose between manufacturing ASUS' Zenbooks and Apple's iOS devices. Taiwan's Commercial Times had heard that Apple was supposedly unhappy with the similarity to the MacBook Air and didn't want one of its own contractors to be making what was perceived to be a clone. If it happened, production wouldn't stop until at least March and would be outsourced to a nearby contractor like Compal or Wistron.

comScore: webmail use sinking as mobile use takes over

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:30:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/samsunggalaxynexus-review10sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />As part of a larger study, comScore has shown that e-mail is making a large shift away from the web. Among teens and those aged 18 to 24, webmail use dropped by about a third in December from where it was one year earlier. Declines also appeared among the 35 to 44 set (down one point) and 55 to 64 (by seven points).

Saturday Night Live skewers Verizon's over-technical 4G ads

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/verizon-snlspoof.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Saturday Night Live made technology an unusual target after it poked fun at Verizon in a pre-recorded skit (below). A customer (Fred Armisen) comes in asking about the carrier's 4G LTE network and is barraged with an increasingly technical and nonsensical sales pitch. By the end, LTE is likened to orange juice, and Verizon is described as an "old person's nightmare."

Apple's new Samsung lawsuit targets Siri-like search, more

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 13:40:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/iphone4s-review.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />An expansion upon what few details have been available from Apple's new Samsung lawsuit has suggested that it reaches more at the core of Android and less at Samsung's specific actions. Along with accusing Samsung of violating a newer unlock gesture patent than what was covered in Germany, a second patent for a "universal interface" for retrieving data appeared to Florian Mueller to accuse Samsung of violating Siri-style searches, where stitching together keywords presents just the immediately needed results. While Android on a base level doesn't do this, it would p

Spotify for iOS gets 320Kbps streams, Foursquare gets NFC

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:55:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/spotify-iphone2.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Two major mobile apps got updates for special features at the end of the week. Spotify on iOS (App Store) now has the option to both stream and sync audio at 320Kbps, the same quality as it exists on the desktop. While it requires either a more intensive Internet connection or extra storage for cached tracks, it puts the app's audio quality ahead of other on-demand music rivals.

Instagram 2.1 brings pseudo-HDR, UI changes

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:45:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/instagram21.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Instagram finished the week with a significant update to its app (App Store). The 2.1 update now has Lux, an image adustment option that automatically brings out details in highlights and shadows in a rough equivalent to high dynamic range (HDR) shooting. Similar to the tilt-shift effect, Lux can stack with other filters.

AT&T to double upgrade fee as device prices go up

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:55:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/att-upgradefeehike.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />A staff memo has leaked plans for AT&T to hike its device upgrade fee. The BGR copy had the cost jumping from $18 to $36. The cost was allegedly necessary because the "overall costs" for upgrading to a new device had gone up, AT&T said.

Apple sues Motorola over alleged Qualcomm patent misuse

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:45:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/motorolarazr-review1sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Apple's lawsuit retaliation continued on Friday after it sued Motorola in the US over 3G patent issues. The iPhone designer sought to block Motorola from making patent violation accusations based on its use of Qualcomm's MDM6610 cellular chipset as well as any others it might use. It came after Qualcomm confirmed to Apple that it was already paying for a license to Motorola's 3G patents, which Apple took to mean that it was exempt from paying itself.

Apple sues Samsung again in US, Germany

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:35:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/samsunggalaxynexus-review1sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Apple scaled up its legal attacks late this week with lawsuits against Samsung both in the US and in Germany. The American complaint, details of which were filed in a Northern District of California court in San Jose on Wednesday and published on Friday, accuses Samsung of violating two patents that it had only just obtained in December. Samsung was accused of copying iOS' techniques for heuristic information finding as well as its method of suggesting a replacement word when a misspelling is highlighted.

Chitika: iOS web traffic overtook the Mac in February

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:50:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/iphone4s-review26sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />New Chitika traffic data has seen Apple possibly cross a milestone for web use online. As of February, 8.15 percent of all web traffic being monitored was coming from an iOS device, passing the Mac for the first time with OS X share at 7.96 percent. The two platforms had been converging since October, with the Mac losing share mostly as Apple's other OS gained prominence.

Mizuho Securities joins Apple coverage with $635 target

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:25:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/ipad2-corner.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />A Mizuho Securities hire, Abhey Lamba, has started Apple coverage at his new firm with a $635 target, says Barron's. The analyst argues that Apple will continue to succeed, and that Wall Street consensus figures are probably too low, despite more intense competition. Android smartphones are mainly taking away share from Nokia and Research in Motion, not the iPhone, he notes.

AT&T gets LTE-ready micro-SIMs for Lumia 900, future iPad

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:25:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/att-ltemicrosimleak.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />AT&T's plans for the year took a step forward Friday after a sighting of its first LTE-capable micro-SIM cards. A store contact for Phone Arena caught a briefing that sales staff were to get rid of older cards and replace them with the new versions fully capable of talking to the 4G network. The memo didn't specifically attach the cards to any one device.

Apple adds two new iPhone 4S Siri ads: Road Trip, Rock God

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:30:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1201/iphone4s-ios5.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Apple has quietly added two new iPhone 4S ads, both showcasing Siri's voice recognition and intelligent-assistant technology, to its iPhone videos web page. In "Road Trip," a man decides to travel across the US from what appears to be Boston to Santa Cruz with his partner, and both of them consult Siri throughout the trip. In "Rock God," a young man progresses from locating a guitar store to forming a rock band and changes the name Siri addresses him by.

Tips: Google silent with some partners on Android at Home

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:35:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/androidathome-3.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Google's apparent decision to make its own wireless audio system appears to have come after stopping at least some activity with accessory makers, according to Electronista sources. Now said to have based its work on the Android@Home technology shown at Google I/O last year, the company had been talking to accessory makers building up to the May event but grew silent not long after. The silence might not necessarily have been ubiquitous, but it suggested that Google had taken the reins to make a product of its own.

Waze for iOS gets hands-free traffic reporting

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/waze-traffic-sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Waze, an Israel-based mobile-apps start-up has issued a new release of its iOS version of its app to let drivers report traffic conditions while still staying focused on the road (free, App Store). The app makes use of the iPhone's proximity detector to activate voice recognition by waving a hand. It then asks a series of questions which helps the driver create and send a traffic report.

Motorola blames future owner Google for slow Android updates

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:25:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/motorola-christywyatt.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Motorola was unusually critical of its likely future acquirer Google late Wednesday in an interview. Senior enterprise business VP Christy Wyatt claimed to PCMag that Google made timely Android OS updates difficult because of its tendency to target each major release against a reference phone like the Galaxy Nexus. Since the initial release only supported that hardware, no other Android partner could get started on drivers and other code they needed to get moving.

NOAA switches support from BlackBerry to iOS

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:20:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1109/imessage-2.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />The US government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is dropping BlackBerries from the roster of supported devices for workers, reports indicate. A memo from CIO Joseph Klimavicz, dated February 3rd, is said to show that BlackBerry support will end after May 12th. Beyond that point, the organization is throwing its weight behind iOS, the minimum standards being iOS 5, an iPhone 4, or an iPad 2.

Apple explores environment-sensitive iOS interfaces

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:40:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/gimmickpatent.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Apple has been exploring the idea of a 3D iOS interface that reacts to its surroundings, a newly-published patent application reveals. Called Three Dimensional User Interface Effects on a Display by Using Properties of Motion, the document notes that products like the iPhone have the benefit of numerous different sensors, such as accelerometers, compasses, cameras, and GPS receivers. "However, current systems do not take into account the location and position of the device on which the virtual 3D environment is being rendered," Apple writes. The company also menti

Apple stock worth more than Google, Microsoft together

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:25:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/iphone4s-applestock.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />An exceptional run on Apple stock over the past few days has made Apple's stock value worth more than either of its two most direct rivals combined. A comparison has shown that, as of mid-day Thursday, Apple's market cap of about $456 billion was greater than both those of Google ($198.9 billion) and Microsoft ($256.7 billion). As noted by AppleInsider, Apple was taking advantage of both Google missing targets and bruising its share as well as Microsoft's historic inability to excite shareholders.

Swiss firm SmartData sues Apple over Apple TV, iPhone

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:25:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/appleremote2-2.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Apple is facing a rare instance of foreign patent trolling this week after a discovery that Swiss firm SmartData has sued it over a lone patent. The accusation, quietly filed earlier in the week in Apple's home court district in San Jose, alleged that the Apple TV, the iPhone, and the iOS Remote app violated a patent for a "modular computer." Using Remote on the iPhone to control content on the Apple TV copied the technology, the plaintiff argued.

Canaccord, Needham raise price targets on Apple stock

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:20:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1110/iphone4s-5.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Two financial analysts have raised their targets for Apple stock. The highest target comes from Canaccord Genuity's Michael Walkley, who has pushed his forecast up to $655. "Our monthly channel checks indicated very strong sales trends for the iPhone 4S at all three U.S. carriers and overall strong iPhone sales in international markets. We are increasing our March quarter iPhone estimates from 30.1 million to 32.6 million units," he elaborates. Walkley's 2012 EPS prediction is being raised from $41.06 to $42.81.

Foursquare on iOS, Android updates with new Explore, menus

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:40:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/foursquare42.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Foursquare updated its iOS (App Store) and Android (Market) apps Wednesday to roll in some of the features seen from the web. Explore now has contextual results for locations, such as pushing restaurants to the top at dinnertime, what friends have been doing, and whether they're on lists. A filter lets users skew the results to look for undiscovered places or those friends visit frequently.

Tweetbot reaches iPad, gets 2.0 iPhone upgrade

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:15:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/tweetbot-ipad.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Tapbots revamped its signature Twitter apps in large form on Wednesday, starting with the surprise release of Tweetbot for iPad ($3, App Store). The new version both adapts to the bigger canvas of the tablet and shares its support for creating multiple timelines from one account and gestures to save time. Likewise, it can save content for later through Cloudapp, Instapaper, and Read it Later.

Path closes contact sharing hole on iPhone, apologizes

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:10:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/path-iphone.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Smartphone app developer Path has apologized and fixed the tendency of its app to collect user's entire contact lists to its own servers when the app is first launched. The Android app was already fixed, and now, the developers have released an updated iOS app, version 2.0.6 (free, App Store) that won't upload the data without a user's permission. Dave Morin, Path's co-founder and CEO, also explained that the contacts were used only in the Add Friends features to notify users when their contacts log into the app.

iOS 5.1 beta carrier profiles hint possible March 9 target

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:30:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/ios51-march9leak.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />New digging in the iOS 5.1 beta has given a possible clue as to Apple's target date for the OS. About 11 new carrier profiles all have references to an Apple diagnostic web address with "09Mar2012-Update" in the timeframe, suggesting to YourDailyMac's discoverer that the date was at least being kept in mind for a launch or a milestone. It touched on all existing iOS devices and at least five countries, pointing to a simultaneous release.

Chinese, more coming to Siri in March, source claims

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:15:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1110/iphone4s-2.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />A Chinese version of Siri will launch next month, claims DoNews. The website quotes an Apple engineer said to be working on the project, who adds that the technology is already in internal testing, and will moreover be able to process information and navigation requests, something only US Siri users currently enjoy. General language support has so far been restricted to three different English accents, as well as French and German.

Samsung hints no major products at MWC with no event planned

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:25:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/samsung-mwc2011.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Samsung has hinted that any products shown at Mobile World Congress may be low-profile after it stated Wednesday that it had no plans for a special event at the Barcelona show. The company didn't rule out any "exciting new products" in a response to PCMag inquiries, but it hinted that it not only would miss the Galaxy S III but that any other major unveilings would wait until later as well. No clues exist as to when special events might take place later.

Evernote iOS app gets better editing, note titles

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:35:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/evernote-fonts.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Evernote has released a new version of its iOS notetaking app, v4.1.8. While relatively minor, the update does make two important changes. These include "predictive" note titles, which will give otherwise untitled items a label based on factors like time, location, and other pieces of contextual data.

Sprint: Baltimore, KC to get LTE; iPhone 40% of gross adds

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:35:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/sprint-iphone4sslide.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Sprint in the wake of its fall results expanded its LTE plans and also touted the iPhone as a better option for its network than Android. The carrier now planned to add its original WiMAX city, Baltimore, to the cities getting LTE-based 4G by mid-2012. Sprint's home area of Kansas City was also new and would see a total of six cities getting the new network.

Nokia cuts 4,000 smartphone factory jobs, moves them to Asia

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:30:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1201/nokialumia900-handson.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Nokia showed the toughening conditions of the smartphone field on Wednesday after it detailed plans to cut 4,000 manufacturing jobs. Positions both in its home territory factory in Salo, Finland, as well as in Komarom, Hungary and Reynosa, Mexico, would be eliminated by the end of 2012. Smartphone production would be moving more towards Asia, where it wouldn't just be cheaper to make devices, but faster.

Sprint sells 1.8m iPhones, gets best adds since 2005

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:50:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/sprint-store.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Sprint on Wednesday revealed a huge upswing in subscriber additions through its inaugural quarter of iPhone sales. It sold 1.8 million iPhones during the fall, 40 percent of which went to people new to the network. Apple's device was almost single-handedly responsible for returning Sprint to performance it hasn't seen in years: at 1.6 million net new subscribers, it saw the most adds since 2005 and had set a new high for its customer base at 55 million.

Apple now requiring Retina Display-quality screenshots

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:05:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/Apple-RetinaDisplay-sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Apple has sent out notifications to iOS developers that future updates to apps now require higher-resolution, 960x640 (Retina Display) compatible screenshots or the apps will not be approved. The change is a minor one (previous guidelines suggested, but did not require, Retina Display-level screenshots) and reflects the company's burgeoning base of iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and fourth-generation iPod Touch users, all of whom have higher-resolution screens.

Telus Optik TV gets full Xbox 360, iOS, Android viewing

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:30:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/telusoptiktvonthego.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Telus' Optik IPTV service got much more control over non-traditional viewing on Tuesday. Optik TV for Xbox 360 takes advantage of the fall Xbox 360 Dashboard update to use the console as the set-top box, including for remote DVR viewing if there's a traditional DVR on the same network. The support includes full Kinect motion control.

Smart Audio sues Apple, Creative, Philips over car sound

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:20:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/ipodtouch4-review2.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Mostly unknown Smart Audio Technologies has hoped to skim profits from the audio industry after filing a low-key lawsuit late last week that was publicized Tuesday. The Delaware-based complaint accuses Apple, Creative Labs, and Philips of violating the same February 2001-era patent for car audio system with a random access player that supports playlists. Smart Audio isn't clear what products are violating its technology, although iOS and iPod devices are possible candidates.

Apple now almost 50 percent of mobile industry revenue

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:40:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1112/iphone4-o2uk.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Looking at fourth-quarter results, Apple now represents almost half of cellphone/mobile computing industry revenues, and over 80 percent of its profits, says Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt. The industry is in fact said to have risen about 34 percent with Apple results included, but actually dropped 0.4 percent without the company. Some businesses might actually crack in the face of Apple competition and leave the market this year, the analyst argues, calling it a "make or break" period.

Siri now source for quarter of all Wolfram Alpha queries

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:50:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1112/siri-wolfram.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Siri now represents about a quarter of all the queries submitted to Wolfram Alpha, says the New York Times. The Siri technology is an integral feature of the iPhone 4S firmware, and aside from direct voice commands, allows asking plain-language questions about various facts and figures. A Wolfram Alpha widget primarily answers questions related to math and numerical facts, such as the distance to the moon.

Hasbro, Nerf revive Lazer Tag with iOS-linked blasters

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:15:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/hasbrolazertag.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Hasbro and Nerf have brought Lazer Tag back with iOS as its cornerstone. While the blasters can work in multiplayer without any device, mounting an iPhone or iPod touch in a special holder gives them an app that both extends the firing range to 250 feet and introduces a HUD that shows the trajectory and ongoing stats. As many as 24 people can play at once with leaderboards that can update mid-match.

Canon intros three Pixma printers, two with AirPrint

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:55:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/canon_aio_gallery.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Canon has introduced three all-in-one Pixma printers, the MX372, the MX512 Wireless and the MX432 Wireless. The two wireless enabled devices both support AirPrint allowing users to print directly from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The printers are also accompanied by a companion mobile app, Canon Easy-PhotoPrint that is available for both iOS- and Android-based smartphones and tablets and now allows users to print PDFs created directly on the devices, not just photos as previously.

VP of iPhone and iPod David Tupman quietly leaves Apple

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:00:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/Apple-Tupman-sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Apple's Vice President of iPhone and iPod Engineering David Tupman quietly exited the company at the end of 2011, sources say, and a replacement has not yet been named. Tupman, who reported directly to Senior Vice President of Hardware Bob Mansfield, has not updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect the change but is said to be taking up with a new startup operation. Apple is seeking a replacement for Tupman within its own ranks.

Apple agrees to compensate customer over iMessage flaw

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/Apple-iMessage-sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />A flaw in the iMessage protocol that causes it to continue to route messages to an iPhone even after its SIM has been removed and deactivated has gotten the attention of Apple in a very direct way: a customer demand to be compensated for the problem, which the company has allegedly done. TheNextWeb reports that an unnamed customer who had her iPhone stolen but which continued to receive iMessages has now received an iPod Touch as compensation.

Apple 'macroscalar' US trademark hints at looming chip tech

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:55:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/applea5-2.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Apple late last week quietly filed for a US trademark that shows it possibly getting closer to having its own chip architecture. After having slowly filed trademarks in countries outside the US, such as Trinidad and Tobago, the joint USPTO and Hong Kong application caught by Patently Apple suggests that Apple has been continuing development on a project it could be willing to show soon. Mentions of work had started as early as 2004.

Harman ships iStomp effects pedal for iOS musicians

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:55:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/harman-digitech-istomp-sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Harman has started delivering its DigiTech iStomp programmable effects pedal. Users can program the the guitar stompbox using their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to make potentially any sound, not just distortion or other effects associated with filters. Twenty alternative sound effects are available for download.

Facebook photo sharing app now under new management

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:25:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/iphonefacebookappin.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />The leaked images of a Facebook app last summer will not result in a photo-sharing app after all, Business Insider has learned. The photos were simply meant to showcase of what such an app could look like and in fact little development work was done on the app. Also, the source revealed that Facebook is still working on improving the mobile photo-sharing experience, but the team assigned to it is different from the one in the summer.

IDC: Apple tops worldwide smartphone shipments in Q4 2011

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:15:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1112/iphone4s-review2sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />In terms of shipments, Apple was the top smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to a new IDC report. The company shipped roughly 37 million phones, giving it a 23.5 percent marketshare. Close behind was Samsung, which took a 22.8 percent share with 36 million phones. Nokia, Research in Motion, and HTC rounded out the top five, but trailing behind with shares of 12.4, 8.2, and 6.5 percent, respectively.

Audience noise cancelling tech may explain Siri exclusivity

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:10:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1112/applea5-2.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Siri's exclusivity to the iPhone 4S may be connected to the use of Audience's EarSmart noise cancellation technology, suggests Linley Group analyst Linley Gwennap. While teardowns have shown the presence of a dedicated Audience chip in the iPhone 4, Gwennap points to a January S-1 filing, indicating that EarSmart is built directly into the 4S' A5 processor. "Even after accounting for the dual Cortex-A9 CPUs and the large GPU that provides the A5 with industry-leading 3D graphics performance, the remaining die area seems too large for the usual mundane housekeeping

Halliburton jumps ship from BlackBerry to iPhone

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:25:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/iphone4s-review14sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />RIM has taken one of its largest, more conspicuous blows as a leaked e-mail and subsequent confirmation have revealed on Monday that Halliburton is switching from the BlackBerry to the iPhone. After "significant research," according to an AppleInsider copy of the memo, the controversial energy giant has told staff that it will transition from the BlackBerry to the iPhone, described at first as a one-year transition but now described as two. Apple's platform had superior features, controls, and app development security, Halliburton said.

Microsoft prepping Dynamics CRM apps for iPad, other devices

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:10:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/dynamicscrm-ipad.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Microsoft is at work on several mobile app versions of its Dynamics CRM platform, a preview (PDF) reveals. This includes an app for iOS devices, which will require iOS 5, but have access to native iPad and iPhone interfaces. Other apps are planned for Microsoft's own Windows Phone platform, as well as Android and BlackBerry.

NPD: iPhone top-selling US phone, Android goes to newcomers

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:35:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/samsunggalaxynexus-review25sm.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />The iPhone is now the top-selling cellphone of any kind in the US, the NPD Group determined on Monday. As of the fall, the iPhone 4S was the bestselling device in the field. Apple also managed a clean sweep of the top three, with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS at second and third places.

Sony says no PS Vita sales problems in face of 3DS, mobile

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:25:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/psvita-launch2.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Sony in its results call Friday was confident that the PlayStation Vita was selling well so far. Having moved slightly more than 535,000 units in its first three weeks, according to Media Create data, company CFO Masaru Kato didn't see "any problems" with results so far. The comment came even after shipments had dipped to just over 18,000 in January and had been mostly steady since.

Samsung's Super Bowl ad taps Galaxy Note, The Darkness

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 21:50:00 EST

<img align='left' src='http://photos.macnn.com/news/1202/samsunggalaxynote-superbowl.jpg' border='0' width='122' height='102' />Samsung's promised Super Bowl spot took an unusual turn on Sunday night. After showing iPhone queue waiters complaining about "missing the big game" and being "in detention," a passer-by shows a Galaxy Note. The giant Android phone's pen -- and an impromptu appearance by rock revival group The Darkness -- has the line kicking down the stanchions and joining the party.