We reported earlier that Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung CEO Choi Gee-sung will meet on 21-22 May 2012 to discuss patent issues, in a bid to settle them.

At the time of this news report being written the meeting has started and the updates are awaited.

Meeting of two CEOs will be held at San Francisco. The talks will be mediated by a federal judge.

Before his departure to the United States for the talks, Samsung mobile division chief JK Shin said that while significant differences between Apple and Samsung still exist, a number of “negotiation options” remain on the table.

“There is still a big gap in the patent war with Apple,” JK Shin said, before departing for the United States for the mediation talks. “But we still have several negotiation options.”

??Court documents show the two companies have had at least one mediation session, although it is not clear if Cook and Choi were involved.

Legal experts are not optimistic that the two companies will reach a settlement. However, with courts increasingly pushing companies to seek alternative dispute resolution processes in hopes of staving off drawn-out court battles, Apple and Samsung have agreed to participate in the talks.

Source: Mac Rumors

CEOs Of Apple and Samsung Meeting To Discuss Patent Issues is a post from: The Apple Bites

Usually, big news from the jailbreak community come out on the weekends, and this weekend is no exception.

This Sunday, Chronic Dev Team hacker pod2g confirmed that the upcoming untethered jailbreak for iOS 5.1.1 is only a “matter of days” away from dropping. Hopes for the arrival of jailbreak have been there for months, but it looks like things are finally coming together for a public release.

Coincidentally, a hacking convention called “Hack in the Box” will be taking place this week. The Chronic Dev Team will be there in full force. There are speculations that the new jailbreak tool will likely be announced at the conference.

The name of the new jailbreak will be “Absinthe 2.0,” following the previous version of Absinthe that jailbroke the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 for the first time.

Pod2g has confirmed that his untethered jailbreak will work on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4 CDMA, iPhone 4S, iPad 1, iPad 2 Wifi, iPad 2 GSM, iPad 2 CDMA, iPad 3 Wifi, iPad 3 CDMA, iPod 3G and iPod 4G.

It looks like the third-gen Apple TV will be the only iOS device not compatible with the jailbreak. When a jailbreak is untethered, it means that you would not have to re-jailbreak an iOS device every time it reboots. Once you jailbreak, it sticks until you update your iOS firmware.

Like past jailbreaks, we can expect the Absinthe 2.0 jailbreak tool to be released for OS X first, then Windows and possible Linux. The iPhone Dev Team’s RedSn0w tool will also be updated with the new 5.1.1 jailbreak alongside Absinthe 2.0. The new update will give users a couple options for jailbreaking.

The previous release of Absinthe was a huge success. It was downloaded millions of times in only a few days, proving that there is still healthy demand for jailbreaking post-iOS 5.

After many months of waiting, we should finally be getting our hands on a new jailbreak in only few days. Apple released iOS 5.1.1 on 7 May 2012 with several bug fixes and improvements. Developers are expected to get their hands on a preview of iOS 6 at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June.

Source: iDownload Blog

iOS 5.1.1 Untethered Jailbreak ‘Absinthe 2.0’ Coming This Week is a post from: The Apple Bites

iOS 5.1.1 was released with some bug fixes. If you are worried about maintaining your untethered jailbreak, then better stay away from this update.

On the other hand, if you have a device that is currently jailbreakable on iOS 5.1, you can use the latest version of RedSn0w to perform a tethered jailbreak iOS 5.1.1 with a few easy steps.

Following video would guide you to the process to jailbreak your device and we will explain the steps also:

Now we move ahead with explaining the procedure for those who are not able to watch the video:

To jailbreak your iDevice, you will need your 5.1 firmware in it. This is because currently RedSn0w does not recognize iOS 5.1.1. This is for A4 devices only. This procedure has been tried and tested. But even then, you are doing this at your own risk and The Apple Bites would not be responsible if anything goes wrong with your iDevice. This procedure has been tested with RedSn0w 0.9.11b, not with RedSn0w 0.9.11b1. Thus, you are free to make your decision on whether you really want to do it or not.

STEP 1 - Download the latest version of RedSn0w.

STEP 2 - Connect your device to your Mac. Place your device into Device Firmware Upgrade (DFU) mode, and run RedSn0w.

STEP 3 - Go to Extras > Select IPSW > and point to your iOS 5.1 firmware for this device.

STEP 4 - Once RedSn0w successfully identifies the 5.1 firmware, go back to the main page of RedSn0w and click Jailbreak.

STEP 5 - Once it identifies the build, click Next button where it asks you to install Cydia.

STEP 6 - Cydia will be installed, and your device will reboot. Upon reboot, place the device back into DFU mode.

STEP 7 - Now you can perform a tethered boot via RedSn0w by going back to the Extras page and clicking Just Boot.

STEP 8 - Your device will reboot, and you will have a usable Cydia icon on your Home screen.

We want to remind our readers that this is a tethered iOS 5.1.1 jailbreak. Once RedSn0w is updated for iOS 5.1.1 you will no longer have to follow Step 3. You should also remember that this procedure is only for iOS 5.1 jailbreakable devices. It would NOT work with the iPad 2, the iPhone 4S, or the new iPad.

Did you find this procedure helpful? Post your comments.

Source: iDownload Blog

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Image Source: iDownload Blog

Jailbreaking iOS 5.1.1 With RedSn0w [TUTORIAL] is a post from: The Apple Bites

A new report has asserted that Hon Hai Precision Industry, also know as Foxconn, is investing $210 million in an upcoming plant in Huai’an city which is meant to help satisfy the ever-growing demand for Apple products around the world.

Though this facility would not be as big as Foxconn’s other plants in Shenzen where an estimated 200,000 workers churn out millions of devices each month, it will employ 35,8000 workers.

The China Daily based the report on the official confirmation by the office of Taiwan Affairs of Huai’an.

Foxconn Technology Group will invest $210 million to build an Apple production line in October in east China’s Jiangsu province, local authorities announced Monday.

The plant housing the production line, to be located in Huai’an city, will produce components for American multinational corporation, Apple Inc, said the office of Taiwan Affairs of Huai’an city.

The new facility is said to stretch 40,000 square meters. It is expected to be capable of producing up to $1.1 billion worth of products.

Foxconn will begin construction of the plant in October 2012. It was not known at press time which products will be assembled at the new facility.

As Apple’s products are gaining more and more popularity, the manufacturing scale also needs to grow.

To meet this demand, Foxconn, Apple’s favorite contract manufacturer, has opened new plants in Brazil that currently produce iPhones.

Apple is also said to be looking to produce iPads in Brazil.

CEO Tim Cook recently visited Foxconn’s new manufacturing plant in Zhengzhou, during his China tour.

Some more rumors say that Apple is looking to make a massive $9.76 billion investment in Foxconn, ahead of a rumored television set launch that Foxconn representatives recently hinted at. They were quick to deny their comments later.

Apple is also reportedly investing some of its $110+ billion in cash reserves toward improving labor conditions in Foxconn plants.

Foxconn is opening new plants and making strategic acquisitions such as buying a stake in Sharp coincides with Tim Cook’s CEO tenure.

Source: iDownload Blog

Foxconn Building High-Tech $210 Million Apple Plant is a post from: The Apple Bites

Recently, Apple won an appeal from the federal court that would have certainly boosted its morale. Now, Apple has filed a motion for injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 which could see the tablet pulled from US shelves as soon as early as June.

The motion which was filed last weekend. It was based on a US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling that found Apple’s iPad-related design patent was likely valid. It overturned previous findings from a California court which originally barred the Apple from seeking a preliminary injunction against the Samsung tablet.

According to Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, Apple’s second injunction attempt is likely to succeed, given that at least one circuit court judge feels such a relief is justified and went as far as to issue a dissenting opinion, stating that merely vacating the California ruling was not enough.

Mueller wrote:

“Circuit Judge Kathleen O’Malley argued that the CAFC should have reversed the decision in order to provided Apple with immediate injunctive relief in light of the irreparable harm it is suffering. But the majority of the judges saw ‘no reason to believe that there will necessarily be delay, or if there is delay that it will be unjustifiable.”

The Cupertino, California-based company is asking Judge Lucy Koh, who denied the first injunction as well as two others regarding smartphone patents, to rule on the matter without a hearing. The request is seen as being a reasonable one as the court already heard arguments over the issue in October. Judge Koh is unlikely to grant the motion for preliminary injunction during the settlement talks scheduled for 21-22 May 2012. Thus Apple has given Samsung until 25 May 2012 to respond.

It is unlikely Samsung will ask for a hearing on the Galaxy Tab injunction if and when the talks fail. In the above scenario, Judge Koh may schedule it on the same 7 June 2012 date as a separate injunction case involving the Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

Although an injunction may not be a devastating blow to the Korean electronics giant, it would signify a publicity win for Apple. It will also force Samsung to redesign the tablet as it did in Germany with the Galaxy Tab 10.1N. Ultimately, the disputes between the two tech giants continue and at the moment, it seems that there is no end.

Source: Modmyi

Apple Files For Another Galaxy Tab Injunction is a post from: The Apple Bites

Come September 2012, and Apple is bringing its iTunes Festival to London, once again. Apple is inviting more than 60 artists to perform for 30 consecutive nights of incredible music.

The event will run from 1 September 2012 to 30 September 2012 and it will feature performances from Usher, Jack White, Norah Jones, Emeli Sandé, One Direction, and more.

The festival will take place at The Roundhouse on Chalk Farm Road, which has previously hosted the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin. Like previous years, every ticket to the iTunes Festival is going to be free. All you need to do is apply online to win your ticket.

If you fail to get tickets, you can watch every gig live — or on-demand for a limited time — on iTunes, or if your iOS device uses the free iTunes Festival app. This app is also AirPlay compatible. Thus, it would allow you to stream the event to your Apple TV to watch on the big screen.

You can apply for tickets through the iTunes Festival website. Entrants must be 14 or above.

Do you live in London? Which Superstar do you wish to see performing in iTunes Festival? Share with us.

You can also share your comments on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Apple Bites is giving away free iTunes Gift-cards for exciting games and interesting apps. All you need to do is to participate in the discussions The Apple Bites starts. No offensive words allowed. No spamming! The winners would be contacted and the gift cards would be given to them.

Source: Cult Of Mac

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iTunes Festival Returns To London In September is a post from: The Apple Bites

An iPhone is very expensive. Losing an iPhone is the ultimate worst thing that can happen to an Apple fanboy.

That is why, if a good samaritan gets in touch to to tell you that she has found your phone, the appropriate response from you would be gratitude and you would be thankful.

One woman in Virginia would tell you that this is not always the case. DCist recently reported that last weekend, while shopping at her local Fredericksburg 7-Eleven, the woman, 53, picked up an iPhone that had fallen on the floor. She proceeded to contact the phone’s owners (a man and a woman) and arranged to meet them at a neutral location to make the exchange.

Everyone showed up as planned, and the transaction was completed without a hitch. They even gave her a monetary reward.

However, the owners of iPhone rushed the woman from behind, while she was walking away, throw her to the ground, kick her, and reclaimed their cash.

This looks like a scam, except they stole back their own cash. Strange bizarre things revolving around iPhone happen but this incident was uniquely strange.

Source: Gizmodo

Woman Rewarded With A Brutal Beating For Returning A Lost iPhone is a post from: The Apple Bites

Apple is involved in a new lawsuit. However, this time, no patent infringement claims are being made.

Apple has been sued by Danyelle Comer, who filed suit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

Comer is going after Apple because of massive inconveniences and setbacks born of the tech giant’s iCloud service going down when its services are most needed. The suit blasts Apple for failing to usher in a smooth transition between the paid MobileMe service and what we now know as iCloud.

Comer said:

“Throughout the migration, Apple failed to adequately ensure that features MobileMe users were paying for would be accessible, including access to their e-mail accounts for which customers pay additional fees. As a result, numerous MobileMe users suffered damage from the inability to access their individual accounts.”

The court document reads:

“Unfortunately for many users it doesn’t ‘just work’ and has resulted in a series of headaches due to lack of syncing ability, lack of email functionality and other complications and losses and corruption of data. In fact a number of users have been forced to hire outside technical assistance at significant cost, just to migrate to the iCloud platform or get around it to obtain minimal functionality of emails and other systems.”

The damages being sought were unspecified.

Source: Modmyi

New Lawsuit Over iCloud Service And MobileMe is a post from: The Apple Bites

Last weekend, makers of the Ashton Kutcher Steve Jobs biopic “jOBS” made an announcement that can be seen as a tribute to Late Steve Jobs. Makers said that they would begin the principal photography in the original garage that would later become the birthplace of Apple.

According to a press release, Five Star Feature Films, the production company behind the made for TV movie, is attempting to be as authentic as possible by shooting early scenes of the film in Jobs’ old Los Altos home and garage where Jobs and Steve Wozniak built the first Apple computer.

Five Star claims that the production of “jOBS” began immediately after Jobs’ retirement in 2011. The research supposedly included extensive research, which included interviews with friends, co-workers and mentors. The press release claimed that the producers wanted to create an accurate and enthralling of what they refer to as the “30 most defining years” of Steve Jobs’ life.

Executive Producer Mark Hulme said he hoped the movie, described in the press release as “dark, honest, and uncompromising,” will be completed in time for the fourth quarter of 2012. So far Kutcher, director Joshua Michale Stern (Swing Vote) and Oscar-winning cinematographer Russel Carpenter (Titanic) are attached to the project which will focus on Jobs’ life from 1971 to 2000, leading up to the release of the iPod.

Source: Modmyi

Steve Jobs Biopic Starring Ashton Kutcher To Be Shot In Old Garage Of Jobs is a post from: The Apple Bites

Speculations apart, if Apple were to launch actually launch a branded television set, it could cause total average annual US household spending on Apple products to double to $888 by 2015 according to a new projection.

Analyst Katy Huberty with Morgan Stanley explained in a note to investors this week that the spending by Apple’s US household doubled following the launch of the original iPhone, from $150 per year in 2007 to $295 in 2010. Now, she is expecting that the iPad will double the spending again to an average of $635 per household per year by 2013.

Huberty said:

“Given a 97% TV household penetration and a 61% broadband household penetration in the US along with an expected high price (and value) point, an Apple TV is likely to generate a similar increase in average household spend, with some help from iPad and iPhone growth.”

Huberty projections call for the average US household with at least $10,000 in disposable income to spend about $888 on Apple products by the year 2015, which would be double the $444 average spent per year in 2011.

Imagining that Apple were to take a 10% share of global spending on televisions, including hardware, subscriptions, and advertising, that would represent $60 billion per year, or an incremental increase of $64 per household per year globally. Furthermore, it is expected that the initial impact of an Apple television set on average household spending would likely be seen mostly in the US. According to Huberty, the real growth potential remains outside of the US.

To reach this goal, she believes Apple needs to forge deals with more carrier partners internationally before release. As of right now, 77% of carriers in Asia, 78% in Eastern Europe, and 88% in Africa have no access to an iPhone. Regardless, it seems like there is so much hype behind the unannounced Apple HDTV television set that people are willing to pay premium without even knowing what features the product will have.

Source: Modmyi

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Apple Television Set May Double US Household Spending On Apple Products is a post from: The Apple Bites

Recently, Apple introduced the system of Developer ID to enhance the security of Mac. Now Apple is enforcing the new system of sandboxing to make Mac security, stronger.

Apple has started sending out emails to registered developers reminding them of the enforcement of the new sandboxing system rules. The new rules will implemented on 1 June 2012. The email is seen as confirmation that the sandboxing effort will go into effect after Apple pushed back the original November 2011 deadline to Marc, which was subsequently extended yet again to June.

The email reads the following:

As a reminder, the deadline for sandboxing your apps on the Mac App Store is June 1.

If you have an existing app on the Mac App Store that is not sandboxed, you may still submit bug fix updates after June 1. If you have technical issues that prevent you from sandboxing your app by June 1, let us know.

It is not clear why Apple decided to delay the security feature. However, a report from November pointed out a vulnerability that allowed programs to exercise restricted functions in certain default sandbox profiles. The sandboxing initiative looks to make Apple’s OS X a more secure environment for users by restricting what operation an app can execute. This was first seen in OS X Leopard. Here, the feature was designed to limit an app’s actions to program-essential functions in order to prevent damage from malware attacks.

Although sandboxing only covers programs installed through the Mac App Store, Apple will be implementing a system-wide solution called Gatekeeper in its next-gen operating system called OS X Mountain Lion. On the surface, it appears to be a traditional anti-virus program. As Apple described it, Gatekeeper will go much deeper and at its most secure setting. It will only download and install verified code that carries digital signatures obtained through Apple’s Developer ID program. Such a move will hopefully provide the extra security that is much needed as malware continues to threaten more Mac users as of late.

Source: Modmyi

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Apple Reminds Developers About The Sandbox Deadline For Apps is a post from: The Apple Bites

The rumors of HDTV set from Apple are going strong. So it is time for rumors about a car from Apple to join in.

It may seem absurd or a joke but there are some vestiges of truth behind the assertion that Apple could produce a company-branded automobile dubbed the “iCar.” It turns out that Steve Jobs actually spoke of such a creation.

Shortly before his sad demise in October 2011, the iconic co-founder of Apple began dramatically expanding – at least on the drawing board – the potential reach of Apple’s product line. In addition to laying the groundwork for a forthcoming connected HDTV offering, Jobs envisioned something much more unorthodox.

J. Crew CEO and Apple board member Mickey Drexler said in a new interview:

“Look at the car industry, it’s a tragedy in America. Who’s designing the cars? Steve’s dream before he died was to design an iCar and I think it would’ve been probably 50% of the market. He never did design it.”

He also did not deny that such a vehicle could still manifest. If the Google “smart car” continues to make progress, there is a chance Apple may attempt to bring Jobs’ vision for the iCar to life. For the present time, however, Drexler says Apple’s next venture is the living room. This means that that the iTV (if Apple is really making it) will be here much sooner than the iCar.

Source: Modmyi

Steve Jobs Wanted To Make An Apple Branded Automobile is a post from: The Apple Bites

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has been brought in as a “tutor” to coach Sony Pictures on its adaptation of the biography of the late Steve Jobs. The movie to be made by Sony Pictures would be based on the biography written by Walter Isaacson.

Aaron Sorkin spoke to the press about his approach to the project. According to an online report, Wozniak was to consult on technology for the film along with providing insight on Jobs’ character.

Wozniak served as the technical mind behind Jobs’ sharp business sense in the early days of Apple. Wozniak said:

“We were very much alike in that time frame. Steve [Jobs] was an incredible leader and a manager, he went through an awful lot of things in life that got him to that point.”

Sorkin also revealed that the film would not just be a biopic as he feels it would be difficult to structure. He said that he wanted to write about Jobs in a similar style to his previous work, “The Social Network”. The film centered around the lawsuit between Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his early partners. Describing the film, Sorkin said:

“Drama is tension versus obstacle. Someone wants something, something is standing in their way of getting it. They want the money, they want the girl, they want to get to Philadelphia – doesn’t matter … And I need to find that event and I will. I just don’t know what it is.”

Sony Pictures worked out the deal for the movie rights to the biography within days of the late executive’s death. At the time, Sorkin was Sony’s top choice for a scriptwriter and not surprisingly their first choice worked out. We want to remind our readers that this film is not to be confused with the independent production company looking to make its own film about Jobs as well. Ashton Kutcher has been cast as the lead role in that project. This movie is said to cover events from the year 1971 to 2000.

Source: Modmyi

Steve Wozniak Hired As Tutor For Sony’s Film On Steve Jobs is a post from: The Apple Bites

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple will introduce a new iPhone with a larger screen and an overhaul design that Steve Jobs “worked closely on” before passing away.

People familiar with Apple’s plans are speculating that Apple has ordered screens from suppliers that are “bigger than the 3.5-inch size” that the iPhone has been sporting since its debut in 2007.” The report noted that “Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had worked closely on the redesigned phone before his death in October”. Another source claimed that Jobs had played a “key role in developing” Apple’s next-generation iPhone.

If Apple was to perform a major redesign of the iPhone, it would be the device’s first re-design since the arrival of iPhone 4 in mid-2010. The previous design found incorporated into the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, was also kept for two years before the current form factor was introduced. With three mainstream media outlets reporting similar claims in the same week, the likelihood of Apple expanding the screen on its best-selling handset certainly appear to be high.

Previous reports indicated that LG Display, Sharp, and Japan Display are readying production lines for 4-inch displays bound for Apple’s next-generation iPhone. Furthermore, reports from Reuters claim that the production of the new screens could begin as soon as next month, ahead of full production of the next-generation iPhone in August.

Analysts have suggested that Apple’s interest in a larger-screen iPhone is coming in response to pressure from increasing screen sizes offering by competing Android handsets. The next-generation iPhone is widely expected to hit the market in the fall, roughly one year after the sale of the iPhone 4S. Let us see how much truth there is to the information when the next generation iPhone comes.

Source: Modmyi

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Apple Preparing iPhones With Bigger Screens? is a post from: The Apple Bites

After releasing the Mountain Lion Developer Preview update, Apple has released a new seed of Mountain Lion Server. Unlike some Mount Lion preview updates, which showed up in Software Update on Macs running the previous developer previews, Apple chose to make this update visible in the Apple Developer Center website.

Members of Apple’s developer program can login at developer website and get a redemption code for the update. That redemption code then offers up the new preview in the Mac App Store.

The difference in approach is most likely to be related to Apple’s repositioning of OS X Server. Beginning with Lion’s release last summer, Apple stopped shipping OS X Server as a separate product. Instead it began offering it as an add-on that could be downloaded and installed on any Mac running Lion.

That install cost $49.99 and installed the Server app onto a Mac. Server app can then be used to download and install most Lion Server components. It can also be used to administer a remote server. Lion Server’s advanced admin tools are a separate free download from Apple’s support site. The codebase for OS X and OS X Server has been largely identical since the first OS X release over a decade ago.

Apple seems to be following that strategy with Mountain Lion, which would account for the company delivering this developer preview as a separate Mac App Store product. It seems a foregone the conclusion that the redemption code will work only on Macs running the most recent developer preview of Mountain Lion as a result.

There have been various reports about Apple beginning to shift away OS X Server away from its enterprise roots and repositioning it as small business solution. Mountain Lion Server is almost certain to follow in Lion Server’s lead. Thus, it is reasonable to expect that Apple will beef up some of the small business features.

What is your opinion about new Mountain Lion Server Build for Developers? Share with us.

You can also share your opinions on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Apple Bites is giving away free iTunes Gift-cards for exciting games and interesting apps. All you need to do is to participate in the discussions The Apple Bites starts. No offensive words allowed. No spamming! The winners would be contacted and the gift cards would be given to them.

Source: Cult Of Mac

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Apple Drops New Mountain Lion Server Build For Developers is a post from: The Apple Bites

We recently reported that Apple was trying to gain the ownership of a domain called iphone5.com. Now Apple has successfully gained it.

You heard it right. Apple has successfully claimed the ownership of the iPhone5.com domain name after filing a complaint with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to have the domain transferred from its existing owner.

According to WIPO’s website, the case has now been terminated.

The iPhone5.com domain name now belongs to the brand protection agency Corporation Service Company, which was believed to be working on behalf of Apple to secure the domain. The domain in question was first registered back in 2008.

The now former owner of the domain argued that their website was “not endorsed, sponsored, nor otherwise affiliated with Apple,” and that it was “for the sole purpose of entertainment and knowledge.” But it seemed inevitable that the complaint would rule in Apple’s favor.

The Cupertino, Califronia-based company has successfully claimed ownership of all sorts of domains that have included its trademarks in previous years, including iPhone4.com and iPhone4S.com.

Secure the iPhone5.com domain does not guarantee that Apple’s next-generation iPhone will be named the iPhone 5. After the company abandoned its numbering system for the third-generation iPad back in March, it is expected to do the same again with its smartphone. The next iPhone maybe named simply “the new iPhone.”

Source: Cult Of Mac

Apple Gets Ownership Of iPhone5.com Domain is a post from: The Apple Bites

Last week, the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) approved Apple’s proposal to build a 20-megawatt solar farm.

Early filings suggested that Apple aimed to position the farm by 1 Nov 2012, across the street from its Maiden, North Carolina (NC) data center, with operations starting 21 December 2012.

According to online reports, the official proposal filed on 15 February 2012. It underwent to staff review, a public notice/comment session, and feedback from the State Clearinghouse. The NCUC officially approved the proposal on 14 May 2012 and completed the certificate issuance on 17 May 2012:

The Public Staff presented this matter to the Commission at its Regular Staff Conference on May 14, 2012. The Public Staff recommended that the Commission approve the application and issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity for construction of a 20 MW solar photovoltaic electric generating facility to be located at 6028 Startown Road, Maiden, North Carolina. After careful consideration, the Commission finds good cause to approve the application and issue the attached certificate of public convenience and necessity for the proposed 20 MW solar photovoltaic electric generating facility.

According to Reuters, Apple confirmed that it had plans to construct two solar array installations in Maiden, with the potential to annually supply 84 million kWh of energy through streamlined solar cells and a state-of-the-art solar tracking system.

A 5-megawatt fuel cell installation will support the solar farms, which will open later this year, powered-by 100 percent biogas. Apple also confirmed plans to construct a third biogas fuel-cell plant in 2012.

Apple is also planning another data center in Oregon where it will will be investing quarter billion dollars.

Source: 9TO5 Mac

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Apple’s 20-Megawatt Solar Farm Near NC Data Center Approved By NCUC is a post from: The Apple Bites

In March, a man sued Apple for conveying a “misleading and deceptive message” about Siri. He said that Apple’s marketing made Siri seem more magical then it actually was.

The man wanted Apple to pay unspecified damages. Apple could not sleep peacefully as a string of similar lawsuits followed after this lawsuit. Some people claimed that they could not replicate the ‘Rock God’ Siri commercial in real life and another complaining about Siri not properly giving directions.

Apple has responded to the plaintiffs with a simple message: Siri is still in beta, and if you don’t like your iPhone you can always return it.

From Apple’s motion to dismiss the class-action lawsuits:

They offer only general descriptions of Apple’s advertisements, incomplete summaries of Apple’s website materials, and vague descriptions of their alleged—and highly individualized—disappointment with Siri. Tellingly, although Plaintiffs claim they became dissatisfied with Siri’s performance “soon after” purchasing their iPhones, they made no attempt to avail themselves of Apple’s 30-day return policy or one-year warranty—which remains in effect. Instead, they seek to take an alleged personal grievance about the purported performance of a popular product and turn it into a nationwide class action under California’s consumer protection statutes. The Complaint does not come close to meeting the heavy burden necessary to sustain such claims.

While it is true that Siri does not always meet expectations, Apple does have a point in saying that the digital assistant is labeled as “Beta.”

Source: Cult Of Mac

Apple Says Siri Complainers Should Get Over It Or Return Their iPhones is a post from: The Apple Bites

Legal tangles do not benefit anyone except lawyers. The person who wins the lawsuit may get benefitted but at the cost of spending on his lawyer. The tension of losing always makes him upset.

It seems that Time Warner Cable (TWC) and Viacom have realized that. According to a report published in New York Times, TWC and Viacom have settled their legal entanglements regarding Time Warner’s streaming of Viacom video content on its iPad app.

The breakthrough comes as a result of a settlement between Time Warner Cable and Viacom, which owns cable channels like Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and others. For months there had been a heated dispute over whether the cable company should have access to Viacom programs through its TWCable TV app.

On Wednesday, Viacom said that the companies had agreed “to resolve their pending litigations” and that “all of Viacom’s programming will now be available to Time Warner Cable subscribers for in-home viewing via Internet protocol-enabled devices such as iPads.”

The two media giants have been fighting over streaming rights for more than a year. Time Warner argued that its existing agreements gave it the right to provide video streams on any screen, not just television. Viacom said the app was “unlicensed distribution of Viacom’s programming.” Viacom still has a pending lawsuit with Cablevision over its Optimum live TV app.

Viacom’s programming will roll out on the Time Warner Cable app over the next few weeks.

Time Warner’s app, TWC TV, is available free on the App Store for its cable customers.

Source: Mac Rumors

Time Warner Cable And Viacom Settle Lawsuit Over iPad App Content is a post from: The Apple Bites

Facebook posted an application to the App Store earlier this week, on Wednesday. This application left many stumbling for their i-Devices to download it.

However, later, iOS users realized that the app is currently available in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

The new app launched by Facebook is called Pages Manager. This app lets the page admins check out what is going on with their page wherever they are.

As it stands, Facebook is set to roll the app out to the UK and the US in the next few days. You will gain access to this app very soon.

How do you value to the utility of this app? Post your comments.

Source: iSozial

Facebook Launches Pages Manager For iOS is a post from: The Apple Bites

As a child, I used to play a game where I had to role a ball and make it move through the walls and reach the center. Then I graduated to video games where I saw a new game. Here laser beams would be shot from the walls and I would have to make the ball evade laser attacks while making it move.

Now here is a game called Tarelcus SE which made me feel nostalgic about the games I played as a child.

Tarelcus SE has been created by Rus Wizards who claim to perform “software magic”.

In Tarelcus SE, in the place of a ball, there is a flying saucer.

“Tarelcus” is a fascinating game and it would surely draw your attention if you like to play maze-oriented games. Electricity grids are at the corners of walls and the saucer has to roll without touching them. Just one touch with a grid and the saucer would return to the starting point.

Tarelcus has a user-friendly interface which is clear and elegant. You would not waste time trying to understand how to play. Just push PLAY and enjoy the fun as you play the game.

The aim of this game is to bring the flying saucer to a black hole passing by the obstacles (that look like electricity grids), obstructions, and enemy Unidentified Flying Objects (UFO).

Playing Tarelecus will require from you to be quick, skillful, patient and smart. You have to be careful. It is really contagious! Once you have installed “Tarelcus”, you will never stop playing it as the challenging levels will keep you coming back for more and every level of this game would be more exciting than previous levels.

This game would train your brain and help you improve your concentration. Thus, parents should encourage children to play this game as with improved concentration, children can also perform better in academics.

The updated version 1.1 of Tarelcus, Twitter sharing problems in the versions from iOS 4 onwards have been fixed. Some minor interface-related bugs have also been fixed.

Compatibility:
Tarelcus is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. It requires iOS 4.3 or later version.

This review has been written after obtaining Tarelcus SE from app store and the game has been played on an iPod.

So are you ready to roll the flying saucer and dodge all the obstacles? Post your comments and describe your experience of playing this game.

Roll The Saucer And Enjoy Tarelcus SE Game [REVIEW] is a post from: The Apple Bites

Apple and Samsung may have sued each other over patents in various courts worldwide but this did not affect the business relations between them. However, now it seems that it may affect them very soon.

Samsung is about to hit a rough patch because earlier this week, shares of Samsung Electronics fell 6% percent. This effectively swiped away $10 billion from the company’s mighty market value.

The sell-off was sparked by speculation that Apple is planning to drastically reduce its working relationship with Samsung. The Cupertino-California-based company is said to have begun placing chip orders with Samsung rival Elpida instead.

Online news sources like Reuters and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) indicated that Apple had secured the services of several suppliers (none of which is Samsung) to provide new iPhone screens for the next gen-device, many investors went into a panic and dumped the stock.

Choi Do-yeon, an analyst at LIG Investment & Securities, told Reuters:

“It looks like Apple doesn’t want to see Samsung and hynix dominate the chip market. Apple wants to maintain its bargaining power by keeping Elpida running.”

So far, neither Samsung nor Apple will formally commented on the matter.

Source: Modmyi

Apple Planning To End Business Relations With Samsung is a post from: The Apple Bites

It was recently revealed by China Mobile that the company was in ongoing negotiations with Apple to bring the iPhone to its network. Reuters reported that chairman Xi Guohua said that the company is “actively talking to Apple” to shareholders during the company meeting.

Guohua added that he couldn’t “give you too many details, but he’d like to repeat that both sides do hope to boost their cooperation.”

For those who are not aware, China Mobile had 667 million subscribers as of March 2012. Currently, it is the only carrier in China that does not sell the Apple handset. Demand for the iPhone on China Mobile is expected to be quite high. As of now, despite the lack of official sales of the device, the company has more than 15 million iPhone users on its network. Rival China Unicom was Apple’s first carrier partner in the country and the second-place operator overall. Sales were slow to start but the company said in March that its partnership with Apple was now producing “better than expected results.” An analyst went as far as predicting that China Unicom could possibly sell 24 million iPhones in 2013.

Even without China Mobile, Apple seems to be gaining ground as iPhone sales are increasing as a whole throughout the greater transition.

Analysts are speculating that Apple could possibly wait until its next-generation iPhone to sign with China Mobile as signing with new carriers tends to happen during event announcements.

Source: Modmyi

China Mobile Seeks iPhone Cooperation With Apple is a post from: The Apple Bites

This past Wednesday, on 16 May 2012, Apple gave developers another updated version of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Developer Preview 3. This, is the pre-release build of the next major Mac operating system refresh.

The update, or Build 12A206j, is now available for download by registered Mac developers. At the moment, details about the release are few. Yet, it looks like Apple is telling developers that the MacBook Pro released almost 5 years ago (the mid ’07 models) would not be compatible with the new build, although a future update will remedy this glitch.

For now, it appears that only minor performance issues (related to Fast User Switching, the Share menu, etc.) still require moderate tweaking by Apple. Apart from these, there are no major headaches on the horizon.

At the time of this news report being written, the rumors suggest that Apple is just days away from raising the curtain on its new MacBook Pros at the WWDC in early June. If this is true, then Mac users can expect the refreshed Macs to come with Mountain Lion pre-installed this summer.

Source: Modmyi

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Apple Releases New Beta Build Of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion is a post from: The Apple Bites

Here is, the latest contribution to iPad Mini rumors. The Taiwan-based publication Liberty Times recently shared interesting information about the rumored 7.85-inch “iPad Mini.”

The publication has reported that LG and AU Optronics were certified to supply the LCD panel for the iPad Mini. The latest report also claims that both manufacturers were working to ship the panels for production and for a release sometime during the latter half of 2012.

Rumors of a smaller sized iPad have been met with skepticism by many. One reason for this skepticism is some comments made by the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs on an earnings conference call in 2010. Jobs had said that the size of smaller form-factor tablets was not “sufficient to create great tablet apps.”

According to Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, a 7.85-inch display with the 1,024×768 resolution would be “usable.” Gruber performed an informal test by taking screenshots of an iPad. He viewed them in landscape mode. According to him, “there are a couple of areas where he thinks the text is maybe a little too small, but it’s not ridiculously small.”

Rumors and speculation of the iPad Mini have been going strong over the last few months because Apple is said to take on Amazon and other competitors with a smaller 7.85-inch offering priced cheaper for customers looking to enter the tablet market. Many are skeptical of such a product due to arguments against it which came from the late Apple co-founder, Steve Jobs. According to him, you would need super-small fingers to navigate smaller tablets.

Despite what everyone says, a 7.85-inch iPad does not seem to be coming this year, especially with news on part suppliers. We need to wait for Apple to announce what it is has in store for customers.

What are your thoughts about the rumors of iPad Mini? Share with us.

You can also share your thoughts on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Apple Bites is giving away free iTunes Gift-cards for exciting games and interesting apps. All you need to do is to participate in the discussions The Apple Bites starts. No offensive words allowed. No spamming! The winners would be contacted and the gift cards would be given to them.

Source: Modmyi

iPad Mini LCD Panel Certifications Passed For LG And AU Optronics? is a post from: The Apple Bites

If you watch ESPN, you must be familiar with WatchESPN, a wonderful app that enables users watch ESPN on their iPhone and iPads.

Now, there are speculations that it will come to Apple TV very soon.

Bloomberg has reported that ESPN is currently in talks with Apple to bring the WatchESPN app to the Apple TV. That means subscribers of ESPN would be watching ESPN content very soon on their Apple TVs too.

This app/feature would probably look more like ESPN on Xbox where you could watch ESPN3 games and coverage on your TV but not ESPN and ESPN2. This is because having ESPN and ESPN2 content would just duplicate the cable channels you already pay for.

In a time when many people subscribe to cable only to watch ESPN, the sales of Apple TV are bound to go up if ESPN becomes available on Apple TV.

However, ESPN has said that the deal is not exactly imminent. But it is interesting that the sports giant made its talks with Apple public. The two companies may to time the launch with the Apple HDTV.

Source: Gizmodo

ESPN Coming To Apple TV is a post from: The Apple Bites

First Motorola won a lawsuit against Apple. Then HTC blamed the success of iPhone for the losses it was suffering in the market. Apple has won lawsuits against Motorola and HTC in many courts.

However, the list of lawsuits is long. This reason is big enough to annoy the judges.

Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents has reported that Apple is now battling one less lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida.

Apple was facing two separate lawsuits in the courts, one filed by Motorola Mobility and another by HTC. Judge Robert Scola has decided to merge the two lawsuits because “the parties have shown a complete inability to agree upon anything and it is frustrating the progress of these cases.”

According to the report, Apple pushed for this consolidation, while HTC and Motorola opposed it.

Source: TUAW

Lawsuits Involving Motorola And HTC Against Apple Merged Together is a post from: The Apple Bites

Not long ago, Aaron Sorkin, won an Oscar for writing the screenplay of “The Social Network,” the movie telling the story behind the foundation of Facebook.

Now Sorkin is moving from Facebook to Apple. According to the reports in Variety magazine, Sony has hired Sorkin to turn Walter Isaacson’s “Steve Jobs” biography into a feature film.

Sony had acquired the movie rights to Isaacson’s biography a couple weeks before it was released in October 2011. There are rumors surrounding this movie that either George Clooney or Noah Wyle will play the character of Steve Jobs in the movie.

Another unrelated and independent film on Steve Jobs biopic is scheduled to begin filming this month. This film, with the working title “Jobs,” stars Ashton Kutcher and covers the life of Steve Jobs from 1971 to 2000. “Jobs” is slated to be released in the fourth quarter of this year.

There is no relation between two movies on Steve Jobs and you should not be confused about the same as the movie starring Ashton Kutcher will focus only on the youth of Steve Jobs.

Source: TUAW

Aaron Sorkin To Pen Steve Jobs’ Biopic is a post from: The Apple Bites

When we see pictures of a panda, we see the panda eating bamboos, very often. A promo of Cartoon Network also showed a Panda eating a bamboo that was colored like a chess board.

However, today I played a game where the hero is a Panda who is not interested in eating bamboos. What this panda enjoys eating most is a candy.

In the game Where’s My Candy®, the panda runs and eats all the candies that get in his way. This may sound similar to Mario but Where’s My Candy® is not that type of game.

This game has been created by Zhangming Ltd.

The story of this game is amusing. Joy is a cute panda who live in Bamboo Village. However, as mentioned earlier, he prefers to eat candy rather than bamboo. Enter a mysterious villain! One day, someone has stolen Joy’s candy away.

Suddenly, Joy turns into Dragon Warriors with magic power to look for candies. You have to guide Joy to find candies in Classic, Dragon Warrior, Invincible and Ghost four control modes. While on his way, Joy will chomp all of the candies to achieve the next stage.

You can earn stars to go for high scores and high levels! You can dodge pesky spiders that get in your way by calling puppets to weaken spiders and eat candies up!

Joy will keep on eating the candies and some candies that look similar to lolly-pop in appearance, will also give Joy, a shape-shifting power. I played this game in classic mode.

Following are the features of Where’s My Candy®:

1. Where’s My Candy® has four main characters with different super powers, plus the ability to call puppets. You can chose the mode and the powers available in that mode will be given to Joy.

2. In this game, there are tons of interesting props that can change everything in an instance.

3. The unique items collected though out the game will enhance the fun element in the game.

4. This game fascinating styles of level designs that are full of challenges.

5. This game remains entertaining due to many levels of achievements challenging your luck and strength.

6. Where’s My Candy® has adorable and beautiful graphics. This game is easy to operate.

Where’s My Candy® is such an easy game that children as well as adults can play this game with ease.

Following video is a trailer of Where’s My Candy®:

Compatibility:
Where’s My Candy® is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. It requires iOS 3.2 or later version.

In the new version 1.0.1 of this game, data has been expanded and more bugs have been fixed.

This review has been written after obtaining Where’s My Candy® from the app store and the game has been played on an iPod.

Did you enjoy this game? In which mode, did you enjoy this game most? Post your comments.

Find Candy For Panda With Where’s My Candy® [REVIEW] is a post from: The Apple Bites

Taking a look at the latest legal tangle involving Apple, Apple was left with an egg on its face, this past Wednesday. US District Judge Denise Cote rejected a request to dismiss a class action lawsuit against Apple and five publishers.

Cote scoffed at the idea that Apple and the publishers acted independently in coming up with what is known as agency pricing, their defense to the charges that they were price-fixing ebooks. Cote also accused Steve Jobs at being at the center of it all. Parts of the opinion, as excerpted by paidContent, reads:

In short, Apple did not try to earn money off of eBooks by competing with other retailers in an open market; rather, Apple ‘accomplished this goal by [helping] the suppliers to collude, rather than to compete independently.’”

“Finally, the fact that Apple might have had different motivations for joining the conspiracy, and was involved in only a portion of it, does not undermine the existence of the conspiracy itself or Apple’s role as a participant.

Cote also cited ongoing investigations against Apple, which included the antitrust suit filed by the US Department of Justice, as other reasons to maintain the class action suit. This suit was filed in August 2011.

Source: TUAW

Judge Refuses To Dismiss E-book Class Action Suit is a post from: The Apple Bites

Wolfram, the company behind the Siri search engine, is bringing its original product, Mathematica, to the iPad.

Responding to a comment on Reddit, when asked if there was an iPad version of Wolfram for iPad in the works, Stephen Wolfram said, “stay tuned.”

What Is Mathematica?
Almost any workflow involves computing results, and that’s what Mathematica does—from building a hedge fund trading website or publishing interactive engineering textbooks to developing embedded image recognition algorithms or teaching calculus. Mathematica is renowned as the world’s ultimate application for computations. But it’s much more—it’s the only development platform fully integrating computation into complete workflows, moving you seamlessly from initial ideas all the way to deployed individual or enterprise solutions.

Mathematica is huge in science/engineering education and application and many other areas where the iPad is making huge inroads in personal computing.

Source: 9TO5 Mac

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Wolfram Mathematica Coming To iPad is a post from: The Apple Bites

The havoc of Flashback proves that Mac is not immune to malware and malicious infections. Flashback trojan has proven that as long as Mac OS X continues to grow, so will its infections.

But Apple is now working to prevent them. It recently issued a fix for the Flashback infection after it became apparent just how huge it was. The Cupertino, California-based company is now teaming up with security specialists Kaspersky to identify other vulnerabilities.

Nikolai Grebennikov, Kaspersky’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), told Computing.co.uk:

“Mac OS is really vulnerable. Apple recently invited us to improve its security. Kaspersky has now begun an analysis on Mac OS X’s vulnerabilities and the malware that’s targeting them.”

However, despite the partnership, Grebennikov was not too complimentary about Apple. He criticized Apple’s lack of “seriousness” when it comes to security, which paved the way for Flashback to spread. Grebennikov blamed Apple’s decision to block Java updates from Oracle:

Apple blocked Oracle from updating Java on Mac OS, and they perform all the udpates themselves. They only released the patch a few weeks ago – two or three months after the Oracle patch. That’s far too long.

Grebennikov made a surprising statement about iOS:

Our experience tells us that in the near future, perhaps in a year or so, we will see the first malware targeting iOS.

Because of Apple’s “closed” approach to iOS, which sees every app vetted and approved before making its way into the App Store, it seems it would be extremely difficult for hackers to get their malware onto iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads. One would assume that the only iOS devices immune to malware are those installing apps via unofficial sources through jailbreaking.

With Apple now working alongside Kaspersky to fight Mac infections. There is a hope that future vulnerabilities are ironed out quicker than they have been in recent years.

Source: Cult Of Mac

Apple And Kaspersky To Fight Mac Malware Together is a post from: The Apple Bites

Apple has released a security update for Leopard. Apart from this update, Apple has also released a Flashback removal tool for that version of the OS.

Apple has said:

“Leopard Security Update 2012-003 disables versions of Adobe Flash Player that do not include the latest security updates and provides the option to get the current version from Adobe’s website.”

About Flashback Removal security update, Apple said:

“The Flashback Removal Security Update removes the most common variants of the Flashback malware. If the Flashback malware is found, a dialog will notify you that malware was removed. In some cases, the update may need to restart your computer in order to completely remove the Flashback malware.”

Now your OS Leopard machine should be more secure.

With a new security update and new removal tool for Flashback, do you feel that your OS Leopard Mac is safe? Post your comments.

You can also post your comments on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Apple Bites is giving away free iTunes Gift-cards for exciting games and interesting apps. All you need to do is to participate in the discussions The Apple Bites starts. No offensive words allowed. No spamming! The winners would be contacted and the gift cards would be given to them.

Source: TUAW

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Apple Releases Leopard Update And Flashback Removal Tool is a post from: The Apple Bites

Apple has been defeating Samsung in terms of sales and revenue in various countries.

Some Apple Fanboys say that this is because Samsung often copies from Apple.

Rivalry apart, we are talking about a research.

Data vendor MM Research Institute has tracked smartphone sales in Japan. It has discovered the iPhone is greatly outselling its competitors. A report on these latest found statistics was published in Computerworld.

According to the company’s analysis, about 24.2 million smartphones were shipped in Japan and 30 percent were iPhones. On the other hand, Samsung accounted for only 8.3 percent of the total smartphone shipments in the country. Most of Apple’s success in Japan is attributed to the iPhone 4S which is sold by Au and Softbank.

Source: TUAW

Apple Ahead Of Samsung In Japan is a post from: The Apple Bites

Sparrow for iPhone has received a new update that brings various new features desired by users.

Sparrow would continue to offer a unique mail box to users.

Only difference is that now Sparrow is more user-friendly and now experiencing a unique mailbox has become more interesting.

Among the new features are the ability to compose in landscape mode, create/edit labels and swipe between messages, plus additional localization. Now Sparrow is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Russian and Chinese.

However, the developers announced on Sparrow’s blog that they were unable to get VoIP privilege from Apple for push notifications.

Sparrow will have push introduced in a future update, but it will be done on Sparrow’s side. The company intends to charge an annual subscription.

Source: TUAW

Sparrow For iPhone 1.2 Adds New Features is a post from: The Apple Bites

When it comes to making free international calls, usually, you think about Skype, just the way, Facebook and Twitter come into your mind when you think about social networking. However, there is no end to expectations and Skype may not offer everything you wish.

Therefore, here is an alternative for you. Try Comfi Call International, a new app that would save you a lot of money that usually gets spent on expensive international calls.

Comfi Call International has been made by a company called Comfi which claims to be leading retailer of online international calling cards. They work hard to satisfy the phone card needs of each and every consumer. This is the reason that they carry a wide selection (with different varieties) of the best prepaid calling cards available.

Apps made by Comfi also help you make cheaper domestic calls within United States and save money on your phone bills. Comfi offers various cards like Military Phone Cards, International Students Calling Cards, Travel Phone Cards etc.

With Comfi Call International, you can directly make cheaper international calls from your iPhone. Just dial any number in the address-book of your iPhone. This app is easy to set up. Just download it in your iPhone, open it, enter your number and then you can start talking to your friends around the globe.

By using this app, you can save almost 98% in calling rates. When you try this app, you also get $1 as a credit. That means, you get up to 45 minutes of talk time from in your iPhone. If you refer a new user to this app, you may also get up to $11 in your balance.

Comfi Call International also offers quality and excellent customer service. If you have any problem, no need to worry. The customer service will take care of your problem.

Our users should remember that the service is available only in United States.

In the new version 1.4.0 of Comfi Call International, the User Interface (UI) has been improved. Various bugs have been fixed and new optimizations to improve the performance of the app have been introduced.

Compatibility:
Comfi Call International is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. It requires iOS 4.0 or later version.

This review has been written after obtaining Comfi Call International from the app store and the app has been used on an iPhone.

So are you happy to make cheaper calls with Comfi Call International? Post your comments.

Make Cheaper International Calls With Comfi Call International [REVIEW] is a post from: The Apple Bites

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has briefly reported that Apple is planning to unveil an upgrade to iCloud at next month’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

The report says that one of the main new features in the upgraded version of iCloud would be a photo-sharing functionality.

The new features, expected to be announced at Apple’s world-wide developer conference beginning June 11, will allow iCloud users to share sets of photos with other iCloud users and to comment on them, these people said. Currently, users can only store one set of photos in iCloud through a feature called Photo Stream, which is designed to sync those photos to other Apple devices, not share them.

It appears that Apple also has plans to extend the Photo Stream feature to videos. This new feature would allow users to access their personal videos through iCloud.

Finally, the report confirms that the Notes and Reminders icons spotted on a beta.icloud.com website late last week will be associated with new functionality to sync those services via iCloud for access through both dedicated apps and the iCloud website.

All of the new iCloud features are expected to make their way into iOS 6, whose preview is expected at WWDC.

Source: Mac Rumors

Apple To Upgrade iCloud With Photo Sharing, Notes And Reminders is a post from: The Apple Bites

Seventeen more states have joined the antitrust lawsuit against Apple and several book publishing houses over the pricing of ebooks.

Perhaps more interesting are certain details released in the latest filing that were previously redacted. Here an email from Steve Jobs is also included. Portions of this email have been seen before, but this is the first chance the public has had to see a major negotiation written by the former CEO.

PaidContent reported that Steve Jobs became directly involved in the pricing negotiations after Apple executive “Eddy Cue could not secure one of the Conspiring Publisher’s commitment directly from an executive.” Jobs “wrote to an executive at the parent company, in part”:

As I see it, [Conspiring Publisher] has the following choices:

1. Throw in with Apple and see if we can all make a go of this to create a real mainstream ebooks market at $12.99 and $14.99.

2. Keep going with Amazon at $9.99. You will make a bit more money in the short term, but in the medium term Amazon will tell you they will be paying you 70% of $9.99. They have shareholders too.

3. Hold back your books from Amazon. Without a way for customers to buy your ebooks, they will steal them. This will be the start of piracy and once started, there will be no stopping it. Trust me, I’ve seen this happen with my own eyes.

Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see any other alternatives. Do you?

The complaint has claimed that the publishers and Apple “worked together to force” Random House – the one publishing company to turn down the agency pricing model favored by Apple – to adopt it as well. The claim went on as far to claim that publishing companies tried to convince Barnes & Noble to not feature Random House books in any of its advertising. Apparently, Barnes & Noble obliged.

Regarding the case, Apple has publicly defended itself. Apple also said that it wants to defend itself in a jury trial, saying that allegations against the company were “simply not true.”

Source: Mac Rumors

Book Pricing Lawsuit Reveals More Details Of Apple’s Negotiations is a post from: The Apple Bites

Recently, Foxconn CEO Terry Gou had leaked information about Foxconn manufacturing the rumored television set from Apple. Obviously, his comments would enraged Apple who are well-known for their secrecy regarding projects under development.

Now, to save its face, Foxconn has issued a public statement denying the news of CEO making comments about preparing for a rumored Apple television. However, Gou had also said that the manufacturing of development of rumored TV set had not begun yet.

The Chinese manufacturer provided a written statement to TheNextWeb. It stated that Gou neither confirmed nor speculated about the company’s involvement in the production of any product.

It is Foxconn’s policy not to comment on any customers or their products. The statement claimed:

“Any reports that Foxconn confirmed that it is preparing to produce a specific product for any customers are not accurate.”

Although Foxconn did not issue any comments about a possible Apple television set, the company did forge a deal with LCD maker, Sharp, in March giving it a 11% stake in the company for $808 million. The deal has sparked speculation that Foxconn and Sharp have teamed up to produce panels for an anticipated television set from Apple.

Foxconn is usually a good source of Apple-related leaks over the past few years. However, none of those leaks came from public comments by any of the company’s CEOs. As for news regarding the Apple television set, one needs to wait with patience.

Source: Modmyi

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Foxconn CEO Denies His Comments On Apple Television Set is a post from: The Apple Bites

The Time Warner Cable CEO, Glenn A. Britt, has recently admitted that he is unfamiliar with AirPlay. According to a report by New York Times, Britt does not think it affects the cable business.

Many consumers and analysts find this statement to be one of true ignorance. This statement comes as a shocker to many.

During a group interview last week, Britt said there was no easy way to get internet video onto a TV. Obviously, he overlooked the fact that AirPlay allowed consumers to do just that. AirPlay can easily send a media stream from your iOS device to your TV via an Apple TV wirelessly. Furthermore, Apple’s TV offering is not the only option here as others such as Boxee Box, Roku, or Google TV all have similar offerings.

Despite claiming to be an Apple user, Britt said:

“I’m not sure I know what AirPlay is.The current Apple TV, the little thing, the hockey puck, really doesn’t do anything to help you enable you to get Internet material on your TV.”

It seems a bit surprising that a chief executive of a cable company would not know about the very feature that may hurt his business in the future. The ignorance does not say much about the company or Britt himself and it definitely does not bode well for future plans.

After all the criticism about his statements, it would not be a surprise to learn that Britt figured out what AirPlay is and is planning on taking action to improve the cable business accordingly.

Source: Modmyi

Time Warner CEO Does Not Know AirPlay Feature is a post from: The Apple Bites