applications

In a recent patent application uncovered by AppleInsider, Apple is investigating the use of power-efficient organic light-emitting diode displays for its mobile devices, a technology that could help improve the battery life of iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches.

Apple is banking on OLED's light emissive approach, which has lower power constraints than LED's light transmissive technology, currently used in iPhones and iPads.

In short, when OLED displays need to show white, it uses a ton of power to do so. As AppleInsider notes, the darks are darker, the contrast ratio is better, and the power efficiency is outstanding--save … Read more

Google's mobile browser leapfrogged Opera Mini to take the second-place spot in worldwide usage of the Web with smartphones and tablets in October.

The change, revealed in Net Applications' monthly browser usage statistics, reflects the shift from older phone operating systems where Opera Mini is more popular to Android. But while Google's unbranded browser rose in the rankings, from 16.3 percent in September to 18.7 percent in October, top-ranked Apple rose even more.

Safari usage rose from 55.6 percent to 62.2 percent, extending its dominance in mobile computing.

Opera Mini plunged from 18.9 … Read more

Foursquare has launched a new feature, called Radar, that helps iOS 5 users find out what's going on around them.

To get the feature to work, users can start following lists. Based on the focus of a respective list--Foursquare gave "101 Best Dishes of 2011" as an example--the application will find locations or establishments nearby that might relate to it and alert users. The service also lets users know when and where a group of friends might be meeting up nearby.

"The app doesn't even have to be open, it just works," Foursquare wrote in a blog post … Read more

Savvy app developers looking to connect with the major players in the wireless industry can find their networking needs met at the CTIA Enterprise and Application show.

The wireless confab, which officially kicks off today, will offer small developers access to the major carriers, handset manufacturers, and large businesses looking to delve more into the mobile world.

"For developers, it's all about the opportunities," said Rob Mesirow, vice president and show director for CTIA.

CTIA was actually ahead of its time in its focus on apps. The show was previously called Wireless Apps before it was changed … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers. This week readers wrote in with questions on restoring a missing Mail application in OS X, photos in iPhoto not uploading to Facebook, fixing a non-booting iMac without the installation DVD, and movie files requiring QuickTime 7 to run. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Restoring a missing Mail application on OS X MacFixIt reader "Randel" asks:… Read more

If you use OS X Lion, you might run into a problem where upon switching applications, entering Mission Control, or using other features of the OS that manage application windows, the collection of currently open windows for a program may disappear. If this happens, switching to the application or hiding and unhiding it does not reveal any windows, but if you check the Window menu in the application you will see that the windows are definitely active and recognized by the system as being available.

This bug may be with one of Lion's new window management features, such as … Read more

The Mac still owns a tiny market share compared with Windows, but it's one that's slowly been inching up.

In the U.S., Apple held 6.45 percent of all personal computers last month, according to new data from Net Applications, a gain from 6.03 percent from August. The growth from the prior month isn't a surprise, though, since Apple typically enjoys a boost in September thanks to what Net Applications calls "the Back-to-School Bump."

But the latest number also shows a slow but steady rise over the past couple of years from October … Read more

Google's browsers edged closer to second place in both desktop and mobile markets, a gradual trend that helps Google's profitability and its long-term plans for the Web.

On personal computers, Chrome rose from 15.5 percent of global usage in August to 16.2 percent in September, according to Net Applications, whose Web-based analytics tools monitor usage. Chrome trails Internet Explorer, which dropped from 55.3 percent to 54.4 percent, and Firefox, which dipped from 22.6 percent to 22.5 percent. Safari rose from 4.6 percent to 5.0 percent, and Opera was flat at … Read more

Question-and-answer site Quora has launched a new app for the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

The application, which was made available in Apple's App Store today, offers much of the functionality users find with the Web site version of the service. Users can ask questions, add answers on topics they're well-informed on, and search for questions on more than 60,000 topics, the company said.

To add a bit more functionality to the application, Quora is also utilizing the iPhone's location ability to add a new feature, called "Nearby." That feature lets users view topics on a map, and add questions about (and read answers about) the places or things around them. The Nearby feature also lets users explore other areas around the world to ask questions on topics related to a particular place.

Initial work on Quora began in 2009, and the service was officially launched to the public in June 2010. Since then, the question-and-answer service, which was founded by former Facebook employees Adam D'Angelo and Charlie Cheever, has attracted a loyal following made up of fact-seekers and experts that head to the site each day in the hopes of finding (or providing) the best answers to pressing questions.… Read more