iOS

Ad network finds Android in lead, iPhone surging

Android is the top mobile platform in North America, according to mobile ad network InMobi, but the iPhone's iOS is close behind thanks to a recent surge.

InMobi's Mobile Insights Report for April found that Google's Android remained in the lead among mobile platforms in North America with 37 percent of all ad impressions on its network, a slight increase from January. However, the launch of the Verizon iPhone in February helped boost Apple's share of ad impressions by 9.4 percentage points to 33 percent.

BlackBerry maker RIM found itself in third place in North … Read more

FCC, FTC to hold mobile location privacy forum

Government inquiries into what companies are doing with location information from mobile devices enter yet another round next month.

The Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission are holding a public forum on June 28 to discuss the topic, the AP reports. On the invite list are both Apple and Google, companies that have been called to testify in front of Senate subcommittees on the issue twice this month.

Representatives from Apple and Google are slated to appear in Washington, D.C., this Thursday to answer questions about mobile privacy and protection from U.S. lawmakers in a hearing … Read more

Google's speedier iPhone app '20 percent' faster

Google released an update to its Google Search app for iPhone today, claiming that the new and improved app is up to 20 percent more responsive than the previous version.

Interestingly, Google has decided that one of its signature features slows down performance and might erode accuracy. Just Talk uses the iPhone's accelerometer to activate voice search when you lift the phone to your ear, and was quite the stir when it first debuted. It's now turned off by default, though you can enable it in the settings and you can still manually launch a voice search by pressing the microphone button in the app.

In addition, Google has jiggered the search results to make them more finger-friendly. Fonts are larger, and you no longer have to precisely tap a link to open the page; you can just hit just the target area. It looks like the concept of "fat fingered" selection has sunk in.

Google Search is free, and it's available in the App Store for devices running iOS 3.0 and above.… Read more

Report: Apple looking into Lodsys patent claim

Apple is said to be "actively investigating" the patent claims made by holdings firm Lodsys, which last week began sending a handful of developers notices that their apps were infringing on a patent the group held, The Guardian reports.

Just yesterday Lodsys posted a series of frequently asked questions, along with corresponding answers to its blog, wherein it detailed how its patent pertains to the in-app purchase feature of iOS, and the developers who use it. The group seeks an ongoing, revenue-based licensing fee, as well as back payment on apps that make use of the feature.

So … Read more

Office² HD 4.0 adds PowerPoint support, mostly

Office², the app that lets you view and edit Microsoft Office Documents, has just today announced support for PowerPoint Presentations with version 4.0, making it a good way to take your Microsoft work with you on your iPad, but it has one major limitation.

It's no secret that when Apple's first iPad hit stores, working people wondered if they could get rid of their laptops and use the touch screen for business and productivity purposes. Apple offered up solid, but abbreviated versions of their own iWork suite (with some Microsoft compatibility), but many users' companies relied … Read more

Rumor: Apple to bring iPhone to Sprint

A recent job posting from Apple hints at a possible budding relationship with Sprint that could bring the iPhone to one of the leaders in 4G technology. Stop it, AT&T, a blog focused on "activism against bandwidth caps and monopolistic behavior," has uncovered a job posting that may strengthen earlier rumors that Sprint is closer to having an iPhone running on its network.

The posting is for a new member for Apple's Carrier Engineering team, responsible for:

"day-to-day technical interactions with the one or more carriers to track down issues reported by the carrier, … Read more

Apple, Google, Facebook to talk privacy with Senate

A second U.S. Senate hearing over location privacy has been scheduled, a move intended to highlight how well companies notify their customers about when and how their whereabouts are stored and transmitted.

Following the U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing about mobile privacy last week, representatives from Apple and Google are expected to again appear in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to answer questions from U.S. lawmakers in a new hearing that will also include Facebook.

The topic of a hearing, put on by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance, is "… Read more

Analyst: No NFC chip in next iPhone

Apple's next iPhone will not be getting a near field communications (NFC) chip, according to a new report from analyst group Bernstein Research.

That report, picked up by Bloomberg and care of Business Insider, comes more than a year after signs surfaced that Apple was exploring the use of NFC chips in its mobile devices. Reports since then have been conflicting, with some saying the feature would arrive in the next device, and others pushing it out to the version after that.

NFC allows data transfer between two devices at short distances (about 4 inches). For phones and other … Read more

Lodsys posts FAQ on its in-app purchase patent

Lodsys, the intellectual property holdings firm behind last week's letters telling iOS app makers their use of in-app purchase was stepping on the toes of a patent, has come out with an FAQ (frequently asked questions) on the matter. In short, the group says that by creating and selling applications that make use of in-app purchase, app developers are responsible for paying a licensing fee.

The FAQ, which has been posted as a series of individual posts on the company's blog, delves into a number of topics, though primarily how its patent pertains to in-app purchases and why … Read more