Led by Air & mini, Apple's iPad grows lead in shrinking global tablet market

Led by Air & mini, Apple's iPad grows lead in shrinking global tablet market: "No new iPads were announced at last week's press event. Apple could be waiting for the spring —taking a cue from the 9.7-inch iPad Pro launch earlier this year —but has also de-emphasized the iPad in general, since sales have been on the decline for many quarters."

Much prefer the pad to the phone. Hopefully this will prevent Apple from discontinuing the Mac line in favor of iPad.

Apple announces 1 billion iOS devices sold | 9to5Mac

Apple announces 1 billion iOS devices sold | 9to5Mac: "Today during Apple’s Q1 earnings call with investors, CEO Tim Cook announced that the company sold its billionth iOS device back in November."

That's a lot of millions. Let's get that iOS lean and mean so the older devices are functional again. I'm talking iPad2 & iPod 4G.

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day

9to5Mac: Apple iPhone, Mac and iPad News Breaking All Day: "Ars Technica has done some field tests using an iPhone 4s running iOS 8. Although the operating system runs decently, there are definitely some drawbacks that might stop iPhone 4s users from hitting update right away."

The real question is how much the working set for the OS has increased which will impact all 3rd party applications in unexpected ways.

‘No man’s land’: How a bigger iPhone 6 will require developers to rethink their app designs | 9to5Mac

‘No man’s land’: How a bigger iPhone 6 will require developers to rethink their app designs | 9to5Mac
When I first upgraded from my iPhone 4 to the iPhone 5s, I immediately noticed an incredible upgrade in the clarity and sharpness of the larger 4-inch Retina display, but also some usability issues that plagued my iPhone usage experience...

Supporting more than the 3 existing display configurations has nightmare written all over it. Pretty soon, developers will be using a HTML style flow layout instead of trying to use native controls and absolute positioning. I mean, the NIB model was never designed with this kind of complexity in mind.

Cue health tracker brings molecular-level testing to iOS

Cue health tracker brings molecular-level testing to iOS: "The culmination of four years of research and development, Cue's eponymous device is a small, modular, noninvasive hardware solution that unlocks key health information previously available only from specialized diagnostics laboratories. "

The NeXT wave of health care reform. Ready or not, here I come!

This is the room where the iPhone was born | 9to5Mac

This is the room where the iPhone was born | 9to5Mac - Ahead of the latest Apple-Samsung trial, Apple is sharing some of the details regarding the creation of the iPhone with the WSJ. As an aside, Apple also shared a shot of the secret windowless room where the original iPhone meetings took place. 

Such humble beginnings.

Apple adds support for new, previously-unknown iPad models in iOS 7.1

Apple adds support for new, previously-unknown iPad models in iOS 7.1 - In addition to updates for the company's latest iPhones and iPads, Apple's download server plays host to iOS 7.1 bundles targeted at iPads with model identifiers iPad4,3 and iPad4,6. As first noted by iClarified, those identifiers have not been seen before in the wild.

Sneaky leaky!

The DeanBeat: The new golden age of gaming | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi

The DeanBeat: The new golden age of gaming | GamesBeat | Games | by Dean Takahashi - Now we have the Unity engine and the App Store. We can build games with small teams. We’re entering an age where the cost of building games will go down.

Geez, time to invest in Unity. What an incredible vote for the platform.

Apps no longer differentiator in iOS vs. Android war, services next battleground

Apps no longer differentiator in iOS vs. Android war, services next battleground - The app ecosystem has transitioned to where it no longer matters how many apps each OS has, but rather the satisfaction the user gets out of them

News to my ears.

Apple releases videos, slides from iOS 7 Tech Talks developer conferences

Apple releases videos, slides from iOS 7 Tech Talks developer conferences - The iOS 7 Tech Talks are small developer conferences that give app creators a deeper understanding of the new core technologies available in Apple's latest mobile operating system.

Learningversity for the new iOS. Just add Coursera and WWDC videos.

iPhones Dominate Sales at All Four Major U.S. Carriers - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD

iPhones Dominate Sales at All Four Major U.S. Carriers - John Paczkowski - Mobile - AllThingsD - Prior to the launch of the iPhone 5s and 5c, the iPhone 5 was Apple’s sole Top 3 entrant at the big four carriers, and it held the top spot at AT&T alone; it was the second-most-popular handset at Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile, where Samsung’s Galaxy S4 led the pack.

Still, that's a lot of Galaxy there.

Apple's iOS App Store now offers 'last compatible' versions of apps for older devices

Apple's iOS App Store now offers 'last compatible' versions of apps for older devices
The new app accessibility, first spotted by a user on Reddit, allows owners of older Apple products like the iPhone 3GS or 3G to download a compatible version of an app if the most recent update does not support their device's firmware."

I think this is really good news. I even ran into this problem with Snow Leopard / Lion / Mountain Lion.

Apps Rocket Toward $25 Billion in Sales - Jessica E. Lessin and Spencer E. Ante - Mobile - AllThingsD

Apps Rocket Toward $25 Billion in Sales - Jessica E. Lessin and Spencer E. Ante - Mobile - AllThingsD: "Nearly five years after Apple Inc. kicked off the mobile-apps craze, the industry is booming."

They kicked it off. Hard.

50M Phones and Tablets Activated and 1.76B App Downloads This Holiday - Tricia Duryee - Commerce - AllThingsD

50M Phones and Tablets Activated and 1.76B App Downloads This Holiday - Tricia Duryee - Commerce - AllThingsD: "Overall, it was a very appy holiday season..."

A very apply holiday season!

Six App Discovery Search Platforms Worth a Second Look | Intel® Developer Zone

Six App Discovery Search Platforms Worth a Second Look | Intel® Developer Zone: "App discoverability – whereby an app that is targeted toward a specific user is able to be found by that user - is one of the biggest obstacles facing developers today."

Unless there is some kind of major change in the design of the various app stores, I predict most future app discovery will happen via Google, which is silly when you think about it.

'iPad mini' build cost estimated to start at $200, may retail for $299

'iPad mini' build cost estimated to start at $200, may retail for $299
A preliminary breakdown of expected component and manufacturing costs finds that Apple is likely to spend $195 to $254 in building the various models of its rumored 7.85-inch iPad"

I think the Mini will need to be more than $299 unless they are offering less storage than the iPod 5G. Why would anyone buy a $299 iPod 5G if they can get a mini iPad for the same price?

New iPod touch said to have built-in GPS & new colors, to act as game controller

New iPod touch said to have built-in GPS & new colors, to act as game controller
Apple is reportedly set to unveil a next-generation iPod touch that will be a major change from its predecessor, packing in a dedicated GPS receiver, a high-definition FaceTime camera, and a 4-inch in-cell touchscreen — and potentially acting as a game controller with other devices like the Mac or iPad.

It's about time we had a new pod.

ITC judge invokes 'Cheech and Chong' test in Apple-Samsung case

ITC judge invokes 'Cheech and Chong' test in Apple-Samsung case: "According to Bloomberg, Judge Thomas Pender said that the patent design case may boil down to the 'Cheech and Chong' test, which identifies an object using the following no-nonsense qualifications: ‘Does it look like it, feel like it, smell like it?’"

A whole new meaning to look & feel...

Alternatives to $60 video games | Games Blog - Yahoo! Games

Alternatives to $60 video games | Games Blog - Yahoo! Games
"I think there's something exciting going on," says Simon Munk, a freelance gaming and tech journalist. "I grew up playing in the 70s and 80s when games were made by developers in their bedroom. And now that's happening again — loads of games recently wouldn't have been made even four or five years ago, but now have a chance. We're seeing a return to creativity and risks.""

SOURCE: http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/alternatives-60-video-games-192535376.html

It's a revolution in apps! Power to the people.

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