Back when dedicated digital music players were still a thing, the big battle was between Apple’s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune. The iPod won this battle handily, over course, although that doesn’t mean the Zune was a bad product. In fact, the Zune really had a lot going for it that the iPod couldn’t match. More →
By all accounts, Apple can be a difficult place to work. In fact, it seems that just getting there is a chore. Information Age directs our attention to a new blog post from U.K.-based UX designer Luis Abreu, who recently had his application to work for Apple rejected despite going through “three screenings, five FaceTime calls and a trip to Cupertino.” More →
Given that smoking marijuana is sometimes the only way to understand certain statements made by one of its former governors, it’s all too proper that Alaska this week became the third state in the U.S. to legalize pot. The Associated Press brings us word that smoking, growing and possessing pot is now legal in America’s biggest state “thanks to a voter initiative aimed at clearing away 40 years of conflicting laws and court rulings.” More →
We hardly knew ye, Windows Phone. And I mean that literally almost none of us knew Windows Phone: The latest smartphone numbers from IDC are out and they show that Windows Phone has continued to lose market share over the past year even though it never had a strong market share to begin with. Overall, IDC found that Windows Phone’s total shipments “had the smallest year-over-year increase among the leading operating systems growing just 4.2%, well below the overall market.” The platform’s overall market share declined from an already tiny 3.3% in 2013 to an even more dismal 2.7% in 2014. More →
We’ve already seen the HTC One M9 leaked in a bunch of places but now @upleaks has published a major leak of HTC’s complete promotional videos that literally tell us every important feature about the new device. HTC was very quick to get these videos taken down when they first popped up on YouTube, so for your benefit we’ve taken several screencaps that will show you every important aspect of the new device. More →
The wonderful thing about being an analyst in this day and age is that you can usually say something completely crazy and people will forget about it the next day no matter how wrong it turns out to be. Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry, however, last year made possibly the stupidest claim in the history of tech analysis: Namely, he said that unless Apple came out with an Apple Watch within 60 days, it would simply “disappear.” More →
Anyone who’s ever had trouble charging an aging smartphone, move over — one iPhone 5c owner has any sob stories you have beat. A Redditor who goes by the name of moviedude26 this week posted a hilarious picture that shows the single most elaborate iPhone charging setup we’ve ever seen that involves wood clamps and a jar of clay. More →
One seriously overlooked detail from last week’s big Bloomberg report on Apple’s car project was that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed just how far Apple is willing to go to bring his best workers over to Cupertino. In fact, Musk actually told Bloomberg that Apple is “offering $250,000 signing bonuses and 60 percent salary increases” for jumping ship. More →
Cable bills have been increasing at triple the rate of inflation and it’s a good bet that your wireless bill has shot up in recent years too thanks to the rise of mobile data plans. Rather Be Shopping, however, contends that lowering your bill for these services is surprisingly easy as long as you’re willing to play hardball with your service provider. More →
HTC has started recovering from its sales slump of the last few years but the company knows that to keep gaining momentum it will need more than just smartphones. CNET’s Roger Cheng has a lengthy profile of HTC’s plan to remake itself from a company that’s known primarily for smartphones to a company that makes a plethora of interesting tech products, including both hardware and software. More →
Google Wallet never caught on like Google had hoped but the company now thinks it’s found the secret recipe for giving it fresh life: Partnering with mobile carriers and buying up parts of their own SoftCard platform to integrate with Google Wallet. More →
Comcast thought the Time Warner Cable merger would be all wrapped up by now, mostly because it’s so used to getting exactly what it wants from Washington. However, it’s been a year since the proposed merger was officially announced and its prospects are cloudier than they’ve ever been thanks in part to a series of customer service blunders that have left both companies embarrassed and apologetic about how they treat their own customers. More →
Apple has accused Samsung of stealing its ideas but now it looks like Apple is stealing away Samsung employees. The Korea Times reports that “Apple is luring away Samsung Electronics’ experts in next-generation technology” with a particular focus on “technicians and engineers engaged in signal- and visual-processing management.” Apple has also apparently recently been poaching Samsung battery experts, which is particularly interesting since it comes at a time when Apple is reportedly working on building its own electric car and is putting a great emphasis on developing more efficient sources of energy. More →
