MacRumors

Multiple Apple Stores in the United States have started price matching the iPhone 5c and the iPad Air, reports 9to5Mac. On those particular devices, some Apple Stores will match the prices of brick and mortar retailers that have been selling the products below retail price.

Walmart, for example, sells the entry-level 16 GB iPad Air for $479, a $20 discount off of the standard retail price Apple offers. MacRumors heard conflicting reports of Apple Stores price matching discounts over Black Friday, but following the major shopping holiday, it appears retail employees may have been given more flexibility when it comes to price matching options.

Released in September and October respectively, both the iPhone 5c and the iPad Air have been widely available since the launch, while supplies of the iPhone 5s and the Retina iPad mini have been far more constrained, which explains why Apple is not offering price matching on those particular products at this time.

Apple's price matching policies vary from store to store, and some stores may opt out of price matching all together. Price matching only applies to physical stores and is limited to a 10 percent total discount, which means customers can still find a better deal elsewhere in some cases, especially when it comes to the deep discounts offered on the iPhone 5c.

Update: According to a retail employee, Apple now has an official policy on price matching, which allows specialists to price match iPhones, iPads, and Macs, giving up to 10 percent off on products without authorization. Specialists are also allowed to give business customers up to 20% off a non-Apple accessory when purchased with an Apple product via special order.

Currently, the iPhone 5s and the Retina iPad mini are excluded from price matching.

Following last week's announcement of Siri "Eyes Free" integration for select Honda and Acura vehicles, Honda today held a Google Hangout to announce even deeper integration for the 2014 Honda Civic and 2015 Honda Fit.

The new Civic, which goes on sale tomorrow, and the upcoming Fit, which launches early next year, will offer an all-new Display Audio interface featuring a 7-inch touchscreen that will be familiar to smartphone users, offering easy access to a variety of features.

Offering one of the largest touchscreens in its class, Display Audio uses the familiar pinch, swipe and tap functionality of a smartphone to access audio, phonebook, media, vehicle information and available navigation features.

Icons resembling smartphone apps are displayed on a 7-inch, high-definition, capacitive touchscreen, making the interface intuitive and easy to use.

Leveraging the large touchscreen display, new HondaLink apps for iOS will allow users to seamlessly connect their iPhone 5, 5s, or 5c to vehicle systems for accessing online content. The suite consists of four iOS apps now available:

- Connect App – Provides convenient access for many services including location searches, local weather, messaging, Maintenance Minder alerts, service scheduling by phone, and access to the Owners Guide. Users can tap for weather updates and store favorite destinations for quick routing with the Navigation app.

- Navigation App – For the first time Honda is offering a comprehensive cloud-based navigation app for purchase [$59.99 in the App Store] that includes 3D mapping and continuously updated traffic information. As the first navigation app developed by an automaker with mapping data provided by HERE, a Nokia business, this app offers a variety of location search options including search by point of interest, text search, or previous locations. Routes can be pre-planned on a smartphone and will display on the vehicle’s touchscreen. Turn-by-turn routing guidance is available through the vehicle’s audio system as well.

- Aha App – provides access to an extensive and diverse selection of audio content across multiple genres and demographics, plus featured new stations, Internet radio, podcasts, audiobooks, news, Twitter and Facebook updates and nearby location listings for restaurants, coffee houses, hotels, weather, parks, and gas stations. Users can tap to personalize stations or add favorites via smartphone or directly through the Display Audio interface.

- Launcher App – Finds and organizes Honda-approved 3rd party apps so they can be quickly integrated into the Display Audio system. Approved apps can be found through the Launcher and shown on the Display Audio screen for easy access.

Beyond the new HondaLink features, the Civic and Fit with Display Audio will also be the first Honda vehicles to have factory installed support for Siri Eyes Free, with the compatibility for 2013-2014 Honda Accord and 2013 Acura RDX and ILX models announced last week arriving as a dealer installed accessory.

Apple has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (via AppleInsider) for a system that allows for a personal computing device such as a Mac or iPhone to be controlled through facial detection and recognition, primarily for security and convenience purposes.

The patent, which was filed back in 2008, introduces itself by describing the problem with the interaction between users and current electronics, stating that devices such as computers inconvenience the user by requiring action in order to continue operating without interruption, along with detailing the security hazard that comes with the inability of passwords to detect a truly authorized user.

The facial recognition and detection system is broken up into three separate parts, and includes a face detection decision application, a face recognition application, and an input/output control manager, all working with an image sensor to determine whether a user is authorized to control a device.

In a further aspect, a personal media device includes an image sensor that captures one or more images. The device includes a data store having at least one known face pattern that is associated with an authorized user of the media device. The device includes a processor that detects one or more faces in the captured images, recognizes at least one of faces as the face of the authorized user by comparing the one or faces with the data store, and controlling the operation of an application of the device in response to recognizing at least one of the faces as the face of the authorized user.

An incoming phone call is cited as an example scenario that could benefit from a facial recognition and detection system, with the system keeping the screen off and only giving off a ringtone or vibration alert if a user is not authorized compared to displaying a normal call screen for an authorized user. The same principle is applied to an incoming email, where a message can be hidden if an unauthorized user is detected.

The patent also details a number of examples as to what information the facial detection and recognition system cites in authorizing users, with information such as visual facial features and background being matched up against stored information to determine whether control of a device can be accessed or not.

It is unknown exactly how or even whether Apple plans to utilize this technology in its products, but competitors such as Samsung and Google have already touted simple facial recognition as key features in their products. Apple also recently completed its acquisition of 3D body sensing firm PrimeSense, and while the system detailed in the patent differs from the firm's image sensing technology, both could be used as part of a bigger initiative by Apple to better integrate human recognition into its products.

This is also not the first time evidence of Apple's interest in face recognition has surfaced, with other patent applications addressing similar concepts while the company acquired Swedish face recognition firm Polar Rose back in 2010.

Following a brief premature appearance in Apple's online store over the weekend, FileMaker Pro 13 officially launches today with a number of enhancements including a new FileMaker WebDirect feature that offers access to databases through the Web. Other features include enhanced tools for iOS, new design options, and improved security.

FileMaker 13 includes more than 50 new features. Chief among them are:

- FileMaker WebDirect, an entirely new, HTML5 browser-based technology that allows teams to create and deploy desktop-style solutions in a web browser with no programming skills required.

- Tools to create amazing iPad and iPhone solutions that support even more iOS behaviors, including slide controls, popovers and the ability to scan records using gestures. iPad and iPhone layouts can now be created in one step; and iOS solutions can include single-click capture of bar codes using on-device cameras and custom keyboards that speed data entry.

- Major improvements to design capabilities, including support for shareable custom themes and styles, and the ability to drag and drop data fields onto design layouts.

- More robust security, with AES 256-bit encryption that locks down data no matter where it lives – on iPad, iPhone, desktop or server. FileMaker Pro 13 Advanced is used to enable encryption.

- Dozens of new enhancements for solution developers, from the ability to hide or display objects on a screen based on business logic to easier integration with web applications.

- Simplified server administration, including an entirely new HTML5 administrative console in FileMaker Server 13 for managing business solutions from anywhere.

FileMaker Pro 13 is available through traditional licensing methods starting at $329 new or $179 upgrade, while volume licensing is available starting as $9/month for FileMaker Pro, $15/month for FileMaker Pro Advanced, and $29/month for FileMaker Server.

FileMaker Go 13 is a free universal app for iPhone and iPad available in the App Store. [Direct Link]

Apple has purchased social analytics firm Topsy for more than $200 million, reports The Wall Street Journal. According to its website, Topsy is a social search and analytics company that partners with Twitter to maintain an index of Tweets going back to 2006.

Topsy also makes products to search and analyze trends on social websites like Twitter and Google+. With its analytics tools, companies can analyze keywords by several different metrics such as activity, exposure, geography, or general sentiment. The Topsy website also serves as a search engine that looks through shared content on social networks and ranks results based on a social influence algorithm.

Topsy specializes in data from Twitter, offering tools to analyze tweets and other information to help track consumer sentiment. Its tools can decipher how often a specific term is tweeted, find an influential person on a specific subject, or measure the exposure of an event or campaign.

The company is one of a handful of Twitter’s partners who have access to the so-called "firehose"—the full stream of all tweets posted to the service. Topsy competes with DataSift Inc. and Gnip Inc. to analyze and resell this data to customers.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed the acquisition with the company’s standard line: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans."

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple could possibly use Topsy's technology within iTunes Radio, and it could also be useful in the App Store, delivering content recommendations based on Twitter trends. It could also be used as a way to bolster iAd, providing data to marketers to serve targeted ads in iRadio.

Apple's purchase of Topsy comes after several other acquisitions earlier this year focused on mapping. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, Apple made a total of 15 acquisitions during fiscal 2013.

Following the initial revelation of some details on a new 24-inch 3840 x 2160 "4K" Ultra HD display from Dell yesterday, the company has now officially announced that the display launches today in the Americas with a $1399 price tag. A 32-inch model at the same resolution is also available for $3499, while Dell will be introducing a 28-inch 4K display in early 2014 with breakthrough pricing of under $1000.

The flagship Dell UltraSharp 32 Ultra HD Monitor delivers stunning screen clarity and detail with Ultra HD 3840 x 2160 resolution and high pixel density on an expansive 31.5-inch screen. Dell’s largest monitor allows for easy multi-tasking and viewing multiple applications side by side, and its ultra-wide viewing angle ensures that images and colors remain consistent regardless of the perspective. Designed for graphic designers, video and game developers, CAD/CAM designers, engineers, photographers and other power users, the Dell UltraSharp 32 Ultra HD Monitor provides an exceptional, high performance viewing experience.

With the same remarkable, pin-point clarity, the Dell UltraSharp 24 Ultra HD Monitor, users can enjoy color consistency and precision from virtually any angle thanks to an ultra-wide viewing angle on a 28.3-inch screen. The UltraSharp 24 Ultra HD Monitor allows customers to see more and do more with uncompromising picture quality that facilitates multi-tasking on a screen that delivers four times more data than a Full HD monitor.

Both the 24-inch and 32-inch displays support refresh rates of 60 Hz over DisplayPort 1.2 and 30 Hz over HDMI, as well as a variety of ports including HDMI, DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, four USB 3.0 ports, and a media card reader. Both displays also offer height, tilt, and swivel adjustments.

Exact details on the upcoming 28-inch model have yet to be released, but Dell says that it will offer "the same incredible Ultra HD screen performance" as the other members of the 4K display family and will carry multiple input ports for flexible connectivity.

Dell's new 4K displays arrive just as speculation regarding a potential 4K display from Apple has escalated ahead of the launch of the new Mac Pro later this month. Apple touts the new Mac Pro as being able to drive up to three 4K displays, but the company has not made any announcements about its display plans. The recent introduction of new 4K display panels from AU Optronics fueled speculation that Apple could be nearing an introduction for new displays, but Dell's displays may be the strongest hint yet that Apple may have something in the works given the two companies have typically used the same panel suppliers for their displays.

Apple has posted a guide on holiday shipping deadlines on its website notifying shoppers when to place orders for Macs, iPads, iPhones, iPods, and accessories for delivery by December 24, 2013.

In the United States, Apple's earliest deadlines are for the Retina iPad mini and the iPad Air, which must be ordered by midnight on December 5 and December 9, respectively, for delivery by December 24. Other iPads can be ordered as late as December 22 with Next Day Shipping, but Next Day Shipping is not available for Apple’s most popular iPads.

Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 5s must also be ordered early, with a deadline of December 12 and no Next Day Shipping Available. Other non-engraved iPhones, iPods, and standard configuration Macs can be ordered as late as December 18 with standard shipping and December 22 with Next Day Air. Custom orders and orders with engravings must be placed earlier.

Apple is offering free shipping with no minimum order on all products through December 22 and later in the month, it is likely the company will upgrade that to free next-day shipping for last minute orders as it did last year. Free shipping typically requires a $50 minimum purchase, which has been waived through the holidays.

Holiday return periods have also been extended, with products purchased from November 1, 2013 through December 25, 2013 eligible for return until January 7, 2014.

Though Apple's iOS market share numbers have fallen behind Android in the past year, the platform still leads for Black Friday shopping.

According to research from IBM Benchmark, iOS users spent an average of $127.92 per order on Black Friday, versus an average of $105.20 per order for Android users.

Further, purchases from iOS devices accounted for 18.1 percent of all online sales tracked, while Android only represented 3.5 percent.

The data comes from millions of sales from 800 different U.S. retail websites tracked in IBM's Holiday Benchmark Report.

Separately, a report from Branding Brand (via TechCrunch) found that iOS made up two-thirds of mobile site visits to 152 smartphone-optimized websites.

According Branding Brand, iOS sent 66.62% of mobile site visits on Black Friday, while Android sent just 32.97% of the 9.3 million total visits accounted for across the sample 152 smartphone-optimized websites. These visits produced 174,111 orders, with a $93.20 average order value – an increase of 22.08% in average order value over Black Friday 2012.

Black Friday kicks off the traditional beginning of the holiday shopping season, continuing today with Cyber Monday.