Kelly Hodgkins

In line with yesterday's announcement, Apple today made available a pre-release version of OS X Yosemite to consumers who signed up for the company's OS X public beta program. Public beta program members can access promo codes through the beta program website that allow them to download Yosemite from the Mac App Store for free. Early reviews of the pre-release build are favorable, with...

Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group today denied a recent report that it was working with Apple to develop a smartwatch product, reports Reuters. VentureBeat first reported this joint venture, citing an unnamed source with knowledge of Apple's plans. A spokeswoman for Swatch told Reuters that the Apple rumor was "unfounded," adding that Swatch's only relationship with mobile phone manufacturers,...

According to 9to5Mac, Apple is putting the finishing touches on iOS 8 in advance of a September iPhone and iOS 8 launch event. Based on current projections, Apple is unsurprisingly tentatively planning to hold this iPhone-oriented event in mid-September. In line with previous reports, Apple is said to be aiming for a second product launch event in October for the iWatch and OS X Yosemite. iPhon ...

Apple made a significant investment into research and development this past quarter, increasing spending in the category by 36 percent over the same quarter last year, reports Financial Times. As noted by BTIG Research analyst Walt Piecyk, Apple's $1.6 billion quarterly investment represents 4 percent of sales, the highest percentage of spending in R&D since 2006, the year before Apple released...

As hinted at in an earlier report from Nikkei, Sony today confirmed it is investing 35 billion yen ($345 million) to increase the production of image sensors for smartphones and tablets, reports Reuters. The electronics firm will use the 35 billion yen to boost production of stacked CMOS sensors at two factories in Kyushu, Japan as well as complete work at a factory it recently purchased...

According to a new report from Taiwan's Economic Daily News, Apple's third-generation iPad mini will be an "Air"-like model, featuring a design that shaves 30 percent off the thickness of the device. This thinness along with a powerful new A8 processor will be among the main selling points for the next generation iPad mini, claims the Asian sources (via GforGames). Mockups of the next ...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple a patent that describes a wrist-worn device containing sensors and wireless radios that allow it to communicate with other devices such as the iPhone, iPad or Mac (Via AppleInsider). It is a comprehensive patent that describes some of the core features of Apple's rumored iWatch device. Front view of a device similar to a ...

As part of a recent Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE/X) conference presentation, forensic scientist and iPhone jailbreak expert Jonathan Zdziarski detailed several backdoor security mechanisms that are secretly included in iOS by Apple. These mechanisms make covert data collection easier for Apple and governmental authorities, reports Zdziarski via ZDNet. Zdziarski confirms that iOS is...

The European Commission announced today that Apple has not adequately addressed the issue of unauthorized in-app purchases, providing "no concrete and immediate solutions" to the problem, reports Reuters. This subject of in-app purchases within free apps was the focus of a recent EU investigation following complaints from several consumer groups in European Union member countries. Apple said...

Following the premature posting of information about the program, Amazon today officially announced Kindle Unlimited, a new e-book and audiobook subscription service that provides unlimited access to 600,000 Kindle titles and thousands of Audible audiobooks for $9.99 per month. Subscribers can access the content on any Kindle device or via the Kindle app on the iPad, iPhone or Mac. The...

The United States Patent and Trademark Office today published an Apple patent application (via AppleInsider) describing methods for detecting the behavior of the person who is currently using the device and comparing them to past patterns. While the January 2013 patent application, "Generating Notifications Based on User Behavior", speaks relatively generically about such notifications, the...

Months before Apple is expected to release its next-generation iPhone, functional iPhone 6 clones already are starting to appear in China's mobile phone marketplace. One of the first clones, the Wico i6, is profiled by 86DIGI (via Nowhereelse.fr) in a two-part hands-on video. (Note: Contains fairly loud soundtrack of The Carpenters' "Top of the World") Like most clones, the Wico i6 is...

Paul McCartney today announced the addition of five of his classic albums to the iOS App store as iPad apps, reports The Guardian. McCartney is following in the footsteps of other musicians such as Lady Gaga and Björk, who also used the tablet device to further the reach of their music. McCartney's iPad apps feature some of the musician's most popular albums -- Band on the Run, McCartney, Mc...

Following reports earlier this year that suppliers' struggles to produce an adequate volume of wafer-thin batteries for the rumored 5.5-inch iPhone 6 may contribute to an early 2015 launch for the device rather than a late 2014 launch alongside the smaller 4.7-inch model, a new report from Chinese media sources (via GforGames) suggests the problem may have been solved as Apple has found a new...

Slated to arrive sometime next month, Kickstarter-funded iStick will allow iPhone and iPad owners to easily transfer files between their computers and iOS devices that are equipped with a Lightning connector. The thumb drive, which raised $1.1 million on Kickstarter, features a slider that allows users to switch between a standard USB connector and a Lightning connector that plugs into an...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has denied Apple's trademark application for the "Touch ID" name used for its fingerprint recognition technology, citing a similar trademark owned by Kronos Technology. The USPTO rejection letter was sent to Apple in May 2014, according to Patently Apple, which recently uncovered the communication. In its letter to Apple, the USPTO said Apple's trademark ...

Fuel cell firm Intelligent Energy may be partnering with Apple to introduce fuel cell technology into future MacBooks and other mobile devices claims a report in The Daily Mail. While the tabloid does not have a strong rumor track record, fuel cells have long been discussed as a possible energy source for portable electronics and there are a few interesting pieces of information linked to the...

Apple's iPad may be the cause of unexplained allergic rashes in children, reports The Washington Post, which cites a case study of an 11-year-old boy that was published in Pediatrics medical journal. The Pediatrics article focuses on an 11-year-old boy who may be allergic to the nickel used in the casing of the tablet device. Following the increasing use of an iPad, the patient developed a...

Apple, Coca-Cola and other high-profile companies across various sectors have agreed to participate in SupplierPay, a new White House initiative designed to accelerate payments for smaller firms in the company's supply chain. President Barack Obama is expected to announce the program and early adopters later today, reports the Wall Street Journal. The program will "strengthen small businesses by...

Besides a larger display, Apple's upcoming iPhone 6 also may feature a faster A8 processor that pushes the system-on-a-chip beyond the 2.0 GHz threshold, claims GforGames citing Chinese media source cnBeta [Google Translate]. A7 transistor die photo from Chipworks According to the latest information, Apple will reportedly increase the CPU frequency of its next-generation SoC to 2.0 GHz or...