Kelly Hodgkins

Japenese blog Mac Otakara today published a video showing what is claimed to be the rear shell from a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 alongside the iPhone 5s and several iPhone 6 mockups. Similar to earlier photos, the Mac Otakara shell includes a complex internal structure and cutouts for the camera, flash and Apple logo. In line with previous rumors, the shell is significantly thinner than the iPhone ...

Following our report from earlier today, Apple has launched its new entry-level 16 GB fifth-generation iPod touch, while also cutting the price on the current 32/64 GB iPod touch, offering them for $249 and $299, respectively. The new iPod touch is available in six different colors with a rear camera and a lower price tag of $199. The 16 GB model now offers the same features as the larger ...

Apple's proposed acquisition of Beats Electronics is facing its first regulatory hurdle after the Cupertino company announced the deal last month. As reported by Reuters, European Union's Antitrust Commission is expected to make a decision on the purchase by July 30. The EU regulators can approve the deal unconditionally, demand concessions if they have anti-competitive concerns or order a...

Looking over a nearby person's shoulder is a common technique used to steal a PIN code for a device that is targeted for imminent theft. But as reported by Wired, a research team from the University of Massachusetts Lowell has taken this shoulder surfing trick to a whole new level by increasing the working distance and automating the process using Google Glass and other similar camera-equipped,...

Best Buy is now offering the new entry-level iMac for $979.99, a $120 discount off its standard price of $1099. Combined with the recent educational discount that takes an additional $150 off the price of Apple iMacs and MacBooks, the new iMac model can be purchased by qualifying customers for just $829.99. While the $980 sale price is available to all customers until June 28, the extra...

Demand for the next generation iPhone remains strong in the months before its expected fall debut, claims a report from RBC Capital Markets analysts. According to a 4,000 person survey conducted by RBC, half of consumers who plan to upgrade their phone in the next three months intend to buy an iPhone and a quarter of those would be willing to pay $100 more for their iPhone to have a 5.5-inch...

Microsoft today announced several changes to its OneDrive cloud storage services, starting with a massive increase to 1 TB of storage for all Office 365 subscription plans. This expanded storage will be will be automatically added to existing Home, Personal, University or Business subscribers starting in July. While the 1TB feature is new for Home, Personal, and University users, this upgrade prev...

A report from China Times (via GforGames) claims Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is expanding its 8-inch chip plant in order to produce Touch ID sensors for the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3. TSMC is planning to produce 120 million Touch ID units in 2014, a 233 percent year over year increase as the sensor expands beyond the flagship iPhone to other iOS devices. In line with a previous ...

iOS 8 will include a revamped Weather app with data provided by the Weather Channel instead of Yahoo, which previously powered Apple's weather app for years. This switchover of weather services allegedly was masterminded by former Yahoo board member and Weather Channel CEO David Kenny after he assumed his leadership role at the weather information company last year, reports Re/Code. Kenny...

The Yo messaging app [Direct Link] debuted earlier this year and recently rocketed up the iOS App Store charts, where it currently sits at number five among top free iPhone apps in the United States. The simplistic app that does nothing more than allow users to ping contacts with a simple "Yo" message may be gaining traction with its quirky ease of use, but a hack, confirmed by Yo founders to Tech...

Apple is working to open up camera controls in iOS 8, giving photographers granular control over settings such as ISO, shutter speed, and more, reports AnandTech. While only a few manual controls will make it into the stock camera app, almost full manual control will be made available for third-party app developers to implement as of iOS 8. According to AnandTech, iOS 8's AVCaptureDevice...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published several patent applications describing an iPhone-based system to collect and analyze data from wearable and other types of accessory sensors, reports AppleInsider. Under the system, the iPhone could then track the owner's activity and respond with appropriate notifications and changes in the device settings. One patent application, "Method...

On the same day it launched a new entry-level iMac model, Apple also used the downtime to adjust the prices on other hardware in some European markets. The price cuts we've noticed affect European models of the Mac mini, the European Apple TV and iMac models in the UK. Pricing on the Mac mini dropped between €30 and €60, depending on the country and model. Most European stores are now...

Longtime GPS navigation leader Garmin is expanding its app portfolio with its newly-announced navigation title, Viago. The maps company hopes to compete with free navigation apps such as Apple Maps by offering Viago with an affordable price tag and a robust set of core navigation features. Viago sets itself apart from the competition with a set of standard navigation features that are not...

FiftyThree announced today (via TechCrunch) that its "Pencil" iPad stylus will be updated with a new Surface Pressure feature when iOS 8 debuts later this year. This feature allows users to change the thickness of the lines they create by controlling how much of the pencil tip comes in contact with the iPad screen. Pencil’s tapered tip was inspired by the expressive richness of real pencil...

According to a letter filed in the Southern District Court of New York, Apple has reached an out-of-court settlement with both class action lawyers and state district attorneys over e-book price-fixing, reports Bloomberg. Settlement details remain sealed and must be approved by the court. If approved, this agreement will end litigation ahead of a potentially costly damages trial that was...

WebMD today announced Healthy Target, a service that collects biometric data from activity trackers, wireless scales and other health monitoring devices and uses this information to deliver tips on healthy living. The release comes as a number of companies, including Apple, are looking at ways to integrate health and fitness tracking from a variety of sensors and devices to give consumers an...

A growing number of complaints on Apple's Support forums suggest there is an ongoing problem with Apple's iTunes Match service. According to the posts in multiple threads, the service times out when users try to upload new tracks for matching by Apple's iTunes servers. "I've been using iTunes Match for about a year and a half and have started experiencing a new problem in the last couple of...

Microsoft earlier this year introduced Cortana, an intelligent virtual assistant to compete with iOS' Siri and Android's Google Now. Cortana was launched as a Windows Phone 8.1 feature, but a new report from Search Engine Land suggests Microsoft may expand the service to iOS and Android. Speaking at the SMX Advanced conference in Seattle yesterday, Windows Phone Group Program Manager Marcus...

Microsoft announced earlier this week that it was close to releasing a new version of its Skype for iOS app with a streamlined design and improved performance. Arriving as projected, the new Skype 5.0 for iPhone is rolling out now in the iOS App Store. Some users are reporting seeing the update in their App Store "Update" pane but are unable to download, so users should be patient as it...