Kelly Hodgkins

Apple is suing both a Chinese government agency and a Shanghai technology business over patents involving the company's Siri voice assistant, said Xinhua, the official state press agency of the People's Republic of China (via AFP). Apple launched the case against the State Intellectual Property Office, which is in charge of patent rights protection in China, and Shanghai's Zhizhen Network...

World Wrestling Entertainment today announced that its WWE Network channel is now live on the Apple TV and its updated WWE app is available in the iOS App Store [Direct Link]. WWE subscribers will have full access to the 24/7 live streaming network, which includes replays of classic matches, pay-per-view events like WrestleMania and other original programming. "Today is a historic day for WWE as...

WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum has announced at Mobile World Congress 2014 that the company will add voice calling to its popular messaging platform in Q2 2014, reports TechCrunch. The voice service will be added to iOS and Android first, with other platforms receiving the update at an unannounced future date. We use the least amount of bandwidth and we use the hell out of it,” he said. “We will focus ...

Google and LG are working on a smart watch that will likely be unveiled at the Google I/O developer conference in June, reports CNET. Google will reveal details on the device's operating system in advance of the hardware announcement, giving developers time to create apps for the device's retail launch. Google's smart watch endeavor will mirror its Nexus line of mobile devices, with Google...

Apple is preparing to open a new retail store in Lansing, Michigan, according to the Lansing State Journal. The plans for a 6,000 square foot store at the Eastwood Towne Center were discovered in paperwork submitted to Lansing Township officials by a contractor working with Apple. A contractor for the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology company filed an application with Lansing Township officials...

In light of recent reports stating that Apple is hard at work on an Apple TV refresh, Amazon is allegedly readying a new Web TV box that would compete with Apple's set-top box and the Roku, according to Re/code. The report states that Amazon's new media streaming device could be available as soon as March. Similar to rumors that surfaced last year, this latest information claims Amazon's...

Apple has completed the rollout of two-step verification in several new countries, reports 9to5Mac. As noted on Apple's website, these new locations include Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Spain. Reports from at least one German user suggests Germany already had two-step verification, but lacked the verification through SMS feature, which was enabled today. Last May, Apple expande...

Work at Apple's Campus 2 is well underway with most of the existing buildings now demolished and parking lot pavement removed, as shown in a recent aerial photograph (via MacGeneration) from Ron Cervi, a news and traffic reporter for KCBS. Demolition on the site began in November after Apple received unanimous approval for the project from the Cupertino City Council. Photo by Ron Cervi ...

Apple announced today that it is expanding its iTunes Festival to the US for the first time. Five shows will be held from March 11-15 during the Austin City Limits Live event at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas. The shows will serve as a part of the film and music-focused South by Southwest (SXSW) festivals which will be held in Austin from March 7-16, 2014. The live event will feature...

Apple may be choosing TPK as a touch panel supplier for its rumored iWatch, says a report in China Times (Via Digitimes). The Taiwan-based company will supposedly begin mass production of flexible AMOLED panels for the iWatch in the second half of 2014. The report said the iWatch will come equipped with a flexible AMOLED display and 3D protective glass. The rumors also speculated that the iWatch ...

Last year, Realmac launched Clear+, a universal, iOS 7-compatible version of its task manager that was meant to replace the original iPhone-only version. The original version of Clear was discontinued, but consumer backlash over having to pay again for a new copy of the task manager prompted Realmac to continue updating the iPhone app. After months of maintaining two versions of the app, Realmac h...

Samsung's upcoming flagship device, the Galaxy S5, will indeed ship with a fingerprint sensor, reports Samsung-focused blog SamMobile. Contrary to earlier reports which hinted at a fingerprint sensor embedded into the display, however, this latest report claims the Galaxy S5 will adopt Apple's model by integrating the sensor into the home button. Samsung Galaxy S5 render with Galaxy S4 and ...

Apple has released another story in its current "Your Verse" ad campaign for the iPad Air that showcases the extraordinary use of the tablet in a variety of situations. This latest edition shows how mountaineers Adrian Ballinger and Emily Harrington have used the iPad when scaling some of the world's most renowned mountains. Ballinger and Harrington are shown using the iPad from base camp...

Apple may rely on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) for the entirety of its A8 processor production in 2014, claims a report from TechNews Taiwan [Google Translate] (via G 4 Games). Samsung allegedly was dropped as a manufacturer because of low yields in its 20 nm manufacturing process for the A-series processor, while TSMC was able to meet Apple's demands. The Wall Street Journal repo...

Apple's first retail store in Brazil opened in Rio de Janeiro this weekend, with approximately 1,700 customers waiting in line for the grand opening (via The Globe]. Customers started queueing up on Thursday night for the Saturday morning debut, with groups waiting both inside and outside the Village Mall. Photo from The Globe The opening of the Rio de Janeiro store was announced last week...

The official Apple Store app for iOS offers free books, apps and other content that users can download to their iOS device, and the company has recently updated its promotion to make Tetris [Direct Link] from Electronic Arts available for free. The current Tetris offer is advertised as "A throwback for you. On us." Typically priced at $0.99 in the iOS App Store, the app is free when users...

Almost half of the consumers who buy a new smartphone are storing their older phone instead of recycling it in the used handset market, according to the "Mobile Mountain Study" conducted by research group OnePoll for resale site SellCell (via MarketWatch). These unused phones are worth almost $47 billion, with older iPhone models accounting for approximately $13.4 billion of these hoarded phones. ...

Apple continues to add to its team of medical and biosensor experts, with the hiring of Marcelo Lamego, the former chief technology officer of non-invasive patient monitoring company Cercacor. Lamego's recent change in employment was spotted by Network World. Before joining Apple in January, Lamego spent the previous eight years as the CTO of Cercacor working on sensor-based medical...

Rovio today announced a new version of its popular Angry Birds game after hinting about it yesterday on Twitter. The upcoming Angry Birds Stella features the "fierce and feisty" female lead character, Stella, along with her "friends and (fr)enemies." Angry Birds Stella will open a door to a part of the Angry Birds universe you've never seen before! There will be plenty of fun and adventure, ...

National Geographic Channel show Diggers last year unearthed a time capsule containing a piece of Steve Jobs memorabilia that's been buried for 30 years. A video obtained by CNET shows the excavation and opening of this renowned canister. (Credit: Mike Durkin) The time capsule, known as the "Aspen Time Tube", was buried in 1983 by the organizers of the International Design Conference....