Mitchel Broussard

Microsoft today announced the release of an updated version of its Skype iOS client app bringing a few tweaks to the dial pad and chat picker alongside a new pre-release feedback program. The first major user interface overhaul focuses on the dial pad, streamlining the process by automatically detecting matching numbers as soon as the user begins inputting a phone number. The update to the new ...

A new survey from finance company Credit Suisse found that of the solely iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus owners questioned, 18 percent of them would "definitely" purchase Apple's upcoming wearable, the Apple Watch. As reported by Business Insider, the level of interest from iPhone owners could translate to 35 million units moved during the device's first year. Beyond the definite purchasers, 11...

A recent study by the U.S. Department of Education has found the Los Angeles Unified School District's $1.3 billion "iPad-for-all" education initiative, announced in the summer of 2013, had been "plagued by lack of resources and inadequate planning for how the devices would be used in classrooms," reports the Los Angeles Times. The iPad initiative was officially canceled last month amidst an...

Apple has seemingly ended its weekly iTunes "Single of the Week" promotion that gave out a free music single download each week on the iTunes storefront. As noted by Business Insider, a member of the Apple discussion forums claims an Apple support employee informed him the company decided to drop the weekly promotion. I contacted iTunes Support and they told me the decision was made to drop...

Apple on Saturday announced via Twitter a re-launch of sorts for a section of the App Store specifically aimed at children's apps. Apple originally rolled out a Kids category back in 2013, but the new feature offers a more tailored look at games designed for the various age ranges. The storefront's first showcase product is for an eBook, "Family Time With Apps," that hopes to "show parents...

Flickr over the weekend released data detailing the most popular camera rankings of 2014 for the online photo sharing service. With 100 million users uploading 10 billion photos last year, the usual standouts of Canon and Nikon edged out most of the competition, but most interesting was Apple moving past Nikon to take second place in the rankings (via The Next Web). Focusing solely on the...

Apple Pay has been exclusive to the United States since its launch last October, but it now appears Apple is preparing to take the mobile payments service international with an expansion to Canada as soon as this March. Citing sources "close to the situation," 9to5Mac reports Apple is currently in negotiations with Canadian partners, preparing and planning various promotional materials over the...

After sending out an email to developers earlier in the week detailing App Store price changes coming to a few territories, Apple has today raised the price of apps in all countries within the European Union, Norway, Russia, and Canada. The price increases are due to shifting currency exchange rates and tax increases in some countries. The price of the least expensive paid apps in the App...

Following a set of artist renditions that gave fans a basic look at Apple's long-rumored 12-inch Retina MacBook Air earlier this week, well-known 3D modeler and designer Martin Hajek has created a set of realistic renderings of the unannounced notebook on his blog. Hajek follows details found in previous reports of the machine, creating the model with an edge-to-edge keyboard relocating the ...

App Store customers worldwide set a new record in the first week of 2015, Apple announced today. According to the company, customers spent nearly half a billion dollars on apps and in-app purchases in the first week of January, with New Year's Day marking the biggest day ever for App Store sales. As noted by Apple, this opening salvo for 2015 follows in the footsteps of a successful 2014 that...

Earlier this week, mobile accessory manufacturer ibattz turned a few heads at the Consumer Electronics Show with a new external battery charger called the ASAP Fast Charge Power Bank that the company claims can fully charge an iPhone 6 from 0 to 100 percent in just 15 minutes. (See update at bottom of this article for correction.) Available in two sizes of 5,600 mAh and 11,200 mAh, the new...

Following on the heels of a recent announcement for its next-generation mobile security lock, security-focused accessory manufacturer Kensington also announced a new line of iPad cases for the iPad Air 2, called the -2">KeyFolio Thin X3 Plus. Building on Kensington's similarly-titled products for the original iPad Air and iPad Air 2, the X3 Plus features a larger 4,500 mAh battery inside of...

Since launching in September alongside the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, iOS 8 has seen its adoption rate grow to 68 percent of compatible iOS devices, according to new numbers posted on the Apple Developer Support page. With Apple updating data publicly every few weeks, this latest data point represents a four percentage point bump in adoption since the last update on December 23. The significant...

The latest smartphone sales data released today from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech highlights good news for Apple on the strength of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch, with Apple gaining share year-over-year in every country surveyed except for Japan. The report, focusing on the September-November 2014 period, points out that Android market share dropped in most European markets and saw its first...

Following on the heels of popular protective smartphone case manufacturer Otterbox announcing its new battery power case for the iPhone 6, both Mophie and Incipio have revealed new iterations of their popular cases for Apple's newest smartphones as well. Starting with Mophie, the company announced the Juice Pack Air and Juice Pack Plus for the iPhone 6 and the Juice Pack for the iPhone 6...

Kensington's ubiquitous hold on security locks for computers and other devices has loosened somewhat as devices have grown smaller and more portable, and the space requirements for the company's traditional lock mechanism have led Apple to even omit Kensington security slots from many of its recent products such as the MacBook Air and Retina MacBook Pro. Kensington hopes, however, to...

Schlage, a division of technology-focused safety and security company Allegion, has announced at CES this year the Schlage Sense, a touch-pad enabled smart lock for homeowners that most notably allows users to command Siri to unlock their doors thanks to integration with Apple's HomeKit. The company's first Bluetooth-enabled lock, the Schlage Sense allows users to simply enter a code to gain...

Setting up a "future home environment" at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino during this year's Consumer Electronics Show, technology company Energous Corporation demoed its newest product WattUp, a Bluetooth and radio frequency-enabled transmitter that uses the same radio bands as a Wi-Fi router to deliver "intelligent, scalable power" to charge everything from smartphones and tablets to wireless...

Just over a month after sparking discussion of a possible new 4-inch iPhone in 2015 based on supply chain sources speaking to Taiwanese media, Chinese site Feng.com now claims [Google Translate, via G for Games] its own sources are seeing no indication of such a device. Feng.com's sources claim the Cupertino company has not placed any orders with its supply chain related to a new 4-inch...

Google today announced Google Cast for audio, a new music streaming technology in the vein of Chromecast that lets users stream sound from their smartphone, tablet, or Chrome-based web browser to Google Cast-ready speakers. The service uses pre-existing apps like Pandora, iHeartRadio, and Google Play Music, amongst a sizable list of others, to play a user's songs on a selection of speakers...