At Macworld/iWorld this afternoon, one company was demonstrating an archery-based iPhone accessory, the BowBlade, which was inspired by movies like The Hunger Games.
The BowBlade is designed to look and feel like a traditional bow and arrow with one caveat - there's an iPhone attached. The iPhone goes at the front of the device, the bow is extended, and a trigger at the back fires a shot. When the trigger is fired, a stylus tip touches the screen.
Various games incorporate extra features like the iPhone's camera and augmented reality to create real world targets, or the iPhone's gyroscope and accelerometer for aiming and firing. Our sister site TouchArcade has a video of the BowBlade in action:
The four pound version of the BowBlade being demonstrated at Macworld was a prototype, but the company has pre-orders available for $185. Shipping will begin in April.
Mauz is a Kickstarter project that is designed to attach to the iPhone's dock, turning it into a device that is able to control computers using gestures and visual cues.
In other words, the Mauz morphs an iPhone into a computer mouse. The main product consists of a small dongle that plugs into the phone to function as a laser sensor.
The dongle links to the Mauz app, which turns on the iPhone's front-facing camera to allow for gestures. For example, swiping a hand over the camera translates to a scroll, allowing for browsing without physical touch. Mauz also uses the iPhone's gyroscope, which allows it to function as a 3-D mouse, and in practice, it turns out that it works similarly to the Nintendo Wii remote.
Though the Mauz can be used in mid-air, it is also designed to work as a standard mouse. Set on a desktop, it has a left/right button and a scroll wheel.
Mauz connects to the phone using Wi-Fi, but the company behind the device, Spicebox, is currently working on a Bluetooth version as well. Mauz comes with an SDK that will allow developers to integrate Mauz into different apps.
Though the Mauz is designed solely for the iPhone 4/4S, Spicebox is planning to release an iPhone 5 version. Mauz is still very much in development, as an active Kickstarter project. Currently, the company has earned 10 percent of its 150,000 goal.
Backers who pledge at least $45 can get a Mauz. The Kickstarter page lists June 2013 as a ship date, but Spicebox expects the unit to enter beta in April. The iPhone 5 version of the Mauz has a listed ship date of August 2013.
Apple is in talks with HBO to bring that company's HBO Go video streaming service to the Apple TV, reports Bloomberg. HBO Go is a streaming service that allows HBO subscribers to watch HBO content on PCs, tablets, consoles, and other platforms.
Apple Inc. is in negotiations to start carrying Time Warner Inc.'s HBO Go application on Apple TV by mid-2013, according to two people familiar with the plans.
Cable and satellite subscribers who pay for HBO will be able to watch more than 600 hours of films and television shows on Apple TV, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.
Currently, Netflix and Hulu Plus are the only subscription service that Apple allows on its Apple TV box, while HBO Go is available on the iPhone and the iPad.
There have been numerous rumors in recent years about Apple's plans for the television, but CEO Tim Cook has been cagey about details other than repeatedly saying that television is "an area of intense interest" for the company
Amid rumors of a significantly larger "iPhone Math", Instapaper developer Marco Arment has spent time developing some speculation and a few mockups showing how Apple could achieve an iPhone with a nearly 5-inch without disrupting the existing app ecosystem.
The recently rumored, larger-screened “iPhone Math”, or more likely “iPhone Plus”, is plausible as an additional model (not a replacement) alongside the 4” iPhone. And there’s a good chance that it would have a 4.94”, 16:9 screen.
The theory is easy to understand: perform John Gruber’s Mini-predicting math backwards. The iPad Mini uses iPhone 3GS-density screens at iPad resolution. What if an iPhone Plus used Retina iPad screens with iPhone 5 resolution, keeping the rest of the design sized like an iPhone 5?
In the scenario put forth by Arment, an 1136x640 screen matching the iPhone 5's resolution but blown up to the Retina iPad's 264 pixels-per-inch resolution would measure 4.94 inches diagonally.
Left to right: iPhone 5, Galaxy S III, "iPhone Plus", Galaxy Note II
Arment notes that such an iPhone Plus maintaining the same relative proportions as the iPhone 5 but with the larger screen would measure somewhere between the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II, but that Apple would likely be able to trim down the chin and forehead of the device somewhat to bring the device closer to the Galaxy S III's overall size.
At an iPad-like pixel density of 264 ppi, Apple could have a hard time positioning the iPhone Plus as a Retina device given that a phone is assumed to be held closer to the eye than a tablet, but some consumers may still prefer the option of having a larger screen to offer more flexibility such as being able to zoom out further on text or view small text with the device held further from the eye.
Arment offers several other mockups showing what Apple's iOS device lineup would look like with a larger iPhone in it, as well as how users could take advantage of smaller font sizes on the larger screen to show more text.
Ashton Kutcher and Josh Gad kicked off the Macworld/iWorld conference in San Francisco this morning, talking about their new feature film 'Jobs' that premiered at Sundance. Kutcher plays the iconic Jobs, while Gad takes on the role of Steve Wozniak.
The Next Web wrote up much of the conversation, including this part about how Steve Jobs affected Kutcher:
“Steve believed it was possible to do something impossible,” says Kutcher, alluding to the third thing that he took away from the film. He made reference to [a] famous quote that Jobs gave in an interview.
Kutcher says that this stuck with him. “When I heard that,” says Kutcher, “he was talking to me, and he was talking to you. He was saying ‘don’t settle’ for what life gives you, make life better.”
“There will always be debates about what we got right and what we got wrong,” says Gad, “but if I had a chance to sit down with him I’d explain that it was done with the utmost love, admiration and respect. And I hope when he sees it…in its entirety, that he can understand that.”
“We weren’t there,” says Kutcher. “Part of it is, in filmmaking, you have to make a narrative that plays. If you look at the events of these guys’ journey together, there were probably a lot of moments where there was nobody else there. You have to ride the arc of entertainment of the film and stay true to who the people were, how the people were and what the intent was.”
Canadian firm Maya-Systems today announced that it has sold a group of 18 user interface patents to Apple. The patents appear to be related to Maya-Systems' work with axis-based interfaces in which documents and other files can be automatically grouped into timelines based on tags or other attributes and made accessible via the cloud.
Maya-Systems' technology offers an intuitive way to display any virtual content in a superior manner. This transaction attests that Maya-Systems axis-based user interface is ahead of the growing demand for axis-based user interfaces.
"We dealt with a significant number of sophisticated buyers," noted Mathieu Audet, founder of Maya-Systems and patent agent. "We are pleased to have secured the transaction with Apple." "Our patents have been analyzed thoroughly by many potential buyers. We are confident that they are strong assets."
Maya-Systems' key product is I am Organized, a platform for organizing, viewing, and sharing files.
IamOrganized’s uniquely distinctive, patented feature is its axes-based interface. Intuitive and elegant, axes herald a new era in content management. They show and manage content more meaningfully than ever.
Unlike folder trees based on file location, axes group files by subject (any attribute, really) and display them along a timeline. Scroll an axis to view more files. Zoom in. Zoom out. Navigate swiftly between projects by displaying several axes on your screen.
Attribute-based, orderly and relational, axes give users a meaningful and integrated view of their files.
It is not entirely clear exactly what aspect of Maya-Systems' patent portfolio Apple was interested in controlling, but Apple has been making a significant push into cloud-based document and file storage and sharing, including such features Documents in the Cloud and Photo Stream.
The previous fastest downloaded game was Angry Birds Space, selling 50 million copies in under six weeks -- though Angry Birds Space was a pay app, not a free download like Temple Run 2.
Temple Run 2 originally launched exclusively on the App Store on January 17 and quickly rose to the #1 slot in Free Apps, earning over six million downloads in less than 24 hours. Following a release on Google Play and Amazon Marketplace, the sequel continued its record-breaking success, racing to the #1 spot, respectively, in each store. Following in the footsteps of Temple Run, which has been downloaded over 170 million times, Temple Run 2 has cemented itself in mobile gaming history.
“Temple Run has evolved into something so much bigger than us,” says Keith Shepherd, co-founder of Imangi. “The game has performed beyond our wildest dreams, and we are thrilled that gamers and fans have embraced Temple Run 2 in such a short period of time.”
Apple today issued a notice to European distributors indicating that it will halt sales of the Mac Pro in Europe and select other countries as of March 1 due to new regulatory requirements going into effect on that date. The move will affect all European Union countries, as well as EU candidate countries and the four European Free Trade Association countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
As of March 1, 2013, Apple will no longer sell Mac Pro in EU, EU candidate and EFTA countries because these systems are not compliant with Amendment 1 of regulation IEC 60950-1, Second Edition which becomes effective on this date. Apple resellers can continue to sell any remaining inventory of Mac Pro after March 1.
Apple will take final orders for Mac Pro from resellers up until February 18th for shipment before March 1, 2013.
Countries outside of the EU are not impacted and Mac Pro will continue to be available in those areas.
It is currently unclear exactly what aspect of the regulation the current Mac Pro will fail to meet.
Apple has uncharacteristically announced that a redesigned Mac Pro is due in 2013 after a lackluster update in June 2012 that included still-outdated processors and no other seemingly obvious improvements like USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt.
[U]nfortunately for EU customers, the Mac Pro does not comply with this standard, due to issues with power provided to its I/O ports and the placement of its fan guards. The Pro is the sole Apple product to fall under this ruling, likely due to its build - the desktop computer hasn’t had an overhaul since 2010, with a minor speed bump last June.
Update 10:21 AM: Apple has issued a statement to The Loop confirming the halt for Mac Pro sales, but not offering any additional detail on the situation.
"Due to evolving regulatory requirements, Apple will stop selling Mac Pro in EU, EU candidate and EFTA countries on March 1, 2013," an Apple representative told The Loop. "After that date, resellers can sell existing inventory but Apple will no longer ship Mac Pro in those countries."
"The Mac Pro met the previous standards prior to the amendment 1 addition. Obviously it's a very safe and very reliable product," added the company.
At issue are the large fans within the Mac Pro. Since they are unprotected, it would be possible to touch the fan blades.
"The new requirements necessitate fan guards and some increased protection on the ports on the electrical system," explained Apple.
Apple representatives also confirmed to Macworld UK that the company will continue supporting existing Mac Pro machines after March 1, including replacement parts.
The excellent iPad notebook app Penultimate has received its first major update since it was purchased by Evernote in May of last year.
The update adds Evernote integration, as well as a new feature to make handwritten notes in the app searchable. The app uploads notes to Evernote, which does all the handwriting recognition server side.
One of Evernote’s magic features is its ability to make handwriting searchable. We’ve applied this to Penultimate to help you find the notes you’re looking for. Just tap on the new magnifying glass icon in the top right corner of your screen to begin searching your notes. Search results fly in with either a yellow rectangle around the identified words or yellow highlighting in the note title.
Research firm IDC today announced its preliminary estimates of worldwide tablet shipments for the fourth quarter of 2012, finding that Apple's share of the market slipped to 43.6% even as the iPad mini drove a nearly 50% growth in units for the company. Apple had held a 50.4% share in the previous quarter and a 51.7% share in the year-ago quarter.
"We expected a very strong fourth quarter, and the market didn't disappoint," said Tom Mainelli, research director, Tablets, at IDC. "New product launches from the category's top vendors, as well as new entrant Microsoft, led to a surge in consumer interest and very robust shipments totals during the holiday season. The record-breaking quarter stands in stark contrast to the PC market, which saw shipments decline during the quarter for the first time in more than five years."
Apple's iPad once again led the market, and the firm's shipment total of 22.9 million units was exactly in line with IDC's forecast for the period. A strong iPad mini launch, plus availability of the fourth generation full-sized iPad, led to solid 48.1% shipment growth over the same quarter last year. However, strong competition in the market led to Apple's market share declining for a second quarter in a row (down to 43.6% from 46.4% last quarter).
Samsung and Asus were the biggest winners in the surging tablet market, with Samsung seeing 263% year-over-year growth to seize 15% of the market. Samsung's share was, however, down from 18.4% in the third quarter.
IDC notes that Microsoft did not qualify for the top five vendors in the fourth quarter, but the company did ship 900,000 units of its Surface tablet with Windows RT. It remains to be seen, however, whether those shipments and the upcoming Surface Pro tablet will translate into strong sales for the company.
Earlier this month, Apple took the unusual step of remotely blocking Oracle's Java 7 browser plug-in due to a major security vulnerability, using the "Xprotect" anti-malware system built into OS X to enforce a minimum version number that had yet to be released. Within days, Oracle updated Java to address the issue, with the new version number making the Java plug-in usable on OS X systems once more.
The updated blacklist enforces a minimum Java plug-in version of 1.7.0_11-b22, while the latest version of the plug-in is 1.7.0_11-b21.
The exact reason for Apple's renewed block on the Java plug-in is unknown although reports immediately following the release of Update 11 earlier this month indicated that it fixed only one of the two bugs that contributed to the security vulnerability. In the wake of that news, cybersecurity officials recommended that most users disable Java even with the up-to-date plug-in installed.
Oracle Security Alert CVE-2013-0422 states that Java 7 Update 11 addresses this (CVE-2013-0422) and an equally severe, but distinct vulnerability (CVE-2012-3174). Immunity has indicated that only the reflection vulnerability has been fixed and that the JMX MBean vulnerability remains. Java 7u11 sets the default Java security settings to "High" so that users will be prompted before running unsigned or self-signed Java applets.
Unless it is absolutely necessary to run Java in web browsers, disable it as described below, even after updating to 7u11. This will help mitigate other Java vulnerabilities that may be discovered in the future.
If this continued issue is indeed the reason for the new block by Apple, it is unclear why the company waited several weeks to update its plug-in blacklist.
Apple has issued updates for MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air notebook models to fix a rare battery issue. The updates are available via Apple's software updates page or through Software Update and the Mac App Store.
This update addresses a rare issue on some Apple notebooks where a battery that has accumulated more than 1000 charge cycles may unexpectedly shut down or stop functioning.
Update: MacRumors forum member Dempson looked inside the updates and found they are for the following machines:
MacBook MacBook7,1 (13-inch, Mid 2010)
MacBook Air MacBookAir3,1 (11-inch, Late 2010) MacBookAir3,2 (13-inch, Late 2010) MacBookAir4,1 (11-inch, Mid 2011) MacBookAir4,2 (13-inch, Mid 2011)
MacBook Pro MacBookPro7,1 (13-inch, Mid 2010) MacBookPro8,1 (13-inch, Early 2011 or Late 2011)
Apple today seeded build 12D61 of OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.3 to developers, marking the eighth beta iteration of the newest version of Mountain Lion. 10.8.3 was first seeded to developers back in November.
Build 12D61 has been released less than a week after build 12D58. The new build asks developers and testers to focus on AirPlay, AirPort, Game Center, Graphics Drivers, and Safari.
As with previous builds, Apple mentions that it has significantly improved WiFi performance, as noted by 9to5Mac. Registered developers can download the update on Apple's Developer Page.
This post originally referred to Build 12D61 as the ninth developer seed of OS X 10.8.3 when it was actually the eighth seed.
Apple today posted a new job listing for a Manufacturing Design Engineer with a focus on Advanced Plastic Tooling and Process. According to the job description, Apple is looking to expand and improve its current plastics division.
Identify, develop and launch new tooling and process capabilities in support of new Apple product developments. Areas of focus will be "non-traditional" Apple plastic processing such as thermoforming, foam molding, blow molding, etc., and their application to new Apple products. The successful candidate will have demonstrated history of bringing new process and tooling technologies through a full development cycle and launch into high volume production.
Though Apple has focused heavily on aluminum for the iPad, the iPhone, and the MacBook line for the past few years, the Cupertino-based company has continued to prominently use plastics in such products as the Apple TV, the AirPort Extreme, keyboards, and other accessories.
Recent rumors have suggested that Apple is working on a low cost iPhone that will be constructed primarily of plastic. The iPhone is said to be a hybrid of the iPhone 5 and the iPod touch, with a plastic enclosure.
A new hire specializing in plastics is unlikely to be involved in the design of the low cost iPhone, given that it is rumored to be released later this year, but the open position does support reports that Apple is focusing on novel uses of plastics for upcoming products.
The company explained that the changes are strictly internal, and there won't be any new features or other changes. The Next Web is also reporting that the new Apple TV will use Apple's A5X processor from the third-generation iPad, and an upgraded Broadcom BCM4334 wireless chip, as was reported last night. The external size of the device will also remain the same.
“We sometimes make component changes which require an updated model number for regulatory approval,” an Apple spokesperson told TNW. “The component changes we made don’t affect product features and Apple TV customers will continue to have the same great user experience.”
The new Apple TV will not be marketed as a new version, and it appears the only way to distinguish the old from the new is via the model number.
When iOS 6 was announced last June, Apple said it was working with car manufacturers on a new "Eyes Free" mode for Siri that would integrate with voice command buttons found in an increasing number of car models to allow users to interact with Siri without needing to look at their devices' screens. At the time, Scott Forstall displayed a slide showing that Apple was working with BMW, GM, Mercedes, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Toyota, Chrysler, and Honda on the initiative.
American Honda today announced it will integrate support for Siri, the intelligent assistant that helps you get things done just by asking, into its 2013 Honda Accord and Acura RDX and ILX models as a dealer installed option. Later this year, owners with a compatible iPhone running iOS 6 can direct Siri to perform a number of specific tasks while they safely keep their eyes on the road and their hands on the wheel. Using Eyes Free mode, Siri takes hands-free functionality even further and minimizes distractions even more by keeping your iOS device's screen from lighting up.
Update: Honda is currently contacting some existing 2013 Accord owners and offering to install the Siri Eyes Free software in their vehicles free of charge as part of a trial of the feature.
Honda is conducting a limited market trial with current 2013 model owners who own an Apple iPhone.
As a part of this trial, Honda will update your Accord with software that will allow the new Siri Eyes Free feature to work in your vehicle.
The update will be installed by your dealer at no cost to you and you are welcome to keep and use the Siri Eyes Free feature after the trial is complete. All we ask from you is participation in an online survey after Siri Eyes Free is installed and you have had a chance to experience the feature.
All four U.S. carriers are expected to carry the Z10, shipping in March and starting at $199 with a two-year contract. Walt Mossberg, reviewing the Z10 for the Wall Street Journal, notes that a physical keyboard-equipped Q10 model is due in April as well. He notes that in "moderate to heavy use", the battery didn't last as long as a charge on an iPhone 5 in similar usage, but he did have some praise for the device.
BlackBerry has always leaned heavily on its physical keyboard, and, according to Mossberg, the virtual keyboard on the Z10 shines as well:
The Z10 keyboard is the best and fastest out-of-the-box virtual keyboard I’ve used. Master BlackBerry thumb typists might not find it as fast as the traditional physical keyboard, but, for a one-finger typist like me, it was faster and more accurate than either the native keyboards on the iPhone or Android. This is partly because it features predictive typing. It displays words that are likely to come next right above the rows of letters, and lets you flick these words upward into the text you’re composing. It learns what mistakes you typically make in hitting letters, and adjusts. And it learns words and abbreviations you frequently use, even proper names.
The company promises 70,000 apps at launch, including staples like Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds, MLB, and more. Many notable apps are missing however, including Pandora, Spotify and Netflix.
The Z10 comes with a 4.2" 1280x768 display, giving it a higher pixel density than the iPhone 5; an 8 megapixel rear camera; 16GB capacity only, but includes a card slot for storage upgrades; available in white or black; a removable battery; and LTE support, though Mossberg got extremely poor data speeds on AT&T and RIM couldn't explain why.
While iOS 6.1 brought several widely publicized new features such as support for several dozen new LTE carriers and new support for ordering Fandango movie tickets through Siri in the United States, a number of other minor changes were also included in the update. Given the frequency with which our readers have been pointing some of them out, we thought it would be appropriate to make note of them in a brief roundup.
- Lock screen music controls: The music controls on the iPhone's lock screen have been enhanced as noted by TUAW, bringing them in line with those in the Music app.
The shortcut controls, accessed by pressing the home button twice while on the lock screen, have adopted both the look and layout of the Music app. One notable change is that the previous and next buttons are now much further apart from the play/pause button, making them much less likely to be pressed accidentally.
The volume knob also copies the Music app's visual trick of using the phone's accelerometer to vary the angle of virtual reflections on it.
- Maps "Report a Problem" button: Apple has tweaked the "Report a Problem" button in its Maps app, accessible in the preferences section by tapping at the lower right corner of the map page. The option had previously been a small text link, but Apple has now made it a much more prominent and accessible button which is actually now the largest button on the page.
- Rapid diagonal swiping issue improved: Several readers have noted that an issue with rapid diagonal swiping on the iPhone 5 and fifth-generation iPod touch resulting in loss of touch recognition appears to have been fixed or at least improved in iOS 6.1. Not all readers have experienced improvements, however, with some indicating that performance remains the same under iOS 6.1.
At Macworld/iWorld this afternoon, one company was demonstrating an archery-based iPhone accessory, the BowBlade, which was inspired by movies like The Hunger Games.
In the two weeks since Temple Run 2 
The excellent iPad notebook app Penultimate has received its first 
Apple today seeded build 12D61 of OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.3 to developers, marking the eighth beta iteration of the newest version of Mountain Lion. 10.8.3 was first seeded to developers back in November.
Apple today 
