iLounge

Samsung passed Apple in the first quarter of 2012 to become the world’s top smartphone maker, according to the latest data from IDC. Samsung’s Q1 shipments of 42.2 million smartphones were good for 29.1 percent of the market, compared to Apple, which accounted for 24.2 percent of the market with shipments of 35.1 million units. Notably, no other manufacturer accounted for more as much as 10 percent of the market. Overall, Apple was the world’s third-largest mobile phone maker in Q1 with 8.8 percent of the market, behind both Samsung and Nokia, and ahead of ZTE and LG.

Return7 has released a major update to PlaceTagger adding support for the iPad and for synchronization of location data via iCloud. PlaceTagger allows iOS devices to be used for recording location data while taking photos with a digital camera; recorded data can then be added to the photos as geo-tags during import using a companion desktop application.

With PlaceTagger 2.0, users can now synchronize location data between devices using iCloud rather than requiring a direct USB connection; a $5 Mac app, sold separately on the Mac App Store, provides geotagging of photos during import. Alternatively, users can geotagging photos imported directly to the iPad using the Apple Camera Connection Kit. GPX track export is also available for geotagging with any third-party application supporting the GPX format. The new version also sports an entirely new user interface with an integrated map view for displaying location data and improvements to the GPS recording precision. PlaceTagger 2.0 is a universal app requiring iOS 5.0 or later and is available from the App Store for $5, or as a free update for users of an earlier version. The companion Mac app is available separately from the Mac App Store for $5.

In an interview with The Verge, former Apple executive and current Nest CEO Tony Fadell made several comments regarding the development of the iPhone. According to Fadell, Apple seriously considered building an iPhone with a hardware keyboard. Fadell claimed that Apple actually built three types of iPhones during its development—an iPod + phone, an iPhone, and what he referred to as the “next-generation” iPhone, which ended up being the original shipping version of the device. He also said that he was skeptical of the virtual keyboard at first, but that he felt a full screen was ideal, noting that the small screen of the iPod + phone prototype was an issue. The Verge has posted a brief summary of Fadell’s comments, which can be seen by following the link above.

Tapbots has updated its Tweetbot apps for iOS with a new and improved tweet detail view and integration with Droplr and Storify. Tweetbot 2.3 now sports a redesigned tweet detail view that displays inline conversations and replies; the tweet detail view is accessed by swiping right to left on a tweet and users can return to the timeline by swiping left to right. The conversation view has also been updated to display both the conversation and replies in a single list. The update also adds the ability to e-mail or link to Twitter conversation threads via the Storify online social story service directly from the conversation view.

Additional enhancements in the latest update include integration with Droplr for media and link sharing, the option to turn off the display of the timeline sync bookmark icon, and general user interface and e-mail format improvements. A play icon is now displayed on video thumbnails to help distinguish them from images, and Vimeo links now also display a video thumbnail. In addition, higher resolution images can be uploaded when using a Wi-Fi connection. Tweetbot 2.3 is available from the App Store in two separate versions for $3 each: Tweetbot for the iPhone and iPod touch and Tweetbot for iPad.

Halfbrick Studios has released a major new content update to its hit game, Jetpack Joyride, adding a multitude of new gadgets along with new achievements and missions. Jetpack Joyride is a side scrolling action/adventure game that puts players in the role of Barry Steakfries who breaks into a secret laboratory to commandeer experimental jetpacks from a group of evil scientists and must use them to escape from the lab. Version 1.3 adds 15 new gadgets such as Air Barry sneakers for leaping obstacles, Nerd Repellant for avoiding scientists, an Insta-Ball for gaining a few extra meters by bouncing off the floor and many more crazy and cool new items to help push the envelope, earn higher scores and just generally have fun with. Along with the new collection of gear, the update adds four new Game Center achievements to unlock and a new set of missions to challenge players to make best use of the new toys. Jetpack Joyride is available from the App Store as a free download.

Apple has been named in a new lawsuit targeting the manufacturers of cellular phones with voice control capabilities. Colorado-based Potter Voice Technologies has filed a federal patent infringement suit against Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Google, HTC, Samsung, LG, Motorola, ZTE, Kyocera, Sharp, Huawei, Pantech, RIM, and Nokia, claiming that all phones containing voice command functionality violate its 14-year-old patent. “Apple’s Siri and Google’s Google Voice Actions make cell phones and other electronic devices much more useful for customers, but those products and others would never have been possible if not for the technology embodied in Potter’s patent,” said IP attorney Christopher Banys, who is representing Potter. “The defendants have collected a fortune using Potter’s technology, and we are asking the court for at least a reasonable royalty based on their unauthorized use.”

Rogue Amoeba has released a major update to Airfoil Speakers Touch adding native iPad support and a new optional feature for receiving audio directly from iTunes and other AirPlay audio sources. Originally designed as a companion app for the company’s Airfoil for Mac and Windows, Airfoil Speakers Touch allows users to listen to audio streamed wirelessly from their computer to their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Version 3.0 adds a new “Enhanced Receiving” feature, available as a $3 in-app purchase, that presents Airfoil Speakers Touch as a remote AirPlay audio device, allowing users to stream directly from iTunes and other iOS devices without requiring Airfoil to be running on the computer. The new version also adds support for remotely controlling and displaying track info and artwork from a number of additional sources streamed via Airfoil for Mac. Airfoil Speakers Touch is now a universal app and is available from the App Store as a free download. Streaming audio from a computer requires Airfoil for Mac or Airfoil for Windows or an AirPlay compatible application such as iTunes with the purchase of the $3 in-app upgrade for Enhanced Receiving.

Reporting its first quarter fiscal results, Sprint today announced that it activated 1.5 million iPhones during the March quarter. According to the company, 44 percent of those were sold to new customers. While the activation number may appear low compared to AT&T’s 4.3 million activations and Verizon’s 3.2 million, the 1.5 million number actually accounts for roughly 5 percent of Sprint’s total postpaid subscriber base of 32.8 million. Sprint started to offer the iPhone last fall with the launch of the iPhone 4S.

During Apple’s second-quarter 2012 financial results conference call, Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer made a number of comments related to Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iPod businesses.

Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO, opened the conference call by calling attention to the company’s record March quarter, which he said was fueled primarily by strong iPhone and iPad sales. He said that iPod sales, though down year-over-year, were ahead of internal projections, and as with the past few quarters, the iPod touch accounted for over half of iPod sales. Regarding the iTunes Store, Oppenheimer said that the catalog now includes over 28 million songs and 45,000 movies.

iPhone sales more than doubled in the Asia Pacific region, according to Oppenheimer, who added that the January launch of the iPhone 4S in China and the addition of China Telecom as a second carrier were responsible for a lot of growth. Cook later stated that the company saw 3X year-over-year revenue growth in China. Oppenheimer said that the manufacturing ramps for both the iPhone 4S and the third-generation iPad were extremely successful, which enabled the company to fulfill demand in the March quarter, compared to the June quarter last year. As a result, the company is expecting a sequential decline in iPhone sales.

The company was “very pleased” with iPad sales during the quarter—including sales of the third-generation model, which is now available in over 40 countries. iPad sales more than doubled in each segment, and as a result, the company is slightly supply-constrained. Oppenheimer said that the iPad is about to enter the K-12 institution buying season, which the company expects to boost sales, and later added that the company is selling third-generation iPad units as fast as it can make them.

When asked about what the company is learning about lower price points on the iPhone and iPad, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is thrilled with the results they’ve seen thus far, although obviously it’s only been a few weeks. He added that the lower price of the iPad 2 unlocked some education demand, probably more price-sensitive customers, and in some countries, there was a marked change in demand. The company is not sure yet what the mix of third-gen iPad to iPad 2 will be, but said that on absolute sales of the iPad 2, what the company is seeing is exciting. Cook went on to say that the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 contributed to the 35 million in iPhone sales—the company’s second biggest quarter in terms of iPhone sales.

Overall, more than 365 million iOS devices have been sold, and the App Store now offers over 600,000 apps, 200,000 of which are built specifically for the iPad. Oppenheimer added that iCloud now has over 125 million customers signed up.

Finally, when asked about the company’s ongoing legal disputes, Cook said that he has always hated litigation, and just wants companies to invent their own stuff. He added that if Apple could reach agreements where it would be guaranteed that companies would be using their own inventions, and that included a fair settlement on stuff that’s occurred, it would be happy to settle instead of battle. That said, he added that Apple can’t become the developer for the world—that the company needs people to invent their own stuff.

Reporting its second quarter 2012 financial results today, Apple said it sold 35.1 million iPhones in the quarter, an 88 percent increase year-over-year, but down slightly from 37.04 million units in the prior quarter. Apple sold 11.8 million iPads during the quarter, up 151 percent from the year-ago quarter and down from 15.43 million units in the first quarter of 2012. Finally, the company said it sold 7.7 million iPods during the quarter — a 15 percent decrease compared to the same quarter last year. Unit sales of iPhones, iPads, and iPods bring the cumulative totals for the three device categories to 218.1 million, 67.08 million, and 344.28 million, respectively.

Apple posted revenue of $39.19 billion and net quarterly profit of $11.6 billion, or $12.30 per diluted share, compared with revenue of $24.67 billion and net quarterly profit of $5.99 billion, or $6.40 per diluted share in Q2 2011. Revenue from Other Music Related Products and Services, which includes revenue from the iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore in addition to sales of iPod services and Apple-branded and third-party iPod accessories, was $2.027 billion for the quarter, up 32 percent year-over-year and down 6 percent over the prior quarter.

“We’re thrilled with sales of over 35 million iPhones and almost 12 million iPads in the March quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “The new iPad is off to a great start, and across the year you’re going to see a lot more of the kind of innovation that only Apple can deliver.”

“Our record March quarter results drove $14 billion in cash flow from operations,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the third fiscal quarter, we expect revenue of about $34 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $8.68.”

Apple infringed on a single Motorola Mobility patent in its production of the iPhone, iPad, and several other products, according to an International Trade Commission judge. Reuters reports that ITC Judge Thomas Pender handed down his preliminary ruling in the dispute today, stating that Apple had infringed one Motorola patent, but did not violate three other patents which Motorola accused it of infringing. Judge Pender’s ruling is not final, and will be reviewed by the full commission before a final ruling is issued in August.

Reporting its first quarter fiscal results, AT&T today announced that it activated 4.3 million iPhones during the period. That number is substantially higher than the 3.6 million iPhones activated in the year-ago quarter, and accounted for 78 percent of overall smartphone sales. 21 percent of the iPhone customers were new to AT&T. The carrier also added 240,000 tablet customers during the period—roughly three-quarters of which were postpaid—but did not specify how many of those were iPad customers.

Waves Audio and Musicsoft Arts have teamed up to release Mashup, a new DJ mixing app designed to provide pro DJ’s with a sophisticated mobile DJ booth on their iPad. Replacing complex and expensive DJ gear, Mashup provides two rotating stereo decks and a mixer capable of playing all standard unprotected audio formats, an advanced scratch engine, resonant filters with a large touch-ribbon UI and hi-end equalizers with larger interface controls. Users can create unlimited playlists on the fly, setup auto-sync and beat matching between decks and record mixes in stereo for further editing, mixing and sharing in other apps. Tracks can be selected from the iOS music library or purchased from an in-app DJ Shop with a collection of tracks from top DJs such as Junior Sanchez and Kris Menace. Users can also pair Mashup running on an iPhone or iPod touch with the iPad version over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth for DJing with headphones.

Mashup is designed to provide superior audio processing on the iPad with technology developed by Waves Audio, a leading developer of professional audio signal processing technologies and recipient of the 2011 Technical Grammy award. In addition to the standard audio engine with features such as resonant filters and noise-free scratching, users can also optionally upgrade to Waves’ unique MAXX sound enhancing engine which provides boosted base frequencies and improved volume designed for any listening environment from headphones to large cabinet speakers. Mashup is a universal app requiring an iPhone 4/4S, fourth-generation iPod touch, iPad 2 or third-generation iPad and iOS 4.3 or later and is available from the App Store for $40; the optional MAXX add-on is available via in-app purchase for an additional $5.

Two Chinese parts vendors are now offering “iPhone 5” Home button parts. As noted by Mac Rumors, the parts—which are available in both black and white from both vendors—are slightly different than the same part from the iPhone 4S, as they are rectangular in shape, with rounded corners and a round Home button sticking up in the center. Prior Home button parts featured a more closely tailored button surround with “wings” on either side. As with previous models, everything save for the round button itself will likely lie below the glass front surface of the device, and thus the changes will be invisible to the user. It appears at least somewhat likely that Apple has adopted the new design as a way to reduce reports of failing Home buttons, although it is possible that the new buttons also afford a small space savings from side-to-side.

Apple has launched new mini websites highlighting the use of the iPhone and iPad in business. Entitled “iPhone in Business” and “iPad in Business”, respectively, the sites include pages dedicated to apps that are useful for business, discussion of integration of the devices into existing company infrastructure, task-specific examples of how the devices can help with various tasks, and profiles of businesses that are using the iPhone and iPad to help boost their productivity. Apple regularly touts business adoption of both the iPhone and iPad, both of which have been adopted by a high percentage of Fortune 500 companies.

Capcom has announced the impending arrival of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for the iPhone and iPod touch. As mash-up of two fantasy universes, the new game will give players the opportunity to pit their favourite Marvel and Capcom characters against each other in an insane, action-packed arcade fighting experience. The game will sport a 56-character roster featuring such classics as Wolverine, Ryu, Iron Man and Mega Man and will include the “Variable System” from the original release for tag-team action, allowing players to tag in other team members at any time; players will also be able to execute the “Team Hyper Combo” attack where all three team members combine their ultimate powers for a massive attack. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is expected to be released on April 25th for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Abvio has released version 7.0 of Runmeter, Cyclemeter and Walkmeter its trio of fitness tracking apps, adding a variety of new features including new training plans, stopwatch pages and iCloud support. Built from the same foundation, each of the three apps provides optimized features for running, cycling or walking allowing users to track their workouts recording data such as time, location, distance, elevation and speed which can then be viewed as a series of maps and graphs organized by route and activity across different time periods.

Version 7.0 introduces 5K, 10K, half-marathon and marathon training plans, with the 5K plan specifically designed to help beginning runners work up to their first 5K race over a period of 10 weeks; the 10K, half-marathon and marathon plans built from this base to support running the longer races. Users can also build their own customized training plans in the app for other goals, including walking and cycling plans, and view their plans within the in-app calendar view or synchronize them to the iOS Calendar app.

The new version also introduces a new Stopwatch Pages feature designed to provide quick access to a detailed overview of workout data from a simple swipe across the screen; the display can be configured to include any of 150 statistics along with graphs, maps, splits, intervals and zones’ displays. Stopwatch Pages also includes an integrated music player and stats are colour-coded for quick visualization of data. A History Tab is also now available with a view of recent workouts and performance summaries by various categories such as time period, routes, training plans and more. Users with iOS 5.0 or later can also now use iCloud to backup, restore and transfer their workout data between devices; users can create an automatic backup schedule to save their data to iCloud at regular intervals and can load data onto another device such as an iPad for review and analysis. The database can also now be accessed via iTunes File Sharing for manual backup and restore via iTunes. The three applications Runmeter, Cyclemeter and Walkmeter are sold separately in the App Store for $3 each.

The service formerly known as Read It Later has just received a major redesign and a new name: Pocket. Similar to—and actually predating—services such as Instapaper and Readability, Read It Later was one of the first services to allow users to save content from the web for offline reading, although it was not as widely adopted on the iOS platform due to the early lack of an official iOS app for the service.

Read It Later has now been rebranded across the board to Pocket, with a major refresh on both the web service end and the iOS app. Version 4.0 of the app has been redesigned from the ground up to provide a cleaner and lighter reading experience along with new features for viewing and organizing content. Pocket provides a whole new UI with content displayed in an easy visual layout specifically adapted for either the iPhone or iPad versions with fewer toolbars and a new full-screen mode that allows users to focus on the content rather than the app. Filters can now be used to switch between saved articles, videos and images and users can now bulk edit, favourite and tag items in their Pocket collection for quicker and easier organization. The update also adds improvements to syncing, downloading and sharing of content along with numerous bug fixes. Pocket is a universal app requiring iOS 5.0 or later and is available from the App Store as a free download.

Verizon Wireless today announced its first quarter 2012 financial results, which included activation of 3.2 million iPhones. MacRumors reports that while iPhone sales were down from 4.3 million in the prior quarter, they still accounted for more than half of the company’s 6.3 million smartphone units sold during the period. In addition, Verizon claimed that 4G LTE users now make up 9.1 percent of Verizon’s wireless user base, although it is unknown what portion of those are third-generation iPad with Wi-Fi + 4G owners.

Apple is testing a new system which would automatically backup the device of any customer seeking an iOS device exchange or replacement at an Apple Store Genius Bar, according to a new report. Citing retail sources, 9to5Mac reports that the system is based on a wireless server that would securely and temporarily store a user’s content locally, then automatically wipe the content once the device swap is made. The report indicates that this backup information could come from iCloud or the device itself, and that this solution is preferable to simply relying on an iCloud backup as the process of restoring from an iCloud backup is typically takes too long. The system is said to be in the very early stages of testing, and should it launch, Apple is planning to pilot the system in a few select store by mid-2013, with a full-scale launch coming later that year.