Technology Hub Wins Free App Poll

The winner of the week is completely different from the previous app winners and here is how: Technology Hub is an extremely useful free app that helps you solve each and every tech problem of yours, including installing the latest software, connecting your laptop to your TV, how to unlock any special feature and more! This ultimate all-knowing mobile tech guru provides personalized help anytime solving life’s big and little tech problems – using skilled knowledge and homegrown wisdom from real people around the world!

Technology Hub enables you to communicate with the real people all around the globe, so you are able to share your tech problems and get help while offer your tips and useful information to others as well. This means that you get personalized advice, not those generalized to each and every- you either solve or are solved! You can post your questions to a wide variety of categories, including: cameras, computer gaming, console gaming and platforms, DVDs, iPhones, GPS, hardware, mac, media, music players, networking, PC, portable gaming, tablets, television, website development and more.

With the built-in news feed dubbed as News Hub the app helps you stay on the cutting edge and get the latest and hottest tech news from trusted industry sources.

Technology Hub is available for free in Apple App Store  in the news category. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad and requires iOS 4.3 or later to be functional.

To become the next winner and see the review of your app on our blog, get started now, check out 

How-to Promote Your Apps On iPhone Blog For Free!  

Upcoming iOS 5.1 Secret Features

The recent reports claim that Apple has finalized quality assurance examination on iOS 5.1 and will announce it together with the iPad 3 in just several hours’ time. The new version of iOS is said to comprise an augmented lock screen that gives easier admission to the camera, Japanese support for Siri – as previously rumored - and two more new features that have yet to be exposed.

A seep-out kind of the new OS was testified last month, featuring both – Japanese Siri and a ‘slide up to access camera’ gesture on the lock screen too. However, these two innovations does not account for “at least two other new features that have not been publicly leaked.” 

Although there are no actual evidences about what remains to be seen, the rumors have spread that there is at least one major feature of the iPad 3 that is yet to be unveiled and that was causing a delay in the launch of new beta versions of iOS 5.1.  There have even been some attempts at guesstimating what it might be here. Will it be Siri, Retina display requiring additional work to be ready or any new feature – will be unveiled soon, very soon.

On the other hand some reports claim that the build number of iOS 5.1 Gold Master is 9B176, which surprisingly has soon been signed by Apple yet. This confirms that any leaked screenshot would have to come from an official device authorized for testing. However, suspends our belief to see any glimpses till the actual event… As soon as iOS 5.1 is allegedly planned for release in the ‘coming days’ it is quite rational to conjecture that the update will be rolled after the iPad 3 announcement, but before it goes on sale.

Your Unlimited Data Plan Will Be Throttled By AT&T – It Is Official

On Thursday AT&T will put limits on their Unlimited Data plan that slows speeds for 3G and 4G customers who exceed 3GB in a billing cycle and caps 4G LTE customers at 5GB. The carrier has explained the move on a support page, as it said: “you will still be able to use as much data as you want. That won’t change.”

Before that, AT&T had only slowed the speeds of customers who were in the top 5% of their respective markets, a practice known as throttling. Despite the fact, AT&T insists that 95% of smartphone users will not be throttled. As an AT&T rep says the cause of the change is that “customers had told us that more clarity would be helpful.”

People, who are affected, will receive a text message which explains that their usage is near 3GB (5GB for LTE users). Exceeding that threshold will lead in reduced data speeds, although you will still have the opportunity to email and surf the web. AT&T does not disclose how fast speeds will run for users who have been throttled.

As the carrier was citing the strain on its network wrought by data-hungry iPhones, it has begun throttling data for its top 5% of users last months. The practice was followed by Verizon then. As expected, the move has made riled many AT&T customers, citing the plan’s claim to “unlimited data.”

Despite the fact AT&T’s contract forbids such users from joining in a class-action suit, a person from California sued the company in small claims court last week and received a judgment worth $850.

Apple Sends Out iPad 3 Event Invitations

The long and struggling silence from Apple has finally come to an end- the company sent out the invitations yesterday, welcoming bloggers to the event in San Francisco that will definitely be the place where the iPad 3 will be unveiled in about a week. The “previously-reliable” sources appear to staying dependable again, as the previously rumored date: March 7 – looks like to be true! You see the official invitation on the pic in the left corner, saying: “We have something you really have to see. And touch.”  

And there is an “unidentified” device partly demonstrated, but an expert eye will definitely encrypt that it is an iPad! If you’re attentive enough, you've probably mentioned that there is no home button, at least not where it should be. Some say that the device on the pic is rotated the way that the part shown is the side, not the bottom, based on the water drops on the device screen. The water drops unveils one more secret as well: the next gen iPad will be completely waterproof, as it seems. Anyway, as for the home button, if there is one, what should we touch then? I mean something that is disclosed, and we have never touched it before. Anyway, there is a great possibility that the almost trademarked home button will not be present on iPad 3, and there is no word on what will be placed instead.

One more thing – ( © Steve Jobs )– is the extremely high quality display demonstrated on the device at the pic. To be fair, iPad 2 display lays far behind from what is shown here… So it is reasonable to expect iPad 3 to feature 2048 x 1536 resolution display!

Now look at the icons on the screen – all we can clear our is the maps and calendar. The later shows the event date – March 7, Wednesday (Apple’s lovely magic day) as expected. As for the maps, it’s very likely that Apple will introduce own maps instead of the Google maps it has used till now.

However, all we have to do is to keep calm and wait a bit ( one week is such a little time compared to how much we’ve been waiting for iPad 3 so far) and see what Apple has to show off on March 7 in San Francisco. Stay tuned to be the first to learn about iPad 3!

Steve Jobs’ Birthday Is Not A Simple Day!

Today is the birthday of Steve Jobs and we are celebrating it without him at the first time. Apple founder was born exactly 57 years ago. 

A pair of Mac-obsessed entrepreneurs Brendan McElroy and Seth Rogers are planning to stage a birthday party for Steve Jobs outside Apple’s flagship store at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue. Dancers will gyrate to Bob Dylan songs and vegetarian cake will be served. According to the event’s organizers, black turtlenecks are handed out to hundreds of Apple fans.

Nothing is said by Apple whether it plans to commemorate the occasion. Some have speculated that Apple will announce a product release or update to coincide with the day, just like last year on February 24 - when the MacBook got an upgrade (See: Steve Turns 56 Tomorrow ). Though, there has been no clue as if it happens again.

Besides, an Indian graphic novel has just been published which marks the life of Steve Jobs. Only for today it is available for free, from tomorrow there will be a charge. Probably an exciting graphic novel based on Apple’s creator’s life is the best gift for devotees. Author of the graphic biography titled "Steve Jobs: Genius by Design" is Amit Tayal. As for the complete book, print version and graphic novel will be released in April. The print version will initially be launched in India at the first time; it will be made available worldwide later (See also: The Best-Selling Book Of 2011).

As for the last year, Steve Jobs received 20032 congratulations on his birthday! Fans had opportunity to send him best wishes with a web’s help. People from all over the world still share  their memories and thoughts online about the genius.  

As a conclusion it is worth mentioning that Steve Jobs was posthumously awarded a Grammy award for his contribution to the music industry. During the Grammy’s Special Merit Awards Ceremony, the Trusteed Award was announced together with Lifetime Achievement Award and Technical Grammy Award. The award accepted Eddy Cue, who was promoted to senior vice president for internet software and services.

Head of iTunes (Eddy Cue) said: "Accepting this award means so much to me because music meant so much to him. He told us that music shaped his life. It made him who he was. Everyone who knows Steve knows the profound impact that artists like Bob Dylan and the Beatles had on him."

Exclusive Beatles Ringtones for iTunes

Are you a Beatles-lover? Or are you just a nice ringtones-lover? Apple Corps has some great surprise for you. Beginning yesterday, fans around the world can use the band’s chart-toppers as ringtone and alert form for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch! You can also assign your favorite tracks to your favorite people.

 iTunes has an EXCLUSIVE selection of The Beatles ringtones from the band’s ‘1’ album – greatest hits collection. The 30-second ringtones are priced at $1.29 each, or $12.99 for all 27. US and UK number-one hits include classics like Yesterday, Hey Jude… 

The Beatles and Apple have long, interesting history, dating back to disputes over the Apple name that the band has long used for their business ventures. After Apple moved into the music business, the two sides came into conflict over the trademark, finally leading to a 2007 agreement that saw Apple obtain all rights to the trademark and license it back to The Beatles for their specific users.

Continuing their close relationship with the iTunes Store, Apple and The Beatles will enjoy another found success. Before, the initial music (released in late 2010) was met with downloads of 5 million Beatles songs! Besides, 1 million albums have been downloaded by users by January 2011. The fact proves exactly that despite the legal wrangling between the pair, The Beatles music is still as popular as ever. 

See also: The Beatles Fans Are the Fans of Apple Too!

iPhone 4S in China Soon

After the mess in China , Apple turned to a strategy and  some lucky users could get iPhone 4S. But now not only lucky people will be able to get their hands on the gadget. Because China Telecom on Monday has announced that iPhone 4S will be selling by them. More concretely to say, Chinese people will have opportunity to get the dream phone on March 9th. But if you are too impatient, you can reserve the phone online on March 2nd. 

According to the company, iPhone 4S will be available starting at RMB 0 for the 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB models on select contracts in China Telecom authorized stores and online. 

Apple spokesperson Natalie Harrison told to the Loop: “iPhone 4S has been an incredible hit with customers around the world. We're thrilled to be launching iPhone 4S with China Telecom and can't wait to get it into the hands of even more customers in China."

As the matter of the fact China is the second largest market for application store downloads , the release of the iPhone 4S on China Telecom will add to Apple’s sales since the device was released on China Unicom. However China Telecom has about 216 million total fixed-line and mobile subscribers! Considering Apple’s payment policy in China  and the company’s store in Shanghai , Apple will surely get unbelievable results at the end of the quarter.

Microsoft’s Employee Is Now Part of Apple

Microsoft Marketing Manager for Xbox UK - Robin Burrowes - has updated his LinkedIn profile, letting the world know, he has been hired by Apple to push iPhone and iPad gaming even further, to help grow Europe's Application Store marketing segment.

Burrowes has been working for Microsoft almost seven years. He was responsible for all products, business and marketing management of Xbox LIVE in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As for Apple, he is the latest in a series of high-profile British gaming recruits.

Microsoft came out of nowhere with the XBOX to take an important share of the console gaming market, the most popular windows phone games - it’s all XBOX. 

Many of the most popular applications in Apple’s Application Store are games and the company has seen enormous success in the mobile gaming sector. That is why with the action – hiring Burrowes - it will drive its ongoing encroachment on the handheld gaming sector. Burrowes will surely help its new employer to figure out how to build an amazing presence in the booming gaming market.

Apple’s New Strategy for Selling Its Handsets in Hong Kong

As we all know, after an incident at the Apple store in Beijing, selling of iPhone4S has stopped in China. But the company has turned to a new, safer tactic to sell its most wanted device. The new system do not allows reserving an iPhone without inputting full credentials, including government photo ID matching the name and ID number. This is meant for keeping out scalpers who use bots to snag up phones in the reservation system.

If you want to buy an Apple Phone in Hong Kong, you need to enter your information on newly set up page on the Hong Kong Apple online store site and enter a lottery. You have only three hours to put in for a phone, between 9am - 12pm. If you are a lucky one, Apple will email you by 9pm that evening, letting you know instructions on pick up your handset the following day. When a “winner” goes to the store, one needs to show the marching ID. 

Sure, it is a very strict system not to be allowed to walk in and buy the phone, but violence from people who attacked the store in the releasing day of iPhone4S, was stricter. 

The new reservation system is only for shoppers in Hong Kong, it is unknown yet whether Apple rolls this out across the country.

Apple’s First Quarter Results Are Unbelievable in Every Area

Apple has an amazing success in first quarter, ended on December 31. Can you imagine 110 million people went to an Apple store in during the period of time?  That means approximately 22.000 customers per Apple store per week. 

But the most important thing is quantity of sold items. It is worth mentioning that iPhone sales have increased, as the company has sold 37.04 million gadgets which is 128% jump over the comparable quarter in 2010; as for iPad (15.4 million) and Mac (5.2 million), their sales beat estimates as well. Consider Apple has not been able to produce as many iPhone 4Ss as it would have liked and it was not even able to sell the phone in China. 

Though, Apple stores are not all where the company hits their record-breaking sales figures. It has 13.000 points of sale in the world for the iPhone, including Think big box electronics retailers, carrier stores, and the like.

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said: “We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs, Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline.”

Apple now has $97.6 billion in cash on hand. Revenues from iTunes hit $1.7 billion. More than 140 million applications and pieces of content were downloaded on Dec. 25. iCloud has 85 million users. There are now 550,000 apps available. Developers of such apps have earned more than $4 billion, $700 million in Q1.

(Summary of Apple Applications 2011).

Analysts wondering: if everything went Apple’s way, what would the quarter have looked like? And when will this amazing growth spurt end if none of those problems can lay the company low? How do you think?

Apple In Education – Introducing Textbooks And iTunes U

At Apple's "Education Event" at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, the company unveiled reinvented textbooks, calling them a "new textbook experience." The freshly introduced books are graphical, interactive, and take advantage of features such as 3D imaging, embedded video, and multi-touch gestures. The books will be available for the iPad users to download directly from the iBooks Store.

If you’re wondering how the publishers will manage to make those new iBook2 textbooks, here’s an answer for you: there will be a new Mac app rolling out, as Apple announced. The new assisting app will significantly facilitate to design and format these new interactive textbooks, allowing users to embed HTML, 3D objects, interactive image galleries, Q&A, and so on, and allow the creators to publish their work to Apple's iBookstore directly from the app! Moreover, the authors will be allowed to update the published books, in case there are some typos and other petty errors captured.

iBooks Author, allowing you to create dynamic, current, engrossing, and truly interactive e-books, is available for free in the Mac App Store for everyone who desires to become an early adopter!

Few of the iPad-based education program partners were also announced, including Pearson, McGraw Hill, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt —together making 90% of the textbooks currently available in the US! The companies mentioned will be filling the new "Textbooks" category in iBooks 2 with high-school level textbooks, and are piloting the new iBook Author app as well. Covering every subject level of study for high-school students, the textbooks will be available for $14.99 or less at launch – while the publishers will be able to set their own prices, but only in return for selling them exclusively through iBooks, so $14.99 appears to be the standard option by now.

The event was noteworthy for one more thing – iTunes U offering by Apple, for syncing your iBooks textbooks to your iPad. While Apple's Eddy Cue unveiled the new iTunes U app, designed to look a lot like iBooks 2, strictly a portal for accessing all types of educational materials, including a class syllabus, full course notes and videos, as well as iBooks notes. 

Apple has teamed up with some of the world's top universities such as Duke, Harvard and many more, suggesting them to offer course materials for the part-time students as well, including lecture videos, quizzes and so on. Furthermore, though iTunes U used to only be accessible for the University students and lecturers, Apple has now made the app accessible to K-12 school districts, universities, and colleges in 26 countries! 

However, there are two important things to note:

1. An iTunes Store account is required to access iTunes U course materials, so you should create an iTunes account first.

2. iBooks textbooks are readable only on iPad.

As a conclusion, it should be said that the era of heavy and dull textbooks is over! Although no iPad3 or iPhone5 was announced, the students now are still much luckier to have as strong and considerate supporter as Apple. Let us know your thoughts about iBooks Textbooks and iTunes U below in the comments! 

Mess in China

As promised , selling of the iPhone 4S in China and in other countries has begun. No Apple product was launched without long lines and frustration but all the expectations have been exceeded now. Some fights were breaking out near the Apple’s “main store in Beijing” between the people who just wanted to buy the phone. Some of them waited overnight in the freezing cold (-9 degrees) to become the first to purchase the phone.  

The store was pelted with eggs too from a crowd of about 500 people. Reason of the action was that opening the store was delayed by at least an hour. Apple had advertised that the store would open at 7 a.m. and at 7.15 a.m. people began crying “Open the door!” and “Liars!” The conflict was significant enough to attract the attention of police; it temporarily cordoned off the shop. The company has become a victim of its own success...

Therefore Apple has decided to postpone the retail availability of its iPhone 4S at the stores in Beijing and Shanghai. People can get the device through Apple’s Web site or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers.

An Apple spokesman told: “The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible, and our stores in China have already sold out. Unfortunately, we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being.”

Music Unlimited on Your iPhone

A cloud-based streaming music service will be available for Apple’s various devices. Expected date of releasing the free application is summer. At CES representatives said that the catalog of Music Unlimited already includes 15 million songs.

As the matter of the fact the Music Unlimited is Sony’s music service, we can assume that the company is ready to offer its vast content ecosystem to devices outside of its own. President of Sony Network Entertainment believes that cloud-based services are in an early stage of competition and Sony is getting its skin in the game. At Consumer Electronic Show he said: "You can be a Sony customer, but that doesn't mean every product you own comes from Sony. We have an opportunity to reach these customers, and show them the benefit of being a Sony customer." The president also noted that Music Unlimited has more than a million active subscribes, however the figure includes premium and trial members. 

Availability on Music Unlimited is increasing. It has accessibility in 13 countries around the world.

Relationship between Apple and T-Mobile

As the American carriers have begun selling Apple’s hit device, T-Mobile has been left out of the “game.” At the Consumer Electronics Show CEO of the company admitted today that the lack of the iPhones has hurt its ability to retain subscribes, particularly high-value-contract ones.

Last October, when the iPhone 4S  came to some carriers, expressing interest to Apple, T-Mobile posted a blog, saying it was Apple’s decision that they “still don’t have the iPhone.”

Chief technology officer of T-Mobile Neville Ray believes that the iPhone never made it to T-Mobile because of the unique band of spectrum (AWS), which it uses for its wireless network. That would have required extra work to ensure the iPhone ran correctly on the network. But the next chipset that Apple is going to use will overcome the hurdle. He claims that he has seen the roadmap of chipsets that Apple plans to use and it has that capability. Ray said: "The next chipset will support AWS; the challenge that existed in the past will go away." Though Apple can ignore that capability and not strike a deal with T-Mobile.

No matter T-Mobile get the iPhone or no, it is widely believed that the next version of the  Apple phone will run on LTE (Long Term Evolution) which is where the other major carriers are headed.

Apple’s most particular acquisition and it is true

As rumors have already said , Apple has purchased Anobit, an Israel-based company. As predicted, it paid about $500 million to purchase the company. The story was reported in the Calcalist financial daily newspaper on Tuesday. Even the Prime Minister of Israel tweeted about the action: "Welcome to Israel, Apple Inc. on your [first] acquisition here. I'm certain that you'll benefit from the fruit of the Israeli knowledge."

Apple will use Anobit’s technology for increasing the memory volume and performance in its gadgets, although it already uses Anobit’s flash chip in the iPhone, iPad and MacBook Air laptops. The chip enhances flash drive performance through signal processing.

Anobit has produced two generations of its SSD (solid-state drive) technology. Its controller is the intellectual property that sets it apart from other SSD manufacturers. The technology extends the endurance of standard consumer-grade multi-level cell flash. As for numbers, it extends from 3000 write/erase cycles to 50,000 cycles and more.

An interesting fact Calcalist says is that Apple will also open a research and development center in Israel and that will be its first outside the United States.

Although the information is official, neither Apple, nor Anobit were available for comment.

Steve Jobs’s statue in Budapest

Steve Jobs’s    statue was unveiled yesterday in Budapest, Hungary. The bronze statue is 6 1/2 feet (two-meter) tall and weighs approximately 200kg. It depicts Jobs wearing jumper, jeans, sneakers and glasses. The statue shows Jobs familiar pose, gesturing as if addressing the world about his company’s gadgets. As statue commissioner says, "It expresses the dynamism and the spirit of Steve Jobs." 

The statue is located outside the headquarters of software design company Graphisoft. It was commissioned by the founder of Graphisoft in mid-October, after Steve Jobs died. As for company, it was supported by Apple since 1984.

Founder of Graphisoft Bojar said that he remains grateful for the inspiration and assistance he received from Jobs. He affirmed: "Apple's support included cash and computers at a time when Graphisoft was a small company with limited resources, working within the economic and political confines of what was, at the time, communist Hungary. Apple also introduced Graphisoft to its worldwide distribution network, which we rely upon to this day."

At the foot of the statue, on an iPad-shaped tablet is inscribed a quotation of Jobs: "The only way to do great work is to love what you do..."

Syria without iPhone

A branch of the Syrian Finance Ministry has officially banned using iPhones in the country. The motivation behind of the decision is to avoid sharing videos and news of the massive protests, ongoing in the country. The ban has occurred as soon as the Syrian government was increasingly isolated by the West and its Arab neighbors.

Customs Department of the Syrian Finance Ministry affirmed: "The use of the iPhone must be prohibited due to the forbidden features that have been banned by the general telecommunications company. (…) This is a legal ruling and iPhones will be seized."

Journalists and not only they used the device to spread visuals of a violent crackdown of antigovernment protesters. Syria has barred foreign media from the country but visual information has spread easily. The situation is very serious because while rebellion 4.000 people have died since March.

In November the activists launched an application for iPhone and iPad. The application is called Souria Wa Bas and it means “Syria that is all.” With the application’s help, its users could share news, photos, videos; they could locate places of opposition hot spots too. The application was intensively used for jokes about Assad also.

Consider that Steve Jobs’s father is Syrian and we can affirm that his great invention is banned in his own country. As for his father, he has come out against the government and said: "I am in solidarity with the Syrian people; I reject the brutality and killing that the Syrian authorities are committing against the unarmed Syrian people. And because silence is participation in this crime, I declare my participation in the Syrian sit-in on YouTube."

Social network is used while rebellion as well. Some protests were organized with Facebook’s and Twitter’s help. It was used for spreading some confidential information too. Maybe banning the social networks is next step in Syrian Government’s time-table.

It's Black Friday For Apple too, Finally!

As Apple promised, today is going to be a great day for shopping. If you visit Apple web store now, you will see that it is updating, as shown on the picture below. We can assume that Apple is going to have really big discount today. Let’s wait and see what the surprise is, seems like it is really huge.

applications for Yuan

Apple made an important change in its payment policy in China. After long neglecting the Chinese market, the company has begun to accept payment in Chinese Yuan in Application Store. Now it is easy for customers to get their hands on software. The change is quite beneficial for iOS developers too.

Before that, for making App Store purchases, Chinese shoppers were required to hold dual-currency credit cards. As for now, 20 Chinese banks have entered into an arrangement with Apple to facilitate the shift. With its’ help customers are able to make payments and buy applications much more easily now.

After reading a study, which talks about China’s share in marketplace, a motivation behind Apple’s decision gets obvious.

What you need to know about iTunes Match

iTunes match has finally entered! That is what people mostly waited for. With this new iCloud feature you can match and upload your music library to a central server. Once you download music to one device, it automatically appears on all your devices! You can use iTunes Match with only 10 iOS devices, including iPhones, iPod touches, iPads, and Apple TVs. Music, even imported from CDs or purchased somewhere other than iTunes, can be stored in iCloud. You can play them whenever and wherever you want, without syncing or WI-FI.

For turning iTunes match on your phone, go to Settings > Music > Turn On iTunes Match.
On a Mac, open iTunes > Store > Turn On iTunes March.
On an Apple TV, go to Music > iCloud library.

Here is how it works: you should scan your library and match as many tracks as it can. It determines which songs in your collection are available in the store (there are approximately 20 million songs in the store). You can upload what it cannot match. After this, it will upload those unmatched tracks to its central server. Once it is in iCloud, you can stream and store it on any device.

This beautiful feature costs only $25 per year.  Anyone with an Apple ID in the U.S. can use it. Apple hopes that by the end of the year, it will be available internationally.