Iphone, Gadgets | featured news

Apple is slated to announce the fruits of its labor on improving the use of technology in education at its special media event on Thursday, January 19. While speculation has so far centered on digital textbooks, sources close to the matter have confirmed to Ars that Apple will announce tools to help create interactive e-books—the “GarageBand for e-books,” so to speak—and expand its current platform to distribute them to iPhone and iPad users.

Angry customers and gangs of scalpers threw eggs at Apple Inc.'s Beijing store Friday after the iPhone 4S launch there was canceled due to concerns over the crowd's size. Apple reacted to the outburst by postponing iPhone 4S sales in its mainland China stores to protect customers and employees. The phone still will be sold online and through its local carrier.

The makers of Gorilla Glass, the glass that's used in touchscreen gadgets such as iPhones, iPads and more than 500 other models of electronic gadgets, has officially unveiled a thinner and more touch-sensitive version of their product.

Motorola Mobility can try to force Apple to remove its products from Germany's stores after winning a patent case against the iPhone-maker.

Google‘s long-awaited answer to Flipboard, the “social magazine” exclusively on Apple‘s iPad and iPhone, just debuted today. Google Currents offers a similar appearance, except it works on Android devices as well as iPads and iPhones. It’s the latest in a long string of applications, most recently Yahoo‘s Livestand, that seek to turn online content into something resembling print magazines, but without all those dead trees and with 20th century innovations like, say, video.

Apple's voice recognition app operates in the Internet cloud. Commands are processed on a Web server and software developers can monitor Siri's responses, tweaking the program to improve it.

Japanese fan site Macotakara reports Sony and Hitachi are making four-inch screens for the new phone - and have already shipped early prototypes to Apple's Cupertino HQ - hinting at a release as early as March.

Last week we showed you how a developer had hacked Siri to operate his internet-connected thermostat. But that's not cool. Starting your car using Siri, now that's cool. Actually, that's a bit unfair.

Some 84 percent of iPhone users said they would pick iPhone also when they replace their cellphone, while 60 percent of those using Android smartphones said they would stick with phones using the same software, says a research firm.

If you've been weighing buying a new Mac or iPad but are holding out for one of Apple's rare discounts, Black Friday is your chance.