Launch

Beats launches ‘Music’ streaming service for $10 a month, iPhone app now available

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 14, 2018

As promised, Beats launched its highly anticipated 'Music' service this morning, bringing the headphone-maker into the highly competitive world of streaming audio. And with a library of around 20 million songs available for on-demand play, it's certainly built to take on the competition.

But Beats is taking a different approach to its subscription service. Unlike your Rdios and your Spotifys, it doesn't offer a free ad-supported model and the company is putting a lot of focus on its custom radio stations and playlists that it says were curated by some of the best DJs in the world...

Tim Cook signs iPhones at China Mobile launch, says ‘great things’ coming

Cody Lee ∙ January 17, 2014

China Mobile's highly anticipated iPhone launch is now in full swing over in Beijing. After years of failed negotiations, Apple finally inked a deal with the carrier last month, giving it access to the worlds-largest subscriber base of 750+ million people.

We've been talking about the importance of this partnership for months now, but for those that needed a reminder, Tim Cook showed up in person at this morning's launch. The CEO took photos, signed autographs and even answered a few questions...

Apple ships 1.4 million iPhone 5s units to China Mobile ahead of Friday’s launch

Cody Lee ∙ January 14, 2014

After several years of negotiations, and following months of rumors, Apple announced in December that it had finally inked a deal with China Mobile. The carrier will officially start offering the company's smartphone on January 17.

And it looks like they're expecting a big turnout. According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Apple supplier Foxconn has shipped roughly 1.4 million iPhone 5s units to China Mobile ahead of Friday's historic launch...

New report suggests iOS 7.1 may not be released until March

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Following the release of iOS 7.1 beta 2 to developers last week, BGR is reporting that Apple has seeded a new build of the software update to carrier partners. It's unclear when Apple will push the new beta to devs, but the site says a public release is still months away.

Citing a 'trusted source,' BGR's Jonathan Geller reports that Apple plans to rollout iOS 7.1 in March of next year. That means we're still a roughly 3 months out, and that the update would've been in testing for more than 4 months—a fairly long time for a '.1' release...

Cut the Rope 2 now available in the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Great news gamers, ZeptoLab's Cut the Rope 2 is now available in the App Store. The original game, which involved solving a series of puzzles to feed a cuddly little monster named Om Nom, made its debut on the iPhone back in 2010 and has been very popular.

And after some 3 years and half a billion downloads, Om Nom is back for this highly-anticipated sequel. This time he's more interactive, and is joined by 5 new characters—the Nommies—which will help him get through the more than 120 challenging new levels...

Apple’s new Mac Pro is now available for order

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

As promised yesterday, Apple's all-new Mac Pro desktop computer is now available for order via the company's website. Ready-made models are shipping right now by December 30 and upgraded versions are showing 'available to ship' dates in January.

The new Mac Pro comes in two flavors: a $2999 model equipped with a 3.7 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon E5 processor, 12 GB of RAM and 256 GB of flash storage, and a $3999 model with a 3.5 GHz 6-core E5 chip, 16 GB of RAM, and a better graphics card...

China Mobile aggressively promoting iPhones and iPads for big launch

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Earlier this month, reports surfaced that China Mobile and Apple finally inked a deal for the carrier to begin offering iPhones to its some 700 million+ subscribers. Yesterday, China Mobile confirmed the news, taking pre-orders for the iPhone 5s and 5c.

And it looks like the world's largest carrier is enthusiastic about its new partnership with Apple, as it has gone all out on marketing materials for the launch. Many China Mobile retail stores have dedicated much of their ad and display space to iOS devices...

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas now available in the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Rockstar's wildly popular Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is now available in the App Store. The game, which first launched on the PlayStation 2 all the way back in 2004, is now available on both the iPhone and iPad.

Rockstar says that this is their biggest mobile port ever. The game features over 70-hours of gameplay, enhanced visuals, and—for the first time ever—support for Apple's new Made-for-iOS controller technology in iOS 7...

WSJ: Apple and China Mobile finally ink iPhone deal

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 23, 2017

Following a number of rumors and reports over the past few weeks, The Wall Street Journal is reporting this evening that Apple and China Mobile have finally inked an iPhone deal. The outlet says it's scheduled to launch later this month.

The deal, which has also been confirmed by state-run news outlet Xinhua and a China Mobile subsidiary, comes after nearly 6 years of on-and-off negotiations, and will give Apple access to China Mobile's 700 million+ subscriber base...

German retailer begins taking Mac Pro pre-orders

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

During its October iPad event, Apple confirmed that its redesigned Mac Pro would be available in December, but it wouldn't get any more specific than that. The month has already started, so technically, we could see it any day now.

But according to German retailer Conrad Electronic, we still have about two weeks before we see the highly anticipated desktop. Conrad has begun taking pre-orders for the computer, and says it's officially launching on December 16...

China Mobile quietly opens iPhone 5s, 5c reservation system

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 4, 2016

Late yesterday evening, China Mobile quietly launched a reservation for the iPhone 5s and 5c via its subsidiary in Suzhou—a major city in Eastern China. This serves as one of the first concrete traces that Apple has in fact reached a deal with the world's largest carrier.

Rumors about the partnership have intensified in recent months, and in November, the state-run news outlet Xinhua reported that an official announcement would be made on December 18. The two sides have been negotiating an iPhone deal for more than 5 years...

Sony launches new ‘PlayStation App’ companion app for PS4

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Ahead of its big PlayStation 4 launch later this week, Sony has released a new companion app for the console, aptly named 'PlayStation App.' Sony says that the app will allow you to "take your PlayStation experience with you on your mobile device."

Part of that experience includes the ability to connect to the PSN network, meaning you'll be able to chat with your friends, see what they're playing, and open game alerts and invites. You'll also be able to browse the PlayStation store, and much more...