Thanks to the release of the iPhone 5 back in September, Apple has captured a 53 percent of the smartphone market in the United States - the very first time it has passed the 50 percent barrier. The number crunching was carried out by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, and its most recent sales data figures show the Cupertino company's market share has increased dramatically on the 37 percent recorded at the same period of last year, and takes into consideration the 12-week period ending on November 25th.
Regardless of you opinions on Apple's Siri voice-guided digital assistant that comes with a number of iOS devices, you have to admit that it has been used to perform some extremely interesting tasks since it was first created. After undergoing recent changes as part of iOS 6, Siri has also become a lot more useful to the average user now that it can provide information to worldwide users about businesses, sports scores and points of interests like local restaurants. But what if we could somehow hook Siri up on a date with a Raspberry Pi and make them work together to open our garage door at will? Step forward SiriProxy.
Apple's Safari browser takes pride of place on every single Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on the market, and although it is perhaps not as strong in terms of features as the likes of Google's Chrome or Firefox by Mozilla, it's the Web-surfing utility of choice to many. The thought process behind the naming makes complete sense, as it offers users something of a Safari across adventurous - sometimes dangerous - but immensely informative medium of the World Wide Web. It has emerged, however, that Apple's flagship browser was frighteningly close to being given the less flattering name of "Freedom" which, as well as alluding to countless famous songs, might well have rendered Apple the subject of ridicule.
The once-mighty BlackBerry brand of smartphone from Research In Motion may have lost its way somewhat over the past couple of years, but a couple of browser tests carried out by The Gadget Masters suggests there's still plenty of life left in the old dog yet. Testing the BlackBerry 10's browser against Internet Explorer and Safari on Windows Phone 8 and iOS respectively, the BlackBerry come out on top. More details, and a demonstration video, after the break.
Apple and Samsung seem only to take a break from filing lawsuits against each other to - and this is rare - release a new gadget. However, the Korean company appears today to have taken the first steps to some form of mediation by dropping a series of patent infringement suits against its bitter rival in nations across Europe.
In its efforts to continue updating and improving iOS, Apple has just released iOS 6.0.2 exclusively for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. Unlike other earlier versions of 6th-gen iOS, this one is tailored especially to the new iPhone 5 and iPad mini. More details after the break.
Although some say that Apple’s home-brewed Maps app was rushed out and should never have passed through testing, the Cupertino based company should be applauded for holding their hands up, admitting their mistakes and doing what is necessary to put the software right for the millions of users around the world. If the recent Wall Street Journal report is to be believed, then it looks like part of that rectification process could hinge on striking a deal with Foursquare to include the company's extensive mapping data in the Maps app.
The App Store as grown at incredible rate since its inception, yet while the exponential growth is well-documented within the mobile industry, even the activity of the past twelve months is of incredible interest. There are few more entertaining ways of viewing statistics than the colorful illustration of the infographic, and Appsfire has duly provided with an easy-to-digest round-up of the year's App Store activity. Here, we assess their findings.
The holiday season is well and truly upon us, and with so many sought-after gadgets on the market, finding best offer can be somewhat bamboozling. Each of the major retailers will be grappling for the attentions of consumers, and two of the largest - Walmart and Target - have kicked things off with some great savings on iOS devices.
It may be one of Apple's newest product lines that has only been publicly available for a matter of weeks, but that hasn't stopped the rumors about the potential specifications of the second-generation iPad mini from circulating extremely early. Reports from hit-and-miss rumor site DigiTimes are suggesting that Apple already has one eye on the future of the new mini iPad and could potentially have plans to introduce a higher-resolution display to the mid-range tablet as well as making changes to the standard sized iPad to make it lighter.

