FCC may force Internet providers to stop calling their slow, crappy speeds 'broadband' | VentureBeat | Business | by Harrison Weber
In fact, average U.S. Internet speeds rank statistically lower than those of nine other countries, including Latvia, Switzerland, and Romaina.

Labels: fcc

Apple's massive $3B bet on Beats a sure thing compared to all-in gamble on NeXT in 1996
Apple's recently-confirmed $3 billion purchase of headphone maker and streaming music provider Beats may be the largest cash outlay in its history, but it's far from the Cupertino company's biggest bet on an acquisition. "

Labels: aapl, beats

Latest Weibo leak shows supposed 4.7-inch iPhone screen backlight part | 9to5Mac
Weibo is continuing to be the source of unverified iPhone 6 leaks. This time, user “顾Gooey” has published some photos that he claims to represent display backlight components for the next-generation iPhone with a 4.7-inch screen."

Labels: iphone6

Creator of Apple's Core Animation leaves for new role, likely at Facebook
John Harper, the creator of of Apple's Core Animation tool for developers and the inventor credited with designing gesture and scrolling animations in iOS, has apparently taken a new position at social networking giant Facebook."

Labels: apple, google, microsoft

China's Xiaomi unveils copycat 'Mi Pad' in bid to take on Apple's iPad
Xiaomi on Thursday introduced the Mi Pad, sporting a 7.9-inch display that is the same size as Apple's iPad mini. The new Mi Pad will come in a total of six colors and capacities of 16 or 64 gigabytes, while carrying a starting price of 1,499 yuan, or $240 U.S., undercutting Apple. The product essentially looks like a plastic iPad mini with more color options, even packing in an identical screen resolution of 2,048 by 1,536. It also runs a heavily version of Google's Android operating system dubbed "MIUI" that looks strikingly like Apple's iOS 7."

Labels: android vs ios

Columbia University students create software allowing native iOS apps to run on Android devices | 9to5Mac
Now, six Columbia University students have bridged the gap between the two platforms with something called Cider (via The Next Web). Not to be confused with the other Cider software (for OS X), the Android version of Cider essentially fools iOS applications into believing they’re running on an actual iPhone or iPad."

Labels: ios vs android

Apple hires lead Lumia camera engineer Ari Partinen, who worked on Nokia’s PureView cameras | 9to5Mac
On Twitter, Ari Partinen, a senior camera engineer at Nokia, has confirmed that he is leaving Nokia for Apple. The hire was first spotted by Engadget. Apple’s iPhone cameras are regarded as some of the best in the market, but Nokia’s PureView cameras have also been widely praised, which can produce pictures up to 38 megapixels in size."

Labels: apple vs. nokia

Apple acquires low-power, micro LED display maker LuxVue Technology | 9to5Mac
LuxVue Technology, previously known as Papierlos Corporation, was founded in 2009 and has been in the news a few times throughout raising $43 million in funding from Kleiner Perkins and others, but has for the most part remained quiet while developing its next-generation micro-LED technology. The company hasn’t shared many details about what it’s working on, but it has a number of patents for its low-power micro-LED technology that could potentially offer better battery life while retaining screen brightness compared to traditional display technologies."

Labels: acquisition, apple news

Former iPhone camera engineers create 360-degree video camera | 9to5Mac
CENTR, a startup created by a group of former iPhone camera engineers, has developed a video camera that creates 360-degree views, allowing viewers to pan around the image during playback."

Labels: iphone, quicktime, quicktime vr