In a new patent filing from Samsung we learn that they're trying to patent a shadow effect for turning an eBook page. Androiders love to complain and rant about what they perceive to be Apple's frivolous patent filings. I say to them,  ...

Echoing recent reports about a redesigned 'flatter' user interface in iOS 7, 9to5Mac says the next version of the operating system will lose "all signs of gloss, shine and skeuomorphism".

Jony Ive took charge of all Apple's user interface teams last October following a management shakeup.
While the look of the updated system may be surprising to some, iOS 7 is reportedly not more difficult to use than earlier versions of software platform. There is apparently no new learning curve in the same way there was no learning curve when the iPods went color. While iOS 7 does look different, its core apps and system fundamentals (like the Lock and Home screens) mostly operate in a...

Ahead of last week's earnings release, Apple announced that it would more than double its capital return program from $45 billion to $100 billion, with a 15 percent increase in dividend payments and a massive stock buyback initiative.

To facilitate the expanded capital return program, which will amount to a share repurchase of $60 billion, Apple must take on debt, a process that the company initiated today. According to Reuters, Apple has begun investor calls, led by both Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, and it has filed the necessary...

As tablet players are turning their focuses from the 10-inch segment to 7-inch for the second half of 2013, sources from the upstream supply chain believe the competition between Apple iPad mini and 7-inch Android tablets will become fiercer than before.  ...

9to5Mac shares some details on Apple's upcoming OS X 10.9 operating system, noting that the update will focus in large part on "power-user" features while also incorporating a few more concepts from the company's iOS operating system. Among the enhancements said to be included in OS X 10.9, codenamed "Cabaret":

- New tabbed browsing and tags in Finder
- Redesigned backend for Safari to bring "improved page loading, speed, and efficiency"
- Ability to keep a dedicated Space or full-screen app open on a single monitor within a multiple monitor setup

On the user interface side, the report suggests that there will be some changes, but that they "will not be drastic ones". As part of a ...

Tech columnist David Pogue shares ten simple, clever tips for computer, web, smartphone and camera users in a brief six minute video. While you may know some of these tricks, there's probably one or two you don't.   ...

Earlier this week, Apple filed another revised plan for its "Campus 2" project in Cupertino, a new headquarters for the company focused on a massive ring-shaped building and designed to house 13,000 employees.

In line with that revised plan, Apple has once again solicited residents of Cupertino for feedback on the project now that additional details on environmental sustainability and neighborhood enhancements have been fleshed out. Apple made a similar mailing last May when the project was in an earlier stage of conceptualization.

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This week's mailing includes a new letter from Chief Financial Officer Peter...

Chitika Insights published a new report today showing Apple's iPad share of Web traffic in North American is holding firm at 82% as we reported on last month. The new report illustrates iPad stats over the last six months where iPad Web traffic has slid from 92% to 82%. In that same time frame Samsung had rung up an anemic 2% growth in their tablet Web traffic to a total of, drum roll please, 4%.  ...

Apple's market share of the worldwide smartphone market may have slipped, but a new Yankee Group survey (via AllThingsD) shows some promising data points for the company.

In a survey of 16,000 U.S. smartphone users, the company found 91 percent of iPhone owners plan to purchase another iPhone when it's time to upgrade, while for Android the number is just 76 percent. And, three quarters of those looking to switch from Android plan to buy an iPhone.

Yankee Group believes the incredible customer loyalty that Apple holds will drive market share gains well into the future. The firm predicts that, if these loyalty numbers hold, Apple will surpass...

With a flurry of activity today, bidding on the charity auction for a coffee meeting with Tim Cook at Apple's headquarters has passed $500,000, nearly doubling the previous record for a CharityBuzz "experience" auction set last year when a bidder paid $255,000 to spend a day with Bill Clinton.

The bid list seems to be a combination of serious bidders and those likely simply seeking visibility for their names or brands and relying on the fact that there are 18 days left to bid to hope that they won't actually win the auction. CharityBuzz notes in its FAQ that all bids are legally binding and can not be retracted.Can I...

Earlier this month, we reported that Apple had announced upcoming changes to the behavior of VPN On Demand for devices running iOS 6.1 or later. The changes, which were planned to be deployed in a software update later this month, were necessitated by a $368 million judgment against Apple in a patent lawsuit brought by VirnetX.

Virtual private networking (VPN), which is most commonly used by corporate users to access company networks, allows a user to securely connect to a private network via public networks as if his or her device were directly on the private network.

Apple's changes to the feature were to see the removal of the "Always" configuration option for VPN On Demand, with the behavior defaulting back to...

According to a new IDC report, Apple's smartphone shipment volume hit a new first-quarter high thanks in part to the iPhone 5, with volume growing 6.6% year over year. The last time that Apple posted ...   ...