A decade ago, Japan was known as the land of uniquely advanced mobile phones with Internet capabilities and various other features rarely seen elsewhere in the world. But those days are long gone.

The mobile industry’s shift to smartphones has dramatically changed the fate of Japanese handset makers. Most of them have failed to expand their smartphone operations outside of the domestic market, while global brands like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. have gained popularity among Japanese smartphone users.

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Apple appears to be further preparing for the official launch of iTunes Radio, Apple’s Pandora-like streaming music service, by asking streaming radio stations to provide cover art. iTunes Radio is included in the Music app in iOS 7, as seen in our hands-on video.

Dear Internet Radio Provider,

Cover Art

The iTunes Store now requires cover art for Internet Radio stations. The cover art files must be 1400 x 1400 pixels in JPG or PNG format using RGB color space. The image URL must end in “.jpg”, “.jpeg” or “.png”. To add cover art to your station, send an email to itunesradio@apple.com including your contact name, station name...

Apple just uploaded a new television ad to their YouTube channel and website titled “FaceTime Every Day,” following their popular “Photos Every Day” and “Music Every Day” ads.

Like previous ads, Apple’s newest offering demonstrates the many ways iPhone users enjoy FaceTime on their devices. The minute-longs spot, which is reminiscent of Apple’s original FaceTime ads, details people communicating with sign language, showing a new house to their family, watching the fireworks, and more.

The spot ends with the line: “Everyday, more people connect face to face on the iPhone than any other phone.”

The timing of this new advertisement is interesting, as just today...

Following the arrest of a Freedom Hosting service provider supervisor in Ireland, whom law enforcement has referred to as "the largest facilitator of child porn on the planet," some reports have surfaced of a JavaScript exploit of vulnerabilities in the anonymizing Tor Browser bundle. The exploit compromises Firefox, and forces the browser to send the computer's regular IP address to a Verizon IP address along with information on Tor sites visited to a data farm located in Reston, Virginia that is associated with US law enforcement.... ...

Fresh from the world of Kickstarter comes the most minimal iPhone 5 case you'll ever see. The Mod-3 RADIUS case (US$69.99) is designed to protect your investment from most drops, all while weighing just .155 ounces (4.4 grams). How does it look and work? Read on, and then have a chance to win an all-slate Mod-3 RADIUS case.

Design

The first time I saw the RADIUS case I didn't think it was a case. It consists of an X-shaped machined aluminum frame that connects to four aluminum corner pieces held on with small specially-made stainless steel hex screws. While it doesn't appear that the RADIUS case can protect anything, it's actually quite an ingenious design. The aluminum X is just thick enough that it will protect the iPhone 5's fragile glass if you happen to drop it flat on the back side. The corner...

Nokia borrowed some inspiration from Microsoft's tool box today with the release of its snarky new commercial for the Lumia 925. Taking aim at Apple's "Photos Every Day" TV spot, the Lumia ad finds the company criticizing the quality of the iPhone 5's camera.

The iPhone 5 shipped with an 8 megapixel camera, while the new Lumia has a 8.7 megapixel camera and a dual-LED flash. We've included both Nokia's spot and Apple's original advertisement for comparison.

Nokia "Better Photos Every Day"

Apple "Photos Every Day

"

Nokia gets catty with 925...

A project funded by Google cofounder Sergey Brin has yielded the world's first "synthetic" beef hamburger, the first step in what the billionaire hopes is a transformation in sustainable foods.  ...

Following a pair of reports of Chinese citizens being badly shocked -- in at least one case to death -- from what were discovered to be counterfeit and unsafe third-party USB power adapters, Apple is launching a worldwide program to exchange the fake or "no-brand" chargers for "properly designed adapters" from Apple and dispose of the potentially dangerous ones in an "environmentally friendly" way, according to a new notice on Apple's support pages. Beginning August 16, customers with concerns will be able to exchange their adapters for genuine ones.... ...

On the first trading day following the news that the Obama administration had overturned the ITC's unusual SEP-based sales injunction that would have affected AT&T-model iPhone 4 and iPad 2 (and older) devices, world financial markets made their opinion plain: over $1B in Samsung's market capitalization was wiped away, while Apple gained nearly $7 billion as its stock price to continues a recent resurgence. AAPL closed up almost five percent to $469.45 and continues to edge up in after-hours trading, while Samsung shed a percentage point.... ...

Apple on Monday announced its USB Power Adapter Takeback Program, a program that will allow customers to return third-party adapters they feel are faulty. Apple is offering those customers a special price on obtaining a new Apple adapter. [...]

In preparation for the rollout of iTunes Radio, Apple has started sending out emails to owners of Internet radio stations asking that they provide cover art, suggesting the streams will soon be available as part of the upcoming service.   ...

Two more of Apple's patents have come under an "anonymous" re-examination request before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). US patent 7,663,607 covering multipoint touch screens, and US patent 7,920,129 involving a "double-sided touch-sensitive panel" have been put up for review. Both patents were originally being asserted by Apple against Samsung, but were winnowed at the demand of Judge Lucy Koh's order to simplify and streamline the first Apple versus Samsung smartphone trial.... ...

Image via Flickr

Following controversy in recent weeks regarding the safety of counterfeit and third-party USB charging adapters for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad, Apple has announced a new trade-in program for these...

Nokia has released a new commercial called "Better Photos Every Day," an ad that mocks Apple's claims that more pictures are taken on the iPhone every day by saying better pictures are taken with the Nokia Lumia 925. The commercial uses similar presentation as Apple's "Photos Every Day" spot, and offers side by side comparisons of images that show off the camera on the Lumia 925.

The tablet market has exploded in the last year, with nearly 60 percent growth since the same quarter in 2012. This is according to new information published by the market research firm IDC on Monday. At the top of the market is Apple, thanks to strong sales of the iPad. However while Apple is still number one on the charts their victory comes with a coda that makes it a little bittersweet.

Although Apple was the number one vendor with 14.6 million iPads shipped and a 32.4 percent market share they were the only company out of the top first vendors to have their market share drop since 2012. That year Apple enjoyed a staggering 60.3 percent market share. In 2013 that number had shrunk to a 32.4 percent market share, a -14.1 percent growth rate since the pervious year.

Meanwhile their competition saw growth ranging from 277 percent for Samsung to 313.9 percent for Lenovo and 247.9 percent for Acer....

After being pushed back over two months, "SimCity" will finally make its Mac debut at the end of August following a rocky PC launch fraught with network connectivity and overall quality issues.   ...

Audio-3D Player Headphones HD 7.1 (free today only) is a long name for an app that can make a big difference in the sound of headphones playing music on your iPhone.

The app is designed to make music sound like you are listening in a room, not through headphones. There are two modes to choose from: one for a 2.1 system (2 speakers plus subwoofer), and another for a 7.1 home cinema system. In the 7.1 mode, you can choose from normal, dynamic, and spectacle. Each succeeding mode enhances separation.

Gallery: Audio-3D Player 7.1

The app is tweaked for certain headphones, including...

Mobile payment service Square has updated the iOS edition of Square Register, its point-of-sale app for retail. The v3.2 release allows businesses to record any sort of payment type, including checks and gift cards. Previously the app was centered around credit card transactions, where Square makes its money....  ...

Buying pricey electronics from a private seller is never advised, but when a woman in Brisbane, Australia met with a seller at a local McDonalds to purchase a pair of "new" iPhones, she figured she was safe. As the Herald Sun reports, after buying what appeared to be two new iPhone boxes from the seller for a total of $1,500 AUD (approx. $1,300 USD), she returned home to find that the boxes contained actual apples in place of Apple smartphones.

The scam began on a UK classifieds site called Gumtree where users can post free ads for items, as well as ads stating they are willing to buy specific goods. The victim in this case posted an ad saying she was looking to buy two iPhones.

Of course, the thief's plan would have quickly unraveled if the buyer would have simply opened the boxes...

As markets opened this morning, the Wall Street Journal noted Samsung lost over $1 billion in market value on news of U.S. veto of its import ban. Apple closed the day up $6.9 billion.   ...

As Apple rumored to be considering a retail trade-in program to lure more iPhone shoppers to its retail stores, a new survey has found that trade-in programs may help sway customers' loyalty.  ...

Blendamaze from Borderleap is a clever puzzle game that mixes marble mazes with color theory. The object of the game is to roll marbles through a maze and coat them with paint. You must pick your paint carefully as you need to mix the colors in the right way to match the color of the hole at the end of the maze.

The app starts off easily with the primary colors, allowing you to mix and match paint to create greens, oranges and purples. It gets harder when you jump to complimentary and analogous colors. As an additional challenge, the games teleports your marble to different parts of the maze after you coat it with a layer of paint. If you are not careful, you could end up at the other side of the screen far away from your target. It takes some concentration as well as trial and error, but you do eventually figure out the color combination and the correct maze path to complete a level.

My only...

The South Korean government has issued a statement expressing worries about the Obama administration veto of an ITC ban on some Apple products. The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy says that the decision could harm Samsung's patent rights, and that it will be paying close attention on Friday, when the ITC is expected to rule on a possible ban of some of Samsung's Galaxy devices. "We hope to see a fair and reasonable decision on the matter," the ministry states.... ...

This past April, Apple agreed to the terms of a US$53 million class-action settlement stemming from Apple's warranty practices regarding water damage on older generation iPhones and iPod Touches.

The lawsuit alleged that Apple refused to honor the warranty on devices that were ostensibly damaged by water. Both the iPhone and iPod Touch contain Liquid Contact Indicators which change color when they come into contact with water. The crux of the issue, however, is that these Liquid Contact Indicators were also prone to change color in humid environments. Consequently, Apple denied warranty coverage to many consumers who may have otherwise been eligible.

Affected users are now receiving emails with information as to how file claims. Affected users must file a claim by October 21, 2013.

The website reads in part:

To qualify for a cash refund, you must: (a) be a United States resident; (b)...

A new advertisement from Nokia parodies Apple's "Every Day" advertisements to promote what the Finnish handset maker believes are the superior picture taking abilities of its own Lumia 925 smartphone.   ...

As the success stories keep piling up, so do the number of projects filling up crowdfunding websites with, among other things, neat hardware- and software-related products. Some projects, like Pebble, gain thousands of supporters as well as millions of dollars in funding (and end up at Best Buy’s retail stores). Other projects flop and don’t reach their necessary funding amount.

Rather than make you sift through all of these projects, we’re rounding up the best or most notable projects from around the web and delivering them to you in a simple roundup.

If there’s a project that you’ve backed – or even a project that you founded – be sure to leave a link below so it can be considered for...

A new line of leather skins designed for the Retina MacBook Pro and MacBook Air has been released by onanoff. The leather skins are made with a strong adhesive coating that attaches to the MacBook's surface, but can still be removed without leaving any residual markings. Four different color options are available for both MacBook models, including Royal Blue, Fiery Red, Black Onyx and Oak Brown. The skins can be purchased online through onanoff's store with prices range from $50 for the 11-inch MacBook Air variant, up to $60 for the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro.... ...

Google has posted a native iPhone version of its AdSense app. The release follows a week after the launch of the Android app, which was the first official client for AdSense users. On the iOS App Store, some third parties have already been offering their own clients, paid and free....   ...

Your students will be able to open Educational accounts under Apple’s revised iTunes End User License Agreement.

Per Macworld, Apple on Thursday altered its iTunes Terms and Conditions to permit children under the age of 13 to operate individual iTunes accounts created at the request of an “approved educational institution.”

Previously, Apple restricted iTunes accounts to children aged 13 or older, but the company announced it would be changing its policy with the release of iOS 7.

The new terms are as follows:
“These App and Book Services are only available for individuals aged 13 years or older, unless you are under 13 years old and your Apple ID was provided to you as a result of a request by an approved educational institution. If you are 13 or older but...

So much of the information about photography out there focuses (pun intended) on the art and practice of capturing images, but very little addresses what to do with the shots once they’re in captivity. This is where the work you’ve done so far in terms of shooting smart, assigning metadata at import, and applying keywords and other metadata later on pays off. Armed with a photo library chock-full of metadata, you can locate images in a fraction of the time it would take to scan through them visually. I’ll show you how to search for specific metadata — such as keywords and ratings, and even camera-generated data such as aperture, shutter speed, and camera model — to track down shots. Then I’ll cover how to make that search capability work in your favor by building smart albums whose contents can change based on criteria you specify.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology...

Some people find a stylus convenient to use with an iPad or even an iPhone. On the other hand, one usually thinks of using a finger on Apple's Magic Trackpad. However, a capacitive stylus designed for an iPad works beautifully on Apple's Magic Trackpad and is even more accurate.

While iPad shipments fell year over year in the June quarter, competing Android tablets saw huge gains, reducing Apple's share of worldwide tablet shipments to less than a third.   ...

Nokia has released a new ad for its Lumia 925 today comparing the device’s camera to the iPhone 5 and simultaneously parodying Apple’s recent “Photos Every Day” TV spot. It’s not surprising that Nokia would choose to focus on the Lumia 925′s camera, as it made a big deal of the device’s 8.7 megapixel camera, dual LED flash, Carl Zeiss lens, and enhanced software camera features when it was unveiled. The dual LED flash is a feature that happens to be rumored for the next-gen iPhone. This also isn’t the first time that Nokia has compared the iPhone 5′s camera to its own smartphones, but it’s certainly the first time it has done a parody of an Apple commercial. Some...

Apple has sent an email to developers letting them know the ongoing status of restoring the developer's site after a hacking attempt led to the company taking the site down in July. In the email, Apple said that most of the developer services are back online, with the majority of the rest to come this week:

We plan to reinstate most of the remaining services this week: Xcode automatic configuration as well as access to license agreements, TSIs, program enrollments, and renewals in Member Center.

Apple is still extending the developer memberships that expired during the time the service has been online and will keep affected apps listed in both the Mac and iOS App Stores.

Apple issues update on...

The NFL is introducing its new mobile app for iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. The revised cross-platform app will provide news, video highlights and other game data, with Verizon customers paying $5 per month being able to watch selected full games through the device and view extra RedZone content, according to All Things D. Other users with subscriptions to certain pay TV services can also gain access to certain types of content, though the Wall Street Journal reports that current rights allocations to companies will be shaken up next year.... ...

Until this Friday (8/9/2013) enter to win a pair of Wicked Audio Evac headphones from Electronista.    

Roughly two weeks after it first acknowledged the problem, Apple has restored many of the services that were taken offline when its developer site servers were accessed by an "intruder" on July 18. Developers can once again access iOS and OS X betas, view prerelease documentation, download certificates, and watch videos from Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) sessions just as they could before the security breach. Apple today sent out an update via e-mail to registered developers regarding the remaining services.

"We plan to reinstate most of the remaining services this week: Xcode automatic configuration as well as access to license agreements, TSIs, program enrollments, and renewals in Member Center," the company said. The message went on to reiterate that the ...

Following Google’s release of an official AdSense Android app on Google Play last week, today the company has released an iOS version of the app. Much like the Android version, this is the first official AdSense...

Here's a neat phrase that instantly identifies any story which follows it as pure, grade-A compost: "seemingly conirmed." Two examples:

Low-cost iPhone seemingly confirmed as plastic-bodied and not yet in mass production from Pegatron working conditions report (9to5 Mac)

Between the poor working conditions reported there and this leak, I bet Apple is really regretting its production contract with Pegatron right now. Unless of course the single worker interviewed for this portion of the report is completely making everything up. Nah, that would never happen. All Apple news that comes out of the Far East is inevitably 100 percent accurate, after all.

New iPhone with biometric fingerprint sensor seemingly confirmed by iOS leak (9to5 Mac)

"It seems pretty clear that Apple is preparing a new...

As Samsung has lost over a billion dollars in market value, the South Korean government has shown concern that the company's patent rights may be negatively affected following a presidential veto in its U.S.-based intellectual property dispute with Apple.  ...

Apple on Monday told developers that it had reinstated a number of developer services that had been taken down after a hacking incident last month. Apple said most of the remaining elements should be back up later this week.

Several of us around the TUAW newsroom love Feedly -- it's a free, cloud-based RSS aggregation tool that stepped into the void that the loss of Google Reader created. In order to finance further development of this powerful tool, Feedly today announced an early lifetime edition version of Feedly Pro.

While general availability of Feedly Pro won't occur until "this fall," the Feedly team is making a lifetime edition available for US$99 starting today. That $99 provides early access to the app, and you will never have to pay the $5 monthly ($45 annual) subscription for the Pro version. Access to the lifetime edition is limited to the first 5,000 respondents.

So what does Feedly Pro have that the existing version doesn't? Article search, so that you can search within your feeds. Security, thanks to https. One-click save of any Feedly Pro article to your Evernote account. Most...

I love the Custom Shop gear that IK Multimedia put together for AmpliTube. New models come from Dr. Z Amplification, Fulltone and Z.Vex Effects.

∞ Read this on The Loop

AllThingsD reports that the Obama administration has vetoed a proposed import ban on Apple devices, including the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad 2. The International Trade Commission issued the ban in June 2013, after finding that Apple had infringed on a Samsung patent. This is the first time that the White House has vetoed such a ban since the Reagan administration in 1987.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

To entice customers to download and use its free Apple Store app for iOS, Apple is now offering free content within the app. The first freebie is the game Color Zen — normally $0.99 — and future offers will reportedly include apps, iBooks, and iTunes music.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

IDC is out today with its latest report tracking worldwide tablet shipments, reporting that total shipments have experienced a sequential decline during Q2 at the expense of Apple and the iPad. Apple already announced that it had sold 14.6 million iPads during the quarter, a significant drop from the 17 million it sold in the year ago quarter, but today IDC gives us some insight into where that puts Apple in its lead over Samsung as the top tablet vendor.

Apple was able to pick up 32.4% of the market during Q2, continuing its lead as the top tablet manufacturer, but dropping from the 60.3% of the market it had in Q2 last year. While Apple’s tablet shipments are clearly suffering from lack of new product announcements this year, it’s also losing share to Samsung and others. IDC reports...

If you (or your kids) grew up playing The Oregon Trail, a game that pitted a band of settlers against the dangers of nature as they journeyed from Missouri to Oregon, Mental Floss has the fascinating story of the game, which was conceived as a way to teach history. Though it was popularized on the Apple ][, the original game was actually played on a teletype, where students would have to type “bang” quickly and accurately to hunt game.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.

Our Managing Editor, Josh Centers, joined MacVoices host Chuck Joiner to discuss his work at TidBITS. Josh talks about his break into tech writing, what he and Adam argue about, scientifically testing trash bags, and how to set up a home office.

Read the full article at TidBITS, the oldest continuously published technology publication on the Internet. To get a full-text RSS feed, help support our work and become a TidBITS member! Members also enjoy an ad-free version of our Web site, email delivery of individual articles, the ability to make long comments with live links, and discounts on Take Control orders and other Apple-related products.