iOS

Dish Network on Thursday launched its Blockbuster On Demand app for iOS devices with pre-purchase movie rentals from its online library.

The app had already been available since January for desktop computers, Samsung Smart TVs, and Android devices, but today the movie watching app is finally available for iOS.

Like its desktop counterpart, Blockbuster On Demand lets iPhone and iPad users browse, rent, and stream movies from its On Demand catalog, featuring almost 5,500 movies that include new releases as well as titles across several genres. The app also provides movie ratings courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes, and lets you … Read more

Apple released an iOS update on Thursday, though it's a tiny change.

iOS 6.1.4, which appears to be available only for the iPhone 5, updates the "audio profile for speakerphone."

The software weighs in at 11.5MB and is available by way of the over-the-air iOS software update tool, and in iTunes.

Apple's last iOS update was 6.1.3, back in March. That update fixed a lock screen security bug and improved some Apple Maps features for users in Japan.

Both Apple and Samsung have been in ongoing talks with the Department of Defense to bring their devices to the agency's employees, and now it looks like approval for device security is finally around the corner.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Defense Department reportedly plans to give security approval for Samsung's Galaxy smartphones and Apple's iPhones and iPads within the next few weeks.

The Defense Information Systems Agency, which rules what commercial technology the Pentagon can use, will decide within the next two weeks whether to accept Samsung's Galaxy smartphones loaded with Knox security … Read more

Amazon has enhanced its Kindle iOS app with new features of benefit to anyone but especially to those who are blind or visually impaired.

Released Wednesday, the latest version of the app supports Apple's VoiceOver technology, which reads aloud text that you've selected. More than 1.8 million books in the Kindle store are compatible with VoiceOver, according to Amazon. More than 900,000 of them are less than $4.99, while more than 1.5 million are less than $9.99.

You can turn on VoiceOver through the Accessibility options in the Settings menu on your iOS … Read more

Apple launched the larger-screen iPhone 5 last year, but the company isn't done upping smartphone display sizes, according to one analyst.

Jefferies analyst Peter Misek wrote in a note to investors recently that he believes Apple's iPhone 6 will launch next year with a larger screen. According to the Canada-based Financial Post, which obtained a copy of the note, Misek didn't say exactly how big the screen size will be but said this year's launch -- the iPhone 5S -- will come with the same 4-inch display as its predecessor.

It would make sense that Apple … Read more

Jonathan Ive, Apple's senior vice president of industrial design and the visionary behind its hardware products, is taking his role as head of software design at the company very seriously, according to a new report.

Ive, just six months since taking over for ousted Scott Forstall as head of iOS design, has been going over the next iteration of the software, iOS 7, with a fine-toothed comb, Bloomberg is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the matter. His oversight and desire to dramatically change some parts of the software could cause the operating system to fall … Read more

Apple is already making some inroads into the vehicle market, but the company has much broader plans, according to a new report.

Apple is currently working with car makers to integrate iPhones and perhaps iPods into car consoles, 9to5Mac is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of its plans. Apple envisions a way for iPhone owners to plug their devices into cars and then use specially optimized versions of Siri and Maps for in-vehicle use.

Last year at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple announced "Eyes-Free Siri," which was designed for car makers to integrate the … Read more

It's no secret Apple plans to show off the next major version of iOS at its annual developers conference in June, though what exactly will be different about the new software has been fuzzy.

Citing multiple people who have actually seen Apple's next iOS endeavor, 9to5Mac says Apple's making big changes in the look and feel of the software. Specifically making everything -- from app icons to interface features -- "very flat," as opposed to the bubbly and oftentimes realistic interfaces that have stayed mostly unchanged since 2007.

On top of this, the report adds … Read more

The iTunes Store is 10 years old -- and iTunes, even older -- and it often feels like it.

Apple has certainly gone through some efforts to make iTunes look and feel different, but it's the load that iTunes bears that's the real problem. Once upon a time, iTunes was made to work with an iPod. The setup was simple; the software was good. It held MP3s and acted as the bridge.

Then a music store was added. Then, videos. And audiobooks. Now, apps. What started as a simple software-to-hardware relationship became the necessary portal for all software … Read more