As developers for tablets and smartphones we like to keep abreast of the latest mobile technology developments . This is a daily digest of mobile development and related technology news gathered from the BBC, the New York Times, New Scientist and the Globe and Mail to name a few. We scour the web for articles concerning, iPhone, iPad and android development, iOS and android operating systems as well as general articles on advances in mobile technology. We hope you find this useful and that it helps to keep you up to date with the latest technology developments.
- Peers criticise broadband focus
The government’s broadband strategy risks leaving many communities behind, by focusing on speed over reach, says a House of Lords committee.
- Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare as Corporate Focus Groups
Some companies are leaning on social media like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare for advice on what products to bring to market.
- Newest HP ultrabook faces shipment delays
Hewlett-Packard is still trying to get its latest and greatest ultrabook out the door. The design is HP”s thinnest and lightest ultrabook to date.
- Mountain Lion roars past 3 million downloads in just 4 days
There has been little doubt from the press and the Apple-focused blogs that OS X Mountain Lion has been a huge hit. Now it seems Apple has confirmed it for everyone as well.
Apple today announced that downloads of OS X Mountain Lion have exceeded three million in four days, making it the most [...] - DealBook: Alibaba Is Said to Be Close to Raising $8 Billion
Some American Internet companies may be unpopular with investors these days, but a Chinese one is finding plenty of takers.
- PowerPoint: 25 years at Microsoft
The software’s inventor looks back at its success
- Video review of Folders in iWork and iCloud
With the release of Mountain Lion and the new iWork apps for both Mac and iOS, a folder functionality in iCloud has now become available. The folder function, similar to the one in iOS where you can group similar apps, allows you to group together Pages, Keynote or Numbers documents in their [...]
- Why the fax thrives in Japan
Why are fax machines still so popular in Japan?
- Africa’s healthcare technology revolution
Tech opens doors to affordable healthcare in Africa
- British industry needs reinvention
James Dyson on why the image of British industry needs updating
- DealBook: Levinsohn Confirms That He’s Leaving Yahoo
Ross Levinsohn, the executive who served as Yahoo’s interim chief, confirmed on Monday that he was leaving the Internet company after being passed over to fill the spot permanently.
- IBX Game Changers Challenge announces 15 finalists
Fifteen finalists announced in the IBX Game Changers Challenge hosted by Independence Blue Cross.
- Apple Media Event All But Confirmed for Mid-September, iPhone Launch Likely [Updated]
Following a report from iMore earlier today claiming that Apple will hold a media event to introduce the next-generation iPhone and the “iPad mini” on September 12 ahead of September 21 availability for the new iPhone, AllThingsD reports that it has confirmed an Apple media event will be taking place that week. While the report’s sources have apparently not confirmed the topic of the event or the exact date, it certainly appears to corroborate iMore‘s claims.
Apple hasn’t yet officially announced the fall event at which it is expected to debut the next iteration of the iPhone, but it’s definitely planning one.
iMore was first to report that the company has scheduled a special event for Wednesday, September 12, and now we’ve confirmed it as well. Sources tell AllThingsD that Apple is currently planning an event for that week. And while we haven’t yet confirmed its focus, history suggests it will indeed be the new iPhone.
AllThingsD has been very accurate in the past regarding Apple rumors, and has on several occasions been the first to reveal dates for Apple media events, lending significant weight to this report’s support of the September 12 date from iMore.
The report goes on to note that Apple’s latest quarterly report has revealed a massive increase in component prepayments, signaling that the company is moving full speed ahead on preparing its supply chain for production on the next iPhone and perhaps other devices such as the iPad mini.
Update: The Verge has also “confirmed” the September 12 date with its own sources.
The rumor cycle this time around for the next iPhone has been a bit unusual — multiple leaks have all depicted the exact same components — but it looks like we’ll be seeing what Apple has up its sleeves come Wednesday, September 12th. Our own sources have confirmed that date, and multiple websites have similar reports as well.
Update: The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple also weighs in on the September 12 date:
Yep.
- Riff: Pinterest, Tumblr and the Trouble With ‘Curation’
Who knew there was such a mainstream market for artfully arranged pictures of other people’s stuff?
- Jonathan Ive on Design and Apple’s Focus on Great Products Instead of Profits
Wired UK reports that Apple design chief Jonathan Ive participated in a keynote session today at the UK Trade & Investment department’s Global Business Summit on Creative Services in which he offered up some of his thoughts on the creative process at Apple and other anecdotes about his two decades at the company. While he had previously shared some of his thoughts on design, his comments today offer a bit more perspective on how things work at Apple.
“To me I still think it’s remarkable that at a point in time on a Tuesday afternoon there isn’t an idea and then suddenly later on there is an idea. Invariably they start as a tentative, barely-formed thought that becomes a conversation between a couple of people.”
Apple then builds a prototype that embodies the idea and that’s when the idea goes through “the most incredible transition”. “You go from something tentative and exclusive to something tangible and — by nature of it being a thing — a table of people can sit around it and start to understand it; it becomes inclusive and it galvanises and points to a direction for effort.”
Ive, who shared his unsurprising view that design should be a “prerequisite” and not simply one aspect of product development, also repeated several mantras that have been commonly quoted by Apple executives, calling good the enemy of great and noting that Apple says “no” to many, many good ideas in order to focus all of its energies on a select few great ones.
Ive also made reference to Steve Jobs’ return to Apple in 1997, noting that he brought a fresh view in which the company focused on making great products with the belief that profits would follow, rather than focusing first on profits.
“We are really pleased with our revenues but our goal isn’t to make money. It sounds a little flippant, but it’s the truth. Our goal and what makes us excited is to make great products. If we are successful people will like them and if we are operationally competent, we will make money,” he said.
Ive has long been a very private individual, but has begun opening up a bit more to the public as Apple’s stature has grown and accolades for his group’s design work have continued to roll in. Ive was knighted in late May, and he noted at the time that Apple’s current projects are “the most important and the best work” his team has done with the company.
- Apple Releases OS X Lion 10.7.5 Beta Build 11G30 to Developers [Mac Blog]
Apple may have just released OS X Mountain Lion, moving more than three million units in four days, but that doesn’t mean it’s done updating the prior version, OS X Lion 10.7.
As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple has seeded new versions of OS X Lion 10.7.5 in both server and standard versions to developers. The betas have a build number of 11G30.Apple also released a new beta of the iCloud Control Panel for Windows, which adds support for Shared Photo Stream and several other items.
- GREAT News For Downtown LA! E3 Signs Up For Three More Years
Organizers of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) announced on Monday that the 45,000-person video game conference will remain in downtown L.A. for the next three…
- When Craigslist Blocks Innovations
In 1995, a good-hearted programmer named Craig Newmark thought of a way to make newspaper classified ad listings simple, and in turn, people’s lives easier….
- Audit Claims Apple Received Favorable Treatment in Grand Central Terminal Lease Talks [Mac Blog]
Last December, Apple opened a massive new retail store in Manhattan’s historic Grand Central Terminal, adding a high-profile presence to the busy commuting, tourist, and shopping hub. Apple’s lease agreement with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was quickly questioned by government officials, who were concerned that Apple had received favorable treatment during the negotiations and was paying significant lower rent than would otherwise have been expected for the location.
The MTA countered those claims with its own statements outlining how Apple is paying four times as much rent as the restaurant it replaced while also paying $5 million to the restaurant to vacate its lease and investing in building upgrades for the new store. The agency also argued that Apple’s presence would indirectly boost terminal revenue through increased traffic at other merchants that, unlike Apple, pay a portion of their revenue to the terminal.
But the New York Post now reports that a state audit of those lease negotiations has determined that Apple did indeed receive an “unfair” edge in what was supposed to be an open competition for the space.
A fresh audit by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says the MTA last May allowed the California-based tech giant to set a daunting hurdle for rival bidders to clear in a tight, 30-day window — namely, that they be willing to front $5 million in cash.
“The competitive process followed by MTA . . . was at a minimum severely slanted toward Apple,” reads the report, submitted to MTA officials Friday and expected to be made public today.
The state comptroller’s office has announced the release of the audit report, revealing that Apple and the MTA had been in negotiations for the space for over two years and that Apple had already made payments to the vacating restaurant before the space was publicly opened for proposals.
“While Apple may turn out to be a good tenant, the MTA set a troubling precedent when it played favorites and gave Apple a competitive edge over others for the Grand Central space,” DiNapoli said. “Apple was directly involved in setting the terms of the lease and given exclusive access to information more than a year before any other vendor knew the Grand Central location was available. The company even signed a $2 million agreement with the current tenant to vacate its space five days before the MTA issued the RFP.
In response to the audit, the state is proposing increased oversight on competitive public authority contracts, a move which give the comptroller’s office more authority to examine such agreements before they are finalized.
In a statement responding to the audit, MTA Chairman and CEO Joseph Lhota called the results “not fact-based” and “worthless”, also accusing the comptroller’s basis of “overt bias” against both the MTA and Apple in declaring that the process was not open and transparent.
Apple is either actively considering purchasing a major stake in Twitter or discussed making an investment with the social company more than a year ago and the talks have since ceased, depending on which newspaper one wishes to believe.
Google and Apple are once again going head to head in bidding for a major collection of patents owned by a bankrupt corporation. 
As part of the 
