January 3, 2013, in category Apple Corporate comments No comments

Apple just announced on its Investor Page that it would report its Q1 2013 earnings Jan. 23. As it does once a quarter, Apple will issue a press release at 4:30 p.m. EST with the numbers and follow with a conference call at 5 p.m. EST to discuss the results with CEO Tim Cook, CFO Peter Oppenheimer, and more. The report will give us a close look into how Apple fared during the holiday shopping season and its outlook for 2013. As of the last earnings report in October, Oppenheimer said he expected revenue of about $52 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $11.75 for Q1 2013. Past numbers, questions from investors on the conference call typically bring out new, interesting pieces of information from Apple, and you bet 9to5mac will provide full coverage. [Apple]

January 3, 2013, in category iOS comments No comments

According to the latest numbers from comScore MobiLens for the United States mobile phone market, Apple and Samsung both continue to gain marketshare as the leading OEMs as Android and iOS move closer toward a duopoly with a combined almost 90 percent of the market. ComScore’s latest numbers track the three-month period ending in November, which saw Apple jump from 17.1-percent in August to 18.5-percent of the U.S. mobile phone market. Samsung continued its lead jumping up 1.2-percent to 26.9-percent, while gains for both companies come at the expense of decreases in market share for LG, Motorola, and HTC.

As for the U.S. market by platform, iOS and Android both experience slight gains over August numbers. With a joint 88...

January 3, 2013, in category Apps comments No comments

Facebook is updating its Messenger iOS and Android app today with a couple of really interesting new features: the ability to record short voice messages, and a free calling service that utilizes users’ existing data plans but not their call allowance. Facebook noted on the app’s iTunes page that the calling service will roll out in the next few weeks, while the other features appear to be available to users today.

The new voice message feature will allow all users to record a voice message through a new record button (pictured above), but The Next Web explained Facebook is limiting the new VoIP calling feature to Canadian users initially. The app isn’t live on the U.S. store, but it has already landed in Canada and should be available everywhere soon.

January 3, 2013, in category Hardware comments No comments

Ahead of CES 2013 taking place in Las Vegas next week, the folks at Corning have unveiled Gorilla Glass 3, a new glass composition aimed at next-gen smartphones and tablets. The stronger Gorilla Glass 3 offers a new feature called Native Damage Resistance that brings 40 percent reduction in the number of scratches a device’s screen may take and 50 percent boost in retained strength after the glass becomes flawed.

Cupertino-based Apple has incorporated Corning glass since the original iPhone, which accompanied an epic visit to the plant by Steve Jobs. Today, CEO Tim Cook likes to tout that the glass on Apple’s iOS devices is made by Corning in Kentucky when the topic of US-based manufacturing arises. Corning unveiled Gorilla Glass 2 at CES last year and though it isn’t mentione...