Apple Sapphire Supplier GT Advanced Technologies Removed From NASDAQ Exchange [iOS Blog]
Apple sapphire supplier GT Advanced Technologies’ woes continue today with the announcement that it will not appeal the suspension of its stock on the NASDAQ stock exchange. As part of this decision, the company’s stock is no longer being traded on the NASDAQ stock market effective today, October 16. This removal was expected and is the result of the company’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
GT Advanced Technologies Inc. today announced that it will not pursue an appeal of the determination by The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ”) to suspend trading in the Company’s common stock based on the Company’s voluntary petition for reorganization relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. The Company has been informed that NASDAQ will suspend trading in the Company’s common stock effective at the opening of the market on October 16, 2014.
GT’s stock plummeted 90 percent following its bankruptcy announcement earlier this month, and has continued to fall since then, closing at just 44 cents per share yesterday. The stock will continue to trade under the symbol GTATQ on the OTC Pink marketplace.
As part of the original deal, Apple made three loan payments to GT totaling $440 million and said it was working with GT to help overcome technical challenges to qualify for the fourth and final prepayment loan of $139 million. Apple also appeared set to delay scheduled repayments on the debt. But under the weight of difficulties that began at least as early as February, GT found itself unable to carry on its business operations and filed for bankruptcy with plans to shut down its sapphire production facilities.
Live Coverage of Apple’s October 2014 iPad and Mac Event
Just over a month after it introduced the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, Apple is back with another media event where it is expected to show off new iPads, new iMacs including high-resolution Retina displays on some models, and likely a final look at OS X Yosemite before its imminent public launch.
Photo by Nilay Patel
Today’s event is being held at the Town Hall auditorium on Apple’s Cupertino headquarters campus and begins at 10:00 AM Pacific Time / 1:00 PM Eastern Time. Apple will be providing a live video stream on its website for Mac and iOS users and via Apple TV.
Live Video Stream of Apple’s October 2014 iPad and Mac Media Event
In addition, we will be updating this article with summary coverage and issuing Twitter updates through our @MacRumorsLive account as the event unfolds. Highlights and separate news stories regarding the event announcements will go out through our @MacRumors account.
Apple’s online stores around the world are currently down in advance of the event.
Nexus 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: The battle of the phablets
So Google have now announced their new flagship device, we can finally see their response to Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus. For most, the decision on which device to get is simple as it is the platform that dictates the buying decision, but for some, platform doesn’t play as an important part in the decision.
We’ve stacked up the Nexus 6 against the iPhone 6 Plus in a pure spec comparison to see how the two compare, since the size profile of the two devices are very similar.
One of the main observations of the Nexus 6 is the sheer size of the screen, but despite it having a larger screen than the iPhone 6 Plus, the height of the two devices is almost identical – to give some perspective on the size of the Nexus 6.
The Nexus 6 wins on pretty much every other front, having more RAM, higher clocked CPU, higher PPI, better rear camera, and bigger battery.
So if you’re in the market for a phablet-sized device and don’t mind about OS, then there’s a clear winner here, and that’s the Nexus 6. But even if you’re set on iOS and you’re just here to check out the competition, with the sheer specs of the Nexus 6, combined with Android Lollipop, the competition is looking far more appealing than it was back in the days of Gingerbread, which is probably the last time iOS users dabbled in Android when it was a new platform.
So avid Android users and curious iOS users, the Nexus 6 is the device to buy if you’re in the market for a plus-sized device and pre-orders go live tomorrow, 17th October.
Let us know in the comments if you’re buying the Nexus 6, and if so what device you’re coming from.
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The post Nexus 6 vs iPhone 6 Plus: The battle of the phablets appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Facebook’s ‘Safety Check’ Allows Users to Notify Others of Safety During Disasters [iOS Blog]
Facebook has launched a new feature called Safety Check that allows users to inform their friends and family about their safety in the event of a disaster or crisis using a check-in system.
For Facebook on iOS, Safety Check automatically sends users a Facebook push notification if they are in the area of a disaster and prompts them to answer if they’re safe. From there, users can select an “I’m Safe” option which will automatically generate a notification and a story in the News Feed. Friends that are marked safe will also show up in the News Feed with a list of their most recent updates.
To determine your location, Facebook looks at the city listed on your profile and recognizes the city where internet services are being used. The company will also use data from the Nearby Friends feature if a user has turned it on. Safety Check’s sign-in feature is similar in nature to the Safe and Well website created by the American Red Cross which also allows individuals to register themselves as safe and inform their loved ones of their current conditions.
Facebook’s new Safety Check feature comes after the company launched an update to its iOS app yesterday that added support for the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus. Facebook for iOS is a free app and can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]
Apple Temporarily Removing Blood Glucose Tracking from Health App After Reported Issues [iOS Blog]
Apple will remove the ability to enter and monitor blood glucose data in its Health app because of reported issues with measurement from users in the UK and Australia, reports CNET.
Currently, the app allows users to manually enter view blood glucose values in mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) or mmol/L (millimoles per liter). However, Apple notes that the Health app has an issue with devices that display mmol/L, as those values cannot be entered or displayed in the Heath app.
An Apple support page published on the matter states that the company will soon release a software updated that will temporarily remove the ability and states that data will not be deleted:
If you have previously entered values manually in the Health app, you’ll no longer see this data in the Health app after the update. However, your data won’t be deleted, and other apps with permission to read health data will still have access to blood glucose values that you previously entered.
Third-party apps will continue to be able to support both units of measurement and can continue to use HealthKit APIs to store blood glucose data.
It is unknown if a fix will come Apple’s forthcoming iOS 8.1 software update or through a potential iOS 8.0.3 update. Before the public launch of iOS 8, Apple confirmed that it had discovered a “bug” in HealthKit and pulled HealthKit-related apps from the App Store. Apple eventually released iOS 8.0.1 with fixes for HealthKit, and once again allowed HealthKit-enabled apps to be on the App Store.
Apple Providing Live Video of Today’s iPad and Mac Event on Apple TV
Ahead of today’s special iPad and Mac event, Apple has made its “Apple Events” channel available on the Apple TV.
Image credit: iDownloadBlog
In addition to live streaming on the Apple TV, Apple will also be streaming the event live on its website. In order to watch the stream, users will need to be running Safari on Mac or iOS.
Apple is expected to introduce a number of new products at the event, including the iPad Air 2, the next-generation Retina iPad mini, and new iMacs with at least the 27-inch model sporting a high-resolution Retina display. An update published in error to the company’s iPad User Guide for iOS 8 revealed some details about the new iPads which will feature a Touch ID fingerprint sensor. Apple is also expected to preview OS X Yosemite one final time before its official launch, and some rumors have even claimed that the company may announce updated Mac Minis.
Apple’s keynote kicks off at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, and MacRumors will also be providing a live blog and live tweets via the MacRumorsLive Twitter account.
Reddit Acquires Popular Reddit-Browsing App ‘Alien Blue’, Makes it Temporarily Free [iOS Blog]
Reddit today acquired Alien Blue, the popular iPhone and iPad app that many iOS users use to browse Reddit on their mobile devices, reports TechCrunch. According to Ellen Pao, Reddit’s head of strategic partnerships, the company will keep the “Alien Blue” name and the app’s developer, Jase Morrissey, will be joining the Reddit team.
“Our whole philosphy has been to give our users choice. We’ve got the reddit AMA app, and alienblue coming out… but we really want users to use whatever they want.” says Ellen Pao, reddit’s head of Strategic Partnerships. “We think Alienblue is great, and it’s the most popular reddit app on iOS. We wanted to be able to offer it as a reddit app, and we wanted to help Jase with additional resources to do everything he wanted to do with it.”
The app will, however, be gaining a new icon, and while Reddit focuses on merging the iPhone and iPad versions of the app into a single universal app, both versions are free. The iPad app normally costs $4 while the iPhone app is free with a $2 “Pro” in-app purchase.
Reddit has plans to get rid of the iPad app, so it is permanently free while work continues on a universal version, but the iPhone’s “Pro” features will also be made available for free for the next week, as all Alien Blue users need to re-download the apps.
To celebrate and ease the move to reddit, everyone can get the Alien Blue Pro upgrade free for one week. The iPad app will also be free until we integrate it with the iPhone app and the two become one universal app.
The “Pro” features in the iPhone version of the app will extend to the iPad when it is transformed into a universal app, so all Alien Blue users should download the new version immediately while the upgraded features are available at no cost.
Reddit’s new official Alien Blue app for the iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
The iPad version of the app, which will be replaced in the near future, will also be made temporarily free shortly. [Direct Link]
Google Debuts Nexus 6 Phone, Nexus 9 Tablet, and Nexus Media Player
Just a day ahead of Apple’s own iPad event that will see it introducing a range of new products including new iPads and a Retina iMac, Google has unveiled its next version of Android and three new Nexus devices, including the 5.9-inch Nexus 6 smartphone, the 8.9-inch Nexus 9 tablet, and the Nexus Player, an Apple TV-style set-top box that comes equipped with a gamepad (sold separately).
Google’s new Nexus 6 will be one of the biggest “phablets” on the market, and at 5.96-inches, it’s even larger than Apple’s recently introduced iPhone 6 Plus, which measures in at 5.5-inches. The phone features a 493 ppi AMOLED Quad HD display and a 13-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization, a feature Apple offers with its larger iPhone 6 Plus.
It also includes a Quad-Core 2.7Ghz Snapdragon 805 processor, a 2-megapixel front facing camera, dual front facing speakers, and a 3220 mAh battery. The Nexus 6’s battery can be recharged using Motorola’s Turbo Charge technology, which provides up to six hours of battery life from a 15 minute charge. Available in midnight blue or cloud white for $649 unlocked, the phone comes equipped with 32 or 64GB of internal storage.
The Nexus 9 tablet, designed in collaboration with HTC, is Google’s answer to the iPad Air and the Retina iPad mini. Coming in at 8.9-inches, it is sized between Apple’s two tablets and features a thin bezel, brushed aluminum sides, and a nine hour battery life. Like Apple’s iPhones, it comes in black, gold, and white, and it features a 64-bit NVIDIA Tegra K1 2.3Ghz processor.
It comes equipped with front-facing HTC speakers, an 8-megapixel rear camera with a 1.6-megapixel front facing camera, and an optional magnetic keyboard. It has a 6700 mAh battery and front facing HTC speakers.
Both the Nexus 6 smartphone and Nexus 9 tablet will ship with Android 5.0, aka Lollipop. Lollipop includes 5,000 new APIs and features “Material Design,” to provide a consistent experience across a range of different devices. Lollipop lets users mute incoming calls and notifications with a new feature similar to Apple’s built-in “Do Not Disturb” function, and there’s a battery saver feature that can extend battery life by up to 90 minutes. Lollipop also supports multiple user accounts, a popular feature iOS users have hoped that Apple would implement.
Along with the Nexus 6 and the Nexus 9, Google has unveiled a new set-top box, the Nexus Player, which is the first device that runs Android TV. Designed in collaboration with ASUS, the round hockey puck-style Nexus Player is designed to compete with the Apple TV, serving as a streaming media player for movies, music, and videos.
It’s also a gaming device, letting users play Android games on their TVs with a game controller, and it includes both Chromecast support and voice control. Apple too is said to be aiming to introduce an updated Apple TV with gaming capabilities and Siri integration, but it remains unclear when that device might debut.
Google’s Nexus 6 smartphone will be available for preorder beginning on October 29, while the Nexus 9 tablet and the Nexus Player will be available for preorder beginning on October 17. Android 5.0 Lollipop will be available on all three devices and on the Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10, and Google Play edition devices “in the coming weeks.”
Engadget Daily: Google’s Nexus 6, new iPads, standalone HBO Go and more!
What’s happened in the past 24 hours of this connected life? Quite a bit: Google dropped the curtain on its new line of Nexus devices including Motorola’s $649 Nexus 6 smartphone, the Nexus 9 tablet from HTC and the Nexus Player set-top streaming puck. Apple has you covered ahead of tomorrow’s iPad event too with an early look at its new set of slates. We also have a review of the Galaxy Note 4 and some other wild stories for you right in the gallery below.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD, Apple, Samsung, Google
Retailer and Credit Card Internal Training Info Suggests October 20 Apple Pay Launch Date
Apple’s new mobile payments service, Apple Pay, may be enabled shortly after its Thursday iPad-centric media event, according to internal information leaked from various retailers and credit card companies.
Employees that work for one of Apple’s major Apple Pay credit card partners have already finished their Apple Pay training and have been told that the payments service will be released on Monday, October 20, according to an employee who shared the information with MacRumors.
Similarly, a lengthy internal memo from Panera Bread obtained by 9to5Mac also suggests that Apple will launch Apple Pay on Monday, October 20.
As you are aware, Panera is a featured partner with Apple in their announcement of the iPhone 6 and the new Apple Pay platform. Now, we are excited to share that Apple is very close to releasing Apple Pay and actually planning to launch on October 20th.
Panera, like many other Apple retail partners, is currently training its employees on how to accept Apple Pay payments through the company’s Verifone point-of-sale-systems. Panera has provided a short training video for managers and cashiers, along with an FAQ and talking points.
Last week, an internal memo addressed to Walgreens employees suggested that Apple was planning to launch Apple Pay on October 18, so it is a bit unclear when Apple Pay will actually go live for consumers. A weekend debut is an odd choice for Apple, lending credence to the Monday, October 20 date.
USAA, one of Apple’s bank partners, has said that it plans to begin supporting Apple Pay on November 7, suggesting that retailers and banks will begin rolling out support for the service at different times.
Whether planned for October 18 or October 20, the launch of Apple Pay appears to be imminent, and as Apple Pay will be enabled via an update to iOS 8, the launch of iOS 8.1 is also coming in the next few days. First seeded to developers in late September, iOS 8.1 contains hidden references to Apple Pay.
Apple Pay’s exact debut date will likely be revealed during Apple’s October 16 media event, which will see the company introducing a new iPad Air, a new Retina iPad mini and a Retina iMac. Both of Apple’s new iPads include support for Touch ID and will allow users to make purchases within apps using Apple Pay.
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