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Showing posts with label 2014 at 05:02PM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2014 at 05:02PM. Show all posts
Back in August, Square purchased food delivery company Caviar for a reported $90 million. A few months after the acquisition, Square is now bringing the Caviar experience to mobile with an app that allows customers to submit food orders on the go.



In the months leading up to the mobile app launch, Square has been introducing the Caviar service into new markets, hoping to cast a wider net once the app launched. Those cities include: its home market of San Francisco and throughout the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington D.C., and Brooklyn.



Caviar doesn't make the food its customers order, instead partnering with well-established restaurants in these areas to become their exclusive delivery partner, in turn bring in new customers and unifying the delivery experience. Square's national popularity has helped Caviar land a number of popular and top-rated restaurants.



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The service also allows users to unify orders from multiple devices into one order, allowing multiple orders to be delivered to one location. The former web-only service now faces competition in the form of other food delivery services that have emerged on mobile devices, such as GrubHub and Seamless, amongst others. Similar to those apps, Caviar will let users track their meals from order to delivery, following the courier's route.



Known mostly for its credit-card reading payment processor accessory, the acquisition of Caviar and the launch of its new app sees Square attempting to add a bit of diversification to its existing business.



Caviar is available for both iPhone and iPad and can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]


















Apple today released a candidate golden master version of OS X Yosemite to developers, just over two weeks after releasing the eighth Developer Preview alongside the third public beta of the upcoming Mac operating system.



The latest update for developers can be downloaded from the Mac App Store and through Apple's Mac Dev Center.



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OS X Yosemite brings a flatter, more modern look to OS X, with an emphasis on translucency and redesigned dock, windows, and more. It also includes a multitude of new features, such as improved integration with iOS 8 through Continuity, a new "Today" view in Notification Center that offers integration with third-party apps, a retooled Spotlight search with new data sources, and several new features for apps like Mail, Safari, and Messages.



Over the course of the beta testing period, each Developer Preview has added new features and refined the look and performance of OS X Yosemite, although changes have become less obvious in more recent builds as Apple begins finalizing Yosemite ahead of its public release, which is expected in late October.



The current build may or may not be a final version of OS X Yosemite, depending on the outcome of final testing. As an example, Apple last year seeded its planned golden master build to developers on October 3, although it did release a second golden master version a few weeks later just ahead of the public release on October 22.


















Alongside iOS 8 beta 4, Apple today released a new version of OS X Yosemite to developers, two weeks after releasing the third Developer Preview and over a month and a half after introducing the new operating system at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.



The update can be downloaded from the Mac App Store or through the Mac Developer Center. Apple has also released iTunes 12.0.



yosemitebeta

OS X Yosemite brings a flatter, more modern look to OS X, with an emphasis on translucency and redesigned dock, windows, and more. It also includes a multitude of new features, such as improved integration with iOS 8 through Continuity, a new "Today" view in Notification Center that offers integration with third-party apps, a retooled Spotlight search with new data sources, and several new features for apps like Mail, Safari, and Messages.



Yosemite is currently only available to developers, but Apple plans to offer a beta version of the software to Mac users at some point during the summer, possibly as early as this month. A source that spoke to 9to5Mac suggests the beta is coming in late July, though it could be pushed back until early August if Yosemite is not ready in time.


















Apple Makes Gains in U.S. Smartphone Market Share

Apple continues to be the number one handset manufacturer among consumers in the United States and has also made small gains in operating system share, according to ComScore's newest monthly survey of U.S. mobile phone users covering the February-May 2014 period.



Apple's smartphone market share increased from 41.3 percent in February to 41.9 percent in May, allowing Apple to retain its position as the top handset manufacturer. Samsung also made small gains over the period, rising to 27.8 percent share. LG, Motorola, and HTC's share fell slightly.



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While Apple is the top handset maker, iOS has always fallen behind Android when it comes to operating system share, given the large number of Android-based phones on the market. Apple did make small gains during the period, however, rising to a new all time high of 41.9 percent, up from 41.3 percent in February. Android, in comparison, remained flat with a 52.1 percent share.



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iOS continues to be the only platform to gain ground as Microsoft also experienced no growth and BlackBerry and Symbian each saw small drops in share.



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ComScore's data tracks installed user base rather than new handset sales, which means it is more reflective of real-world usage but slower to respond to shifting market trends than some other studies.


















Apple Releases iOS 8 Beta 2 to Developers

Apple today released the second beta of iOS 8 to developers, just over two weeks after unveiling the new operating system at its Worldwide Developers Conference. The update, build number 12A4297e, is available through Apple's over-the-air updating system on iOS devices and will also be available via the iOS Dev Center.



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Today's update also includes Xcode 6 beta 2 and new beta software for the Apple TV.



iOS 8 introduces a range of new features, including improved integration with OS X through Continuity, a Health app, Family Sharing features, interactive notifications, a new QuickType Keyboard and improvements to several apps like Safari, Mail, and Messages.



iOS 8 is only available to developers at the current point in time, but it is expected to be released to the public this fall after several additional beta iterations. Based on past history, iOS 8 will likely be released alongside new iPhones, and possibly the much-rumored iWatch.


















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