Mozilla Planning to Release Firefox iOS App in the Future

Mozilla's Firefox browser may soon make its way to iOS, according to a statement made by Firefox VP Jonathan Nightingale at an internal Mozilla event. Relayed by Firefox release manager Lukas Blakk and shared by TechCrunch , Nightingale reportedly told Mozilla employees "We need to be where our users are so we're going to get Firefox on iOS."



The statement about releasing Firefox for iOS marks a major shift in ideology for Mozilla, as the company has, in the past, repeatedly said that it would not offer a version of Firefox for iOS because of Apple's refusal to allow third-party browsers to use their own web engines. In 2013, then VP of product Jay Sullivan said that Moziila didn't "feel like it could build the browser it wants" on Apple's platform, and that it had "no plans" for an iOS version of Firefox.



One of the major points of contention for Mozilla was Apple's refusal to allow the Firefox browser to carry over its rendering and JavaScript engines to iOS, as Apple imposes strict restrictions on third-party browsers and limits them to the company's own JavaScript engines. As a result, Safari is able to outperform other browsers on the platform.



This limitation, along with an inability to set a third-party browser as the default browser, makes it difficult for companies like Chrome, Opera, and Firefox to create satisfactory browsing experiences on Apple's platform. Though little is known about Firefox's plans for iOS at the current point in time, it is likely Mozilla will need to continue to work within Apple's limits.



Though Mozilla's Firefox browser for iOS will be subjected to Apple's restrictions, key Firefox features like accounts, customizable home panels, and data syncing will translate to iOS, helping Firefox users achieve a more seamless browsing experience on a range of devices.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:25PM, December 02

iPhone 6 Plus Shipping Times Improve Slightly, Now 7 to 10 Days for 16GB Model

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, shipping estimates for the iPhone 6 Plus have improved slightly, with the 16GB iPhone 6 Plus in all colors and from all carriers now carrying a shipping estimate of 7 to 10 days in the United States. Shipping estimates for the 64GB iPhone 6 Plus in all colors and from all carriers have also seen improvement, going from 3 to 4 weeks to 2 to 3 weeks.



While shipping estimates for the 16GB and 64GB iPhone 6 Plus have improved, shipping estimates for the harder-to-find 128GB iPhone 6 Plus remain at 3 to 4 weeks, suggesting the higher-capacity model is the most constrained.





Apple is also seeing improved supply of the iPhone 6, and the 16GB device now has a shipping estimate of 5 to 7 days, down from 7 to 10 days. Higher-capacity 64 and 128GB iPhone 6 models continue to ship in 7 to 10 days.



Many other countries in Europe and Asia are also seeing the same improved shipping times, as are Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.



In store supply of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus also appears to be improving somewhat, as many stores across the country list availability of both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 16 and 64GB configurations. Apple Stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments on a regular basis, but stock can go quickly because many retail locations are still seeing lines more than two months after the phones first went on sale. Tracking tool iStockNow can be used to find where iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices are available.





During Apple's fourth quarter earnings call on October 20, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that demand for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus was "far outstripping" supply, and that the company was "not close" to having a balance between supply and demand at that time. Apple has, however, been working hard to improve iPhone 6 and 6 Plus supply, reportedly delaying mass production of the rumored iPad Pro in order to focus its resources on higher iPhone 6 Plus output.



Early analysis has suggested that consumers in the U.S. are favoring the iPhone 6 over the 6 Plus by 3:1, but as supply of both models remains constrained, it is impossible to determine the true ratio of iPhone 6 demand vs. iPhone 6 Plus demand at this time.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:25PM, November 20

Apple faces huge class-action lawsuit over labor violations

Four former retail and corporate Apple employees who filed a lawsuit against the company in December 2011 over alleged labor violations managed to “upgrade” their lawsuit to class-action status, TechCrunch reports, with some 20,000 current and former Apple employees being potentially affected.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:25PM, July 23

It sounds like Spotify has nothing to fear from Amazon’s music streaming service

Remember when some of us thought that Apple's iTunes Radio might be a significant competitor with Pandora when it was announced last year? Well, we were definitely laughably wrong about that but we do feel confident in saying that Amazon's new music streaming service won't pose much of a threat to Spotify. The New York Times reports that Amazon's new music streaming service will launch as soon as next week but it won't feature any new releases and it won't have any albums from the Universal Music Group, which just happens to be the world's largest music company.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:25PM, June 11

Google’s Project Ara has a projected release date: January 2015

The most exciting innovation in the mobile market finally has a release date. According to CNET , Google announced today at the Project Ara developers conference that its first modular smartphone will go on sale in January 2015 for the low price of $50. Project lead Paul Eremenko told the crowd that the initial model will be a boring gray device by design, so as not to distract from the additional physical components.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:25PM, April 15