It was around 6 a.m. when we dragged the first box labeled “iPhones: Do Not Open Until Directed” to the office in the back room of the Apple Store at Bridgeport Village in Portland. That label, taunting us — daring us to infringe on Apple’s (let’s face it, Steve Jobs’) strict code of secrecy. A …

Apple To say that Facebook’s iPhone app is slow could be considered generous. In truth, it makes the tortoise look like the hare. It seems almost inconceivable (and yes, I do think that word means what I think it means) that a Web-focused, modern company could produce such a slow rendition of its product on the most popular mobile product …

Apple The purchase, reported by several local media outlets, is said to be one of the largest educational iPad rollouts in the U.S. K-12 market. The 26,000 iPads will be spread out in 340 classrooms starting this fall. Apple’s push to get iPads and digital textbooks in the classroom appears to be paying off. The SDUSD was able to draw …

Apple When considering the bitter rivalries that have emerged in the smartphone industry between Apple and its competitors (Samsung, Google, HTC, Nokia), one needs only to review the patent portfolio of each company to see from where it all stems. To argue that the patent system is broken is another article for another day, but with Apple receiving the grant …

Composite by Joe Aimonetti/CNET Verizon has reached a deal with T-Mobile to do an an Advanced Wireless Services spectrum swap, a deal that promises to add much-needed LTE capabilities to T-Mobile’s network. The deal would be dependent on forthcoming Verizon spectrum purchases, currently being scrutinized by the FCC. But, if the deals with SpectrumCo, Cox, and Leap go through, T-Mobile …

Apple Apple has filed a patent application that describes a method for obtaining and adding metadata to files automatically using the Internet and various social networks. The process, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (discovered by AppleInsider), shows Apple’s continued interest in creating connections with social networks by inventing a way for users to automatically update their files …

Check out your nearby purchased Google Offers from the native Google Offers app. Screenshot by Joe Aimonetti/CNET Google Offers, at its core, is not really much different from any deal site (Groupon, Living Social). Users sign up for daily email offers from local businesses willing to give potential customers heavy discounts to become patrons of their establishments. The only real …

Screenshot by Joe Aimonetti/CNET Now at version 1.5, My Xbox Live enables iPhone users who have XBox 360s to control their console using their iPad or iPhone in a whole new way. Previously the My Xbox Live app only allowed users to track and compare user profiles and achievements, connect with Xbox Live friends, and manipulate your 3D avatar. Now, …

Screenshot by Joe Aimonetti/CNET Much ado has been made of Apple’s decision to ditch Google’s mapping technology in favor of an in-house solution for the Maps app in iOS 6. Yesterday’s WWDC keynote failed to shed light on how Apple plans to accomplish that task, but an anonymous tipster leaked iOS 6 beta screenshots showing TomTom attribution information, later confirmed …

Apple Singapore Airlines subsidiary Scoot Pte recently launched its low-cost airline carrier, a business made possible in part by shedding nearly 2 tons of television and other video equipment in favor of Apple’s 1.44-pound iPad, according to Bloomberg. By shedding the weight of outdated video equipment, Scoot Pte was able to increase its seat capacity by 40 percent and still …