Weekly Mobile News Roundup – 24 May 2013

  Once again the week is coming to an end and that means it’s time for a roundup of the past weeks news!

Steve Jobs Emails Show How to Win a Hard-Nosed Negotiation – he U.S. government’s price-fixing lawsuit against Apple goes to trial next month in New York. Ahead of its court date, the U.S. released emails that purport to show Apple was the “ringleader” in a scheme to set artificially high ebook prices with some of the largest American publishers, which have already settled the case.

Mailbox launches an iPad app, but Gmail poses a greater threat than ever – In early February, Mailbox hit the App Store and impressed millions with its refreshing take on email visualization and triage. An epic waitlist added fuel to the fire, since most people had to wait weeks to gain access to the cloud-powered email app. Mailbox’s impact was so forceful that Dropbox didn’t even wait a month to sweep in and acquire the company within weeks of its launch.

Google’s new 3D Maps destroy Manhattan in the wake of Apple’s Flyover – Nearly a year after Apple introduced its own Maps service in iOS 6 with Flyover 3D satellite views, Google is expanding own online Maps to support similar 3D satellite imagery, with the same sorts of buckled roads and visual distortions Apple was castigated for last summer.

Why this whole iOS ‘Flat Design’ thing is being blown out of proportion – Over the last few weeks, much has been said about Jony Ive, Apple’s head of design, taking over iOS 7 after Scott Forstall was kicked out of the company late last year.

On Using Your iPhone Abroad Without Getting Totally Screwed – I mean it was, but, you know, it’s expensive to use a cell phone abroad. It’s even more expensive to use a smartphone abroad.

Microsoft’s Xbox One Launch Raises Questions About Apple’s Mysterious TV and Living Room Plans – On Tuesday Microsoft unveiled the next generation of its Xbox – the Xbox One. The One though isn’t just a gaming system as the Xbox has long been – it’s an “all-in-one” entertainment system.

Microsoft’s Cheap Shot At The iPad Actually Points Out Exactly Why The Surface Sucks – Being behind in a market sucks, and it’s understandable to want to lash out at the top dog, as Microsoft has shown it’s willing to do with Google in search and email, and now with Apple in tablet computers. A brand new Surface ad pits the iPad against Microsoft’s Windows 8 tablet, in an attempt to show how much more versatile the Surface is vs. the iOS device.

Does Apple’s Online Store redesign reveal future of iOS and Mac OS X? – After five hours of downtime today, Apple’s Online Store returned with a new homepage – one that’s less cluttered than its predecessor.

Shazam’s New iPad App Is Designed For Watching TV With A Tablet, Too – Shazam, an app best known for identifying songs playing around you, is making a big move into identifying all kinds of media playing around you.

Apple chief’s gamble pays off as criticism remains muted – Tim Cook’s bid for the moral high ground in Washington on Tuesday proved surprisingly successful, as the Apple chief executive faced down a hostile US Senate committee over the way the maker of iPhones and iPads avoids paying billions of dollars in taxes.

Microsoft Windows 8 ad uses Siri to make fun of iPad – Last month Microsoft took aim at the vast majority of smartphone owners with a Windows Phone ad that laid into Android and iPhone users. This month, the computer giant has pushed Windows 8 into the ring to square up against the iPad.