We’ve always thought that Apple’s rumored iWatch probably won’t have the ability to enter text, but maybe we’re wrong. Maybe Apple will use software similar to this ZoomBoard concept that lets you zoom in on a keyboard, tap the letter you want, zoom back out, and then find new characters.

Users who have tested the prototype were able to type about 10 words per minute with it, which is pretty slow compared to average speeds on a real keyboard, but maybe it could be used on a limited basis. We don’t think anyone will ever want to type an email on their iWatch, but what if you want to send a quick reply to a friend without pulling out your iPhone to type it up? This could be the answer.

Here’s a video of ZoomBoard in action:

There’s a weird glitch that has started affecting Apple’s iMessage platform. When users text certain phrases over iMessage the last word of the text is deleted once its sent, but a large space is left behind where the word once was.

Right now there are only a couple known phrases that appear to be affected by the glitch, and one of them involves Obama. To test for the glitch, send someone an iMessage of the phrase “I could be the next Obama” but leave a trailing space at the end.

Everything will look fine when you hit send, but then the last word suddenly disappears on both users’ screen. The glitch also works with the phrase, “The best prize is a surprise”

Apple has reversed its decision to change the way iOS devices handle connections with Virtual Private Networks (VPN), now that its patent lawsuit with VirnetX has concluded. Earlier this month, Apple said it plans to kill the “Always” feature for iOS devices with VPN On Demand configured, by rolling out a software update that would kill the feature on shipped devices.

Apple proposed that users would just have to use the “Establish if needed” option until an alternative solution was provided via software update, but it looks like Apple may have reached an agreement with VirnetX to keep the “Always” feature on shipped iPhones and iPads for now.

Apple posted the following update to an article on its support site to announce the reverse in decisions:

It’s been a while since we’ve had a contest here at Cult of Mac, so let’s start the week off with a little bit of fun. We’re looking for a few talented (or not-so talented) readers to voluntarily decapitate themselves and replace their head with an iPad. It’s gruesome and beautiful at the same time, plus we’re giving away five free copies of FX Photo Studio Pro to best entries.

To win the contest all you have to do is take a self-portrait, and then overlay it onto an iPad in another portrait. You can go traditional and use your own face, or use a friends’ or celebrity’s face. Hell, you can draw a face and then overlay it on the iPad, we don’t care. Surprise or delight us and you’ll probably win.

Here’s how to enter the contest:

If you weren’t one of the lucky few that bought a WWDC 2013 ticket within the first 120 seconds they were available, then you’re probably super bummed that you’re not going to hangout with Jony Ive and the gang in San Francisco.

Don’t worry though, you can still get into the party if you’re desperate and have a few extra grand on you. Someone’s already put their WWDC ticket on eBay and the bidding starts at a cool $10,000.

Many of us thought Twitter was content to watch its Mac app die a slow and painful death, as the company hasn’t updated the app in forever, but new life has been breathed into the app at last.

Twitter just announced an update for the Twitter Mac app that brings Retina display support, better photo sharing, and support for 14 more languages. The app icon also received an update, along with the tweet composer, in what is the first update in nearly two years.

Here’s Twitter’s list of updates: 

WWDC 2013 is already proving to be Apple’s most popular event ever. After opening ticket sales for the event a mere two minutes ago, Apple has already sold out.

Cult of Mac’s John Brownlee was trying to get a ticket. He says: “I started refreshing ten minutes before WWDC, and when the tickets went live, I was instantly hit with an error message when trying to login on multiple browsers. So many people were slamming the WWDC ticket page, Apple’s login system just keeled over. By 10:02AM PDT, all the tickets were totally gone. Unless you got lucky, you didn’t even have a chance.”

Apple announced the dates of WWDC 2013 yesterday, but tickets didn’t go on sale until 10AM PDT this morning. That’s a new one for Apple: usually, tickets for WWDC are available immediately upon the announcement of the dates for the conference. This system, however, has been criticized by many developers, especially those overseas, who never even had a chance to get a ticket.

It’s hard to imagine they liked this year’s free-for-all any better. Apple has got to come up with a better system for WWDC. May we suggest a lottery for 2014?

Even though Apple announced the dates of WWDC yesterday, tickets for the event didn’t go on sale until today. Apple just flipped the switch on WWDC 2013 ticket orders, so if you’re hoping to make it to this year’s event, you better hurry up and get to ordering.

Apple sold out of tickets for WWDC 2012 within 2 hours last year, so we expect this year to be even more crazy. Going to the event will set your back $1599, not including your flight and hotel. The event will be held at Moscone West in San Francisco this year from June 10-14th.

Update: You never had a chance. Apple sold out of WWDC tickets within 2 minutes. 

Source: Apple

The countdown for WWDC 2013 has begun. Tickets don’t go on sale until tomorrow morning, but if you’re already wanting to get into the WWDC spirit, here are two great wallpapers for iPhone and Mac, courtesy of Christian Dalonzo.

iPhone 5

iPhone 4S

Mac

Thunderbolt Display

Source: Dribble

Via: Twitter

If you dream of chilling with your homie Tim Cook in the morning and grabbing coffee but never had the chance to meet Silicon Valley’s most powerful CEO, then here’s your chance.

Tim Cook is auctioning off 30min-1hour of his time for CharityBuzz.com. Proceeds go to support the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, and you’ll get to hangout with Tim at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino. Who knows. Maybe if you woo him he’ll show you the latest iWatch prototype.

The current bid is set at $5,250 but the estimated value of the prize is $50,000. The winner will get to bring themselves and 1 guest to coffee-time with Tim, but don’t expect to get too cozy with Tim as the auction details explain you’ll have to undergo a security screening before you get close to him, and he’s not going to pay for your hotel and airplane either.

Source: CharityBuzz

Via: Twitter

WWDC 2013 was just announced. Finally, Apple’s going to end this year’s drought, and show off some new stuff after going the entire first four months of the year without a single keynote or product announcement.

But now that WWDC is in our sights, what are people most excited about? There are tons of hardware rumors about the iPad, iPhone and even the iWatch but we doubt we’ll see either of those three. We’ve also heard that iOS 7 is going to have some huge changes, and we should see some of the next version of OS X. What are you guys most excited to see at WWDC 2013? Software or hardware?

Click here to go to the Cult of Mac Forums and tell us what you’re looking forward to the most at WWDC 2013.

WWDC is getting closer, which means we’re probably going to see Jony Ive’s vision for iOS 7 really soon. We know Jony’s not a big fan of skeuomorphism, so we expect to see a lot of flat UI design in iOS 7.

Rafael Justino just published his concept for what iOS 7 might look like, and while there’s still a great deal of skeuomorphism in Justino’s concept, his vision adds a lot more functionality to some of the basic apps of iOS.

The full video is ready for your examination below:

WWDC is the best place in the world to go and learn how to become a better iOS or OS X programmer. Only problem is it’s really freaking expensive, and it’s hard as hell to buy tickets before the thing sells out.

To help students out with the $1599 price tag for one ticket to WWDC, Apple announced that it will award 150 WWDC 2013 Student Scholarships. All you have to do to get the scholarship is be a full-time registered student, and make a killer iOS app. 

Apple just released its Q2 2013 Financial results, and even though Apple beat its own estimates, Tim Cook started the Quarterly Financial Call on the defensive.

Cook started the call by explaining how exceptional Apple’s 2012 financial results were for Apple, so it’s hard for the company to improve sales this quarter. Then Cook commented on Apple’s struggling stock price by saying he’s “very frustrated” with the stock’s declining value the last few quarters, but they’re staying focused on the future.

Hoping to appease investors, Apple announced today that it will payback $100 billion to investors by 2015. Apple has yet to release a major product in 2013, but Cook reassured investors that Apple can’t wait to release new hardware and software this Fall and throughout 2014.

Along with posting its Q2 2013 Financial Results, Apple also announced today it will double the Capital Return Program that has been paying dividends back to investors since it began last year.

Apple says it will use a total of $100 billion of cash under the calendar program until the end of 2015. Along with increasing the stock buyback, Apple’s Board approved a 15% increase in the quarterly dividend to pay $3.05 per common share.

Here’s the full press release:

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The Genius Bar is a little sparse, and the flooring never would have been approved by Steve Jobs, but if you find yourself in Kabul with a deep thirst for the latest Apple gadgetry, the unofficial Apple Store of Afghanistan is the place to go.

While Apple has been busy dominating the retail world with its highly profitably shops, poor Afghanistan has been left without an official Apple Store to call its own, so someone decided to open one up.

Apple’s iTunes catalogue revolutionized the way people consume media. Why go to BlockBuster to rent a movie when you can download it from iTunes just as quickly? While most of the market has been trying to catch up, Apple’s lead in online video sales has remained dominant in the U.S.

NPD released a new report that highlights Apple’s strength in electronic video sales and rentals. While everyone else is fighting for second place, Apple still commands over 67% of the market.

Before the disastrous launch of Apple Maps, one of Apple’s biggest failures of all-time was the launch of MobileMe. Apple set a group of engineers out to rebrand .Mac and create a new cloud-based product that totally fell over the night it launched.

Steve Jobs famously met with the entire MobileMe team in the campus auditorium and fired the manger of the project on the spot. Then he told everyone, “you’ve tarnished Apple’s reputation … You should hate each other for having let each other down.” It was one of Steve Jobs’ most famous tough-leader moments, but according to one insider, Steve should have been yelling at himself because the MobileMe launch failure was really his fault.

Over the last few weeks, T-Mobile has stolen a lot of the prepaid carriers’ thunder with its new “Uncarrier” plans. But Cricket Wireless is eager to make sure no one forgets about it.

Starting today, Cricket Wireless is cutting the price of its iPhone plans to help it compete against the likes of T-Mobile and AT&T. The new family bundle plan offered by Cricket includes two smartphone plans for $40 each a month. If you just want an iPhone on your own plan, individual plans now start at $50 a month.

iPhone and iPad owners who love watching video will appreciate a new update coming from Netflix to iOS. The video giant just released Netflix 4.0 for iOS that makes navigating to your favorite episodes even easier.

The update includes UI changes that make it easier to find new episodes for shows, as well as better navigation for changing the audio and subtitles for a video. There are also some little bug fixes in the update as well.

Here are the full release notes:

Fitbug is a company that makes exercise accessories that work with iPhone apps. Fitbit is also a company that makes exercise accessories that work with iPhone apps. Their names are similar, and so are their products. It’s kind of like they’re the same company, except they’re totally not, and that’s the problem.

The confusion between the names of the two companies has really started to get under Fitbug’s skin, so it’s decided to sue Fitbit for trademark infringement to decided who gets to be the fittest company in the U.S.

A lot has been said lately about the iPhone’s demise, and thanks to global smartphone marketshare numbers, you’d think the Apple-hating Negative Nancys are right. But then if you look at the U.S. marketshare numbers, it’s a completely different story.

Benedict Evans created the chart above based on AT&T and Verizon’s recent sales figures. It’s pretty clear that the iPhone has been the only smartphone that is actually increasing sales for the networks, while Android buyers are probably people who just go into the shop and buy whatever looks good.

They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but for a lot of people, Snapchatting promiscuous pics and Skyping just isn’t enough. Condom maker Durex is ready to help you out though by adding a new product for your sexual repertoire.

As its first experiment with wearable tech, Durex has created “Fundawear.” It’s a line of underwear that’s been embedded with tons of tiny little vibrators around your naughty bits region that are then synched up with an iPhone app so your partner can “touch you over the Internet.” There’s a mens and womens pair, and they’re pretty much perfect for couples who are long distance and wanting to get kinky, or creeps that want to masturbate in public using only their iPhone.

Here’s the video Durex created to introduce Fundawear:

Taking pictures with an iPad is a no-no. I don’t care if you’re Spike Lee, just don’t do it. Ever.

The only time it is acceptable to take pictures in a public place with your iPad, is if it’s going to save your life by preventing a softball from ramming through your skull.

That’s exactly what happened to this older gentleman at a University of Northern Iowa softball game. He was trying to capture the fierce action of the game, when an errant foul ball came screaming at his face. The backstop netting couldn’t stop the ball in time, so his iPad stepped up and intercepted the ball to save the man’s life.

Check out the video:

When we’ve grown tired of flinging Angry Birds through space, Hoth, Brazil, and everywhere else, Cut the Rope has always been a great fallback option for a quick, fun iOS game. Now it’s getting even better with time travel.

ZeptoLabs just released the latest installment in its Cut the Rope series called Cut the Rope: Time Travel. The new game adds the dimension of time travel to increase the complexity of ways to get your little Om Nom’s some candy. Now instead of having one Om Nom to feed, you get an ancient ancestor to worry about too while you explore locations like the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, a Pirate Ship, Ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Stone Age.

Here’s a gameplay trailer: