Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
Now that you’ve upgraded to the latest iOS devices, you’re probably wondering what to do with all your old 30-pin speaker docks. You could get a $30 Lightning to 30-pin adapter from Apple and continue to use them, but for just $15 extra, you can get the auris and turn them into wireless Bluetooth speakers.
The official Call of Duty Elite app for iOS has today been updated to version 2.2.0, which adds a number of handy new features. Players can now compare their statistics with those of their friends, and track their progress during clan operations and challenges.
You know when your friend posts an awesome picture of their latte or the tasty dessert they had after their big plate of pasta last night to Instagram, and you really want to save that picture so that you can drool over it more than once? Well now you can, thanks to Instahancer, a new tweak for jailbroken iPhones.
As its name suggests, Instahancer enhances the Instagram app with a number of useful features, including zoom, the ability to share pictures to your camera roll, and the option to share them via email.
PopCap’s beloved Plants vs. Zombies has today been made available for free in the App Store. The reduction applies to both the iPhone and iPad titles, which were previously priced at $2.99 and $6.99 respectively. If you don’t already have it, it’s well worth adding to your collection.
Twitterrific for iOS has received its first major update since it was overhauled with version 5.0 back in December. In addition to mute filters for users, hashtags, and domains, version 5.1 brings support for new image services, a new font, and a whole stack of improvements. Check out the full list of changes below.
Netflix has today introduced an enhanced player interface for iPad with version 3.0 of its iOS app. The update also brings back the zoom icon so that you can quickly switch between fullscreen and widescreen viewing modes, and better placement of the player controls.
The Logitech Easy-Switch ($100) is a Bluetooth keyboard that’s designed to work with both Mac and iOS devices — at the same time. It’ll connect to up to three devices simultaneously, then it will allow you to quickly switch between them as and when you need to.
Its built to compliment your Mac, with an aluminum top cover, black accents, and black laser-etched keys that look right at home in front of an iMac or Thunderbolt Display. It has a built-in battery that’s rechargeable via USB, and it offers up to a whole year of power — depending on how you use it, of course.
The Easy-Switch also has a row of function keys, that’ll allow you to adjust brightness, control media playback and volume, and use features like Mission Control. But its best feature, at least in my opinion, is its backlit keys, which allow you to type comfortably in a dark room.
The Easy-Switch is by far the best keyboard I’ve used. It’s better than my old Logitech keyboard, and it’s better than Apple’s Bluetooth keyboard. Let me tell you why.
Last Friday, the BBC published part of its interview with Jony Ive, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design, which was shown during a special episode of children’s television show Blue Peter on Saturday morning. The full interview has now been posted to YouTube, and it shows Ive talking about product naming techniques.
Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple alongside Steve Jobs back in 1976, believes the Cupertino company still has the ability to determine the future of consumer electronics, despite increasing competition from its rivals. He admits, however, that the company may be losing its edge, and that it increasingly needs to rely on its premium brand.
Foxconn has reportedly placed a recruitment freeze across most of its factories in China as the company slows production of the iPhone 5, the Financial Times reports. This is believed to be the first such freeze since 2009, and it’s seen as an emphasis of the “weakening demand” for some Apple products. But does the freeze really have anything to do with Apple’s devices?
AU Optronics, a display manufacturer that produces panels for the iPad mini, has reportedly caught up with its orders following poor yield rates during the second half of 2012. The company has produced one million displays for the device, according to industry sources, and it has now begun work on its next project — a new display for the next-generation iPad mini.
Unless it’s full of unread notifications, the iPhone’s lock screen is already pretty bare — Apple has designed it to be clean and clear, like the rest of iOS. But you can take it a step further with SubtleLock, a new tweak for jailbroken iPhones that adds a touch of minimalism to your lock screen to provide you with more space and a cleaner look.
Forget 8-megapixel pictures and HDR — if you want photos that instantly look cool, then it’s time to take a step back… all the way back to the eighties. Camera C64 is a free iPhone app that helps you relive the days when the Commodore C64 was considered cutting-edge technology by delivering authentic 16-color photos that are almost guaranteed to look good.
Apple could launch its $330 “iPhone mini” as early as this summer to boost the company’s smartphone sales in China, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. It’s expected the low-cost device could provide Apple with an additional 20% of the smartphone market, adding to the 10% it has already claimed with the iPhone 5. And with smartphone prices now beginning to stabilize in China, now would be an ideal time for such a device.
Firefox 19 is now available to download to your Mac, introducing the long-awaited PDF viewer that will allow you to open PDF files within the browser — rather than downloading them to open them in Preview. The release hasn’t yet hit Mozilla’s website, but you can get your hands on it by visiting the company’s servers.
Amazon Instant Video integration is one of a number of new features that has been added to the official IMDb app for iOS today, allowing users who have the Amazon Instant Video app to quickly jump from IMDb right into the movie or TV show they were just checking out. The update also brings a new Oscars section, recommendations, and more.
Apple has stopped selling the Mac Pro through its European online stores ahead of the machine’s discontinuation throughout the EU on March 1. Although the high-end desktop still appears on Apple’s website, it’s listed as “currently unavailable,” and customers are unable to order it. Some models are still available in the refurbished section, however.
Auxo, a wonderful app switcher from interface designer Sentry, has become a must-have tweak for jailbroken iPhones since it hit Cydia back in December. But it seems Sentry has plenty of other ideas up his sleeve when it comes to improving the multitasking experience on iOS.
He’s released a new concept for switching between apps on the iPhone that’s unlike anything you’ve seen before. Check out the video below.
An Apple retail store in Boulder, Colorado, became the latest target of a “smash and grab” robbery early Saturday morning. A hooded crook threw three rocks through the store’s $100,000 custom glass doors before stealing $64,000 worth of merchandise, including MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones.
Dolphin, one of the best and most popular third-party web browsers for iOS, has today been updated with a number of improvements that are sure to quash some of the biggest issues and annoyances users have been experiencing of late. Not only does it fix Evernote text formatting, but it also addresses an issue that caused the save password dialog to appear when it didn’t need to, and more.
EA is today throwing a President’s Day sale that has seen it slashing the prices of its iOS games by up to 90%. Over 55 games are included in the deal — including popular titles like Need for Speed Most Wanted, Mass Effect Infiltrator, and Dead Space 3 — and everything is just $0.99.
We’ve got a complete list of reduced titles below.
Apple has posted two new iPad ads to its official YouTube channel that highlight the device’s expansive app catalog. Called “Alive” and “Together,” the videos use the iPad and the iPad mini to showcase some of the 300,000 apps available through the App Store, including iBooks, GarageBand, iPhoto, FaceTime, TED, and more.
This week’s must-have apps roundup kicks off with Real Racing 3, arguably the most anticipated racing game for iOS to date. Following its announcement last August, it’s finally — slowly but surely — making its way to App Stores worldwide. We also have an awesome new weather app called Haze, the latest game from Chillingo, and more.
There’s a belief that Apple makes new engineers work on fake products until they can be trusted. According one of the company’s former employees, Adam Lashinsky, who published the book Inside Apple last January, the Cupertino company hires people into so-called “dummy positions” until it’s confident that they can be a part of upcoming products without leaking information.
But how accurate are those claims? We know Apple takes secrecy very seriously, but would it really waste time and money on giving people fake projects just to ensure they won’t squeal?
Jony Ive has received a whole host of awards for his design efforts at Apple, but as a life-long fan of children’s TV show Blue Peter, none of them may be as special as his latest from the BBC: a gold Blue Peter badge. Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design now joins a list of just 1,000 people awarded with a gold badge, which also includes David Beckham, JK Rowling, and the Queen.