Anytime you think you’re scoring a super hot deal on Apple’s latest amazing device, you really should make sure everything’s 100% legit before forking over $200 to some shady dude at a gas station. That’s the lesson Jalonta Freeman learned when she found out the “$800 iPad” she purchased was really just a mirror.
Freeman was fueling her car at a gas station when a man pulled up beside her saying he had a bunch of gadgets he was selling for cheap. Thinking it would make a great Christmas present, Jalonta decided to purchase the man’s “brand new” iPad that he claimed was worth $800. He sold it to Freeman for $200 and quickly drove away.
There's a good reason why this new dock connector won't be coming to all iOS devices this fall.
It seems like Apple’s sixth-generation iPhone will be the first iOS device to boast a brand new, mini dock connector when it launches this fall. But there have been rumors that claim Apple will refresh all its iOS devices to make the new connector a standard across its entire lineup.
Not only does this seem highly unlikely, but there’s one reason why it’s an impossibility: Apple’s supply chain just couldn’t handle a refresh that big.
Photo by the queen of subtle - http://flic.kr/p/aUoy8X
In the highly-competitive holiday sales period, Amazon’s $199 Kindle Fire tablet ‘at most’ cost Apple 1 million to 2 million iPad sales, one Wall Street observer said today. Despite the dent in sales, the tech giant is expected to turn in record iPad sales figures for this quarter.
All I wanted for Christmas was an iPhone. That’s it. But my parents went off and bought me a stupid Kindle Fire…those dumb bastards. Actually I’d be pretty happy with receiving a new Kindle Fire, and I already have an iPhone 4S with the fancy camera and everything so I don’t need a new one of those, but apparently a lot of people were disappointed on Christmas morning when they didn’t unwrap a shiny new iPhone. Taking the audacity of privileged consumerism to new heights of hilarity, comedy writer Jon Hendren compiled the stream of dejected tweets into a music video to express the world’s ingratidude.
“WTF?! I Wanted An iPhone” is a catchy (but NSFW) tune that captures little treasures of bitterness that bloomed on Christmas morning. The enormous display of ingratitude is a bit shocking. Hey @SamStandsFoSwag we’re sorry mom and dad got you the black iPod Touch instead of the white one, but maybe when you graduate high school and get a job you’ll realize, “Oh dang, spending $200 on a silly music player is not the funnest thing to do in world.”
Happy Children with Recovered Gifts (photo: L.A. County Sheriff Department)
A potentially sad story of a holiday gone wrong has a happy ending – two actually – thanks to a stolen iPad and some efficient police work. A homeowner in southern California heard some noises in his home at 3:30AM on Christmas Eve, only to find that the visitor wasn’t Santa.
Apple has begun issuing its employees with Apple-branded hoodies as a thank you for all their hard work during a terrific year for the Cupertino company. In addition to a free hoody, employees also got extra vacation time over Thanksgiving, and some departments were given personalized noted from higher-level staff, according to 9to5Mac.
Christmas day has historically been a record shattering day in terms of new device activations and app downloads. This Christmas was no different according to these recent stats published by Flurry Analytics. Using a baseline average taken from the first 20 days of December, Flurry showed that new Android and iOS device activations rose 353% on Christmas day. While averaging around 1.5 million activations during the month of December, activations jumped to more than 6.8 million on Christmas day. Ho, ho, ho — ly rising reindeer! That’s a staggering increase and to get a better feel for just how impressive those numbers are, only 2.8 million devices were activated last Christmas day.
Santa has come and gone on his sleigh, and Apple has profited along the way. A survey from Ace Metrix, a TV ad analysis firm, has revealed that Apple’s Santa Siri commercial beat out 34 other Santa-themed spots to win the crown of most effective ad for the 2011 holiday season.
Apple’s commercial, featuring Santa and the iPhone 4S’s Siri assistant, scored a 652 out of a possible 950 points in Ace Metrix’s survey, topping competitors like Pillsbury, Coca-Cola, and Nintendo.
EA has kicked off a huge iOS sale that has seen dozens of popular games reduced to just $0.99 in a bid to top the App Store’s charts this Christmas. Some of the company’s hottest games are included, a number of which haven’t only just been released, such as Dead Space, FIFA 12, Tetris, and Trenches II.
Here’s the complete list of titles on sale for just $0.99!
With countless iOS devices being handed out this Christmas, Apple’s App Store is going to see a heck of a lot of business. It’s in your best interests, then, if you’re an iOS developer, to have your apps in the App Store and ready for sale before Apple shuts down for the holidays. You now have less than 24 hours to submit your app before it’s put on hold until January.
Still shopping around for last minute gifts for your friends or family? Consider these three books authored by Cult of Mac writers, which may be just what you’re looking for.
It’s that time of year again. Not the holidays — I’m mean yeah, sure it is, but that’s pretty obvious. No, it’s the time of year when we drive ourselves (and others) a little crazy running around trying to find gifts at the last minute. Especially those pesky stocking stuffers — the little gifts that fill in the gap between “it’s Christmas? Geez, I completely forgot” and “honey, I bought you a Lexus.”
As much as I love the holiday season, trying to buy gifts and cards for all of your family and friends isn’t easy. However, there are some things you can do on your Mac and iOS devices that will not only make the process of sending greetings a whole lot easier, but it’ll also ensure no one is forgotten.
Here’s how to send Christmas greetings to all your friends and family the easy way!
Children and Apple stuff mix pretty well — iDevices cap the top three slots on kids’ wishlists, right? So it’s a good bet that there’ll be a bunch of Apple stuff underneath the trees or the Menorah this year. We’ve put together a short list of icing-on-the-cake type gifts — or great follow-ups if you got ’em iDevices last year.
Are you a rag-swaddled, impoverished soul, prowling the cold, ice-swept streets in an O. Henry-esque search for the perfect Christmas gift that can be had for your loved one for less than $420? The Spirit of Christmas is here with the deal for you: Apple has just dropped the price of all their refurbished iPad 2s, and they now start at just $419.
With access to over half a million apps in the App Store, getting things done on our iPhones has never been easier. So instead of running around like a headless chicken this Christmas Eve in a desperate bid to buy gifts for all your friends and family, why not sit back, stick your feet up, and do you Christmas shopping on your iPhone?
We’ve compiled a list of the App Store’s best apps for Christmas shopping that will help you plan, save, shop and send cards directly right from the palm of your hand.
Amazon is using its Price Check app for the iPhone to lure shoppers away from physical retail stores by offering tasty discounts that can only be used online on Saturday, December 10. The company issued a press release today in which it announces its plan to “incentivize” shoppers to buy online, “ensuring they are really getting a deal.”
At Cult of Mac we’re huge fans of going to the movies. Few experiences can compare to seeing pretty boy Ryan Gosling beating the crap out of Ron Perlman on a towering 70ft x 30ft screen. As long as the film doesn’t feature Shia LaBeouf then we’re down to watch it (sometimes we’ll even make an exception for the former Even Stevens star). The only problem is that showing up to the movie theater in your underwear is frowned upon in most countries. Thankfully, Epson makes some pretty kick ass projectors that bring the movie theater experience to your home so you don’t have to bother with those weird things called “pants.”
This week we’re really lucky to be teaming up with the awesome folks at Epson to give away a brand new iPhone-compatible projector. $700 is already a pretty awesome price for their superb projector, but because it’s Christmas, they’re generously letting us giveaway their brand new MegaPlex MG-50HD Projector for free! Without a doubt this is the coolest projector we’ve ever gotten our hands on. It comes with two built-in 10-watt speakers, a dock for your iPhone or iPad and is incredibly portable so you can take the fun with you wherever you go.
Speaking from experience, watching Home Alone and Elf on this thing will make the holidays 50 times more pleasurable no matter which of your annoying family members decides to pay you a visit for Christmas.
Fruit Ninjais one of those titles almost every iOS gamer has experienced at some point — just like Angry Birds. And like the aforementioned bird game, the makers of Fruit Ninja are hoping to cash in on their popularity this holiday season with these incredibly adorable Fruit Ninja plush toys.
Ever since Electronic Artists (EA) started investing in the mobile games scene, the company has produced a flurry of titles that have been a big hit with Apple fans. With the combination of console to iOS ports (FIFA 12, NBA JAM, Dead Space) and original content made exclusively for iOS (Max & the Magic Marker, Fantasy Safari), EA has become one of the hottest game developers for the iPhone and iPad.
Now that we’re rolling into the holiday season, EA is starting to feel the Christmas spirit and has created a “Daily Deals” page that highlights new deals on their most popular games.
While Apple computers today are famous for their svelte aluminum enclosures, the company’s first machine — born way back in 1976 — was made out of wood. In a bid to bring back that look, the iStation dock attempts turns your iPad 2 into the original Apple Computer.
Because hanging a fragile slate of glass and aluminum from a thin twig of Christmas fir is a road to ruin: these iPad 2 and iPhone 4 Christmas Tree ornaments.
Don’t expect anything fancy — they are strictly two-dimensional, printed from photo-quality paper and backed by high-quality cardboard. Heck, you could probably save $11.00 and make them yourself from paper lying around your office. Still, ’tis the season to spend lots of cash on silly ornaments…
If you have a teen, you know getting gift suggestions can vary somewhere between monosyllabic and “hand over the credit card”. So you don’t stroke out aimlessly wandering the malls, we offer as a public service this tip: get thee to an Apple Store. According to a new survey, Apple products are among teens’ top three most wanted gifts with almost 10 percent of teenagers.
Best Buy has launched a new ad that hopes to lure Apple fans into its stores this Christmas. In addition to Macs, iPads, iPhones, and iPods, the humorous “Everything Apple at Best Buy” ad also includes an appearance from old St. Nick himself.
Apple famously keeps its Black Friday deals a closely guarded secret until the day of the event. But thanks to a leaked sales pamphlet from a “trusted tipster,” we already know where the Cupertino company will be slashing prices, with savings to be made on the iMac, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, iPod nano and iPod touch, iPad, and plenty of accessories.
