iPad - page 108

I like to travel light, bringing as few chargers and cables as possible. This Cult of Mac Deals offer is one I also like – because it helps me in my quest to travel as light as possible.

The Backup Battery Bundle features a high-end portable battery and a car charger that make for the ideal package for someone like me. And the price is right as well: just $59.99.

Please note: This offer is only available to customers in the continental United States. The sale price includes shipping and all sales are final.

This bundle includes Gum™, an ultra-compact (thumb-sized), super-stylish backup battery for smartphones and USB devices. Clad in high-quality aluminum, the Gum has enough juice to recharge an iPhone. recharge via micro USB, three green LEDs showing the remaining power.

Here are the top features fo this device:

Apple, Google and Microsoft all want to be your phone company. But with both competitors’ communication offerings in disarray, Apple has an opportunity to offer the best, most elegant and integrated communication platform.

All they have to do is keep moving in their current direction, make a couple of key rumors come true and keep Steve Jobs’ promise about FaceTime.

If converting video files is for you, then this Cult of Mac Deals offer is for you…and all for the price of a movie ticket.

Tenorshare Video Converter for Mac is the all-in-one and fastest video converter software for Mac users. It supports more than 100 video and audio formats conversion, and the output video can be played on QuickTime Player, iMovie, iPhone, iPad, and many more platforms. And now you can get Tenorshare for just $9.99 – a savings of 83%!

The famous Square Enix tax, defined as the premium price the Japanese video game company has always charged for its ports of classic and new RPG games on the iTunes App Store, seems to be up–for a while, at least.

We’re talking huge discounts, like recently released Deus Ex: The Fall, originally debuting at seven bucks, now only $0.99, and The World Ends With You (perhaps my favorite Square Enix game of all time) at half the regular $20 price.

How about Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II, classics in the role playing game genre, at half off, each going for $3.99 on the App Store? There are eight other Final Fantasy titles on sale, as well. Yeah, I thought you’d like that.

It’s the holiday season again, and iOS devices top the lists of many of us, adult and child alike. If you’ve gotten one this year (kudos!), here’s our handy guide to get you started: the 12 “must have” apps for your brand new iPhone and iPad. Because, seriously, there are way too many apps out there to figure this out all on your own. You’re welcome.

VLC – Universal – Free
If you want to play movies you’ve downloaded on your iPhone or iPad, but don’t want to limit yourself to officially sanctioned formats via iTunes and the Videos app on your iPhone, VLC is your app. It’s a free, open-source port of the computer-based media player and it will play all those different video formats, like WMV and OGG files, without the need for conversion. You can watch your movies you’ve downloaded to your iOS device, or you can sync directly with Dropbox or iTunes on your Mac, as well as an embedded web server.
VLC in the App Store

Evernote – Universal – Free
This is, hands-down, the single most used app I have on my iPhone. You can create and edit text notes, reminders, and task lists and sync them across all your devices, including the web. You can record voice, audio and photo notes, search for text inside images, organize all your stuff into notebooks and tags and even share notes via email, Facebook, and Twitter.

Add to your Evernote shopping list on your Mac, for example and it will appear on your iPhone for use at the store. Share that note with your roommates or spouse, and you have the ideal solution for making sure everything gets purchased the next time one of you is at the store.
Evernote in the App Store

Fantastical 2 – iPhone – $3.99
This, well, fantastic, calendar replacement app uses a natural language parsing engine to help you make appointments and reminders with text or dictation. Say, “Lunch next Tuesday with Amy,” and Fantastical 2 will figure out what you mean, and place in on the appropriate slot.

You’ll never want to swipe those fiddly date and time wheels again. While the original Fantastical is still just as great, the new version has been updated for iOS 7. If you’re sick of the way typical digital calendars work, this is the app for you.
Fantastical 2 in the App Store

AroundMe – Universal – Free
AroundMe uses your location data to quickly let you find the nearest bank, bar, gas station, hospital, hotel, movie theater, restaurant, market, or taxi cab. You’ll get a complete list of nearby businesses in your chosen category, along with your distance from them, and you can quickly get the location up on a map. You can even send the info along to a buddy, or add the location to your Contacts. As if that wasn’t enough, you can even use AroundMe to fill you in on the details of the place using Wikipedia.
AroundMe in the App Store

Pocket Casts – Universal – $3.99
Our very own Killian Bell says this is the best podcast app out there, and it’s got the ratings to prove it. Pocket Casts is a sraightforward, easy to use, powerful “podcatcher” app that lets you subscribe and play any podcast out there, sync and back them up, filter your episode lists, set up auto downloads, and a ton more.

The killer feature here? Refreshing up to 50 podcasts in the same time it can take other podcast apps, even Apple’s, to refresh one. Grab it now and see what you’ve been missing.

Twitter – Universal – Free
Power users may prefer apps like Twitterrific and Tweetbot, but for the rest of us, the official Twitter app is really all we need. The latest update adds quite a bit of functionality, including a neat swipe between panels interface, easy conversation drilldowns, and more. If you need to access Twitter on your iPhone or iPad, but don’t want a cluttery interface or more features than you can shake a stick at, this is the one to start with.
Twitter in the App Store

Boxie – iPhone – Free
The original (and best, in my opinion) cloud storage drive, Dropbox, has its own iOS app, but Boxie makes that app feel old and slow. This super-useful Dropbox client app features many more ways to manage, organize, and access all your Dropbox content, with a gorgeous interface to boot. Boxie turns your Dropbox storage into something truly useful, getting you access to all your stuff with a minimum of effort or slow loading times.
Boxie in the App Store

Google Maps – Universal – Free
I hate to say it, but you really need to download Google’s navigation app. While Apple Maps is much improved these days, Google has been at it quite a bit longer, and while I much prefer Apple’s driving interface, Google Maps is just a more comprehensive experience.

Finding and getting to your destination is just much easier with Google Maps, and the voiced turn-by-turn navigation just seems to make a little more sense than Apple’s does. Don’t leave home without this on your iPhone or iPad.
Google Maps in the App Store

Instagram – iPhone – Free
Instagram is not only a photo sharing service within an app, but an entire social network, itself connected to other services out there like Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter. It launches quickly and lets you capture that moment in time so you can filter and contrast it into something visually interesting (usually!). Getting your photos out there is super fast, and now Instagram even does video sharing, with 15 second clips that use the same filtering system as the photos.
Instagram in the App Store

Mailbox – Universal – Free
Email may have revolutionized the way we communicate in our business personal lives, but Mailbox has truly change the game for mobile email management. Using a few easily remembered swipe-based gestures, Mailbox lets you deal with your email quickly and efficiently, storing some in lists, scheduling others to look at later, or just deleting the crap out of the stuff you really aren’t gonna read anyway. Mailbox puts the productivity back into your email workflow, and you’ll thank the developers for the innovation.
Mailbox in the App Store

Pocket – Universal – Free
Pocket, formerly Read It Later, may not be the first such service where you can send long web articles to your iPhone or iPad to read later, but it’s quickly become my “read this later” service of choice. There’s a Pocket extension for every web browser out there, and a click sends it along to the Pocket servers, which deliver your own mix of saved reading material for offline perusal at your own convenience, even offline. Pocket is simple to use, and I’d never be able to read those long articles without it.
Pocket in the App Store

Bump – iPhone – Free
Incredibly simple, Bump lets you do just that: touch your iPhone to another one running Bump and you’re instantly sharing your contacts, files, and photos. Heck, you can even use Bump with your Mac, provided you’ve downloaded the Mac app to your computer. It seems like a silly thing, but getting files around from device to device has never been simpler.
Bump in the App Store

Rockstar Games has been re-releasing its GTA catalog on iOS platforms for the past few years. GTA 3 appeared as a 10th-anniversary port back in late 2011, and revered follow-up Vice City turned up a year later. San Andreas’ arrival isn’t a surprise, then, but it’s certainly a pleasant treat — a bit like when that Christmas gift you’d been requesting all year finally turns up under the tree.

For those unfamiliar with this particular entry, it follows the rise and rise of former gangbanger Carl Johnson — aka CJ — as he returns to Los Santos to find his mom dead, his family in ruins and his former gang marginalized. From there it’s a climb back to the top, as CJ takes on local gangstas and corrupt cops en route to re-establishing control of the streets.

One of Instagram’s biggest faults is that it lacks an official iPad app. And it doesn’t look like the Facebook-owned service has any plans for Apple’s tablet in the near future.

Many third-party apps have attempted to offer a viable iPad experience for Instagram, and I’ve tried most of them. I haven’t found one that I actually want to use regularly until I tried Flow, a new iPad app for Instagram that was released today in the App Store.

If you’ve been looking for the best way to use Instagram on the iPad’s larger display, look no further.

For nerds of a certain age (my age), the Sinclair ZX Spectrum was our first home computer/games console/escape from the nightmare world of normal humans. And now this iconic machine is set to be reborn in its home country of Great Britain, only now it’ll be a Bluetooth accessory for your iPad.

UPDATE: Sadly, as pointed out by one of our readers and then corroborated, it seems that Bill Gates didn’t after all buy an iPad — although the rest of the story stands. The confusion came from the apology on behalf of user NY1227 for including an iPad on her wishlist.

Congratulations! You have a brand-new iPhone 5s, 5c, iPad Air or iPad mini with Retina, right? Well, even if you got a new-to-you hand-me-down iPad 3 or iPhone 4S, Cult of Mac has you covered with a ton of non-obvious tips and tricks to get you up and running with speed and style.

Earlier this year, Cult of Mac cited a study from Distimo stating that developers with a hope of cracking the Top 10 paid apps needed to be making in the region of $47,000 per day.

Well, after a strong year for mobile, that number has been revised slightly.

According to Distimo’s 2013 Year in Review report, global revenue for the 200 highest grossing apps in the App Store stand at more than $18 million — a figure which breaks down to around $90,000 average for the top apps.

These PopSockets are pretty neat. They’re flat circular buttons that pop out, accordion-style, to make little rubbery cones on the back of your iPhone, iPad or other handheld device. They aid grip, work as basic kickstands and offer a place for fiddlers and fidgiters to work off their annoying energies.

It’s another day, another optimistic projection for Apple’s success over the Christmas season.

This time the report is from Piper Jaffray’s analyst Gene Munster, who analyzed 25,000 tweets featuring the hashtags @Santa and #wishlist — and found iPhone to be the “most mentioned item”.

You might not know this, but when you’re on public Wi-Fi – at coffee shops, airports, hotels, or conferences – anybody can see what you’re doing online. If you visit sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Amazon.com, and thousands of others, your privacy may be at risk.

How do you protect yourself? With Cloak. And right now Cult of Mac Deals has it for only $59 – that’s 38% off the regular retail price!

Chances are you are looking at apps for your kids during this holiday season, or you will be shortly. You don’t want to do this willy-nilly, as not all apps are made for kids, and searching for any apps from the big list is just too much.

Whether you need to find an appropriate gaming app for your child to keep them busy while you’re carting them around your local department store, or you want to fill their iPod up with great new apps for the holiday, Apple has got you covered with its own dedicated Kids section.

On iOS as on the Mac, there’s only two browsers that most people take seriously: Safari and Chrome. But another browser you should consider is Coast, an iOS browser made by Opera that turns the worldwide web into a sea of apps.

It’s a great browser, one of the few that re-imagines surfing as if it were designed from the ground-up to happen on the iPad, with a primarily gesture driven interface and chrome that stays out of the way until you need it. And now, Coast is getting better, thanks to a beefy 2.0 update.

Nineteen months after reaching its $500,000 target on Kickstarter, a new crowdfunded game developed by a former Metal Gear Solid and Halo developer is set for release on iOS this Thursday. 

Certain parties were practically salivating at the prospect of an iPad Pro the moment its seemingly-natural companion piece the iPad Air was announced earlier this year.

Well, according to rumors Apple may have a 4k “iPad Pro” for launch in October 2014 — joining reports of a next-gen iPad with a 2K display due earlier in the year.

Okay, so December’s generally a fairly quiet news month, but that does mean that we get to look back and remember the year which preceded it.

Well, it seems Apple is getting similarly misty-eyed about the year that was 2013 (either that, or they want to gloat about the phenomenal success of the App Store this year) since the company has just released its annual “Best Of” list — revealing the top iPhone and iPad apps according to the numbers.

It’s the season for new iPhones and iPads. If you’re buying a new device you may be wondering how to best protect it from the risk of defect or damage. Aside from using a case, you may also be thinking about purchasing a supplemental protection plan.

There’s a reason why many consumer rights advocates agree that protection plans are a bad deal for consumers. The plans are expensive and only a small fraction of people that buy them actually end up using them. With that said, some people find value in the peace of mind and ease of repair that protection plans offer.

If you do decide extra protection is right for you then weigh your options carefully. Protection plans aren’t cheap and their terms and conditions vary widely from one plan to another. Buying an overly-expensive plan or assuming that a plan offers coverage where it doesn’t can be a frustrating and costly mistake.

So, how do your options stack up? Let’s look at a few of them with a focus towards plans most suitable for the new iPhone 5S. Hopefully this article will give you some ideas about the types of things you can look out for when you’re shopping for protection plans. You’ll find a table summarizing the protection plans at the end of this article.

Apple’s One-Year Limited Warranty

While not technically a protection plan, Apple’s One-Year Limited Warranty is your first line of defense. It comes included with every new or refurbished Mac including the iPhone and iPad regardless of where you purchase it. For example, if you buy a new iPhone 5S from your local T-Mobile store it’s still covered by Apple’s One-Year Limited Warranty. The warranty covers your device from manufacturing and design defects, but it does not protect it from theft, loss, or accidental damage. As the name suggests, it gives you coverage for one year. If you find a defect within that first year, Apple will repair or replace your device, free of charge. There is no signup fee; there is no deductible.

If you spot a defect, contact Apple as soon as you can and arrange to have your device repaired or replaced. If Apple fails fix your defect, bring it back to Apple again, repeating as many times as necessary. Apple must fix your defective device, replace it, or give you a full refund if, after a reasonable number of repair attempts, Apple fails to fix it.

If defects are your main concern, then remember that Apple’s One-Year Limited Warranty provides very good protection at no extra cost to you. If, however, you are genuinely concerned about loss, theft, accidental, damage or extended warranty coverage beyond the first year then maybe a protection plan is right for you.

AppleCare+

Despite recent price changes, AppleCare+ is still the Cadillac of protection plans in terms of convenience and service. AppleCare+ offers extended warranty coverage and protection from accidental damage from handling (known as “ADH”). AppleCare+ is only available for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and iPod Classic and for those devices AppleCare+ is your only AppleCare option (i.e. you cannot purchase standard AppleCare for those devices).

The plan’s convenience and service quality are its standout features. First, Apple is your one-stop-shop for everything you need. You can buy AppleCare+ along with your device, or any time within 30 days after purchase. When doing the latter, Apple does require you to have your device inspected either in-person at an Apple Store or through remote diagnostic by calling (800) 275-2273. Servicing your device under AppleCare+ is also extremely convenient. You can choose from the many service options Apple offers: carry-in to an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider (“AASP”), mail-in service, do-it-yourself service (“DIY”), etc. Carry-in service often results same-day service, which is as good as it gets.

Second, you should expect parts and labor under AppleCare+ to be of the highest quality because Apple, the original manufacturer, is doing the work. It’s one thing to say Apple has a great track record in this regard, which it does, but Apple also backs it up on paper. The AppleCare+ policy states that when repairing your device Apple will use new parts or parts that are equivalent to new in performance and reliability.

This is actually a very high standard when compared to other protection plans, which often leave the quality of replacement parts up to the discretion of the provider or only guarantee to use refurbished or re-manufactured parts. Apple also guarantees any parts and labor tendered under AppleCare+ through the duration of the plan, so you have recourse if there are problems with parts or labor.

AppleCare+ does have its drawbacks. It has always been one of the more expensive protection plans and upcoming changes to AppleCare policies and procedures may, someday, render it a less attractive option. The recent increase to the ADH service fee has made it even more expensive. AppleCare+ for the iPhone will now cost you $99 up front and $79 per ADH incident (limited to two ADH incidents). AppleCare+ for the iPad will now cost you $99 up front and $49 per ADH incident (limited to two ADH incidents).

Additionally, Apple may be making changes to its repair and replacement procedures, which could negatively impact quality and convenience. Rumors have been circulating that Apple is poised to begin repairing certain types of defect and damage at its retail locations.

While this may sound like a great idea, remember that Apple’s current procedure for carry-in service for many devices is to simply give you a new device. The current process usually takes a matter of minutes, which is one of the plan’s best features. If these proposed changes become a reality, then you may be forced to wait while a technician performs the repair work. Time will tell whether this negatively impacts the quality of service, but it will most certainly increase the amount of time you need to wait for a repair.

Third-Party Protection Plans

If you’re looking for coverage or pricing options that are different from AppleCare+, then third-party protection plans may be a good alternative. Third-party protection plans give you diverse options in terms of cost, coverage, and service.

However, the diversity in these plans is a double-edged sword because they vary widely depending on who is offering the plan, what you’re protecting, and specific protection options (e.g. two-year vs. three-year terms, deductible-free plans, etc.). To make things more difficult, important information is often buried deep in contract legalese.

The devil is in the details: read the fine print and evaluate your choices carefully in terms of pricing, coverage, and service. For simplicity’s sake, let’s compare SquareTrade’s iPhone 5S protection plans to AppleCare+ for the iPhone 5S (prices and plan options as of September 2013).

Pricing differs both in terms of the signup fee and ADH service fee. SquareTrade’s iPhone protection plans cost between $124 for up to two years of coverage and $154 for up to three years of coverage. AppleCare+ costs $99 for two years of coverage. SquareTrade does offer special promotional pricing from time to time. AppleCare prices generally do not change. For repairs, SquareTrade’s plan costs $50 per ADH incident for the iPhone 5S whereas AppleCare+ costs $79 per ADH incident.

Term of coverage is also different. AppleCare+ provides two years of extended warranty support plus two incidents of ADH. There are no other limits on support or service. SquareTrade gives you up to two or three years of extended warranty support (depending on the plan you buy) plus up to four incidents of ADH, but limits the life of the protection plan to the value of the protected device. Note the emphasis placed on “up to” when describing SquareTrade’s plan. Once SquareTrade performs repair or replacement services that, in aggregate, add up to the value of your insured device the plan is terminated and your device is no longer covered.

These differences in coverage term can impact you in unexpected ways. For example, consider how the different coverage terms play out in situations involving warranty-type defect repair (i.e. defects typically covered by warranty). If your iPhone is still under its One-Year Limited Warranty Apple will service it under that, no questions asked.

If your iPhone is no longer covered by its one-year warranty Apple will service your iPhone under AppleCare+ (assuming you purchased AppleCare+). Under AppleCare+ Apple will repair or replace your defective device with no limitations just as it did under the warranty period. Warranty-type service does not carry a deductible, it do not count as an ADH incident, and there are no limitations on number of defect repairs.

Under SquareTrade’s protection plan, SquareTrade will refer you to Apple if your iPhone is still covered by its one-year warranty. If your iPhone is not covered by its warranty, then SquareTrade will have you mail it to them so they can do the repairs. There is no deductible for warranty-type service under SquareTrade’s plans either, but the cost of repairs will be deducted from the life of your protection plan.

SquareTrade deducts the value of any repairs or replacements from your contract regardless of whether the problem is related to a defect (extended warranty service) or ADH. Therefore, depending on the particulars of your situation, you could end up getting far less coverage with SquareTrade’s protection plan than with AppleCare+. It will to depend on the number and type of issues you have.

For example, let’s say SquareTrade values your iPhone at $549 and during the second year of ownership a manufacturing defect in the iPhone’s screen renders it inoperable. SquareTrade will service your iPhone, but it will deduct the value of the repair from your protection plan contract. If SquareTrade values the repair at $230 then you will have $319 left of coverage ($549 – $230 = $319) under the protection plan. Should misfortune strike again, you had better hope the cost of repair doesn’t exceed $319. Under AppleCare+ the warranty service will not impact your remaining ADH coverage in any way.

Finally, the service is very different. You can expect both the process and quality of repair services to vary dramatically between third-party protection plans. No matter how you look at it, there is more red tape involved under third-party protection plans than there is under AppleCare+.

AppleCare+ lets you choose from a number of different service options including carry-in and mail-in service, while most third-party protection plans require that you mail your device in for repair. Although SquareTrade does let you bring your device to Apple (essentially carry-in service), you will need to pay Apple up-front for any service Apple performs and then submit the bill to SquareTrade for reimbursement. It’s a process, which takes time.

The quality of repair services also varies. As mentioned above, AppleCare+ guarantees a high standard: replacement parts are guaranteed to be new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability. Not all third-party protection programs make specific guarantees about labor or replacement parts. Many of these plans guarantee only re-manufactured parts, refurbished parts, parts of merchantable quality, or are silent on the subject altogether. SquareTrade guarantees new or refurbished parts. The quality of repair parts and/or workmanship may matter to you and, if it does, you should take time to understand how different protection plans will repair your device.

Carrier Insurance Plans

Mobile carrier insurance plans are just third-party protection plans offered directly by your mobile carrier (usually through an affiliated insurance company). Many of the same caveats with mobile carrier insurance plans also apply to other third-party protection plans – read the fine print.

Two of the biggest advantages of mobile carrier insurance plans are their low up-front cost and extensive coverage. First, mobile insurance plans typically do not charge a hefty signup fee. For example, AT&T’s Mobile Insurance Plan for the iPhone 5S costs $6.99 per month for the duration of AT&T’s standard two-year mobile services contract. If spending $99 or more up front on a protection plan isn’t in your budget right now, then perhaps a low monthly fee would work better for you.

Second, mobile insurance plans typically offer far more coverage in terms of types of loss and amount of coverage than you might get with AppleCare+ or third-party protection plans. AT&T’s Mobile Insurance Plan protects your device from “loss,” which it defines as accidental loss, theft, ADH, or warranty-type failure outside of coverage period of the original manufacturers warranty. AppleCare+ and SquareTrade do not cover lost or stolen devices. AT&T’s Mobile Insurance Plan guarantees protection from two loss incidents per twelve-month period, for a total of four loss incidents over the life of your contract. The coverage value for each incident is capped at $1500, which is more than enough to cover an iPhone 5s (although each loss incident also carries a hefty deductible). AppleCare+ and SquareTrade have more stringent limits due to ADH allotments or limitations on value of service (discussed earlier).

The biggest disadvantages of mobile carrier insurance plans are that they’re extremely expensive in the long term and they suffer from many of the same process and service quality headaches common to third-party protection plans.

The overall prices are staggering for both the overall cost of premium and deductible. AT&T’s Mobile Insurance Plan costs around $170 over its term and $199 per loss incident (the latest iPhone is considered Equipment Tier 3). It’s also worth emphasizing that AT&T’s Mobile Insurance Plan considers warranty-type failure as loss and, therefore, there is a $199 service fee charge for extended warranty repair, whereas AppleCare+ and SquareTrade do not charge a deductible for extended warranty service (i.e. repairs or replacements due to manufacturing defect).

Process and quality of service considerations are similar to other third-party protection plans. AT&T’s Mobile Insurance has a claims filing process, which imposes certain duties that you need to understand. For example, if your loss incident involves any violation of law or loss of possession (e.g. your iPhone 5S was stolen) you are required to promptly notify local law enforcement and obtain proof of that notification. If you have ever had to report stolen property to the authorities, you know that it is not often a very convenient or streamlined process…

AT&T’s Mobile Insurance also makes limited guarantees about replacement parts and devices. The plan only guarantees new AT&T Certified Like-New, remanufactured, or other models of like, kind and quality. Just so that there’s no confusion, AT&T’s brochure even goes so far as to state that device colors are not guaranteed. Would AT&T dare replace your gold iPhone 5S with a space gray one? Probably not, but according to the contract language they could.

Credit Card Purchase Protection

Credit card purchase protection programs offer a superb way to mitigate risk without paying out-of-pocket for a protection plan. A number of different companies offer cards (credit and debit) that include automatic purchase protection.

Credit card purchase protection programs give you additional but limited return, extended warranty, ADH, loss and theft protection for anything you buy using the card. There are no enrollment conditions; there are no signup fees; there are no deductibles. Although many cards that offer purchase protection charge annual fees there are plenty that do not. For example, the AMEX Blue Cash Everyday card has no annual fee and includes purchase protection as one of its benefits.

Credit card protection programs typically offer extensive coverage from ADH, loss, or theft for up to 90 days after purchase and extend the terms of any manufacturer’s warranty by a year or more beyond expiration. For example, AMEX’s purchase protection program will extend Apple’s One-Year Limited Warranty by one year after it expires. Moreover, AMEX’s purchase protection program also extends manufacturer service plans by up to one year (i.e. AppleCare+ because Apple is the manufacturer).

For example, if you sign up for AppleCare+, AMEX’s purchase protection plan will give you extended warranty protection for one year beyond the expiration of AppleCare+. This would mean you get a full three years of protection from warranty-type defects by combining AppleCare+ and AMEX’s purchase protection program.

The biggest drawbacks to credit card protection programs are their limited coverage, varying terms and conditions, and lack of convenience compared to more comprehensive protection plans such as AppleCare+ or SquareTrade. Coverage from loss, theft, or ADH lasts only for a short time; after 90 days you’re on your own.

Terms and conditions vary between cards. For example, where AMEX will add plus one year to any manufacturer warranty or manufacturer-provided service plan, up to a total of five years after purchase, MasterCard’s protection program will not extend warranty coverage beyond three years under any circumstances. While this is not an issue for iPhone and iPad AppleCare+ plans, it may pose one for standard AppleCare plans (i.e. standard AppleCare for a MacBook Air). Finally, there is a claims process and claims are typically paid out in the form of cash or credit as opposed to repair or replacement services. It’s less convenient, but did I mention purchase protection is free?

Here is a table summarizing some of the key points of the plans we discussed in this article.

Completely redesigned from the ground up, the best-selling Roxio Toast 11 Titanium features a new user interface that’s both innovative and intuitive.

With newly refined workflows, built-in video tutorials and much more, Toast 11 is the ultimate digital media toolkit for newcomers and experienced users alike. And Cult of Mac Deals has it for 50% off the regular price – only $49.99 – during this limited time offer.

I’d thought I’d seen it all when it comes to misogynistic, women-as-objects gamification strategies out there, but apparently there’s yet another fine example sent directly to our Cult of Mac inbox recently.

Here’s the pitch for oh-so-scintillating dating simulator, “Mingling At The Gallery:”

Don’t have the time or comfortability to go out, date and meet new people? That’s no longer a problem because ZOOB has created a game providing the experience of your own dating adventure, mingling with people through an engaging, fun and educational iOS app called “Mingling at the Gallery.”

Sure, the company name sounds like the ugly stepsister of n00b + boob, but it might be fun to play a game about the complex interactions needed in successfully navigating a night out at an art gallery, with maybe some tips thrown in for those of us who need a little practice.

Then I watched the promo video.

LEGOs have been morphing Apple products into dinosaurs and miniature cities for as long as I can remember, but rarely are the Apple/LEGO mashups as useful as the twist a pair of advertising professionals from Norway put on this Macintosh Classic.

Jason Kinsella and Charlotte Bakken decided to combine their love of Apple and LEGOs to create a touch screen Macintosh Classic. The duo from Oslo started by recreating a scale model of the 1984 Apple machine but had to make a few adjustments to the design to fit the iPad, resulting in a fun looking dock you can to sit back and watch a movie from.

Checkout the entire transformation in the time lapse video below:

Weather apps have a depressing tendency to be iPhone-only, as if iPad owners have never idly wondered whether it was raining outside or not. Yahoo’s gorgeous, Flickr-integrated Weather app was one of these, but no longer: version 1.5 of the Yahoo Weather app has snuck past the gates of the App Store, bringing iPad support to the mix as well as some welcome new social features.

Budding musicians out there in the Cult of Macosphere may be interested to check out new app, Caustic, which promises to offer an impressive rack-mount synthesizer for iOS, featuring a total of 14 different machines and multiple effects.