The other day, our Google-loving friends over at Cult of Android breathlessly hopped on a story suggesting that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak wanted Apple to make an Android smartphone.
It was always a bizarre story — what could Apple possibly have to gain from that, when it is already has the best-selling smartphone in the world — but it certainly made for a good headline. The only problem? Woz says he never meant it.
Evidence that Apple is going big with sapphire is overwhelming. But the reasons for Apple’s sapphire obsession range from scratch-resistant screens to solar-charging screens.
I have another theory: Apple wants to eliminate both the need and the desire for an iPhone case, cover or sleeve. There’s a lot more to this idea than simple scratch resistance.
Here’s my case for Apple’s case against cases.
The Cable Key is a seamless solution to all your power needs. This lightweight charger cable is there when you need it and out of the way when you don’t. The high-speed USB 2.0 connection ensures a quick charging session while allowing you to enjoy your device, uninterrupted.
Cult of Mac Deals has this little wonder for 62% off during this limited time offer – just $14.99!
The capabilities of today’s are so incredible, a few weeks ago we came across a 20-year old RadioShack ad and everything you could buy has already been made obsolete by the iPhone. Still, the iPhone’s powers are so much greater than those products it doesn’t do justice to compare it to a $29.99 speed dial phone, so Bret Swanson at Tech Policy Daily decided to find out how much an iPhone would really cost in 1991.
Swanson’s back-of-the-envelope math estimates it would have cost Apple over $3 million to make a machine with comparable powers to the iPhone back in 1991, and that’s only counting some of the hardware.
Reporter is a crazy iPhone app that tracks… well, everything. It pops up an alert at random intervals throughout the day and conducts a mini survey, then puts all this data together to be mined at your leisure.
Remember the report from yesterday that said that Sochi Olympics sponsor Samsung was asking athletes to cover up their iPhone logos? Not something athletes need to worry about, according to the International Olympic Committee. But that doesn’t mean Samsung didn’t ask.
While I’m a huge fan of the new Control Center on iOS, I can see where it might not be the best thing to have enabled on the lock screen. We’ve all left our iPhone or iPad out in places where folks might be able to get a hold of it, and you might not want those folks messing about with your settings.
Once you take Control Center out of your Lock Screen, you’ll have to enter your password (or use Touch ID) to authenticate to your phone before you can use Control Center, which is a pain, but so will anyone else, making your device just that much more secure.
We’ve all likely done it: you’re sending a text message — only to find out after hitting the “send” button that your carefully crafted comments have fallen victim to some embarrassing autocorrect abomination.
Clearly someone at Apple has had the same experience, since a new Apple patent suggests that future iPhones may include an option for correcting messages after the user has instructed the device to send, but before the transmittal of the message has taken place.
We’ve shown you how to enable the hidden Smart Mailboxes in iOS 7, which is a great way to manage your email in Apple’s own built-in Mail app.
If you’re like many of us, though, you’ll have a few folders for organizing your mail as it comes in. I use Mailbox on my iPhone, but Mail app on my iPad, and I want to be able to access the Mailbox “Follow Up” folder on my iPad without having to tap through a ton of different folder hierarchies.
It’s relatively easy to set your Mail app up to add any folders you have in any of your email accounts.
I love the press-to-shoot feature of Instagram’s video mode: it stops you from making one long boring take to fill up that eight seconds or however long it is that you get. But maybe you want to make a boring one-shot clip, or you’re planning on making the world’s shortest remake of Hitchcock’s Rope. Whatever, this neat trick from Photojojo is for you.
I’ll admit it. The main reason I’m posting about the beautiful Project Bloom iPhone case is the hedgehog. Specifically Woody, the African Pygmy hedgehog that you see in the photo above.
But that’s not to say that the case isn’t worth a look. It is. So Let’s.
How about an app which lets you view your entire iPhoto or Aperture library on your iPad, without syncing, and without having either of the Mac apps running? That’s PhotoScope, a $5 universal app for iPad and iPhone which does just that.
At an RRP of $200, the Solarpad isn’t the cheapest solar charger for your iPhone, but it does aim to be the best. Every detail has been tweaked to squeeze the last drop of juice from the Sun’s photons, from the battery itself (the same kind as Tesla uses in its cars apparently), through the efficient charge controller (form Maxim) to the cables themselves (fatter, to let the current flow more easily, says the blurb).
What’s more, you can pitch in early on Kickstarter and get a full setup for just $158 (right now anyway – the campaign only just launched).
Unread is an iPhone alternative to the king of iPad RSS readers, Mr Reader. Not that it works the same way, or looks anything like Mr Reader, or has anything to do with it at all. No, the thing that the new super-minimal, gesture-based Unread has in common with Mr Reader is sharing.
Cult of Mac reader Rob J asks,
Having an issue with the conference call feature on iOS 7 and thought you might be able to help. Getting everyone on the call is no problem but I can’t seem to figure out how to have a private conversation with one person in the call.
Luckily, it’s pretty easy to do, if not super intuitive.
Gross is an iPhone app that’ll tell you just how lazy you’ve been for the last week. And believe me, unless you’re managing to get out an exercise in the middle of this icy winter, then the first time you fire up the app you’ll probably find yourself saying it’s name out loud.
The Super Bowl is tomorrow, and Apple’s iBeacon will be there. The New York Times reported this week that iPhone owners in East Rutherford, New Jersey (where MetLife Stadium where the Super Bowl is) — and also in some areas of New York City — will be part of an iBeacon-based advertising gimmick. The NFL Mobile app has been iBeacon enabled, and users will get pop up messages with advertising, offers to buy merchandise and information about NFL exhibits. Here’s the best part. When iBeacon detects that you’re in a long line at the game, you’ll get an alert telling you where in the stadium you can buy the same junk food but with shorter lines.
The use of iBeacon creates a high-visibility showcase for Apple’s new indoor location technology. But the Super Bowl is just one of many splashy applications.
If your iPhone takes a beating, you’ll want to invest in a product that’s designed with the worst case pun intended scenario in mind.
The team at Spigen thought outside the box and created the first case to introduce Air Cushion Technology – pockets of air in the corners reduce the thickness of the case while providing optimal drop protection. And Cult of Mac Deals has The iPhone 5/5s Tough Armor Protection Kit at a savings of 50% off – just $39.99 – as part of our ongoing Black Friday promotional offers.
You know those times when you are just about to head out of the house, and you grab your iPhone, only to notice that you’ve got hardly any juice left? Yeah, me too.
When you need a quick charge on your iPhone or iPad, there’s a chimp-simple way to get it charged faster than usual, and it’s available with a quick tap or two.
Tim Cook has made a journey over to Ireland this week to visit with staff at the company’s Cork offices. Along with addressing the 4,000 employees responsible for assembling the MacBook Pro, Cook also met up with the country’s prime minister, Taoiseach Enda Kenny today to talk about Apple’s presence in the country, and the Irish tax laws that help it avoid paying billions extra.
The Irish Prime Minister denied claims that the Irish government courts multinational companies like Apple to give them special deals on their corporate tax rate. According to a report from theJournal.ie, Edna Kenny said the tax issue came up during his conversation with Cook and told him they’re in discussions with the OECD about an international response, but the country’s statutory rate of 12.5% applies to all companies.
At Macworld/iWorld last year, I had the opportunity to get a look at The iSlider by Rain Design. After using it for a bit, the folks at Rain Design decided to let me have one to use for review purposes. And after only a few days of use, The iSlider became my go-to iPad stand.
Cult of Mac has reviewed The iSlider before, and while I’ve used several stands for my iPad in the past (among them are the ZAGGmate and the Kribbit) The iSlider is by far the most versatile and best-designed stand I’ve ever used. It’s made me more efficient and effective when using my iPad, which is exactly the kind of thing I like in my tools. And right now Cult of Mac Deals is offering The iSlider for just $39.99.
I’ve had iPhones for years, but I’ve never really been keen on using one that wasn’t jailbroken. As much as I love iOS, some of Apple’s decisions always kept my iPhone from working exactly how I wanted it to.
Jailbreaking gave me the ability to sidestep those limitations and make iOS my own. I could experience some of the freedom that Android users have grown to love while retaining the reliability, stability and polish of iOS. While I was frustrated that Apple wasn’t making major changes to improve its platform, I was happy that I could make them myself using unauthorized third-party tweaks.
Then I started using iOS 7, and everything changed.
Apple has regained its lead over Android in the battle for U.S. smartphone marketshare, according to the latest report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).
Going by CIRP’s figures, in the final quarter of 2013 iOS eked out a 2 percent advantage over Android — with Apple capturing 48 percent of the market to Google’s 46 percent.
Quick! If you want to bake iPhone-shaped cookies, you should grab this i-Cookie Cutter from ThinkGeek before Samsung buys them all up to help it make more iPhone clones.
WordPress is one of the titans of desktop blogging, but when it comes to mobile, the WordPress app has been my least favorite ways of publishing from my iPhone. Since the release of iOS 7 though the company has pushed to revamp their app, including an update today that brings a redesigned post editing experience.
The free update is available in the App Store now but is exclusively for iOS 7, bringing with it an enhanced Reader section so you can follow your favorite blogs while you blog. They’ve also improved inline commenting, notifications, and stats while throwing in lots of bug fixes into the mix.
Here’s the full list of changes: