Apple names a new and noteworthy app each week as its App of the Week. This week, it’s Simplebot’s Rise Alarm Clock, a universal alarm clock that’s getting quite a bit of buzz in the tech sector.
Let’s face it, alarm clocks are a dime nickel a dozen, so it’s ironic to see one hit the top spot on the App Store. The app evokes another big buzz app, Clear: it’s well-designed, looks great, and works with simple swipes and taps; what’s not to love?
The Roku iOS app got another update today. In addition to the previous “Play on Roku” feature which let users stream music and static images to the set top media box, the company has now added the ability to stream video directly from the iOS app as well.
In a market that includes Apple TV and Google’s nascent Chromecast technology, Roku is making some positive steps to stay relevant.
Apple is in the early stages of building a new R&D facility in Taiwan which will house an engineering development team to work on the next-generation iPhone, according to internal communications from Apple viewed by VR Zone.
Right now, the facility is just in the recruiting phase of the process, but rather than advertising the job listings, Apple has chosen to hunt for candidates via word of mouth alone. Apple is looking to hire a number of experienced and junior level engineers who will work out of Taipei on next-gen tech for the iPhone and report directly to the Apple spaceship in Cupertino.
Rdio announced this morning that it is launching a new personalized radio station feature to take on Pandora and iTunes Radio. The new radio station feature, dubbed You FM, combines users’ listening history with track voting, Facebook likes, Twitter follows and more to give each user an individualized experience.
Users can tune stations towards familiar or adventurous sounds or pivot it based on your favorite tracks. The new stations feature is available now on the App Store, Google Play and the web.
Here are the other features Rdio added:
Social networks have trained us to share all the superfluous details of ourselves, but a new app called Leftover Swap is trying to take things to the next level by allowing users to share leftover scraps of meals with one another.
Hungry, but too cheap to buy a $0.99 hot dog down the street? With LeftoverSwap you can just pull up a map of discarded meals in your area, make a selection, and then go pick it up from your neighbor.
If you’re a hobbyist who wants to get really creative with your animation or are a budding animator who wants to make waves with your work online, then this award-winning piece of software might give you the upper hand in either case. And by “award-winning,” I mean that this app won Macworld/iWorld 2013 Best of Show. Having spent time on the exhibit floor at Moscone during that event, I saw a ton of great apps so (while I haven’t tested this app out) winning that award gives it some serious credibility.
CrazyTalk 7 Pro is the app I’m referring to–and Cult of Mac Deals has it for only $99 for a very limited time.
Android’s share of the worldwide smartphone market increased yet again during the second quarter of 2013, while the iPhone suffered a slight dip, according to the latest figures from IDC. But Research Manager Ramon Llamas is confident that Apple’s smartphone will recapture more users later this year when the Cupertino company launches the iPhone 5S.
Mobile app, Twine, is trying to do something new in the dating app space. Unlike other dating or random chatting apps like ChatRoulette, Tinder, or OK Cupid, Twine connects you with new people around you and lets you chat and flirt with them without revealing your identity until you decide to.
That’s kind of a big deal, especially for those who find themselves overwhelmed with overly assertive individuals on many online and app-based dating services. Twine also tries to keep things gender balanced, saying that it only allows in equal numbers of each gender (it only recognizes two), so that’s why some folks may be put on a waiting list when they join.
Instagram just pushed out a big update for its iOS and Android apps which gives users the ability to import video from their smartphone libraries into Instagram.
Now you can film video at any time and then splice it together later into a 15-second video to import into Instagram. The update also brings video support to Android 4.0 devices and has a new trim and crop feature so your vids can be molded into perfect squares.
iOS users also pick up a new Automatic Straightening feature that set your photos level with the tap of a button. The new Instagram 4.1 update is available now in the App Store and Google Play.
Source: Instagram
When I opened the mailing box to find three pairs of EarSkinz, I wasn’t super impressed. Especially as this model, the ES2, so closely matched the shape of the EarPods it’s designed for use with, I figured it was just another throwaway product.
My apologies for even writing the above, but imagine my surprise when EarSkinz turned out to be an essential accessory for my set of EarPods. I’m even thinking about buying a pair of ES1s for my older Apple earbuds.
The EarSkinz marketing material claims that the little ES2 silicone earbud coverings will improve the comfort, fit, and sound of a pair of EarPods. I found that they indeed improved the comfort and fit, but I’m not so sure about improving the sound, though of course your mileage may vary.
Now that the iPad has a full-blown camera built in, more and more people are taking pictures with it. Even my old, original iPad has photos I’ve synced to it so that I can display photos in a larger format when I feel the need. But I rarely use the iPad’s Picture Frame mode because, well, considering the way I store the iPad it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
But when I saw The Koala Wall Mount from Dockem–the latest deal at Cult of Mac Deals–I saw a whole new way to make use of the iPad’s Picture Frame mode that makes a whole lot of sense. And looks good in the process.
The FlameStower looks like a clever way to keep your iPhone charged while you’re camping in the wilderness. Just fill its reservoir with water, stick the other end into the flames of your campfire and plug your chosen gadget into the USB port. Relax with the charred meat and beverage of your choice, and—just three hours later—your iPhone will be fully charged.
Spinlister is like Airbnb for bikes. Instead of renting some piece-of-junk city bike for exorbitant rates while you’re on a city vacation, you can instead rent a hipstermobile from a private individual. For—it seems—equally exorbitant rates. And you can of course make some extra cash in your home town renting out your own spare steed.
Apple rejects a lot of iOS apps and games, but Send Me To Heaven has to be the first that was turned away due to the way in which it is played. The aim of the game is to throw your $700 smartphone up into the air as high as you can, but rather unsurprisingly, Apple thinks that this behavior “could result in damage to the user’s device.”
Fortunately, those who enjoy smashing up expensive items can get it on Android instead.
We’ve already seen a whole bunch of iPhone 5S components over the past few months—they’ve even been shown off in hands-on videos—but these high quality images show the changes Apple has made to its Retina display when compared to the iPhone 5 model.
Meet the eleMount, a poseable aluminum mount for your iPhone or—if you’re feeling adventurous—the iPad mini. It’s like a little angle poise elbow for your phone, letting you set it at almost any angle you like.
You should be careful when using third-party chargers for Apple devices. Multiple reports have surfaced recently of iPhone owners being electrocuted by malfunctioning chargers in China.
Apple has announced a new USB Power Adapter Takeback Program for those who wish to swap out their third-party chargers for official ones. The program begins August 16.
If you haven’t gotten to check out The World Ends With You: Solo Remix yet, it’s completely understandable. Publisher Square Enix has a reputation for charging much more than the typical iOS game when it releases its popular games onto Apple’s touchscreen platform. It totally makes sense you might not want to pick it up for $17.99 for your iPhone, let alone $19.99 for your iPad.
If I said that the game, originally released to the dual-screen Nintendo DS, is completely worth every penny of the asking price, would you pick it up? Probably not.
But what if I said that both versions are now much less expensive, with the iPhone version in the App Store at $9.99 and the iPad version at $10.99? If you love innovative, brilliant gaming on the go, you’ll go grab a copy right now. Who knows how long the sale will last?
Those with older iPhones and iPods are now being contacted regarding a possible payout over faulty liquid damage indicators that caused some customers to lose out on free AppleCare repairs. Apple agreed to pay $53 million in a class action lawsuit earlier this year, and those who may be eligible for damages should be receiving an email soon.
I love Google Chrome—it’s my browser of choice on Android, Mac, and iOS. But navigating your bookmarks within the mobile apps is nowhere near as easy as it should be. Fortunately, there’s an awesome little tweak for jailbroken iOS devices that solves that.
It’s called BMarks Bar, and it introduces a handy bookmarks bar that offers one-tap access to your favorite sites.
Over the weekend, President Obama weighed in on the famous Apple vs. Samsung patent disputes by vetoing an import ban proposed by the International Trade Commission that would have prevented Apple from bringing iOS devices older than the iPhone 4S and iPad 3 into the country.
An avowed fan of Apple’s products, it was the first time a U.S. presidential administration had vetoed a product ban by the ITC since 1987, and seemed to signal that the Obama Administration was not going to penalize an American company like Apple in favor of a foreign company like Samsung.
Financial Markets took notice. Samsung’s market cap is down a billion dollars since the vetoing.
Squaready is one of my most-used photo apps on iOS. It has one purpose: to take your rectangular photos and turn them into squares by padding the edges, letting you post them intact to Instagram.
The trouble is, it’s ugly as sin, with the kind of interface that you’d expect to see if Linux and Windows XP got drunk on cider one night and had a little “surprise” appear nine months later.
Happily, Squaregram exists, and its a lot prettier. It also now works with Camera+, and has had some UI tweaks to make it even better.
In the film The Nines, Ryan Reynolds’ writer character uses gaming as a means to get away from the rigors of writing…and I do the same.
One thing that has always fascinated me about gaming isn’t so much the playing of games, but the creation of games. But I’m a storyteller and not a coder, so I’ve left my ideas for stories that could be built into a game environment either unwritten or put to page or screen to read instead.
Friends—this week’s episode of The CultCast is so much fun, you might find yourself doing the Balki Bartokomous dance of joy. Join us and special guest Adam Christianson from the very popular MacCast podcast as we discuss why the low-cost iPhone 5C is a unicorn you might soon see. We’ll cover all the recent rumors. Then, we’ll cover what’s new, like the just-seeded iOS 7 beta 4. Plus, there’s new evidence of a fingerprint sensor coming to future iPhones, but will the 5S be getting the upgrade? All that and so much more!
Have a few LOLs and get caught up on this week’s best Apple stories. Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the audio adventure begin.
Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring this episode. Show notes up next.
It feels like Apple is falling way behind. But I don’t think that’s true.
I believe Apple puts enormous brain power and good judgement into envisioning the Next Big Thing. It takes them a long time to get it to market. But once it’s there, they iterate to perfect the original vision.
In the year or two after Apple launches an iPhone or an iPad, everybody falsely believes Apple can do nothing wrong.
But then, as we get further away from the last launch and closer to the next one, everybody falsely believes Apple can do nothing right.
Completely separate and unrelated to false perceptions about Apple, Google lately has been on fire. And lately they’ve been kicking butt not only in their traditional role of algorithm-based Internet services, but also in Apple’s sandboxes—namely design and hardware.
Apple has never been the kind of company that copies out of a lack of vision. Nor have they avoided copying.
What’s great about Apple is that they develop an ultra-clear vision about how to maximize the user experience, then they make that experience happen regardless of whether the solutions have to be invented, copied or—most commonly—Apple’s own unique spin on something invented elsewhere.
There are many ways in which Apple should not copy Google. But there are six ways Apple should copy Google and, in doing so, make Apple a better company with better products.