iPhone - page 244

Ever since Jony Ive took over Apple’s industrial design, it has been important to Cupertino to make their products out of material with authenticity and substance, not just cheap plastic. In the pursuit of these goals, Apple has managed to revolutionize the mass-production of not one, but two different materials that had previously gone virtually unused in gadgets, at least externally: glass and aluminum. And Apple’s made big plays to experiment with even more cutting-edge materials, like Liquid Metal.

Here’s a question, then. Apple likes to make its Macs and iPhones out of materials that feel authentic, that give them a unique look and feel. In the pursuit of those materials, Apple has revolutionized at least a couple of industrial design processes.

So what if Jony Ive got it in his head to make iPhones out of wood?

When you set up a personal hotspot on your iOS device, the first thing you should do is delete the password Apple generates for your and enter your own. Researchers at the University of Erlangen in Germany have discovered a way to crack Apple’s hotspot passwords in under a minute, leaving your iOS device vulnerable to attack.

NEC became the world’s first and only smartphone manufacturer to launch a liquid-cooled handset back in May, but it may quickly lose that claim later this year. According to some sources, a number of high-profile smartphones makers, including Apple, Samsung, and HTC, will be launching their own liquid-cooled devices in the fourth quarter.

I’m completely reliant on Mailbox for my mail processing now: it’s just so easy to swipe and tap my way to an empty inbox that I prefer using my iPhone over the iPad or even the Mac to get things done (the iPad version of Mailbox is plain terrible, with a janky layout and tiny tiny body text for many messages).

But iPhone mail newcomer Ninja Mail might usurp Mailbox’s place in my daily e-mail “workflow.” No, it can’t file things for later, or even send the messages to folders. But it has one thing that makes it amazing fun to use: Swishing sword sounds that accompany every swipe.

Admit it: When your iPhone/iPad/camera lens/spectacles get greasy fingerprints all over it, you don't reach for a microfiber cloth,right? Nope. You do exactly what everyone else does, and polish off the dirt with a corner of your shirt.

But what if you could continue with your filthy (if rather popular) habit, but with the magical results of microfiber? Thanks to the Voy Voy Summer Oxford, you can.

Hitcase Pro, like Tony Stark’s iron suit, is the penultimate protection for your iPhone 5, even when it’s flying through the air.

That’s because, like the red Avenger, Hitcase Pro isn’t just a suit of armor, like so many cases before it. No, this one’s built for action, with some special mounting and lens capabilities that encourage you take your lovely iPhone on adventures you ordinarily should not, all so you can use its camera to record the chaos and prove you survived.

With the iPhone 5S shaping up to be pretty much an identical device to last year’s iPhone 5 except a marginally faster processor and (fingers crossed!) some cool new fingerprint sensor technology, eyes are on the so-called “budget iPhone” as 2013’s new hotness.

Although the ‘budget iPhone’ will address the mid-market, it’s still an exciting device, rumored to be the first iPhone to come in an iPod-palette of colors. Otherwise, though, we don’t know a lot about what it looks like.

Far East case makers might, though. MGM Corporation, an Asian casemaker, has posted a first look at a case for the budget iPhone. It doesn’t show much, except that the budget iPhone is about 2mm thicker than the iPhone 5, and has rounded corners instead of the iPhone 5’s square shape.

Here’s some video, showing it from all sides.

I play the street life
Because there’s no place I can go
Street life
It’s the only life I know
Street life
And there’s a thousand cards to play
Street life
Until you play your life away

So go the lyrics to Randy Crawford’s fantastic Street Life, which is not — as far as I know — the official song of AT&T and Goal Zero’s new “collabo” Street Charge.

Street Charge is a new scheme which will see AT&T deploying solar charging stations throughout New York City.

PhotoStation 2.0 brings layer support to the powerful but unintuitive photo editing app. Now you can use bezier clipping paths to adjust and fine-tune your image selections on multiple layers, letting you make edits that you usually expect to do on the desktop.

Shazam released version 6.1 of its iOS today on the App Store. The new version comes with a special feature called ‘Pulse’ that can be used to discover new music that is trending on Shazam’s charts.

Included in the big update is a new look for the tab bar, better chart updates, improved Friends page loading, and of course some bug fixes. The new version is available on both iPhone and iPad in the App Store for free.

Here are the release notes:

As you may know, Apple released the first beta for its upcoming iOS 7 this past week, after an announcement at WWDC just prior.

We’ll take you through some lesser known features with our tips for a bit, giving you a sneak peek into the workings of the newest system to hit the iPhone. Be aware, however, that as this is beta software, any of these features and tips could change before iOS 7 hits the streets this coming fall. In addition, be sure that you’re not using a beta iOS 7 on an iPhone you need to get work done on–Apple has provided it without guarantee for developers to start working with, not for you to use on any mission critical tasks.

That said, let’s check out Mail, the built-in app for checking and sending your email from Apple. One of the biggest things I’ve always wished for in the previous app is a way to mark all the messages in my inbox as read in one fell swoop.

It looks like, in iOS 7 beta, anyway, that you can do just that. Here’s how.

You know what I’m thinking? I’m thinking it’s been three whole days since I posted about a wooden iPhone case. And since the last one before that was maybe at the beginning of last week, I’m thinking it’s about time for another one. So here it is: The Colors Handcarved Wood iPhone 5 Case.

In May 2012 several U.S. carriers started rolling out a nationwide wireless emergency alerts (WEA) system for wireless subscribers. The free service is intended to share information about natural disasters and other location-centric news, like AMBER alerts.

Over the weekend AT&T announced that it is bringing WEA to its iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S owners across the country. The service will be enabled via a carrier firmware update that has started rolling out to subscribers on iOS 6.1 and higher.

My first impression on seeing iOS 7 on my iPhone was: What is this, a My Little Pony theme?

But after scrutinizing, analyzing, deconstructing and living with the new version, I’m ready to declare iOS 7 an unambiguous masterpiece, a stroke of genius, really.

That may sound like a weird thing to say about a fruity, copycat platform that crashes constantly. But it’s true, and I’ll tell you why.

Have you ever had the chance to play with a remote-controlled helicopter? If you haven’t…you’ve been missing out.

The Robocopter GST Special Edition with Hyperbrain Controller (aka – the iHelicopter) is the go-to remote control toy for the 21st century. From Extreme Fliers – the leading brand of remote-controlled toys – comes a remote-controlled Helicopter. But this toy’s remote is your iPhone!

The fun begins here at Cult of Mac Deals, because we’ve got the iHelicopter for just $49.99.

iBooks has been a big successful venture for Apple — despite the ongoing price fixing case from the Department of Justice — but it’s a service that may never have been if Eddy Cue hadn’t convinced Steve Jobs it would be awesome on the iPad.

Before Apple was gearing up to launch its popular tablet in late 2009, Steve Jobs wasn’t interested in the iBooks idea, and he felt e-books had no place on desktops and small smartphone displays.

Got wood? Good. Then you won’t be interested in the new Clic Wooden case from Native Union. It’s a rather slick little number featuring a solid cherry wood back panel with a high-gloss plastic insert.

Microsoft has launched Office Mobile for iPhone today, allowing Office 365 subscribers to access and edit their Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents stored in SkyDrive, SkyDrive Pro, or SharePoint from virtually anywhere. The app boasts support for charts, animations, SmartArt graphics and shapes, and more.

As the summer vacation season hits in our neck of the woods, there’s bound to be plenty of photos being taken of people having fun in the sun. Whether you’re using a simple point-and-shoot, a high-end DSLR, or even your smartphone – the photo-taking process doesn’t end once you take the shot. You’re going to want to make that shot look as great as possible afterward – and that’s where the latest Cult of Mac Deals offer can offer you a big hand.

With The MacPhun Photo Editor Bundle, you’ll get three stellar photo apps in Snapheal, FX Studio Pro, and ColorStroke. Buying all of these apps outside of this offer would run you $69 – but Cult of Mac Deals is offering you a 56% savings on these apps in this bundle. You can get all three apps in The MacPhun Photo Editor Bundle for just $29.99 for a limited time.

Apple could add a third color option to its iPhone lineup this fall when the Cupertino company launches the iPhone 5S. According to a “trusted” source, the device will be available in gold as well as black and white, while the low-cost iPhone that will launch alongside it will be available in 5 different colors inspired by Apple’s iPhone 4 Bumper cases.

While competing smartphone manufacturers are producing devices in a whole host of different sizes, Apple’s iPhone has had only two screen sizes in its six-year history. But according to four sources with knowledge of Apple’s plans, who have been speaking to Reuters, the Cupertino company is “considering” iPhones with 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch displays.

It is also said to be working on a cheaper iPhone that will come in a range of different colors.

It looks like the new photo filters in iOS 7 are lossless. That is, the original, untouched image file is saved as is, and the effect is applied on-the-fly. This is how non-destructive editing apps like Lightroom and Aperture do their thing.

iOS 7 has been released in beta form to those who have paid for a developer account with Apple, but the rest of the general public will have to wait. Apple plans to ship iOS 7 to the world later this fall, so for now you’re limited to seeing screenshots online and the occasional GIF.

Unless you have a jailbroken iPhone, that is. Here’s how to create iOS 7 on iOS 6.

We’ve already told you why you probably shouldn’t install the new iOS 7 beta; it’s not just that the icons suck, but there are good reasons why beta releases should be avoided if you’re not a developer — particularly if you plan to use them on your primary device.

But if you went ahead and did it anyway, and now you’re looking for a way back, look no further. Despite what Apple says, iOS 7 can be downgraded to iOS 6 — and it’s pretty simple. Here’s how to do it in just two steps.

The iPhone camera is already so much better for utility photography than a regular camera, why not use it to replace your scanner, too? That’s the idea behind the ScanDock, a combo stand, lighting rig and companion app for scanning pretty much anything on paper.