iPhone - page 268

I’ve been in love with the iPhone for the past five years. I got the original as soon as it went on sale in the U.K. in November 2007, and I’ve had every model Apple has released ever since. My job has given me the opportunity to play with plenty of other devices over the years — including those powered by Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone — but I’ve always remained loyal to the iPhone and iOS.

That was until a couple months ago, when my contract ended and it was time to decide which smartphone I wanted for the next two years. I already have the iPhone 5 — I bought it unlocked when it was launched back in September — and I wanted an Android device to replace the Samsung Galaxy Nexus I broke late last year. So I decided to pick up the new LG Nexus 4.

I was lucky; I didn’t have to wait six weeks for the device to arrive from Google Play. My carrier had plenty in stock, so a unit was delivered to my door the day after I ordered it. I was looking forward to testing it out, but I figured I’d play around with it for a little bit, then switch straight back to my iPhone 5 for everyday use. Like the Galaxy Nexus, I thought the Nexus 4 would be mostly used for work — testing apps and writing the odd tutorial for Cult of Android.

But boy, how wrong was I.

If you’re one of those people who still uses Pandora, you’re missing out on some really great music apps that have a deeper catalogs of music. Yes, Spotify and Rdio are pretty much the frontrunners in the streaming music scene, but Slacker Radio just got a brand new look that makes it worthy to be oogled at.

The biggest problems with Spotify and Rdio is that most people (like me) are lazy and don’t want to be forced to comb through 11 million songs to find an artist to listen to for the next 42 minutes. Slacker Radio wants to step in and take that pain away by offering 250 DJ curated stations so you can just kick back and enjoy the music without thinking about what to play next.

I’ve always been a fan of Twittelator Neue, a clean Twitter client for iPhone that’s super fast and has a unique way of handling pictures in your timeline. However, I never agreed with its pricing policy. The app costs $4.99 upfront, but users had to pay an extra $1.99 per year on top of that for push notifications.

Fortunately, its creators have had a change of heart. With its latest update, Twittelator Neue provides push notifications for free.

The idea was simple, create a brush and stylus combo tool that gives users an authentic painting experience on the iPad. Born on Kickstarter, the Sensu artist brush for iPad ($40) cruised well past its $7,500 funding goal, sitting pretty at just under $66,000 by the end of its funding deadline.

I now sit here with the product of that idea and Kickstarter cash, and after days of testing and tinkering with it, I can say with all sincerity—the Sensu team was definitely on to something special.

The Pebble smartwatch has been creating a lot of hype lately, and while we’re still waiting to try it out in the Cult of Mac offices, other early reviews have been pretty positive. Apple is rumored to be working on an iWatch, and we’re just starting to get a glimpse of the future of wearable technology with the likes of Pebble.

Pebble is cool because it connects with your iPhone or Android device to display incoming notifications, control music, etc. A new jailbreak tweak takes it one step farther by letting you see all incoming notifications—no matter the app—via Pebble on your wrist.

What’s a better way to strike fear and admiration into your house guests than a portait of Steve Jobs dressed as a Russian Army General? Nothing, that’s what. Except maybe a flamethrower, or pet crocodile. But you don’t have either of those do you?

Replaceface is now selling prints, canvases, cards, cases, skins and even pillows of the portrait of Steve Jobs as a Russian Army General, so you can carry General Steve with you everywhere.

“I was only checking Twitter,” I exclaimed in shock, as she threw my iPhone across the room, shattering it against the brick wall.

“It’s either me, or the iPhone,” she emphatically declared.

I didn’t know what to say. I had only checked Tweetbot while she was looking at her menu. It had finally come to this. Now I had a broken iPhone and a pissed-off girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.

That little story may not have actually happened to me, but I certainly don’t want it to happen in the future. Like many of you, I’m kind of addicted to my iPhone. It can be a problem sometimes. But I have found a way to conquer my addiction and keep my girlfriend happy. No one wants to face the sadness and/or wrath of a loved one who feels neglected. Love is in the air this week with Valentine’s Day, and you want your romantic endeavors with your significant other to be as meaningful as possible. That’s why you need to use your iPhone like a gentleman.

Have you ever wanted to start a blog? Do you have an idea that you’d like to get on the web but don’t know where to begin in terms of design? Have you ever wanted to get a website up and running? Perhaps you’re looking for a new theme to change up your current design?

If you’ve answered yes to any of those questions…keep at it because thanks to this Cult of Mac Deals offer for only $29 you can choose any two WordPress themes of your liking.

The popular jailbreak tweak Zephyr has today been updated to squash a number of incompatibility issues with iOS 6, and to bring the iPad’s four-finger gestures to the iPhone. It now allows you to close apps and swipe between the ones you have running without touching the home button.

The Smarter Stand for iPhone really is smart. It was designed to solve two problems: tangled earbud cords and a slab-like iPhone which insists on slipping off anything you try to prop it against. And it does all this whilst remaining a flat, pocketable piece of plastic.

Speaking at Goldman Sachs today, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked how Apple intended to address market share in emerging markets, in regards to a cheaper iPhone.

Cook’s response didn’t spill any secrets, but did make it clear that Apple wasn’t interested in just hitting a price point for market share. Apple solves pricing problems by inventing entirely new killer products.

Vodafone U.K. has told iPhone 4S users that it’s okay to update their handsets to Apple’s latest iOS 6.1.1 release. The carrier had previously warned that updating to iOS 6.1 could cause connectivity problems, but it has now confirmed that those issues are fixed in the latest release.

Few apps have managed to generate as much hype as Mailbox, a new email client for the iPhone. The company behind Mailbox, Orchestra, first teased the app late last year. Mailbox made its triumphant debut in the App Store this past week. Our own John Brownlee gave it a glowing review and called it, “a flawless execution of a great idea that will completely change how you deal with email.” Sounds promising, no?

Most apps do private beta testing until they’re ready to be unleashed on the world. Orchestra, the app company behind Mailbox, has done things differently. You can download Mailbox in the App Store, but the vast majority of people can’t actually use it right now. There’s a reservation system in place that shows where you are in line and how many people are behind you.

There are currently over 800,000 subscribers to Mailbox, and the vast majority are still waiting to be let in. Frustrated you can’t use Mailbox right away? There’s a good reason you have to wait.

Look, folks, it’s Valentine’s day coming up this week, and you know what that means. Either you’re a full-on V-Day fan and you’re out to get the best gift and/or date for your significant other, or you’re one of those haters who sees this as nothing more than a crass attempt to pry even more money out of your pocket in the service of an outdated social ideal.

Either way, though, you can better yourself. Here are several apps that will make you a better person to attract that special someone through your attention to personal grooming.

iOS 6.1 has already been out for a few weeks, but we’re now seeing reports that it’s causing problems for a lot of upgraders.

Multiple users have taken to Apple’s iPhone support forums to report that their battery life has dropped significantly since the iOS 6.1 upgrade. Others have claimed that iOS 6.1 has given them a slew of problems when trying to connect to 3G networks, and Apple has yet to respond.

Pages+ is a new tweak for jailbroken iOS devices which promises to supercharge your home screen. It adds some great features, like home screen “cards” and multi-page wallpapers that change as you flick through them — and it’s compatible with other popular tweaks like Barrel and Winterboard themes. Check out the demonstration video below.

Even though we have yet to see some truly credible evidence to support the countless claims that Apple will release a cheaper iPhone sometime in 2013, that’s not stopping another analyst from jumping on the cheap-iPhone train.

Analyst Brian White, at Topeka Capital, released a report this morning claiming that his research supports the claim that Apple will sell a cheaper version of the iPhone in order to attract new growth opportunities in China and elsewhere around the world.

Apple’s retail operations were mocked by everyone on the planet when the first Apple Store was opened. But now that the Apple Store is the most profitable retail store in the world, everyone wants to copy what Apple’s doing.

Thanks to some inspiration from the Apple Store, BMW has decided that starting in 2014 they will require all dealers to hire young tech-savvy employees to handle questions from customers about the vehicles on the showroom floor. They’ll even be equipped with iPads and be called Geniuses.

A pair of European carriers have told iPhone 4S users not to upgrade to Apple’s latest iOS 6.1 firmware due to the 3G connectivity issues that come with it. Both Vodafone U.K. and 3 Austria have reported the issues, which sometimes makesit difficult for the device to connect to the network, or make or receive calls and texts.

Apple’s Siri personal assistant has been in development for 10 years.

Apple doesn’t let app developers use the word “beta” for iPhone apps.

And the company spends millions on — and make billions from — the advertising of their “beta” product specifically.

Given these facts, is it disingenuous, unfair, inconsistent, hypocritical and inaccurate for Apple to continue calling Siri “beta”?

This week’s must-have apps roundup kicks off with Mailbox, the best third-party mail client that’s available on iOS. If you haven’t already downloaded your copy and joined the queue, do it as soon as you can. Mailbox is accompanied by AudioBox, a new player for all of your cloud-based music; the latest game from Kairosoft, and more.

Michael T. Jones has a helluva fun job. He’s the Chief Technology Ambassador for Google, and as such, he not only gets to work for one of the coolest companies in the world, he also gets to cruise around the world and tell people why Google is so darn awesome.

When it comes to Apple, you would think that Michael Jones would have some really mean things to say. In a recent interview with ABC News in Australia, Michael Jones actually praised Apple and said that customers can trust Apple with their private data. But then he added that using Apple Maps might kill you.

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Firetask combines the advantages of David Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD)® with proven classical task management concepts so you can dominate your agenda efficiently and effectively. The principles that have helped entrepreneurs and startups thrive are all entrenched within this intuitive application. It’s essentially setting your tasks on a tee so you can hit them harder and with more focus than ever. And you’re going to get this app for just $30 for a limited time thanks to Cult of Mac Deals.

The evasion jailbreak took longer than any other iOS jailbreak to come out, but it appears that the wait was worth it for millions of iOS users.

After only four days of being available to the public, nearly 7 million iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch owners have bulldozed through Apple’s walled garden and jailbroken their devices so they can customize each and every facet of their experience.

Yesterday, there was a bit of a hub-bub about Apple’s enormous $137 billion cash hoard, after David Einhorn, the head of Greenlight Capital, sued Apple over a plan to discard preferred stock and pressed Apple to give a significant chunk of the cash hoard directly to investors. It was such a big deal that Apple felt as if it were forced to respond.

Is there a good reason for Apple to be keeping $137 billion in the bank? Yup, and if you want to know why, all you have to do is look at Dell.