Quietly, and with not so much as a dedicated press release to mark the occasion, Apple has started selling the iPhone 5 in new markets. As midnight rolled around last night (or this morning, depending on your point of view) online Apple Stores opened up for business.
Because a lot of the current attention around iPhones has to do with the latest and greatest iPhone 5, it’s easy to forget that there are plenty of older devices to be dealt with around the world. While recycling may be an option for much older devices, the iPhone 4 and 4S, at least, are helping to create a second-hand market that is both robust and global.
The market, says The Wall Street Journal, tends to be mostly US to overseas in direction and is growing in response to the high visibility of the iPhone brand via the iPhone 5. An entire industry has grown up around the resale of older iPhone devices.
“We are supply constrained. There is insatiable demand for this product,” said Israel Ganot, chief executive of buyback service Gazelle Inc.
I’ve never actually played Taboo (which is apparently massively popular; shows you just how much I get out); so when Clucks‘ PR guy referred to this new game as “video Taboo for iPhone,” my reaction was: Huh? So I looked up the game on Wikipedia (and finally realized that I had, indeed, heard of Taboo before), and it turns out that’s a perfect description for Clucks. But he might have called it “the next big social media craze on the iPhone,” because that might turn out to be an even better description.
For the past two years, Camera+ has been one of the most popular photography apps in the App Store, and now it’s finally coming to the iPad. The developers at Tap Tap Tap have also added support for the iPhone 5’s larger display and iCloud sync between the two apps.
Since it’s release, Camera+ has been downloaded 9 million times. The app has remained popular for its Instagram-like filters, sharing features, and in-depth editing options. To celebrate the new release, Tap Tap Tap has put both the iPhone and iPad versions of Camera+ on sale for only $1!
Having a weak cellular connection could mean your iPhone won't last as long between charges,
How’s your iPhone 5’s data connection where you live? Did you know that if your signal is poor, and your handset is always struggling to get a decent data connection, it could mean that your battery life won’t last as long between charges?
The Grip Sheer doesn't come too close to your iPhone's display.
The Belkin Grip Sheer, provided by the fine folks at MobileFun, is an iPhone 5 case manufactured from thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that promises to be “super durable, yet thin enough to slip easily into your pocket.”
Priced at just $21 (£16), the Grip Sheer comes in a range of fancy colors, and boasts a high-gloss transparent finish that’s designed to look good and feel great. It also provides you with access to all your buttons and ports, and leaves a nice big cutout for your iPhone 5’s camera and flash.
So, is the Grip Sheer a case you should be picking up with your new iPhone 5?
Woz wants Australia's awesome broadband. Photo: Cult of Mac file
Steve Wozniak was lucky enough to get his hands on the iPhone 5 long before the vast majority of us; not because he co-founded Apple, but because he was in Australia where Apple retail stores open a good 14 hours earlier than those on the East Coast of the United States.
Woz has been in Australia a lot recent, and he’s just revealed that he is planning to wave goodbye to his California home and move there. He has already applied for an Australian citizenship, and proclaimed he’s going to “live and die as an Australian.”
Instagram looks good on iPhone 5, but there's something missing.
As we reported on Tuesday, Instagram has updated its iOS app to introduce support for iPhone 5 and iOS 6. It’s a welcome update to those enjoying a new 4-inch display, but it’s not all good news: Instagram also pulled live filters from the iPhone 5. It has since confirmed that live filters will soon be phased out of the iOS app completely, but for now, there is a workaround for those who miss them.
Back in 2007, Steve Jobs used a famous quote from ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky to summarize Apple’s commitment to innovation: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” That’s long been true for Apple and products like the iPhone and iPad. But for more than four years, jailbeaking has pushed the boundaries of iOS even farther.
If Apple skates to where the puck is going to be, then jailbreakers have usually already been there and left. The hackers and tinkerers that find security loopholes in Apple’s software are some of the most brilliant, innovative minds in the tech world.
We’ll be covering JailbreakCon 2012 this weekend in San Francisco, the world’s first convention dedicated solely to the jailbreak community. What better way to get ready for the future of jailbreaking than to examine the past? Let’s start from the beginning:
This is coming back to iOS... you'll just have to wait for it.
We’ve heard a lot of rumors surrounding a Google Maps app for iOS over the past week, and now The New York Times is weighing in with information from its own sources. Fortunately, it’s good news: it claims Google is indeed working on a Maps app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and that the company is hoping to have it ready and released by the end of this year.
Why’s it taking so long? Well, Google had no idea Apple was kicking Google Maps out of iOS until Apple first previewed iOS 6 back in June.
Almost everything Apple creates is patented and trademarked in an effort to ensure that other companies can’t steal its ideas (though they do). However, sometimes the folks in Cupertino hit a stumbling block. That’s what happened when Apple attempted to trademark its Music app icon recently, only to find that Myspace got there first.
Thieves love iPhones and Apple products. But the theives in New York City? Those dudes have a fiery lustful passion for Apple products. So much so that Apple product theft now accounts for 14 percent of all crime in New York City according to the NYPD. Even though NYC’s crime rate only rose four percent this year compared to 2011, Apple product theft rose a whopping 40 percent.
The Wahoo Blue HR ($79) heart rate strap performs a neat trick: by pairing with your iPhone (4S or 5 only) via Bluetooth, it allows you to transform your favorite iOS device into any of the amazing heart rate monitors available on the App Store today. Even better, it works with all the best cycling and running apps too, so now you can monitor your heart and calories on your rides or runs.
iOS 6's Passbook app isn't just for big-business companies to use. Yes, you'll be able to use it to check in to your flights, and to get discounts at your favorite international coffee chain, but now mom and pop stores, your local food cart or even a stall at the local flea market will be able to offer you coupons and membership, using a new free app called People's Card.
Apple’s Find My iPhone feature is great for whenever you lose your iPhone or MacBook, but what about when you lose other stuff, like a wallet, dog, luggage, camera, keys, or anything else? There are a few GPS solutions that you can attach to everything you prize most in life, but that’s kind of costly.
FinderCodes is a new service that is trying to make QR codes actually useful by allowing people to attach one to everything they love so it can be traced back to them through the FinderCodes database. It’s simple, but more elegant than writing your name, address, and phone number on everything.
Remember when Buster found an iPhone at the bottom of a river while he was floating down it on an inner-tube? The previous owner had the right idea: he sealed it in a plastic bag to keep out the elements. But he forgot one thing: Even in a bag, the short, heavy, ugly iPhone 4 will sink like, well, like last year's crappy iPhone.
Manufacturers simply cannot produce the iPhone 5's new display fast enough.
It seemed like Apple was coping well with the iPhone 5 demand, despite it being the company’s fastest-selling iPhone to date. Sure, pre-orders sold out within the first hour of availability, but those who were told they wouldn’t get their new smartphone until October have already begun receiving shipping notifications.
But iPhone 5 production may have hit a stumbling black. The handset’s new 4-inch display, which boasts in-cell touch technology that allows it to be incredible thin, it reportedly causing “significant production constraints” that mean Apple cannot produce the device fast enough.
FIFA 13 promises "groundbreaking visuals" and the most responsive control system yet.
As a massive soccer fan, I love EA Sports’s FIFA Soccer series. So imagine my delight when I opened up the App Store this morning to find FIFA 13 staring back at me. This is the FIFA game I’ve been waiting for for iOS. Why? Because it’s the first to boast online multiplayer, allowing you to play against your friends over the Internet.
With every major release of iOS and a new iPhone, Apple typically offers its official user guide online for free. What’s odd is that Apple doesn’t promote this resource at all, yet it’s still available. Each iOS device purchase comes with a little booklet to help familiarize a new customer with the basics of the device and iOS itself, but the full user guide is much more thorough and extensive.
Apple has an official user guide out for the iPhone 5 and iOS 6. The 365 page guide is available for anyone to view on the web, and Apple has also made it available for free in the iBookstore.
Companies like Google and Samsung aren’t exactly known for making the best anti-Apple propaganda, but the latest attack ad from Motorola has a particularly painful amount of truth to it. Everyone knows that Apple’s Maps app in iOS 6 sucks right now, and competitors are obviously going to latch onto any negative Apple press they can. That’s why Motorola’s ad says that the “DROID RAZRM M” (serious name) promises to not get you “iLost.”
While most of these Android ads have been pathetic attempts at calling out the iPhone’s flaws, I can’t really fault Motorola (who is owned by Google) for going with the Maps angle. It’s no surprise that none of the recent iPhone 5 ads mention Maps at all. If Apple doesn’t fix the negative inertia its generated with Maps in iOS 6, it could have a serious PR problem on its hands.
To Apple’s credit, iOS 6 Maps is being compared to Google Maps, a decade-old, matured platform that Google has invested thousands upon thousands of man hours into. Apple’s Maps will get there, it’s just going to take a little time.
It used to be that we carried spare batteries for our devices. Then Apple sealed its products’ cases shut and some of us complained. Loudly. Then we realized that carrying an external battery pack meant we didn’t have to power-down to swap out batteries, and that we could now pick and choose the perfect third-party option, and we all shut the hell up.
Which is my long-winded way of introducing the new Zaggsparq packs, a range of three battery packs tailored perfectly to your iCharging needs. As long as you don’t own an iPad 3, that is.
Got an iPhone 5? Missing the Glif stand/tripod adapter/icon that fits your old, fat, ugly (not to mention slooowwww) iPhone 4/S like a (right-angled plastic) glove?
Don’t worry: by simply spending more money, you can secure yourself a brand new, elongated and slenderized version of the Glif for your new iPhone.
Photographer Dustin Curtis decided to put his new iPhone 5 up against his ~$4,000 Canon 5D MkIII SLR in a head-to-head shootout. The result? Clearly the Canon won, but the iPhone did surprisingly well.
Apple is hoping Google Maps employees can help fix its new service.
Apple is said to be “aggressively” recruiting Google Maps employees in an effort to fix its highly criticized Maps service, according to an unnamed source “with connections on both teams.” The Cupertino company is reportedly using recruiters to attract individuals who have previously helped develop Google Maps, and many of them seem to be snapping up the opportunity to work at Apple.
iPhone 5 is selling like hot cakes covered in chocolate sprinkles.
iPhone 5 is selling like hot cakes covered in chocolate sprinkles.
Apple has announced that iPhone 5 sales surpassed a whopping five million units in just three days following the handset’s launch on Friday, September 21. Demand for the device has exceeded Apple’s initial supply, and while the majority of pre-orders have been shipping, many are scheduled to arrive in October.