iPhone - page 364

The saddest moment of my life was when my iPhone 4’s screen shattered to pieces after I dropped it while riding my bike. The second saddest moment of my life was when the Apple Genius Bar guy told me how much it was going to cost to fix it. (What can I say, I’ve lived a sheltered life).  Had I known about SquareTrade’s insurance for iPhone the painful blow could have been softened.  SquareTrade’s got some great prices on insurance coverage for your iPhone so that you don’t have to worry about what happens when you inevitably do something clumsy like spill your milk on the speaker, or drop it while playing with your kids.

Because our readers have been so amazing to us this year, we’re giving away two iPhone warranties (worth $200 each!). The warranties last for two years, so if you just bought an iPhone 4S you can rest assured that your beautiful new baby will stay intact for the remainder of your contract. Wanna win a free iPhone warranties?

Here are the rules for the giveaway:

With access to over half a million apps in the App Store, getting things done on our iPhones has never been easier. So instead of running around like a headless chicken this Christmas Eve in a desperate bid to buy gifts for all your friends and family, why not sit back, stick your feet up, and do you Christmas shopping on your iPhone?

We’ve compiled a list of the App Store’s best apps for Christmas shopping that will help you plan, save, shop and send cards directly right from the palm of your hand.

Sales of the iPhone and Mac are topping analyst expectations for the holiday quarter, eating into Android marketshare. On the flip side, despite reaching new record sales, iPad demand is described as “a little light,” one analyst told investors Wednesday. In the kind of bad news rivals could only hope to have, iPhone demand continues to outstrip supply and those soft iPad figures are partly due to increased interest in another Apple product: the MacBook Air.

Apple Giveth, and Apple Taketh Away. The Walled Garden approach Apple has taken with its App Store means that not everything you once bought is still available. However, that doesn’t mean you’re out of options for installing software that was previously downloaded:

Hello, I got the iTether app yesterday before Apple pulled it out, but my daughter didn’t get the chance to download it. How will I install it to my daughter’s iPhone? I back up my phone to my PC and I have the app in my file. Please help.

Rodante

Like many of us, 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin has a love for Apple’s iPhone. He frequently uses the device to send messages to his Twitter followers, and his addiction, the popular word game Words With Friends, recently got him thrown off an American Airlines flight to New York.

Apple has issued an update to its iBooks app on the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Version 1.5 of iBooks brings two major additions: a nighttime reading theme and full-screen mode.

The update also brings several new fonts, more covers for public domain books, pop-up footnotes, and a redesigned annotation palette.

Did you love that gorgeous “Here’s To The Crazy Ones” letter press poster we showed you earlier today, only to balk at the $200 asking price?

Here’s a poster that might float your boat, especially if you’re an App Developer: this beautiful radial infographic shows off the last ten years of the iPod and iTunes. And if you’re willing to print it yourself, it could cost you as little as $99!

The smiling faces make it look like a rowdy night out, but this jubilant photo was snapped with an iPhone in the back of a Russian police van.

Yesterday, Moscow-based blogger Alexey Navalny was carted away by the authorities while documenting the massive protests following the country’s contested parlimentary elections.

“With my lads on the police bus. They all say hi,”  Navalny tweeted in Russian. An hour later, he posted another Instagram photo, this time a group portrait in the Izmailovo jailhouse of everyone arrested.

One of the things that really stands out using an iPhone is just how smooth it feels compared to using Android. Where as Android is laggy, with a measurable interim between when you touch the screen and when the OS responds, iOS almost seems to anticipate what you want to do before your finger touches the display.

How has Apple managed this incredible feat? A better question might be: “How has Google managed to screw up Android’s multitouch so much?” According to Andrew Munn — a software engineering student and ex-Google intern — Android is so messed up that Google might never be able to match an iPhone or iPad’s performance. Ouch!

The next time you are pulled over by police you may encounter a familiar face: your iPhone. Faster than you can say “Book ’em, Dano,” Apple’s handset is quickly becoming law enforcement’s favorite tool for identifying unknown fingerprints. The iPhone’s touchscreen will even be enlisted by the FBI to spot terrorism suspects.

Amazon is using its Price Check app for the iPhone to lure shoppers away from physical retail stores by offering tasty discounts that can only be used online on Saturday, December 10. The company issued a press release today in which it announces its plan to “incentivize” shoppers to buy online, “ensuring they are really getting a deal.”

Today’s tip is a simply one, but it’s a question I get asked a lot when people see the battery percentage in my iPhone’s status bar. The iPhone ships with this feature disabled by default, and Apple hides the option away within the device’s general settings. So, here’s how to enable it!

We received some interesting insight into the contentious courtroom war between Apple and Samsung, thanks to a technical slip-up from the U.S. District Court in charge of the patent-infringement case. What was revealed appears more intriguing than the actual ruling denying Apple’s attempt to quickly block U.S. sales of Samsung’s Galaxy phone and tablet. Not so well hidden behind sloppy redaction was Apple’s own internal analysis finding Samsung’s devices would steal more Android than iOS users.

At Cult of Mac we’re huge fans of going to the movies. Few experiences can compare to seeing pretty boy Ryan Gosling beating the crap out of Ron Perlman on a towering 70ft x 30ft screen. As long as the film doesn’t feature Shia LaBeouf then we’re down to watch it (sometimes we’ll even make an exception for the former Even Stevens star). The only problem is that showing up to the movie theater in your underwear is frowned upon in most countries. Thankfully, Epson makes some pretty kick ass projectors that bring the movie theater experience to your home so you don’t have to bother with those weird things called “pants.”

This week we’re really lucky to be teaming up with the awesome folks at Epson to give away a brand new iPhone-compatible projector. $700 is already a pretty awesome price for their superb projector, but because it’s Christmas, they’re generously letting us giveaway their brand new MegaPlex MG-50HD Projector for free! Without a doubt this is the coolest projector we’ve ever gotten our hands on. It comes with two built-in 10-watt speakers, a dock for your iPhone or iPad and is incredibly portable so you can take the fun with you wherever you go.

Speaking from experience, watching Home Alone and Elf on this thing will make the holidays 50 times more pleasurable no matter which of your annoying family members decides to pay you a visit for Christmas.

Here are the rules on how to enter the giveaway:

Hot on the heels of its Google+ update this morning, Google has issued another update to one of its iOS apps, this time in the form of a much-improved Google Shopper. Version 2.0 introduces Google Offers integration to the app, allowing shoppers to subscribe to and take advantage of the latest deals in their city.

Now here’s a cute item for the eco-conscious among us. Designers Kyle Bean and Thomas Forsyth have created an all-wooden iPhone for the cover of Computer Arts magazine. Using a carved wood frame and lego-like blocks for the icons, the homescreen is fully customizable and tastefully done in a two-tone finish.

Google has issued an update to its official Google+ app for the iPhone today, and in addition to a fancy new icon, the app now allows full resolution photo uploads, searching, and more.

We’ve seen some truly great accessories for the iPhone this year and the SkyLight should should certainly be counted among them. The SkyLight is a sleek, easy to use adapter that can connect an iPhone to a microscope. In an effort to overcome the global shortage in trained healthcare workers, SkyLight’s creators hope to connect doctors and nurses to patients in developing nations and rural areas.

By holding an iPhone steady over the eyepiece where an image is formed, SkyLight makes it incredibly easy to take pictures and video through the microscope. Once recorded, the pictures and videos are then saved on the phone and can be emailed to doctors, shared on social media sites, or saved for later use. Another interesting idea is that with the use of FaceTime doctors can examine samples remotely and provide immediate feedback.

Ever since Electronic Artists (EA) started investing in the mobile games scene, the company has produced a flurry of titles that have been a big hit with Apple fans. With the combination of console to iOS ports (FIFA 12, NBA JAM, Dead Space) and original content made exclusively for iOS (Max & the Magic Marker, Fantasy Safari), EA has become one of the hottest game developers for the iPhone and iPad.

Now that we’re rolling into the holiday season, EA is starting to feel the Christmas spirit and has created a “Daily Deals” page that highlights new deals on their most popular games.

With every new iPhone, we know to expect a faster processor and faster GPU. However, a weird report coming out of Germany says that Apple isn’t just testing new CPUs and GPUs for the next generation of iPhone… they are also testing some truly bizarro resolutions that could indicate that Apple will radically redesign the iPhone in 2012 to be even higher resolution and with an entirely new aspect ratio.

I’ve had to return three iPhones to the Apple store for the same problem since I began using the device in 2007. That problem was a faulty home button, which seems to be a common issue with Apple’s iOS devices after they’ve taken years of abuse.

This simple concept for a new iPhone gesture developed by Max Rudberg wouldn’t just prolong the life of the home button on your iPhone, but it would also improve the way in which we multitask on the device.

Although it is widely believed that Apple refuses to license its patents to competing companies, it turns out that’s a huge misconception. In fact, the company licenses a patent covering iOS touch-based scrolling to the likes of IBM and Nokia, and it offered the same deal to rival Samsung, who wasn’t at all interested. If it had taken Apple up on the offer, however, it could have spared the Korean company a whole load of trouble in court.

HTC, the world’s largest maker of Android phones, is in all likelihood furiously rubbing rabbit’s feet and sweating buckets in the face of a potential trade ruling Tuesday that could slam the door on U.S. sales of all handsets using the Google mobile operating system. Experts already predict Android is in “serious trouble.”

It’s Monday morning, and oh gawd, I need this: a faucet of espresso I can just pour into a cup by pulling my iPhone out and launching an app.

Along with music, movies and photos, many people have some mysterious “other” data on their iDevices, which seems to increase over time. One reader is wondering how to get rid of this data and free up space:

When I look at my iTunes summary of my iPad it shows that there is 2.9GB of “Other” stored on my device. I haven’t put much stuff on my iPad and have no idea what is taking up so much space. I only have a 16GB iPad and like to put movies on it for when I travel, so space is a premium. How do I find out what is taking up so much space, and what is the best way to maximize storage space on my iPad?

Thanks, Kyle