This goldie-lookin Lightning cable seems absurd at first, a piece of shiny nonsense that surely costs a fortune, aimed squarely at the kind of fools that pay real money for Swarovski crystal and Vertu phones. But in fact it’s a pretty great gadget. Why?
Last night’s South Park episode depicted a shirtless Bill Gates — revealing the Microsoft co-founder to have a tattoo reading “RIP Steve Jobs 2011.”
Great news for corrupt restaurant employees and criminal scum everywhere: you can now use the latest Google Wallet app to skim credit cards right into your iPhone. In theory at least. And without actually recording the magnetic strip. But “Google Wallet update allows easy addition of credit cards using the iPhone camera” doesn’t have the same link-baiting ring to it. So scum and villainy it is.
The Rumor: Angela Ahrendts is only three weeks into her reign at Apple but rumors claim she's already outlined a plan that will completely revamp the end-to-end Apple Store experience.
The Verdict: The shift from computers to wearables is the perfect time for the ex-Burberry CEO to shake things up at Apple's glass and aluminum shrines, I just hope she gets rid of the annoying musical chairs-style support at the Genius Bar while she's at it.
Indian-based Reliance Retail will shut down 16 of its 20 Apple premium reseller stores because they do not comply with the strict guidelines set out by Apple.
Apple dictates that its stores must conform to a standardized design featuring high ceilings, white LED lighting, wooden floors, specific display tables, and numerous other details.
One of my favorite parts of the Kanex Multi-Sync keyboard I reviewed in October. In fact, I said that “Kanex could sell it as a standalone product and do well.” And guess what? You can now buy it, in a pack of two, for just $18.
Did Apple invent the “app”?
In terms of coining the word — or coming up with the idea of software — the obvious answer is that of course they didn’t.
But did Apple’s approach to apps — seen most readily through the type of applications sold through its App Store — forever change what the typical user thinks of when they hear the word?
Yesterday’s biggest news – the biggest I tell you – was the announcement of a new USB plug that can be stuck into its hole any way you like, eliminating one of the many frustrations of USB connectors. But that plug won’t be available until 2014, and will doubtless be ruined by some stupid design decision along the way.
But fret not, dear frustrated USB user, because you can have your USB two-way today, in the form of this Buffalo USB hub.
You know how you walk into a coffee shop or bar, order a refreshing beverage and then grab a newspaper or magazine to read? Now, thanks to Apple’s iBeacons, you can do the exact same thing, only you can peruse the provided periodicals on your iPad or iPhone.
You know anamorphic, right? It’s a way of getting super widescreen film onto the relatively squarish frame of 35mm film. It’s done by using a special lens on the camera that squeezes the image sideways, and then a reverse lens on the projector that stretches it back out again when you watch it. This is why, in the bad old days of non-letterboxed video, you’d sometimes see the end movie credits squished up to fit them onto your TV screen, all while the rest of the move had just been shown with it’s sides chopped off.
Which brings us to the Anamorphic Adapter Lens for the iPhone 5/S, from Moondog Labs.
Most of us are aware that the iPhone can be an effective security tool; there are countless clips on YouTube proving its worth as a recording device, and FaceTime, Skype and the like allow someone on the other end to watch, and if needed send help, when things get sketchy.
A recording of a mugging, however, is no use if the muggers steal the phone; and initiating a FaceTime call under extreme stress is probably more difficult than it might seem.
Enter Eye Got You Covered, a $4 app that fixes both those problems and adds other thoughtful features.
Since there are relatively few good alternatives to the iPhone’s stock Mail app, a newcomer to the group usually sparks our curiosity and interest; what’s the cool new spin? Will we actually use it? Will we use it enough that it eventually replaces the Mail app on our home screen?
In the case of attachment-obsessed newcomer Inbox Cube, the answers are fun, yes and possibly.
After years of negotiations, Apple and China Mobile have finally closed a deal for the carrier to sell the iPhone. Rumors of the two companies working together started gaining momentum a few months ago with a report from the The Wall Street Journal, and now the same publication is reporting that the deal has been finalized.
We’re still waiting on an official confirmation from Apple and China Mobile, but now is probably a good time to buy Apple stock. Why? There are 700 million reasons.
To get you in the mood for the holidays, Apple is giving away an 8-song playlist in the Apple Store iOS app. Free iTunes content has been offered in the Apple Store app for a few months now, and this Holiday Cheer playlist will be available until December 31st.
Here’s the tracklist:
Carl Icahn, the richest investor on Wall Street who has been pressing Apple to make a $150 billion stock buyback, has announced the next phase of his master plan. He has submitted a proposal to Apple shareholders that asks them to vote on his buyback, which effectively puts more pressure on Apple to meet his demands.
The question is whether a more aggressive buyback is actually in Apple’s best interest.
Conrad Electronic, an authorized Apple reseller in Germany, has begun taking preorders for the new Mac Pro. Availability is listed for Monday, December 16th.
Apple has said that the Mac Pro would be available before the end of the year, but an exact date has not yet been given. It could very well be that this reseller is hedging its bets and trying to garner some press attention, but this wouldn’t be the first time a third-party reseller has correctly predicted a recent Apple product launch. The date could favorably coincide with the opening of the Apple Store in Düsseldorf, Germany on December 14th.
TimeStamp — Productivity — Free
I’m a fan of apps that are basically just a giant button that does one thing easily, so TimeStamp really appeals to me. It’s a productivity tracker that independent contractors can use for invoicing purposes. It may also be of interest to people trying to figure out where their time goes. It’s just a big green button that you touch to stop and start, and when you’re done timing whatever it is, you can just drop your results into the appropriate category on the second tab.
My browse-to-watch Netflix ratio is something like 5 to 1. That’s unsettling.
For a fun experiment in data visualization, the good folks over at MobileUnlocked have put together a world map showing how the cost of an iPhone 5s varies around the world.
The official iPhone 5c case isn’t exactly Apple’s most widely acclaimed product design ever. Even if you love it, you have to admit it looks a lot like those brightly-colored, foam rubber shoes with the holes in them known as Crocs. And if you’re like me, and think the iPhone 5c case is pure trash, it seems almost insulting that Apple overlooked the iPhone 5c case’s design flaws and released it anyway.
According to a new report, though, Apple wasn’t just about to unleash the so-called ‘Croc’ case on consumers once, but twice. Not only did Cupertino intend for the hole-filled design to be the official case for the iPhone 5c, but they wanted to give the luxury, high-end iPhone 5s the same treatment.
Brazenly calling itself the “ultimate defense” for protecting passwords, documents, credit cards and all your other private stuff, FaceCrypt is being advertised as one of the most secure ways of controlling access to your iOS device.
Instead of asking for an alphanumeric password — or even Touch ID — FaceCrypt requests that users take a “selfie” to prove they are really the person they say they are.
When Apple bought Twitter analytics company Topsy for over $200 million earlier this week, many commenters were taking aback. How does Twitter analytics of all things fit into Apple’s general acquisition strategy?
Although they broke the story, it looks like The Wall Street Journal were wondering the same thing themselves. The result is an excellent breakdown of Apple’s major acquisitions in 2013. Unfortunately, it doesn’t shed much light on why Apple bought Topsy, but it does show Cupertino’s areas of interest.
When people talk about Android’s “fragmentation” problem, what they are referring to is the fact that the majority of Android devices are not running the most current version of Google’s mobile operating system.
The reason this is a big deal is because an ecosystem is only as strong as how many devices are running a current version of the operating system: older versions of Android are not only more vulnerable to malicious exploits that have been patched in more recent versions, but apps running on them can’t make use of newer Android features.
A new chart released by Fidlee shows exactly how bad Google’s fragmentation problem has become. Although iOS 7 runs on almost all Apple iPhones released in the last five years, there are few Android devices that are supported by the most recent version of Android just two years after they are purchased.
The Atlas ID is a waterproof case for your iPhone 5S that lets you use the Touch ID sensor even while the iPhone is in the case (although both you finger and the button cover need to be dry for it to work). However, you can still use the regular unlock when the screen is wet, and you’ll be having so much fun snapping underwater picks that you won;t care anyway.
Insert quips about bricking your iPad here.
Lego accessories have been popular for Apple products for a while now, and now that trend continues with Belkin’s new Lego iPad mini Case — which comes with an official grid of Lego studs on the back.
Has it really been less than three months since the roll out of iOS 7?
Well, however long it has been that has clearly been enough time for most users — since new data from online ad network Chitika reveals that iOS 7 is currently running on more than 70 percent of North American iOS devices.
No, it’s not a Mac or an iPhone accessory. It’s not even a camera gadget. But I have no doubt you’re going to love the Victor Wallet from WaterField design. It’s thin, it has a soft, finger-loving lining and it comes with a strap to keep it shut.