News - page 1582

I used to use a sleeve-style case with my original iPad, and I loved it. Sleeves protect the iPad while you carry it, and let you experience the full slimline awesomeness of a naked tablet when you take it out to use. Then Apple made the iPad 2 and the Smart Cover and that was it. The only time I change cases now is if I need something rugged, or if I’m testing one for review.

But I’m tempted by the Calypso Tab, a lovely leather sleeve for the regular iPad and the mini. It’s a softish hard shell, and it looks fantastic.

Apple is on the hunt for a new iOS Communications Application Engineer who will be responsible for implementing new features into FaceTime and iMessage, “taking the revolutionary iPhone to the next level.” The position is based at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, according to a new job listing on the company’s website.

Remember Quicksilver? The lightweight Mac utility used to be the go-to app launcher on the desktop, but that was years ago. A lack of updates combined with the rise of more feature-rich alternatives like Alfred turned the attention away from Quicksilver long ago.

Now the developers behind the app are breathing new life into Quicksilver with a major update. Quicksilver 1.0 has been released, which marks the end of the 10-year beta period the app has been in since 2003.

It’s only taken just under six years, but T-Mobile has finally reached a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone. The iPhone 5 will be one of the first devices available on T-Mobile’s new LTE network, launched today, and it’ll be available to purchase for a $99 up-front fee starting April 12.

Got some old speakers gathering dust at home? Would you love to hook them up to your AirPlay network but don’t want to buy a) an amp and speaker cable and b) an Airport Express? Well, The Vamp is here to save you. It’s a tiny box that sits on top of your speaker and acts as both amp and Bluetooth receiver.

The Touch is a cool-looking new way to control Adobe Lightroom, either using your Magic trackpad or your iPad. It’s a small app that runs alongside Lightroom (or Final Cut Pro X) and lets you control it using all manner of gestures, taps, and swipes, letting you focus less on which slider to grab and more on looking at the image itself.

Logitech has today announced the launch of its new Keyboard Folio cases for iPad and iPad mini. Built from refined fabrics — and available in a whole host of pretty colors — the Keyboard Folio is designed to provide your beloved tablet with all-round protection as well as a physical keyboard that’ll let you get things done on the go.

If you’re a frequent user of the official Nook app for iOS, then you’re going to love its latest update. In addition to support for high resolution magazines on the iPad, version 3.4.0 introduces support for Nook Comics, more detailed imagery, better organization options, and lots more.

Capcom is throwing an Easter sale, and it has slashed the price of some of its most popular games on iOS to just $0.99. So if you’re a fan of Street Fighter or Mega Man, now’s the time to pick up a bargain that’ll keep you entertained over the Easter weekend.

T-Mobile is set to hold a press conference tomorrow about its new, contract-free wireless plans, and it so happens that the carrier recently entered an agreement with Apple to officially sell the iPhone in 2013. Since the iPhone 5 hasn’t been made available on the network yet, T-Mobile has been waiting for the right time to showcase the device.

According to a new report, the iPhone will be front and center at T-Mobile’s press event tomorrow.

A picture is worth… $1. That’s what Printic will charge you for a single, Polaroid-shaped print, sent to your (or anyone else’s) door and ordered from the easy comfort of your own iPhone.

The Chinese Communist Party is continuing to attack Apple in the press, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. After China Central Television (CCT) ran its big hit piece, the government’s newspaper has also decided to throw dirt on Apple now. The first criticisms revolved around Apple’s product warranty practices, while the second volley of propaganda calls out Apple’s lack of interaction with the Chinese media.

As Apple has become more successful over the last few years, Hon Hai Precision Industry’s (Foxconn) financial fortunes have been more tightly bound to Apple’s than ever before.

If things are going well for Foxconn, then Apple’s probably doing pretty well too, so investors were happy to hear that Foxconn just posted its most profitable quarter ever thanks to improved production efficiency of the iPad and iPhone 5.

Digital Negative is a new iPhone app which promises to save photos in Adobe’s DNG format. That is, it promises RAW images from your iPhone’s sensor. Leaving aside the debate of whether or not this is a good idea (more on that in a second), can an App Store app really get access to the raw, unprocessed data from the sensor? The answer is no, but to the developer’s credit, it goes just about as far as is possible.

It’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that any time we review a bag or case by Waterfield Designs, we’re going to love them. The San Francisco based company is such a maestro at stripping a cow to its bones then stitching the tanned hide up into a premier laptop or tablet case that dishing out an enthusiastic review of yet another one is starting to feel like a matter of course.

So it’s with a profound sense of relief that I can report that Waterfield Design’s CitySlicker MacBook case is the worst thing anyone’s ever made, ever. That includes the Fred series of movies. Scotch-taped together from what appears to be a beef jerky flavored Fruit Roll-Up, the City Slicker….

*snicker*

Sorry, I couldn’t keep a straight face. Just kidding! The CitySlicker is an awesomely stylish protective case for your MacBook Air that can double as a very streamlined laptop bag or attache case. Oh, and it also makes a pretty awesome lap desk. It’s just as good a product as any that Waterfield has ever made. But it’s definitely not for everyone.

If you don’t live near an Apple Store but can’t wait a few days for an iPhone to be shipped to you, then we have some great news. Apple has started a promotion that will offer customers free next day shipping on all online iPhone orders.

I don’t really care about measuring the wind – I prepare for a bike trip using WeatherPro, which tells me how bad the wind will be, not how bad it is right now. But the Vaavud wind meter is notable for another reason: it communicates its wind-speed readings to your iPhone wirelessly, yet uses no electronics whatsoever. How? Read on…

Soulver is pretty much the best calculator app on the Mac and iOS, mostly because it doesn’t tie itself to the UI of old pushbutton calculators. But Llumino will probably win the award for the best-looking calculator app in the App Store, coming on like a 1970s flashing disco floor and, uh, a pushbutton calculator.

One of the most common complaints that we hear about iOS is that it’s getting boring. We’ve been using practically the same interface for over 5 years and haven’t seen any major changes, so people are hoping for something new and exciting with iOS 7.

Jesse Head’s iOS 7 App Switcher concept comes with the type of UI changes we’re hoping to see. The simple concept makes switching between apps more effective. You wouldn’t have to deal with thumbing through a row of little app icons, but instead would see a bunch of app tiles with live previews. You can swipe to quit, search for apps, and control your music or brightness in a flash.

Here’s a video of the concept in action:

Apple made its iOS 6.1.3 update available to the public last week, quashing a lock screen security flaw that allowed a passcode lock to be bypassed with a few simple taps. But the update also introduced a number of problems of its own. Not only do we now have a new lock screen security flaw, but some users are also suffering battery life issues.

Moshi’s Luna backlit Mac keyboard is a weird device. It’s a desktop device through-and-through, connecting via USB, but doesn’t have any USB ports itself – one of the major advantage of using a wired keyboard.

It also uses scissor-switched chiclet-stlye keys instead of something more substantial like you’d find in the Matias or DAS keyboards.

It does, however, sport Mac-friendly media keys, and packs a numerical keypad, perfect for moving your mouse further to the right and causing extra RSI.

Yahoo! has today announced that it’s acquiring Summly, an iPhone app developed by Nick D’Aloisio when he was just 15, for $30 million. The app is designed to provide users with “pocket sized news” by condensing long articles into just a few paragraphs of text that are easy to consume on the go.

Spotify is already one of the premier sources for streaming a la carte audio on the Internet, but the popular streaming service might have far bolder plans than that, with a new report saying that Spotify intends on going head-to-head with Netflix, HBO, iTunes and Amazon Video by launching a video streaming service. Yowza!

The Nest thermostat isn’t just an incredible next-gen thermostat that allows you to change and program your house’s heating or cooling via an iPhone or iPad: it’s also designed and created by Tony Fadell, the so-called father of the iPod.

It’s also expensive like an iPod, usually retailing for $249.99. But right now, the first-gen model is on sale at Amazon for just $179.00.

If you want to heat your house like a spaceman, get going!

Source: Amazon

Anyone who is serious about taking notes doesn’t use Apple’s Reminders app. Or at least, they don’t use it to store endless snippets of information (Reminder is fantastic for shopping lists, though). Note nerds use nvALT (OS X), the tricked-out version of Notational Velocity customized by Brett “I just built this. Again” Terpstra, in combination with Dropbox or Simplenote (iOS).

And Brett’s latest version, 2.2, is near enough release that you may as well grab it and use it. Hell, Brett himself says that it’s “more stable than 2.1 is right now.”