News - page 1609

Ok, so it’s not a life-changer, but the Apple Store app has just been updated to version 2.5. There are now new delivery options available in the app, and you can choose different shipping options for each different item in an order. Want your iPad smart case shipped to your office, your iPhone charger to your home, and pick up your iPad mini at the local Apple Store? You can arrange for that now in the app itself.

There’s a new section in the Express Checkout screen, too, which lets you know whether a purchase will be available for pickup at the nearest Apple Store, at least for US customers.

Every time I’ve used the Apple Store App, whether to purchase an item in store or order it ahead of time, I’ve been impressed by the seamlessness of the transaction. It’s like having a better, more portable Apple Store website on my phone, and it makes it easy to make Genius Bar or workshop reservations at my local store. The app allows you to purchase and pick up products from the store, personalize iPads and iPods with engraving, choose gift-wrapping options, configure new Mac purchases, and track your stuff once you’ve bought it.

And? It’s really a ton of fun to walk into the store, scan an item, type in my iTunes password, and walk out with that item. Feels all sneaky. I also like that just showing up with my iPhone and a reservation for a Specialist notifies them and me. It’s just plain cool.

What’s New in Version 2.5
– New delivery options make it even more convenient to get your Apple products. Choose different shipping options for different items in an order.
– An even easier way to see if the product you want is available for pickup at your favorite Apple Retail Store (U.S. only).

Source: App Store

What can Apple bring to the table, er, wrist, that Timex and any one of hundreds of cheap watches don’t already provide consumers?

That’s the question Harvard Business Review’s H. James Wilson asks today, and he comes up with a fascinating answer.

The iWatch, he says, won’t actually be a watch at all.

With Apple stock seemingly in free fall, a new report suggests that Apple is going to announce a plan to return additional value to shareholders as soon as this spring, either by increasing the existing dividend or by buying back stock from investors.

After giving its mobile app a lot of love, Dropbox is focusing its attention on its desktop client.

Dropbox announced today that it’s got a couple new upgrades for the Mac and Windows app that will help you share files quicker, and improve updates to help you keep up with the service.

Fact: wearing accessories and gadgets on your belt makes you look super cool – just like Batman. So if you buy a few Spider Monkeys, then your utility-belt cool-factor will shoot through the roof so fast that you’ll be sweeping up broken shingles for weeks.

The Spider Monkey comes from the folks who make the camera-holding Spider Holster, and it works with pretty much anything that isn’t a camera.

We’ve seen some really neat car hacks that use the iPhone and iPad to do some crazy stuff, but this one might take the cake.

A group of Russians decided to take their Opel Vectra car and turn it into the “James Bond car” that could be driven with a cellphone in Tomorrow Never Dies. The result, is a beat up beauty that can be driven with an iPad. Check it out:

Imagine if games like Guitar Hero weren’t just a stupid waste of drunken time but actually taught you to play the guitar instead. That way, you could actually get some benefit from the hours you pour into practicing the game.

Tabrider is that game. It’s an interactive training app which you play with your real guitar. It looks pretty neat.

Sometimes, the smallest jailbreak tweaks are the ones that make the biggest impression.

For me, that tweak is DirectionBar, the teensiest of jailbreak tweaks that does just one thing: puts a tiny arrow in your iPhone’s statusbar, which always, always, always points true north.

Apple is taking its sweet time with OS X 10.8.3. We’ve already had more beta builds than we care to remember, but Apple’s still trying to get the software right.

Apple seeded another OS X 10.8.3 beta(12D78)  to developers today, making it the 14th beta build of OS X 10.8.3. The first beta seed of 10.8.3 was released way back in November. There’s still no official word on when OS X 10.8.3 will be released to the public, but at this rate, we’re more likely to see OS X 10.9 Lion-O before it comes out.

Source: Apple

Via: MacTrast

SlickWraps really needs to get on the ball and make one of these ultrasuede wraps for the iPad mini. As it is, the regular iPad sized version looks great, but this non-slip, soft-touch rear cover has baby tablet written all over it.

Pulse has been one of our favorite newsreader apps for the iPad since it was released in 2010, but it’s looking for a new home.

According to a new report, LinkedIn wants to buy the maker of the iOS app Pulse, and they’re not afraid to spend big.

Before I had an iPhone, I used to game everywhere with the dual-threat of my Nintendo DS and my trusty Sony PSP. The DS I’ll still occasionally break out, but the bulky PSP has been in a drawer for years, a victim of its bulk.

A new jailbreak project might mean that I finally get to play some of my favorite PSP games once again. PPSSPP is a new PSP emulator for iOS developed by the guy behind the incredible N64 emulator, Dolphin, and while it’s in very alpha state yet — just look at that frame rate on Wipeout Pure! — this is clearly a project with a lot of possibility.

Quirky’s Pickup Power wants the be the last power-strip you’ll ever need. It houses AC outlets, USB chargers and – the best part – a detachable battery pack that’s always charged and ready to go.

We’ve seen a freaking ton of iWatch concepts over the past few months. Most of them suck. However, Martin Hajek’s new concept is beautiful, even though it’s not very functional.

Working for MacUser magazine, Martin created his iWatch concept by focusing on a traditional approach to watch making. The clock-face has a large display that looks like a mini iPad mini, but it’s got the natural touches of a regular watch – like the leather strap and clasp.

The UI doesn’t look like something you could actually use (who’s got fingers tiny enough to tap those Xs in Tweetbot?), but the hardware is great. If Apple does come out with an iWatch later this year, we hope it looks something like this:

Twelve South has today announced a new addition to its BookArc family, the BookArc for iPad mini. The arc-shaped steel stand supports your device in both portrait and landscape mode, making it perfect for hands-free use at home or in the office, while its sleek and sexy form factor looks right at home alongside your Mac.

The Automatic Link is a new iPhone accessory that’s been built to provide you with all of the important information you’ll ever need to know about your vehicle. It plugs into your car’s on-board diagnosis port, then transmits all sorts of data to an accompanying app on your iPhone.

Not only will Automatic Link help you identify why your “check engine” light is on, but it’ll also give you all kinds of data about the journeys you make, it’ll help you remember where you parked your car, and it’ll help you change your driving style to save gas.

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Cobook, the excellent contacts replacement app for iPhone, has added something called Livecards in a brand-new 2.0 update. Livecards is a way to make sure your contacts are always filled out and up to date, without you doing anything.

Rdio has today updated its iOS app to introduce new album and playlist views to the iPhone, and to make a number of improvements to the app’s user interface. You can now enjoy large album art, see what your friends have been listening to, and more.

It looks like someone finally solved the “Google your keys” problem in a way that real humans will use. It’s called Linquet, and it’s a little coin-sized trinket you attach to anything to stop you from losing it. This might sound familiar, but it looks like Linquet finally got it right

A questionable rumor from Digitimes suggests that Intel might make 10% of all of Apple’s A7 processors. If the rumor’s true, though, here’s how it would probably play out.

The official Tumblr app for iOS received a major overhaul back in November, delivering a completely redesigned dashboard, iPad support, and lots more. But the improvements aren’t about to stop there. Today sees the release of Tumblr 3.3, which adds a new camera, the ability to create photosets, and more.

Apple’s latest ad campaign for the iPad has been somewhat underwhelming, but that’s not stopping Cupertino from bringing the same format to some new iPhone 5 ads.

Apple just unveiled the two new iPhone 5 ads called ‘Discover’ and ‘Brilliant’ that show off features like Apple Maps 3D Flyover feature, Garage Band for iOS, Yelp, Hue light bulbs, Cards, and much more.

Here’s the ‘Brilliant’ ad:

Chief investment officer of Gamco Investors, Howard Ward, today said that Apple is planning to reveal its plans for what to do with the enormous amount of cash by next month. Apple needs to respond to growing criticism over what it’s doing with its $137.1 billion in cash and investments, not to mention the $42 billion in earnings investors expect Apple to add in 2013, says Ward.

I use Freshbooks on the web all the time to send out invoices and request payment for various writing and freelance jobs I have. It allows me to create invoices, send them, and have people respond to me as if I have a real business with real invoices. It’s pretty slick. Other features include time tracking, project management, estimates, and expense tracking.

Now, there’s an iOS app that lets you do the same things, right from your iPhone.

In what must surely be the official sign that this meme is over, iOS developer Filippo Bigarella has created a tweak that makes jailbroken iPhones do the Harlem Shake.

It’s stupid, but I love it. In fact, I kind of want it on my iPhone just to beat this meme into the ground so badly that no one will ever make a Harlem Shake video again. Filippo says he’s not going to release the tweak (thank goodness), but maybe if you bug him he’ll let you know how to do it.

Source: Filippo Bigarella