The iPad mini would be perfect, if only it had a Retina display. Many have assumed that Apple will bump up the specs on the iPad mini display this year, but other than a rear shell, we haven’t seen any solid hardware leaks yet.
According to a new report though, Apple is definitely going to add a Retina display to the iPad mini this year. In fact, they’ve ordered the initial units, and mass production of the mini Retina displays has already begun in full force.
There’s few better ways to extend the capabilities of your Apple TV 2 than installing XBMC on it, but after the latest Apple TV 5.2 software (iOS 6.1) dropped, there was just no way to do it. Thankfully, XMBC has been updated, and will now stably supercharge your second-gen Apple TV just as well as it did before.
To do the install, it’s as simple as following the instructions over on the XBMC wiki. It’s pretty easy, although it does require some command line delving and a reboot. Power through all of that, though, and you’ll have an incredible, open-source media center running on your Apple TV 2 that can play pretty much anything. Nifty.
Source: XBMC
Why should you buy an iPhone 5 over a Samsung Galaxy S III? Well, besides the fact that the S III is for jerkfaces, the iPhone 5 is nearly 300% more reliable and less likely to break than your average Samsung phone. Ouch!
Google’s crazy new Project Glasses look awesome. So far only a few people have actually got to try them out, but the reviews have been very positive, even if it does look weird to have a computer on your face.
While Google hasn’t announced an official release date for Google Glass, they’re already let a number of developers preorder a unit for $1500. A new report says that the Glasses will actually be released in 2013 though, and they’re going to work with the iPhone.
Apple devices are a popular target for the thieves of New York, so much so that the NYPD now has a team of cops dedicated to recovering stolen iPhones and iPads, according to the New York Post. Every time an Apple device is stolen, detectives work with the Cupertino company to identify their location and then recover them.
We’re huge fans of the new SurfacePad case from TwelveSouth. It’s just like a Smart Cover, with just one drawback: it doesn’t turn your iPhone on and off automatically when you open it or close it.
We hated that, so we figured out a way to turn the SurfacePad, or any other wallet-style iPhone case, into a working Smart Cover just like the iPad has. The hack doesn’t take much work, and you’ll save yourself from having to unlock your iPhone every time you just want to check something really quick.
Here’s how to do it:
On Sunday, Cult of Mac and Cult of Android will be kicking off our Mobile World Congress 2013 coverage.
The Android side of the Mobile World Congress will be — as ever — an orgy of new handsets and tablets of every conceivable screen size. Apple stuff will be limited to accessories and apps, and Killian Bell will be covering that for us over at Cult of Android.
But what is there to get excited about for Apple fans? I’ll be looking for Mac and iPhone-related news, and I wonder what the hell there’s going to be this year.
Since nobody wants to know what I think is coming next week in the world of iPad cases, lets take a look instead at how the rest of the mobile world could (or might not) predict the features of future iDevices.
Cult of Android will soon be on its way to Barcelona for this year’s Mobile World Congress — which kicks off Sunday, February 24 — where we’re expecting a whole host of announcements regarding new smartphones, tablets, apps, and accessories. More than 65,000 people will attend the event, and they’re all there for one thing: to see what’s on the horizon in the world of mobile for 2013.
We’re expecting new devices from Samsung, LG, ZTE, Huawei, Nokia, Asus, and more — and you can follow all of our coverage from here. In the meantime, here’s what you can look forward to.
Throughout the Samsung vs. Apple patent trial, Judge Lucy Koh has been a stern and sardonic overseer that has more often than not resembled a fight between children than an actual lawsuit. Now Koh is speaking up again, telling Samsung and Apple that, once again, they are wasting everyone’s time throwing a million and one allegations at one another, and that they need to “focus and streamline” their cases against one another.
When you buy your iPhone 5, you have tons of options to choose from. Yes, there are different storage sizes, but you also have the two color options, and then have to get the right iPhone for your carrier. In the U.S. that means you have 18 different models to chose from if you don’t have a carrier preference.
If Apple could just manufacture one iPhone that works on all the LTE carriers, then they’d be able to simplify their supply chain considerably. Luckily, Qualcomm announced a new wireless chip that might make that possible.
The latest commercial for the Optimus G Pro starts as a homage to Apple’s iPhone 5 ad, “Cheese!”, which famously advertised iOS 6’s Panorama functionality.
Man, though, does LG one-up Apple in this advertisement, not only showing how the Optimus G Pro can create a 180 degree panorama of a scene… you can actually use the camera to stitch together a full 360 panorama as well, which LG calls a VR Panorama.
In addition to forecasting that Apple would double existing investor dividends to 6% by borrowing low-interest cash domestically. Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty walked away from her recent meeting with another conviction: that a cheaper ‘iPhone mini’ aimed at emerging markets was extremely likely
With AAPL stock in decline, investors are rioting to get a piece of Apple’s $137.1 billion cash horde. Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn, of course, has been making waves with his lawsuit against Apple and his proposal that Apple issue an ‘iPref’ preferred dividend to investors; now, Morgan Stanley Katy Huberty has come out of a meeting with Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer, apparently convinced that Apple will more than double its existing dividend to investors to 6%.
With 60 episodes, over 1,000,000 downloads, and more appearances as an iTunes top tech podcast than we can count, we celebrate our first year anniversary on our newest episode of The CultCast! Join us as we remember our favorite episodes and guests, and tell the story of how CultCast almost never made it on the air.
But first, true to form, we discuss this week’s best Apple news and stories, including the new iOS features Sony is introducing into their just-announced Playstation 4; the honor Jony Ive just received that’s even better than a knighthood; and Woz says Apple is close to losing its cool—we disagree!
Get a fun weekly dose of all things Apple, subscribe to The CultCast now on iTunes, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App.
Street View is a new $0.99 iOS app from FutureTap that promises to bring Google Street View back to Apple’s Maps app on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Once installed, you’ll be able to access Street View from within Apple Maps with a series of simple taps. It’s not seamless, but it works.
Google has updated its Google Maps SDK for iOS to version 1.1, opening up its API to all third-party developers who now have the ability to build iOS apps with Google Maps embedded. The update also adds support for ground overlays, gesture controls, and more.
Now that you’ve upgraded to the latest iOS devices, you’re probably wondering what to do with all your old 30-pin speaker docks. You could get a $30 Lightning to 30-pin adapter from Apple and continue to use them, but for just $15 extra, you can get the auris and turn them into wireless Bluetooth speakers.
The official Call of Duty Elite app for iOS has today been updated to version 2.2.0, which adds a number of handy new features. Players can now compare their statistics with those of their friends, and track their progress during clan operations and challenges.
We told you that LEGO The Lord of the Rings was coming out this week, but if you were waiting for it to show up on Steam, you might be as disappointed as I was when I went to check it out tonight. The Steam store entry for the video game only shows PC compatibility, making my poor Mac-loving head sad.
Luckily, though, you can purchase LEGO The Lord of the Rings via the Mac Game Store as well as directly from Feral Interactive, the studio that ported the game to Mac in the first place, for the same $30 as it would cost you on Steam.
Maybe you’ve never played what is, inarguably, the best series of empire-building games ever created, and want to see what all the fuss is about. Or maybe you’ve been meaning to try that Vikings expansion pack. If any of the above fit, now is the time: Aspyr has cut the prices of all their Civilization titles by half to coincide with the release of the Civilization V: Gold Edition.
There are many Craigslist apps out there, but let’s be honest, most of them suck. A new app for Craigslist on Android and iPhone has arrived, and it’s beautiful. It comes from Mokriya, the development company behind high profile apps like Path.
Mokriya’s app is officially licensed by Craigslist, and it’s available now for free in Google Play and the App Store.
If you’ve been up on your Apple news the past few months, then you’ve probably heard about a “silly sideshow” that been going on about Apple’s stock. Basically, Greenlight Capital isn’t happy with the amount of cash their getting back on their investment in Apple, while Apple has been hoarding all their cash.
Hoping to convince Apple to give shareholders some of their cash, Greenlight Capitals found, David Einhorn, has a concocted a plan that would have Apple selling “iPref” stock to investors who want to eat Apple’s cake.
The only time I ever really care about Major League Baseball is during the Spring. And that’s only because I live in Arizona, where half of the league’s teams come for Spring training, and I can go watch tons of all-stars play games for cheap.
Whether you love baseball or not, you can certainly appreciate the amount of work that goes into the MLB At Bat app. It’s got tons of information, video, and photos, and it got a big update just in time for Spring training.
Every time I even go near a computer on a desk my wrists lock up and my carpal tunnels tighten. Still, even I can appreciate the amazing versatility and capacious storage power of this fully operational My Writing Desk, a beautiful plywood and fiberboard confection from etc.etc. designs.
Google has just unveiled an absolutely mystifying new product apparently created by insane millionaires, for even crazier millionaires: the Pixel, a $1,300 Chromebook with a Retina-like display. Although it’s attractive and well specced, it might be the most inexplicable product announced this year.