The new TonePrint app lets you download guitar-pedal presets to your iPhone and then squirt them into your actual pedal via the pickup of your guitar. This magical-sounding ability is actually pretty simple, but that doesn’t make it any less useful.
It seems like we’ve been waiting for Sharp IGZO technology to solve all of our battery life problems forever now. Unfortunately, Sharp hasn’t just been slow to get the exciting display tech out on the market… they’ve also struggled with financial issues relating to their core business that have threatened to put the Japanese company under.
Luckily, it looks like Sharp might be saved, with Qualcomm now apparently investing up to $120 million in Sharp, specifically to get IGZO displays out there to the masses.
One of the things I’ve always appreciated about Apple is how they approach upgrades. While companies like Microsoft sell their operating systems at an exorbitant licensing cost, Apple has favored an approach in which they release their operating system upgrades either for free (as with iOS) or at a low cost that anyone can afford.
The benefits are big. Updated versions of operating systems tend to be more secure, which helps guarantee OS X’s lead over Windows when it comes to malware. Naturally, then, Mac users tend to adopt new versions of OS X faster than Windows users upgrade, but the statistical disparity might surprise you.
Apple released iOS 6.1 beta 3 to registered developers yesterday, but unless your iOS device’s unique identification number (UDID) is registered with Apple’s developer program, you can’t install it. But don’t worry, we can tell you everything that’s new in this version, including some changes to iCloud setup and Passbook sample cards, new mobile-cellular data options, and more.
Imagine, if you will, a world where cellphone cameras and SLRs get along. A world where one was never teased by the other. Imagine a world where Canon and Nikon lenses can be used as easily on an iPhone as they can on their own bodies.
Now open your eyes and look around. How do you feel? Does anything look any different? It should, because the whole world just changed. Behold! The iPhone SLR Mount.
Apple increased the iPhone’s screen size for the first time when it launched the iPhone 5, giving users an additional 0.5 inches worth of Retina display. If that’s still not enough for you, don’t think you’ll have to give up on iOS and turn to Android; pick up the popSLATE case instead and add an addition 4-inch display to your iPhone 5.
If you’re a Verizon customer, you’ll want to be on the lookout for an email or text message from asking if you’d be willing to share your data usage (location, web browsing and mobile application usage data) in return for coupons or “rewards.” This sort of data farming for advertisers is nothing new in today’s world, but always a bit unsettling.
The People People Speaker is a clever solution to a persistent, cruel and terrible first-world problem: big, ugly speakers eating up the visual space of your home. The answer isn’t to make the speaker smaller, but to make the speaker less visible.
Thus the almost invisible speaker was born.
China Unicom, China’s second-largest mobile carrier, began accepting iPhone 5 pre-orders on Monday ahead of the handset’s December 14 launch. And during the first day alone, it saw more than 100,000 orders placed online. Apple devices have become hugely popular in China, and it seems the iPhone 5 will be no exception.
Gameloft has announced that Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour, the latest addition to its series of first-person shooters, will make its debut on iOS this Thursday, December 6, before arriving on Android “shortly after.” We’ve been following the title’s development since Gameloft released its first teaser tailer back in September, and we couldn’t be more excited. If you’re a fan of FPS games, this is the title to look out for.
Rockstar Games is bringing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City — the best game in the GTA series, in my opinion — to Android and iOS on Thursday (like you didn’t already know that!) to celebrate its 10th anniversary. And to ensure we’re super excited for its release, the company has teased us with a few screenshots from the game.
They’ll look very familiar to you if you’ve already played Vice City before, because it’s almost exactly the same game. But look closely and you’ll notice the game looks a whole lot nicer this time around.
Apple has flipped the switch on the iTunes Store in a grand total of 56 new countries around the world, including key emerging markets like India. Russia, a country where Apple is expected to hold a small celebration event, also now has access to iTunes music and movies.
The iTunes Store is now available in 119 countries in dozens of currencies. Here’s the full press release from Apple:
Android technically sells more smartphones than Apple, but iOS devices continue to dominate mobile web traffic. Chitika Insights has been tracking web traffic on the top mobile platforms, and iOS commands 67% of usage and Android only 33%.
Since May, iOS has seen 2% traffic growth while Android has seen a 2% decrease. Both parties have put out a volley of new devices in recent months, yet the percentages have largely stayed the same for both. More people may be buying Android devices, but iOS device owners appear to be more active online.
There are two Steve Jobs biographical films in the works in Hollywood right now. One is being written by Aaron Sorkin and sounds like it might be a hit. The other has been fast-tracked for a 2013 release, stars Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, and is probably going to suck.
We’ll have to wait a while for Sorkin’s flick, but Ashton’s film, jOBS, has been filming throughout 2012 and will be making its official debut at the Sundance Film Festival this January in Park City, Utah.
Since Apple released iOS 5.1.1 for the Apple TV last week alongside iTunes 11, many users have reported problems updating to the new software over an ethernet connection. This appears to be the result of nasty bug in the latest Apple TV OS. Some Apple TVs even failed to boot back up after the update wouldn’t stick.
If you’ve been having problems updating to 5.1.1 on your Apple TV, then try updating over a Wi-Fi connection or manually restoring in iTunes.
Hunted Cow released its new iOS game, Battle Dungeon, in the App Store less than a week ago, and the title has already been pulled. Why? Rampant piracy. The number of illegitimate users put such a strain on the game’s servers that Hunted Cow was forced to shut it down.
The RPG-like strategy game allowed users to play with each other and compete in leader boards, upgrade characters, etc. It’s a sad day for the game’s paying users.
One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.
This year, we here at Cult Of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult Of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.
What’s on the other side of the door for Day 3? It’s Jasmine, an exquisitely designed, utterly beautiful app that will make you rediscover how cool YouTube can really be.
iTunes 11 is a huge upgrade from its predecessor, and it has received lots of positive feedback since it became available for download on Thursday, November 29th.
Apple has baked iCloud into the core of iTunes, and the app’s interface has been decluttered and enhanced with new features like the MiniPlayer. We’ve been combing through the innards of iTunes 11 to find all of the little changes and additions. Here’s our updating list of iTunes 11 tips and tricks:
The new iMacs are lovely, but the smaller units are hard as hell to get into if you want to make some upgrades of your own. The recent iFixit teardown of the 21.5-inch iMac revealed that you’ll have to unglue your display if you want to swap out your hard drive or add more RAM, even though it’s a piece of cake on the bigger, 27-inch iMacs.
Apple added a new feature for the 27-inch iMacs that makes swapping out RAM easier than a push of a button. Well, it’s almost that easy – here’s how to do it.
Say what you will about Apple losing marketshare to Android and Samsung. The iPhone 5 is still the most lusted-after gadget of 2012 if search queries are any indication of where the public’s heart lies. People want the iPhone 5 more than they want to see pics of Kim Kardashian.
Yahoo released their year in review report on the most searched terms of 2012 and the iPhone 5 came in second place, beating out Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Kate Upton, Kate Middleton, and Whitney Houston, while “elections” was the most searched term overall.
Looking for a gift for a loved one, a workmate, or even someone you secretly hate but are obliged to buy something for? Then let us help you. Our Cult Of Mac Holiday Gift Guide is running throughout November and December, thrice weekly with farm-fresh updates every time.
Looking for something in particular? Here’s the full rundown:
One of the better Yuletide traditions is the venerable holiday Advent Calendar, in which each day of December leading up to Christmas is marked off on a special calendar by opening its corresponding door to find a small gift, toy or chocolate squirreled away inside.
This year, we here at Cult of Mac decided we wanted to give our readers their very own Apple-themed advent calendar, filled with the year’s best apps, gadgets, stories and other curios. So each day in December, we’re going to lovingly peel back the door on the Cult of Mac 2012 Advent Calendar to reveal another delicious morsel, something really special that came out this year that we think every one of you should enjoy.
We’re running a little behind, so playing catch up today by posting our first and second day picks along with our choice for December 3rd.
Our Day 2 choice? Clear, iOS’s best and most beautiful list-maker.
When most people think of Apple they think of hardware. Apple’s got the iPhone, iPad, and iMac — and they also make their own software to power those devices — but one of Apple’s secret weapons is its gigantic media division.
iTunes was just updated last week, and you already know that it sells everything from books, Apps, newspapers, music, TV shows, movies and more. But did you know that iTunes would be one of the largest and most profitable media companies in the world if Apple decided to set up iTunes as a separate company?
Believe it or not, Black Friday has already come and gone. Pretty soon the Christmas season will begin, and we’ll mark this midwinter festival by getting together with friends and family and continuing to drink and eat far too much.
Meanwhile, we also buy gifts for those same friends and family members, whether they want them or not. Luckily, we’re here to help, and if you follow our festive advice, your gifts just might make it into the “wanted” category.
From now until Christmas, Cult of Mac will be putting together holiday gift guys full of ideas for the special ones in your life, no matter what their interests or your budget. Today, we’re looking at gifts for the good gentleman in your life.
Apple has just released the third beta build of iOS 6.1. Anyone with a developer account can install the latest iOS 6.1 beta 3 on their iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch by either downloading the update directly from the developer portal, or checking for a software update from the Settings app in iOS.
We’ll let you know if we find any new goodies in the beta once we’ve installed it on our devices and ran our fingers through it.