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iWatch patent describes built-in camera and ambient light sensors

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iwatch
(Credit: Todd Hamilton)

As rumors continue to swell about Apple’s long-awaited leap into wearable tech, the U.S. Patent & Trademarks Office Tuesday granted a new patent covering an iWatch-like device form factor.

While Apple only lists a “wrist-watch device” as one of the possible applications of its planned electronic device, everything about the patent is in line with what we’ve heard about the iWatch.

The patent covers the housing for a device which would include wireless circuits such as transceiver circuits, and optical components such as light sensors and cameras.

How Apple plans on supercharging the camera in the superthin iPhone 6

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Cramming something as complicated as a camera into a form factor as thin as that of a smartphone is difficult, and with smartphones getting thinner all the time, many smartphones — from Nokia’s PureView-equipped Lumia’s to Google’s Voltron-like Project Ara — are choosing better image quality over sleek form-factor by making their smartphone cameras protrude, at least a little bit.

Will Apple follow suit with the iPhone 6 if it means better image stabilization? Come on. That’s not their style. But the camera will be getting better.

Unlike Android, iPhone users are totally safe from mobile malware

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For years Macs have had the reputation of being less susceptible to malware than PCs. According to a new report, that also holds true when it comes to iPhones.

Research by Finnish security firm F-Secure looked at reports of mobile malware detected in the first quarter of 2014. Of the 277 new threats detected, they found that 275 were aimed at the Android platform — while only one targeted iPhones. (The other was for Nokia’s defunct Symbian software.)

NYC bars use iBeacons to gamify the pub crawl experience

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iBeacon barcrawl

In New York on May 20? If you are, own an iPhone, and fancy drumming up some business for local bars, you may want to get involved with the so-called “BeaconCrawl.”

An interactive bar crawl event, supporting venues in lower New York hit by 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, BeaconCrawl will use iBeacons to help gamify the experience of staggering between drinking establishments, getting increasingly legless.

Facebook’s Messenger app adds video sharing feature, and more

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FB Messenger

In preparation for Mark Zuckerberg’s evil plan of making us all download Messenger in order to carry on our Facebook conversations, Facebook Messenger has just received a spit-shine of an update.

Version 5.0 of the app adds several new features and improvements. Among these is a slightly revamped interface which makes sending photos and voice messages easier than before. In addition, users can now send videos directly from their device’s Camera Roll to friends, with these videos playing directly in the app itself.

Why you shouldn’t buy a new iPhone for a stranger in exchange for cash

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In the underground world of iPhone trafficking, someone has to take the fall. Unfortunately, it appears to be the homeless and others in desperate need of some quick cash.

9News in Denver, Colorado has shone light on how traffickers who sell unlocked iPhones for a premium outside of the U.S. take advantage of the uninformed.

You have to understand the way carrier contracts work in the states before this system, which 9News has dubbed “iScheme,” makes sense. 

Apple is raising $17 billion in debt for expanded buyback program

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$1 trillion value
Apple is heading toward a $1 trillion market cap. But could Amazon get there first?
Photo: Pierre Marcel/Flickr CC

Wall Street is lining up to stuff its pockets with cash from Apple’s money printing empire, but rather than dipping into its massive offshore cash pile to pay for its expanded buyback program, Apple is once again planning to raise an enormous amount of debt to pay off  investors.

Classic Sonic sequel is a 16-bit masterpiece

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Full disclosure up front: I was a huge fan of the Sonic series back in the day. As a result, sitting down to play Sonic the Hedgehog 2 I was of two minds: one part of me happy to be replaying a game I had enjoyed so much in childhood; the other part worried that this would be a lazy cash-in on the part of Sega.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 by SEGA
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
Price: $0.99

Was I right to be concerned? Yes, is the short answer. Ever since the late 1990s, Sonic games have been the model of inconsistency: good efforts at reviving Sega’s flagship character quickly brought back down to earth by frankly shocking attempts at new installments.

I didn’t play the first stab at bringing Sonic 2 to iOS, but reportedly it was pretty uninspiring stuff — featuring sound problems, rubbish virtual controls, a windowed play area and (perhaps worst of all for our speedy hedgehog friend) slowdown issues.

So how has the game fared this time for the re-release?

Taking high-quality pictures is a snap with the Muku Shuttr remote [Deals]

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With this Cult of Mac Deals offer, you can take great selfies, group photos and videos from as far as 30 feet away! The Muku Shuttr is a genius remote shutter button that keeps you from getting stuck behind the camera.

Cult of Mac has reviewied the Muku Shuttr, and now we’ve got this slee, portable, and study apparatus available for just $39 during this limited time offer!

How to listen to YouTube audio outside of the app

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With such a large music library on YouTube it’s an ideal way of listening to your favorite artists. Playing music videos in the native YouTube app is convenient, but playing and leaving the app to still listen to your video’s audio isn’t possible. Luckily thanks to iOS 7 there’s a simple way around this, allowing you to enjoy your music in no time.

Take a look at the video to see what to do.

Outwit goons in noir detective game Third Eye Crime

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Last night the app waltzed into my life, a stylish-looking game with head-sure confidence and whip-smart intellect. It didn’t waste any time getting down to business. It needed a thief with nimble fingers, and I was just the gamer for the job.

There are over a million apps in the naked App Store, and Third Eye Crime is one of the stylish ones. It’s a noir-themed stealth action game where you play as a detective with a passion for thievery and a touch of psychic ability.

VersaKeyboard combines iPad Air case, keyboard and stand

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We like Moshi’s Verso covers, which fold – origami-like – into a variety of handy stands. And we (actually probably just me – nobody else here uses one) love the InCase Origami, which covers the Apple aluminum keyboard with a case that folds out into an iPad stand.

So how could I resist Moshi’s VersaKeyboard, which kind of does both?

StickR TrackR: A coin-sized device that keeps you from losing your stuff [Deals]

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Ever lose something? Of course you have. How would like to keep your belongings found, not lost? With StickR TrackR you can do just that.

StickR TrackR is a coin-sized device that can be attached onto or stuck to any item – keys, remotes, bikes, luggage, etc – and works with the corresponding TrackR app to help you locate your missing goods. And Cult of Mac Deals has StickR TrackR available for a limited time for only $19.95!

Scantily gets you a PDF in 3 easy steps

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Scantily

A lot of apps will let you turn your iPhone into a scanner, but Scantilly lets you turn your snapshots into PDFs quickly and easily. All you do is take a picture of the thing you want to preserve, crop it down using a very simple tool, and then you can e-mail it to whomever you want. You can even add extra pages with a single tap, which is pretty handy if you have things to scan other than crudely drawn cartoons of dubious quality.

Not that I know anything about that.

Source:Scantily – Free | Ashe Avenue

Equilibrium combines magic square fun with an evil timer

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Equilibrium

Magic squares have always vexed me. I understand the concept — arrange a grid of numbers so that the rows and columns add up to predefined values — but actually doing them is beyond me.

Equilibrium by Bavlos Boutros
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch
Price: Free

So maybe I’m not the best person to review Equilibrium, a new iOS game that is nothing but magic squares for days, but I think I can put my own incompetence aside to recommend it. It has great presentation, a good challenge and is as accessible as can be.

I’m still awful at it, but hey.