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Retina iPad Mini Shipping Times From Carriers Are Backed Up Till December

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iPad Air and iPad mini

Tim Cook admitted that the iPad mini with Retina display will be in short supply for the next few weeks, but while Wifi-only units seem to be in-stock at Apple Stores across the country, it looks like Apple is having a hard time keeping a steady supply of 3G/4G units rolling out to developers.

Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are all reporting shortages of iPad mini with Retina display stock with most orders being backed up for weeks, according to a report from CNET

ESPN Launches SportCenter For iOS As Redesign Of Old ScoreCenter App

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The worldwide leader in sports announced today that it is rebranding its ScoreCenter app for iOS and Android into an all-new, totally supercharged SportsCenter app that comes with a sleek iOS 7 design scheme to go along with some speed enhancements and a host of other new features.

The new SportsCenter app makes it easier than ever to track your favorite teams with the “Clubhouses” feature that brings in content focused for your favorite teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA and more. A new Favorites tab also lets you keep tabs on your teams’ scores along with the new Inbox feature that becomes your hub for alerts on personalized news and scores.

Here are the full release notes:

I Absolutely Did Not Make A Post About ‘Writedown Lite’ From The Bathroom At My Day Job

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Writedown

Writedown — Productivity — Free (Pro version: $2.99)

Sometimes, you have to write something really quickly on the go. Like, say, if you were supposed to find an app to write up for your daily post on a tech blog.

Actually, nevermind that example. It’s crazy and would never happen. But if it did, Writedown might be a good fit. It’s a quick and easy document creation tool that cuts out all the distractions (other than ads, in this Lite version). You just type your thing in a clean interface, and then you can export it to a text, e-mail, social media, or share it with AirDrop.

It’s bare-bones, quick, and easy to use. Not that I’m using it right now.

Crazy.

Writedown

Why Do YOU Think You Should Play The Shivah: Kosher Edition? [Review]

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The Shivah

The Shivah starts with a joke:

The Shivah: Kosher Edition by Wadjet Eye Games
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPhone, iPad
Price: $1.99

“A goy came up to Rabbi Moishe to ask, ‘Why do rabbis always answer with a question?’

To which Rabbi Moise replied, ‘Why not?'”

First released in 2006, The Shivah is a noirish, murder-mystery adventure game centered around a money-deficient New York synagogue. Its hero, Russell Stone, is not a hardbitten private investigator or a disgraced former police officer like the genre typically demands. He’s a cynical rabbi with a heavy conscience who stumbles into the investigation completely by accident. It sounds odd, and it is, but it also totally works.

Now, developer Wadjet Eye Games has released The Shivah: Kosher Edition, an updated iOS and PC version of the original game with all-new graphics and music. If you’ve never played the original and you’re a fan of adventure games and (well-meaning) Jewish humor, it’s a great take on the well-trod genre.

WhatsApp’s Upcoming iOS 7 Update Gets Shown Off Early [Video]

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Given that it’s one of the biggest and most successful third-party messaging platforms available on mobile, you might be wondering why WhatsApp still hasn’t been updated for iOS 7 — more than two months after the software’s public release, and over five months after it was first made available to developers. (I certainly am.)

But the update — complete with a fancy redesign — is on its way, and you can get an early glimpse at it in the hands-on video below.

Big U.S. Carriers Don’t Want Smartphone Muggings To Go Down

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Smartphone crime is a huge problem. In fact, New York City’s crime rate went up for the first time in twenty years because people are mugged violently so often for their iPhones.

In response to iPhone crime, Apple has made some important improvements to iOS, including requiring users to enter their iCloud password to turn ‘Find my iPhone’ off, and the new ‘Activation Lock’ feature in iOS 7which allows users to disable stolen or lost iPhones remotely.

Apple’s got the right solution, but you know who hates it? The carriers. In fact, as other manufacturers have tried to insert similar cellphone kill switches in their smartphones to Apple’s, the carriers are standing defiant against them. Why? Because they are afraid that it will affect their bottom lines.

Could Future iPhones Be Made In The USA? It’s More Plausible Than You Think

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With the new Mac Pro, Apple has once against shifted manufacturing of one of its products to the United States. Could other products follow? Even, say, the iPhone?

Foxconn chairman and president Terry Gou has hinted yes, saying that the company is actively looking into the possibility of setting up factories for high-end smartphone and tablet production in America. But how likely is it?

Microsoft To Offer An App Catalog To Rival Android Or Apple… By End Of 2014?

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If there are two main areas where Microsoft massively lags behind both Android and Apple it is market share and app availability.

Well, Microsoft has copped to its role as a “distant third” in the former capacity (Windows Phones represent less than a 5 percent share of the overall market), but is the latter something more immediately addressable?

Yes, according to a tweet posted by Windows Phone VP Joe Belfiore — the man responsible for the design and software product definition of Microsoft’s smartphones — who enthusiastically claims that the end of 2014 is going to mark the end of the “app-gap” between Windows Phones, and those available for Android and iOS platforms.

Foldio, The Pocket-Sized, Magnetic, LED-Lit iPhone Photo Studio

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Due to a combination of laziness and… actually just laziness, I often use my iPhone to take product shots for the reviews you see here on Cult of Mac. And while my Snapseed usually lets me turn my snaps into usable photos, I could sometimes do with a little help trying to find a spot on my desk that isn’t covered in junk to use as a backdrop.

Yes, I could clean up, but as I mentioned above, I’m terminally lazy. So I might instead adopt Andrew Park’s Foldio, a tiny light tent for iPhone product shots and the like.

Samsung Files Emergency Motion To Halt Apple Patent Trial

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In latest news from the Samsung vs. Apple patent case, Samsung on Wednesday filed an emergency motion with presiding Judge Lucy Koh to halt Apple’s damages retrial.

Why the halt? Because according to court documents, the US Patent and Trademark Office has suggested that Apple’s “pinch to zoom” patent (which much of the patent trial revolves around) might not actually be valid.

The iRecorder, An iPhone Speaker Styled Like a 1980s Cassette Player

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irecorder

Remember back when a button was a button, and not a skeuomorphic touch-screen fake complete with drop shadows and gradients? Me too. Back in the 1980s and beyond, kids had tougher fingers thanks to all the button-pushing that went on, not like the kids of today with their weak twiglets which threaten to snap if they squeeze their in–0line remote’s play/pause “button” too hard.

Which is my way of saying that you can keep your pathetic modern-day children from playing any music by simply loading your iPhone into this retro-tastic iRecorder.

Tumblr For iPhone And iPad Gets Redesigned For iOS 7

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Tumblr has redesigned its iOS app with a fresh look for iOS 7. The Dashboard, post compose screen, and post chooser have all been redone, and the finished product is an app with plenty of character that feels very at home in Apple’s latest mobile OS.

The official Tumblr app has never felt aesthetically clunky or old, but this most recent update is a huge step forward in terms of modernizing the interface and animations. On the feature side, tags can now be autocompleted, and faster reblogging for users with multiple accounts. There are plenty of other changes in the app to discover, like an improved photo uploader and trending tags design in the Explore tab.

Tumblr is a free universal download in the App Store.

Source: App Store

Xspin Bluetooth Sensor Is Like GPS Tracking For Indoor Bicycle And Elliptical Rides [First Look]

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Image courtesy of Pafers.

 

Now that winter has hit the country, cycling has moved indoors for much of the U.S. That means straddling a stationary bike or throwing your trusty road or mountain bike up on a stand (or if you’re really brave, rollers).

That’s where the Xspin comes in. it’s a small box filled with sensors and a low-energy Bluetooth 4.0 radio that attaches to a crank arm and sends speed, distance and cadence data to an accompanying app — either one of two developed by its parent company, Pafers, or a handful of popular third-party cycling apps, like Strava or MapMyRide. It’ll also work with ellipticals (though it obviously attaches differently, since ellipticals don’t have cranks).

Stop Accidental Swipes – Control That Control Center [iOS 7 Tips]

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Control Center Settings

It’s fantastic to be able to swipe up from the bottom of the screen in any app or the home screen to turn Wi-Fi on or off, enable or disable Bluetooth, and the like. Control Center in iOS 7 has really solved some of my biggest issues with iOS in general.

However, there are times when I’m playing a game or using a certain app that I don’t really want the Control Center to pop up when i use the bottom of the screen.

Thankfully, Apple’s given us a way to disable it.