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Dear Handset Maker:

Your company and hundreds of others are engaged in an epic battle for the smartphone handset market, which within a year or two will exceed a billion customers and $150 billion a year in revenue.

Don’t you want a big piece of that? Because if you do, you’re not acting like it.

Samsung gets most of the market share and some of the profits. Apple gets most of the profits and some of the market share. But Samsung fears with justification that its lead is slipping away to lower-cost and more aggressive vendors. Apple’s momentum has slowed horribly with the onslaught of Android phones.

The rest of you handset makers — let’s face it — are scrambling for crumbs on the floor.

Instead of taking one of the known-bad losing strategies, why don’t you try the obvious winning strategy?

I’m going to describe the losing strategies, then spell out the winning one.

Apple is “aggressively” hiring new talent to make the rumored ‘iWatch’ a reality, according to a report today from the Financial Times. The last specific claim we heard regarding the iWatch was when Bloomberg said Apple wanted to launch the product this year after placing a team of around 100 product designers on the project. Engineering issues have caused Apple to seek outside help, and now the Financial Times believes that we won’t see the iWatch until late 2014.

The Korean studios Posh Craft and Realize have recently collaborated on designing a shell for the iPhone 5 called the Luna iPhone Skin.

The skin is actually made out of semi-flexible concrete, and each has crater patterns that are unique — no two are alike.

The skin will go on sale soon, according to the company, at a yet-undisclosed price.

OS X Mavericks beta, while not quite an overhaul as iOS 7, still carries quite a few new enhancements and features that you might not necessarily see at first glance. There are plenty of hidden features, which we’ve already detailed here on Cult of Mac, but more continue to be found. Lucky you, we’re here to help put them all together in one place.

Here are five of those hidden features for OS X Mavericks beta, each perhaps surprising in their own, special way.

Amazon is beating Apple in the eBooks racket by using Apple’s own pricing strategy for music.

But Apple can still clobber Amazon by out-Appling not the iTunes pricing strategy, but the Apple marketing strategy: Create a vastly better user experience for both content creators and content consumers! Oh, and focus on audio.

Here’s how.

This time on The CultCast: great apps go free for Apple’s 5th Appaversary; an updated Retina Macbook Pro is close at hand; iPad Mini COULD go retina; our favorite new iOS 7 beta 3 features; researchers know where you’ll take your iPhone next; Alex E. Heath loves Daughters; mini Kahney gets a birthday surprise; and guests hosts GWAR stop by! That last part’s a lie.

Have a few laughs and get caught up on this week’s best Apple stories. Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the audio adventure begin.

iOS 7 beta has a ton of new features, tricks, hidden things, and ways to get stuff done. We’ve been showing it all to you as we delve into the latest and greatest mobile OS for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch for a few weeks now.

But we’re not ready to stop. Here are even more (five of ’em!) secret, hidden, or just plain surprising features we’ve found in iOS 7 beta.

In what is perhaps the most bizarre lawsuit ever filed against Apple, Tennessee lawyer Chris Sevier is seeking damages for watching “women engaging in sexual acts with the intent to cause vicarious arousal” on his Apple devices. Contained within his 50-page complaint, Sevier’s proposal is that Apple ship its devices in a “safe mode” that customers would have to take steps to disable if they wanted to be naughty.

The Vanderbilt law school grad believes that it’s Apple’s responsibility to shift “the burden off of the buyers who do not want to see porn onto those who do want to see pornographic content to take the additional step.”

ReadKit is one of the best read-it-later/RSS apps out there for the Mac. It supports a nice lineup of services, and now it has been updated with Feedly integration. Although Feedly is the best Google Reader alternative for most people, it has been lacking a solid Mac app—until now.

Here’s the full list of changes and bug fixes in ReadKit 2.2:

So, if you haven’t played Anomaly 2, yet, now is the time to check it out, as it’s a brilliant and fun real-time tower defense and offense game with gorgeous graphics and delightful head-to-head multiplayer action.
You can grab the new update for free, or–if you haven’t gotten the game, yet–grab a copy for only $7.49 on Steam right now. Seriously, a game this good for under eight bucks? Why are you still here?

Yesterday, we told you about Eidos and Square Enix’s decision to not let jailbroken iOS devices–something that’s completely legal–play the game.

Today, however, after an apparent onslaught of media and customer complaint, Square Enix has reversed it’s choice.

Curious to see what the next version of iOS will be like but don’t have an iPhone? Now there’s an app on Google Play called Control Center that brings the iOS 7 Control Center user experience to Android phones.

The app functions pretty much identical to the Control Center found on iOS 7 except it’s more customizable.  Swipe up from the bottom of your device and you get quick access to toggles for Wifi, Bluetooth, volume, a flash light, camera, and a couple of other basic functions.

The download is free in Google Play right now so if you’ve been eyeing some of the new iOS 7 features, here’s how to get one of them with out having to spend a cent on a new iPhone.

Via: Gizmodo

Source: Google

AT&T plans to purchase Leap Wireless for $15 per share. Leap is the parent company of Cricket Wireless, a small U.S. carrier that sells the iPhone prepaid. In a press release issued today, both carriers confirmed the acquisition plans, explaining that “AT&T will acquire all of Leap’s stock and wireless properties, including licenses, network assets, retail stores and approximately 5 million subscribers.” Leap is currently over $2 billion in debt, so the AT&T deal will help rescue what has been a sinking ship.

“AT&T will retain the Cricket brand name, provide Cricket customers with access to AT&T’s award-winning 4G LTE mobile network, utilize Cricket’s distribution channels, and expand Cricket’s presence to additional U.S. cities,” notes the press release. The acquisition will also help bolster AT&T’s coverage in select areas around the country. More importantly, Cricket customers will have access to AT&T’s more robust 4G LTE network.

iTunes Radio is here – and it’s looking pretty cool. One of the more Pandora-like options in iTunes Radio is the ability to create a station based on your favorite artist or song, and even mix and match artists for a custom bunch of songs you can play uninterrupted, like, well, radio. You can even tell iTunes Radio what songs or artists not to play in the mix, as well as manage which types of songs (Top Hits, Mix, Discovery) from each artist to play.

Here’s how to add a new artist or song to iTunes Radio in iOS 7 beta.

The iPad mini is, for my money, the perfect iPad as far as form factor is concerned. But man, that 1024 x 768 display just looks like garbage once you’ve gone Retina. So while I have (and love) my iPad mini as an e-reader, I won’t get rid of my Retina iPad until the iPad mini can match it, pixel for pixel.

I doubt I’m alone in this, which is why everyone’s eagerly waiting for the iPad mini 2. Apple obviously wants to put a Retina display in the next-generation tablet, but the question remains: is the technology (and the production yields) there yet to make it a reality? Not in 2013, according to a new report.

When the iPhone was unveiled back in 2007, its touch screen was a revelation to the industry. You don’t need a stylus; you just touch it with your finger and it responds almost instantaneously.

While the iPhone’s touch display may feel a bit magical, the glass is coated in a thin, transparent material called indium tin oxide (ITO) that can sense when you touch the display. It’s one of those little tiny feats of engineering that you never really notice, except according to a new report from the U.S. government, supplies of ITO are dwindling and researchers are hustling to find a replacement.

Made from durable thermoplastic polyurethane, the Ballistic Smooth Series case for iPad mini aims to provide even the clumsiest of owners with all the protection they’ll need for their beloved tablet. And it does so without adding too much bulk.

“Your new iPad mini is a sleek and sexy piece of technology, we want to make sure you can keep it that way,” Ballistic says. “We developed the Ballistic Smooth Series case for the iPad mini. This case offers the best of both worlds, it is slim but still offers a lot of protection from the hazards of daily use.”

The Smooth Series comes in four colors — black, hot pink, charcoal, and purple — all of which include four sets of replaceable corner bumpers in a variety of different colors, so you can customize its look to suit you. It’s priced at $39.99, so let’s find out whether it’s worth it.

We all know how exciting getting your first iPhone can be. But you should always remember to take your old phone home with you when you upgrade at the store — particularly if you decided to steal your iPhone rather than pay for it.

One man was caught red-handed for a robbery at a DMW Wireless store in Springfield, Virginia, when he left his Samsung Galaxy behind after fleeing the scene.

In its first foray into the world of 3D printing, eBay has introduced a new app for iOS, called eBay Exact. The new app allows users to customize and purchase 3D-printed products from Sculpteo, MakerBot, and Hot Pop Factory, which are built to order and shipped from each 3D printer’s facilities.

Right now eBay Exact only has about 20 items to choose from and customize, but more are likely to be added in the future as the 3D printing wave continues to gain momentum. All of the customizations are handled within the app as users are able to personalize colors, engravings, and even design textures for a few items.

Here’s what it’s like to design a custom wood grain iPhone case with the app:

Seasoned Mac users know that their computers aren’t immune to malware, viruses, and other privacy violators. But new Mac users may still be hearing the old myth that Macs are immune to the evils of the Internet.

This Cult of Mac Deals offer aims to help out both the new and seasoned Mac user with one year of digital security with The Mac Premium Security Bundle. We’ve got it available for only $49.99 for a limited time – a savings of 64%!

Apple needs a lot of tin to make its assortment of gadgets, but tin can be a very environmentally unfriendly business. It can destroy tropical forests and coral reefs, and it can bankrupt the people who depend on tropical forests and coral reefs for their livelihood. No tropical forests? No trees. No coral reefs? No fish.

Much of the tin-mining in the world is done on Bangka Island in Indonesia. Unfortunately, only some of the tin mining done there is regulated, meaning they watch out for the environmental impact. Recently, there’s been a lot of concern that Apple might actually be buying up tin from unregulated mines, taking part in the environmental destruction of the locale. That’s why Apple’s launching an investigation on the matter.

While Rovio has been pretty busy lately helping other developers launch new iOS games via its publishing company, Rovio Stars, but the Angry Birds hit marker isn’t done churning out its own titles.

This morning Rovio announced it will reveal a brand new game next Monday, July 15th. The teaser image pays homage to the very first teaser poster that was released for Star Wars Episode I: the Phantom Menace, so it looks like the new game will be an Angry Birds version of the prequel trilogy:

Attention, Angry Birds fans! Stay tuned on Monday, July 15th, for big news about a brand new game! We’re talking the biggest character line-up ever, awesome new powers, and maybe even a few surprises!

Intrigued? Stay tuned for more news on #July15!

Source: Rovio

VimpelCom, owner of Beeline, Russia’s third-biggest mobile carrier, has cut its ties with Apple and decided it will no longer offer the iPhone. The company reportedly feels Apple’s conditions are too “harsh,” and so it has inked a deal with its biggest rival instead.

At the same Sun Valley conference where Apple CEO Tim Cook and Senior Vice President Eddy Cue are prowling around looking for iTunes deals, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt says that the war between Google and Apple isn’t quite so thermonuclear anymore. In fact, he says Cupertino is thawing in many respects towards the search giant.