Ask some people and Apple’s Maps is the cat’s meow, and just as reliable (if not more so) than Google. Ask others (like me) and Apple Maps seem to have been plotted out by the Buster Bluth of catographers, and they haven’t been able to get accurate directions anywhere ever since iOS 6 launched.

The Apple Maps vs. Google Maps debate isn’t likely to be settled any time soon in userland, but what do developers think? Which is better for developers: Apple Maps or Google Maps?

If you’re struggling to stay within your smartphone data plan each month, then maybe one of AT&T’s new shared data plans might be better for you. The company is now offering 30GB, 40GB, and 50GB tiers starting at just $300 per month. That’s right, per month. That’s with unlimited calls and texts included. Bargain, right?

We keep hearing rumors that the iPhone 5S is going to come to us in a rainbow of different color options. While we find it hard to believe that Apple will colorize the iPhone 5S, we do think the rumored cheaper iPhone, with it’s plastic or carbon fiber body, would be perfect for colorization.

Concept artist Martin Hajek has a few new renders of what a colorful iPhone 5S or cheap iPhone would look like. Basically, it looks a lot like the current iPod Touch in a good way. Having the option to choose blue or red iPhone would be a lot better than just black or white, but do you guys think Apple is actually going to colorize the iPhone?

Take a look at the pictures below and tell us what you think:

WhatsApp, the hugely popular cross-platform messaging service, is bringing its paid subscription model to iOS. The company hasn’t yet confirmed when the move take place, but it will “definitely” happen during 2013. When that time comes, you’ll need to pay $0.99 a year to use the service.

Back in 2010, a team of hackers who went under the group handle Goatse Security exploited a hole in AT&T’s website to steal over a hundred thousand iPad subscribers’ email addresses.

The first of the pair, Daniel Spitlier, plead guilty to the attack back in 2011, bringing him a 12-18 month maximum sentence.

His partner, though, hasn’t gotten off nearly as easily: Andrew ‘weev’ Auernheimer has just been sentenced to forty-one months.

Loren Brichter is a legend amongst iOS developers. The 28 year old developer is the creator of Tweetie, which eventually became the official Twitter app. He’s the guy behind fan favorite word game Letterpress. He’s the creator of ‘Pull To Refresh’, cell swipe and slide-out panels that have become synonymous features in mobile app development. Yet few people who aren’t app and design junkies even know who he is.

You know what you need when you go away on a weekend trip? Along with your two suitcases worth of clothing, a laptop, a pair of iPads, a speaker maybe, plus case of shoes (rain or shine… Who knows?), chargers, your own personal pillow and, well, you get the point. Now you can add to that list the Traveler Laptop Stand from Magma. That’s right: a folding, portable stand for your folding, portable computer.

There are many, many ways to keep a journal using your various iDevices, or paper, or even — if you’re desperate — your Android phone. (Kidding — a sharpie turns the back of any Android handset into the perfect paper-emulation device.) But they tend to be either high on effort — manually writing up everything yourself — or somewhat proprietary, keeping all your info inside an app or service.

But thanks to the ever-amazing internet automating service IFTTT (If This Then That), and some new channels, it’s now possible to roll your own plain-journal, pulling from various sources automatically. And it even includes pictures, which is quite a trick for plain text.

Apple has extended its warranties on Macs and iOS devices in Australia from 12 to 24 months, but the Cupertino company is keeping quiet about it, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The change has been made to comply with Australian consumer law, which states that statutory warranties should stand for a “reasonable” period of time, even after the manufacturer’s standard warranty has expired.

The iPhone’s user interface is getting old and Apple isn’t innovating fast enough, according to Thorstein Heins, CEO of BlackBerry. Yes, the same BlackBerry which just released the BlackBerry Z10 (several months late) in a last ditch attempt to save the company from going under because of the iPhone.

Heins admits that Apple “did a fantastic job” with the iPhone and its iOS operating system, but he believes the company is now falling behind, giving Android and the new BlackBerry 10 OS a chance to beat it in many areas.

There’s never been much chance that Apple was going to release a new iPad mini with Retina display before later this year.

Although it’s true that Apple refreshed the fourth-gen iPad last just eight months after introducing the third-gen iPad, that refresh had the hallmark of being an exception aimed at making sure every iOS device was compatible with the new Lightning cable.

So it’s unlikely we’re going to see a Retina iPad mini this spring, and here’s further proof: current iPad mini sales aren’t tapering off, giving Apple no reason to upgrade their mini any earlier than necessary.

In response to Samsung’s Galaxy S4 announcement last Thursday, Apple has updated the iPhone 5 pages of its website to remind visitors why people love the iPhone. “Loving it is easy. That’s why so many people do,” the landing page reads, before going on to list all the reasons why the Cupertino company’s smartphone is so popular.

I use Evernote for almost everything these days, including clipping websites to research these daily OS X Tips, writing grocery lists on my Mac and then using my iPhone at the store, and scanning important printed documents to organize digitally.

Did you know, however, that Evernote will also allow you to share notes? It’s fairly easy, and here’s how.

A lot of people think this means Android and the Chrome OS will be merged into a single operating system.

I think that’s crazy talk.

This week’s roundup of must-have iOS apps kicks off with, The Croods, the latest game from Angry Birds maker Rovio. It’s the official game for the upcoming motion picture from DreamWorks, and it sends you back to the Stone Age for a pre-historic adventure. We also have Calendars, the latest app from Readdle; the hugely addictive Super Stickman Golf 2, and more.

It’s ba-ack — but its time is almost up!

This Cult of Mac Deals offer is going to give you a chance once again to get your hands on the Micro Drone – and it won’t cost you a whole lot, either. This deal is just $49!

Chinese actor and singer Peter Ho criticized Apple on China’s Twitter-like Weibo service this week. 

But don’t blame Ho. He was apparently just following orders. But orders from whom? And why?

Or rather, “have someone drive you home.”

After being vilified so much for contributing to dangerous roads (along with all other smartphones, of course), the iPhone will soon turn Samaritan, and maybe help to make the roads a little safer. That’s thanks to the new Breathometer, “the world’s first smartphone breathalyzer.”

The Steve Jobs biographical film,”jobs,” starring Ashton Kutcher, has been delayed. Originally set for an April 19th release, the distributor, Open Road, feels like it hasn’t been able to create enough buzz for the flick before this date.

There’s no new release date announced, either, though it’s fairly atypical for a distribution house not to set a new one when the orignal date is delayed. We can only assume that Open Road will want to avoid the Aaron Sorkin film on the same subject, not wanting to go up against The Social Network screenwriter, no matter how much star power they hoped Kutcher would bring to the project.

The weekends are for movies, right? Personally, I’m going to flock to Oz The Great and Powerful at an IMAX theater this weekend, along with a billion other people, no doubt. Fandango wants to be a part of that weekend rush, and possibly get your $2 per ticket convenience fee, with it’s new mobile and online movie preview show, Weekend Ticket, available now on iOS and Android mobile devices, and the Fandango.com website.

The rumors that Apple’s making a cheaper iPhone have kind of died down a bit with all the iWatch madness, but there’s a new rumor to add some more smoke to the situation.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that the low-cost iPhone is indeed coming, and it will have the same 4-inch screen as the iPhone 5.

Even though Apple’s iOS feature, Newsstand, hasn’t really taken off, Google might be looking to launch its own similar feature.

Google’s newspaper feature will be called Google Play News, and it will be come in issues and subscriptions, similar to the way content is distributed on Apple’s Newsstand.

Whether you love it or hate it, the world still runs most of its computer “work” through Microsoft’s Office suite of apps. It’s pricey, and Office 365 requires a monthly subscription, but you can get the latest version of Office, Microsoft Office for Mac 2011, for cheap right now.

The Rocksteady XS is meant to be a tough, loud outdoor speaker. And it is. But how does it stack up, sound and feature-wise, against some rather stiff competition?

Add microscopes to the list of things your iPhone can replace. A group of scientist visiting Tanzania were able to convert their iPhone 4S into a microscope using nothing by a $7 lens, some double sided tape, and a torch.

After macgyvering the iPhone 4S into a microscope, the scientest then used it to take pictures of stool samples to determine the presences of eggs in some schoolchildren. Amazingly, the iPhone picked up 70 percent of the infections.