BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS – Here’s something I wish would come to a future iPhone, or — even better — an iPad: e-ink. Imagine being able to switch to an e-ink version of the tablet and read in bright sunlight. Or turn off the various radios and enjoy a battery life measured in months, not hours.
That’s what the e-ink phone can do.
BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS –
RadBlocker might sound like some lame anti-skateboarding device from the 1980s, but it is in fact an Israeli company dedicated to keeping your brains unscrambled. And nestled amongst its RF-denying belt holsters (for Dad!) and laptop trays is this amazing pair of headphones: Echo Tubez.
Well, it may be past the officially announced February 22 date, but Canadian game developer Beamdog just sent us an email announcing the availability of Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition for OS X. You can buy it now via the Beamdog site, or wait for the Mac App Store version, which the devs promise is coming soon.
Going paperless is a goal of mine. I’d love to be able to keep all my important documents, like banking paperwork and medical records, all safely and cleanly tucked away into the digital ether. And, while productivity apps are fairly common in the Mac App store, when Apple made document-organizing app, doo, an Editor’s Choice app this week, well, it certainly piqued my interest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3H2hF0dmEE
Yep, note the date at the end of that trailer above? It’s February 25 right now. And, as such, you can grab yourself a copy of Awesome Games Studio’s latest indie game release, Yet Another Zombie Defense, on the App Store today for a mere $0.99, half off the regular $1.99 price. Don’t wait too long, though, as this remake of the popular XBox Live Indie Game will only be on sale for a week.
Apple has finally settled a 2011 lawsuit with parents whose kids spent insane amounts of money on in-app purchases. A group of parents originally sued Apple after their kids raked up enormous iTunes bills on apps that were downloaded for free from the App Store.
One of the world’s most outspoken telecom CEOs recently talked about how he has seen Apple change under the guidance of Tim Cook. Stephane Richard runs Orange, a leading French carrier and longtime Apple partner. During Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Richard spoke to reporters about how he has seen Apple become “more flexible” and “less arrogant than they used to be.”
Apple has been historically fickle about how it lets marketers and developers track iOS users through apps downloaded from the App Store. After all of the privacy concerns were raised about the UDID device identifier back in 2011, a better solution never presented itself.
Apple eventually introduced its own Advertising Identifier for iOS device tracking purposes, but marketers still favored the unique, permanent nature of the UDID. The UDID worked so well because it was a device-specific identifier that could never be changed. Athough developers were technically banned from using the UDID to track iOS devices more than a year ago, many, many apps still use the deprecated method today.
Apple is reportedly starting to reject apps that use web cookies to track user activity in iOS. Could this mean a reinvigorated push towards the Advertising Identifier again?
The popular method for listening to music online has shifted from $0.99 paid downloads to subscription services like Spotify and Rdio. Bigger tech companies like Samsung have tried to claim their piece of the music subscription pie, and Apple is rumored to be entering the space with some sort of ‘iRadio’ product.
That’s why it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Google is working on its own music streaming service too.
Otterbox is known for making really durable iPhone cases that are designed to survive all kinds of calamities. Now Otterbox is taking the next logical step: screen protectors for the iPhone and iPad.
The company has unveiled four different screen protectors, and each one has its own distinct appeal.
I’ve been driving a lot lately, and have been wanting to listen to ebooks on my iPHone as I do so. It’s fairly simple to turn on VoiceOver and have what sounds like Siri read my books to me, but honestly? She’s a terrible narrator. The VoiceOver voice is heavily robotic, and it’s difficult to understand what’s being read to me most of the time, so I end up giving up or contemplating purchasing an audiobook from iTunes.
But I’d really like to just continue the ebooks I already have on my iPhone while I’m driving. That way I can listen to them while in the car, but actually read them when I’m not. NaturalReader just might be part of the solution I’ve been looking for, so I figured I’d share it here with you.
It’s only been a few weeks since the first lockscreen hack was discovered on iOS 6.1, but some researchers have already discovered a new way to bypass the iPhone’s lockscreen without entering the security PIN.
The bug was found in iOS 6.1 by Benjamin Kunx Mejri, and it follows some of the steps as the last exploit but has some variation in the steps, and it allows an attacker to access all your data by plugging your device into a computer’s USB port.
If you haven’t heard of App.net yet, it’s a cloud platform that’s kind of like Twitter, except it’s ad-free, so you have to pay a monthly fee to use the social network.
Starting today you can setup your own App.net account for free. It comes with some limitations on what you can do, and the only way to get the free account is via an invite from a paid member, but if you’re curious about the platform, the free account might be a hell of a deal.
BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS — As I was walking around the show floor at MWC today, I noticed a number of smartphones that looked very familiar — yet they were being paraded by Chinese companies I’d never heard of. I saw what looked like a large iPhone 5, an entire range of Samsung Galaxy devices, and a number of high-end HTC handsets.
Except they weren’t really Apple, Samsung, or HTC devices at all; they were actually cheap clones that were trying their best to look like the real thing. They even had fake accessories that were identical to the originals.
Apple doesn’t like jailbreaks. Never has, never will… which is why it’s odd that the evasi0n jailbreak, first unleashed to the world with iOS 6.1, has seen two small bug fix releases of iOS come and go — iOS 6.1.1 and iOS 6.1.2 — that don’t fix the exploit.
Better get your jailbreak in while you can, though, because word is that Apple is now beta testing a new version of iOS 6.1.3 that closes the exploit for good.
The success of the iPhone and iPad was supposed to do great things for Sharp. As Apple’s profits have gone up, Sharp has seen an increased amount of orders from Cupertino as Apple tries to distance itself from buying supplies from Samsung.
Even though Sharp supplies Apple with displays for the iPad and iPhone, their stock price has been falling lately, and its investment deal with Foxconn might be in jeopardy.
Sony’s NEX line has given birth to some of the best mirrorless cameras we’ve ever seen. They’re small, lightweight, and boast some pretty awesome image quality for their size.
Sony just upped the bar again this week by announcing the NEX-3N. It’s the world’s lightest interchangeable lens camera with an APS-C sensor, making it a contender for one of the best value mirrorless cameras you can find.
BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS – It’s not all suits, bad coffee breath and identikit Android handsets at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Oh no. The world’s biggest mobile device conference also packs in plenty of cultural insensitivity, corporate dorkspeak, and this writer joining a Japanese pop group. Take a look at our wonderful gallery of today, in pictures.
Didn’t get that remote-controlled helicopter on your wish list this past holiday season? Well, this Cult of Mac Deals offer has got you covered. The Sub-Zero Chopper is the adult version of remote control fun and from Extreme Fliers – the leading brand of remote-controlled toys – you really can’t go wrong.
For only $29 (that doesn’t include cost of shipping) you can let that inner-child live on forever. Simply put, if you’re looking to add a fun little gadget to your life, the Sub-Zero Helicopter is it.
You can get so accustomed to swiping to unlock your iPhone and iPad, that by comparison, clicking to awaken your dozing MacBook seems so… unceremonious. Now SquidMelon brings password-protected “Swipe to Unlock” to the Mac with a new app, Lock Screen Plus.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a ton of really stupid and really expensive iPhone cases. The worst part about the expensive ones is that they’re not that great at protecting your iPhone, and this latest case for the 1% is no different.
Meet the Haven case by Brikk. It’s not even a case really. It’s more like the bumpers Apple made for the iPhone 4. Except the Haven is made out of solid gold or platinum and will only cost you $11,610 for the cheapest model.
It’s not every day that a Mac accessory comes along and promises to give you superpowers, but that’s just what Thalmic Labs is promising with their innovative new armband today. Called the MYO, it’s a Bluetooth-enabled device that allows you to control your Mac, just by flexing your muscles.
BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS – Would you believe me if I told you I’m writing this post from underwater? No? Well, you win, you clever thing you, because I’m totally not. Instead, I’m perched on an ass-numbing stool in the Mobile World Congress press lounge.
But my iPad mini could totally be underwater right now, and it wouldn’t even know. Why? Because it’s sealed inside a watertight gadget bag from LokSak.
Apple and Samsung have been exchanging blows with each other in the Australian courtroom for the past two years. Neither side has emerged as a clear favorite to win, but the case is already breaking records.
Because of the enormity of the case, Australia’s Federal Court has appointed two judges to hear the case together. It’s the first time Australia’s Federal Court has ever needed to have two judges hear a case together.
BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS – Unless you love the cramped, sweaty quarters of a netbook keyboard, I’d advise you to stay away from the Logitech Ultra Thin keyboard case for the iPad mini. It looks great, and as a keyboard, it makes and excellent case.
But as soon as you try to type on it you’ll wish you’d saved your $100.