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The XFLEX Is A Gadget Stand That’s Good For Almost Anything [Review]

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The XFLEX from BiteMyApple is a gadget stand for smartphones and tablets that’s so versatile, it has an almost unlimited number of uses. It’s great around the home, in the office, in the car… and anywhere else you fancy taking it.

The XFLEX has a weighted base that ensures even the heaviest of tablets won’t cause it to topple, while its flexible arm let you move your device around to get the best viewing angle — whatever you might be using it for.

The XFLEX costs $109.99, and it promises to be a “single stand solution” that “works practically anywhere.” But does it live up to its claims?

Mastering The iPhone To Be A Better Lover: Cooking [iOS Tips]

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Made with lurve. And caramel.
Made with lurve. And caramel.

Anyone knows that the key to anyone’s heart is their stomach, gender stereotypes be damned. If you can make that special someone the perfect meal, you’re way closer to being a better lover than someone who has to continually order out. Making a meal for another human being is a delight for both the cook and the recipient, feeding both mind and soul, if done well. What better way to show you care than with a meal you make yourself?

The problem is, how? First off is confidence. As Julia Child said, “The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-hell attitude.” Equally important for us cooking newbs, however, is a good cooking app or three.

Check these out for your Valentine’s Day dinner, or any time you want to make your significant other feel just a bit more significant.

A History Of Horrible Apple Predictions From Peter Misek

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Jefferies' Peter Misek, the face behind almost all of today's Apple rumors.

It’s been a crazy day of rumors. Rumors about iPhone 5 sales slipping, the iPhone 5S coming out this summer, an Apple TV event in March, an iTV launch in September, and something about the 4.8-inch iPhone 6 being “delayed” until 2014. Busy day… but all of that info came from one guy, Peter Misek. And that guy is basically the Digitimes of analysts when it comes to correctly predicting Apple’s next move.

As an analyst for Jefferies, Mr. Misek has a long and comical history of making some crazy claims about Apple’s future plans. Who can blame him? It’s his job to predict the future of Apple so investors can make decisions. The problem is a huge amount of his predictions were wrong, especially when it comes to the Apple HDTV, where Misek has (so far) been almost universally off-point.

Here’s a run-down of some of Misek’s “greatest” predictions.

Apple Will Hold An Apple TV-Related Event In March [Rumor]

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Along with making ridiculous predictions like the impending arrival of an iTV, analysts have now taken to predicting when Apple will hold their next keynotes.

If you believe Peter Misek from Jefferies, then Apple is going to hold an Apple TV-related event in March, but there probably won’t be any new hardware on display, just software.

Xbox Founder Says Apple Could Easily Destroy Microsoft’s Xbox If It Wants

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Even though Tim Cook and Apple say that the Apple TV is really just a hobby right now, people are scared of it. Intel’s launching a competing product later this year. Samsung’s rushing to get more content on their SmartTVs, and Microsoft and Sony are probably going to announce new consoles this year that will appeal to casual users.

Apple TV really doesn’t do a lot right now other than streaming movies and music to your TV, but it has the potential to become a killer product. Xbox’s founder, Nat Brown recognizes the power of Apple TV and says that if Apple wanted to, it could easily destroy the Xbox, Playstation, and Wii U.

Opera Announces It Will Be Shifting All Of Its Browsers To WebKit This Year

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Opera has announced that it will gradually phase out the use of Presto, its own rendering engine, in favor of WebKit this year. It will utilize Chromium, the open source project from Google, which powers the search giant’s speedy Chrome browser. Opera’s first Chromium-based smartphone browser will be previewed at Mobile World Congress later this month.

i-FlashDrive HD Is An Any-File Thumb-Drive For Your iDevice

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The Mission: You have files on your Mac or iPad, and you want to get them to your iPhone.

The Problem: There is no Wi-Fi network around, nor any cellular. You are, in fact, in the middle of the wilderness.

The Question: Why the hell are you transferring files between devices when you should be enjoying the great outdoors?

The Solution To The Mission, Not To The Question: The i-FlashDrive HD.

iPhone 5 Sales Are Decelerating Faster Than Expected, Says Analyst

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Tim Cook said that Apple couldn’t even make enough iPhone 5s to keep up with demand last year. Shoot, Apple sold 5 million iPhone 5 units in the first weekend, so we’re keen to believe Tim.

However, a report from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek this morning is claiming the iPhone 5 is loosing its juice, and sales are starting to drop a lot faster than anyone expected.

Apple And Samsung Now Control 52 Percent Of Worldwide Smartphone Sales

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When it comes to smartphones, there are really only two companies that matter right now – Apple and Samsung. They’re both championing different mobile operating systems, but the two companies are absolutely dominating the worldwide smartphone market.

Earlier today, Gartner reported that Apple and Samsung now control 52 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, even though mobile phone sales declined 1.7 percent in 2012. 

How I Fell Out Of Love With My iPhone And Fell In Love With The Nexus 4

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I’ve been in love with the iPhone for the past five years. I got the original as soon as it went on sale in the U.K. in November 2007, and I’ve had every model Apple has released ever since. My job has given me the opportunity to play with plenty of other devices over the years — including those powered by Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone — but I’ve always remained loyal to the iPhone and iOS.

That was until a couple months ago, when my contract ended and it was time to decide which smartphone I wanted for the next two years. I already have the iPhone 5 — I bought it unlocked when it was launched back in September — and I wanted an Android device to replace the Samsung Galaxy Nexus I broke late last year. So I decided to pick up the new LG Nexus 4.

I was lucky; I didn’t have to wait six weeks for the device to arrive from Google Play. My carrier had plenty in stock, so a unit was delivered to my door the day after I ordered it. I was looking forward to testing it out, but I figured I’d play around with it for a little bit, then switch straight back to my iPhone 5 for everyday use. Like the Galaxy Nexus, I thought the Nexus 4 would be mostly used for work — testing apps and writing the odd tutorial for Cult of Android.

But boy, how wrong was I.

Slacker Radio Redesigns Site To Appeal To Spotify And Rdio Users

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Slacker Radio's got a new look.

If you’re one of those people who still uses Pandora, you’re missing out on some really great music apps that have a deeper catalogs of music. Yes, Spotify and Rdio are pretty much the frontrunners in the streaming music scene, but Slacker Radio just got a brand new look that makes it worthy to be oogled at.

The biggest problems with Spotify and Rdio is that most people (like me) are lazy and don’t want to be forced to comb through 11 million songs to find an artist to listen to for the next 42 minutes. Slacker Radio wants to step in and take that pain away by offering 250 DJ curated stations so you can just kick back and enjoy the music without thinking about what to play next.

Bem Bluetooth Speaker Plugs Straight Into A Power Outlet

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Bem’s new Outlet has a new take on portable Bluetooth speakers. Instead of packing a rechargeable battery, it just comes with a pair of prongs on the back so you can stick it straight into a power outlet. This does of course mean that you’re out of luck if you want to run it anywhere that doesn’t have mains electricity, but if you never use your $200 Jambox away from your kitchen counter, then you could have bought two Outlets for the same price.

Sort All Your Passwords By Strength In Mac App, 1Password [OS X Tips]

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The excellent Mac app 1Password is a cross-platform password management app which makes it easy to have unique strong passwords for every site you visit, as well as keeping all your private bits of data secure and available to only you. While you’d think a single app that holds all your sensitive data would be a point of weakness, AgileBits has proven its app to be super secure, even against hackers with malicious intent.

When you use the app to create or store passwords, though, you might want to be sure that you don’t reuse a password you’ve already used on a different site: it’s more secure if you don’t. You also want to make sure that all of your passwords are strong ones. How can you know that, though, with a long list of them? It’s simple, really: just sort by password strength.

Apple Announces Faster Processors, Lower Prices For Retina MacBook Pro, MacBook Air

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Apple has today announced that it has updated its 13- and 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro to add faster processors and lower prices. The 13-inch model now starts at $1,499 with 128GB of flash storage, rising to $1,699 for a new 2.6GHz processor and 256GB of flash.

The 15-inch model now offers a faster 2.4GHz quad-core processor as standard, while the top-of-the-line model gets a new 2.7GHz quad-core processor and 16GB of memory.

Twittelator Neue Finally Ditches Annual Charge For Push Notifications

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For free? Yes, please!
For free? Yes, please!

I’ve always been a fan of Twittelator Neue, a clean Twitter client for iPhone that’s super fast and has a unique way of handling pictures in your timeline. However, I never agreed with its pricing policy. The app costs $4.99 upfront, but users had to pay an extra $1.99 per year on top of that for push notifications.

Fortunately, its creators have had a change of heart. With its latest update, Twittelator Neue provides push notifications for free.

New ‘Velocity’ Travel Gear From Pocket-Crazy, Aussie-Based STM

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The fast-looking STM Impulse.

We’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again — simply because we enjoy repeating things: STM makes a %@$# great bag. And they’ve just unveiled a revamp of their flagship bags in the form of a new family of gear they’re calling the Velocity Collection. Which is actually pretty damn apt for this line of fast, light, grab-and-go bags.

Radium 3 Is Here, And It’s Half Price In The Mac App Store

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Simple, elegant, audio.
Simple, elegant, audio.

Ever since we reviewed this sweet menu bar internet radio app for the Mac, we’ve used it to tune into thousands upon thousands of stations just ripe for the listening. It was one of our 15 top apps of 2010, and one of the essential apps in the Freelance Mac App Bundle that came out back in June of 2011.

Now Radium is back with a new icon and a new version, ready to take on a whole new set of fans with its easy to use, small footprint, and just plain full-of-audio awesomeness that we’ve all come to expect from the Mac app. Plus? It’s half off right now in the App Store.