At this point, most of our readers are familiar with what the next iPhone is going to look like, including the fact that it will feature a unibody design with a two-tone metal backplate. But what’s the story with that metal backplate? Has it been designed that way just to look good and set itself apart from the design of the iPhone 4/4S, or is there a more cogent design philosophy behind the three alternating stripes of metal and glass?

We won’t know for sure what Apple is thinking until the iPhone 5 is officially announced, but one industrial designer has a great theory about why the back of the next iPhone looks the way it does. As is usually the case with Apple’s design, the new iPhone’s back plate doesn’t just look good… it’s incredibly functional and magnificently strong.

I featured UX Write in one of my must-have apps roundups when it first hit the App Store, because it’s one of the best word processors available on iOS. It has now received its first update, and it’s a fairly major one, introducing support for external keyboards, autosave, dictation on supported devices, and more.

This is the next-gen iPhone’s new battery: a 3.8V 1440mAH lithium-ion pack with a watts-per-hour measurement of 5.45 wHR. Compared to the iPhone 4S’s 1430mAH battery — which runs at 3.7V and has a watts-per-hour measurement of 5.3 — this battery has at least 10% more capacity, making it perfectly possible (and very, very likely) that the iPhone 5 will finally get LTE. It’s also thinner, seemingly confirming that the next iPhone will be the thinnest one yet.

Source: 9to5Mac

While it’s not high on visual appeal, new app Android HIFI allows Android users to stream to AirPlay-enabled devices, thus proving once and for all that Android can indeed play nice with Apple technology.

The app works by allowing any AirPlay audio source to play to your Android device, essentially making your device an AirPlay receiver.

The heat shield is off and the supersonic parachute is deployed – this episode of the CultCast is ready for touchdown!

On this new ep., we ponder the Mars Curiosity Rover, and how a team full of Mac users landed it safely on another world.

Then, let us regale you with the tale of how one very well-known tech writer got all his devices erased when hackers stole his Apple ID. It’s a scary story, but to comfort you, we’ll tell you how you can better protect your datas from getting thieved, and which backup strategies we use to keep ours safe from harm.

And finally, Facebook questions! You told us what you wanted us to cover on our new Facebook page, and we’re ready to work for you!

Subscribe to The CultCast now on iTunes, or easily stream new episodes right on your iPhone or iPad with Apple’s newly updated and freshly debugged Podcasts App.

Show notes ahead!

It’s fairly easy as a longtime Apple fan to dismiss the recently aired “Genius” ads as nothing more than a misstep in a rather stellar marketing history by the, well, geniuses in Cupertino. However, a new study by Brandindex Buzz shows a shift in the demographic trends for the Apple brand, which may go to explain the goofy ads as more specifically targeted advertising.

For those of us watching the trial of Apple vs Samsung this week, the fact that Judge Lucy Koh made the companies reveal confidential sales data is something of a no-brainer. The jury will need to look at the sales of the various devices from the two mobile technology giants to decide at some point what the damages should be, if any.

Like we said, Passbook in iOS 6 is going to steal a few tricks from flight apps like Mobiata’s $5 FlightTrack (and $10 FlightTrack Pro), making the apps seem somewhat less valuable.

Whether or not Passbook replaces these types of apps remains to be seen; in any case, Mobiata isn’t going down without a fight, and has just released an all-new, free version of their FlightTrack app for both iOS — and Android.

The newly updated iPad app Easy Strum by Glaswegian developer Poorly Dressed Ape describes itself as “one of the easiest musical instruments in the world.” And it surely is. Just download the app from the Apple store, then play it.

Teasing mobile gamers with trailers and screenshots is nothing new for the mobile gaming giant Gameloft, however, what is new, is a trailer for their first game built off of the Unreal Engine. Gamers first caught a glimpse of the new game (that we now know is entitled Wild Blood) thanks to a sole screenshot depicting a gigantic bloody blade towering over a corpse filled battlefield. Gameloft has now followed that up with a short teaser video and a Facebook page for gamers to unravel clues about the game’s story.

The previously lackluster WordPress iOS app has been updated with a host of new features and improvements that make it more appealing to power users. The new version also features a design overhaul and the sidebar menu interface seen in other popular apps like Facebook and Path.

Google tried to beat Apple to the punch when it announced the Google Maps 3D view right before WWDC, but Apple still blew everyone away with its own 3D Maps technology in iOS 6. And even though Apple’s new Maps app is in developer beta, twice as many cites are 3D compatible in iOS 6 than Google Maps!

The above video compares Apple’s 3D Maps with Google’s in great detail. Make sure to check out Jeff of iDownloadBlog’s full post for more screenshots and info. Needless to say, Apple’s attention to detail has won again.

Source: iDownloadBlog

There have always been two top players in the news reader app market: Flipboard and Pulse. Both started on the iPad and later made their way to the iPhone and Android OS. While Pulse may not always receive as much attention as Flipboard, the app is still beloved by many.

Fans of Pulse will be happy to learn that the free service has made its way to the desktop in the form of a slick, new HTML5 web app.

I use several different Macs during a given day, from a trusty Macbook Air to my Mac Mini to an iMac at my office job. I also use an iPhone and an iPad for various personal and business activities. It helps to have access to all the documents I need to deal with during a given day, regardless of what device I’m using, or what environment I’m in.

iCloud is a great idea, and OS X Mountain Lion and iOS 6 will continue to take the service forward. Today, however, I’d like to show you how I use two similar products to achieve a seamless document experience on my iOS devices. For me, Dropbox and Google Drive represent the best in class iOS apps to interface with my documents for home and work.

The NFL pre-season games are almost upon us with the regular season not far behind. If you’re a fantasy football fan, that means it’s time to join a league (if you haven’t already), research and plan your draft choices, and pick the apps that you’ll use over the course of the season to track all of your key player and team stats as well as to manage your team.

The right tools can make or break a successful season. Here are some of the best apps out there for iOS and Android that can help you keep track of everything and manage your team’s lineup on the go.

It’s August, and you’re either on vacation, or leaving soon. The problem? You just tried to fit into last year’s swimsuit and – worse – you did it in front of the mirror. While it might be a little too late to lose that belly before you hit the beach this summer, take steps now and you’ll be a slimline hottie in time for Christmas and New Year, ready to undo all that good work in a week or two.

To help you, here’s our list of the best fitness gadgets around.

Admit it. You took one look at the tiny Satechi Bluetooth speaker up there in the photo and thought “This is going to be a piece of junk.” It probably won’t help your hastily formed opinion if I tell you that it costs just $30.

Don’t worry. I thought the same. I only had the PR people send me one so I could tease, and write a mean but hilarious review about this obviously crappy little speaker. It turns out that I was dead wrong.

The new iPhone will be released in September and already we’ve seen a couple carriers and retailers drop the price on the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, and iPhone 3GS below the standard contract price.

Apple’s website is still selling at the standard prices, but according to some informers, Apple Store employees have now been authorized to price match discounts from other retail locations.

You’re probably aware that tons of people wear their iPod Nano as a watch, even thought it’s really a great. But what if it were better? Would you actually want it?

The Pebble ePaper Watch was the most successful Kickstarter project of all time because it lets you get notifications from your phone on your cute little wristwatch. Do you think Apple might jump all over that idea and release a similar product of their own via the iPod Nano? Plus, iOS 6 Beta 4 has a new Bluetooth Sharing feature that might let you pair your iPhone 5 with a new iPod Nano (iWatch).

Is there a point in getting phone notifications and texts on your watch when you can just pull your slender iPhone out your pocket to do all that plus check the time and play Temple Run while walking down the street? I dunno, but I’m interested to hear what you guys think. Do you really really want Apple to release an iWatch style product?

Click here to tell us what you think over at the Cult of Mac forums

The Federal Trade Commission released information this morning that because of their misrepresentation to users of Apple’s Safari Internet browser, Google has agreed to pay a record $22.5 million civil penalty to settle charges from the FTC.

The $22.5 million fine is the largest in FTC history. Earlier this year an investigation found that Google had placed advertising cookies on the computers of Safari users who visited sites on Google’s DoubleClick ad network. Users were told by Google that they would automatically be opted out of the tracking, but Google kept tracking them anyway.

Allan Odgaard’s TextMate has been a beloved text editor since 2004 and one of Cult of Mac’s favorite apps for about just as long, but since 2009, development on the app has slowed to a crawl: three years ago, Odgaard said TextMate 2 was about 90% complete, but a public alpha didn’t hit the web until December 2011, and as of writing, a final version still hasn’t been released.

However, in a surprise (and very awesome move), its source code has: TextMate 2 is going open source.

If you’ve been keeping up with the various part leaks and image renders that have been coming out over the past few weeks, you’ll already be familiar with the broad design strokes of the next-gen iPhone being shown off in this video by TechRadar, but if you’re curious what Apple’s next iPhone looks like in full 3D, this video shows off every nook and cranny.

Source: TechRadar

It seems that making your latest product look exactly like the market leader isn’t always the fastest route to success. As Samsung found when it aired its first commercial for the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the device is so similar to the iPad that half of TV viewers thought it was an Apple product. Only 16% realized it was made by Samsung.

Remember the 1982 Activision classic Pitfall! from the Atari 2600? It’s probably been a while since you played it, but that’s about to change. The jungle-crawler has been revamped and relaunched on iOS — 30 years after its first debut — promising thrilling new environments and twists on the classic gameplay that will “appeal to fans of all generations.”

Nikon has added a new model to its toy camera Nikon 1 line. The J2 is a tweaked version of the J1, and in addition to some improvements it drops its price by $100, to $550. And if you’re thinking that this still seems steep for a camera with a tiny compact sensor – even if you can change its lenses – then you’re right.