In yet another another analyst forecast, Mac sales are expected to decline as demand for the iPad continues to increase. According to a report by BMO analyst Keith Bachman, the last two quarters of 2012 will be “challenging” for Apple, due to increased iPad demand and the expectation of a new iPhone.

Bachman has lowered his Mac sales forecast by 1.6 million units, while raising iPad sales expectations by 3.8 million. In fact, for the next six quarters, Bachman predicts a reduction in Mac sales by 40% of the increased iPad sales.

One of the unique traits around iOS devices used in business and enterprise environments is that users have much higher expectations for mobile tools and processes than they do for traditional PC applications, processes, and user experiences. That’s true whether the device is employee-owned or provided by an employer.

It’s easy to see why most iPhone and iPad users have these higher standards. With iOS, Apple has created a platform that is app-driven and offers an incredible selection of apps to users. Apple, and many iOS developers, have done an amazing job of getting rid of anything that stands between the iOS user and the experience of content that they are watching, reading, or creating. That delivers an immersive experience that is unlike the vast majority business or productivity tools loaded on workplace PCs.

The PixelSkin HD Wrap ($50) is an iPad (third-generation) case from Speck that promises to be “the perfect iPad folio case for anyone looking for lightweight protection, secure grip and pixelicious style.” It’s made from a flexible TPU that’s impressively robust, and provides full-body protection to your iPad with a number of nifty features.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a huge fan of the mobile version of Chrome on my iPhone and iPad. I use Chrome for Mac almost exclusively, and having all my bookmarks and browsing history available to me on the go is really the killer feature.

Alex has already shown you how to set Chrome as the default browser if you have a jailbroken iOS device, but what about those of you (like me) who don’t want the hassle of a jailbreak? How can we quickly hop over to Chrome on our iPhone? Turns out, it’s pretty easy.

Macs and musicians have always been synonymous (not to meantion aliterative), and some of the first creators to make a nonsense of the canard that the iPad is “only for consumption” were musicians. And where music nerds go, specialist hardware always follows. Here’s a list of the best Mac and iOS music accessories out there.

The guys at Tapbots released the highly anticipated Tweetbot for Mac today with a catch. The app is available for free, but it’s in alpha form. This means that the developers are still working furiously to iron out the kinks and create the complete, public version. But for now, those who feel so inclined can download Tweetbot for Mac 0.6 and give it a go.

I’ve been playing around with the app, and for an alpha release, Tweetbot for Mac is very good. The app has already become my default Twitter client on the Mac for a few reasons.

Tapbots has just launched an alpha version of Tweetbot for Mac, and we’ve been eagerly testing it out. Want to see it for yourself? We’ve put together a video walkthrough of it, which you can check out after the break.

Bring your own device (BYOD) programs that let employees use their personal iPhones, iPads, and other devices for work purposes are becoming increasingly common. No one doubts that there are advantages to these programs in terms of employee productivity and satisfaction. That said, whether they actually save businesses money or incur outrageous new costs has been a matter of debate in the business and IT circles.

Based on a survey conducted by Osterman Research, such programs do have significant costs associated with them. On average, the study indicates that they will raise IT expenses by 48% between 2011 and 2013. Those costs, while real, may not always be easily seen or quantified in many companies.

The day has finally come. Tapbots has released its highly anticipated Tweetbot for Mac application. After releasing an acclaimed iPhone app in April of 2011 and a native iPad app back in February, Tweetbot for Mac is now available to complete the family… albeit in alpha form.

The new Twitter client comes with stunning graphics for the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display, and the app’s design borrows heavily from the iOS interface. Tapbots designer Mark Jardine leaked a screenshot of the Mac app a few weeks ago. We’re all excited that it’s finally here!

What does it take to work at the Apple Store besides a love of all-things-Apple and a willingness to work for a low hourly wage? Three things: great customer service, true grit and the ability to tell Steve Jobs himself that he’s being a total idiot.

With OS X Mountain Lion, AirPlay Mirroring is finally coming to the Mac, allowing some Macs to stream audio and video directly to their Apple TV.

‘Some’ is the operative word here. Much to the disappointment of the vast majority of Mac owners who will be installing Mountain Lion on their machines in a couple weeks time, AirPlay Mirroring will only work if you have an iMac, MacBook Air or Mac Mini from mid-2011, or a MacBook Pro from early 2011.

There’s been a lot of conspiracy theories floated about this requirement. Some have argued that it’s forced obsolescence on Apple’s part, trying to force older Mac owners to upgrade their machines. Others have suggested that the reason Apple requires a Mac from 2011 or later is because of special DRM technology in Intel’s chips that didn’t debut until last year.

The truth of the matter, however, is far less sensational. The reason you need a 2011 Mac to make use of AirPlay Mirroring in OS X Mountain Lion is because the graphics in older Macs just don’t cut the mustard.

The Smarter Stand is just the kind of gadget that we like here at Cult of Mac: cheap, simple and ingenious. And it seems that we’re not the only ones that appreciate these qualities: the stand blew through its $10,000 Kickstarter goal in just 24 hours, and is currently pushing $80,000 in pledges.

While it’s already been revealed that there are certain spec requirements for installing Apple’s upcoming OS X Mountain Lion, certain 64-bit Macs will also be unable to run the new operating system when it ships this month. Following the release of the Mountain Lion GM to developers, Apple has an official list of current Mac models that are compatible with Mountain Lion.

If your Mac doesn’t support the current OS X Lion already, don’t expect to hop on the Mountain Lion bandwagon later this month.

PayPal, Amazon, and Apple are leading the mobile payment market according to IDC. The research company released the results of a business strategy study that focused on new and emerging payment technologies. The 2012 study is eighth year that IDC has conducted the survey, but it is the first year where mobile payments were a major focus.

While many efforts are underway to develop new payment technologies, many of them based around NFC, most new technologies have yet to catch on with consumers.

Overall mobile payments, however, are catching on with consumers. IDC reports that the number of individuals making mobile payments has doubled since last year’s report and that one-third (33%) of consumers have made some form of mobile payment. The data also shows that the mobile payments market is being led established players and existing technologies.

Apple’s courtroom battles with rivals like Samsung and HTC have been well-documented over the years, and it seems that not a month goes by without news of yet another legal tiff. That’s not because Apple likes to fight its rivals in court, it’s because the company has a zero tolerance policy on copycats, and it’s happy to fight to protect its intellectual property.

So it’s hardly surprising to hear that the Cupertino company is at the center of around 60% of all major mobile patent suits.

The iPhone already has built-in image stabilization (which is why the frame zooms in annoyingly close whenever you shoot video), but who could argue with this tiny, cute steady-cam-a-like for smartphones? It works on a very simple principle, hanging a counterweight below the camera to stop things shaking. Despite this simplicity, though, the kit will cost you a surprising $180.

When you’re getting a little bored of looking at the same old home screen, the DreamBoard app for iOS can completely revamp your device with a whole new look. Couple that with a new tweak called Metroon and you have yourself an iPhone that runs Windows 8 (well… almost) — complete with a Metro user interface, live tiles, and even the “Charms” bar.

What if I told you there was a case that adds up to 16GB storage to your iPhone? And further, that this case costs just $50. You’d be pretty interested, right? Well, it’s kind of true. You can indeed buy a 16GB case, but sadly that memory can’t actually be used with the iPhone.

Today’s tip is a simple one, but I think valuable. As we continue to upsize everything these days, including fast food meals, automobiles, data plans, and computer monitors, it’s easy to forget the simple things.

I just recently upgraded my Mac Mini monitor from an old crappy 4:3 LCD to a newer, less crappy 6:9 LED display with a much higher resolution. Boy is it nice to have some screen real estate to play with. As with any monitor (or iPad!) resolution increase, the stuff on the screen gets relatively smaller looking, giving me more space for stuff like windows and icons and the like.

But what about the fonts? I can increase the font size of Finder lists, the icon and font size of icons on the Desktop, but I had forgotten that I could upsize the font in iTunes. Because, yeah, it’s kind of small for my every-day-a-little-older eyes.

Before every iOS app in the App Store began sending you push notifications — whether you want them or not — the best way to stay on top of your alerts was with Boxcar, a free app that delivers push notifications on behalf of a huge catalog of apps. In its App Store description, Boxcar boasts about delivering over 1 billion notifications since its debut in July 2009. But it seems the service may have finally ended.

Following earlier rumors that claimed Amazon is gearing up to launch a smartphone that will rival Apple’s iPhone, The Wall Street Journal has confirmed with sources that the retail giant is currently testing the device with its suppliers, and that it could enter production as early as the end of this year.

We’re nearly halfway through July, and while the vast majority of us are enjoying the summer weather (unless you live in the U.K. where it continues to rain), retailers are already preparing for Christmas. U.K. retailer Currys and PC World just published its of predictions for the top ten gifts this holiday, and at number four it lists an “Apple mystery device” with pricing to be confirmed.

Could this mystery device be the upcoming iPad mini?

Let me see how to put this. Stop reading now and just grab the iStack Mac Bundle. I know, I know that’s pretty blunt, but the fact is that for $50 you get:

Parallels 7 (alone worth the price), Clarify for Mac, PaintSupreme, TextSoap (another awesome tool), Disk Drill Pro (wait, this too!?!), Hands Off! (well, not until you grab this offer…), Elasty, iGlasses 3, and Snagit for Mac (another must-have tool).

Savings? How about over $900.

And for the “one more thing…” moment for the first little while you also get an iOS programing course thrown into the bundle.

A long time ago, before this site was born, we reviewed the Altec Lansing BackBeat 906 Bluetooth headphones, and liked ’em. Plantronics had their own identical version of the 906, as they had owned Plantronics since 2005 (the two companies parted ways about the time the 906 was released).

The Plantronics BackBeat Go ($100) is an evolution of the 906. Same principle — wireless (meaning there’s no wire conecting the player with the headset) music and calls in a compact form via the magic of Bluetooth — but in an even smaller and more svelte form factor. Should be even more fantstic, right? Let’s take a look.

“When the first email was sent in the 1970s, there was no big difference to email we know today. And that’s the problem.”

So begins this screed / manifesto written and posted by Tobias Van Schneider. Email, he says, has lived beyond its original purpose, and is being used by all of us in new and interesting ways. Web and social media technology continues to push beyond the original Berners-Lee concept of a world wide web of hyperlinked information, so why not do the same for email?

Let’s face it, there are no great email clients on the Mac. There are many that do a good job of one thing or another, but none that just scream, “perfect!” Mail becomes a bloated mess as soon as it starts to have to manage the huge volumes of electronic communication we ask it to these days. Sparrow is a decent start, but it, too, is bound by the trappings of email tradition and history. I’m with Van Schneider – it’s time for a change.