iPhone 4 bumpers. Sure, they look nice, but they don’t really protect your iPhone from damage and after the whole Antennagate, they’re cynically looked upon as bandaids for the antenna attenuation problem. Worse, at $29, they’re overpriced.
Apple’s recent firmware updates were famous for preparing the company’s latest Thunderbolt-equipped Macs for the upcoming Thunderbolt Display. However, they also enabled one feature than Apple didn’t tell you: SATA 6Gbps support.
There’s a lot to like about Iomega’s Mac Companion Hard Drive, an external drive designed for flat-screen iMacs. It’s the fastest way to charge an iPad, for example.
Apple was so impressed by the Mac Companion drive, it ordered the first two production runs exclusively for its stores. It won’t be available anywhere else for several weeks, Iomega says.
Is RIM’s PlayBook the next HP TouchPad? That’s the thinking of some reading the BlackBerry maker’s news that it shipped just 200,000 of its tablets last quarter, less than half that shipped the previous financial three-month period. What’s worse: there are also PlayBooks unsold at retailers. Can anyone say price cuts are on the way?
Okay here’s another annoying iOS feature that Mac OS X Lion has adopted. I actually hate this one, but it isn’t the one I hate the most I’ll talk about that next week. It’s smart if you need it, but stupid if you aren’t spending all day using different special characters. If you are a developer you might not like that fact that you cannot enter multiple letter A’s etc. The title of this post is an example of a creative way to use repeating characters that Mac OS X Lion won’t allow you to do by default.
In today’s high tech world, sometimes we can all use a bit of assistance. This week we’re launching a new troubleshooting column for Cult of Mac readers, Ask MacRx, to address your questions and issues about Macs and iDevices.
In today’s edition we’ll tackle restoring the Mail Message Preview Pane, more options for overcoming MobileMe sync problems, and questions about duplicates in iPhoto.
Many of you will have a number of Apple IDs, especially if you’re a MobileMe subscriber. So when you login to iCloud, or Game Center, or the iTunes Store, or FaceTime, or iMessage… how do you know which one to use? Well, thankfully, Apple is working on Apple ID account merging that will turn all of your 30 Apple IDs into just one.
Sources have reportedly confirmed that there are indeed two new models of Apple’s iPhone on their way: one of which will be a cheaper version of the iPhone 4, and the other a fancy new iPhone 5. However, thanks to production delays with at least one assembler, the best one may not arrive until 2012.
I was just speaking with another reviewer here about how surprisingly common it is for manufacturers to copy each other’s designs. To ‘port an entire line of products, though, is a little more unusual: iHealth has just announced an app-enhanced digital scale, blood pressure monitor and baby monitor that mirrors Withings‘ entire lineup, gadget for gadget.
There’s no space the iPad hasn’t invaded — the kitchen in particular seems a favorite for me place for me to plop it down in. I’ll look up recipes, stream live TV news in the background while I’m cooking or kick back with the Grey Lady over breakfast.
But Apple’s probably going to void your warranty if they find egg yolk in the iPad’s innards. Never fear — Belkin has just announced a whole aisle’s worth of iPad accessories for the kitchen that’ll keep the iPad mess-free.
With rumor after rumor claiming that Sprint will carry Apple’s iPhone next month, many are wondering if the carrier can handle the expected influx of iPhone customers.
Without blatantly stating that it will carry the iPhone, Sprint has reaffirmed that it can in fact handle the traffic associated with iPhone users.
Two unauthorized Apple stores in Flushing, Queens have agreed to give all of their Apple-related merchandise back to the mothership.
Both stores say they are willing to hand over everything they have in stock with the word “Apple” or any of the Cupertino company’s trademarks – but still maintain they have not violated any Apple trademarks.
Taking the opposite approach of most American students, China’s Peking University student body is mad at Apple for placing an Apple store inside the campus library. Why? Because it “goes against the spirit and environment” of studying.
The above video, by Winrumors, showcases a Windows 8 tablet running alongside an iPad on iOS 5.
Microsoft unveiled Windows 8 to developers at its BUILD conference earlier this week. Alongside the software, the Redmond giant also announced a series of tablets running Windows 8, one of which is featured next to the iPad in the above video.
This video serves as a quick demonstration of several compared scenarios on the two platforms. More in-depth walkthroughs will likely be posted as Windows 8 matures out of its beta stages.
After nearly doubling its early termination fee, Sprint is making more changes that point towards the iPhone’s unveiling on the carrier’s network.
Mainstream outlets have said that Sprint will being carrying the iPhone after Apple’s Fall announcement, and Sprint is now realigning the qualifying time for smartphone upgrades to early-October. In case you didn’t know, the iPhone 5 is expected to come out in early-October.
Late yesterday I reported that Parallels Desktop 7 users were experiencing a mysterious problem that required them to log into and restart their Mac notebooks twice before being able to use the Finder Desktop. Parallels has released an update that resolves this really annoying problem. So if you haven’t installed it yet launch Parallels Desktop 7 and run a Check for Updates from the Parallels apps menu. Install the update and you will be good to go – no reason to log in twice now!
This fantastic infographic divvies up exactly how much of Apple’s sales comes from each branch on its tree of devices: iPhone, Mac, iPod and iPad. I’m astonished by how big the iPad has grown practically overnight from a twig to a branch: it’s about to overtake Mac sales, and doubtlessly will by the iPad 3 at latest.
The infographic appeared originally in the September 12th issue of Time Magazine. Thanks to Obama Pacman for the heads up.
Although the iPad began as a “magical” device for consumers, Apple’s tablet is quickly finding a place in business. From do-it-yourself meccas such as Lowe’s to the glamorous Gucci, retailers are learning how the iPad attracts, retains and increases customers. Indeed, 25 percent of iPads sold in 2011 will go to businesses, according to New York consulting firm Deloitte.
Mirroring the adoption of smartphones and PDAs before it, the explosive growth of the iPad in business can be attributed almost entirely to employees’ obsession with Apple’s “magical” tablet.
The iPad’s transformation from consumer gadget to enterprise tool points the way to an employee-driven tech future in which users — not IT departments — get to choose their own gear and applications.
We’re all probably getting sick of iPhone 5 case leaks at this point, but this is a juicy one. Earlier this morning, a Case-Mate product page briefly bubbled up on the official web site showing six different case designs for the next iPhone. If you blinked, you missed it, though. It’s now gone.
This is a pretty wonderful video. Soul king and all around beautiful person Stevie Wonder made an appearance last week at a nightclub in Los Angeles and gave a little speech on helping people with disabilities.
One company that Stevie Wonder specifically highlighted? Apple. Wonder personally thanks Steve Jobs and Apple for making the technology of their iOS devices accessible for everyone, saying “There is nothing that you can do on the iPhone or iPad that I can’t do.”
If you ordered yourself one of Apple’s 27-inch Thunderbolt Cinema Displays many moons ago in some kingdom by the sea, great news, Annabel: following the release of up to date Mac firmware, Apple’s started pumping Thunderbolt displays out of its shipping warehouses this morning. So expect to soon get your grubby mitts on one, if you’re so inclined.
Just how important was Steve Jobs’ departure as Apple CEO to sales of the iPad? Very little, according to a survey indicating consumers were prepared for Apple’s co-founder to step down.