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When Apple announced the original iPhone back in 2007, Google’s first Android handset wasn’t too far behind. The search giant got a compelling iOS alternative out of the gate before anyone else, and it’s been a head-to-head battle between the two platforms ever since. But how was Android able to follow the iPhone so quickly?

Well, that’s fairly obvious to most. You see, Google chairman Eric Schmidt was an Apple board member when the Cupertino company was developing the iPhone, and so he got an inside look at the device before anyone else. Little did Apple know that Schmidt would use what he saw inside Apple’s headquarters to create the iPhone’s biggest competitor.

With the iPad, however, it was a different story. That was years ahead of everything else, and not even Google had a slate ready to do battle when the iPad launched in 2010. Why? Because Steve Jobs made sure Schmidt knew nothing about the iPad before its debut.

Remember the giant ‘Retina’ in Apple’s huge event banner for the third-gen iPad? If you thought that was a subtle hint, then get ready, cause it’s even better this time around. We showed you the colorful signage Apple put up at the Yerba Buena Center over the weekend, and it sadly looked like there were no immediate iPhone 5 hints in the banner’s design. Think again.

Believe it or not, the banner currently hanging from Yerba Buena in San Francisco points to the rumored 4-inch display for the iPhone 5.

If you have one of the new touch-screen iPod nanos, then you know one of the cooler things you can do with it is to wear it as a watch. I mean all it needs is a front-facing camera and you have a Dick Tracy watch!

Of course one of the problems I’ve seen with iPod nano bands (remember I worked for an Apple retailer for a while and I saw lots and lots of samples) is that they just look…terrible. Most of the time the band is just a pop in-pop out kind of system that makes the watch band more of a wrist-mounted carry strap than a real watch band. This Paradox watch kit seems to be a horse of a different color. A kit that gives you the power of your nano in the sleekness of a watch. Hmm.

The wristwatch has fallen out of fashion. Sure, a few geezers still wear watches out of habit. Hipsters wear them ironically. Geeks wear them defiantly. And the fashionable wear them decoratively.

But these people are the minority. Bare wrists are the norm now.

People think the wristwatch is dead because our phones tell time, so they’re redundant. But that’s not why.

The reason most reject wristwatches is the same reason most rejected tablets until Apple shipped the iPad in 2010: The available selection is too bloated, clunky, expensive and poorly suited to how people really live and work.

In other words, the right kind of watch would get everyone wearing them again.

Apple mainstreamed tablets by re-imagining what a tablet is, by making it touch and with app and at low cost with a compelling user interface.

Will they do the same for the wristwatch? I think they will. 

I don’t know about where you live, but here in British Columbia holding your cell phone in your hand to talk or text while driving is a no-no. The “I was just answering my kids, officer.” doesn’t hold water either. Now hands free options are everywhere. I made sure my wife has a car mount in her car. So she can see who is calling or keep directions up on screen. We’ve gone through several options and you know they all break. Why? Because they can’t adapt to the fact that people keep their iPhones in cases.

I think we have a solution to that problem with the NKMOS Universal car mount.

On Friday Apple started preparing the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, California for the long-awaited iPhone 5 event that will be taking place this Wednesday. Journalists will pile into the venue to watch Tim Cook and company unveil the next iPhone and other surprises. Per tradition, Apple has begun putting up larger banners outside of Yerba Buena the weekend before the event.

We stopped by Yerba Buena to get a look at the signage Apple is putting up. Check out more on-location shots from Yerba Buena in our gallery below.

Over the past few years we’ve seen hundreds of fake iPhone mockups, some have been bizarre, while others looked so good we wished they were real. What’s been most surprising is that some of the weirdest looking concepts are actually fairly similar to prototypes Apple was working on in their labs.

Thanks to the evidence in the Apple vs Samsung trial, we got to see the different iPhone prototypes Apple was working on, so we’ve gone back and found 7 artists mockups that look a lot like prototypes Apple was working on. 

A new report suggests that Apple is gearing up to launch its latest lineup of iMacs very soon. It’s unclear whether they’ll get that much-anticipated Retina display, but if that’s not going to be a decider for you, it looks like you’ll have a new all-in-one in the coming weeks.

The big story of yesterday evening was a somewhat cryptic report by The Wall Street Journal that Apple wants to build its own streaming music service, a la Pandora. Once you step back from the “hey, wouldn’t that be cool”-edness of it all, it’s a weird report. But it may not be totally bonkers. In fact, it probably makes a lot of sense.

FedEx has issued a memo to employees noting that all training classes will be canceled between September 21 and September 24 due to a “surge volume” event. Although the company does not specify a reason for this, it falls just 9 days after the iPhone 5 unveiling, and suggests this is when Apple’s sixth-generation device will launch in the United States — and possibly around the world.

If you’re in the market for a tablet, and you don’t mind adopting Google’s Android platform, then the choice available to you right now is incredible. Amazon alone announced a pair of new Kindle Fire HD tablets on Thursday that feature an impressive selection of specifications, with 7- and 8.9-inch displays, that are priced at $199 and $299 respectively.

But despite those tiny price tags, it’s unlikely Amazon’s tablets will prove to be a more attractive choice than the iPad for most. Analysts are confident that Apple’s device will remain the market leader, particularly with a rumored iPad mini on its way in October.

The new iPhone 5 is almost among us, dear friends, and on this episode of the CultCast, we’ll tell you everything we know about it, ponder what Apple will actually be naming it, and tell you how to hang on to that unlimited data plan your carrier wants to move you out of.

Plus, looks like there’s a new HD tablet in town, and this one is looking pretty fern good, partner. We’ll tell you why Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD is one tablet that could actually give the iPad a run for its money.

Hit the subscribe button and let’s get this party rollin’!

Show notes ahead!

Apple has begun prepping the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco for the iPhone 5’s grand unveiling on September 12. Now that the Cupertino company has sent out invitations for the much-anticipated event, it has started decorating the venue with its logo, while exterior banners are expected to go up later today.

At today’s Amazon event, Jeff Bezos dropped some whoppers on the industry: not only an upgraded Kindle Fire, but the Kindle Fire HD, a mother of a tablet that has a Retina-caliber display, serious horsepower, and a super low price starting at just $199 for the 7-inch model, $299 for the 8.9-inch model and $499 for a 32GB 8.9-inch model with LTE. Without a doubt, it’s clear Amazon is gunning for the iPad and the upcoming iPad mini, but how do the new Kindle Fires really stack up?

Below, you’ll find a chart comparing the third-gen iPad, rumored iPad mini, Kindle Fires and (just for comparison’s sake) the Galaxy Nexus 7, spec-by-spec. Please be aware that this chart is still in flux, and is based in the case of the iPad mini on rumors, and in the case of the new Kindle Fires on incomplete information which we have supplemented with reasonable speculation. We will be updating the chart as we get new information about the exact specs of Amazon’s new Kindle Fires, but for right now, we think this is a good resource in how all of these tablets compare against one another.

Amazon is the only other company in the world that has a great ecosystem that might be able to compete with Apple’s. The Kindle Fire was a cute little tablet, but it definitely wasn’t an iPad Killer or even an iPad Competitor, but Amazon is looking to change that with the Kindle Fire HD.

Subatomic Studios has released a massive update for the original Fieldrunners iPhone game. The App Store tower defense classic has been updated with Retina display support, a new soundtrack, and other improvements. To celebrate the update, the game is also on sale now for $0.99 in the App Store.

Here’s the scenario: You invite a date over to impress them with your cooking skills. The house is tidy and you look sharp. You’re slaving away in the kitchen when your date innocently asks to check their email and you absentmindedly oblige. Then it hits you… You left your download folder open! Yeah, that dreadfully unorganized file that looks more like your trash bin. You run to try and save your dignity, but it’s too late; you have been exposed and the date is a solid block away in a dead sprint.

Don’t worry, we’ve all been there before. Lucky for you we have a download manager that is here to put your worries at rest so you can move on with your life once and for all. Folx Pro packs a ton of nifty features to get you on the fast track literally and figuratively. Here is what you can get for 3 bucks:

When Apple announces the iPhone 5 next week, its features and specifications will be of little surprise to most of us. If you’ve been following the rumors, there’s a good chance you already know what it looks like, and most of what’s inside it. But will the iPhone 5 been right for you, and does it do enough to keep you devoted to iOS?

There are some pretty great smartphones out there right now, including a handful that were announced by Nokia and Motorola just this week — the Lumia 820 and Lumia 920, and the DROID RAZR HD, DROID RAZR MAXX HD, and DROID RAZR M. So how do you choose between them? Well, we’ve put together a handy chart that will help you establish which smartphone is right for you.

Apple’s been working to make the Apple TV “more than a hobby” for a long, long time now, but it looks like it won’t happen this year, with a new report saying that a new Apple TV — whether a full HDTV or a new set-top box with content deals from the cable system — definitely won’t happen this year.

We’ve seen a couple part leaks for the upcoming iPad Mini over the last few weeks, but a great shot of the casing for the iPad hasn’t been seen until now. A Chinese site that claims they have received the rear shell for the iPad Mini from an OEM in Shenzhen, China, has posted a series of photos that show some great details of what the iPad Mini will look like.

The NFL season kicks off tonight with a game that pits the New York Giants – last season’s champions – against the Dallas Cowboys. For many teams, this season also marks the first use of iPads instead of the traditional paper playbooks. A handful of teams pioneered the iPad as a complete replacement for playbooks last year. Although the iPad was only used as a playbook replacement by a few teams last year, it was more broadly used as a training tool and a companion to traditional playbooks. This year many more teams are investing in the iPad as a digital playbook and a player training solution as well as a way for coaching staff to communicate more directly and effectively with players.

There’s certainly a cool factor that any technology and football fan will appreciate. There’s also a lot that many businesses can learn from the NFL teams about how the iPad can be secured, managed, and used in almost any professional context.

Man-bag. Murse. He-purse. Call it what you like, but you need one. Finally men in the U.S are following the European example and carrying their day-to-day gear in a bag instead of stuffing it all into a wallet, and then jamming that into a back pocket.

Cameras, iPads, iPhones, chargers, e-books and — yes — even wallets need a place to go, and what follows is our roundup of the best bags to put them in.

And who knows? Maybe one day your adult males will stop wearing baseball caps and shorts and start dressing like grown-ups instead?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kaVzt-_zajE

This is a heck of a video, in that it shows an iPhone 5 booting up next to an iPhone 4S. Even better, it seems real.

According to MIC Gadget, the iPhone 5 was “accidentally” discovered in Foxconn’s Jincheng factory, which basically means it was smuggled out and is stolen property. Whatever the provenance, though, it seems to be legit: the official first sighting of a working iPhone 5 in the wild.

What else do we know? Not much: the iPhone 5 boots up much more quickly than the iPhone 4S, but otherwise, it’s not capable of being activated at this point, so the iPhone 5 stalls at the activation screen.

More pictures of the new iPhone below:

I personally purchased MacJournal for $40 six months ago and was extremely pleased with the value. If I only knew I could have landed 10 additional applications for $10 more a little down the road…

The Mac Hype Bundle includes 6 apps that cost $40+ individually which is the first 6 reasons you should dive on this deal. If journaling isn’t your thing (and it should be if want to keep your brain dancing and those creative juices flowing) here is what else $50 bucks will get you:

When Apple switches over to a smaller 9-pin Dock Connecter for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini, all your existing cables, chargers and accessories won’t work without an adapter. According to a new report, you won’t just be able to pick up that adapter anywhere: only Apple will sell them, in packs of one or three.