2011 has been Apple’s most incredible year left. Heck, they’ve released more revolutionary products in this year alone than most companies manage in a generation. So we knew it would be difficult when we asked you to help us choose Apple’s best products of 2011. Now the results are in, and we’ve whittled the list down to just the finalists. Check out the finalists below, then help us choose just one of them that we’ll declare to be the best Apple product of 2011 in next week’s Cult of Mac Best Of 2011 awards.
Apple has just posted a new support document outlining everything international customers need to know about iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match availability. Customers in the United States were given public access to iTunes Match back in November, and Apple has been rolling out its cloud services for iTunes to international markets since then.
After countries around the world were given access to iTunes Match last week, Apple has officially outlined both iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match international availability, including the types of media that are offered to customers in each country.
Wahoo’s popular ANT+ Fisica dongle, which allows the iPhone to read signals from fitness gadgets like heart-rate monitors, pedometers and bike sensors, is probably most widely used fitness iPhone accessory since its release a little over a year ago. And today, Wahoo took the first step toward killing it.
The iPhone 5 probably won't look like this... or arrive in June.
One of the unfortunate byproducts of owning an iOS device is that your Home button can become a little sluggish over time. When you get your new iPhone or iPad and use it initially, the Home button works smoothly, but it can eventually become less responsive.
Fortunately, there’s a subtle trick in iOS for recalibrating your Home button. After performing this tip on your personal iOS device, you should notice that your Home button is considerably more responsive when you’re navigating throughout iOS.
We’re all familiar with Apple’s iconic white earbuds, and those of us who’ve popped for their $80 canalbuds are familiar with how Apple makes higher-end earphones. But Apple doesn’t make headphones — If they did, would they be like the new Incase Sonic ($150) set?
Although he couldn’t play the guitar or drums to save his life, few individuals have had as much of an impact upon the business of music than Steve Jobs, and now he’s being posthumously recognized for it by the industry he helped save by getting his own Grammy.
The Simpsons Arcade running on an iPad 2 http://bit.ly/vQkywj
Apple has never shown favor to emulators in its App Store (with the exception of examples like the Commodore 64 app), so it’s surprising to see iMAME available in the App Store for free right now. iMAME allows you to run thousands of classic arcade titles if you’re lucky enough to have the original ROMs.
The emulator app includes 9 less-than-popular arcade games to run, but the possibilities are pretty endless if you know what you’re doing.
As such, today’s report that Apple left a big reference to HiDPI mode intact in developer builds of OS X 10.7.3 isn’t a big surprise. The functionality can be seen in Finder’s “Get Info” window, and allows you to open a file or app in HiDPI mode, which (while non-functional right now) would presumably user higher-definition fonts, graphics and other UI elements. Retina Display Macs seem like a shoe-in in 2012 at this point, don’t you think?
Following a report published yesterday that detailed the problems users were having when attempting to download apps from the App Store under iOS 3.1.3, Apple has quietly issued another App Store update today to rectify the issue. Those who are still running this firmware on their iPhone or iPod touch should now be able to download new apps directly to their devices again.
After the critical success of Audyssey’s South of Market dock last year, Audyssey eventually released their next product, the Lower East Side Media Speakers ($250), in October of this year.
This time, Audyssey has dropped the radical approach to design it used for the SOMA dock — with its unusual, back-to-back speaker configuration — in favor of a much more conventional, yet still attractive, form. Audyssey left three things unchanged though: Like the SOMA, the LES speakers exhibit a good deal of quality, and incorporate what Audyssey calls their “Smart Speaker” technology. And like the SOMA, these speakers are a bit pricier than their contemporaries. So the question is: Do they deliver?
Yesterday we told you about AT&T’s decision to back out of its proposed $39 billion merger with T-Mobile. After facing heated scrutiny and antitrust concerns from both the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice, AT&T couldn’t take the heat any longer.
As part of the deal falling through, AT&T has agreed to pay T-Mobile $3 billion in cash for breakup fees. The money combined with the two carriers’ spectrum and roaming deal makes T-Mobile the only winner of the failed merger.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol hits theaters everywhere tomorrow. Surprisingly, the movie actually got really good reviews and is positioned to be one of the top movies of the holiday season. We went and watched the film this weekend at IMAX and enjoyed the dose of big-budget popcorn entertainment that reminded us how huge action movies used to be a lot more fun than the annoying and cringe-worthy action flicks that hit the screen en masse nowadays. Thanks a lot Michael Bay.
The success of Mission Impossible 4 shouldn’t come as a huge surprise though to anyone who is familiar with the director Brad Bird. Having worked at Pixar for a number of years, Bird has directed popular films such as The Iron Giant, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles, as well as leading the creative teams behind Toy Story 3 and Up. Being a Pixar alum, Bird had the opportunity to work with Steve Jobs and remarks that, “he wasn’t about making something that was going to be cool next week, he was about making something that was going to be cool 100 years from now.”
As a fan of Apple, Bird places Apple products throughout his newest movie and uses them as tools for Ethan Hunt and his team to do some really awesome stuff. Here’s some of the coolest uses of Apple technology in Mission Impossible 4 (we’ll try and keep the spoilers at a minimum).
Still haven’t done your Christmas shopping? No need to go on a panicked last-minute expedition to the local gas station like I usually do (“Ho ho ho! Santa brings cartons of cigarettes, Bic lighters and air fresheners!”). Apple has upgraded its free holiday shipping offer in the United States to include next-day shipping for all in-stock products, guaranteeing that as long as you don’t procrastinate past tomorrow, you’ll get your gifts in time for December 25th. Merry Christmas!
Yesterday, we reported about an explosion at a Shanghai iPad 2 factory owned by Foxconn that injured 61 people, some seriously. It’s the second time in the last year an explosion has rocked an iPad 2 factory, and it’s now been seemingly confirmed that both explosions happened for the same reason: a build-up of aluminum dust in the factory area that eventually combusted.
Not all of the best apps available for the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad are sold on the App Store. For jailbroken phones, there’s also Cydia, the equivalent of the App Store black market… and for those brave enough to experiment with the very cortex of their device, the benefits of hacking can be great indeed.
In many ways, some of the most innovative and daring development work is happening on Cydia these days, so here’s our list of the best jailbreak apps and tweaks for 2011. Check out our choices below, then help us pick the best jailbreak app or tweak of the year by taking part in our poll!
The NFL has announced that NBC’s broadcasts of wild card Saturday, the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl will be available online as well as via Verizon’s NFL Mobile app. This will mark the first time said events were streamed through a mobile platform and it comes as no surprise that their partner Verizon gets the honor. Here’s what Hans Shroeder, NFL senior vice president of media strategy and development had to say about the news:
If you’ve been looking to get some great music at a ridiculous price, now’s the time. Google Music has kicked off their “Music Blowout Sale,” discounting over half a million albums to $4.99 and over ten million tracks for only $.49! Now that’s a deal worth listening to. I’ve already perused over a bunch of discounted tracks and I’ve found a plethora of alternative classics from Radiohead, Beck, and Nirvana.
Users who are still running the iOS 3.1.3 software on their iPhones and iPod touches are reporting that a recent App Store update has blocked them from downloading new apps directly to their devices. The update was issued on December 16, and users have been unable to download new apps since, though they can still download updates to existing apps.
It seems Apple’s stock of refurbished first-generation iPod nanos has now run out following the launch of its worldwide replacement program last month. Customers who have applied for a replacement device in recent weeks report that they are now set to receive the current sixth-generation model instead.
Though it wasn’t in our readers’ top 10, Apple named Localscope the best navigation app of 2011. Yeah, well they ain’t seen nuthin’ — its new update adds a whole new exploratory facet to the app that’s arguably cooler than the app’s original focus.
AT&T has officially backed out its proposed merger with T-Mobile. The deal has been undergoing intense scrutiny from the FCC and DOJ. A $4 billion pre-tax fee charge will be paid by AT&T as agreed upon.
Looking for that last minute Christmas gift for the hyper-obsessed Apple fan? How’d an iPod shuffle signed by Steve Jobs himself suit you? Just be warned: prepare to pay through the nose for it. Amongst philographists, a Steve Jobs autograph is considered a very rare prize indeed.
The New York Times reports that Apple is “secretly” working on a number of wearable devices including a new “curved-glass iPod that would wrap around the wrist.” The devices will have Siri built-in allowing us to control them with our voice, and may even relay information back to our iPhones.
T-Mobile has over 1M+ unlocked iPhones on its GSM network, which is quite impressive, considering that up until now, all of those iPhones have been stuck with 2G data speeds thanks to T-Mobile’s bizarre implementation of 3Gm which is not compatible with the iPhone.
But that’s all about to change. Some unlocked iPhone owners are now reporting that for the first time ever, they are now getting proper 3G speeds on their iPhones, just like the rest of us have been enjoying for the last three years. Hurrah!
The Wall Street Journal has shed light on Apple’s plans for entering the TV industry. According to the WSJ, Apple is planning to reinvent not only the television itself, but the way we consume media every day.
Apple has been working on its top-secret TV project for quite some time. While the project is still in its early stages, all signs point towards Apple destroying and rebuilding the traditional way we watch movies and TV shows. The company wants to implement a unified experience that extends to the living room.
