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Tag: iPhone

  • LinkedIn LinkedInifies Your Email With Intro

    LinkedIn LinkedInifies Your Email With Intro

    LinkedIn unveiled a new email-related product called Intro today, making use of last year’s acquisition of Rapportive. Basically what it does is show you information about people you receive emails from so you can get a better idea of who they are – right in your inbox.

    Right now it’s just for iPhone, and utilizes the iPhone’s Mail app.

    “The growth of mobile email is simply staggering,” says LinkedIn’s Rahul Vohra, who co-founded Rapportive. “Four years ago, less than 4% of emails were read on mobile. Today, half of all emails are read on a mobile device! So we set ourselves the challenge: bring the power of LinkedIn, and the technology of Rapportive, straight to the Apple Mail app on your iPhone.”

    This pretty clearly illustrates what Intro does:

    LinkedIn Intro

    LinkedIn Intro

    As Vohra explains, the info provided by Intro can be the difference between deciding whether you’re receiving spam or a legitimate email.

    The product supports Gmail, Google Apps, Yahoo Mail, AOL Mail and iCloud. Outlook.com is noticeably absent from the list, as is Android.

    You can enable Intro here by giving them your phone number.

  • Apple Event: The Latest iPhone Numbers

    Apple today held its hotly anticipated iPad announcement event. However, before Apple engineers took to the stage to debut the latest hardware and software from the world’s biggest tech company, Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage, as always, to begin the presentation with some statistics highlighting just how successful Apple is.

    The first number thrown out was that 9 million iPhones were sold by the end of the devices’ first weekend available. Cook wasn’t clear on exactly which weekend this was, but it does seem obvious that both iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C sales were included in this number.

    The next number highlighted by Cook was that 64% of iPhone and iPad users are now using iOS 7. He also claimed that 200 million iOS devices were using the new operating system within five days of its official launch.

    “It blows away the other guys,” said Tim Cook, taking a stab at the heavily split Android OS adoption.

    Cook went on to dig deep for his next number, using his time to promote the iTunes Radio. He claimed that the service boasts 20 million “listeners” and that over 1 billion song have been played through the service.

    iTunes Radio is dwarfed, however, by the continued success of the Apple App Store. Apple’s carefully curated app marketplace now boasts over 1 million apps, and users have made 60 billion “cumulative downloads,” though what that means specifically isn’t clear. What is clear is that money is flowing through the App Store, with Cook claiming that developers have made over $13 billion through the marketplace. This translates into several billion dollars for Apple through its cut of app purchases.

  • Hulu Plus For iPhone Gets Chromecast Integration

    Hulu Plus For iPhone Gets Chromecast Integration

    Earlier this month, Hulu Plus announced that Chromecast integration had finally arrived for its iOS and Android apps. It was great news for those who had been waiting for Hulu Plus to join the Chromecast party, but there was one little problem – the iOS app only supported Chromecast integration on the iPad.

    The Hulu Plus-loving iPhone owner can now dry those tears, however, as the official Hulu Plus iOS app was updated today to include Chromecast integration on iPhone. To be more specific, any iPhone running iOS 6 and up can now beam their Hulu Plus content from their phone to their TV via Chromecast.

    With Hulu Plus and Netflix fully supporting Chromecast now, it leads one to wonder when the other big players in streaming video will join. Back in July, both Vimeo and Redbox Instant announced their intention to support Google’s streaming device, but both services have yet to add official support.

    There’s also the curious case of HBO Go not announcing any plans yet. You would think that HBO would want to get its streaming service on as many devices as possible, especially the top-selling Chromecast. There’s already an app for iOS and Android, and integrating Chromecast into its app shouldn’t take that much work. Still, HBO moves at its own pace, and it may take a while for it to add Chromecast support.

    Outside of that, we’re still waiting on the ability to play local content via Chromecast, but that functionality is still probably a few months away from becoming an official reality.

    Despite a few gripes, the Chromecast is still a great little device for those who want to watch the best the Internet has to offer on their television. It’s even better now that iPhone users can finally stream Hulu Plus onto their televisions. If that sounds appealing to you, you can grab the latest Hulu Plus app for iOS here.

    [Image: Hulu]

  • Apple’s Gold iPhone 5s Ad Is Heavy on the…Gold

    If you were watching NFL football yesterday, you may have seen a brand new ad from Apple. The company unveiled its first ever ad for the new gold iPhone 5s during the broadcasts, called “Metal Mastered,” and it’s heavy on the gold.

    That song in the background? It’s “Ooh La La” by Goldfrapp. Clever.

    Before Sunday, Apple had put the majority of its ad focus on the cheaper, plastic iPhone 5c. Reports indicate that may be the right focus, as iPhone 5s sales have dwarfed iPhone 5c sales by a margin of 2 to 1.

    And though the gold iPhone was jokingly referred to as “The Kardashian Phone” internally, there’s no sign of a Kardashian anywhere in Apple’s new ad. Shame.

    Image via Apple, YouTube

  • iPhone 5S/5C Make Their Way To Boost Mobile On November 8

    The iPhone 5S and 5C launch has been the most successful iPhone launch yet for Apple with over 9 million units sold in the first weekend. You could attribute this success to the fact that the iPhone 5S launched in more countries and on more carriers than any other previous iPhone. Despite its far reaching launch, there are still some smaller carriers that don’t have Apple’s latest flagship device.

    Boost Mobile announced today that its customers will no longer have to look upon their Verizon or T-Mobile subscriber neighbors in envy as it will start carrying the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C on November 8. As is the case with all other devices on Boost Mobile, the iPhone 5S and 5C will enjoy unlimited talk, text and data for $55 a month.

    Unfortunately, Boost Mobile has not revealed the prices for either the iPhone 5S or 5C yet, but it’s not going to be cheap. The carrier doesn’t subsidize its phone prices so you’re probably going to be stuck paying the full price of the phone upfront. For the iPhone 5S, that will be $649 for the 16GB model. As for the iPhone 5C, you’ll be paying a not so affordable $549 for the 16GB model. If either of those options are a bit too pricey for you, you can opt to buy the more affordable iPhone 4S at $450.

    In more iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C news, Apple announced earlier this month that its latest mobile devices will be making their way to more countries on October 25 and November 1. On October 25, the device will land in a number of countries in Eastern Europe as well as South Korea. On November 1, it will make its way to more countries in South America, the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

    [Image: Boost Mobile]

  • iPhone App Tracks Which Satellites Are Tracking You

    Orbit Logic of Greenbelt, Md., has created SpyMeSat, an iOS app that notifies a user when an imaging spacecraft might have them in sight. The app tracks spy satellites and unclassified imaging satellites, and displays a map of orbit tracks, as well as the location of remote sensing satellites with upcoming passes over a user’s specified location.

    spymesat

    For over a decade, Orbit Logic has developed and deployed advanced space mission planning and scheduling solutions. The technology the company typically sells gives aerospace mission planners, engineers and operators the ability to define and configure systems, constraints and scheduling goals. The $1.99 SpyMeSat app is a deviation from that norm.

    Alex Herz, president of Orbit Logic, calls SpyMeSat a product that extends the company’s customer base beyond the aerospace, defense and government intelligence communities. “I actually got the idea for the app from talking to friends outside the aerospace industry who were always very interested in space and satellites and imaging from space. This app answers those questions in a fun and interactive way,” Herz said.

    That information SpyMeSat provides is an amalgam of available public information about commercial and international imaging satellites. SpyMeSat draws data from multiple sources, including orbit data from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The NORAD spacecraft data comes via CelesTrak, a website designed to provide tools that support tracking satellites and understanding orbital mechanics.

    spymesat

    SpyMeSat can be organized in several ways, and can define a satellite’s trajectory around a user’s location, and can show an alert when a camera-equipped or scanning satellite is in range. iPhone users can learn more details about which satellites might be overheard, and specific locations and satellites can be pinpointed.

    Image via WikiMedia Commons.

  • The iPhone 5DS Is Gonna Blow Your Mind

    Apple parody videos are everywhere these days – I mean, Apple’s promotional videos are just so damn parody…able? Yeah, that’s it. Everything is always sooo revolutionary and the backgrounds are always sooo white. The products are sooo amazing.

    Meet the newest in the line, the iPhone 5DS. it stand for iPhone Double Screen, and it’s exactly what you imagine.

    “We know that this is some groundbreaking crazy ass shit, so that’s why we here at Apple developed it for you.”

    Strangely enough, the part where two people are playing games simultaneously? Genius. Get on it, Jony Ive.

    Image, Video via Udetto, YouTube

  • Apple Reducing iPhone 5C Production By Half [Report]

    Last month, Apple launched the iPhone 5C as the cheaper alternative to the iPhone 5S. Normally, the company would just reduce the price of the existing iPhone 5 and call it a day, but the iPhone 5C represented its effort to try something different this time around. As it turns out, different is not always better.

    Chinese Tech site C Technology reports (as translated by CNET) that iPhone 5C production levels have been reduced by half. The site gives no reason for the apparent decrease in production, but it should pretty obvious. The iPhone 5C just doesn’t have the same allure as the iPhone 5S. The iPhone brand has always been about premium quality, and the iPhone 5C looks like a child’s toy with its colorful plastic backing.

    Despite its reported underperformance, it’s much too early to count the iPhone 5C out. After all, the iPad Mini went through the same thing when it first launched. The first few weeks saw little demand for the miniature tablets, but demand grew as more people jumped on board the idea of a smaller iPad. The iPhone 5C could be going through a similar situation.

    Of course, there are some differences between the iPad Mini and the iPhone 5C that one should take into account. For starters, the iPhone 5C doesn’t look like an iPhone – it looks like a toy. The iPad Mini was sold on the fact that it was an iPad, but smaller. For the iPhone 5C, Apple uses cheesy tag lines like “unapologetically plastic” that make it seem like something your child would play with.

    It also doesn’t help matters that some consumers see the “C” in iPhone 5C, and automatically think it stands for cheap. At $549 off contract, the iPhone 5C is anything but cheap. Sure, it goes for $99 with subsidies, but not all markets offer the same kind of subsidies that U.S. carriers do. Chinese consumers, who are quickly becoming Apple’s bread and butter, are getting the shaft from China Telecom as its lowest subsidized price for an iPhone 5C is still much too high at 1598 yuan ($261.29).

    With this in mind, it doesn’t seem all too surprising that Apple would be cutting its iPhone 5C orders. After all, it’s trying to sell last year’s iPhone 5 in a cheap plastic chassis marred by an ugly plastic case.

    [Image: Apple]

  • Apple Wants To Fix iOS 7 iMessage Glitch

    Apple Wants To Fix iOS 7 iMessage Glitch

    The recent iOS 7 update has caused quite a stir; some are incredibly happy with the overhaul, spilling over with compliments about the new interface and updates. However, in the realm of most folks on the internet, who like to complain about almost everything, the iOS 7 update may just be worse than the government deciding to shut down like a bratty five year old in a grocery store. Among the many complaints expressed on Twitter and Apple customer support boards, the issue of disappearing iMessages has been a particularly common occurrence.

    Most Apple users have been combating this problem by turning their iPhones off and then on again. According to a post from The Wall Street T0imes, another popular way to combat that problem has been, “is to disable iMessage, reset the Network Settings, and then turn iMessage back on. (To reset the settings, go to Settings → General Reset → Reset Network Settings).”

    Apple, however, is looking to put a stop to their customer’s complaints. They released a statement saying, “We are aware of an issue that affects a fraction of a percent of our iMessage users, and we will have a fix available in an upcoming software update. In the meantime, we encourage any users having problems to reference our troubleshooting documents or contact AppleCare to help resolve their issue. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes impacted users.”

    Apple hasn’t announced when or how they plan to fix the issue, but updates as to such specifics are expected to come forward within the next few days. Hopefully, they will be able to fix the hitch without much trouble and, in the process, make some iPhone users turn from Debbie downers to happy campers. Until they find another aspect of the update to complain about, at least.

    [Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.]

  • iOS 7 Making You Nauseous? Jimmy Kimmel Can Help

    Soon after Apple released iOS 7, some users complained of dizziness, nausea, and headaches. And it wasn’t just from the inability to download the damn thing. People claimed that the new operating system was making them feel sick – literally.

    With iOS 7 came new app animations that feature a hyper-zoom and a new “Parallax” motion that allows the background screen to move when users shift their devices. These turned out to be the culprits for users’ motion sickness.

    If you suffer from these symptoms, Jimmy Kimmel has a solution. Kind of…

    Although Kimmel has a point, the motion sickness felt by many iOS 7 users is very real. I mean, this forum thread on the issues has over 35,000 views. Unfortunately, there’s not much to be done about the zoom animations that permeate the new OS. Those are probably here to stay.

    But that Parallax background motion? Well, you can do something about that. Just go to your settings > general > accessibility and turn on the “reduce motion” option. That should make things a little more manageable.

    Image via Jimmy Kimmel Live, YouTube

  • Pinnacle Achieved: You Can Unlock the New iPhone with Your Peen

    Last year, when Apple unveiled the iPhone 5, reviews of the device reached their logical conclusion as some guy had sex with one. Not really, but he pretended to – and it was funnyish.

    Now, in a life-affirming twist of reality mimicking (admittedly immature) art, we have confirmation that you can in fact unlock your new iPhone 5S with your wiener.

    Apple’s new iPhone 5S comes with Touch ID, technology built into the home button that doubles as a fingerprint identity sensor. It reads your fingerprint multiple times, constructing a detailed scan of your print so that you can use it as a security bypass. Apple says that it should replace the pesky task of having to punch in the four-digit passcode every time you unlock your phone. It can also be used as an access point for approving purchases on iTunes and such.

    It’s so futuristic that it pretty much begged for someone to rub their junk all over it.

    Enter Digital Trends writer Andrew Couts, who did the leg-work and proved that Apple’s new Touch ID responds quite favorably to another body part. He ran a test of a couple of other parts like his knuckle and his elbow without much success. The damn thing just couldn’t get a clear enough read. Finally, he unzipped his pants and…

    Lastly, I went with the most secure body part I could think of – and all I will say is that I had to take off my pants. Unlike the knuckle and elbow, however, registering my nether region was a breeze. (It was quite chilly, in fact.) And not only did I successfully register this private part with relative ease, I was also able to use it to unlock the device. I think you can understand why there isn’t a video of this one.

    Let’s see them* try to hack this one, fellas.

    Thankfully, Couts decided to forgo the video demonstration. In lieu of that, here’s some guy unlocking his new iPhone 5S with his nipple.

    Please read this in the creepiest voice you can imagine: Your move, ladies.

    *Hackers. People who hack things. Those hacker dudes.

    Image via Apple

  • iPhone 5S Manufacturing Costs Estimated at $199

    After the launch of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C last week, Apple (predictably) sold record numbers of the smartphones over the weekend. This is despite rumors of low manufacturing yields due to difficulties surrounding the new fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5S. Now, with the smartphone finally in the hand of consumers, analysts can estimate just what kind of markup the $649 iPhone 5S has.

    Market research firm today announced the results of its recent tear-down of the 5S. The firm estimates that the materials inside the 16GB version of the smartphone run Apple around $191 each. Add in $8 for manufacturing and the total estimated cost for creating one iPhone 5S rises to around $199.

    “The iPhone 5s features a 64-bit apps processor, low-power Double Data Rate 3 (LPDDR3) DRAM, and a novel fingerprint sensor – features that have never before been seen in a smartphone,” said Andrew Rassweiler, senior director of cost benchmarking services at IHS. “In addition, it is very interesting to see that Apple continues to collaborate closely with suppliers to develop unique radio frequency (RF) solutions that give Apple a competitive edge.”

    The $199 estimate is slightly higher than IHS’ estimate last year of $197 to build the iPhone 5. The increased costs can mostly be attributed to upgrades in the hardware of the iPhone 5S, including the fingerprint sensor and the device’s new 64-bit processor, while some savings were made by using the same touchscreen panels seen in last year’s iPhone 5S. IHS estimates that each new A7 processor costs Apple around $19.

    “The move to the 64-bit apps processor is largely driven by the need for greater computational power to ensure that the smartphone’s fingerprint sensor works quickly and seamlessly,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst for wireless communications at IHS. “This design change will likely set the stage for 64-bit processors to be used in upcoming Apple products, including new models of the iPad, the Apple TV and even MacBook Air PCs.”

  • Of Course Somebody Already Shot The iPhone 5S

    Apple launched the iPhone 5S on Friday, and it went on to have the best weekend yet for an iPhone launch. Now that’s all well and good, but we can’t properly have an iPhone launch without somebody doing something terrible to it. That’s where RatedRR comes in.

    Over the weekend, RatedRR bought a golden iPhone 5S and decided to do what he does best – shoot it. The weapon of choice this time around is a 50 cal sniper rifle. As you can already guess, the iPhone 5S doesn’t stand a chance. Still, it’s fun to watch something that costs so much be so easily destroyed.

    As an added bonus, here’s a first-person take on the above iPhone 5S execution taken through Google Glass:

    [Image: RatedRR]

  • Slate: Your Smartphone is Built with Blood

    Slate: Your Smartphone is Built with Blood

    Slate published a story this week that may turn a few heads with the release of the new iPhone iterations: the biggest manufacturing trade group in the United States is in the midst of a court battle with the Securities & Exchange Commission over whether or not consumers should be made aware of the primary sources of the minerals used in their smartphones. The battle is being fought to determine which groups get to make regulations regarding multinational manufacturing, either Congress or manufacturers themselves.

    Back in 2010, when the Dodd-Frank Act was passed by Congress, a lesser known provision was included that requires companies to track and report when conflict minerals are used in their products.

    Conflict minerals include tantalum (Coltan), tungsten, gold, and tin, all of which are used in the manufacture of phones, disc players, laptops, gaming consoles, and hard drives. The materials are mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Rwanda, where militia groups force children and slaves to dig in unregulated mines. The proceeds are used to fund violence against government forces in Congo and Rwanda.

    The Dodd-Frank Act’s provision regarding conflict minerals does not go into effect until 2014, but Congress included it to try and alleviate the “resource curse” that afflicts poorer developing nations, and often turns their resource-rich industries into mob-run slave plantations. “The exploitation and trade of conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is helping to finance conflict characterized by extreme levels of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly sexual- and gender-based violence, and contributing to an emergency humanitarian situation therein,” the bill reads.

    The bill was partially implemented in August 2012 when the SEC issued a rule that required companies to disclose which devices contain conflict minerals “necessary to the functionality or production [of the device]” while also requiring them to report in detail which mines their minerals came from. That information would be required to be available on the company’s website.

    The National Association of Manufacturers teamed up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to respond to the SEC’s new rule with a lawsuit, which argued that the new rule was too expensive to follow and that the SEC was unable to prove that the people of the Congo would benefit. They also argued that the rule violated the companies’ First Amendment Rights by compelling them to speak.

    Microsoft, General Electric, and Motorola were all among the companies that opposed the new SEC rule. If you want to read more, Slate has the story here.

    [Image via VICE-TV’s YouTube documentary on conflict minerals in the Congo]

  • iPhone 5s Touch ID Fingerprint Technology Apparently Hacked In Just A Day [Video]

    Well, that didn’t take long. The iPhone 5s was released on Friday with its Touch ID fingerprint-scanning security technology, and it looks as though it may have already been hacked. In fact, it had already been done by Saturday, when the Chaos Computer Club (based in Germany) claimed to have done so, providing a video as evidence.

    “A fingerprint of the phone user, photographed from a glass surface, was enough to create a fake finger that could unlock an iPhone 5s secured with TouchID,” writes Frank from the Chaos Computer Club in a blog post. “This demonstrates – again – that fingerprint biometrics is unsuitable as access control method and should be avoided.”

    The blog goes on…

    “In reality, Apple’s sensor has just a higher resolution compared to the sensors so far. So we only needed to ramp up the resolution of our fake”, said the hacker with the nickname Starbug, who performed the critical experiments that led to the successful circumvention of the fingerprint locking. “As we have said now for more than years, fingerprints should not be used to secure anything. You leave them everywhere, and it is far too easy to make fake fingers out of lifted prints.”

    Here’s Apple explaining how great the feature is:

    At least the severed finger approach is apparently bogus.

    It will be interesting to see if others go on to duplicate the process the Chaos Computer Club has demonstrated or display other ways of achieving the same goal. Last week, a site called IsTouchIDHackedYet.com was formed for rewards to be given to the first to hack it. Here’s the message that the site says at the moment:

    Maybe! The The Chaos Computer Club in Germany may have done it! Awaiting video showing them lifting a print (like from a beer mug) and using it to unlock the phone. If so, they’ll win…

    It seems like there’s always something with these major iPhone releases. Remember antennagate? Then last year it was Apple Maps, which Tim Cook actually apologized for in a letter. Granted, that was more software-based, but it came with the iPhone 5 launch.

    We’ll have to keep an eye on the TouchID situation, and how big of an issue this turns out to be. Perhaps we’ll be seeing another apology.

    Meanwhile, the feature is already drawing scrutiny from lawmakers.

    The feature is optional, so if you bought a 5s, you can take comfort in the fact that you don’t have to use it.

  • iPhone 5S Fingerprint Scanner Already Drawing Scrutiny From Lawmakers

    The iPhone 5S just launched today, and fans are already happily scanning their fingerprints into the devices’s new Touch ID system. Apple (and science) claims it’s perfectly secure, but lawmakers aren’t so sure.

    The Hill reports that Sen. Al Franken has sent Apple a letter regarding the fingerprint scanner technology in the iPhone 5S. As you would expect, he’s concerned that the the introduction of one’s fingerprint as a security gate could lead to privacy violations and even identity theft.

    Too many people don’t protect their smartphones with a password or PIN. I anticipate that Apple’s fingerprint reader will in fact make iPhone 5S owners more likely to secure their smartphones. But there are reasons to think that an individual’s fingerprint is not “one of the best passwords in the world,” as an Apple promotional video suggests.

    Passwords are secret and dynamic; fingerprints are public and permanent. If you don’t tell anyone your password, no one will know what it is. If someone hacks your password, you can change it—as many times as you want. You can’t change your fingerprints. You have only ten of them. And you leave them on everything you touch; they are definitely not a secret. What’s more, a password doesn’t uniquely identify its owner—a fingerprint does. Let me put it this way: if hackers get a hold of your thumbprint, they could use it to identify and impersonate you for the rest of your life.

    Franken is aware that the Touch ID system stores fingerprints locally in an encrypted format, and that it doesn’t allow third party apps to access said fingerprints. Still, he feels that Apple hasn’t done a good enough job yet at explaining exactly how it protects a person’s fingerprints from being compromised. He also worries that Apple pushing into biometrics will encourage other mobile device makers to embrace it, and those companies may not have the same commitment to privacy and security that Apple does.

    At the end of the letter, Franken presents a list of 12 questions that he hopes Apple will answer. Some of the questions are pretty basic – like whether or not it’s possible to extract fingerprint data from an iPhone 5S – while others dive into the nitty gritty of privacy law – like whether or not Apple views fingerprint data as a personal identifier as defined by the Stored Communications Act.

    The most important question of them all, however, may be the 10th. He asks whether or not Apple could be forced to hand over fingerprint data if it’s deemed necessary to an investigation:

    Under American intelligence law, the Federal Bureau of Investigation can seek an order requiring the production of “any tangible thing (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items)” if they are deemed relevant to certain foreign intelligence investigations. See 50 U.S.C. § 1861. Does Apple consider fingerprint data to be “tangible things” as defined in the USA PATRIOT Act?

    As you can imagine, some people already think that Touch ID is just a ploy set up by the NSA to get more people to hand over their fingerprint data. While I don’t think that’s the case, there’s a legitimate privacy concern here. Did Apple really make the right decision when implementing a fingerprint scanner into the iPhone 5S? Will it lead to a new wave of identity theft cases as hackers steal iPhones and extract fingerprints from the devices?

    At this point in time, it’s hard to say. Franken is right to be concerned, however, and I’m sure many are waiting to see what Apple has to say in response to his letter.

    [Image: Al Franken/Facebook]

  • iOS 7 Download Problems Run Rampant

    Apple released the iOS 7 update on Wednesday, and some users have had a lot of issues when trying to update their devices. Not only are many users having trouble downloading the iOS 7 update, they are having difficulty activating the download as well. While any Apple update is going to have glitches, some users are reportedly spending hours and hours trying to update their devices.

    If Apple is trying to get their iPhone users to smash their old devices in a fit of anger so they’ll buy the iPhone 5S that is released today, then well played, Apple, well played. If their goal isn’t the destruction of older devices, however, then the company is off to a rough start with the operating system that is supposed to compete with the Android.

    While slow download times is one huge problem being mentioned with the iOS 7 update, many users are reporting getting download errors.

    (image)

    So far there is no word from Apple on all of the iOS 7 download problems, but an update that is (at least mostly) bug-free should be released eventually. Hopefully an update won’t take months, as was the case with the iOS 6 bugs. Just a side note–the writer of this article has an iPhone 5 and updated her phone to the iOS 7 yesterday with no problems. The download and update took all of 15 minutes. From the looks of some humorous Twitter posts, however, such an easy download and installation wasn’t the norm.

    Do you plan to update to iOS 7? Discuss your experience below.

    After users eventually update their devices to iOS 7, the new operating system does have some pretty cool updates. In addition to flatter, more simplistic icons, the camera settings are improved, a Control Center was added and multitasking is made easier.

    Main image via YouTube; Error image via Sun

  • It’s iPhone 5s And 5c Release Day

    The day is here. Eager consumers can now get their iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c. At least some of them can. Word is that supplies of the gold model are limited, so if that’s the one you want, you can try your luck. Either way, the release date is upon us.

    Here’s what people are saying about the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c in real time:



    “iPhone 5s is the most forward-thinking smartphone in the world, delivering desktop class architecture in the palm of your hand,” said Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Philip Schiller, upon announcing the device. “iPhone 5s sets a new standard for smartphones, packed into its beautiful and refined design are breakthrough features that really matter to people, like Touch ID, a simple and secure way to unlock your phone with just a touch of your finger.”

    “iPhone 5c is everything iPhone 5 was and more, in an all-new design packed with great features,” said Schiller. “iPhone 5c is designed with a beautiful polycarbonate enclosure that looks and feels so solid in your hand.”

    The 5s comes in gold, silver, or “space gray”. It’s available in the US for $199 for the 16GB model, $299 for the 32GB model and $399 for the 64GB model. The 5c comes in blue, green, pink, yellow and white and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $99 for the 16GB model and $199 for the 32GB model.

    iPhone 5s cases are available in beige, black, blue, brown, yellow and red for $39. 5c cases are available in blue, green, pink, yellow, black and white for $29.

    You can read more about the devices here.

    Image: Apple

  • Google Wallet Finally Available For iPhone

    Google just announced its first Google Wallet app for iPhone, which is available for iOS 6 and up. It’s interesting that they waited until IOS 7 was released, if 6 is supported as well, but either way it’s here now.

    The release follows a major update to the Android app, which brought some new loyalty programs with it, as well as the ability to send money to people by email.

    The iPhone app also includes this functionality.

    Google Wallet iPhone

    In fact, the app appears to pretty much mirror the features of the Android app, including the same loyalty program offerings, and access to Offers .

    “In addition to all of your loyalty cards, you can save money with offers in Google Wallet whether you found them on the Google Maps app, Google Search, or Google Offers,” says product manager Brian Kravitz. “Starting today, you can also save offers to Google Wallet directly from merchant or couponing sites such as Valpak.com. Redeem all of your saved offers by showing your Google Wallet app to the cashier at checkout.”

    It does leave out the NFC feature, as some pointed out, due to the iPhone’s lack of support.

    The app will be available today in the App Store.

    More on the new loyalty programs here.

    Image: Google

  • TED Releases iOS7 App

    In 2010 TED released their first app for Apple iOS. It is now 2013 and TED is announcing that they will be releasing an updated app with features that are more refined with an improved user experience for the Apple iOS7 operating system.

    The intent was to avoid the aspect of overloading the app and adding new features. They’ve chosen to improve standard controls such as the ability to rewind talks and “scrub” the audio feeds. They’ve kept the “Inspire Me” feature which allows users to choose the kind of talk they’re interested in hearing. They’ve also updated the clock feature which allows a user to choose their allotted listening time. In turn, these features provide users with playlist that have been curated based on their preferences.

    They wanted to stress their intention to build an app that doesn’t necessarily mimic the TED website experience, but one that enhances the mobile experience of TED users.

    In the future TED hopes to create features that will use AirDrop, which is an Apple iOS7 feature that is used for sharing files through Wi-Fi, and they hope to improve on their use of TED Radio Hour.

    The new app will accommodate Apple users who have devices that use the iOS6 operating system.

    Image courtesy of ted.com.

  • iOS 7 Download Errors Are Infuriating iPhone Users

    Apple released the long-awaited iOS 7 update for the iPhone (4 and later), iPad (2 and later), iPad Mini and iPod Touch (fifth generation) today. The problem is that some users have been getting errors trying to download it. Obviously this isn’t sitting too well with the impatient.

    One user shared a screenshot with us:

    ioS 7 download error

    It doesn’t appear to be a carrier-specific issue. As you can see, that was via AT&T. AppsGoneFree shares a similar image via a Sprint device.

    There are quite a few complaints making their way to Twitter as well.

    If you are one of those having trouble downloading the update, this is what you can look forward to once you get it: