At last, it's official. Apple has sent out the invites for an event on Tuesday, 10 September, when it's expected to launch not one but two new iPhones.
In keeping with the leaks we've seen so far, Apple has chosen a colourful theme for the invites. Look at all the hues in there. The tagline reads: "This should brighten everyone's day". Which suggests at least some of those leaked snaps of colourful iPhones we've seen were on the money...
Read the full story here... Source: CNET
Apple today released an update for Find My iPhone, adding a newly redesigned iOS 7-style icon. The new icon was first introduced on the iCloud.com beta page, which was updated in mid-August with a new set of iOS 7 icons.
It appears that the newest version of Find My iPhone may have been released prematurely, however, as the update gives an error message to anyone who attempts to use it without a registered developer account (paid or free)...
Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours
At this point it's looking more and more like Apple's got a gold-colored version of the iPhone on the way, nor is what it will look like a mystery given a handful of leaks in recent days.
But if you're the type of person who wants more proof, App Advice has posted a slew of new shots of the gold variant, which is expected to join the silver and black models of Apple's next iPhone when it debuts next month...
Read the full story here... Source: CNET
Following his company's earnings release earlier today, T-Mobile USA CEO John Legeretold AllThingsD that the carrier is looking forward to expanding its Apple product offerings beyond the iPhone. Back in April, T-Mobile became the last of the four major U.S. carrier to begin selling the iPhone...
Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours
Nokia has taken a page from Microsoft's advertising book and has today launched (via UKMR) a new advertisement comparing the company's Lumia 925 to the iPhone 5.
The ad focuses on the phone's photographic capabilities and is based on Apple's well known "Photos Every Day" commercial, which began running back in April. It uses a similar voice over and style, focusing on Lumia users taking photographs with their devices...
Read the full story here... Source: Mac Rumours
With many photos surfacing on Apples budget iPhone for 2013, could this video actually show the beast, or errrrrr bear, in its entirety ??? Check out the video & let us know what you think. You might be in for a surprise at the end of the video when you see what makes an appearance ;D
This afternoon, a tipster who spoke to 9to5Mac pointed out a new feature in iOS 7's Accessibility menu, which allows iPhone users to control their devices using head movements.
The option can be found in the Switch Control area of the Accessibility menu, which is designed for users who need assistance with physical and motor movements.
Switch Control allows you to use your iPhone by sequentially highlighting items on the screen that can be activated through an adaptive accessory.
With the feature activated, specific movements can be used to correspond with actions. For example, the setting can be programmed to allow a left head movement to activate a tap, while a right head movement can be programmed to perform to another function.9to5Mac went hands-on with the feature:
We've tested this ourselves and found it to be quite accurate, but it's quite tedious to control your device this way since it cycles through all of the options on the screen and you move your head when it is bordering around the option you want.
You can also make the left or right head movement act as a home button, start Siri, open Notification Center, open the App Switcher, decrease volume, increase volume, or simply tap.
It is important to note that Switch Control head movements are a beta function and should be used with caution, as the setting disables touch input.
Apple has always had a heavy focus on accessibility, and over the years has worked to provide accessibility options for vision, hearing, motor skills, and learning, turning the iPad and the iPhone into fully featured assistive devices. iOS 7 promises to bring even more accessibility options, further increasing the utility of Apple's devices.
Source: Mac Rumours
Wahoo Fitness, the leader in iPhone powered cycling, running and fitness, launches the Wahoo Fitness KICKR Power Trainer in the UK. The KICKR Power Trainer is the world’s first iPhone powered bike trainer, allowing cyclist and triathletes to set resistance, accurately measure power and complete App based workouts, all from their iPhone or iPad. Available now from wahoofitness.com/eukickr.
Using Bluetooth 4.0 (Smart) and ANT+ technology, the KICKR Power Trainer connects to the iPhone or iPad, allowing full resistance control during a training session. While pedaling, users can increase or decrease resistance, structure interval workouts or even simulate real world bike courses all from their iPhone or iPad. Resistance adjustments are instant, making it easy to replicate everything from a flat or rolling hill course, to the coast down a hill after a hard climb.
With a ‘wheel off’ design and super flywheel, the iPhone connected bike trainer is engineered to produce an ultra-realistic road feel. A direct power measurement at the hub provides consistent and accurate power readings for every grueling mile.
Wahoo Fitness KICKR Power Trainer features include:
"Cyclist and triathletes will be blown away by the feel of the KICKR,” says Chip Hawkins, CEO of Wahoo Fitness. “We spent lots of time engineering the feel and fine tuning it for the most realistic ride we’ve ever experienced on an indoor bike trainer. With the wheel off design, there is no need for calibration; the power is consistent and accurate every single time. The electronic resistance is driven by your iPhone or tablet during a ride, you can go from hammering up a 15% grade to coasting downhill, instantaneously.”
Wahoo Fitness has fully integrated the iPhone into all aspects of cycling fitness. With Wahoo’s Blue SC Speed and Cadence sensor for iPhone, the Blue HR Heart Rate Monitor for iPhone and the KICKR bike trainer, Wahoo users can now track and power their cycling with their iPhone on the road, the trail and the trainer. Wahoo Fitness’ iPhone cycling system allows users to monitor all the vitals including power, speed, cadence, heart rate, pace, distance, location, course and more.
Pricing and availability
The Wahoo Fitness KICKR Power Trainer is priced at £999.99 and is available now from wahoofitness.com/eukickr. The KICKR will also be available from www.apple.com in early August.
At today's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, Apple unveiled the latest iteration of its mobile operating system. As expected, iOS 7 features a major design overhaul that removes many of the skeuomorphic elements found in previous versions of iOS, instead favoring a clean and gloss-less "flat" look.
"It's the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone," said Tim Cook. "It has a whole new structure that is coherent and that is applied across the entire system," said Jony Ive in a video showing off the new operating system. "We've considered the tiniest details like refining the typography to much larger ones like redesigning all the icons..."
Read the full story here. Source: Mac Rumours
Apple just announced its fiscal second quarter 2013 earnings and, on the earnings call, revealed some information on its iTunes App Store. Apple said it now offers more than 850,000 iOS applications and that 350,000 of those applications are specifically designed for the iPad. The company also recognized $2.4 billion in revenue from iTunes, up 28 percent from the same quarter last year.
The growth is not necessarily a surprise considering Apple’s iTunes range. Apple offers 35 million songs in 119 countries, 50,000 movies in 109 countries and 1.7 million iBooks. The app store is also available in 155 countries, which Apple says covers more than 90 percent of the world’s population.
[Source: TechnoBuffalo]
A talented thief is making headlines in China after he pickpocketed an iPhone from an unsuspecting bicyclist. What makes the theft newsworthy is his method of stealing -- some careful moves and a single pair of chopsticks.
Photos of the theft hit the Internet in China and show a man in a suit coat and jeans running alongside a group of bikes. The "suit man" then reaches out with a pair of chopsticks and lifts a phone delicately out of a cyclist's pocket. A final photo shows him walking away with his prize, which appears to be an iPhone or an iPhone clone.
Pressured by the circulating news reports, the thief, surnamed Wang, contacted a local journalist, who recorded his story and accompanied him when he turned himself into police. According to the report in the ShanghaiIst, Wang turned to stealing because he was struggling to raise his 12-year-old child alone.
[Source: TUAW]
Wired is reporting that Apple has agreed to a $53 million settlement in a class action suit regarding Apple's warranty practices regarding water damage in older iOS devices. The settlement agreement, which was leaked to Wired, has already been signed off on by Apple chief litigation counsel Noreen Krall and now awaits the official signatures of the remaining parties.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple improperly refused to honor warranty agreements for iPhones and iPod Touch devices which were seemingly damaged by water.
As a quick primer, iPhone and iPod Touch models come with Liquid Contact Indicators (LCI) which change color from white to pink or red when they comes into contact with water. Apple's warranty coverage, however, doesn't extent to water damage. As such, when an affected customer would bring in a damaged device with a red LCI, Apple refused to honor the warranty agreement by refusing to repair or replace it.
The problem with Apple's bright line rule, however, is that the the LCI was prone to change colors when exposed to humidity. Though Apple on its own website explains than an LCI is designed not to be triggered by changes in humidity and temperature, 3M, who makes the tape, said that such factors can sometimes cause the LCI to change color.
The devices encompassed in the lawsuit include the original iPhone, the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS, and the first three generations of the iPod Touch. The ballpark estimate for payouts is about $200 per claim, but that figure could either rise or decline depending on how many affected users actually submit a claim. The type of device affected will also influence the extent of individual payouts.
The reason the last iPhone model included in the suit is the iPhone 3GS is because Apple in 2010 began requiring employees to look for other signs of water damage when a user brought in a device with a red LCI. Whereas employees under the previous protocol would void the warranty of an affected device out of hand, court documents posted by Wired indicate that Apple's liquid damage policies for the iPhone and iPod Touch were made less stringent in December 2009 and June 2010 respectively.
As part of the settlement agreement, Apple also agreed to set up a website where users can learn about the case and access all documents needed to either submit a claim via the web or by printing out a mailable form. Interestingly, the agreement requires that Apple make a published notice alerting the public to the settlement agreement in both the USA Today andMacworld magazine.
Naturally, Apple notes that it enters into the settlement agreement "without in any way acknowledging any fault, liability, or wrongdoing of any kind."
[Source: TUAW]