The iPhone 7 (It’s Never Too Early For Apple Rumors!)

Posted: September 7, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

With the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus due out in just days, are you ready for a rumor about the iPhone 7…probably a year away? Appleinsider.com picked this up from usually reliable KGI Securities. the iPhone 7 will be between 6 and 6.5 millimeters thick. This would put it in the range of the iPod Touch and iPad Air 2, both of which are 6.1 mm thick. The present iPhone is just over 7 millimeters thick. In order to allow for Force Touch 3D, which needs a wafer thin circuit board under the touch pad, this probably means no 4K super high def iPhone 7…this is probably ok, since you eyes can’t tell the difference on that size screen anyway!

Samsung first exploded into the smartphone world back in 2010 by shamelessly copying Apple for it’s Galaxy S. Now, according to theverge.com, there’s a new, better copycat in town. Chinese manufacturer Huawei is not only pushing the limits of Apple intellectual property, it is lifting features, look and feel from a number of device makers. The 5.5 Mate S smartphone’s banner feature? Force Touch! Although already out on Apple Watch, Huawei has jumped ahead of Apple getting the feature to a smartphone. As for look and feel, when you first see the Mate S, a lot of what you see will make you think you’re looking at the HTC One M9! The motion gestures are borrowed from Samsung and HTC, and swiping down on the home screen brings up a dead ringer for Apple’s Spotlight.

Twitter Nixes Services That Tracked Politicians’ Deleted Tweets

Posted: August 24, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Because we wouldn’t want any politicians’ hasty and foolish, embarrassing Tweets to bite them later, or journalists to be able to actually report them, Twitter has kindly blocked Politwoops and sister site Diplotwoops from access of it’s API. Techcrunch.com reports Twitter says it violates terms of service. Surely it can’t be from pressure from politicians and governments? The US version was shut down earlier this year. The Open State Foundation and watchdog Sunlight Foundation said they will look for other ways to report deleted Tweets, noting that politicians shouldn’t have the same expectation of privacy as private citizens.

According to businessinsider.com, Apple is bringing a couple of major changes to the Apple Watch with the software update due out next month. Watch OS 2 will have native access to the watch, which means it won’t have to ‘phone home’ to your nearby iPhone constantly. Apps should load much faster. It will also remember WiFi connections you’ve used previously with your phone, allowing you to connect to the web without having your iPhone tagging along. This won’t work for everything, but will for iMessages and using Siri.

Updated Automatic Smart Driving Monitor

Posted: May 19, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Automatic has rolled out its second generation smart driving monitor. The gadget plugs into the ODB2 port on your car….and by ‘your car,’ that’s all cars built since 1996. Cnet.com says the new gadget not only gives you driving data and tracks mileage and fault codes, but works as an app store for cars, with 20 apps available right now. A couple apps pull data so you can easily generate mileage reports for expense reporting, and another to split the cost of carpooling. It now works with Apple Watch and Pebble, with Android Auto integration in the works. Best of all, the second generation model is priced like the 1st at $99.95.

Apple Pay…after an initial splash last fall, has been pretty well operating under…or maybe even off the radar. 9to5mac.com reports that Apple just signed 34 new banks and credit unions, and now there are nearly 300 institutions using it. Trader Joe’s just announced in the last few days that they are starting to activate it in some stores, and Home Depot is moving towards most stores accepting it by the end of the year…although Home Depot says they play to accept as wide a variety of payment systems as possible. If you have an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus and haven’t used it, here’s a tip: when you hold the phone near the terminal, don’t touch the fingerprint image on the screen, touch the home button…and touch, don’t PRESS the home button…pressing will activate Siri instead of authorizing the payment!

Apple Watch Battery Strap Will Tap Apple’s Diagnostic Port

Posted: May 4, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

It didn’t take long…the hidden port that lives where one of the straps attaches to the Apple Watch is being eyed by accessory makers…especially for straps with built in batteries. 9to5mac.com says attaching directly to the diagnostic port will allow for faster charging than the magnetic inductive method used by Apple to charge the watch. The upcoming Reserve Strap will tap the port…and will ship with a tool to access the hidden diagnostic point. Reserve strap is up for preorder for $249.

Some once said text-speak was killing the English language, and now that chatter has swung to emoji. Interestingly though, emoji seem to actually be extending the language, as opposed to killing it. According to thenextweb.com, emoji, which were just standardized in 2011 by Unicode numbering some 722 then. In 2015 we have an additional 250, not counting the skin tone modifier! Instagram just reported that nearly half the texts on their service contain an emoji!

A Car Parks Itself…Without You In It!

Posted: April 23, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A number of cars have had self-parking for a while now. BMW just took it up a notch, with the 7 Series. The latest version of BMW’s tech-heavy Display Key lets you park the car by remote control, while you’re outside the car…valet parking without the valet!If you have the change to buy the car, now you can grab that parking space that’s a little too tight at the airport! Check geek.com for more details.

With the first Apple Watches on the way to excited buyers, the wearables market continues to heat up. LG’s all metal Watch Urbane will be available late this month at the Google Store in the US and 10 other countries. The price will be revealed when it goes on sale, but it’s expected to be a premium compared to other Android smart watches. Hit 9to5google.com for more info.

Apple Watch Will Be Their Highest Profit Product Yet

Posted: April 21, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple has been known for making healthy markups on its products, but bgr.com says the new Apple Watch may be their most profitable one ever. Research from Think Big Analytics shows the average gross margins for Apple Watch will be over 60%! Obviously, even with the costs of gold, the Edition version will be much more profitable than that since it’s the same inside as the other two models!

Google is killing the YouTube app on older gear like the 2nd generation Apple TV, and Sony and Panasonic Blu-rays and TVs made before 2012. Thenextweb.com reports older iPhones and iPads will have to run iOS7 or later to still use the app.

Engineering students at Rice University have created a simple gadget to make shots hurt less. According to gizmodo.com, the salt shaker sized device uses a chemical reaction to make skin numb in 60 seconds, allowing the nearly painless shot.

Looking for a Place to Eat? Check Your Wrist

Posted: April 19, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Yelp has announced an Apple Watch app with local listings and reviews. 9to5mac.com says you will see the majority of the info you’re used to seeing about eateries right on the small screen, without having to fish in your pocket or purse for your phone. As with the Yelp smartphone app, the Watch app is integrated with Apple Maps, too.

Google has announced that it’s encrypting the vast majority of its search ads and YouTube ads….finally. TechCrunch.com notes that gmail was encrypted back in 2008. The new HTTPS encryption will apply to Google Display Network, AdMob, and DoubleClick, and will be in place by June 30th.

Amazon is dropping one of the coolest features of its Android app store. Engadget.com reports they are killing TestDrive, the try before you buy feature where you could run apps on a virtual machine, and compare them before downloading. Amazon points to the fact that the vast majority of apps are free now anyway as the reason for dropping the service.

Google Plans Apple Watch Access from Android

Posted: April 12, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Google seems poised to pull something clever regarding the Apple Watch. Businessinsider.com notes they may be building support for the iPhone into their Android Wear smartwatch software. The present Android wear smartwatches only work with Android phones, and of course Apple Watch only talks to iPhones.

According to forbes.com, Paypal will be allowed to work with Amazon and Alibaba after the split from eBay later this year. The parent company has been positioning Paypal as a ‘true neutral third party’ to commerce and retail clients. In the short term, eBay will remain Paypal’s biggest client, however.

Microsoft has launched without fanfare a new Android app that lets you control Powerpoint presentations on a PC from your Android smartphone. Thenextweb.com reports says the Office Remote app also works with Excel and Word. The remote app has previously only been available on Windows phones.

Amazon has quietly acquired Shoefitr, a startup that uses 3D tech to help match online shoppers with shoes that will fit them better. TechCrunch.com says it’s unclear so far if they will operate it as a freestanding site, roll it into their Zappos subsidiary, or both.

Plenty of Apps For Apple Watch

Posted: April 7, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In a vote of confidence about the imminent Apple Watch, geekwire.com reports that developers submitted over 1000 apps to run on the smart watch in the first 4 days they could be. The watch becomes available April 24th.

Just 4 days after that, on the 28th, LG will roll out it’s G4 smartphone at an event. According to theverge.com, it will feature a new camera with an f 1.8 lens, that shoots much better in low light.

Daimler Trucks, a division of the company that makes Mercedes-Benz cars, has a prototype Freightliner big rig that doubles the 6 mpg of normal rigs. Engadget.com says it uses a hybrid diesel/electric power plant, and has solar panels on the roof of the trailer. No word on when it might hit the market.

Next iPhone Will Run on Samsung Processors…Again

Posted: April 4, 2015 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung will be making the A9 chips for the next generation iPhone, according to macrumors.com. There have been conflicting rumors over whether it would be Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor, or a combination. The phone may also be the iPhone 7…Apple may add Force Touch from the Apple Watch to the screen and skip the 6S designation.

The Ubiquitous Evernote has a couple new features for iOS. Thenextweb.com reports that the note-taking app gets new camera functionality and support for the soon-to-be released Apple Watch. You will be able to auto-capture images when you point your camera at documents and business cards in the app.

NASA is teaming up with Boeing to make planes more eco-friendly. Engadget.com says they are experimenting with 31 tiny jets on the tail fin. This adds stability, and allows for a 17% smaller tail, making planes lighter and more fuel efficient.

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