Apple’s Back to School Freebie- ‘Music to Your Ears’
Posted: July 23, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Back to school, Beats, FREE, Moto X, Motorola, Selfies, Wireless Leave a commentYes, it’s time for Apple’s annual back to school promotion, and this year, Cupertino is giving away a free pair of Beats Solo2 headphones to students and teachers that buy a Mac through their education program…literally music to your ears! Theverge.com notes that the headphones usually go for $200, and that for an additional $100 bucks, you can upgrade to wireless ones. The deal’s good on iMac, MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac Pros through September 18th.
The latest iteration of the Motorola Moto X should roll out next Tuesday. 9to5google.com says leaked pictures indicate a 5.5 inch screen and a front facing flash for selfies. It’s also rumored to have a fingerprint sensor integrated into the bottom speaker, and there may be a version with dual SIM cards to allow for multiple numbers.
Apple Dominates Mobile Podcast Listening
Posted: July 20, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Mag Safe, Podcast listening, Znaps Leave a commentApple has 41% market share in smartphones, compared to 53% for Android, but when it comes to podcast listening, they crush all comers. 9to5mac.com says a report by Clammr on podcast listening habits gives Apple 82% of all podcast listening…with Android owners a distant 2nd at 16%. Even with a large selection of third party podcast apps, three fourths of users listen on Apple’s native Podcasts app.
The Mag Safe connector Apple supplies with its MacBooks has probably saved hundreds of thousands of laptops from damage, by easily disconnecting the cord whey you clumsily trip over it. Now, gizmodo.com reports a new Kickstarter called Znaps brings that tech to the rest of us. The system uses a little adapter that plugs into the Lightening or micro USB port, and another small adapter that goes on the end of your charging plug. A little LED on the connector tells you your phone’s charging. Znaps was shooting for $120,000 on Kickstarter, but has raised a half million. You can preorder a single pair of adapters for just 9 bucks.
Facebook’s Experimental ‘Watch Later’ Button
Posted: July 16, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, e-SIM cards, Facebook, Samsung, Watch Later, YouTube Leave a commentHere’s a solution in search of a problem. Facebook is testing a ‘Watch Later’ button for videos. Video is a big deal to Facebook, because it’s one of their fastest growing categories, with 4 billion views a day the last quarter. Techcrunch.com says they’re testing a little tab in the upper right corner…mouse over it, and a save box pops up. Facebook is intent on really competing with YouTube in videos. It will be great for more views on Facebook, and more of your data they can make a buck off of, but do you really want or need this? I don’t.
Apple is reported to be talking with the cell providers about launching new ‘e-SIM’ cards for their phones. The latest iteration of the iPad has the feature, so it’s not like a bolt out of the blue, but the carriers are much more protective of the handsets than tablets. 9to5mac.com reports that Samsung is also involved in the talks, so a universal embedded e-SIM card could become standard…enabling users to switch cellular providers more easily. Of course, the carriers would still put limitations on this, to avoid an exodus to competitors. AT&T and T-Mobile parent Deutche Telekom are among the telecoms involved in the talks. The e-SIM could appear in phones as early as next year.
Walmart to Rain on Amazon’s ‘Prime Day’ Parade
Posted: July 13, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Discounts, Free Shipping, iOS 9, Prime Day, Siri Suggestions, Walmart Leave a commentWednesday is Prime Day, Amazon’s way of honoring itself on it’s 20th anniversary with a sale. Now, cnet.com reports that Walmart will jump in and offer an online sale, too…plus, cut the minimum order for free shipping from $50 to $35. the giant big box retailer also mocked Amazon online for charging $99 a year for free 2-day shipping. Walmart has been testing a $50 a year rival to Amazon Prime, but it’s for 3-day free shipping, not two. The huge retailer will cut prices on 2000 items on Wednesday to compete with Amazon’s Prime Day.
Something to look forward to in Apple’s iOS 9…you may rarely use the home screen. Businessinsider.com has been test driving the upcoming OS, and found that most of the time you can use the new ‘Siri Suggestions’ screen. You get to it by swiping left from the home screen, and it ‘predicts’ what you want to use. Basically, it is a screen of your most recently used apps, and people you’ve called or texted. I have over 100 apps on my iPhone 6, but use about 8 of them more than any others, so Siri Suggests may be the only screen I use most of the time.
Samsung Making an 11k Mobile Display-Mimics 3D
Posted: July 10, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 11k, 3D, 64 bit, Apple, iPod, Mobile, Nano, Samsung, Shuffle, Touch Leave a commentYou haven’t even upgraded to a 4k TV yet, and now Samsung is gearing up to build an 11k mobile display. Engadget.com reports that they expect to have it out by 2018. At 2250 pixels per inch, it would be 4 times higher resolution than their existing quad HD displays. The killer app? It would simulate 3D without the annoying glasses.
Next week could see refreshed iPods. iPods? Yes, Apple still makes them and people still buy them. The Nano and Shuffle may just get new pink, gold, and dark blue colors, but the Touch looks to be upgraded to a 64 bit processor…probably the one in the iPhone 5S, and Apple’s M7 motion processor. According to appleinsider.com, the new iPods should drop on July 14th.
Next Version of Google Glass- Bigger Prism, Better Battery Life
Posted: July 9, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, El Capitan, Enterprise Edition, Google, Google Glass, iOS 9, OS X, Two Factor identification Leave a commentIt’s been off the radar for a while, but Google has been quietly toiling on the next iteration of Google Glass. The soon to be released Enterprise Edition will be the successor to the original Explorer Edition, according to 9to5google.com. It sports a bigger prism and a faster Atom processor. The bigger prism allows the user to just look up, rather than up and to the right. Reports have it spotted with a Google made external battery pack, too. Yes, if you wear it out in public or try to get into a bar, you’re still a Glasshole!
The latest beta of Apple’s iOS 9 changes up how it confirms that you’re the rightful owner of your iOS device or Mac. Cnet.com reports that the two factor identification baked into IOS 9 and OS X El Capitan will add an extra layer of security, even if someone steals your password. The system uses both a password and a 6 digit code when you sign into a new device using your Apple ID. The code will pop up on any Apple computer or Mobile device you are already signed in to.
Google’s Self-Driving Cars Invade Texas
Posted: July 8, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Austin, Google, HowLoud, iPhone 6S, Kickstarter, Mountain View, Self Driving Cars, Texas, Urban Noise Leave a commentFolks in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Mountain View have gotten used to seeing Google branded Lexus and Toyota Prius models tooling around town. Now, Google has picked Austin, Texas for it’s second test-bed city. According to cnet.com, a Google Lexus has been spotted Northeast of Downtown Austin…as in the Bay Area, with a driver aboard, just in case. A second car is slated to start driving the area this week. As with the Bay Area self-driving rigs, the speed is capped at 25 mph.
Apple is apparently preparing for even more record sales of iPhones. The Wall St Journal says they are asking suppliers to make between 85 and 90 million new iPhone 6S and 6S Plus models by the end of 2015. This compares with 70 to 80 million units they ordered of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus they ordered last year.
A Kickstarter is launching called HowLoud, to map cities all around the country based on urban noise. Gizmodo.com reports that HowLoud…created by a CalTech mathematician…has already mapped Los Angeles and Orange County. It ranks locations specifically enough to be down to a particular side and floor of a building. Real estate company Redfin bought the WalkScore app last year that maps walkability of neighborhoods, so the noise level score of HowLoud may soon become a selling point for homes, too!
Increased Storage in Next-Gen iPhones
Posted: June 29, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: A9, Apple, Bing, deCarta, Google, iPhone 6S, Mapping, Memory, Microsoft, Samsung, Uber Leave a commentApple is apparently talking about returning to Samsung for memory in the next iteration of iPhones. 9to5mac.com says they aren’t looking to go over 128 gigs, but will drop the 16 gig model, making 32 gigabytes the entry level memory in the iPhone 6S models. It was already reported that Samsung is supplying the A9 processors. The killer feature that we know of as the phones have entered early production is Force Touch, ported from the Apple Watch.
Microsoft has sold some Bing maps assets to Uber, and along with them, around 100 data collection engineers that worked on Bing. Geekwire.com reports that Uber was already bulking up in the mapping department, having bought mapping software company deCarta in March. Uber has been relying on Google Maps in their app up to now.
Netflix On Track To Be Bigger Than The Combined Broadcast Networks
Posted: June 26, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: ABC, Apple, Applecare, Battery life, Broadcast networks, CBS, FOX, NBC, Netflix, streaming Leave a commentNetflix is on a roll, and heading towards eclipsing ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox. Bgr.com reports that in the first 3 months of 2015, they added 4.9 million new subscribers, bringing the total to 62.3 million. According to a research report from FBR Capital Markets, the 10 billion hours of content streamed over Netflix right now would be like having a Nielsen 24 hour rating of 2.6…that puts Netflix on the level with ABC and NBC right now. If their growth rate continues, by next year, Netflix will pass up all the broadcast networks combined!
Apple has updated the terms of its AppleCare+ Protection Plan for iPhone, iPad, iPod and Apple Watch to cover batteries that retain less than 80% of their original capacity within the extended warranty period. Macrumors.com says before now it only covered batteries that held less than 50% of their original capacity. The change applies to AppleCare+ purchased for iPhone, iPad, iPod and all Apple Watch models on April 9th, 2015 or later.
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