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Apple rolls out revamped Online Store

iPhoneHacks — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:51:57 +0000

Apple has quietly revamped its Online store with a cleaner and more modern user interface. Here’s a list of the design changes we’ve noticed so far: The most obvious change is the three column layout has been replaced with a more image centric UI featuring large tiles of products and services. Apple’s Online Store – homepage (old) Apple’s Online Store – homepage (new) The left hand sidebar that gave you quick access to accessories pages, gift cards, the refurbished and clearance store has been removed. You now have to navigate to a particular product to access the accessories link in the horizontal navigation bar. The link to the refurbished & clearance store has been moved to the bottom of the page. The Store services and promotions that were previously in the right hand sidebar are now featured along the products. For example: the main page of the Online store is currently promoting products such as the iPad and the iPad mini for Father’s Day celebrations. The accessory pages have also been revamped. The main accessory page for a particular product features large titles of the accessories. The right hand sidebar provides quick access to accessory categories. iPhone accessories page (old) iPhone accessories page (new) The revamped Online store seems to have been rolled out across all countries. Overall, the revamped Online store looks a lot more modern. Let us know what you think in the comments. Continue reading →

The iPhone is still the best mobile phone in America, but survey says it’s starting to slip

Stefan Constantinescu — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:00:21 +0000

The annual American Customer Satisfaction Index for mobile phones has just come out, and of course Apple is on top, but they’ve fallen from 2012′s score of 83% of customers being satisfied with their products. This year they’re “just” 81%. How do the others compare? Samsung is at 76%, as is Nokia, and Motorola of all companies is at 77%. Both HTC and LG have slipped, down to 72% and 71% respectively. What should this data tell you? People are expecting more and more out of their mobile phones. Let’s be a little honest, as much as the iPhone rocks, it’s due for a face lift, and hopefully we’ll see that next month at WWDC. Considering how fast the Android ecosystem is moving, Apple is starting to seem a bit slow, which shows with these new numbers. You should also take into account that this data focuses on phones, an area of the market that is growing, no one denies that, but it’s not growing nearly as fast as the market for tablets. There it’s iPad or … there is nothing else. Just the iPad. Continue reading →

Apple is (again) the world’s most powerful and valuable brand this year

Stefan Constantinescu — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:39 +0000

The annual BrandZ list is out, and it looks like Apple is, for the third year in a row, the world’s most valuable brand at $185.1 billion. Google comes in second place with a brand value of $113.7 billion. Samsung, which wasn’t even in the top 50 last year, is now the world’s 30th most valued brand. What you really want to know is are these numbers meaningful to ordinary consumers? The answer is no. Similar to how marketing people give each other awards for the best marketing campaigns every year, BrandZ telling people which brands have the most value doesn’t really signify anything meaningful. If you were to buy your food based on this list, you’d be eating a lot of McDonald’s, for example. Still, it’s nice to see that Apple holds such a powerful position, namely due to their high quality products. Samsung may be outselling Apple in terms of number of devices sold, but really, how are you going to compare a budget $149 Galaxy sold on a street corner with a $649 Apple iPhone 5? You just can’t. Continue reading →

Microsoft Unveils Xbox One, an All-In-One Entertainment System

iPhoneHacks — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:42:33 +0000

Earlier today, after several months of speculations Microsoft launched its much awaited next generation gaming console, the Xbox One at a media event at its headquarters in Redmond. Microsoft is calling it the ultimate all-in-one gaming and entertainment system. During the presentation, Microsoft focused more on the new console as a living room device than as a gaming console. Hardware On the hardware side, Xbox One is powered by a single custom 40-nanometer system-on-chip made by AMD with an 8-core CPU and GPU, 8GB of RAM and comes with 500GB HDD designed in-house, Blue-ray drive, USB 3.0 and support for 802.11n Wi-Fi. It also features a HDMI pass-through in which the cable box, satellite box, or similar device connects directly to the Xbox One, which then passes the mediated signal to the television via an HDMI-out port. The hardware comes packed in a shiny black rectangular box with side loading Blue-ray drive. If you were hoping for a swanky new design then you will be disappointed. However, Microsoft insists “It’s what’s on the inside that counts.” Xbox One comes with a new Kinect sensor that includes a 1080p wide-angle sensor, which Microsoft says is more precise, more responsive and more intuitive. The controller has also been refreshed with “more than 40 technical and design innovations” such as an updated directional pad, new thumbsticks, and an integrated battery compartment. The weird bulge for the battery pack is no longer visible. It also comes with vibrating impulse triggers that will provide vibration feedback. Features According to Microsoft, a combination of three operating systems are running the One with the kernel of Windows. Not surprisingly, the new Xbox’s user interface seems to be inspired by Windows 8, but at the same time seems more of an evolution of Xbox 360. Xbox One includes the following features: TV on Xbox One: Navigate and watch live TV from your cable, telco or satellite set-top box through your Xbox One. Microsoft is committed to bringing live TV through various solutions to all the markets where Xbox One will be available. Home: Turn on your entertainment system with two powerful words, “Xbox On,” and a custom-tailored Home dashboard welcomes you with your favorite games, TV and entertainment. Snap: Do two things at once on the biggest screen in your home. Use Snap to jump into a multiplayer battle while watching your favorite movie, talk with friends on Skype while watching live TV, or track your fantasy team on TV as you watch the big game and more. Skype for Xbox One: Specially designed for Xbox One, talk with friends on your TV in stunning HD, or for the first time ever, hold group Skype calls on your TV. Trending: Stay on top of what is hot on TV by discovering the entertainment that is popular among your friends, and see what is trending within the Xbox community. OneGuide: Find your favorite entertainment easily, searching by network or name, all with the sound of your voice and presented in a tailored program guide. Kinect: The Kinect’s 1080p wide-angle sensor enlarges the field by 60%, so you will be able to play with the device in a much smaller room or open area. The camera can also capture video at 60 frames per second for services like Skype’s video calling feature. However, the most impressive aspect of the new Kinect as The Verge explains is its ability to “tell if you’re moving your thumb, and which way your thumb is facing. It can tell which muscles you’re engaging at any given time, and how much — it knows the difference between a jab and an uppercut, and registers them differently. If you’re playing with a friend, it can tell when the two of you switch places, or even when the two of you switch controllers. Kinect knows if you’re smiling or frowning, or if you’re talking or not. It knows if you’re looking at the screen or not, and will only register your commands if you’re looking. It knows, by either remarkable science or sorcery, your heart rate just by looking at your face.” Games: Microsoft also unveiled the following titles for Xbox One that will be available at the launch along with a brief demo: Forza Motorsport 5 from Turn 10 Studios is the latest edition of the highest-rated racing franchise of the past 10 years. Built from the ground up to take advantage of Xbox One and the infinite power of the cloud, no game better delivers the sensation of being behind the wheel. “Forza Motorsport 5” sets a new bar for racing games and will be available exclusively for Xbox One at launch. http://youtu.be/r46D1lRpO1k Call of Duty: Ghosts is the next generation of “Call of Duty” and a stunning leap forward for the franchise. It delivers an all-new world, an all-new cast of characters and an all-new story, built on a new, next-generation engine. The next-generation technical innovations built to support the incredible gameplay advancements make this the most beautiful and immersive “Call of Duty” experience yet. Activision and Microsoft also announced the renewal of their close partnership that will see both the return of the “Call of Duty® Championship,” presented by Xbox, as well as all-new downloadable content debuting first and exclusively on the Xbox platform. http://youtu.be/_IK0j8E-c4s FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA LIVE 14, and EA SPORTS UFC from EA SPORTS will change the way consumers experience and play sports games. Driven by the new EA SPORTS Ignite engine, these new EA SPORTS games will deliver massive innovations in human intelligence, true player motion and living worlds. Adding to its commitment to Xbox One, EA SPORTS also announced the promise of exclusive content to be revealed in the coming months. http://youtu.be/QS6IlceFF9g Quantum Break from Remedy Entertainment is a revolutionary entertainment experience from the creators of “Max Payne” and “Alan Wake” that blurs the line between gaming and TV by integrating drama and gameplay into one seamless, uniquely immersive experience. How you play the game impacts the show, and the show informs how you play the game. http://youtu.be/_64IZNgxPKs Content: In addition to the games, Microsoft also announced the following content partnerships for Xbox One: Halo television series: Award-winning filmmaker, director and producer, Steven Spielberg will executive-produce an original “Halo” live-action television series with exclusive interactive Xbox One content, created in partnership with 343 Industries and Xbox Entertainment Studios. National Football League: A multiyear, landmark partnership will deliver the ultimate interactive NFL television experiences for the next-generation Xbox One and leverage Microsoft devices and services to evolve both in-game and on the sideline. The NFL on Xbox will redefine broadcast experiences through innovations around Skype, Xbox SmartGlass and player-worn technology; add an all-new fantasy football solution for the biggest screen in the house; and create a personalized NFL destination only available on Xbox One. Xbox Live Xbox Live also comes with number of new features and improvements such as: Smart Match: A new Smart Match matchmaking system virtually eliminates waiting in lobbies by estimating wait times and finding people you want to play with while you are enjoying other activities — reputation fundamentally matters and helps find best matches. Game DVR: A dedicated Game DVR captures and accesses your magic moments, all saved to the cloud. Along with sharing tools, you will have the most amazing bragging rights with Xbox Live. Living Games: Dynamic, living worlds evolve and improve the more you play, and advanced artificial intelligence can learn to play like you, so friends can play against your shadow. Expanded achievements: A new and expanded achievements system captures video of your epic moments, continues to grow a game’s achievements over time and rewards you in new ways, and your Gamerscore carries over from Xbox 360. Xbox SmartGlass: Xbox SmartGlass is natively part of the Xbox One platform, built in from the beginning with the ability to quickly render content directly onto your device, and now more devices can connect at one time for multiplayer and shared entertainment. Microsoft says that the native support for Xbox SmartGlass would mean that you will be able to seamlessly connect to the Xbox One with your iPhone and iPad with the second-screen companion app. It will also be able to screen scrape video, encode it to H.264 and send it over to your second screen. Microsoft also promises to bring exclusive experiences for NFL and Skype via the SmartGlass app, however, we’ll have to wait to find out more about it. Release date and pricing: Microsoft didn’t reveal the pricing and the release date, though it has said that Xbox One will launch around the world later this year. We expect Microsoft to provide more details at E3, the annual video game conference and show in June. There have been a number of rumors and speculations that Apple will launch its own television set later this year. So should Apple be worried? While we see a number of Apple blogs saying that it has nothing to worry, we think it is too premature to comment on it, as Apple may have a completely different vision for it. Xbox One Unveil Video Xbox Executives Discuss Xbox One Behind the Scenes at Xbox Via: Microsoft Continue reading →

Instashare lets you easily transfer files between iOS devices, Macs

David Gilson — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:30:31 +0000

If you have multiple iOS devices, you’ve probably noticed that it’s quite tricky to share photos from device to device. There’s no option to share by Bluetooth, and there are no file management apps for iOS. Sure you can email a photo from device to device, but it can be somewhat wasteful to send something on a round trip halfway around the world just to get a file to the device a few mere inches away from the device you’re holding. Instashare is here to change that by bringing drag and drop file transfers between your iOS and Macs. Instashare works by finding other Apple devices either on a local WiFi network or via Bluetooth. This has a clear speed advantage over other methods like emailing attachments or using cloud storage apps like Dropbox. Devices have to be awake and running the Instashare app though, so it’s not possible to perform unattended file transfers. Instashare will work with any type of file. However, if you’re performing iOS to iOS transfer, only images and videos are possible. However, if you’ve transferred say MP3s or PDFs to your iOS device from your Mac computer, they’ll then be visible in the app for further sharing – e.g. Sharing to another Mac computer. On iOS, you simple tick the images and videos to be transferred, then a long press reveals the device selector. Dragging the stack of files to the desired device and letting go will initiate the transfer. As mentioned above, the devices have to be awake and running the Instashare client. If not they will not appear on the list of devices. Instashare works surprisingly well. There were only two instances where I hit bugs in the software. The first was that taking screenshots can interfere with drag and drop operations – this would not affect most users. Also, after selecting too many files, the stack would be lost and no transfer would take place. Instead, when trying to copy a large number of files, I had break my selection into smaller subsets. It’s inconvenient, but again, I doubt many people would be wanting to transfer so many files much of the time. One thing that you have to be careful to remember with Instashare is that the received files remain contained in the app’s file storage area. If you have received a lot of images you want to see in your Camera Roll, you’ll have to manually ‘share’ each of them from Instashare to the gallery. Instashare is free on iOS, but an in-app ad-free upgrade costs just $0.99. The OS X version is still in beta and available from Instashare’s website. ➤ Download link Continue reading →

Free Apps: The Heist, Flickr Studio and Oldify

Rounak Jain — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:30:40 +0000

Today’s free apps include The Heist a puzzle game by the makers of Camera+, Flickr Studio, a third party Flickr app for the iPad and Oldify, a fun app to take pictures of your friends and make them look old. The Heist is a puzzle game developed by tap tap tap, the folks behind popular camera app Camera+, with more than a million installs and a rating of 4.5 stars. As the player, you’ll have to solve a series of puzzles to claim the prize stored in the vault. The app is Starbucks’ pick of the week, which means that Starbucks has a lot of promo codes for this app to giveaway to customers. The app is $0.99 but can be installed for free by visiting this special Starbucks link. Flickr Studio is a 4.5 star rated Flickr app for the iPad, normally priced at $4.99. The app lets you view, download, edit and upload images to Flickr. It also lets you view photos on Flickr based on their location by moving around a world map. The developer has dropped the app’s price to free, celebrating yesterday’s Flickr redesign and the complimentary 1TB of storage space. (Flickr’s official app doesn’t support the iPad yet.) You can install the app for free by visiting this link. Oldify is a fun app that lets you shoot images of your friends and make them look old with wrinkles and other old-age signs. It has a rating of 4.5 stars and is available on the App Store for free, down from $0.99. You can download the app from this link. Continue reading →

Take better photos with your iPhone [Deals Hub]

StackSocial — Tue, 21 May 2013 20:27:23 +0000

The iPhone is so much more than a simple phone – it’s replacing a ton of other gadgets that you’d normally take with you when you’re on the go. One of the biggest uses of the iPhone is for taking photos, and this iPhone Hacks Deals offer will show you how to make the most out of each and every shot – and for just $19! In this video course, you’ll learn about: Your iPhone’s Camera Settings and Functions Managing Photos in the Camera Roll Sharing Photos in the Camera Roll Popular Sharing Apps Favorite Apps for Photo Capturing, Editing, and Special Effects iPhone Photography Tips and Techniques – Building Your Creative Eye Connecting iPhone and Computers for Sharing and Archiving While familiarity with basic iPhone operation is helpful, all operations to success in this class will be covered in the sessions. For more details on the important reminders surrounding this offer, visit the Deals Hub. Here’s what some of this course’s satisfied users have to say: “Love the enthusiasm & professionalism of Chet Davis already…can’t wait to learn more.” – Farnoosh “Chet has created a concise, easy to follow, set of lectures for the iPhone… To sum up, the course hits all bases and has taught me some new tricks, which makes using my new iPhone even more enjoyable!” – Chris “As someone technologically challenged I appreciate how the viewer is walked through all the lessons. Very helpful and I highly recommend!” – Annette The instructor for this course is Chet Davis. Chet has 17 years of experience in the classroom as teacher of a high school video technology program in California. He’s made presentations at national and regional conferences and led hands-on workshops for in 41 US States, 3 Canadian provinces and in Europe (European Schools Program). So what are you waiting for? Learn the tools, techniques, and tips to create stunning iPhone photographs with this video course – and save 51% in the process. Pick it up at the iPhone Hacks Deals Hub for just $19 today! Subscribe to our mailing list Continue reading →

Flickr, Vimeo integration coming to iOS 7

Rounak Jain — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:59:57 +0000

Flickr and Vimeo are all set to become first-class citizens on iOS, as Apple works with these companies to deeply integrate their services into iOS 7. Flickr and Vimeo are popular media sharing networks, with Flickr specialising in photos while Vimeo in videos. Currently the online third-party networks iOS supports natively are Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and the Chinese social network Weibo. Flickr and Vimeo integration would be very similar, according to 9to5Mac: With Flickr integration, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch customers will have the ability to share photos stored and/or taken on their devices to Flickr with a single tap from the system-wide share menu. [...] Vimeo will be a new video-sharing option that Apple deeply embeds into iOS, giving users an option beyond YouTube. The integration will most likely also bring single sign-on capabilities that third-party photo and video apps can take advantage of. Flickr, already built into Apple’s iPhoto apps on Mac and iOS, will receive a major boost if it indeed finds a place in iOS 7. Yahoo, the company that owns Flickr, is putting a lot of resources behind reviving the former leader in photo sharing, and just yesterday announced that the free tier would now have 1TB of storage space. For what it’s worth, Apple has its own photo sharing service for iOS users called Shared Photostreams, but it doesn’t seem to have taken off. Apple is also looking to partner with Yahoo for other features like search and Siri integration with Yahoo News and other Yahoo websites. Vimeo integration is interesting given Apple’s complicated relationship with YouTube’s parent company, Google. The YouTube app was previously bundled with every iOS device, but is now a third-party app available on the App Store. iOS still has native “Share to YouTube” options for videos, and it remains to be seen if this makes its way to iOS 7. Improved sharing is great for iOS 7 but we had thought that Apple would no longer have to do this on a case-by-case basis, and would rather expose APIs that let any third party app hook into the system. Continue reading →

Senator John McCain asks Tim Cook “Why do I have to keep updating the apps on my iPhone”

Rounak Jain — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:04:14 +0000

Apple CEO Tim Cook today testified in front of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee, defending the company’s tax avoidance strategies. During a questioning session with Cook, U.S. Senator John McCain asked a rather funny question to Tim Cook about an issue that bothers many people. “I’m out of time, but why the hell do I have to keep updating the apps on my iPhone? Why can’t you fix that?” To which, Tim Cook laughed and replied “We’re working on making our products better all the time.” While delivering updates to apps is obviously a good thing, having to manually update them isn’t exactly a great experience. Most people don’t bother with app updates, which is why an option to automatically install app updates in the background in iOS 7 would be great. If you’ve a jailbroken iOS device, then you should get the Auto App Updater tweak, which as the name suggests is a great way to ensure that your apps are always up-to-date. Continue reading →

Google Play Music All Access unofficially coming to iPhone and iPad

iPhoneHacks — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:45:32 +0000

Last week when Google launched Google Play Music “All Access,” its music streaming service, it didn’t come as a surprise when it didn’t release an app for the iPhone and iPad as it is still to release an app for Google Music that was launched in 2011. It is still a mystery why Google launched a web app for Google Music rather than a native app. However, this void has been filled by third-party apps like gMusic that allow users to listen to the songs that they’ve uploaded to Google Music. The goods news is that the developer of gMusic has just confirmed to Wired that he has submitted an update to the App Store, which will bring Google Play Music “All Access” to iOS, thus allowing users to stream millions of songs from Google’s All Access song database on their iPhone and iPad, in addition to the songs uploaded to Google Music. The update includes a Web Search feature that taps into the subscription-based All Access song database. Want to hear Lemon Crush from Prince’s Batman soundtrack? Do a quick web search from within the app and you’re good to rock out like it’s the late 1980s. If you’re in the U.S., you can sign up for a free 30-day trial later today, and if you subscribe before June 30th, the monthly fee will be $7.99 as opposed to the regular price of $9.99. Google said that it will rollout All Access to other countries soon. It’s a pity that Google hasn’t released a native app for Google Music as they have some of the best apps in the App Store. We really hope they change their mind and release an app. Until then gMusic seems like the best alternative available currently. It is available in the App Store for $1.99 (download link). We’ll let you know as soon as the update for gMusic app with Google Play Music “All Access” is available in the App Store. Via Wired Continue reading →