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Watch the Champions League final from up to 22 camera angles with new Sky Sports iPad app

iPhoneHacks — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:27:26 +0000

If you’re planning to watch the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, May 25th, then you should download the Sky Sports iPad app, which has been updated earlier today with a cool new feature. Just in time for the Champions League final, Sky Sports has added a new feature that will let you watch selected highlights from up to 22 camera angles. So it should be the perfect companion app when you’re watching the match on television. David Gibbs, director of Sky Sports digital media had this to say: This is great news for the Sky Sports for iPad app, which keeps getting better and better. This is about putting the technology into the hands of the viewer and allowing them to recapture the big moments in the final. It’s the first time we’ve offered this through our app and it’s another example of our investment in the Sky Sports viewer’s experience The app also gives you the option to watch the highlight in slow motion on selected camera angles. Not surprisingly, the Live TV feature and selected Video on Demand content is only available in the UK and Ireland. If you’re a Sky TV customer with either the Entertainment Extra (Sky Sports News channel only) or Sky Sports Pack or The HD Pack (Sky Sports F1 channel only) then you can watch Sky Sports on your iPad for free. If you’re not a Sky TV customer then you can buy the monthly subscription for Sky Sports for iPad for £4.99. ➤ Download link Continue reading →

Apple increasing MacBook orders by 20% ahead of rumored WWDC refresh

Rounak Jain — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:46:12 +0000

A new report from DigiTimes notes that Apple’s supply chain partners in the U.S. expect MacBook orders to grow by 20 percent from the last quarter, hinting at a refresh during the upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June. From DigiTimes: The new MacBooks are only expected to receive specification upgrades to Intel’s latest Haswell platform and are estimated to be unveiled at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, the sources said. Haswell, Intel’s successor to the Ivy Bridge platform, is developed keeping in mind power efficiency and integrated GPU performance. Both these factors are of high importance to Apple’s notebook lineup, especially the MacBook Air. Last month, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo noted that Apple might stop selling non-Retina MacBooks Pros starting June, but that’ll be a difficult move unless Apple lowers the entry-level price point to the Retina MacBook lineup. Continue reading →

Rumor: Apple made a 1.8″ iWatch, but didn’t like it, so now they’re testing a 1.5″ model

Stefan Constantinescu — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:20:19 +0000

According to AppleInsider, the Japanese website Macotakara claims to have inside information that Apple is currently testing 1.5 inch OLED screens for a product that’ll likely end up being their first wearable. The report says Apple originally wanted to go with a 1.8 inch display, but that during testing they found it to be a bit on the big side. The piece goes on to say that Intel is working with Apple on this iWatch, but that’s a tough pill to swallow. Intel is having a hard enough time trying to get their chips to fit inside a mobile phone, does anyone seriously think we’ll see watches with Intel inside stickers? We wish we had more to share with you, but we don’t. Depending on the rumor sites you read, you’ll know that just about every company under the sun is working on a watch. Google is, Motorola, Microsoft, Samsung, LG, and the list just goes on and on. What this writer wants to know is what the “killer user case” will be for a watch. Swiping away incoming email notifications isn’t enough to drive anyone to a purchase. And fashion is fickle. Continue reading →

Hacked AT&T carrier update for iPhone 5, iPad 4, iPad 3 & iPad mini may improve network performance

iPhoneHacks — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:13:41 +0000

Few days back, a hacked carrier update enabled Release 9 DC-HSPA+ on the T-Mobile iPhone 5, which improved download speeds for some users. Now Joe of iTweakiOS, the guy behind that hack, has released a hacked carrier update that enables Release 9 DC-HSPA+ on iPhone 5, iPad 4, iPad 3 and iPad mini for AT&T users. He explains how it works: This hack enables Release 9 DC-HSPA+ on the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, 4, and mini as well as enhancing LTE data and signal. Though AT&T is limited to HSPA+ 21, the device itself becomes more open to an increased amount of bandwidth thus allowing for better throughput of data and data connection. This is very convinient for users in areas that don’t yet have LTE coverage. This hack also includes a fix to any and all iPhone 5 users who have experienced degraded/weakened signal over the past couple to few months on the PCS 1900MHz and/or CLR 850MHz bands for HSPA+ as well as the APT 700MHz and/or AWS 1700MHz band for LTE. The issue was due in part to the newer revised iPhone 5′s that came with the AWS band enabled for HSPA+, if you were to ever choose to leave AT&T for T-Mobile. It set the band preference for HSPA+ to CLR and LTE to APT which can cause conflictions and problems when you’re in an area with towers on different bands with stronger signal. The setting has been set back to the default “auto” setting and should help the 4G HSPA+/LTE signal perform a bit better, whether your iPhone 5 is the older edition or the revised edition. This hack will also help you connect to the strongest tower rather than the preferred type of tower, whether on HSPA+ or LTE. The hacked carrier update is available for iPhone 5, iPad 3, iPad 4 and the iPad mini. You can head over to iTweasiOS for the download links and how-to install the hacked carrier update. Please note that while you can install the hacked carrier update even on a non-jailbroken iOS device, the downside is that you will have to restore your device to revert back the changes. We’ve not been able to test it, so please proceed with caution. And if you successfully install the hacked carrier update, then let us know how it goes in the comments. Thanks Alan for the tip! Continue reading →

Rumor: Fifth generation iPad to be 33% lighter, hit store shelves in September

Stefan Constantinescu — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:44:21 +0000

Apple did something really weird last year, they launched two full sized iPads. Now granted, anyone who has ever played with a third generation iPad will tell you that it just wasn’t as smooth as the second gen model. That was due to the poor Apple chip inside struggling to cope with the new screen resolution. In that respect, then yes, the fourth generation iPad makes a lot of sense. Now that we’re approaching the second half of the year though, it’s time to talk about the newer, better, brighter, lighter fifth gen iPad. According to DigiTimes, the next iPad will have the same screen resolution as the current iPad. It’ll have a thinner display however, and it’s supposed to be 33% lighter. Small scale production should kick off in July, with the first retail units hitting store shelves later in September. But let’s be honest, we know what you really care about is the new version of iOS and the retina iPad mini. Starting with the former, we’ll find out everything there is to know about iOS 7 at Apple’s annual WWDC event next month. And as for the iPad mini, that’s a bit tricker. We’ll just have to wait and see! Continue reading →

New Apple Television concept features Siri integration, intuitive Interface and more

Rounak Jain — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:15:18 +0000

A new Apple TV concept video takes a guess at how the next Apple TV or the much rumored full-blown Apple Television might look like. It takes the existing UI and adds a number of additional features to it, including Siri, Live TV and use iOS devices like iPad mini as a remote. The live TV component of the concept would obviously mean Apple has to partner with a cable operator, taking the content and overlaying it with their own UI. The concept envisions a fairly simple and intuitive interface for the live TV — users can change channels by swiping horizontally across the iPad screen, see programming information by tapping anywhere on the screen, and of course control everything using Siri. Here’s the video: Tell us what you think about the concept in the comments below. HT: @rv1raj Continue reading →

Peekly+: All-new settings app for the awesome 2-page WinterBoard theme now available on Cydia

iPhoneHacks — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:54:29 +0000

Couple of weeks back, we told you about Peekly 1.4, a major update for the awesome 2-page Winterboard theme that not only revamps the lock screen but also gives you quick access or “Peek” at the Weather and Calendar from the lock screen. The update was also supposed to come with a new Settings app called Peekly+ that allowed users to configure the settings for the lock screen theme rather than having to edit the js file. Unfortunately, since it was a paid app, it took much longer than expected to be available on Cydia. If you’ve been eagerly waiting for it then the good news is that it has finally arrived on Cydia yesterday. Here’s a quick recap of the new features and improvements in Peekly 1.4 in addition to the settings app: Choose from a number of new weather icons that will be displayed on the home screen such as meteocons, skycons, VIP, sticker. Choose from clock types ranging from digital to analogue clocks such as circle, skew. Configure either a single Peek from the left or Peeks from the left and right. Ability to choose the Peeks. Peeks can be your Twitter feed, Calendar, RSS feeds etc. Ability to change the lock screen wallpaper. You can select one from the wallpapers that will come bundled with the tweak or select a photo from your iPhone’s camera roll. Toggle between Fahrenheit and Celsius. You won’t need to respring to apply the changes. Here’s a video walkthrough of the new features and improvements in Peekly 1.4: Peekly+ is available on Cydia for $0.99. If you’ve been waiting for it then go download it from this Cydia link below. Let us know how it goes in the comments. Continue reading →

iOS 7 concept with Google Now like cards on lock screen

Rounak Jain — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:30:53 +0000

We’ve certainly seen a lot of iOS concepts in the past few months trying to imagine how Jony Ive’s “flat design” might influence iOS 7. A new iOS 7 concept video incorporates these flat UI elements along with a Google Now-like lock screen to imagine how iOS 7 might look like. Google Now, if you’re not familiar, presents the “right information” like weather, traffic etc. at the right time in a scrollable list of cards. The concept uses a similar interface for widgets like weather, calendar and directions. These cards can be swiped to the left or right if not needed, again similar to Google Now. It also borrows the Chat Heads interface pioneered by Facebook to show message alerts, and features a quick reply field to let you reply right from the lock screen instead of going to Messages.app. Here’s the concept video: Tell us what you think of the concept in the comments below. Via: apfellike Continue reading →

Apple pulls Bang With Friends from the App Store

Rounak Jain — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:00:14 +0000

Bang With Friends, a service that let users hookup with their Facebook friends, debuted on iOS earlier this month. However, just 10 days later, Apple has removed the app from the App Store. The removal was confirmed by CEO Colin Hodge, who told ValleyWag: Cofounder and CEO Colin Hodge told Valleywag that he’s working with Apple to get the app, which recently crossed the million user mark, back in the iPhone’s warm embrace. […] Apple did not immediately responded to questions about why Bang with Friends was banned. “We are waiting to hear more from Apple as to why,” said Hodge. While it’s not surprising that Bang With Friends was booted out from the App Store, we wonder how the app got an approval in the first place, given the nature of the service. Is Apple rectifying this mistake 10 days later only because the service became popular, or did the app violate an App Store guideline after it was approved? (One reason why the app might now have raised alarms at first was that it was named “BWF” and not “Bang With Friends.”) Bang With Friends got popular due to their promise of “Your friends will never know you’re interested unless they are too!” The Android app remains live on the Play Store, and there’s of course a website for the service. Continue reading →

iRadio’s song skipping feature reportedly holding up deal with Sony

iPhoneHacks — Sat, 18 May 2013 18:33:56 +0000

We continue to get information about iRadio, Apple’s rumored Pandora-like music streaming service. Yesterday, a report claimed that Apple may not be able to launch the service at the WWDC due to licensing issues with Sony Music, the world’s second largest music label. CNET reports that according to their sources, Apple’s iRadio deal with Sony has stalled due to the song skipping feature. Apple and Sony Music, the world’s second-largest music label, are still trying to hammer out details over how much Apple would pay for songs that people listen to a fraction of and then skip, according to people familiar with the negotiations. There could be other points of contention as well. Apple’s streaming music service, which most closely resembles Internet radio leader Pandora, has some features built into it that give users added control, such as the ability to rewind a song and skip to the next after listening to a portion of it, sources say. CNET points out that in case of Pandora, when a user gives a thumbs down rating or selects “I’m tired of this track” in the menu, those instances is counted as a skip. Pandora has to pay full royalties for the song even though the song has played for just a few seconds. That’s the reason Pandora restricts the number of skips for free accounts. It only allows 6 skips per hour per station or a maximum of 12 skips per day. While it is not clear what Sony is asking for, it definitely looks like it wants better terms than what Apple has offered. If Apple agrees to Sony’s terms, then it could cause problems with its deals with Warner and Universal, but at the same time it is probably desperate to launch the service at WWDC after Google eclipsed it by launching Google Play Music All Access earlier this week. I’ve a feeling that despite these rumors of a possible delay, Apple will unveil the service at the WWDC on June 10th and most likely be one of the major features of iOS 7. Via: CNet Continue reading →