iPhone Life Blog entries by all bloggers about iPhone and iPod Touch
I've just been watching the live stream of the Congressional hearing with Apple CEO Tim Cook today. It's ugly. The buzz among tech blogs has said the hearing would largely be grandstanding by members of Congress. And that's what I'm seeing. The current rant is going on and on, with Senator Carl Levin endlessly chastising Apple for having not paid taxes on $44 billion in profits being held by three Apple subsidiaries in Ireland. I've been watching for 20 minutes, and Cook hasn't been allowed to speak more than a couple sentences.
It's unfortunate that Apple has such a target on its back these days. Apple's manufacturer in China, Foxconn, has been criticized for its working conditions, Apple's recent earnings report disappointed Wall Street. Market analysts have doubted Apple's mojo and question whether the company has the creativity to continue to innovate. And now, various governments are going after Apple, wanting to get more money from the company.
Many rumors have been circulating in recent days, a lot of them credible. A post on AppleInsider confirms the eariler rumor saying the next iPhone will be available in multiple colors. Photos of multicolored SIM trays, the iPhone component holding the small card that identifies your phone to the carrier, have been leaked to BGR, strongly indicating the forthcoming iPhone will go beyond black and white models. When will we see this new phone? No one knows, of course, but I'm guessing the iPhone 5S will arrive in September.
On the iPad front, DigiTimes, which has a spotty reputation for accuracy, has reported that the 5th-generation iPad is now in trial production, with full production likely in July. The post says we may see the new model in September, and says the device will be 25–33 percent lighter. Perhaps most relevant is details of the display, saying that the bezels will be narrower than the current iPad, which goes along with earlier rumors that the new 9-7-inch iPad will have a form factor similar to the iPad mini.
While the App Store has a number of iOS applications for writing scripts, I haven't found much for the poetically inclined. I've been left to use the Notes app to jot down haikus on the go.
But a Kickstarter project by visual artist Seth Indigo Carnes aims to change that with his soon-to-be-released iOS app, iheart poetics. This application is designed to create and share interactive visual poems, which combine compelling text and vivid imagery. You have the option to begin with text, ranging from one word to a full poem you've composed. Once written, you can superimpose an image. Once complete, you can share it via email, MMS, Facebook, and Twitter.
Thanks to everyone who entered iPhone Life's Biweekly Weekend Giveaway! We received entries from 429 people in 16 different countries this week! WOW! And we gave away 3 accessories!
And the winners are... (drumroll please): Michael C., Matt R. and John M.
Congratulations!
If you see your name but didn't receive an email, please check your spam folder.
With Pyle's Home Bluetooth Receiver ($66.99), you can easily add Bluetooth wireless streaming capabilities to your speakers, docking station, or stereo system. It works with almost any device to make it Bluetooth enabled, including the iPod, iPad, iPhone, Androids, Black berry, PCs, video game consoles, and more. It will extend the range of your Bluetooth connection to about 33 feet. In addition to an Apple 30 pin connector, it has a 3.5 mm female Aux line input for direct audio input. It has a red/blue LED that flashes blue to confirm Bluetooth connection.
I've been on a gaming hiatus as of late but am back in the swing of it with two great casual gaming titles just in time for Memorial Day. Can Knockdown 3 is a recent release by Infinite Dreams, the latest in its ball-throwing puzzle genre. Hyper Breaker Turbo (projected late-May release date), is an indie brick-breaking game coming soon to the App Store. Without further adieu, let's dig into some block-busting, can-smashing goodness.
Can Knockdown 3 ($0.99)
Can Knockdown 3 adds to the already popular series, each of which offers some variation on the old carnival game of throwing a ball at a stack of cans. The experience is just as realistic as Can Knockdown 2, with spot-on ball flying and can bouncing physics. The concept is to "throw" by quickly finger swiping the ball toward the targeted cans, knocking as many down as possible in the fewest throws.
A good pair of headphones can go a long way toward enhancing our listening experience on our iDevices and immersing us in the sound. And if you've checked out some of the more popular headphones on the market, you know it's easy to spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of awesome-sounding, high-quality headphones. But that doesn't mean all the good headphones out there will cost you an arm and a leg. In fact, for less than $35, you can get a great-sounding pair of headphones, even if they aren't name brand models.
With more than three-quarters of a million apps in the Apple App Store, it takes something really special to make a splash in the mainstream today. While very few apps can stand up to the wild popularity of Angry Birds, Ellen DeGeneres' new game by the name of Heads Up! ($0.99) is on its way to that kind of international stardom, becoming the #1 app days after its release May 2. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to be backed by an Emmy-winning daytime talk show host. People have been using the idea behind this game at parties for years; Heads Up! just brings it into the 21st century. You can play the game with as little as two players, but it is much more fun in a group of people. The game is simple: players choose from a large selection of “decks,” which include categories like accents, singing, celebrities, movies, animals, characters, and more.
The first challenge is to open the package. It’s like a Chinese puzzle. Maybe the complexity of the entry is meant to contrast with the simplicity of the contents. Inside, the AL13 AeroSpace Aluminum Bumper for iPhone 5 ($79.99) is a simple bumper made of tough, burnished, aircraft-grade aluminum. On the outside of the box with is a black envelope containing two screen protectors and a cleaning cloth. So this affords you more protection for your device.
Let's hope this is just the beginning. The CW television network announced it will be coming to Apple TV — the first major network to stream its content to the device for free. Until now, the major networks have been reluctant, and Apple's set-top box has had pretty limited fare, unless you were inclined to pay for every episode via the iTunes Store.
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