Pelican has long been considered a pioneer in the design and manufacture of high quality, rugged gear that's designed to last and withstand significant abuse. Their new ruggedized iPhone 5/5s cases continue in this great tradition. With its minimalistic yet highly protective design, the Pelican Voyager ($50) is the latest heavy-duty iPhone case offering from one of the leaders in reliably protective cases. This well-designed case not only meets the demanding Military Standards of device defense, it actually outshines the competition in one critical area.
Tip of the Day: Increase Your iPhone Typing Speed
By Sarah Kingsbury
Messages, emails, notes, reminders, there are so many ways to give your thumbs a workout while using an iPhone. Getting your iPhone typing up to speed can be a real time saver. Here are a few suggestions that will have you thumbing out messages speedily and with ease:
5 Fun iPhone and iPad Accessories for Kids
By Becca Ludlum
1. Plush Pals ($39.99)
These adorable plush animals are a must have for any music-loving kid (or adult). Plug Freddy, Manny, or Patch into your iDevice and they'll sing your favorite song, act as if they're narrating a cartoon, or mimic your video game. A bonus? They're soft and cuddly, apart from the battery area in the bottom. See the Plush Pals in action on their website or right here.
Ringtones...for your Bicycle?
By Todd Bernhard
I've backed a few projects on Kickstarter, but they're usually boring things like stands and cables. The other day I saw the MYBELL and had to put my money down. The MYBELL is a bicycle horn for the smartphone age. Obviously it mounts to a bicycle handlebar, though I might try it out on my scooter. What makes the MYBELL unique is that you can customize the sound that it plays, just like a custom ringtone on your smartphone. In fact, it will accept MP3 files via the included (weatherized) USB port.
Swift 101 - Working with Swift's New Optional Values
By Kevin McNeish
The Swift programming language has a new feature called optionals that were not previously available in Objective-C. They are similar to optional types in Java and nullable types in the C# programming language.
Replace Your Native Calendar App with Sunrise
By Abbey Dufoe
If you haven't moved away from your native calendar app, now is the time.
Sunrise Calendar (free, Sunrise Atelier) is, in my opinion, the best native calendar app replacement out there. The design boasts beautiful, simple and modern design as well as a monthly view and daily view like the native iOS app. It also allows users to add Google, Facebook, and iCloud calendars with ease. Reminders can also be seen in the calendar view, if you wish. The latest update lets users add "interesting calendars," like sports schedules, moon phases, and holidays.
Tip of the Day: How to Add More Dictionaries for Define Feature
By Sarah Kingsbury
One of the great things about using an iPhone or iPad is that you can look up the definition of any word you encounter in Notes, Safari, Mail, and more with the Define feature. (See the tip on how to do that HERE.) But what if you are traveling or you speak more than one language and you want to be able to look up words in those languages as well?
Tip of the Day: How to Adjust Siri's Volume
By Sarah Kingsbury
Have you ever wanted to tell Siri to keep it down or to speak up, but couldn't find where in the settings to adjust the virtual assistant's volume? That's because there is no Siri volume control in Settings.
Asking Siri to adjust it's own volume doesn't work either. You may recognize these Siri replies from your own attempts to adjust the volume:
Tip of the Day: How to Turn on Character Count in Messages
By Sarah Kingsbury
Apple does not limit the character count for iMessages; but if you are sending a message to a non iUser it will be sent as an SMS and will therefore be limited to 160 characters. This means characters over 160 will be sent in a second text or possibly even deleted, depending on your recipient's carrier. To avoid this situation, turn on Character Count so you can always know when you've reached the SMS character limit.
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