Apple’s Passbook reads data from .pkpass files, which can be attached to email messages and embedded on web sites. The system lets Safari and Mail clients running on Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad devices to automatically import tickets, digital coupons and other items into the Passbook application and sync them across devices via iCloud. That’s all fine and dandy, but what if there were an easier way to share Passbook passes? Thanks to a company called Skycore, Passbook items can be now delivered to users via MMS…(...)
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Folks in search of a fun new iPad accessory, or an early Father’s Day/graduation present, should check out this sweet little deal going on over Stack Social. The deal site has the Smarter Stand clips for iPad on sale right now for under $15.

As you may recall, we mentioned the Smarter Stand in passing last fall when the Kickstarter project went viral and exceeded its funding goal by nearly $150,000. Backers were enamored with the product, and now you can be too, at a nice discount…(...)
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Renowned 3D artist Martin Hajek today shared a new batch of interesting conceptual renderings that strive to envision how Apple’s rumored iWatch might seemingly lend itself to maps, which have long been the killer app category on mobile devices.

Indeed, with power-savvy Bluetooth Smart technology and iOS allegedly powering the device, a smartwatch from the people that brought you the iPhone could theoretically retrieve a user’s geographical location by tapping the iPhone’s GPS sensor, simply acting as a second screen for turn-by-turn directions…(...)
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Did you hear about this new iOS game? You’ve got to try it. Ca-ching. That, in a nutshell, is how most mobile games are downloaded. The majority of mobile users download games based on word-of-mouth from friends or family, a new survey indicates. What’s more, most folks download at most five titles per month, spending about three hours playing over the course of a week, according to Applifier…(...)
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Following Fall introduction, Apple’s iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad lineup hit the refurbished store in mid-March 2013, knocking $50 off of some models. In a sign that the company could be clearing stock of refurbished iPads in anticipation of next-generation models, Apple today has again slashed prices of its iPad 4 and iPad mini refurbished devices by as much as fifteen percent, enough to net you a cool $40 saving on top-of-the-line models with 64 gigabytes of storage…(...)
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Among the more than two-dozen patents granted to Apple by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier this week is one hinting the iPhone maker could finally enter the Push-to-Talk (PTT) arena and another one indicating the firm may breathe new life into its rumored plans for wearable devices.

The PTT patent likely is the result of a $4.5 million purchase by Apple and others of a portfolio of intellectual property sold by Nortel Networks in 2011. Meanwhile, the USPTO granted Apple a patent on flexible touch panels which could potentially be used for even smaller devices, such as the much-rumored iWatch…(...)
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Apple finds itself in unfamiliar territory. Accustom to acting behind the scenes and producing gadgets with overwhelming appeal, the iPhone maker and its CEO Tim Cook are front-and-center in a debate over corporate taxes and how some companies navigate loopholes in the laws to keep billions from the IRS.

In a sign of how concerned Apple is about changing the U.S. tax landscape, it in 2013 may spend nearly $4 million on lobbying Congress – double the amount of just a year ago. Meanwhile, European leaders are asking tech giants to play by the rules…(...)
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When Apple’s former iOS honcho Scott Forstall was dumped, stories were told of he and design guru Jonathan Ive nearly coming to blows over the prevailing use of realistic shapes and textures within the mobile software. Now comes a claim the design change of the upcoming iOS 7 will be “black, white, and flat all over.”

Ive, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Industrial Design and newly-minted head of Human Interface across the company, has essentially proposed a radical break with the iOS former Apple co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled in 2007, introducing a look and feel he believes will stand the test of time…(...)
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A letter Apple allegedly sent to Brazilian Authorized Service Providers signals significant changes to how the company handles iPhone and iPad repairs. Specifically, rather than replace faulty devices with their good-as-new refurbished counterparts, Apple should finally start performing device repairs in-house as early as next month, reports AppleInsider which got hold of Apple’s letter to distributors.

We heard earlier in the month that major changes are coming to Apple’s AppleCare warranty this fall so the development could signal Apple’s intent to test the new policy in Brazil ahead of a broad roll-out later this year…(...)
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U.S. retailer Best Buy is set to shave $50 off every iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 sold with a two-year contract with Verizon, AT&T or Sprint in a four-week promotion that kicks off on Sunday, reports AllThingsD. The retailer has previously discounted Apple’s iPhone 5 a few times in time-limited promotions, along with other retailers such as Walmart which last December discounted the device to as low as $127…(...)
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By now, most of you have likely heard that Apple will be going to trial with the U.S. Justice Department next month. The iPad-maker is set to defend itself against charges that it conspired with book publishers to raise e-book prices.

According to U.S. District Judge Denise Cote, it doesn’t look good. In a rather unusual pretrial move, the presiding Judge offered up her tentative view on the case. And she thinks it’s likely that the court will find Apple guilty…(...)
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AT&T is reportedly on the verge of significantly expanding the reach of its GoPhone prepaid brand, starting today. The carrier is said to be adding cellular data to the wireless service in both HSPA+ and LTE flavors, as well as official support for the iPhone.

This means that users will be able to activate their existing iPhone (or a new one purchased at full retail) on one of GoPhone’s 3 prepaid service plans, which start at $65 per month and include unlimited talking, unlimited texting, and 1GB of cellular data…(...)
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Apple billed 3D Flyover as one of the headlining features of its Maps app, when it replaced Google Maps in iOS last fall with its own in-house software. Unfortunately, at the time, the feature was only available for a handful of cities.

But the Maps team has been awfully busy in recent months, adding Flyover support to a number of new areas. Earlier this month, it expanded Flyover coverage in Paris, France, and this week it’s bolstered support in greater California…(...)
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Whatever the folks over at Waze are doing, they must be doing it right. Earlier this month, we heard that Facebook was looking to acquire the Palo Alto-based startup and its popular crowd-sourced navigation app for a cool $1 billion.

But as it turns out, they’re not the only ones interested. According to a new report, a number of tech companies have approached the Waze team over a possible buyout deal, including Google, meaning a bidding war could be afoot…(...)
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Apple has started airing a new TV commercial for its iPhone this evening. The ad, which it has also posted on its YouTube channel, is called ‘Music Every Day,’ and it focuses on the handset’s ability to play music.

The spot looks strikingly similar to the ‘Photos Every Day‘ ad that started airing last month. There’s a subtle piano backtrack, ambient noise, and people from different walks of life using the popular smartphone…(...)
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Last week we brought you a tutorial showing how the upcoming SemiRestore package will work once released. SemiRestore is a tool that you can use to restore your iOS device to an almost stock configuration.

A few of you in the comments brought up iLEX RAT, another tool — one that’s been around much longer than SemiRestore — that allows you to do something similar. I had tried iLEX RAT once before, and I experienced some issues with the early versions of the tool and gave up on it. At your urging, I decided to take the latest version of iLEX RAT for a spin. Here’s what I found.(...)
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Electronic Arts’ mobile gaming arm today released a new (and free) game for iOS and Android devices, Tetris Blitz. Announced in mid-February, it’s a twist on the block-dropping Tetris puzzler rather than a remake of the original game. The game actually landed on the Canada App Store a week ago in a soft-launch manner, but today rolled out across App Stores globally. Trust me, this one’s worth a download. Besides, you can’t really go wrong with a high-profile release costing zero bucks, now can you?(...)
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I’ve been keeping an eye on the gMusic Twitter account all week. Last year the app was first to iOS with support for Google’s cloud-based Music storage, and I knew it’d be the same way this year with support for Google’s new All Access subscription service.

That support arrived today in the form of gMusic 6.0. And in addition to ‘All Access’ access, the update brings a number of useful playback and management features like the ability to create and play radio stations, and to search for/ add music to your library…(...)
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Remember Rhapsody, the jukebox app and music subscription service that once pitted itself as a chief rival to Apple’s iTunes, only to fail miserably? It’s been lingering out there ever since, watching its user base erode to not only iTunes, but to streaming music services Pandora and Rdio, which both received nice little updates yesterday. But don’t write Rhapsody off yet. Today, they’ve revamped their iOS app which they likened to “the Ferrari of iPhone apps”…(...)
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Good news Verizon customers. Just in case the dozens of cloud storage options currently available aren’t enough for you, Big Red has just released an iOS version of its mobile Verizon Cloud client, finally bringing its backup services to Apple’s mobile platform.

Like the other offerings, Verizon’s Cloud allows you to sync up your documents, photos and other media between your devices. But unlike the others, it has the ability to save things like contacts and text messages, as well as the ability to restore them to a device…(...)
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