App Store, Mac App Store iTunes/iBooks Store and other iCloud services experiencing outage

If you're unable to update your apps or buy books and music on Apple's content stores, you're not alone — there's trouble in iCloud. Apple's App Store, Mac App Store, iTunes Store and iBooks Store services have been experiencing widespread outage for straight six hours now.

At first, the company's iCloud Status Page would not acknowledge the downtime. Earlier this morning, the company refreshed the dashboard which now shows the App Store, Mac App Store, iTunes Store and iBooks Store as being unavailable “for all users”.

UPDATE: following what became an eleven-hour long outage, the App Store and iTunes services are now back online.

Review: Nokia’s new HERE for iPhone mapping app gives Apple and Google a run for their money

After launching its HERE mapping service on iOS only to pull it in December 2013 over unfavorable reception (it was based on HTML5, had limited features and wasn't optimized for iOS), Nokia last September and again in December promised to deliver a mapping experience the iPhone deserves.

Today, the company has made good on that promise and released a sleek new navigation and mapping software for the iPhone with the features and the polished feel that you'd rightly expect from a mapping app.

Nokia HERE features a nicely done user interface that honors iOS aesthetics while delivering a set of advanced features like turn-by-turn directions, rich database of points of interest and perks which cannot be found in Apple Maps, Google Maps and many other competing products, such as offline navigation and maps.

I've had a few days to play with the app ahead of its launch, this is what I was able to glean from my hands-on time with HERE.

Meerkat lets you stream live video to Twitter

During Apple’s Spring Forward event, you may have noticed a few tweets that started off with “|LIVE NOW|” followed by a hashtag for “meerkat” and a link. If you haven’t had a chance to experience it yet, the Twitter verse now has a way to live stream video content.

Meerkat is a video client that allows users to live stream video directly to their followers on Twitter. It is live. If you click on the link after the video has ended, you will miss out.

AlbumShot creates app-specific albums for your screenshots

Are you looking for a way to better organize the screenshots that you take with your iPhone? If so, then you should take AlbumShot for a spin.

AlbumShot is a recently released jailbreak tweak that creates albums in the Photos app to store the screenshots that you take. But it doesn't just create a single album; it creates an album for each app that you take a screenshot for. Watch our full video walkthrough for more details.

Let’s Talk iOS 072: Apple Watch Edition edition

Episode 72 is all about Apple's big watch event. In it, we talk about the new MacBooks, Apple TV, Apple Watch pricing, availability, battery life, bands, and more.

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WSJ: Next iPhone to get Force Touch, distinguishing between light and deep taps

The Wall Street Journal reports on Tuesday that Apple will include Force Touch technology on its next line of iPhones, being able to distinguish between a light tap and deep press, like on the upcoming MacBook, MacBook Pro, and Apple Watch.

Furthermore, the publication reports Apple may include a pink option of the next iPhone, believed to be called the "iPhone 6s", that will keep the same design of the current iPhone 6.

Here’s how to tell which Apple Watch case size is for you

Following word on Apple Watch pricing on Monday, you may be asking yourself: Which Apple Watch case is best for me? Apple is offering two different size cases - 38mm and 42mm - and which case you choose could have an effect on comfort, price, and looks.

Luckily, Apple has updated its Apple Store iOS app with a sizing chart to help you make the decision. Using actual size images, it's as easy as placing your iPhone on your wrist to see which Watch looks, and works, the best.

LaCie unveils first USB-C external hard drive for new MacBook

Following a bit of backlash that Apple has only chosen to include a USB-C port on the new MacBook, LaCie is working to appease customers with the first external hard drive and accessory for the new Apple creation. Unveiled on Tuesday, the Porsche Design Mobile Drive has been updated to perfectly suit the new Mac with USB-C.

Apple tweaking Reserve and Pickup options for Watch’s April 24 launch

Apple's retail stores will be rolling out tweaked Reserve and Pickup options ahead of the Watch's April 24 launch, according to unnamed sources who spoke with 9to5Mac. The experience will reportedly differ from the existing system for other products in that Personal Pickup for the wearable device will permit prospective buyers to reserve a desired case and band combination online before trying the specific Watch in-store and completing the purchase.

CIA reportedly working to crack Apple device security to gain spy access

The Intercept reports the Central Intelligence Agency has been working for years to find ways to break through the security of Apple devices, with work spanning a year before the first iPhone was released. The Intercept basis its report on leaked documents, that explain a yearly gathering of CIA officials, called the "Jamboree", to talk about flaws in commercial electronics.