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TwelveSouth’s new BookBook Journal carrying case holds your iPad and accessories

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2013

I'm a big fan of TwelveSouth's work. Andrew and Leigh Ann and the team are good people who make stylish, Apple-exclusive accessories. The company's won me over with its BookBook series of cases for iPhones, iPads and Mac notebooks. I'm currently using their BookBook for MacBook Air which looks a lot like a Harry Potter spell book, along with the BookBook for iPhone that doubles as my wallet for cash, credit cards, IDs and stuff like that.

But now, there's one carrying case to rule them all, the BookBook Journal. It may look like another vintage book, but this dapper, hardback leather case has compartments, pockets and adjustable bands to hold your iPad along with a bunch of accessories, such as power adapters, cables, USB drives, styluses, mice, earbuds or and more...

Spotify iOS refreshed with instant search, artist tour details, new languages and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2013

Spotify, the popular Swedish streaming music startup, today gave its iPhone and iPad app a little love. In addition to support for new languages like Japanese, the new Spotify 0.9 for iOS now includes artist tour information, including such details as concert dates.

Several search-related improvements and the usual bug fixes are also part of this Spotify release.

The free update is available immediately on the App Store and I've included additional details below the fold...

Google Search app gets ‘OK Google’ handsfree voice control, reminders, alerts, and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Google has just updated its native Search app for the iPhone and iPad with a slew of new features, starting with a number of new types of Google Now cards and the ability to activate the voice search handsfree, simply by saying “OK Google” like on Android. This feature works on the iPhone 4s or later devices. You can now enjoy one-touch sign-on and elect to receive alerts for delayed flights and upcoming appointments and events, as well as for public transit reminders.

The app now supports new types of reminders for movies, actors, TV shows, musicians and web content updates, including location-based and time-relative entries like “Remind me to buy coffee beans at Starbucks,” or “Remind me to check out the fair this weekend”. Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

T-Mobile sold 540,000 iPhones in Q3, representing 15% of branded devices

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 4, 2017

T-Mobile USA, the nation's fourth-largest wireless carrier, has sold 540,000 iPhones during the September quarter, comprising between ten and fifteen percent of the telco's total 5.6 million smartphones sold, which includes T-Mobile's prepaid and MetroPCS-branded devices.

By comparison, the #3 Sprint typically reports iPhone sales comprising as much as 25 percent of all smartphone sold.

For example, Sprint said it sold 1.4 million iPhones during the third quarter of 2013, 40 percent of which went to new customers, versus the five million total smartphones sold...

iPad Air costs $274 to build, $42 less than iPad 3

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 5, 2013

Thanks to Apple's economies of scale, advanced manufacturing, smart engineering and the latest technological solutions, Apple's fifth-generation full-size iPad, the iPad Air, is actually cheaper to produce than the third-generation model - despite packing in the latest technology, research firm IHS Suppli has discovered in a new teardown analysis.

Total cost of components that go into the latest iPad is between $274 and $361, depending on the model, which is still $42 cheaper than the entry-level iPad with Retina display. The priciest iPad Air component by and large is its Retina display and the touchscreen assembly.

Both components incorporate a number of improvements such as fewer, more advanced LED lights providing the backlighting to the display and a new type of sensor known as a cycle-olefin polymer (COP) sensor located right underneath the outer layer of Gorilla Glass. More tidbits right bellow...

MagicalPad 3 HD review: organize your thoughts with ultimate flexibility

Lory Gil ∙ Updated October 12, 2018

When I was in high school, my English teacher taught me that the best way to get starting on developing an essay was to brainstorm ideas and then creating an outline. It is the ultimate way to organize your thoughts into a visual landscape where you can further create.

MagicalPad 3 HD is a productivity app for the iPad that lets you brainstorm, create outlines, mind maps, add flowcharts, make scrapbooks, and share your ideas with others...

iPhone 5s sells out in first 24 hours of India launch

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

The Times of India is reporting this morning that Apple has completely sold out of iPhone 5s stock in India within the first 24 hours of its launch. Both the 5s and the iPhone 5c went on sale in the country on November 1.

It sounds like India is seeing similar supply constraints as folks did here in the US and other areas, but the situation is a bit more extreme. Several retailers in India have already asked Apple for emergency replenishments...

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HDX tops iPad Air in display shootout

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

With the recent releases of both the iPad Air and Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX, the folks over at DisplayMate thought it was time to pit the two new tablets against each other (and against Google's Nexus 10 tablet) in one of its signature display shootouts.

DisplayMate, a highly-regarded authority on display technology, likes to measure various aspects of device displays such as screen reflectance and absolute color accuracy, to see who is using the best panels. And according to its latest test, Amazon is...

Pandora says listening has increased 9% since iTunes Radio debut

Cody Lee ∙ Updated July 14, 2017

Since Apple launched iTunes Radio back in September, industry watchers have kept a close eye on competing streaming music services. After all, the Cupertino company has the resources and user base to put a huge dent in the business.

But apparently the opposite has happened for Pandora. The company's CFO Michael Herring spoke yesterday at a Morgan Stanley conference in San Francisco, and he says listening has increased 9% since iTunes Radio made its debut...

Nike+ Move released on the App Store

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

The flagship app for Apple's new M7 coprocessor is finally available for download on the App Store. Nike+ Move, the app that Apple showcased alongside its unveiling of the iPhone 5s, went live a few hours ago.

A lot of people have been wondering what Nike stands to gain by continuing to align so closely with Apple — especially when they now sell what can arguably be seen as a competing product. After testing out the app, however, the answer to that question becomes readily apparent.

BlackBerry fires CEO Thorsten Heins, scraps buyout plan

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

As a long-time competitor of, and what many believe to be a casualty of, the iPhone, we've been keeping a close eye on BlackBerry's situation over the past several months. The last we heard, the company had agreed to sell itself to Fairfax Financial Holdings for $4.7 billion.

But apparently that's no longer the plan. In a bit of a surprise move, BlackBerry announced this morning that it has given up on its effort to sell itself to a large investor, and that it will be replacing Thorsten Heins with former Sybase chief John Chen as interim CEO...

Skype gaining better sign in experience, faster startup and iOS 7 mic permissions

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Microsoft-owned Skype app for the iPhone and iPad is about to get bumped to version 4.14, gaining under-the-hood tweaks for faster startup time and iOS 7-specific permissions for microphone access.

The update has been officially announced on the Skype blog earlier in the morning and should drop later during the course of the day.

Over the past two months, Skype's mobile app has received its iOS 7 style visual makeover and gained the ability to make HD quality 720p video calls from the fourth-generation iPad and later and the iPhone 5 and later...