Are you a U.S. resident looking for a reason to buy an Apple device, but hate that chunk of change taxes consume? Apple is joining other retailers promoting a "tax-holiday" period aimed at goosing back-to-school sales. Some ten states are now participating in the annual event, usually due August 2-4.
Apple's website now informs consumers it will remove sales tax from items purchased, the timeframe depending on in which state buyers live...
As the iPhone's camera becomes the handset's most-used feature, Apple is increasingly looking for ways to enhance the experience. The latest example comes in a patent granted Tuesday which combines three sensors providing images with improved color saturation and lighting.
According to the patent approved by the U.S. Pantent and Trademark Office, the three-sensor technology described by Apple is part of a trend among smartphone manufacturers adopting multiple image sensors for greater mobile photography...
My favorite iPhone photography software, taptaptap's Camera+ for the iPhone and iPad, has been updated today with some long-expected improvements. Specifically, the tremendously useful effects layering feature, which was first added to Camera+ for iPad last September, is now at last available on the iPhone. Now the new Camera+ 3.9 for iPhone finally lets me layer two or more effects for unique results, with each layer having its own intensity.
Effects layering is non-destructive (your originals are always preserved) and indispensable for complex touch-ups or creating your own custom effects. In addition to that, both the iPad and iPhone build now comes with a brand new effects pack and contains other improvements, all mentioned right after the jump...
Google has named the next mobile app to be retired as its killing spree continues. Starting with August 15, the Internet company will stop supporting the Google Catalogs program on iPads and Android tablets (they've never gotten to releasing an iPhone version).
The app, basically a glorified magazine-like browser with window-shopping experience, will continue to be supported on both platforms until August 15.
For those oblivious to its existence, the app features a comprehensive catalog of products sold by apparel and fashion merchants and lets you save items for later - even create your own collages. And when you see something you like, a single tap produces a nearby store information or takes you to the merchant's website to make a purchase...
Starbucks drinkers will be glad to learn that Google will soon replace AT&T as the coffee chain's preferred partner to power the Wi-Fi network of its 7,000+ US stores. Additionally, Google Fiber access, where available, will be provided as well.
According to a post over at the official Google blog:
That’s why we’re teaming up with Starbucks to bring faster, free WiFi connections to all 7,000 company-operated Starbucks stores in the United States over the next 18 months. When your local Starbucks WiFi network goes Google, you’ll be able to surf the web at speeds up to 10x faster than before. If you’re in a Google Fiber city, we’re hoping to get you a connection that’s up to 100x faster.
How great is that?
The popular cross-platform instant messaging software Viber has been updated to version 3.1, bringing a few noteworthy improvements.
In addition to fun new emoticons and a new 'Seen' status that lets you know when your messages have been seen, Viber version 3.1 features expanded support for the Viber Desktop application on Windows and Mac.
If you have the desktop app on your Mac or Windows PC, you can can now seamlessly transfer a call in progress from your iPhone to your desktop. There are other improvements in this Viber update as well, mentioned right after the break...
If you have ever found yourself short on cash, or even worse, overdrawn, because you forgot about a recurring automatic payment, then you could use a friendly reminder to help you keep track of upcoming debits to your account.
Expense Planner does just that. You can add an upcoming expense, set a date to be reminded, and forget about it until later…
We are in the prime time of summer blockbuster movie season. As we head into the deep of summer, many more movies are headed our way. The worst part about going to the theater is high ticket prices. At a solid $10+ per ticket, make sure you see every important minute of the story, because missing anything is a costly and unfortunate mistake.
The trouble comes when you drank too much of that giant Coke they upsold for $.50 extra to get the grande two-handed version with bottomless refills, that you never really get anyway. In fact, you are using two straws just to make sure you drink it all before the ice waters down the flavor. After watching a solid 15 minutes of previews, you get a sinking feeling. Yes, that's it. Your giant Coke is working its way through your system. Quickly checking your watch, you realize there are at least two hours between you, the movie, and the bathroom.
The sounds of waterfalls and rivers in the last trailer make it difficult to wait, but the movie might start before you can run to the bathroom and back. Rest assured, because you downloaded RunPee before heading to the movies and it's going to tell you when you can head to the john and relieve yourself...
Kik users will be happy to hear that a major update for the iOS client has posted to the App Store this morning. The update, which brings the popular messaging app to version 6.5, hops on the recent stickers trend, adds third-party games, and more.
The stickers in Kik 6.5 work just like you'd expect them to—you can embed the emoticon-like images into any of your conversations. And as far as the third-party game offerings go, launch titles include new releases by both Zynga and TreSensa...
Nearly three years after it was first announced, Isis is finally set to debut on the national stage. Bloomberg is reporting this morning that the carrier-backed mobile payment service will see a nationwide rollout this year.
For those unfamiliar with Isis, it's a joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, looking to change the way consumers pay for things using NFC and other tech. And after 9 months in testing, it's ready for launch...
Steve Ballmer sounded pretty confident when his company debuted the Surface tablet last fall. At one point, he even said "I don’t think anybody has done a product that is the product that I see customers wanting," implying that Microsoft had.
But I think by now, it's pretty clear that's not the case. Not only did the software giant have to eat $900 million in unsold Surfaces last quarter, but estimates based on a new SEC filing suggest that it's only sold 1.7 million of them since launch...
The Unthreaded jailbreak, the cheaper iPhone, fingerprint scanning, and iOS 7 beta 4 are all hot topics on this week's episode of Let's Talk Jailbreak. Join us as we discuss these topics, along with new jailbreak tweaks like Control Unlocker, VineDownloader, BMarks Bar - Chrome, and of course, BuddyLock. Suffice it to say, you don't want to miss Cody and Jeff's discussion in this action packed episode.