T-Mobile offering iPhone 5 for $0 down with trade-in this weekend

If you're still looking for that perfect Mother's Day gift, you might be interested to know that T-Mobile is going to be hosting a nice little sale this weekend in honor of the holiday. And it looks like the iPhone 5 is going to be one of its featured bargains.

According to a new report, the fourth largest US carrier is going to be offering the handset as part of a special trade-in deal. Customers will be able to score Apple's flagship smartphone for $0 down, a savings of $100, with the trade-in of a valid mobile device...

Affix brings an OS X inspired shortcut to Notification Center

I always love it when I see a new tweak by rvirajm. You know that you probably won't be getting some blockbuster tweak like Auxo, or Velox, but what you will get is a well thought out tweak that makes the iPhone a better device to use. Affix is the latest such example of this trend. It's a tweak that places a handy shortcut to the Notification settings page at the bottom of Notification Center.

If you're an OS X user, then you'll no doubt recognize the inspiration behind this tweak. Take a look inside for a few more details.

Microsoft can’t convince Apple to update iTunes for Windows 8 Metro devices

Remember all the back-and-forth between Apple and Microsoft before tablets? We heard echoes of that earlier this week when the software giant announced Apple's iTunes app won't be available for Windows 8 Metro tablet users any time soon. Although iTunes continues to be available as a Windows 8 Desktop mode app, the lack of a Metro edition leaves owners of Windows tablets in the cold. Even worse is that owners of the Surface RT tablet - which by the way runs only Microsoft apps - will be stuck with just Redmond's Music app...

Amazon Cloud Drive Photos app now available

Folks who keep their music, photos, documents and other stuff stored in the Amazon cloud are aware of the online retailer's dedicated iOS software aptly named Cloud Player which can stream songs from your cloud locker to your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices.

Although Amazon has yet to release the official Cloud Drive app for Apple's mobile platform (it's available on OS X), today it inched toward that goal by releasing a brand new photo management application for iOS.

As the name suggests, the Amazon Cloud Drive Photos application lets you browse image files stored in your Amazon cloud storage, download individual images to your iPhone or iPad, upload on-device images to keep them securely backed up in the cloud and more...

iPhone passcode security prompts law enforcement requests

Apparently, the law enforcement community needs to hire a few 13-year-olds able to crack the passcode on Apple's iPhone. There is such demand to help unlocking iPhones that one federal agency had to wait nearly two months for Apple, which even manages a waiting list, to unlock the smartphone. One "flaw" in Apple's otherwise tight mobile security could worry privacy advocates: the company reportedly does not inform iPhone owners when it bypasses the device's security measures...

MiniPlayer 2.1 is a beautiful update to a great jailbreak tweak

You know how they say some things get better over time? Wine falls squarely into that category. MiniPlayer does too. The upcoming 2.1 version, which is being submitted to Cydia's BigBoss repo today, is a more refined experience than its predecessors.

The first version of MiniPlayer had potential, but left a lot to be desired in the avenue of designed. Now that Surenix has stepped on board with the project to help out with its design, the tweak has come into its own.

Music controls have always been a part of a crowded market in Cydia, so it takes a lot to make any particular tweak stand out in this space. I'm happy to report that not only does MiniPlayer stand out with its latest 2.1 update, it shines. Check out our full video walkthrough of the latest version of MiniPlayer right after the break.

PayPal hopes the next iPhone will obsolete passwords, once and for all

In a tell-tale sign that passwords had had their day in the sun, PayPal CISO Michael Barrett took the stage at Interpo today to spell doom for existing verification methods, predicting that more robust authentication protocols based on an open standard will replace passwords. While two-step verification can bolster account security - Apple recently enabled it for Apple ID accounts - PayPal alludes that secure authentication technologies said to make their way into Apple's next iPhone may announce the impending end of passwords...

2-step Apple ID verification rolls out in more countries

Following a major security vulnerability that let attackers reset your Apple ID password using only your email address and date of birth, Apple responded in March by fixing the iForgot hole and bolstering Apple ID account security with an optional new two-step verification process for Apple ID accounts in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.

Today, the company has started to roll out the feature to nearly a dozen additional countries, including Canada, Russia and Brazil...

Take to the skies with Sid Meier’s Ace Patrol

One of the world's most successful and critically acclaimed interactive entertainment designers, Sid Meier has long become a household name in the world of gaming. A long list of Sid Meier-branded games includes such hit titles as Pirates, Silent Service, Railroad Tycoon and Civilization, to name but a few. Some of the games Sid designed have been adapted for Apple's iOS devices, like Civilization Revolution (free, $2.99).

The latest title, Sid Meier's Ace Patrol, has just landed on the App Store. This turn-based flight combat simulator doesn't just carry Sid's stamp of approval, the legendary designer actually conceived and designed the game himself.

Sid Meier's Ace Patrol is exclusive to Apple's iOS devices and publisher 2K Games released it as a free to play download with in-app purchases...

Google suffers setback preventing Apple from obtaining Android documentation

Earlier this week, we told you about Apple's complaint over Google's resistance to hand over parts of the Android source code documentation. Apple’s request is part of its ongoing California patent fight against Samsung. Bloomberg now reports that U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal ordered the Internet giant  to disclose within two days what terms it’s using to find documents Apple has requested.

Despite Google's insistence that the collection of such information would be "too burdensome," the court also ordered that the search monster tell Apple "which Google employees those documents came from"...

14-year-old discovers iPads can be dangerous to heart patients

As Apple has proven in its TV ads, you can use a number of words to describe its products. But I imagine it never thought that one of those words would be "dangerous." According to new research, though, that's exactly what the iPad is for certain heart patients.

A 14 year-old has discovered that the tiny magnets inside Apple's tablet, used for Smart Covers, can inadvertently shut off a heart patient's implanted defibrillator–a battery-powered electrical impulse generator— if near their chest for an extended period of time...

New bill introduced that legalizes cellphone unlocking and more

Back in January, the mobile homebrew community suffered a major blow when several DMCA exemptions expired. Among them was a rule that made unlocking cellphones legal, effectively making the practice illegal here in the United States.

But it may not be that way for long. A new bill just landed in the House of Representatives called The Unlocking Technology Act of 2013, which, among other things, would make the process of unlocking your cellphone unequivocally legal...