Apple

Apple gives iPod touch A8/M8 CPU, 8MP camera, 3x faster Wi-Fi & more, new nano/shuffle colors

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 15, 2015

Following a recent discovery of hidden graphics assets inside iTunes 12.2 which have hinted at an imminent iPod refresh, Apple on Wednesday quietly refreshed its dedicated music player family with a press release and a website update.

The headline new model is a much improved sixth-generation iPod touch, “the best iPod touch yet.”

It now features the Apple-designed 64-bit A8 processor, essentially the same chip that powers the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and runs Apple's M8 motion coprocessor. Apple really went all out with the iPod touch: there's three times faster Wi-Fi 802.11ac and also an improved FaceTime HD camera with an updated sensor and burst mode for even better selfies.

But the good news doesn't stop here: the back-facing iSight camera has received a substantial upgrade, going from five to eight megapixels with slo-mo and burst mode, 1080p video capture at 30FPS, cinematic video stabilization and more.

The screen size has remained the same, measuring four inches diagonally, and there's no Touch ID. The device runs iOS 8.4 with the all-new Music app and Apple Music integration. As for the iPod nano and iPod shuffle, they have received a minor refresh with new color options available.

Rovio puts a bunch of Angry Birds games on sale

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 15, 2015

Do you still care about Angry Birds? I myself think the series has run its course but am nonetheless eager to fling a few birds every now and then as I continue to find these physics-based games pretty darn addictive and charming. Developer Rovio has now put a number of Angry Birds titles on sale in the App Store and some of them have gone free for the first time in a long time.

Grab them all now and your kids will thank you later!

Logitech announces three new ‘Logi BLOK’ protective cases for iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 15, 2015

Accessory maker Logitech on Wednesday introduced the world to its all-new family of protective case, shell and keyboard cases for Apple's iPad. Called Logi BLOK, the latest accessories offer protection from drops up to six feet high and onto surfaces as hard as concrete. The lineup is comprised of the Logi BLOK Protective Shell, the Logi BLOK Protective Case and the Logi BLOK Protective Keyboard Case.

After announcing a new branding strategy earlier this month, today marks first Logitech products to have been released under the new Logi brand. All three accessories will be available for purchase in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and across select European markets in August.

Pixelmator for iPhone and iPad discounted to just 99 cents

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 15, 2015

Pixelmator, a powerful image editing software for the Mac, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch has received a substantial price cut in the App Store in a limited-time promotion following yesterday's update which brought out the new Dynamic Touch feature, a much improved and 5x faster Repair tool and more.

Going from $4.99 to just 99 cents, Pixelmator for iPhone and iPad is now a steal.

Keep in mind that's 99 cents to download the universal Pixelmator app to all your iOS devices. I wholeheartedly recommend you pick up this awesome app right now, especially if you've been holding out for a sale. By the way, this is the first Pixelmator's iOS edition has received such a deep price cut following its October 2014 App Store debut.

Mozilla blocks Flash in Firefox as Facebook calls on Adobe to kill it off completely

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2016

Remember when Steve Jobs published an open letter calling for Adobe to kill off Flash and minced no words, saying Flash was “the number one reason Macs crash”? Five years later, the prospect for Adobe's proprietary multimedia plugin is looking increasingly grim as opposition is mounting against Flash.

Early in the year, Google stopped using Flash on YouTube after rolling out an HTML5 video player. Last week, Facebook’s chief security officer slammed Flash on Twitter and now the non-profit organization Mozilla has added every version of Flash to Firefox browser's default blocklist.

Facebook reportedly building ‘Moneypenny,’ a personal assistant for Messenger with a twist

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 14, 2015

Facebook is working on a personal digital assistant of its own, designed specifically for use with its popular Messenger mobile software.

Referred to internally as “Moneypenny” after Miss Moneypenny, a secretary to M in the James Bond films, it will reportedly allow Facebook Messenger users to perform tasks like checking the weather, buying products and more.

According to a report by The Information, hidden behind the paywall, one crucial difference will set apart the James Bond-inspired digital assistant from the likes of Apple's Siri, Microsoft's Cortana, Google's Google Now, Amazon's Echo and others: it will be human-powered.

Apple seeds OS X 10.10.5 beta to developers

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 14, 2015

In addition to posting iOS 8.4.1 beta 1, Apple on Tuesday released the first beta of what would become the fifth major Yosemite software update. OS X 10.10.5 beta 1 is now available for download to members of the Apple Developer Program through Apple's portal for developers.

It's unclear what new features, if any, the pre-release OS X 10.10.5 software (build number 14F6a) may bring to Mac fans when it launches for public consumption.

T-Mobile unveils 10GB per person family plan

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 30, 2016

T-Mobile's Un-Carrier Amped initiative continues unabated with Tuesday's announcement of a brand new plan which offers families of four a cool ten gigabytes of high-speed 4G LTE data each, in exchange for an average monthly fee of $30 per person.

The way it works is this: two lines get ten gigabytes of data per line for a total of $100 per month ($50 per line), with a third line getting the same 10GB allowance in exchange for $20 per month and a fourth line being offered at no additional charge.

If you do the math quickly in your head, that's a total of $120 per month for four lines, each with 10GB data allowance.

Apple Pay launches in UK with Barclays, First Direct, HSBC and others joining soon

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 3, 2016

As promised, Apple Pay has officially launched today in the United Kingdom. While the service is accepted virtually anywhere there's NFC, only cards issued by US, and now UK banks, can be added to Apple Pay for the time being.

According to Apple's website, the contactless mobile payment solution is supported across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland via cards from American Express, First Direct, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Ulster Bank.

According to The Telegraph, UK users can now pay with Apple Pay at more than 250,000 points of sale throughout the country, including Waitrose and London's transportation networks.

Pixelmator for iOS updated with 5x faster Repair tool, new Dynamic Touch feature and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 14, 2015

Pixelmator for iOS, which almost two months ago became a universal app with native iPhone support, was refreshed in the App Store this morning with a few new features and dozens of improvements, performance improvements and stability fixes.

The Repair tool, which debuted on Pixelmator for Mac, is now up to five times faster on iPhone and iPad, and even more precise.

And the all-new Dynamic Touch tool intelligently changes the stroke size of all Retouch tools based on your finger input: use the tip of your finger and you'll create thin strokes; press harder, or use a larger surface area of your finger, and you'll produce thicker lines.

Moreover, Pixelmator's Photo Editing extension has been improved to make it easier to apply Pixelmator's effects within the context of iOS's stock Photos app.

Apple’s long rumored cable-killer TV service is “ready and it rocks”

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 14, 2015

Could Apple be on the verge of unveiling a killer app aimed squarely at cord cutters? After all, the company has long been rumored to have been developing a television streaming service that would trump and undercut the cable with more affordable subscription prices, convenience and ease of use.

According to a new report, there seems to be light at the end of a long tunnel.

“The platform is ready and it rocks,” one source told New York Post yesterday. Talks with major U.S. networks like CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox are reportedly gaining momentum rapidly in terms of securing rights to offer local TV programming.

Previously, Apple went about this licensing business on its own, a strategy which thus far has yielded poor results. But now CEO Tim Cook and his team have apparently asked the networks to obtain those rights on behalf of Apple, and it seems major progress has been made since.

TiVo updates iOS app with AirPlay streaming of recorded content to Apple TV

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

TiVo on Tuesday refreshed its iOS app in the App Store with the ability to stream content to the Apple TV via AirPlay. The development marks a major U-degree turn for TiVo, which for a long time has deliberately blocked AirPlay to prevent users from streaming video content to Apple's $69 box.

With support for the AirPlay mirroring feature now official, users of TiVo's iOS app can use AirPlay to stream content recorded on a TiVo box using the iPhone and iPad application to a user's Apple TV.

The refreshed app with the new AirPlay functionality is rolling out later today.