Hasta La Gadget!

Like sands in the hour glass, these are today’s Apple tips and leaks – starting with an analyst note passed on after a meeting with Apple executives, chock-full of suggestions for the future of the company. First off, it would appear that Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty has made it clear that Apple may be releasing a new “killer iOS app” later this year. Before we go any further, it’s important that we all pause and read the two most important words read thus far: analyst and “may”.

While there’s no reason to think Huberty didn’t meet with Apple executives recently, the fact that the notes she’s passed on are all tied to “could” and “is believed to” and “may” should give you a clue to how much was actually revealed to her. With that in mind, feel free to go wild with acceptance and faith in the possibilities!

“We believe Apple could charge either developers or users for some of these services, which could boost Apple’s annuitized revenue stream and better monetize its large user base. For example, Apple could offer a streaming music service using a freemium model.” – Huberty

You’ll find Apple being suggested to create an internet-based service the likes of which could be a music service by the name of “iRadio” and might be working on deals with Warner Music and Universal Music Group as we speak. Also suggested once again is the iPhone 5S along with distribution plans for NTT Docomo in Japan and China Mobile (in China).

The “killer iOS app” spoken about by Huberty has been described as quite possibly as important as Apple’s adoption of Siri with the iPhone 4S. This could be the introduction of mobile payments, integration being started already with the app Passbook brought fourth in iOS 5. Conflicting reports in the past have suggested Apple’s inclusion of an NFC payment system in the next generation of iPhone products as well.

Sound realistic to you? How about that multi-colored plastic iPhone, eh? Have a peek at some other recent Apple tips and suggestions in the timeline below, and let us know what you think!

[via Apple Insider]

Apple “killer iOS app” tipped with new web-based service is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Apple’s new baby in the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 has been getting plenty of attention, and with good reason. Aside from a few hiccups with Maps, iOS 6 has been doing extremely well across the board. When it started rolling out as an over the air update earlier this week, Apple users were excited and updating by the millions.

Earlier this week we reported that over 15% of devices had been updated within the first 24 hours, which may sound like a small number, but compared to updates on Android — is actually quite high. Add in the fact that it was just the first day, iOS 6 has been doing exceptionally well.

Today reports are coming out from multiple analytics companies, and reports from TechCrunch state the overall upgrade and adoption rate for iOS 6 is massive. iOS 6 adoption rate is significantly higher than iOS 5, to the tune of around 122% faster. This time around it’s also an over-the-air update, making it a much simpler process for the millions and millions of iOS users.

Finally being able to update OTA and not requiring a cable and iTunes makes this a very simply and easy processor for the masses. If you’re already enjoying iOS 5 you simply can update right on your device. This could be a large part of why the adoption and update rate is seeing such massive numbers — but that isn’t all either. iOS 6 brings tons of fantastic features to everyone. If you sadly can’t get the latest and greatest with a 4-inch screen, you’ll surely want all those new Siri, Passbook, Maps, and other features that makes the iPhone and iOS 6 so excellent. We are also hearing many developers praise the update, saying the transition has been smooth and support for iOS 6 has been easy.

If you haven’t bought the iPhone 5 today or are rocking an older device, have you updated to iOS 6 yet?

Apple users updating to iOS 6 122% faster than iOS 5 is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’re looking to pick up the new iPhone 5 as fast as you possibly can, you’ll be glad to know that pre-orders online as well as in-store will begin this Friday. That’s September 14th, 2012, for those of you looking in on this post from the future, with online pre-orders starting at midnight PST that day and in-store pre-orders starting at 8AM local time when stores open as normal. The top three major mobile carriers in the USA have been tipped or confirmed to be starting pre-orders online at midnight Pacific Time as well.

The iPhone 5 will be sold in three different internal storage sizes, with each of the three sizes being offered by each major retailer right out of the gate. The 16GB version will be arriving for $199, the 32GB version will be appearing at $299, and the largest version is the 64GB version at $399 USD. These prices are what the devices will cost attached to a 2-year mobile data agreement with the carrier of your choice.

Off-contract prices depend on how you’ll be picking a device up. If you’re looking to upgrade from your on-contract iPhone before your contract is up, you’ll be paying full off-contract prices: $649, $749, or $849 depending on the internal storage size. If you’re changing over after your contract is over, you’re looking at $449, $549, or $649 USD.

If on the other hand you’re looking to buy an off-contract phone with AT&T, you may be eligible for a discount – the discount here makes the device cost the on-contract price plus $250 USD. More release pricing such as this may be available in the days between pre-order beginning and the device being available in stores later this month. Stick around and see!

Meanwhile have a peek at our iPhone 5 tag portal and our Apple portal for more mobile action than you can handle! We’ve got a hands-on experience with the iPhone 5 as well that’s not to be missed!

iPhone 5 pre-orders begin at midnight on Friday is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If a Bluetooth sensor doesn’t already have iOS support, pairing it up will often involve a patient wait for an official app or some not-quite-official tweaking, at best — Apple won’t allow just any old unauthenticated device through the gates. Byte Works’ TechBASIC 2.3 update takes those barriers down. The mobile app lets those of us with a new iPad or iPhone 4S create programs that talk to, and read from, a wide range of Bluetooth LE devices without having to write any Objective C code on a Mac. Only a TI key fob has a fully ready example program, but large swaths of devices will communicate with help from intrepid programmers — whether they’re heart rate monitors, home theater gear or seemingly anything in between. Existing TechBASIC owners can add the Bluetooth LE support through a free update; it’s a relatively pricey $15 to buy the app if you’re new to Byte Works’ world, although it may be worthwhile to give any unused sensors a new reason for being.

Continue reading TechBASIC 2.3 links iOS to world of sensors through Bluetooth, no pesky computers in the way (video)

Filed under: Cellphones, Wearables

TechBASIC 2.3 links iOS to world of sensors through Bluetooth, no pesky computers in the way (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Aug 2012 04:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  App Store  | Email this | Comments

Can’t wait for the inevitable release of iOS 6 to get an Apple-sanctioned standalone podcast app of your own? Great news! Those rocking 5.1 and higher can roll on over to iTunes to pick up the straightforwardly named Podcasts, right this very second. The iPhone / iPad-friendly app is designed as a repository for the manner of pre-recorded talk radio-killing entertainment that Cupertino inadvertently helped name. We downloaded the app and took it for a spin. Check out the results after the break.

Continue reading Apple’s Podcasts app for iOS hands-on

Apple’s Podcasts app for iOS hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments