Hasta La Gadget!

Just last week, we heard a rumor of the iPhone 6 featuring a polycarbonate body and a 4.5-inch screen. Even though the iPhone 6 is most likely a year away from officially being debuted as many people are expecting the iPhone 5S to be released this year, a set of concept images for the iPhone 6 have been released today, and they look mighty impressive.

The concept images created by Martin Hajek feature an iPhone 6 with a 4.8-inch screen, no home button and a look that resembles the iPad Mini. The iPhone 6 in Hajek’s concept isn’t as large as the Galaxy Note 2, but could certainly compete with the rumors 4.99-inch Galaxy S4 and the 4.8-inch display of the HTC One.

Removing the home button on the iPhone 6 may be a bit of a stretch considering how much iOS relies on it. If Apple considers making any changes to its home button, we think they’d introduce a slimmer button rather than nixing it from the iPhone altogether. Seeing how Apple updated its 30-pin dock connector with the slimmer Lightning connector, we think the company knows slim is in.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: iPhone 5S Concept Incorporates Four Pico Projectors, This iOS notifications concept looks like a good idea,

Apple’s iWatch will run full-flavored iOS, according to a new report, and the company is indeed targeting an end-of-year launch, but will first have to tackle battery life issues. According to sources speaking to The Verge, Apple’s prototype watch hardware is currently getting only a couple of days out of its battery, and the company is targeting at least four to five (around what the Pebble gets) before ramping up for a public release.

The news that Apple is opting to go with a reworked version of iOS on the iWatch instead of an alternative system is very interesting, if true. In the sixth generation iPod nano, which was released in 2010, Apple used a separate mobile OS that resembled iOS but was actually a lighter-weight and much more limited platform. Using iOS instead of the nano’s operating system has some advantages for Apple (a single code base across its mobile line, more potential for third-party developers, and a familiar system for new users), it also comes with big challenges, and potentially adds one more degree of fragmentation to Apple’s mobile OS.

It’s worth noting that Apple originally launched the iPhone’s operating system as being the same as OS X, a somewhat confusing move that they eventually went back on when they began referring to it as iPhone OS, and later iOS. The company could be taking a similar approach to the iWatch at launch, with an OS for the wrist-top computer that ends up diverging considerably from the version on the company’s phones and tablets, once modifications are built-in to account for its different features.

If the reports are accurate, Apple is making the right move in pushing for better battery life. The value of a watch-based computer depends largely on its ability to operate inconspicuously: the reason wearable computing is attractive to begin with is that it promises to be less conspicuous, and easier to integrate into your everyday life than smartphones or tablets. An iWatch that needs to hit the charger every day loses a lot of that value.

The Verge also says that Apple has work to do in terms of building in the proper pathways for transmitting information and notifications between an iPhone and an iWatch. That could prove the single-biggest source of information regarding the device and its development going forward; you can bet devs and Apple watchers will be going through iOS developer builds with a fine-toothed comb for evidence of any changes on that front.

While some of the other apps that I’ve come across recently promise to wake you up in different ways, this one strips away all unnecessary functions and goes down to the bare essentials of what an alarm should be. It will wake you up and it’s nicely designed. It doesn’t go much beyond this – and that’s a good thing.

The Rise app for iOS is simple, but some thought went into designing it. To set the alarm, you just drag your finger across the screen to select the time. Once set, the app has a progressive alarm, meaning that it will increase in volume if you don’t do anything about it. A simple swipe across the screen will shut the alarm off. You can also snooze your alarm by shaking your iPhone, which is good because when I’m groggy with sleep, shaking my phone is about the only thing I can do. It comes with a nice variety of alarm sounds, and you can also have it wake you with your favorite track from iTunes.

Rise is available in the iTunes App store for $1.99(USD).

It was only a few days ago when Apple settled a lawsuit involving in-app purchases made by children. The lawsuit offered affected users a $5+ iTunes gift card, and those who’s children purchased more than $30 worth of in-app purchases will receive a full cash refund. The lawsuit is said to cost Apple around $100 million. A family in England is an example of the types of things that go on when you leave your child unattended with your iOS device.

Danny Kitchen wanted to play Zombies vs. Ninja on his parents’ iPad. The parents unlocked the iPad, saw that the game was free, and allowed their son to play. What they didn’t realize was that Danny could make in-app purchases in the game, and that’s exactly what he did. Danny’s parents were busy entertaining a group of guests, so they weren’t able to keep an eye on what their son was doing. Unfortunately for them, their oversight almost cost them 1,710.43 Pounds, or around $2570.

Danny made 12 purchases of 333 keys at 69.99 pounds each, 7 sets of 333 ecstasy bombs at 69.99 pounds each, 5 sets of 9000 darts at 69.99 pounds each, 5 sets of 4200 darts for 5.49 pounds each (why is this so much cheaper than the 9000?), and some more ecstasy bombs at 3.22 pounds each. The following Monday, Danny’s mother, Sharon Kitchen, received 19 e-mails from iTunes confirming Danny’s purchases. She disregarded it because she thought it was a mistake. It wasn’t until she received a call from her credit card company confirming these transactions with her.

Sharon told Danny to get ready for bed, and to “run and hide before daddy got home”, and Danny’s siblings hilariously tortured him even more by saying that their parents could have purchased a house with the money he spent. Apple has graciously refunded the Kitchens their money back. The Kitchens were upset and questioned why children were so easily able to spend a fortune on these in-app purchases.

An Apple spokesperson replied with a statement saying that there are parental controls in all iOS devices that can prevent these incidents from happening. They prevent internet access, age rated content, and “also give parents and guardians the option to turn off functionality such as purchasing from iTunes and the ability to turn off in-app purchases.” So parents, take advantage of those parental controls in order to prevent a case like this from happening to you.

[via The Telegraph]

5 year old accidentally spends $2570 on iPad in-app purchases is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
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There are plenty of ways of playing music on your iPhone, but the default player lacks a few functions. This new player app was inspired by the work of legendary industrial designer Dieter Rams, blending both form and function as you rediscover your music collection.

The T3 Player simplifies all the controls that you are used to using when playing music. You can organize your favorite songs, create playlists, rank and shuffle songs. You’ll also be able to sort your playlists by artist name or rank. All that on top of looking like a cool vintage music player.

The T3 Player is available at the iTunes app store for $0.99. It’s definitely an app that’s worth considering if you are bored with the standard interface of your iPhone’s music controls – though you may want to wait for the next version – early users of version 1.0 are reporting that it’s impossible to add tracks more than one at a time, which could be very frustrating and time consuming.

[via BlessThisStuff]