Posts tagged with "iPhone"

Kickstarter: TAKTIK - A Premium Protection System for the iPhone

Many people take their iPhone protection very seriously. With cases like OtterBox and Griffin’s Armored case, there are some nice options available. LUNATIK, the makers of the TikTok+LunaTik watch, have started a new Kickstarter campaign to target these users with a new case called TAKTIK.

The design of the TAKTIK was injected from the TikTok+LunaTik and the LUNATIK Touch Pen with its hard lines and tactical feel. To take the rigidness of the case to the extreme, they have also included a Gorilla Glass lens (for an extra $25) for ultimate screen protection. The case itself has a shockproof suspension system with great iconic aesthetics. The TAKTIK also has GORE acoustic port covers to protect your iPhone from liquids, sand, dirt, etc. It has a nifty little patent-pending Silence Switch that only requires one fingertip to activate; there’s even a lanyard loop to fasten your iPhone safely to you. Videos after the break. Read more

Kickstarter: Hone for iPhone 4S: Never Lose Your Keys Again

 

During CES 2012 we were introduced to the BiKN, an iPhone case-dongle solution for finding and tracking your stuff. The BiKN was a hit at CES but it is expensive ($130 US) and burdened by a case that you must use. Louis Gerbarg and Geoff Litwack have come up with a much simpler and lighter solution called the Hone and now they have a Kickstarter project focused on getting it into the public’s hands. Video after the break. Read more

Agenda 3.0: Fast Event Creation, Custom Repeats and More

Agenda, by Savvy Apps, is a fantastic and minimal calendar replacement for iOS (universal) with many built-in options. We’ve covered Agenda a few times already but the new 3.0 update adds some excellent new features and updates.

The first, and most important update is a custom event creation screen that’s much faster than the default iOS one. It has a simplified layout that lets you access event elements without going into second and third screens. This means you only need to tap once to access the event title, start & end time, alerts, location, and notes. You can swipe between calendar months and the animation is very slick!  The dots beneath the calendar identify what month you are in - past, present or future. Agenda now imports your contacts from iOS so once an event is created, you can attach them by tapping the calendar icon and choosing what contacts you want to add to your event for things such as text, email, calls, or status taps.

Another great feature that Agenda now has is a set of customizable repeat options. While on the event creation screen, tap the icon next to the repeat section to choose dates for ending repeating events, create repeating events for specific days or dates of the month, and much more.

Defaults, defaults, defaults! I wish more apps had a larger set of defaults — it makes data entry much easier if there is a predefined set of options. You can now pick defaults for calendar, event alert sounds, view, duration, alert, and all day alert time via Agenda’s built-in Settings > Defaults menu.

iPad users also get a few new options: swiping right or left will now change views, year and week view now move up or down instead of right or left and you can now change settings to a smaller modal view.

To read the complete release notes for Agenda 3.0, Savvy Apps has a listing for your viewing pleasure. They also have a great little Tips & Tricks section on the Agenda page to help you enter events even faster. If you don’t like the new “Fast Event Creation” screen you can always toggle back to the native iOS event creation from Agenda’s settings, but the new way is so much easier and more fun!

Agenda 3.0 is a great upgrade to a great product — anytime you can streamline manual data entry into one screen gets a big thumbs up from me. The Tips & Tricks are worth 2 minutes of your time to read so that you can fully understand the new “Fast Event Creation” screen. Agenda is a universal app and available in the App Store for 99¢, while existing users get the 3.0 update for free.

Kickstarter: Pebble, an E-Paper Watch for the iPhone

People love to fit their iPod nanos with a super sweet watch band. With its nice watch face and music on the fly, it’s a very attractive piece to add to your Apple nerdware. The Nano “iWatch” could be improved when it comes to its wrist functionality though. Pebble Technology from Palo Alto, California, is not only improving wrist technology but incorporating our smartphones with the Pebble watch, “it’s infinitely customizable, with beautiful downloadable watch faces and useful internet-connected apps.” Pebble connects to our iPhones via Bluetooth and sends information through silent vibrations for incoming calls, emails, messages, and more.

Pebble can easily be customized by adding apps (via the iPhone Pebble app) to be used for cyclists, runners, controlling music, a golf rangefinder and infinitely more apps via the SDK that they have also developed. The Pebble also has customizeable watch faces (much like the iPod nano) to fit each owner’s unique style. The watch will also come in 4 colors - arctic white, jet black, cherry red and one to be voted on my Kickstarter backers.

Video after the break. Read more

Apple Updates Most of Its iOS Apps for the new iPad

Today, during Apple’s Keynote, they showed off updates for iWork, iMovie and GarageBand after revealing the new iPad. After the Keynote, many more of Apple’s iOS apps also received updates as well. All these updates are available now in support of the new iPad. Lucky for you we have the entire list (with direct links) for our loyal readers!

iOS Apps

Find My Friends 1.1:

  • Support for Retina display-capable devices
  • Bug Fixes
  • Stability enhancements

iTunes U 1.1:

  • Now designed for the spectacular Retina display on the all new iPad.
  • This version also includes a number of performance improvements.

GarageBand 1.2:

  • Start a Jam Session to play or record live with up to three of your friends using iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch*
  • Conduct an entire string orchestra using Smart Strings
  • Use the Note Editor to adjust or fine-tune any Touch Instrument recording
  • Combine recordings to free up additional tracks using Track Merge
  • Keep your GarageBand songs up to date across all your iOS devices with iCloud*
  • Share your songs directly to Facebook, YouTube, and SoundCloud
  • Perform retro and modern synth bass lines and grooves with new Smart Bass instruments
  • Play synth melodies and arpeggios with new Smart Keyboard instruments

*Jam Session and iCloud are available on iPhone 4 or later, 4th generation iPod touch, and all iPad models.

iMovie 1.3:

  • Create beautiful movie trailers with stunning graphics and world-class soundtracks*
  • Swipe up on the playhead to freeze a frame in your video
  • Preview music and sound effects in the Audio Browser
  • Create a song in GarageBand and send it directly to iMovie

*Trailers are available on iPhone 4 or later and iPad 2 or later

Find My iPhone 1.4:

  • Support for Retina display-capable devices
  • Bug Fixes
  • Stability enhancements

iBooks 2.1:

  • Read books more easily with sharply detailed text on the new iPad’s amazing Retina display
  • See page numbers that correspond to the printed edition of select titles
  • Search for a page number to jump to a desired page with a single tap
  • Use your finger as a highlighter when swiping over text
  • This version also includes a number of important stability and performance improvements

Numbers 1.6: (Numbers 1.6 requires iOS 5.1 software update or later)

  • Create and view stunning 3D bar, line, area, and pie charts
  • Numbers 1.6 is enhanced to take advantage of the Retina display on the new iPad
  • Includes performance improvements

Keynote 1.6: (Keynote 1.6 requires iOS 5.1 software update or later)

  • Create and view stunning 3D bar, line, area, and pie charts
  • Animate your 3D charts with Crane, Grow, Radial, Rotate, Rotate & Grow, and Z Axis builds
  • Keynote 1.6 is enhanced to take advantage of the Retina display on the new iPad
  • Use new builds and transitions including Iris, Shimmer, Wipe, Flame, Perspective, Swing, Object Push, Object Zoom, and Fade Through Color
  • Includes performance improvements

Pages 1.6: (Pages 1.6 requires iOS 5.1 software update or later)

  • Easily enter text using the landscape keyboard on iPhone and iPod touch
  • Create and view stunning 3D bar, line, area, and pie charts
  • Pages 1.6 is enhanced to take advantage of the Retina display on the new iPad
  • Includes performance improvements

Remote 2.3:

  • Support for iTunes Match on Apple TV
  • Support for Retina display on iPad

Mac Apps

Xcode 4.3.1:

  • Includes SDKs for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and iOS 5.1
  • New code signing workflow supports signing OS X apps with Developer ID
  • Adds installation of command-line tools to the Downloads preference pane
  • Open Developer Tool menu launches Instruments, File Merge, and other tools
  • ARC migration tool converts both retain/release and garbage collected code
  • Additional bug fixes and stability improvements

iBooks Author 1.1:

  • iBooks Author 1.1 is enhanced to create books that take advantage of the Retina display on the new iPad
  • Includes performance and stability improvements

iPhoto 9.2.2:

  • Photos can now be deleted from Photo Stream

SHAPE Creates iPhone App to Get WWDC Ticket Alerts

Apple’s WWDC, or Worldwide Developers Conference, is the highlight for Apple developers working with iOS and OS X operating systems. WWDC is a great opportunity for peers to meet and greet and learn more about each other and the industry as a whole. It’s also a highlight for anyone that looks forward to hearing announcements and product reveals from Apple, such as a new iPhone and major iOS updates.

After last year’s WWDC, SHAPE met with many fellow developers and in turn the experience inspired them to continue making better apps. Tickets for WWDC can be hard to come by, last year’s event sold out in less than 10 hours and many developers missed their chance to get tickets because of travel, sleep, work arrangements, etc. This year could sell out as fast or even faster than 2011.

SHAPE took it upon themselves to develop an app specifically for WWDC ticket sales that works as an alarm. It monitors twitter for the keyword “wwdc” and also patrols the official WWDC site for changes. When announcements or keywords are triggered, the app sends a push notification and will activate an alarm within the WWDC app.

Video after the break. Read more

Clear: A Delightful and Clever Todo App

Some apps deliver a certain joy that simply comes from swiping and swooshing through the interface, poking at various elements, and pinching things onscreen. Clear is delightful — it will make you smile. It makes you reconsider the necessity of navigation bars and tool bars and tab bars. We’re used to switching views by tapping at back buttons or icons, but what happens when you take away these common navigational tools? You end up relying on your own honesty and the customer’s intuition. And an honest interface can bring about some terrific ideas.

Read more

Sprint Q4 2011 Results: 1.8 Million iPhones Sold, 45% Of New Customers Bought iPhone

Sprint has just announced their Q4 2011 financial results, revealing that they sold 1.8 million iPhones. 40% of those iPhones sold were to new Sprint customers, a high percentage and one that was needed for Sprint. After continued losses, Sprint needed to add more customers to its network and in Q4 it achieved 1.6 million new users - meaning 45% of those new subscribers signed up with an iPhone.

“Our strong fourth quarter performance illustrates the power of matching iconic devices like the iPhone with our simple, unlimited plans and industry-leading customer experience,” said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO

It follows the financial results from Verizon and AT&T a few weeks ago where it was revealed that Verizon sold 2.2 million iPhones and AT&T sold 7.6 million iPhones.

View the full Sprint press release after the break.

Read more

Why The iPhone’s Average Selling Price Increased Despite The “Free” iPhone 3GS

Earlier this week Apple released its Q1 2012 financial results and it was a blockbuster quarter, Apple’s best ever with $46.33 billion in revenue. One of the key factors that drove this sky-high figure was the sale of 37 million iPhones at an average selling price (ASP) of $660 — iPhone sales actually contributed to 53% of Apple’s revenue for the quarter.

Significantly, this was the first full quarter where Apple offered a “free” iPhone in the US to customers going on contract — the iPhone 3GS. Previously Apple had offered the 3GS alongside the iPhone 4 at a reduced price, but with the 4S the iPhone 4 fell to $99 and the 3GS became free. One would have presumed that the iPhone ASP would thus fall with the addition of another lower-priced iPhone model but in fact the ASP increased from the previous quarter and at $660 the iPhone ASP is near the highest it has ever been.

How has the ASP risen despite the presence of the “free” 3GS?

There are a few reasons as to why the ASP has increased and a big reason is that in addition to the new lower-priced 3GS ($345), Apple also introduced the 64GB iPhone 4S that is at a higher price-point ($849) than the previously most-expensive iPhone. This new higher-priced model would seem to have offset any reduction in the ASP that the iPhone 3GS would have caused - particularly given Q1 2012 was the 4S launch quarter and demand was very high for the new iPhone model.

Whilst Apple didn’t give out details on what the breakdown was of sales between the iPhone 4S, 4 and 3GS, an estimate from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners suggests that in the last quarter the iPhone 4S represented 89% of all iPhone purchases in the US. The report showed that only 4% of iPhone purchases last quarter were for the 3GS and 7% for the iPhone 4. This backs up the notion that the higher-priced iPhone 4S 64GB model (estimated to be 21% of iPhone 4S purchases) actually offset any decrease in the ASP and probably drove the increase in ASP to $660.

How will the iPhone ASP fare in the following quarters?

As Horace Dediu of Asymco points out, there is usually a slight uptick in the iPhone ASP during a launch and holiday season. This would suggest that in the following quarters the ASP may decrease a little as the high launch demand for the 4S subsides a little. It is unlikely to drop that much though, with the iPhone ASP typically hovering somewhere between $620 and $660. Dediu also investigated the historical ASPs for the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Mac and found that “Apple does not change pricing but rather stakes out a specific price point as resonating with consumers given their positioning”. The above chart demonstrates this point quite well.

[Sources: MacRumors, Asymco, AllThingsD]