apprelated

iTunes 11 is Out Now

Brian — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 18:45:16 +0000

The anticipated release of iTunes 11 is out now. It only seems to be available via the Mac App Store updates currently. This version of iTunes unifies the UI across all Apple devices. The user experience is much more similar to the iPad. Initial reports are that it’s much snappier than previous versions.

Real Money Poker on iPad and iPhone

Brian — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 05:23:31 +0000

Apple appears to have quietly loosened its restrictions on gambling in the App Store, at least outside of the United States. The US app store is unlikely to approve the app any-time soon. Poker stars has had its native iPhone and iPad app approved into the App Store. The app allows for you to play for free using play money or access your existing real money account. The tables are the same as the tables that PC and Mac users are playing at.

There is no way to add money to your account from the app, which is likely due to Apple’s in app purchase policy. The policy could allow Apple to take 30% of all the money deposited. That limitation is not a big deal as depositing money from your mobile device is easy via the Web Cashier site they offer.

The app is very well designed. It’s easy to filter the tables to find exactly what you are looking for Sit and Go, Ring games, rush tables and many more options are available. Those who enjoy playing multiple tables won’t be disappointed. All the tables you are playing are displayed across the top of the screen. The icons display your cards for each table and an alert if its your turn to act. Switching tables is as easy as clicking on the table or swiping left and right on your active table to scroll through.

The app is a free download and includes almost all the features from the desktop app. It is also available for Android but that is less surprising. If you like poker, real money or play money, this is the app to have.

Review: iPad Mini

Brian — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 05:34:10 +0000

Generally we don’t like to review new products the day we receive them. It’s nice to really get to know them inside and out before posting the review. We have now had an iPad mini for a little over a week and are fully prepared to give a thorough rundown of Apple’s newest device. I am even writing this review from the 32gb white iPad mini.

the specs: Basically an iPad 2 but smaller.
CPU: A5 dual core 1GHz
RAM: 512mb
Pixels Per Inch: 163
Camera: 5 Megapixel iSight on the back and 1.2 Megapixel FaceTime HD on the front

the good: The Size. The best feature on the iPad Mini is the one that is very hard not to notice. It’s even part of the name. The size. If you are used to a normal iPad the size of this device will shock you. Apple shrunk the bezel down to have the screen take up most of the available real estate on the front. The look of the device is more of an iPod Huge than an iPad Mini. The back shares the rounded edge and anodized aluminum back(without the color options). It looks very sleek as with most Apple products. The attention to detail is something you will notice.

Picking up the device will equally shock you. They compared the weight to a pad of paper and they weren’t lying. It feels almost weightless. Reading for hours on this with one hand is something that won’t tire your arm out at all. Tossing it in your laptop bag, purse, backpack or whatever will add virtually no weight to your bag.

Battery Life. The battery life is better than expected. We have only had to charge it twice all week under heavy usage, including the time we had it playing video for 12 hours and 13 minutes. WIFI was on and the screen was at a middle brightness. It’s impressive that they have managed to get such long lasting battery life in a device so small.

the bad: The display. As I’m sure most of you have heard, there is no Retina display. This is by far the most disappointing aspect of the iPad. Coming from an iPhone 5 or iPad 3 you will instantly notice the screen is a little blurry. It is less blurry than the iPad 2 however. The mini comes in at 163ppi while the 2 is 132ppi and the iPad 3/4 are 264ppi. The display lacking the pixel density to be called Retina is likely due to the A5 processor that is the same as the non Retina iPad 2. Adding more pixel density may tax the processor and result in a more sluggish user experience and less battery life.

The Price. The entry level model is just a little higher than we expected, however the upgraded models are getting into a rip off level. The fully loaded model with 64gb and LTE is a whopping $659.00. It’s hard to justify spending that kind of money on what is basically a shrunken iPad 2.

Recommendation: Buy if you are looking for a smaller tablet and don’t mind paying a little bit of a premium. Skip if you want the ultra sharp screen that most other iOS devices have.

Rank: 3.5 out of 5

Revamped iTunes Has Been Pushed Into November

Brian — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 21:27:36 +0000

AllThingsD has received word from Apple that they are pushing back the launch of the new iTunes release until November.

“The new iTunes is taking longer than expected and we wanted to take a little extra time to get it right. We look forward to releasing this new version of iTunes with its dramatically simpler and cleaner interface, and seamless integration with iCloud before the end of November.” AllThingsD

I wonder if it had anything to do with the shift in personnel that was announced yesterday?

Passbook Support

Brian — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 20:43:53 +0000

Passbook is now included with iOS 6 however it has a limited number of Apps that support it. Below is a list of apps that have passbook integration that are broken down by country.

USA

Starbucks
American Airlines
Valpac Local Savings
Airbnb
Eventbrite
Walletini
iSlick
Walgreens

Canada

Cineplex Odeon
Starbucks

Update: Added Starbucks to the Canada List
Update 2: A couple of us here have used the Passbook at a couple places and so far it works pretty well. We have seen a few issues with the balance not updating immediately but the cards still work even if the balance is wrong.

Lack of Lighting Cables Troubling for Some iPhone 5 Owners

Brian — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 02:57:58 +0000

Apples lightning cable and dock connector to lightning adapter is currently out of stock everywhere. For most users this won’t be a problem because they can use the lightning cable supplied by Apple for charging. However for those few users who have lost or broken their cable the options are limited. Maybe making a daily visit to the Apple store or Best Buy to charge your phone on the display charger.

Apple Has Not Yet Updated Apple Store App for iPhone 5

Brian — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 20:46:07 +0000

Apple has not yet updated its Apple Store app for the iPhone 5′s bigger screen. It seems a little odd that they couldn’t have made a simple change to have the app ready for their new flagship phone a week after launch.

Apple Adds a Maps Section to the iOS Store

Brian — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:38:39 +0000

Apple has added a section in the app store where you can download competing map applications. This is further to Tim Cook issuing a public apology for their less than perfect iOS maps.

Rare Apple Apology by Tim Cook

Brian — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 14:56:33 +0000

Apple CEO Tim Cook has issued an apology on behalf of Apple regarding the implementation of iOS maps. This is a clear cultural shift for Apple. It’s hard to believe that Steve Jobs would have issued a letter like this. Then again it may be hard to believe that a product like iOS Maps would have met Steve Jobs extremely tight standards.

The letter does also hint at the rift between Google and Apple on what Apple was allowed to bring to iOS. Cook mentions in the letter that they wanted to provide their customers with Turn-by-turn directions and voice integration. Both of those are features are available in Google maps on Android devices. The strangest part of the letter is that he recommends using alternative apps like Bing, MapQuest and Waze or websites like Google and Nokia. A statement like that shows that even in failure Apple still cares most about the user experience.

Cook also states that they will be doing everything they can to improve the Maps experience.

The letter can be read below or here on Apples website.

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO

iPhone 5 Only Uses $0.41 of Electricity Per Year

Brian — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 17:17:15 +0000

Opower released a study on how much electricity the new iPhone 5 will use over the course of a year. They tested how much it would cost to charge the device from 0% to 100% and modelled it out for the year based on average usage. Their result was it uses 3.5 kWh’s per year at an estimated cost of 41 cents. It is clear that their study shows modern mobile devices use a fraction of what laptops and desktops use. It has an average laptop costing $8.31 and a Desktop using $28.21. Even a digital photo frame uses $10.34.

Using a Watts Up Pro Electricity Consumption Meter, we measured how much electricity it took to charge each phone from 0% to 100% full. Taking those results and modeling them across a year (see Methodology), we found that on an individual basis, the latest smartphones use a trivial amount of electricity.

We are sure that cost to charge the device did not factor into your decision to purchase an iPhone 5 and after this study it should stay that way.