It’s launch day, and you know what that means—millions of people lining up at Apple stores across the country to get the latest and greatest iPhone models. If you’re looking to skip the lines and you’re an AT&T customer, however, there’s no need to abandon your office this morning. You can order either phone directly and have it shipped straight to your door:
Author: Shy Mukerjee
It’s time to back up your iPhone and iPad: iOS 7 is almost here!
Later today, probably in just a few hours, Apple will begin rolling out the iOS 7 update for the iPhone and iPad. Arguably the most major software update to ever grace an Apple handheld device, iOS 7 brings a whole new look and feel to Apple’s line of smartphones and tablets, as well as tons of new functionality.
But before you upgrade your devices to iOS 7, there’s a crucial step you should take: back up your devices!
While most Apple upgrades are a smooth, simple process, there’s no guarantee that you won’t lose data when you decided to upgrade. Since we’re doing more than ever from our smartphones and tablets (and some even consider those devices more important than proper hygiene), the fallout from losing data on your device could be devastating.
So here’s how to back everything up before you upgrade to iOS 7. Read More
Don’t worry! Nobody’s going to cut off your finger to steal your iPhone 5S
Earlier this week, in my article about how the iPhones 5S and 5C will impact your life I joked about the new fingerprint sensor in the 5S:
Potential thieves will find themselves with an expensive brick unless they also steal your finger.
As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one with this thought. But, here’s what’s cool: somebody actually looked into it!
Mary Branscombe, writing for CITE World really went into depth about how the iPhone 5S fingerprint sensor ACTUALLY works, and what she found is amazing! Apparently, the sensor is so evolved that it only reads LIVING SKIN. Check this out:
With the new sensors you don’t have to move your finger, just press it against the reader. And like the sensor in the iPhone 5S, the sensors that will be in laptops and keyboards and other phones can detect the ridge and valley pattern of your fingerprint not from the layer of dead skin on the outside of your finger (which a fake finger can easily replicate), but from the living layer of skin under the surface of your finger, using an RF signal. That only works on a live finger; not one that’s been severed from your body.
Yup, it turns out that if someone cuts off your finger, they won’t be able to unlock your iPhone 5S. How sweet is that!
How to Choose Between the Samsung Galaxy and the new Apple iPhone 5S/5C
Galaxy vs. iPhone
One question we’re getting a lot is, “How do I choose between the new iPhone 5S/5C and the Galaxy phones?” Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. There are two current Galaxy phones, the 5” Galaxy S4 which is the most direct competitor to Apple’s offerings. But there’s also the 5.7” Galaxy Note 3, which was just announced and is the latest gen “Phablet” which includes a stylus.
There’s also two top-of-the-line Apple devices now. The slightly-cheaper iPhone 5C is colorful and comes in an array of bright plastic designs. The high-end 5S includes all the latest whizzes and bangs and even comes in the excludive, blinged-out gold (or “champagne” or whatever you want to call it). Read More
This is how the new iPhone 5S and 5C will impact your life, business, and family
Today’s iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C announcements were big news, but you can’t just look at a spec sheet and get the full picture of what Apple is releasing in the coming weeks. The two new iPhone models announced today, the 5S and 5C, represent more than just the most advanced tech and the most affordable top-of-the-line smartphone to come out of Cupertino, they suggest a major shift in how consumers protect their data, shop for phones, and use mobile technology.
Apple iPhone 5S / 5C Announcement
Apple’s iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C launches are now over, but we’ll be weighing their impact online and on TV all week.
For now check out our first blog post, This is how the new iPhone 5S and 5C will impact your life, business, and family.
Ping is an app that makes your email more like text messages
Do you send rapid fire emails from your smartphone and want a way to send emails even faster? Do you wish email was more like your messaging app, with “typing” notifications? Do you want to see every email from your girlfriend or boss all huddled together in a single thread? Do you wish your email was automatically sorted into those from “people” and “everything else”? Do you want to set a custom email notification sound for each person you regularly talk to?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you just might love a hot new cloud-based email app called Ping, which is launching soon. I’ve been testing out the beta for a few weeks, and I can confirm that a lot of it’s features are a big change from the way we’re used to doing email. For one, instead of sorting emails but subjects and conversations a la Gmail, Ping shows you ALL of the email you get from a single person or group of people in one giant thread, just like your text messaging app on your smartphone. Read More
Score a great deal on some hot tech with these back-to-school offers!
The back-to-school season is upon us, and whether you’re looking to make some big purchases or small ones, this is a great time to get a deal or find a sale on the tech you’ve been eyeing! I’m going to break down some of the best deals I’ve found so far for you.
Savings on Laptops
Dell Insprion 15z-3992 sLV – Amazon – Reg $1000.00 SALE $685.00 SAVE $315.00
Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 13 – Amazon – Reg $719.99 SALE $549.00 SAVE $170.99
Dell Inspiron 15R – Dell (direct) – Reg $799.99 SALE $599.99 SAVE $200.00
Apple MacBook Air 11” – Apple (Direct) – $949.00 + $100 App Store GC
Tablet
Microsoft Surface Pro – Microsoft (Direct) – Reg $999 SALE $899.00
Printer
Epson Workforce WF-2540 Wireless All-In-One Printer – Amazon – Reg $129.99 SALE $89.00 SAVE $40.99
Backpacks
iSafe Backpack – iSafebag.net (Direct) – Reg $59.99 SALE $29.99 SAVE 50%
Apps
TI Nspire CAS App (For iPad) – $29.99
The apps are $29.99 whereas the calculators start at $139.99–that is a HUGE SAVINGS. These are the Texas Instruments apps that you can use in place of their much more expensive Texas Instruments calculators.
Textbooks
Boundless – For Apple or Android Devices – Free app or an upgrade to $19.99
App that helps you find an online version of your textbook that can help you save money.
Best Buy College Discounts
Students just need to enter their .edu email address and receive coupon codes and discounts on all sorts of items on the site.
Students and staff get 10% off Surface, software and accessories at the online store. Like Best Buy, type in your .edu email address to save.
Apple Store and iTunes Gift Cards
Buy a Mac and get a $100 Gift Card to the Apple Store. Buy an iPad or iPhone and get a $50 iTunes Gift Card
Microsoft has a back to school program called “Chip In” which provides a way for friends and family to help you pay for what you need for school. Chip In is a new crowd-sourcing program from Microsoft to help you purchase a new PC. With the Chip In program, your friends and family can contribute money towards your purchase of an eligible new Windows 8 PC and Microsoft will “chip in” by discounting your chosen PC by 10%. Move fast though, this only runs until September 1st!
Can’t buy an app? How to check if the iTunes store is down
Today, I noticed that every time I tried to buy an app on my iPhone I’d get an error message saying, “Couldn’t connect to the iTunes store.” I thought that was strange, so I tried again—no dice.
My first thought was, “Oh no! Is something wrong with my iTunes account?” After checking my account details and trying a third time, my next thought was, “Is the iTunes Store down?”
Thankfully, I remembered that Apple recently built a System Status page where you can check on all of their service. It turns out that the iTunes store is currently down. Apple provides info on not just the iTunes store, but the status of things like Siri, iCloud, FaceTime, iWork, Backup, and much much more.
Unfortunately, they don’t go into much detail. All Apple says about today’s iTunes store outage is that “Some users are affected”
Thanks, Apple. Read More
What the heck is Chromecast anyway? A peek inside
You’ve probably heard of Google’s new $35 Chromecast dongle. And if not, here’s the elevator pitch: a small device that plugs into a free HDMI port on your HDTV and gives you a smart TV that can play content from your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Half the price of a Roku that supports 1080p video, and a third of the cost of an Apple TV, the Chromecast is certainly the budget smart TV dongle many have been waiting for, but what the heck is it anyway and what’s inside?