3/18/2013

iDownloadBlog.com

iDownloadBlog.com


‘Tap to Widgets’ brings shortcuts for Reminders, Notes, and Calendar to Notification Center

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 07:46 PM PDT

Tap to Widgets Final BIG

Tap to Widgets is a jailbreak tweak, which brings Reminders, Notes, and Calendar shortcuts to iOS’ Notification Center. Tap to Widgets allows you to easily add an item to any of these apps without having to fully open the app in question.

The tweak even lends the ability to add items to specific accounts, such as a different Calendar, or Reminders List. This is a beautifully designed tweak that functions just as you might imagine it might if Apple were behind it. Take a look inside as we walk you through each aspect of Tap to Widgets in our hands-on video.(...)
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Galaxy S4 benchmarks almost twice as fast as the iPhone 5

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 05:24 PM PDT

galaxy s4 iphone 5

As most of you know already, Samsung unveiled its highly anticipated Galaxy S III successor last week, the S4. The handset will sell head-to-head against the iPhone 5 until Apple releases its next-gen smartphone, which is expected sometimes this summer.

While the jury is still out on which handset provides the best user experience — easy-of-use, reliability, etc — the S4 is certainly looking better on paper. It has a sharper screen, a bigger battery, and according to new benchmarks, a much, much fast processor…(...)
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LS Lyra 5, a clean and minimal theme for your Lock screen

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 04:05 PM PDT

LS Lyra black

Welcome to our third post about the wonderful world of iPhone Lock screen mods! In this series we lay out instructions on how to turn that boring stock Lock screen into a beautifully crafted setup. The Lock screen is literally the first thing you see every time you turn on your iPhone so why not make it look as pretty as possible. Let’s just get started…(...)
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New Cupertino hotel offers an Apple TV in every guest room

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 03:15 PM PDT

apple tv

If you look around your next hotel room, there’s a fair chance it will have an alarm clock with a 30-pin dock connector for your iPhone. It’s a popular amenity for hotels to list, since there are some 500+ million iOS devices out in the wild.

But one hotel in Cupertino, California is taking their iOS compatibility to the next level. Starwood Hotels’ Aloft Hotel has announced today that it now has an Apple TV, connected to a 42-inch LCD television, in all 123 of its guest rooms…(...)
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iMessage beware, Google Babble is coming

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 02:44 PM PDT

Google Babble icon (small)

The Internet giant Google, reportedly adamant to solve its instant messaging conundrum, is working on consolidating its many chat services and folding them under a new brand name – Google Babble. Not sure whether Babble is just a code-name, but I’d definitely chose a different moniker because the term ‘babble’ doesn’t just denote chatter, it also means “to utter a meaningless confusion of words” and “talk foolishly or idly”.

Be that as it may, a new report Monday claims knowledge of an all-new IM solution from Google designed around organizing chats by conversation rather than by people, no matter what chat service they happen to be using. It’s said to support video, audio, file transfers and threaded conversations across all the existing services. Go right past the break for more tidbits…(...)
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Facebook for iOS updated with cover photo, group messaging improvements

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:54 PM PDT

facebook 5.6

Facebook has released another update for its iOS app this afternoon, bringing it to version 5.6. This is the app’s third update in as many months, as the social network continues to improve its mobile experience.

Today’s update brings about a handful of improvements, including an easier process for updating your cover photo from inside the app and multiple changes to group messaging. Full change log after the fold…(...)
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Folks not trading-in their iPhones following Samsung’s next big thing announcement

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:44 PM PDT

Samsung Galaxy S 4 (white, three up, front, profile, back)

Gadget resellers such as Gazelle may have been eagerly awaiting Samsung’s new Galaxy S 4 in the hope that Apple fans will jump ship and trade-in their iPhones. Thus far, this hasn’t been the case. Quite the contrary – the vast majority of post-S4 trade-ins are for other Galaxy smartphones, not iPhones.

Specifically, Gazelle’s CEO said Monday his company has seen a cool 168 percent increase in the number of the Galaxy S III trade-ins compared to the number of Galaxy S II trade-ins, both observed during the same post-launch timeframe for each device…(...)
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Morgan Stanley: the iPhone 5S will have a ‘killer feature’

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:43 PM PDT

iPhone 5 promo video (back, black, camera closeup 001)

Morgan Stanley’s resident Apple expert Katy Huberty appeared on CNBC’s Fast Money Halftime Report this morning, in a rare TV interview, to field questions on her firm’s current positive buy ratings for both HP and Apple.

Asked about Apple, Huberty—who has an overweight rating on the stock with a price target of $630—says the company is poised for a big year with new software features for the upcoming iPhone, including one ‘killer feature.’(...)
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Polycarbonate budget iPhone renderings to die for

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:30 PM PDT

Budget iPhone (Martin Hajek 001)

Another publication has commissioned Dutch concept artist Martin Hajek to bundle all the less-pricey iPhone rumors together in some plausible renderings. The 3D designer’s fresh batch of conceptual renderings imagine the rumored device in two flavors, one with a screen measuring four inches diagonally and the other sporting a larger 4.5-inch display.

Hajek took into account credible talk of the budget iPhone adopting a polycarbonate shell, having combined that rumor with analysts speculating about some vivid colors, too. If you ever though using plastics would ruin the iPhone brand with unwanted and cheap feel to it, have a look at the images and think again…(...)
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BlackBerry CEO: iPhone UI is obsolete

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:02 PM PDT

why iphone ad 2

Following Apple marketing boss Phil Schiller’s anti-Android comments on the eve of Galaxy S 4 launch and Apple’s new ‘Why iPhone’ web campaign, the CEO of BlackBerry has unsurprisingly launched a critique of Apple’s handset and its user interface, referring to the the fact that iOS now 5+ years old.

In his view, Apple is being out-innovated by others, right up to the point where the Cupertino company could get replaced “pretty quickly”. Of course, BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, like every other handset vendor in the ferociously competitive mobile market, is really drumming up his own platform by arguing that the iPhone is an old hat. Be that as it may, I’d choose my words carefully if I were Heins.

The struggling handset maker’s market share and capitalization have all but evaporated because of the iPhone and now stand in the single-digit range and below the $8 billion mark, respectively. That’s how much investors thought the entire BlackBerry biz was worth Monday morning. Now, contrast Blackberry’s market cap to Apple’s first-quarter net profit of $13.06 billion…(...)
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Report: iPad mini to rule 2013, Retina model due in Q3

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 12:39 PM PDT

iPad mini promo (users 005)

A new week brings a fresh batch of iPad rumors. According to a report out of Asia, Apple is gearing up to launch a Retina iPad mini in the third quarter of this year, alongside a redesigned fifth-generation 9.7-inch model with an iPad mini-like aluminum design, featuring a thinner bezel and lighter frame.

Despite Apple slashing shipments for its full-size iPad 4 in nearly half, from 60 million units down to 33 million units, the story notes the company has not reportedly seen any material decrease of iPad mini demand since its launch in October of 2012…(...)
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AT&T launches 30/40/50GB shared data tiers

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 11:38 AM PDT

AT&T Chicago store (interior 001)

The U.S. wireless carrier AT&T this morning introduced its data-hungry subscribers to some powerful new tiers.

Going beyond AT&T’s existing options topping out at twenty gigs, the new options are now available to add thirty, forty or fifty gigabytes of cellular data to your shared plan of choice. Beware, however – these come at high prices.

The $30GB a month tier will set you back an unsettling $300 a month, with the 40GB and 50GB tiers commanding an alarming $400 a month and a whopping $500 a month, respectively. These prices include unlimited calling and texting. Should you need only data, AT&T will happily sell you data-only tiers for your tablet and laptop, with the top 50GB plan running $335 a month…(...)
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Best Buy (again) has $100 iTunes gift card for $80

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 11:21 AM PDT

Best Buy iTunes gift Card promo

Retailer Best Buy is known for discounting iTunes Gift Cards from time to time, with their last offering dating back to December 2012. Today, it started selling the $100 iTunes gift card for $80, a cool twenty percent discount. Lower-denominated iTunes Cards still go for their usual prices so this promotion only applies if you’re willing to add a hundred bucks worth of iTunes credits for $80 and save $20 doing so. You can order the card at one of Best Buy’s outlets, place an order via Best Buy’s web store or have it delivered directly to your home…(...)
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Reddit survey tries to identify the ‘average jailbreaker’

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 10:58 AM PDT

jailbroken iphone 4s

In my 4 or 5 years of hanging out in the jailbreak community, I’ve met people from all walks of life. Both men and women jailbreak, ranging in ages from 6-60, and they come from all around the world. I can’t imagine trying to determine the ‘average jailbreaker.’

But that’s exactly what Reddit user spiceman54j was hoping to accomplish this weekend when he surveyed Redditors from the r/jailbreak forum. In total, he collected data from nearly 400 jailbreakers, and he’s created an infographic to showcase his findings…(...)
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Review: Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad mini

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 09:44 AM PDT

Unboxing And Review

My goal was to type more efficiently on my iPad mini, without sacrificing the device’s portability. I also wanted a keyboard that would actually improve my typing ability, not hinder it. I found such a product with the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad mini.

I know — that’s a whole lot of name for such a diminutive product. Let’s just call it the Ultrathin mini hereafter, shall we? Good. Let’s talk about what makes this little device so special, and how it has significantly improved my iPad mini based workflow.(...)
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‘ThumbsUp’ adds Lock screen controls and Activator support to Pandora

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 08:40 AM PDT

thumbsup 05

ThumbsUp is a brand new jailbreak tweak for Pandora, which places Pandora’s trademarked thumbs up and thumbs down buttons on the iPhone’s Lock screen for easy access. The tweak also adds the ability to assign an Activator gesture to both the thumbs up and down actions as well.

Check inside for more screenshots, which showcase this handy tweak for heavy users of Pandora. (...)
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T-Mobile plans March 26 event: we’re not going to act like a wireless company anymore

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 04:00 AM PDT

T-Mobile March 26 presser

Deutsche Telekom-owned T-Mobile USA this morning sent out invites for a March 26 event in New York, where the telco should announce some big news and update us on its technology and business. “We’re still a wireless company,” reads the invitation, “We’re just not going to act like one anymore”.

We know that the carrier, as part of its system-wide modernization effort, is planning to finally flip the switch on 4G LTE before the end of this month in Las Vegas and Kansas City (plus, it’s been spotted in New York City). Another thing we know is that Apple’s iPhone is officially landing on T-Mobile’s network this year…(...)
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Funny or Die to release Steve Jobs movie starring Justin Long on April 15

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 03:35 AM PDT

justin long steve jobs

Folks who can’t wait for Ashton Kutcher’s Steve Jobs biopic to hit theaters—its April release date was recently pushed back to allow time for more marketing—will be happy to hear that another Jobs movie is going to be launching next month.

No, it’s not the Sony-backed flick written by Aaron Sorkin. It’s actually a Funny or Die production. The popular comedy website, founded by Will Ferrel’s production company, has apparently recorded a full-length, ‘very silly’ Steve Jobs movie…(...)
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iDownloadBlog challenges you to join our March Madness pool

Posted: 18 Mar 2013 01:00 AM PDT

iDBTournamentChallengeLogo

Again we hit the hallowed time during the year when the world exalts American college basketball players as if they were gods. Millions of dollars in lost productivity across the US puts a further damper on the economy as we all turn from work to watch basketball.

At iDownloadBlog we relish the opportunity to participate in this worldwide assault on productivity – not that we will stop bringing you the best Apple news for a month. Join us beyond the fold to learn how to monitor the action from your favorite iOS devices and sign up for the iDownloadBlog tourny pool…(...)
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BadgerTweak: an upcoming tweak for quickly viewing notifications

Posted: 17 Mar 2013 10:30 PM PDT

Badgertweak teaser

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could tap an app badge and be given a synopsis of the app’s awaiting notifications? That’s the premise behind BadgerTweak, an upcoming endeavor that allows “…users to view notifications by tapping the app’s notification badge on the SpringBoard.”

According to the tweak’s official Twitter account, it’s coming soon to Cydia, and will work with more than just the Messages app. Although the tweak is still in development, the team behind it has apparently made a few strides in the developmental process as of late.(...)
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