Although there have been a number of good deals in recent months on both the iPhone 5c and 5s, a new deal kicking off tomorrow from RadioShack may be the one iPhone 4S holdouts have been waiting for. Starting April 18, new or upgrading customers using AT&T, Verizon or Sprint can buy the 16GB version of the iPhone 5s for $99, half of its usual $199 up-front cost. The deal, which is available both online and in stores, gets sweeter if users trade in a working iPhone 4S or newer.
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1 hour ago | Posted in: security
Craft store chain Michael's Stores and affiliated Aaron Brothers has confirmed details of a massive security breach including between May 8, 2013 and January 27, 2014. The analysis conducted by the company shows that approximately 2.6 million cards may have been impacted, which represents about seven percent of payment cards used at Michael's stores in the US during the time period.
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The US Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has confirmed that he plans to limit how much spectrum that AT&T and Verizon can buy in the 2015 auction of bandwidth reclaimed from broadcasters. The chairman spoke out a day after AT&T threatened to boycott the auction, possibly slashing the reimbursement that the federal government would get from the auction.
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Facebook has announced an upcoming feature for its iOS and Android apps, Nearby Friends. The function will notify users when friends are within a certain radius, giving a chance to meet up. For security purposes the feature will be off by default, only work if both parties have it enabled, and allow restricting notifications to specific groups -- close friends, for example, or a custom list.
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Google is picking select Kansas City companies to test Google Fiber prototype offerings for business. The business rollout in Kansas City is the first of its kind for the Gigabit Internet service with Google saying that it is "in the beginning of figuring out what that product could look like, and that's why we're launching this pilot."
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Cloud storage service Dropbox has bought out Loom, a photo storage and organization service, according to a notice on the latter company's website. Additionally acquired by the file sharing locker is collaborative document service Hackpad which will continue to support its app, unlike Loom.
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The Google Chromecast is now supported by the MLB.com At Bat for iOS and Android. The update allows subscribers of MLB.TV's Premium Subscription to stream live, out-of-market games and on-demand events, with a choice of home or away broadcasts also available. The MLB.TV subscription is $25 per month or $130 for the entire year, with access to the MLB.com At Bat app's features included in the price.
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RunKeeper has launched a new, passive step tracking app today, entitled Breeze. By constantly tracking motion with the M7 chip found within the iPhone 5s, Breeze offers its users a personal coaching feature, in the form of push notifications and updates regarding one's activity levels. The following day, Breeze details a summary of the previous day's activities and stats. Users can share their completed goals, high activity level days, and a general activity profile with friends on Facebook, Twitter, RunKeeper and elsewhere. Free to download, Breeze requires iOS 7.0 or later and an iPhone 5s for full feature compatibility.
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7 hours ago | Posted in: Apple, iPad
For the first time, Apple's online store has begun selling refurbished versions of the Retina iPad mini. The option drops the price of a 16GB Wi-Fi model to $339, $60 less than its usual cost. 32GB has been reduced $80 to $419, and 64GB models have been cut $90 to $509. Cellular-equipped Minis aren't yet available in refurb form.
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7 hours ago | Posted in iOS apps
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Pinnacle Studio allows iPad users to edit film footage directly on their mobile device. Clips can be arranged on a storyboard, while built-in transitions, effects, and audio can be used to enhance footage. Version 5.0 has been overhauled for iOS 7 and includes an updated interface, as well as the ability to create 24, 25, and 30fps projects. Users can also now duplicate timeline clips to quickly create title and PIP templates.
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Figure is a music creation tool that provides users with drums, bass, and synth sounds. The software works with a touch interface that doesn't require the user to have any pervious musical background knowledge. In v1.6 users can now share songs with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Three new drum kits, Sonny, Code, and Boom Bap have also been added, along with various bug fixes.
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Tangent can be used to edit photos on an iOS device. The software provides users with various shapes, patterns, and filters, that can be combined to create unique effects. The latest release adds support for sending edits directly to Union, the company’s app for blending and masking, with the tap of a single button,
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QuizUp is a social game where players compete in small trivia rounds against friends and players around the world. Version 1.2 adds support for playing in German and resolves a number of reported issues.
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Instagram is a popular social network for sharing images and videos. Within the app users can edit their media and share it with all of their followers in a photo feed, or privately share content directly with friends. The latest release is strictly a maintenance update that fixes some bugs and improves overall performance.
Sonos is testing a software update for its wireless speaker system that removes the need for a physical connection to the home network. The software would allow for the system's SonosNet network to operate with one of the speakers accessing the local Wi-Fi network, and avoiding wiring either a speaker or the Sonos Bridge wireless networking device to a router.
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8 hours ago | Posted in: industry, Apple
Future Apple retail head Angela Ahrendts may actually remain the CEO of Burberry until June, says The Guardian. Although Ahrendts has finished a mandatory six-month wait and is technically free to switch this month, she has allegedly promised to stay with Burberry until at least June 6th to ease the transition to her replacement, chief creative officer Christopher Bailey. She also has a strong financial incentive, since she could earn a bonus of as much as £8M (about $13.5 million) if she makes it to the 6th.
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9 hours ago | Posted in: Apple
On April 22nd, Apple will be holding its first real Earth Day commemorations since 2006, reports say. At retail, the company is expected to cover its logos in green, and give at least some stores special Earth Day t-shirts for workers. Back at Apple's corporate headquarters in Cupertino, a "large-scale internal event" is due to happen on the afternoon of the 22nd, presumably with Earth Day as a focus.
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Apple is preparing an immediate follow-up to iOS 7.1 in the form of v7.1.1, according to web traffic data from 9to5Mac. The site says that it has received "numerous" hits from v7.1.1 devices operating in areas around Apple's Cupertino campus. It's not clear when the update will go live, or what it will contain, but the version number suggests that it should arrive relatively soon and mostly contain bugfixes.
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Several UK-based iOS apps -- including BBC iPlayer, Sky Go, and Now TV -- have suddenly stopped streaming video, the BBC reports. The issue began last night, and is still ongoing; the source of the problem is so far unknown, as is whether other apps are also being affected. The director of Now TV, Gidon Katz, indicates that the issue can be temporarily fixed in Sky and Now by rewinding iOS' clock by a day, but that triggers other problems -- including preventing access to the App Store -- and doesn't solve the flaw in iPlayer.
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Eyefi is expanding the usefulness of its Wi-Fi-equipped SD memory cards, by launching its own cloud storage service. The Mobi SD card, released last year, will now not only wirelessly transfer photographs taken by a digital camera to a mobile device, but it will also provide the option of automatically uploading it to the Eyefi Cloud.
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Continuing our look at some of the more interesting devices and services we ran across at Macworld in San Francisco last month, MacNN and Electronista staffers will periodically write about items and vendors that caught our eye at the show that we thought our readers would like to know about. Today's focus is on two successfully-funded Kickstarter campaigns: The Roost stand for notebooks, and the iMacompanion USB port from Wiplabs.
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