Apps & Updates

Mailbox for iPhone goes live for free in the App Store, reservations now being filled

Mike Beasley

Mailbox, the highly anticipated third-party Gmail client for the iPhone from Orchestra, is now available in the App Store. Here’s the essence of why Mailbox is meant to be a better mobile email client:

  • Mailbox is light, fast, and mobile-friendly.
  • Swipes make checking mail from your phone a delight.
  • Snoozes let you put off an email until later and remind you when the time has come.
  • Mailbox makes getting to inbox zero, and staying there, a breeze.

The app is free, but you’ll need a reservation code to use it today. These codes were given out on a first-come, first-served basis a few weeks ago to anyone who signed up for the app in advance. This system was put in place to prevent the company’s servers from being overwhelmed, as there is substantial demand for the free app.

Screenshots and video overview:

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Add a portable Blu-ray player to your Mac (including playback software) for less than a SuperDrive

Seth Weintraub

tl;dr: Buy a $40 Portable USB Blu-ray/DVD-R drive and $30 Blu-ray player MacGo for $10 less than an Apple SuperDrive and you get to watch/rip Blu-ray movies as a bonus.

bluray_player_system

With Apple having eliminated optical media from just about every product it makes, including the redesigned iMacs, Mac Minis, and Retina MacBook Pros, many readers will be considering whether they need to procure a separate external DVD reader for emergencies. Some folks store archives, have software installers, backups, or have vast movie collection on DVD – and then there is Blu-ray…

Apple’s remedy is the DVD SuperDrive that costs $79 (well, $70/$50 used if you know where to shop). The SuperDrive is an Apple-quality product and can be used as a boot drive for many Macs that need to be upgraded or repaired via DVD.

But perhaps we can get a little more for our $80?

Steve Jobs viewed Blu-ray as a “bag of hurt” from the “mafia,” and Apple would frankly rather you stick to the iTunes ecosystem for video watching. But there are many nice Blu-ray titles out there, and iTunes’ compressed 1080p content still doesn’t come close the video and sound quality of Blu-ray. So, for those thinking of dropping $80 on a SuperDrive, we think we have a better option:

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Exclusive

‘Radio Buy Buttons’ found in iOS 6.1 via newly jailbroken iPads, could mean new functionality coming

Seth Weintraub

iPad-radio
‘Radio Buy’ buttons, above, enlarged, put together from files, below

Having a look around our newly jailbroken iPads with iFunBox, we happened on a new set of files in the iPad Music.app. The files are called some variation of “radio button” with an icon that looks similar to the radio icon that used to be in iTunes for Mac (it was traded for a more prominent top location in iTunes 11 without the antenna tower). The iPad music app currently doesn’t have any radio functionality, so our first thought was that Apple would be adding an iTunes-like ‘traditional’ streaming radio to the iPad. Notably, jailbroken iPhones don’t contain these files in the Music app.

More interestingly, the name of these button files and are labeled with “buy” in the filename. This could imply exciting new functionality. We heard no shortage of rumors that Apple planned to take on the Pandoras and Spotifys of the world with its own ‘Radio’ service, and Bloomberg predicted a Q1 2013 (current) launch…

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Apple invents laser projected keyboard & depth perception system, reveals ad-hoc cash dispensing network

Jordan Kahn

Apple-laser-projected-keyboard

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a couple of interesting patent applications from Apple today. One patent described various embodiments of a depth perception system and laser projection, while another concerned an “ad-hoc cash dispensing network” that would turn iPhone users into walking ATMs.

PatentlyApple first covered the patent and highlighted several possibilities of using cameras and a laser source to determine the distance of an object and implement various applications based on detection of depth. The report explained an embodiment of the invention by describing how Apple could use the system integrated into, for example, an iMac. PatentlyApple also described how Apple could use the invention for laser projected keyboard applications (as pictured above):

In this example, the iMac is able to detect a user approaching it and activate a particular program, application, awake from sleep or power save mode, and the like… In patent FIG. 12, we see a user positioned in front of this future iMac such that the first and second beams 206a, 206b may at least partially intersect the user. The iMac’s updated iSight Camera will be able to determine the distance that the user is from iMac. The depth perception system increases the sensitivity of user detection for the iMac so that it could make a distinction between the user and an occupied chair… In Apple’s patent FIG. 11A shown below, we see the depth perception system incorporated into a mobile electronic device such as an iPad. In this example, the system may be used in combination with a projected control panel 115 (such as a keyboard, audio/video controls, and so on). The control panel 115 may be a light pattern projected from a light source onto a surface (e.g., table or desk), the control panel 115 may include different light shapes, colors, or the like for representing different inputs.

Unwiredview.com pointed us to the “ad-hoc cash dispensing network” patent published today and recently filed by Apple that would essentially allow iOS users to become ATMs for other iPhone users. Just imagine being able to withdraw cash when there simply isn’t an ATM or bank nearby. Apple’s system would allow other close by iPhone users to lend you cash, with the borrowed money returned to the lender through your iTunes account/credit card for a small fee (as pictured in the patent drawing below):
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Breaking

Apple releases iOS 6.1 with more LTE carrier support, Siri/Fandango movie ticket purchasing, iTunes Match song downloading

Mark Gurman

IMG_0178

Apple has released iOS 6.1 to iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV users. This public release follows five beta seeds to developers. The update is currently coming through over-the-air. To download the update directly from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, head to Settings, then General, then Software Update. Your device will include installation instructions and release information here.

The update includes the following improvements for iOS device users:

  • LTE support for more carriers (Apple previously announced that it would add more LTE carriers this week). 36 additional iPhone carriers. 23 additional iPad carriers. 
  • Purchase movie tickets through Fandango via Siri (US only)
  • iTunes Match subscribers can now download individual songs from iCloud
  • New button to reset the Advertising Identifier.

As we previously noted, Apple TV users will enjoy new Bluetooth keyboard compatibility. We found that using a Bluetooth keyboard greatly enhances the Apple TV experience. Additionally, Apple has included new iOS 6.1 APIs for developers to be able to better integrate Apple’s mapping database into their App Store apps.

In a press release announcing the release of 6.1 (below), Apple’s Phil Schiller noted with “nearly 300 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices on iOS 6 in just five months, it may be the most popular new version of an OS in history.”

We have posted more details on the Apple TV software update here. Direct iPhone, iPad, iPod touch links and Apple press release:

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Exclusive

Apple ready to release additional iPad model; likely 128GB version (Updated: Pricing)

Mark Gurman

Screen Shot 2013-01-27 at 6.31.06 PM

We’ve gotten word from sources that Apple is preparing to release (in some fashion) a single, additional iPad model. This would be a new SKU for the current fourth-generation iPad with Retina display line. At this point, we do not have pricing information, so it is definitely difficult to pinpoint exactly what this new iPad model is.

Here is what we do know:

  • It is a fourth-generation iPad, not a new design.
  • It comes in both the current black and white color options.
  • It comes in both WiFi-only and WiFi + Cellular versions.
  • It is a more premium SKU that will join the current line of 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB fourth-generation iPads.
  • 10-pack deals (in both colors) for educational institutions will be offered.

With developers finding code in the soon-to-be-released iOS 6.1 that points to 128GB iOS devices, and with recent findings of 128GB references in Apple’s recent iTunes 11 release, speculation naturally points to Apple releasing a 128GB iPad in the very near future. While it is certainly plausible that this new iPad model is the 128GB iPad, we are currently not confident enough to outright claim that, but it seems likely based on the evidence.

Update: We’ve received pricing information for this new iPad model. The pricing is in line with a higher storage capacity, coming in at around $799 for the WiFi-only model and $929 for the Cellular-compatible model in the United States. So, new capacity sounds even more likely.

Here are the new SKUs via a source at a high-profile U.S. retailer:

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