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T-Mobile CEO John Legere wishes you a NSFW Christmas (Video)

Avatar for Stephen Hall Dec 22 2014 - 3:36 pm PT
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Happy Holidays from T-Mobile CEO John Legere - YouTube 2014-12-22 15-08-26

T-Mobile CEO John Legere is known for trolling his competitors, and it looks like he decided to—in the spirit of the season, of course—mock them some more as a Christmas gift. T-Mobile has spent the entire year going through several different “uncarrier” events (now totaling eight), attacking its competitors and introducing services and features that it hopes will set it apart. And as Legere touches on in the below video, plenty of people seem to have been convinced that switching is worth their time…


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9to5Toys Last Call: Speck iPhone 6/Plus cases 50% off, PlayStation 4 $329, Retina MacBook Pro $550 off, more

Avatar for Dec 22 2014 - 2:40 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the brand new 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

speck-candyshell-grip-iphone-6-blackSpeck CandyShell iPhone 6/Plus cases in multiple colors/styles from $17 Prime shipped (50% off)

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PlayStation 4 hits all-time price low of $329 in Walmart last-minute gift sale

  • Add-on! Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked Membership, get 20% off all video games for 2-years: $30 shipped (70% off)

apple-mbp-retina-sale-0113″ Retina MacBook Pro 2.8GHz/8GB/512GB (late 2013) $1,449 (orig. $1,999)

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Holiday Gift Guides:

More new deals:

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More deals still alive:

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New products/ongoing promos/info:

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Apple releases critical NTP Security Update for OS X Yosemite, Mavericks, & Mountain Lion

Avatar for Zac Hall Dec 22 2014 - 1:14 pm PT
6 Comments

Security UpdateApple today released an OS X NTP Security Update for Mac users running 10.10 Yosemite, 10.9 Mavericks, and 10.8 Mountain Lion. The update is recommended for all users and fixes a “critical security issue with the software that provides the Network Time Protocol service for OS X,” according to Apple. Check the Updates tab of the Mac App Store to grab the security update. More details regarding the security update for OS X are able through this support document.

Microsoft continues to target the MacBook Air w/ new Surface Pro 3 ‘Switch’ site

Avatar for Zac Hall Dec 22 2014 - 12:01 pm PT
34 Comments
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iPhone 6 Surface Pro 3

Microsoft has never been shy about trying to convert MacBook Air users into Surface Pro 3 users. Despite being in a room filled with MacBooks, Microsoft targeted Apple’s laptop head-on at its initial Surface Pro 3 announcement event.

Now Microsoft is further highlighting the differences between the MacBook Air and Surface Pro 3 with a new online campaign (via ZDNet) intended to encourage Mac users to feel comfortable trying out Microsoft’s latest tablet.

Whether you’re considering Surface Pro 3 or have recently purchased one, we want to say thank you! We designed Surface Pro 3 to make you more productive in every aspect of your digital work and life. We’re truly humbled you’re here, and we’re excited to see what you do with your new Surface.

The recently launched microsite is the latest in a campaign largely led by ad spots (the latest holiday spot is almost pleasant) mocking the MacBook Air’s lack of touch screen, stylus, and more compared to Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3.
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Review: Olloclip 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6/6 Plus hangs wide-angle + macro lenses from your neck

Avatar for Jeremy Horwitz Dec 22 2014 - 9:52 am PT
5 Comments
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Olloclip isn’t the only maker of lenses for iPhone cameras, but after testing options from a dozen vendors, it’s the one I’d call the best at delivering reliably good combinations of quality and practicality. Its latest accessory is the 4-in-1 Lens for iPhone 6/6 Plus ($80), an updated continuation of its longest-running and most popular series of iPhone lenses. Bundled with everything from a lanyard to a set of three colored plastic clips, this version of 4-in-1 now works with two different iPhone 6 sizes, as well as both front FaceTime and rear iSight cameras.

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This cross-model, twin-camera versatility comes at the cost of some added complexity, however, and an issue from earlier Olloclip lenses — the lack of broad case compatibility — is still a factor here. But if you’ve been looking for a way to add wide angle and macro capabilities to your iPhone, the 4-in-1 is worth considering. There are plenty of details and illustrative photographs below.


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Apple Pay in-app checkout added to Ticketmaster, LoungeBuddy, more

Avatar for Zac Hall Dec 22 2014 - 8:49 am PT
6 Comments
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While retailers and venues have steadily been rolling out Apple Pay support for buying goods in the real world, Apple Pay is possibly even more popular with checking out for physical goods and services within apps. This week’s additions include Apple Pay in-app checkout support on iOS with Ticketmaster, LoungeBuddy, and more.
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Google+ iOS app adds higher resolution experience for iPhone 6/6 Plus Retina screens, more

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Dec 22 2014 - 8:01 am PT
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google-plus-iOS8-extensionGoogle today updated its Google+ app for iPhone and iPad adding support for the higher resolution screens on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

In addition to the Retina imagery for the new iPhones, the app gains a few new features for both iPhone and iPad users in addition to the usual performance improvements and bug fixes.

Other features in version 4.8.0 include the ability to “vote on polls from people and brands” and an option to share to Google+ through an iOS 8 extension (pictured right).

The updated Google+ app for iPhone and iPad is available on the App Store now.

A full changelog is below:

What’s New in Version 4.8.0

What’s New
• Retina HD resolution on iPhone 6 and 6+
• Vote on polls from people and brands
• Easily share to Google+ from your device
• Performance improvements and bug fixes

Apple expands its social presence with new iTunes Tumblr blog

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Dec 22 2014 - 7:43 am PT
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In an interesting move, Apple has today launched a Tumblr blog for iTunes. The ‘blog’ runs a highly customized theme that more closely reflects Apple’s own website than a typical Tumblr page. The page features music, movies, TV and books content, with individual posts consisting of images, videos and animated GIFs of artists. Tumblr users can reblog these images on their own feeds, for social sharing. On a related note, iTunes also opened an official Instagram account earlier this month.


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Russian Apple Online Store returns … with iPhone 6 prices now 35% higher compared to a week ago

Avatar for Benjamin Mayo Dec 22 2014 - 6:59 am PT
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After a week of being inactive, the Russian Apple Online Store is now back online with customers freely able to purchase products from the site once again. Apple abruptly stopped trading in the region last week due to significant currency exchange rate fluctuations that meant the company had to readjust prices.

Apple has indeed raised prices significantly. The iPhone 6 now costs 53,990 Rubles for a 16 GB base model. This is a 35% increase in the Russian sales price; the model cost 39 990 Rubles last week. 53,990 Rubles is approximately worth $980 dollars. The 16 GB iPhone 6 lists for $649, excluding taxes.


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Interesting combination iPhone 6 stand/power case ‘iStand 6’ crowdsourcing campaign starts today

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Dec 22 2014 - 6:54 am PT
7 Comments
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istand6

An Indiegogo crowdsourcing campaign for iStand 6, an MFi-certified combined power case and stand for the iPhone 6, starts today – with early bird pricing starting at just $40.

The iStand 6 is the first all-in-one case for the iPhone 6 with MFi certificate. In addition to providing top of the line protection, the iStand 6 has battery backup, a built-in kickstand, and storage for additional SIM Cards.

The 3500mAh battery is almost double that of the iPhone 6’s own battery, providing approximately three times the life all-in … 
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Accidental iPhone developer gets handed lemons by life, makes lemonade

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Dec 22 2014 - 5:46 am PT
3 Comments

plummet

If there were prizes for turning a horrible experience into a positive one, Mark Major, a Reddit user who goes by the handle Kindlingapp, would have to win one. After breaking his back in a freak accident at a construction site, he decided to turn the experience into an iPhone game Plummet under the name Broken Back Games.

Seven years ago while in Beijng I had a freak accident.With no warning, I tumbled down a construction shaft and fractured my spine. My sole memory of the accident was the free falling plummet I had before hitting my head on the side. I woke  to find myself at the bottom of a construction shaft with a sore head, tight chest and the broken pieces of a wooden plank which I had crashed through during my plummet.

It was a second unpleasant experience – being made redundant – that gave him the time to pursue the project. He started with hand-drawn stick-man graphics then partnered with a Serbian designer and Romanian developer to turn the idea into the game based on his real-life fall.

Plummet is due out on 4th January, and you can sign up here to be reminded.

Review: Just Mobile’s TopGum adds glam + a magnetic charging base to a 6,000mAh battery

Avatar for Jeremy Horwitz Dec 22 2014 - 5:26 am PT
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The secret to understanding USB battery pricing is that you tend to get what you pay for: cheap batteries lose their charges faster and can bulge and leak over time. Other companies specialize in selling atypically nice batteries that last longer and work better. Just Mobile is a leader in quality batteries: for the past six years, its Gum series (shown below) has spanned every Apple device type, size, and speed, but it has never built a Lightning cable into a battery before. That changes with the January release of TopGum ($80), which advances the company’s prior state-of-the-art Gum++ model in two ways: an authentic Lightning cable’s integrated into the battery’s left edge, and a matching magnetic battery charging dock is included.

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Of course, these features – and a choice of gold or gray metal exteriors – come at a premium over typical all-plastic batteries, so if you don’t need the cable or dock, you’ll be equally well-served with the company’s earlier batteries. Read on for the full story.


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As expected, Walt Disney World will start accepting Apple Pay in time for the holidays

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Dec 22 2014 - 4:30 am PT
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Following in the footsteps of the Disney Stores, Walt Disney World will be accepting Apple Pay from 24th December, reports the company.

Initially, most stores, quick service restaurants, bars and ticket sales booths will be included. Any locations that use portable payment terminals, such as table service restaurants, will be added later.

To identify payment locations that accept Apple Pay and contactless payments, look for the EMVCo symbol, which is a series of curved lines, similar to a WiFi signal strength meter on many devices.

Disney was an Apple Pay launch partner, installing upgraded iBeacons and NFC readers in its retail stores prior to the launch of the service, but contactless payment had previously only been available at WDW via the company’s own MagicBands wristbands … 
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Latest Digitimes rumor on 12-inch MacBook Air: entering mass-production in Q1 2015

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Dec 22 2014 - 3:56 am PT
14 Comments
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Digitimes is claiming that the long-expected 12-inch MacBook Air will be entering mass-production in the first quarter of 2015 “following a pilot production at the end of 2014.”

It should be noted this is the same source that predicted the machine would be launched in October, claiming at the time that shipments had already begun. Digitimes bases its latest claim on “upstream supply chain” sources – in other words, suppliers to suppliers to Apple. This does not aid its credibility … 
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Apple releases new public OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 beta (build 14C81h)

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Dec 20 2014 - 1:26 pm PT
22 Comments

Screen Shot 2014-12-20 at 4.20.53 PM

Readers report Apple has started rolling out a new public beta release of its 10.10.2 OS X Yosemite beta (build 14C81h). Developers received the third build of 10.10.2 earlier this month (build 14C81f).

Today’s beta release follows beta 3, which was released earlier this month. Not much seems to have changed between the two builds, but Apple says users on the new 10.10.2 build for developers should focus on fixes for WiFi, Mail, and VoiceOver, among other changes.


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Review: iHome’s iBN10 sheds the dock and alarms for a minimalist new four-speaker design

Avatar for Jeremy Horwitz Dec 20 2014 - 7:00 am PT
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I’ve reviewed a lot of iHome clock radios over the past nine years. They weren’t all formulaic, but there was a very clear evolutionary line from the original 2005-vintage, iPod-only iH5 to the iPad-ready iDL95 released last year: take two speakers, stick a clock in the middle, center a dock on the top, then make the enclosure sort of flat but pleasantly curvy. iHome had a winning general concept and look, which it updated annually with small feature, color, and shape tweaks. But its new $120 model iBN10 breaks the mold in several ways.

The dock’s gone, the clock has been glammed up and shifted to the right, and there are four speakers inside, rather than the standard two. iBN10 is also atypically handsome, built and billed as an “executive music system” by discarding the faux metals that iHome’s midrange speakers have become known for, and adding speakerphone functionality. This isn’t iHome’s first Kleenex box-sized speaker, but it’s definitely the most sophisticated.


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9to5Toys Last Call: iPad Air 2 15% off, Samsung 40″ LED HDTV $298, Sony on-ear headphones from $8, more

Avatar for Dec 19 2014 - 3:45 pm PT
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Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the brand new 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

apple ipad air 2

Get 15% off iPad Air 2 at Target stores

samsung-un40eh5000-hdtv-e1419005706673

Samsung 40-inch 1080p 60Hz Slim LED HDTV: $298 shipped (Reg. $400)

Sony MDRZX110 Stereo Headphones-sale-01

Amazon Gold Box: Save up to 60% on Select Sony Headphones – prices as low as $8 (orig. $20)

Magazine sale-4 for 16-Wired-GQ-ESPN-more

Last Day: Four magazine subs for $16 incl. Wired, GQ, Rolling Stone, Men’s Fitness, ESPN, many more

Grado SR80e First Shoot

Giveaway: Grado Prestige Series SR80e Open-Ear Headphones ($99 value)

More new deals:

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More deals still alive:

New products/ongoing promos/info:

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Holiday Gift Guides:

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Apple Pay claimed 1% of November’s digital payment dollars, new report says

Avatar for Mike Beasley Dec 19 2014 - 3:27 pm PT
34 Comments
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Apple Pay issues

A new report from ITG has revealed that Apple Pay was responsible for 1% of the total digital payment dollars spent in November. The study also found that 60% of new Apple Pay customers used the service multiple times throughout the month, while competing services like PayPal see only 20% of customers do the same.

Additionally, the research found that shoppers who took advantage of Apple Pay used the service for around 5.3% of their future credit card transactions, accounting for about 2.3% of the total dollars spent on their credit cards.


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Savage Interactive debuts Procreate Pocket, bringing iPad illustration tools to larger-screened iPhones

Avatar for Jeremy Horwitz Dec 19 2014 - 9:50 am PT
6 Comments
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Demonstrating the types of apps that will increasingly migrate from Apple’s tablets to its larger iPhone 6 models, Savage Interactive has released Procreate Pocket ($3), a shrunken-down version of its signature iPad app Procreate. Widely admired for its professional-grade drawing tools, Procreate previously enabled tablet users to compose multi-layer illustrations using numerous brushes and a mistake-friendly, multi-layer Undo tool.
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Review: Imation’s Link Power Drive adds 16/32/64GB of storage to a compact 3,000mAh Lightning battery pack

Avatar for Jeremy Horwitz Dec 19 2014 - 9:08 am PT
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imationpowerlink-1

There wasn’t really a market for hybrid batteries and external flash drives until this year, when Mophie’s Space Pack seemingly came out of nowhere, impressively nestling 16 or 32GB of additional flash storage inside a 1700mAh iPhone 5/5s battery case. But having demonstrated the value of combining these features together, Mophie’s $150 to $180 asking prices were high enough to keep some people away, and the requirement of an iPhone 5 or 5s was similarly somewhat limiting.

Imation is trying something different with its Link Power Drive, a small plastic box with a silver top and white base. There are 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models, each equipped with a 3000mAh battery, a Lightning cable, and a USB cable. The MSRP of the 16GB unit is less than any Space Pack, and the 64GB model has twice Mophie’s top capacity for the same MSRP — except Imation’s street pricing is much lower. Better yet, every model works with whatever Lightning-equipped iOS device you might have, and there’s enough battery power to completely recharge any iPhone except the iPhone 6 Plus. All you need to do is carry the accessory around separately, attaching it when needed.


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Working prototype explores new Apple TV interface with touchscreen gestures via remote

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Dec 19 2014 - 8:06 am PT
6 Comments

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNuUCoHH9Bc]

Product designer Radu Dutzan posted the video above showing off a working prototype that explores touchscreen style gestures via a conceptual remote for Apple TV alongside an updated interface.

Wouldn’t it be great if instead of trying to imitate clicks, Remote allowed you to scroll lists on the screen, directly responding to the position of your finger on the tracking surface? Wouldn’t selection in a complex button layout — such as the keyboard — be much more usable if you could make the cursor move in any direction instantly? Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Apple TV remote control was a smooth clickable trackpad, like the one on the MacBook, that allowed for these behaviors without having to look at a second screen?

The prototype utilizes an iPhone and AirPlay, and would essentially be a next-generation version of Apple’s Remote app for Apple TV, but the designer also designed it with a new remote in mind, as pictured below on the right next to the current Apple TV remote:
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CalDigit’s Thunderbolt Station 2 starts price war on Thunderbolt 2 docks w/ $170 pre-order, reg. $200

Avatar for Jeremy Horwitz Dec 19 2014 - 7:42 am PT
15 Comments
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net

Looking to grab market share from rival makers of Mac Thunderbolt docks, CalDigit today announced Thunderbolt Station 2, an aggressively-priced Thunderbolt 2 docking hub that promises to surpass earlier Belkin and Elgato units in features and build quality. Redesigned from a prior model, Thunderbolt Station 2 includes the expected twin Thunderbolt 2 ports, three USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet, HDMI and analog audio in/out ports. What’s new are twin eSATA 6G ports and an enclosure that can be mounted vertically or horizontally, saving space on a desk.

With a regular price of $200, it’s already $30 cheaper than Elgato’s Thunderbolt 2 Dock and $100 under Belkin’s Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock HD, but a special $170 pre-order price makes it the most affordable Thunderbolt 2 dock yet.


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