A wireless technology specifically geared towards exchanging data over short distances, Bluetooth is a staple hardware feature for many Apple products, such as those in the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac lineups. Bluetooth is also incorporated in many Apple peripherals, such as the Magic Keyboard, and Magic Mouse.
Following the retail launch of its Bluetooth smartwatch at Best Buy earlier this month, Pebble is for the first time disclosing how many units its sold since its extremely popular Kickstarter campaign. Pebble is now at 275K orders to date, 190K of which came from its website after initially selling around 85k to its Kickstarter backers. Pebble also announced it has now hit over 1 million app downloads on the platform and plans to implement new features for iOS including email notifications and Gmail and iMAP support :
A major new feature on iOS will be available within 2-3 weeks. The feature has been lacking since launch: support for email notifications. At first, our testing with iOS 6 indicated that the built-in Bluetooth notification system would be able to send notifications Pebble. Unfortunately, that system only could reliably send SMS and iMessage to Pebble (ironically something we did not promise to support). We’ve finally cracked the email puzzle and the next Pebble iOS app will have full support for Gmail and IMAP email notifications.
Last month we reported that Apple would be offering a new Notification Center service to developers with iOS 7 that will allow Bluetooth devices like Pebble to access all notifications from Notification Center. Pebble hinted today that it has plans for the new Bluetooth profiles:
iOS 7 looks quite cool and useful but we can’t talk about it in detail until Apple releases it publicly. In the meantime, we’ll continue to work with it and test Pebble support under iOS 7..
Pebble’s Eric Migicovsky also clarified when preorders would be receiving their orders and announced he’d be holding a Reddit AMA today at 12pm PDT on reddit.com/r/pebble.
Eton Rukus solar/speaker, GoalZero 7W foldable, and Gomatic 10W Sunvolt
This year, the solar charging options have really improved for those who need to charge their iOS (or any) devices away from a wall outlet or car. The three products below are some of the more interesting we’ve seen.
Santechi released a new Bluetooth keypad today that sports a similar look and feel to Apple’s aluminum wireless keyboard. The keypad works alongside any existing Bluetooth keyboard to give you access to a full number pad that doubles as a calculator at the press of a button. You can get it now on Amazon for $34.99.
The full press release is below:
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/68719955 w=600&h=338]
I lose things all the time. My keys, wallet, and even my bike somehow find a way to escape my possession at least once or twice a week. Worse, there’s never a great solution to help me find the things I’m looking for. There’s no ‘Find My iPhone’ for a wallet, so whenever it goes missing, I’ll have to sift through my couch cushions or even call up one of my friends to see if I’ve left it at their house.
It’s not really a great solution, and it doesn’t always yield favorable results (like actually finding the item I’m looking for), but it’s the only good way I know how to find something I’ve lost. Recently (yes, recently), I lost my wallet again and I thought to myself that with an app for almost anything nowadays there must be a better way to find things I misplace.
Then I stumbled across Tile. Tile let’s you track items you often misplace using a slim, attachable tracking device and app for iOS. The neat part about Tile is that the iPhone app works via crowd-sourcing. If you lose your bike, for example, and another Tile user happens to be in the area of the Tile on your bike, you will be alerted. Read the press release below for more information:
Something new in iOS 7 that hasn’t been getting much coverage is the improvements Apple is making to Core Bluetooth for better integration with Bluetooth LE accessories. Apple is making a lot of changes to its Bluetooth APIs in iOS 7 that will not only allow your iOS devices to work with more Bluetooth LE devices, it will also introduce new features for everything from time to notifications, keyboards, and stereo sound.
Enhance your apps with support for new types of accessories. Location beacons are a new class of low-powered, low-cost transmitters that can notify nearby iOS 7 devices of their presence. Location beacons will provide apps a whole new level of location awareness, such as trail markers in a park, exhibits in a museum or product displays in stores. Other new features include the ability to setup and configure Wi-Fi accessories, such as AirPlay speakers, directly from iOS.
On top of the new location beacons, we already know about a few new Bluetooth improvements in iOS 7 including the new framework for hardware game controllers, and the AirDrop file sharing feature. However, there are also some big improvements to APIs coming that will make your Bluetooth devices work seamlessly with iOS 7…
Expand
Expanding
Close
From 9to5Toys.com:
A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to roundup the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want. Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook
Today’s Featured deals:
Today Only: Seagate Solid State Hybrid Drives:
Logitech UE Boombox Bluetooth speaker: $180 Shipped ($70 off)
Xbox One now available for preorder, releases in November for $499. Includes special ‘Day One Edition’ preorders bonuses. Pssst! There’s also a new Halo trailer!
Other great deals we love:
Update: You can now pick up the SoundLink at Amazon
Bose had a little event today at Grand Central Station just footsteps away from the Apple Store to announce and demonstrate their new portable products.
We’ve rated the Best Portable Bluetooth Speakers on the market (TL;DR: Overall winner, Best Value, Best sound, Best Portable/Sound, Apps/Updates, more) but clearly there is some room for the $199 Bose SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker at the top end. Bose gave us a listen and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same after hearing such rich sound out of a small device (which weighs about as much as an original iPad and can be stowed away in a coat pocket). It certainly gives the much larger Logitech Boombox a run for its money in volume and edges it in clarity. The downsides are that it is bigger/heavier than the Beats Pill or the Logitech Mini Boombox, it charges via a proprietary AC adapter and it isn’t Bluetooth 4.0. The sound quality will make those little things melt away, I promise.
The Soundlink speaker will be released on July 11th but pre-orders begin today at Bose retailers.
Bose also introduced a new level of noise canceling headphones called the QuietComfort 20 and 20i. We got to put some on and hear aircraft level noise disappear while noise canceling features were activated. Bose also has a mid-level noise cancellation mode that can be activated with a switch on the cord and still allows you to hear voices and other important noises you might want to be alerted to. Music is amazing as you’d expect and the buds fit incredibly comfortably in my ears.
The QuietComfort 20 and 20i headphones will be available starting in the summer of 2013 for $299.95.
Both products are highly recommended. Details in the Press release that follows…
From 9to5Toys.com:
A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to roundup the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want.
Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook
Today’s Featured deals:
Other great deals we love that may not see tomorrow:
From 9to5Toys.com:
A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites that feature a couple exceptional deals for just 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second of the day, so we’re going to roundup the best daily deals to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want.
Be sure to follow Follow 9to5Toys so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook
Today’s Featured deals:
Other great deals we love that may not see tomorrow:
There have been plenty of hints over the past months that indicate that Apple’s incoming next round of MacBook Air/Pros would contain 802.11AC Gigabit wifi chips, not the least of which was code we found referencing ‘802.11AC‘ in 10.8.4 Betas.
TonyMacx86, found some interesting parts on Chinese VR-Zone today that could be the next 802.11AC boards in Macs, widely expected to be announced at WWDC next month. The Broadcom BCM94360CD PCI-E mini custom combo WLAN+Bluetooth card supports IEEE 802.11ac, the next standard in wireless computer networking. Interestingly, it also looks like it may fit in current iMacs/MacBooks which could mean aftermarket updates could be possible.
This compares to the current iMac cards via iFixit below:
Expand
Expanding
Close
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kwSzsCMLghc
Logitech’s UE brand is often at the top of our list when it comes to the best bluetooth speakers around, so we’re excited that today the company introduced its latest product with the announcement of the ‘UE BOOM’. Logitech is calling this “the world’s first social music player,” and that’s due to the fact that it’s the first to offer 360-degree sound and a 15-hour rechargeable battery. That’s a nice step up from the 5-8 hours you’ll get with most Bluetooth speakers.
Logitech is also following a trend that many Bluetooth speaker manufacturers have been lately: With UE BOOM you’ll be able to wirelessly connect two UE BOOMs via a free companion app to allow for traditional right/left stereo sound and other sound settings. It’s also water and stain proof:
Expand
Expanding
Close
Pebble, the popular Bluetooth smartwatch that raised over $10M on Kickstarter before shipping to backers in January, today announced the release of an updated SDK and APIs that will allow iOS and Android developers to create apps for the platform. Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky had this to say about the updates:
“The tremendous response we received from Kickstarter backers validated our belief in the value of a smart watch as a wearable computer, but also in the value an open platform brings to truly personalizing the watch to their daily activities”, said Eric Migicovsky, Pebble’s founder. “This new investment will help us build out the Pebble development ecosystem and deliver on Pebble’s extraordinary potential.”
The updated Pebblekit SDK will now allow developers to create third-party apps that will be able to send and receive data to apps on the Pebble smartwatch. The updated SDK will effectively allow developers to build new apps for the platform, for example, taking weather or news information from an iOS or Android app and displaying it on the watch. Previously devs were limited to implementing the basic functions of Pebble.
You might have heard RunKeeper recently added support for tracking data using Pebble and today Pebble is making easier for similar fitness apps to do the same with a new Sports API for accessing the GPS features of the watch.
Expand
Expanding
Close
From 9to5Toys.com:
.
Best Buy is taking $125 off the price of MacBook Airs for the next three days to celebrate Mother’s Day. That yields some of the lowest prices we’ve seen. The retailler knocks off $100 across the board, then using code MOM25 knocks off another $25.
Prices after discount:
Best Buy is also offering a $100 iTunes gift cad for $85. (Free Money!) That is a total savings of 15% off future purchases of Apps Music, Movies and any other content on the the App Store, iTunes, Mac App Store and iBook Store. This is the first iTunes deal we’ve seen in nearly 2 months and a perfect opportunity to surprise Mom on Mother’s Day.
More at Best Buy’s Mother’s Day sale and Smart Buys & Gift Ideas for every type of Mom in our Mother’s Day Gift Guide
iMac $150 off sale on most current generation configurations, now starting at $1,150 shipped
Just a few weeks ago we saw an unprecedented sale from Best Buy on current generation iMacs and now Amazon has stepped up and surpassed that deal by offering a staggering $150 off 3 out 4 standard configuration iMacs.
Other amazing 9to5Toys.com deals from around the web:
.
With its Retina display, unmatched ecosystem of HD video content, and AirPlay streaming capabilities, the iPad is undeniably one of the best experiences for watching video on a mobile device. The one glaring omission from Apple’s recipe for the perfect mobile video experience, however, is the absence of quality, front-facing speakers. The result is a sound experience that doesn’t quite live up to HD content on the iPad’s best in class Retina display. With several newer devices (see: Galaxy Tab 2, HTC One) adding front-facing, stereo speakers, audio performance is clearly one area Apple is falling behind, and its competitors have certainly taken note.
At CES we first got a look at Belkin’s solution to the problem: A $199 iPad case with integrated front-facing ported speakers that aims to offer a home theatre-like experience right in your hands. Belkin is about to release a new Lightning version of the ‘Belkin Thunderstorm Handheld Home Theater’, so we thought the time was right to give you the full run down on how the product performs…
Expand
Expanding
Close
.
In a conversation with a Google employee who is working on the Glass project, Frederic Lardinois was informed that they are adding more-complete iPhone compatibility to Glass “very soon”:
Glass, the Google employee told me, will soon be able to handle these features independent of the device the user has paired it to (and maybe even independent of the Glass companion app).
While Glass will happily work with any iPhone over Bluetooth or use any Wi-Fi connection to get online, iPhone users are currently unable to get turn-by-turn directions through Glass – one of its killer features. Those direction are pretty useful while you are navigating a new city and they do show off the power of location-based apps on Glass, but the software will currently balk if you ask it to give you directions while it’s connected to an iPhone.
For Android phone users, Glass owners have to run a companion app on their connected phone to enable all of Glass’ functionality. However, it is unclear how complete feature parity is going to be achieved on the more-restricted iOS.
JBL’s $99 Flip, $99 OnBeat Lightning Dock and $149 Charge
When we did our Best Bluetooth speaker mega-review (TL;DR: Overall Winner, Best Value, Best Sound, Best Portable/Sound, Apps/Updates, more) a few weeks ago, we neglected to test JBL’s very capable ($99 Flip) and $149 Charge; something our commenters immediately questioned. Not even a day after the review went up, JBL sent us a box full of their new speakers to test against our recommendations (sometimes this is a great job!). JBL also sent us the $100 OnBeat Micro Lightning Dock to compare against so it might also be worth asking the question: Should you get a Bluetooth speaker or a Lightning dock speaker?
Expand
Expanding
Close
Updated for 2015! The Best Bluetooth Speakers review has now moved here!
TL;DR: Overall winner (updated), Best Value, Best sound, Best Portable/Sound, Charger too, Apps/Updates, more
Spring is finally here and it is time to bring our music and speakerphones outside. There’s no better way to enjoy sound outside than with a portable bluetooth speaker. But as Jordan noted to me during our CES coverage, there must be 100,000 Bluetooth speakers to choose from including a growing horde of no name brands OEM’ed from fly-by-night Chinese companies.
We’re here to help you pick the right speaker with the right features on the right budget. (Update: We’ve since reviewed the JBL Charge and Bose Soundlink Mini, both of which merit attention.)
Expand
Expanding
Close
.
Concept via Yanko Design
Color us a little skeptical on this one, but the U.S. Patent Office released Patent US 20130044215 filed by Apple (via Patently Apple) on Thursday that basically described a wristwatch-like device. According to the patent application, Apple is looking into methods that integrate flexible components into a bi-stable spring, slap on bracelet design. Apple even highlighted a number of use cases for the accessory that would talk to other electronic devices, i.e., iOS devices, such as viewing recent calls, responding to text messages, managing playlists, and viewing maps:
The bracelet goes far beyond being a wristwatch. Apple states that with a multitouch display, the user “can accomplish a number of different tasks including adjusting the order of a current playlist, or reviewing a list of recent phone calls. A response to a current text message can even be managed given a simple virtual keyboard configuration across the face of the flexible display.”… According to Apple, a larger display is also more desirable for map viewing. The arm mounted location makes map viewing a desirable function for such a device, as a traveler or explorer can easily reference the information with a flick of the wrist while exploring.
The patent application also described a number of methods of powering the wristwatch accessory including the use of a solar panel underneath the display that 9to5Mac discussed before. It also covered the possibility of using kinetic power sources similar to systems already used in wristwatches.
Apple states that the Kinetic energy gathering device noted above in patent figure 5A (# 502) has its advantages. Having the accessory device on an extremity is an ideal location for gathering kinetic energy. The simple motion of a user’s arm or leg allows the accessory device to harness some of that energy for charging battery. The Antenna in patent figure 5A (# 506) is for establishing and maintaining the connection between the bracelet accessory and a portable electronic device such an iPhone. The antenna can be configured to pass data over WiFi, Bluetooth or any other suitable wireless protocol.
Other possible features of the device mentioned in the application include using the device as a nighttime light for bike riding, edge lighting to configure a colored backlit border, and the ability to quickly view maps and high quality video streams. Apple also described an end-detection sensor to deactivate unused portions of the display for individuals with smaller wrists.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kCZz4jFok_o&start=83]
Another interesting aspect of the patent application is a method of using built-in accelerometers and gyroscopes as orientation sensors to make sure content is always visible and facing the user as the device—and user’s arm—is in motion.
With all the rumors that Apple is working on a smart watch, it’s hard to ignore a patent application that covers the form factor in such detail. However, it’s important to note many concepts make their way to Apple patents but never see the light of day, and this could very well just be one possible form factor that Apple has experimented with. You can learn more about today’s patent at PatentlyApple. Another image from today’s patent application below:
With the recent departure of longtime iOS chief Scott Forstall, many expect some big changes in iOS 7. Not only is Jony Ive taking over design responsibilities related to iOS, but also Apple is increasingly coming under criticism for its aging core iOS apps and highly requested features already available on other platforms that it has yet to implement. We discussed some of the big software features iOS 7 might have in store, but today we present a roundup of the best iOS 7 concepts we could find starting with a new one from the creator of jailbreak tweak Auxo.
Sentry, the original designer behind the popular Auxo jailbreak tweak, yesterday posted the new Quick App Switching concept above (via iFun). While Auxo provided a screenshot of running apps integrated into the iOS multitasking tray, the concept above takes a different approach and aims to add speed to the app switching process.
This next concept comes from YouTube user imjeanmarc and shows a tray accessible from the lock screen, providing quick toggles for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.:
We’re fans of Logitech’s Ultrathin Keyboard cover for the full-sized iPad, so when we heard that Logitech was launching a version of the Ultrathin keyboard for the iPad mini for $79, we were naturally excited. As we noted in our review of the full-sized model, the product kickstarts a transition from iPad-based content consumption to creation. With our love for the full-sized version, the “mini” Ultrathin Keyboard has a lot to live up to. Even with the iPad mini’s smaller display and overall footprint, does the Ultrathin Keyboard mini match the performance of its larger counterpart, and how does it fare against Zagg’s well reviewed iPad Mini keyboards? Find out in our complete review below.
Expand
Expanding
Close
Apple rolled out Apple TV update 5.2 in January, bringing Bluetooth keyboard support, Up Next, and an enhanced iTunes in the Cloud service alongside iOS 6.1 for iOS devices. Today, FireCore announced it has released updates to aTV Flash (black) and Seas0nPass that support the new 5.2 update. FireCore’s aTV Flash software enables jailbroken second-generation Apple TVs to support additional file formats, access a web browser, and much more.
To the delight of many loyal users, Apple officially added support for Bluetooth keyboards in Apple TV 5.2, and we’ve been working non-stop to provide a seamless experience in aTV Flash (black) 2.2. Now features such as web browsing, media playback, library browsing and more can all be controlled using a wireless keyboard. Don’t worry, the normal remote will still work as well.
The team provided instructions for updating:
What’s the best way to update?
aTV Flash (black) 2.2 is compatible with any ATV2 running 4.4 and later, so updating to 5.2 is not required. However, should you so desire, the best way to update can be found below.
Not to be outdone by Logitech’s new Ultrathin keyboard cover for iPad mini, Belkin announced its own Bluetooth keyboard cover for Apple’s smaller iPad on Wednesday that is actually even thinner than Logitech’s. The Belkin FastFit keyboard case is only slightly thinner at 7mm thick when compared to the Ultrathin’s 7.3mm, and it provides approximately the same three-month battery life or a little over 150 days active use. Other features include a 200mAh battery, magnetic snap-on keyboard with auto-wake, and a body made of anodized aircraft-grade aluminum. The FastFit also includes Belkin’s TruType keyboard:
The keyboard also features Belkin’s TruType keyboard, which provides well-spaced keys for fast and accurate typing. Each key has a spring mechanism that provides tactile feedback when struck, enabling fast, intuitive, and comfortable typing. The keyboard’s TruType keys are larger than most 7″ keyboards, and perform like laptop-type keys, allowing for fast typing with fewer errors than other small keyboards.
The FastFit Keyboard Case for iPad mini will be available through Belkin’s website for $79.99—the same price as Logitech’s Ultrathin keyboard cover.
From 9to5Toys.com and 9to5Mac Product Pages comes a special deal from MacMall for our readers who are looking for MacBook Airs at the lowest prices. Across the board, Macmall has the lowest prices when coupled with additional 3% off 9to5Mac promo code NTFMMWB38592
.
MacMall goes beyond lowest prices: Until Friday at 9:15PM ET, readers will get free overnight shipping and a free copy of Parallels Desktop with every order. MacMall also offers financing and/or no payments for 6 months and accepts payments with Paypal or Amazon as well as major credit cards. This week’s MacMall specials include half off Quickbooks 2013 for Mac, iPad SmartCovers starting at $26.99 and other Blowout deals on peripherals.
MacMall has additional MacBook Air 8GB BTO configurations that knock an additional 3% off the already lowest prices we could find:
Expand
Expanding
Close
Logitech’s Ultrathin keyboard cover for iPad has been one of our go-to recommendations for a quality tablet keyboard case that doesn’t add too much additional bulk for a while. The company might have some new, slimmer competition from Archos and Zagg, but Logitech announced it is bringing its popular Ultrathin keyboard cover to the iPad mini today.
Equipped with the same magnets, as well as auto-wake and the slim aluminum cover, Logitech’s Bluetooth EasyType keyboard with a three-month battery life and built-in stand is a essentially a scaled down version of its predecessor that we love. Logitech also said the new keyboard would maintain a traditional layout and standard key size, so you won’t have to sacrifice a smooth typing experience for the smaller form factor.
Logitech is taking preorders for the new Ultrathin Keyboard mini in black and white for $79.99 on its website and expects to make shipments this month. The previous Ultrathin model for iPad 2, 3, and 4 is available for $20 more through Amazon and other fine retailers for $99.
Another video showing off the new iPad mini model from Logitech is below: