Review: Griffin’s WatchStand for Apple Watch Keeps All That Extra Cable Hidden [iOS Blog]
With its WatchStand, accessory maker Griffin has come up with a unique take on an Apple Watch charging dock, incorporating a cord management feature that sets it apart from the many other stands on the market. Made of plastic instead of aluminum or wood, Griffin’s stand is also one of the more affordable options available.
I’ve been testing the Griffin WatchStand for the past week and have been impressed with the level of functionality vs. the price, but there are a few drawbacks that might not make it the best stand choice depending on which Apple Watch you own.
When it comes to looks, the Griffin WatchStand is not quite as attractive as some other options on the market. Its black plastic design doesn’t complement the Apple Watch and other Apple devices, it feels overly tall, and it doesn’t blend into a range of different decors as well as aluminum or wood.
Griffin WatchStand next to Twelve South HiRise for Apple Watch
Aesthetic preferences vary heavily by person, so the form and material of the WatchStand may not be a negative for some. Though it’s made of plastic, the WatchStand doesn’t really look cheap and there are no flaws in its construction — it has a wide, heavy rubber-bottomed base for stability and the part of the stand that holds the Apple Watch charger is well-designed and at an ideal viewing angle.
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Video Review: A Look at Speck’s Cases for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus [iOS Blog]
In today’s review, we’re talking a look at iPhone 6 Plus cases from Speck, a well-known accessory company that sells its products in dozens of retail stores. Speck has been in the case-making business for many years now and it offers several iconic cases like the CandyShell and the MightyShell.
All of Speck’s cases provide a reasonable compromise between protection and thickness. They can keep an iPhone safe from wear, tear, and minor drops, and don’t add a lot of bulk to Apple’s ultrathin devices.
The CandyShell Grip, the first case we looked at, has a hard shell with soft rubber grips on the outside to make it easy to hold. It comes in two variations: with a faceplate for the front of the phone, and without. The CandyShell Grip comes in several colors and is priced at $39.95 to $49.95 (with face plate).
Speck’s MightyShell, the second case we looked at, is similar to the CandyShell but is more durable with three layers of rubber for better protection. It also comes in multiple colors and in two versions, with a faceplate ($69.95) and without ($54.95).
Speck also makes a CandyShell Card case that’s able to hold credit cards and cash ($39.95). It’s exactly like a CandyShell, but it’s a bit thicker with the wallet portion. Finally, we looked at the CandyShell Inked, which is a CandyShell ($44.95) that includes unique, super colorful designs.
Speck’s iPhone 6 Plus cases can be purchased from the Speck website, and many of them are also available from Amazon.com at a lower price. Speck also sells the same cases for the iPhone 6 at slightly lower prices.
MacRumors received no compensation for this video review.
Apple Maps rumored to make its way to Android & Windows devices
A job listing on Apple’s website has revealed that Apple might be looking to extend the reach of Apple Maps beyond their iDevices.
A recruitment advert posted by Apple last month seeking a “Maps JavaScript Engineer” who is a Web technology expert “to help make maps work seamlessly on the web.”
Its been a long time since Apple has been looking to expand into the web domain to give competition to Google Maps. A JavaScript expert will certainly help migrate Apple’s dreams to reality sooner.
Apple Maps are currently only available on iOS 6 and later, as well as OS X 10.9 Mavericks and newer. Its unsurprising that Apple would call for a web based maps solution since they already have iCloud and iWork which are hugely popular platform independent web services.
Apart from this, Apple also seeks a HTML and CSS master who is highly deliverable with a “proven track record of shipping excellent client-side web applications.”
The post Apple Maps rumored to make its way to Android & Windows devices appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Here’s what our readers think of the Apple Watch
Long-awaited and eagerly anticipated by many, the Apple Watch finally arrived in April to fairly positive reviews. In our own write-up of Apple’s first wearable, we admired its construction, calling it the finest we’ve ever seen from a smartwatch and similar to “something made by Tag Heuer or Cartier.” In use, we found it “straightforward, if not always intuitive” with good notifications and comprehensive activity-tracking abilities. However, we had our reservations, noting that while it was the nicest smartwatch available, it wasn’t very revolutionary and as such: “It’s probably not compelling enough to buy one.” But many of you did buy one, and you let us know in your reviews whether you were amazed by its capabilities or merely found it acceptable for a first-generation product.
“Everyone that sees it seems to like it.” – LinusX
At first glance, the Apple Watch inspires admiration, with LinusX finding it “not as nerdy or embarrassing” as he originally thought, and more like “a futuristic object.” HornetStings actually went in the opposite direction on the timeline, calling the Apple Watch’s design retro, although still “beautifully crafted and highly stylish.” HighFlyer says it’s “far from being clunky or geeky” and fits snugly “like a high-class accessory.” But the Watch’s high style could still use a few improvements here and there, with nnieman wishing it had a circular display and that the device was “slightly lighter.” HornetStings feels that the added weight “may not be a problem” for men, but concedes that women “may notice it more.”
The squarish screen is a big part of what makes the Apple Watch so appealing, with HighFlyer finding its ability to display clear text and colorful photos outstanding. Thanks to the Watch’s “brilliant” display, jbanning finally understands “why OLED is so heralded as having such deep blacks.” And even though the screen on the Sport model is not a sapphire display like the higher-end versions, LinusX says it’s still “crisp and super high quality.”
“I can perform so many tasks with just a glance, a touch or gesture or two on my Apple Watch.” – HighFlyer
So our users were certainly enamored with the Watch’s style, but what about its substance? Well, LinusX had a laundry list of features he appreciated on the Apple Watch, finding the “text messaging, getting notifications, making AND taking phone calls (with Siri) on the watch to be extremely useful when driving, cooking, walking or at the gym.” Spenumatsa uses it as both a watch and a health tracker, and really enjoys the Watch’s prompts to stand up every hour, though it might be “an annoyance for some people.” HighFlyer found it very useful in a financial sense, using the Watch to monitor “worldwide reaction in real time of events on stock markets, look at my stock and derivative brokers accounts and make timely BUY/SELL/HOLD decisions.” And HornetSting found it very helpful in his work as a chef, making use of several cooking apps as well as the “customizable reminders to keep my kitchen staff up to date with orders.”
“In no way will this product ever take the place of a regular watch.” – mattliptak
However, as much as the Watch can do for them, users noted all the things it still couldn’t do, with mattliptak lamenting that he still had to keep his handset nearby and he “ended up relying on my phone more after glancing at the watch, receiving texts and alerts to emails.” Falleninsea feels a lot of potential in the Watch fell short, saying it “delivers a lot of things, but doesn’t really blow me away on any of them.” Nnieman notes that for everything the Watch is capable of, “it can’t do many of them better than my iPhone.” However, while LinusX concedes, “I can do less on the watch,” he adds that it does keep him “from wasting time on the phone.” And even nnieman says that while he wishes the Apple Watch had more features, he doesn’t know “exactly what else I would want it to do.”
While falleninsea might feel the Apple Watch is being sold “on the strength of its design more than on the stretch of its features” and mattliptak calls it “one of the worst Apple products I have ever owned,” many readers are still happy with their purchases. LinusX finds it “well worth it” and nnieman is looking forward to future updates and more app support. Ultimately, nnieman calls it a “very good first-gen product” and Jd777 says it’s “better than the first iPhone because it works well.”
That’s what readers have told us so far; share your own opinions of the Apple Watch by leaving a review on the product page here. Or tell us about other recent purchases like the Fitbit Surge or the Pebble Time and we may feature them in a future post.
How to Use Apple Watch to Get Directions [iOS Blog]
Apple Watch includes a miniature version of Apple Maps, which offers many of the same features as the full iOS version if you know how to access them. Some of what Maps can do is fairly obvious, but there are a few features that require a bit more know-how.
If you are interested in learning the ins and outs of Apple Maps on Watch OS and would like to know some simple tips for getting the most out of the turn-by-turn directions feature, we’ve got a handy tutorial for you.
At first glance, Apple Maps on Apple Watch may seem like just a location browser. When you open the app, it automatically populates a map of your current location. You can drag your finger around on the screen to view nearby stores and landmarks. Turn the Digital Crown to zoom in on a particular location. You can also double-tap the screen.
If you find a business or landmark that you’d like to know more about, tap it to bring up the information window. You can see the business’s rating, hours of operation, phone number, address, and walking or driving directions. Tap the phone number to call directly from Apple Watch.
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Apple Again Places #5 in Annual Fortune 500 Rankings
Fortune has released its annual Fortune 500 list of the top U.S. corporations based on gross revenue, which together accounted for $12.5 trillion in revenues, $945 billion in profits and $17 trillion in market value. Apple maintained the 5th spot in the rankings for the second consecutive year after steadily rising from 6th place in 2013, 17th place in 2012, 35th place in 2011 and 56th place in 2010.
“After a bumpy start to 2014, Apple’s stock finished the year up 40%, adding nearly $200 billion to the company’s market value. A product pipeline that’s gotten Apple fanboys lining up all over again has certainly helped reenergize revenue growth: In addition to unveiling new categories like Apple Pay and Apple Watch, the company launched the iPhone 6, selling a record-breaking 10 million units in the first three days. As CEO Tim Cook recently told investors: “It’s tough to find something in the numbers not to like.” The normally low-profile Cook is breaking new ground in other ways too—in October, 2014 he came out as the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company.”
Fortune identified fast-growing iPhone and Mac sales and brand power as two of the company’s key strengths, while citing declining iPad sales and high expectations from investors and consumers as weaknesses. The publication believes Apple’s much-rumored streaming TV service presents an opportunity for the company, while Android and Chinese smartphone manufacturers remain threats.
Apple recorded operating revenue of $182.79 billion during the 2014 fiscal year, a 7% year-over-year increase. Walmart, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Berkshire Hathaway topped the list with between $194.6 and $485.6 billion revenue, although it’s worth noting that Apple finished ahead of all four of those companies with $39.5 billion in profit and recently posted two record-breaking quarters.
Apple Dominates Authenticated ‘TV Everywhere’ Streaming With 62% Market Share [iOS Blog]
A new report out today by Adobe Digital Index (ADI) put Apple atop a list of streaming media providers (via CMO), the Apple TV and iOS devices representing 62 percent of all authenticated pay-for-TV video views, or any online app that requires a cable subscription to access. Measuring all video content from free ad-based YouTube clips to “shows accessed through an authenticated app-based or TV subscription service,” ADI reports that the streaming industry as a whole has grown a drastic 282 percent year over year.
Focusing solely on Apple, the Apple TV doubled its share of the overall online media streaming market, growing from 5 percent to 10 percent quarter over quarter. As ADI points out, a few of Apple’s streaming rivals – Roku and gaming consoles like Xbox and PlayStation – saw increases in the past year, as well.
“Apple is sitting in the catbird seat because of its dominant position with access to consumers and a wealth of video data,” said Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst at ADI. “The challenge will be to see if it can monetize the strategy fast enough to get ahead of the movement away from linear TV toward digital viewing. Apple is clearly looking to play in the video-streaming market, and the growth of that market is a big indicator as to why.”
On the opposite end, these mobile- and living room-centric media solutions have cannibalized the streaming shares of desktop PCs and Macs. “It looks like desktops are losing the battle in the home,” Gaffney noted. “Bringing the TV Everywhere viewing platform full circle and returning viewers to the living room.”
iOS saw a less dramatic increase year over year than the Apple TV, with a growth from 43 percent to 47 percent, while the company’s Android competitors saw no growth at all on mobile, staying at a consistent 15 percent share of the streaming market. Although desktops are dipping in streaming popularity, notebooks are undoubtedly still a highly used source of streaming content for many people. As such, Google Chrome and Safari both saw upticks in pieces of the overall streaming market over the past year by 18 and 15 percent, respectively.
The key takeaway from our analysis is that the streaming video space is growing fast, and Apple is growing by building out an ecosystem of devices as it relates to that space,” Gaffney said. “Apple is leaning toward having a bigger play there than in the past. For marketers that means having a blanket approach to advertising is not going to work. They need to think about who is viewing and when. The strategy needs to be evolving and more complex to match the evolving and more complex nature of the landscape.”
ADI predicts that smartphone browsing will overtake that of desktops in 2017, noting that currently the preferred method for casually streaming content is tablets, “used specifically for leisurely activities such as video viewing and listening to music.” With Apple’s revamped Apple TV a no-show at WWDC next week, it’ll be interesting to see how the company continues to grow the now three-year-old device. With Apple’s plans to launch its own subscription television service sometime in the future, there’s no doubt that the streaming media industry as a whole will only continue to grow.
Tweetbot 2 for Mac Launches With OS X Yosemite Redesign and New Features [Mac Blog]
Following several months of development, Tapbots today released Tweetbot 2 for Mac with a major visual overhaul inspired by the flat design of OS X Yosemite and more consistent with the iPhone and iPad versions of the Twitter client. Tweetbot 2 for Mac is available as a free update through the Mac App Store for existing Tweetbot users and has been discounted to $12.99 from its regular $19.99 price for the first time ever.
Tweetbot 2 for Mac (left) compared to original Tweetbot for Mac (right)
The major visual changes in Tweetbot 2 for Mac include flatter tabs and controls, redesigned user profiles with a new “Recent Photos” section, a new iOS-like user interface when clicking on or viewing the details of individual tweets, circular profile photos, profile photos for retweets and iMessage-like chat bubbles for direct messages. Overall, the software has a more simplified and clean appearance.
Tweetbot 2 for Mac also features a new timeline search option, verified account badges and improved list organization. There is a new three-pane toggle in the bottom-left corner that makes it much more convenient to open lists in a new window or column, view all of your lists or search Twitter. A list can easily be removed or detached into a separate window by right clicking its title bar at the top.
My first impressions of Tweetbot 2 are overwhelmingly positive, as the updated Twitter client has provided a faster and more fluid experience during my testing. The original version of Tweetbot for Mac would occasionally crash on me, and resizing the app would sometimes result in choppiness or lag, but I have not been able to reproduce either of those issues using Tweetbot 2.
Tweetbot for Mac is on sale for $12.99 on the Mac App Store. [Direct Link]
Galaxy Note 5 launch indirectly confirmed by Samsung
Samsung has announced that they will be delaying the launch of their mobile payment service until September. This will surely make a dent in Samsung’s plans to catch up to Apple and Google. With Apple Pay already making the rounds, but limited to the NFC-included iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus and Android Pay which is very close to its market launch.
In the process Samsung has also indirectly confirmed the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Executive Vice President Rhee In Jong had earlier stated that the mobile payments service would debut in July. It is slated to launch in U.S. and North Korea along with Samsung’s next high-end mobile device.
““The new service will likely be deployed on its next Galaxy Note device. The key is how fast Samsung will be able to expand the service to lower-end devices.”“
If we are to consider all the facts, we might assume the Samsung Pay and the Galaxy Note 5 both will be lined up for a release in September.
At a developer conference on May 28, Google announced a new feature in Android Pay that lets smartphone app be used as a Wallet to be used in stores both physical and online. Shoppers can utilize this service at 700,000 U.S. locations.
Samsung Pay will surely have one key benefit here once its launched, as it will come pre-loaded on most popular Android smartphones.
The post Galaxy Note 5 launch indirectly confirmed by Samsung appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Apple Watch coming to its retail stores in two weeks
Apple says the Watch will finally hit its US retail stores in two weeks, and it expects to clear up most of its May pre-order backlog by then, as well. The wearable is also coming to seven more countries starting June 26th. Folks in Italy, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan, Singapore, Switzerland and South Korea will be able to grab it then at Apple’s online and retail stores, or other select retailers. The news is a pretty good sign that Apple is beginning to clear its order backlog, though it emphasized that demand had “surpassed our expectations.”
When pre-orders started in April, customers that didn’t nab one tout de suite saw delivery times slipping to June and later. Despite that, some pundits speculated that Watch sales haven’t met expectations, even though Apple didn’t release any figures to back that up. What we do know is that if you ordered the Watch early on and still haven’t received it, the longest you’ll now have to wait now is two weeks. (The only exception is the 42mm stainless steel model in black, which will take an additional two weeks to ship.) If you’re hoping to head to an Apple Store and buy one off the rack soon, though, beware that Apple said only “some” models will be available.
Source: Apple
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