MOS Reach Offers Modern Power Solution with Standard Socket, 2 USB Ports [iOS Blog]

MOS Reach is a simple new power solution from MOS, a company that has previously released products like the magnetic MOS and MOS Menos, designed to organize cables in an intuitive way.

MOS Reach combines a three-prong power outlet and dual USB ports with a three-foot cable and a slim profile that is easy to mount on walls and surfaces, relocating power outlets that are inconveniently placed behind and under furniture.

Using adhesive, the MOS Reach can be stuck to a wall or on top of a desk, making it easier to charge iOS devices, Macs, and other electronics. It is designed to be flexible, bending and twisting around “any kind of furniture or obstruction” and it also includes magnets and MOS cable ties to keep cables attached when not plugged into a device.

Features:

– Reach gives you easy access to power outlets that are otherwise obstructed by furniture–no more crawling under desks or shimmying behind dressers to charge your devices.

– Reach has been designed to be as unobtrusive as possible and its compact size ensures that it’s never in the way whether you use it on your desk, your nightstand, or your wall.

– Reach consolidates your power outlets and USB wall adapters into an attractive moveable all-in-one power solution.

– Reach helps you cut down on cable clutter by making clever use of Neodymium magnets in conjunction with MOS cable ties to keep out-of-use cables out of the way until you need them.

MOS Reach is able to charge laptops with its power port, and its two USB ports have enough capacity (3.1 amps) to charge the iPad and the iPhone. The cable is encased in a soft-touch TPE jacket that is softer than the PVC typically used, according to MOS.

The MOS Reach is available in both black and white for $25 for the first 800 backers, with prices going up to $30 after that. The MOS Reach is expected to ship in January of 2015.

Apple Said to Be Developing Smart Home Products for HomeKit Integration

Following a report from The Information yesterday claiming that Apple is building hardware to work with the new HomeKit home automation standard announced for iOS 8, a follow-up report from 9to5Mac is making similar claims.

Details on the devices under consideration are scant, although the company is said to be beyond the exploratory stage of product development. Apple already sells one household product in the form of the Apple TV, which Macworld‘s Chris Breen argues is the logical hub for HomeKit, but Apple’s smart home ambitions allegedly extend beyond the living room.

The sources say that Apple is unlikely to move forward with devices to compete directly with Google’s Nest as the Cupertino-company feels it can build products that can gain usage wider than that of thermostats and smoke detectors. It is likely that Apple is building advanced speaker systems or control panels for homes, the sources say. It is possible that Apple’s recent acquisition of Beats Electronics and the audio company’s existing speaker systems play into this vision.

While Apple is expected to expand its product lineup with the iWatch, perhaps a 12-inch Retina MacBook Air and possibly a revamped Apple TV this year, the company’s HomeKit-integrated hardware is thought to be further down the roadmap in Apple’s future product lineup.

POM Tracking Tags Keep Tabs on Objects, People via Bluetooth and GPS [iOS Blog]

POM, short for Peace of Mind, is a new Kickstarter project offering Bluetooth and GPS-based tracking tag solutions. The basic POM is a tracking device that connects to the iPhone via Bluetooth LE and attaches to all manner of things — pets, kids, valuables, and more.

Much like similar tracking products such as Tile and Duet, the small, square-shaped Bluetooth POM tag tracks people, pets, and objects over short distances up to 300 feet. For tracking things over longer distances, there’s also the Total POM, which utilizes Bluetooth, Cellular, and GPS.

POM and Total POM is a small, square tracking tag, smaller than a key fob that attaches to your dog’s collar, can be worn on the wrist, or attached to your key ring or handbag. Hide it inside your purse, your computer case, your golf club bag, your suitcase, your guitar. Wear it as a bracelet for children and at-risk adults.

Both the POM and the Total POM use replaceable batteries, with the POM offering a three year battery life expectancy and the Total POM offering up to one year of battery life depending on how frequently it is used. The trackers connect to a complementary iPhone app, which offers features like sound alerts when a tagged item goes out of range and a “Last Location” option that marks the last known location of an object. The tags also include functions like leashing, an accelerometer to know if an item moves, and a temperature gauge.

There’s also a POM Link, which connects to home or office internet and acts as a constant monitoring beacon to create a “protection zone” letting users know when an item goes out of range, which is particularly useful for the shorter-range Bluetooth tags.

The standard Bluetooth-based POM will retail for $25, but is available at $15 for the first 250 Kickstarter backers, and $20 for the first 500 backers. Total POM, with GPS, is available to the first 500 Kickstarter backers for $99, with one year of service included, or $120 with two years included. After the free service has ended, Total POM costs $20 per year to use.

POM Link, the base station able to keep track of POM tags, is available to backers for $249. A bracelet will also be available if a stretch goal of $250,000 is reached.

A limited number of POMs are expected to ship in December of 2014, with the rest shipping in March of 2015. The POM Link will ship in April of 2015.

Claimed 4.7-Inch iPhone 6 Rear Shell Shown in Video With iPhone 6 Mockups, iPhone 5s

Japenese blog Mac Otakara today published a video showing what is claimed to be the rear shell from a 4.7-inch iPhone 6 alongside the iPhone 5s and several iPhone 6 mockups. Similar to earlier photos, the Mac Otakara shell includes a complex internal structure and cutouts for the camera, flash and Apple logo.

In line with previous rumors, the shell is significantly thinner than the iPhone 5s and has all of the anticipated cutouts for the iPhone 6, including a mute switch and elongated volume buttons similar to those on the current iPod touch. The shell also houses a cutout for a SIM card tray and possibly the power button, which may be moved from to the top edge to the side to make it more accessible when using the larger phone single-handed.

Apple may unveil both the 5.5-inch and the 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 simultaneously, with September 19 as a possible launch date. Based on Apple’s past releases, a media event to introduce the new hardware would come roughly a week and a half prior to that date. Both models are said to include a faster A8 processor and new camera options that may see the 4.7-inch version ship with an advanced lens and the 5.5-inch version exclusively use optical image stabilization to improve photo quality.

iOS 8 Beta 3 Reportedly Not Launching Until Tuesday, July 8

The third beta release of iOS 8 will not occur until Tuesday, July 8, according to a report from BGR. That timeframe would mark a three-week interval following the release of the second beta last week.

Apple commonly begins seeding versions of its major new iOS versions on roughly two-week intervals, moving to three-week intervals later in the testing period as work progresses. For example, with iOS 7 last year, the second and third betas arrived two weeks after their predecessors with the fourth beta shifting to a three-week interval. Apple did, however, then follow that with several intervals of around a week as it pushed out an urgent bug fix.

iOS 6 followed a similar pattern without the interim bug fix, seeing a two-week interval leading up to the second beta before quickly shifting to three-week intervals for the third and fourth betas.

BGR has a good, but not perfect, track record in predicting iOS beta releases, so it seems likely that there will be no iOS 8 beta release next week.

Apple Launches New 16GB iPod Touch for $199, Drops 32/64GB Models to $249/$299

Following our report from earlier today, Apple has launched its new entry-level 16 GB fifth-generation iPod touch, while also cutting the price on the current 32/64 GB iPod touch, offering them for $249 and $299, respectively. The new iPod touch is available in six different colors with a rear camera and a lower price tag of $199.

The 16 GB model now offers the same features as the larger capacity models, although the Loop wrist strap is sold separately on the 16 GB model and included with 32 and 64 GB models.

The fifth-generation iPod touch originally debuted in October of 2012 with a $299 price tag, but Apple expanded the lineup with a lower-cost, silver-only 16GB model that shipped without a rear camera and lower price point of $229. This new $199 16GB model replaces the $229 model in Apple’s iPod touch lineup.

Apple Planning to Launch New $199 16GB iPod Touch With Rear Camera, Multiple Colors

Apple appears to be planning on launching a new 16GB fifth-generation iPod touch, according to a source that spoke to MacRumors. The new iPod touch would be a 16GB version of the current 32/64GB iPod touch, coming in six different colors with a rear camera and a lower price tag of $199. Separately, iGen.fr reports that they have heard that a new iPod touch will indeed be launching on Tuesday of next week. Their source did not directly corroborate the pricing and specs, but did say it was a single model only, and not a revision of the entire iPod touch line.

Apple initially launched the 32/64GB fifth-generation iPod touch in October of 2012 with a $299 price tag, but later added a lower-cost silver-only 16GB iPod touch that stripped key features like a rear camera to lower the cost to $229.

As time passes and technology advances, component prices often drop, which may be why Apple is planning to bring feature parity to its iPod touch lineup nearly two years after the original launch of the fifth-generation iPod touch.

Apple’s fifth-generation iPod touch has been lauded for its ultrathin design and its bright colors, but spec wise, the product is inferior to the current iPhone 5s, with only an A5 chip and a 5-megapixel iSight camera, which may be another reason Apple is launching a lower-cost version of the device.

It is unclear what will happen to the existing 16GB iPod touch, but Apple could choose to lower the price of that device even further or discontinue it in favor of the new version with a rear camera.

Only the 5.5-Inch iPhone 6 May Offer 128 GB Models

Earlier today it was reported that the iPhone 6 would launch in 32 GB and 64 GB variants, indicating that Apple may not launch a 16 GB variant of the next iPhone and leaving many wondering whether Apple would introduce a third 128 GB variant. Now Chinese site Wei Feng [Google Translate] is reporting that Apple may introduce a 128 GB variant only for the 5.5-inch iPhone 6.

5.5″ iPhone 6 model via TechSmartt
The site says that the storage size difference would act as a major differentiator between the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models other than display size, allowing people to get a true “phablet” experience with lots of storage space to save various documents and data. This would partly mirror Apple’s iPad models, which allow for up to 128 GB of storage while iPhones only allow up to 64 GB of storage.

However, if Apple abandons the 16 GB model and introduces a 128 GB variant for the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 only, it would mean the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 only has two storage size variants, going against Apple’s trend of releasing iOS devices with at least three different storage size options.

In addition to a larger display, the iPhone 6 is expected to launch this September with a thinner design, a faster processor, and an improved camera. The larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 is also rumored to exclusively have optical image stabilization to also differentiate it from the smaller iPhone 6, which will instead have an advanced lens module.