AT&T Drops Price of Single-Line Data Plans, 2GB Now $65/Month [iOS Blog]

AT&T will launch a new single-line data plan for smartphone customers on Sunday, bringing it more in-line with the lower-cost family plans that launched at the beginning of February.

The new plan will give users 2GB of data, along with unlimited messaging and calling, for $65 per month, down $15 from the previous plan. Adding additional smartphones to the plan will cost $25 per line per month. AT&T slashed the prices of its Mobile Share family plans at the beginning of last month.

AT&T’s new plans can also be combined with an existing promotion that offers a $100 bill credit to new and existing customers who add a new line of service. That promo runs through 3/31/2014. AT&T also introduced new messaging and calling rates to international countries late last month.

The move comes in the midst of a marketing war between U.S. cellular carriers, with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint all introducing new deals and promotions to keep their current customers and snatch new ones.

Customers can learn more about the new plans on AT&T’s website.

T-Mobile Adds More Data, No-Cost International Texting to Simple Choice Plans [iOS Blog]

T-Mobile today announced that it was altering its existing Simple Choice plans, adding more data, a new pricing tier and no-added-cost international texting from the United States.

Simple Choice plans still start with one line at $50 per month for unlimited data, talk and text on the T-Mobile network.  You only have to decide how much high speed 4G LTE data you want.  And now on the core plan, you’ll get a full 1GB of 4G LTE data and tethering – double the previous amounts.  Additional lines continue to be $30 for the second line and $10 for up to three additional lines for unlimited data talk and text, and now 1GB of 4G LTE data.

Previously, T-Mobile’s Simple Choice plans included 500MB of 4G LTE data in the base $50 per month plan, while users could get 2.5GB of 4G LTE data for an extra $10 per month and unlimited 4G LTE data and 2.5GB of tethering for an extra $20 per month.

Now, users will get 1GB of 4G LTE data in the base plan, 3GB of 4G LTE data for an extra $10, 5GB of 4G LTE data and 5GB of tethering for an extra $20 and unlimited 4G LTE data and 5GB of tethering for an extra $30. In addition, T-Mobile has added unlimited international texting from the United States at no extra cost.

The data changes will take effect automatically on March 23 and the international texting will begin on April 1. While the unlimited 4G LTE data for an extra $20 per month will be removed, users who have the plan before March 23 will be grandfathered into, and allowed to keep, the plan.

SlatePro TechDesk Features Built-In Docks for iOS Devices, Air Vents for Macs [iOS Blog]

The SlatePro TechDesk is a new Kickstarter project featuring a desk that has been designed with built-in docks and cutouts to accommodate several different Apple devices. It comes with multiple display docks that are able to hold an iPad, iPhone, or other mobile device, and air vents in the middle of the desk offer continual cooling for MacBooks.

Designed to fit any size computer or laptop, from a MacBook to an iMac, the desk also comes equipped with a heavy duty mousepad, a filing rack, a pen dock, and a recessed cup holder. There are also built-in cutouts for cords to keep everything organized.

The SlatePro’s surface is cut from pure, premium bamboo and protected by a sheet of clear acrylic. It’s super strong, very light weight, and it will support your computer with ease. The desk’s steel legs are completely hand-crafted. They create the perfect height and are made by some of the best metal workers in the USA.

Nathan Mummert, the SlatePro’s creator, was also behind the Slate Mobile AirDesk, a successful Kickstarter project that featured a portable lap desk.

Some early pricing tiers of the SlatePro have already sold out, but interested backers are still able to pre-order a desk for $448 on Kickstarter. The first desks are expected to ship in May of 2014, while orders made now will ship in June or July.

New Concepts Imagine the iWatch as a Lifestyle Device, Traditional Timepiece

While earlier iWatch concepts were inspired by the wearable’s health-tracking features, a new set of renderings from Argentine design student Tomas Moyano imagines the iWatch as a device that’ll produce “a further and deeper interaction between human beings and technology.”

Moyano pictures a perfectly round device, with grooves in the side that’ll allow for multiple looks with different bands. Similar to the Shine from Misfit Wearables, the concept design features no buttons to catch on your sleeve and no holes to allow in water or dust. Submersible and resistant to dust, the watch lacks speakers and will rely on vibration notifications to alert you to an incoming message.

Wait a moment, no speakers? Think about it. A watch is almost always on your hand, pretty far from your ears. Imagine yourself walking on a noisy city: If you want to hear a notification sound from your smartwatch, it should be a loud sound, and to produce it, it would need a lot of energy and big components. Both things not easy to include on a such small device.

Besides that the iWatch will be constantly in contact with your skin and body, an important fact to consider. That’s why I decided you shouldn’t hear, but feel the notifications. That is right: Vibration notifications. Perfectly submersible and dust resistant vibration notifications.

Battery life will be a challenge in such a small device, so Moyano visualizes the iWatch with micro-solar panels and wireless recharging. To conserve this precious power, the concept iWatch will sacrifice the cellular connection and associated services that require an internet connection. Moyano’s concept envisions Maps working on the iWatch, but it is not clear how the maps would be usable on such a small-screened device.

Another circulating iWatch concept created by Hungarian freelance designer Gábor Balogh and published by The Verge is inspired by traditional wristwatch design. The concept uses an actual product image of the Havana timepiece from Swedish watchmaker Triwa. Balogh replaces the face of the watch with rumored iWatch features such as messages and heart rate tracking.

Though the iWatch won’t have many of the features mentioned about, it is rumored to include biometric functions like a heart rate monitor that’ll tie into Apple’s iOS 8 ecosystem via a new Healthbook app. It may also ship with a version of Siri tailored for the wrist-worn device.

Apple and iOS Continue to Make Small Gains in U.S. Smartphone Market Share

Apple retained its crown as the number one handset manufacturer among consumers in the U.S., while Google’s Android operating system remained the number one platform, according to comScore’s latest MobiLens and Mobile Metrix reports. These figures measure smartphone ownership and cover the three months ending January 2014.

Apple beat out rival Samsung with 41.6 percent market share as compared to Samsung’s 26.7 percent. When comparing changes over the measured periods, Apple, Samsung and LG made small gains, while Motorola and HTC fell. Apple’s market share continues to grow, but its rate of adoption is slowing.

Apple may be the top handset maker, but iOS is outnumbered by the volume of Android phones on the market. Apple’s iOS platform was number two with 41.6 percent of the smartphone market, while Google’s Android OS was number one with 51.7 percent market share in the recently ended period.

iOS was only the platform to gain ground in the three-month period, inching up from 40.6 percent in the period ending October 2013 to 41.6 percent in the most recent period. Android and BlackBerry lost ground, with each platform dropping 0.5 percentage points.

comScore measures both ownership and usage across a customer’s primary smartphone and tablet. It uses an intelligent online survey as well as both panel and census-based measurement methods to compile its data.

OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 Beta Contains Native ‘Retina’ Resolution Option for 4K Displays

Just released earlier tonight, Apple’s OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 beta appears to have built-in support that enables all compatible 4K displays to be set at a “Retina” resolution, with an option for 60Hz output. The compatibility was first discovered by Twitter user @KhaosT, and was tested with both the Late 2013 Retina MacBook Pro and redesigned Mac Pro in conjunction with Dell’s UltraSharp 24 Ultra HD Monitor.

To this point, OS X compatibility with 4K displays has been known to be somewhat erratic, as AnandTech revealed in December that Sharp’s 32” 4K display supported only one scaled resolution at 2560 x 1440. Furthermore, it was discovered that Apple had chosen to render text, menu and UI elements in the same manner as the Retina MacBook Pro, resulting in small and difficult to read on-screen elements on a 4K display. Various other 4K monitors were also found to be not properly supported.

Native support for 4K displays could also indicate that Apple is gearing up to release a higher-resolution Thunderbolt Display, as Apple last refreshed the monitor over two years ago. A number of other companies also introduced more affordable 4K displays at CES 2014 in January, with options from the likes of Lenovo, Asus, Seiki, and LG expected to hit the market throughout this year.

Video of Tim Cook’s Lunch Meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Gives Inside Look at Apple HQ [Mac Blog]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Apple CEO Tim Cook for lunch yesterday at Apple HQ in Cupertino, California.

Netanyahu is traveling through the United States for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and also met the founders of popular messaging app WhatsApp as well as the president of Stanford University.

While it’s not clear what Cook and Netanyahu could have talked about, video from the event has now emerged on the prime minister’s YouTube channel (via 9to5Mac).

Cook has met with the leaders of nations before, as he met Turkish President Abdullah Gül in February prior to the opening of a new Istanbul Apple Store and has met President Obama on multiple occasions.

In recent years, Apple has seen its relationship with Israel grow as the company has acquired Israeli-based companies PrimeSense and Anobit in addition to hiring for a new research and development center in Haifa, Israel.

Jawbone Updates ‘UP’ App With Sleep Tracking Improvements, Debuts Coffee Monitoring App [iOS Blog]

Jawbone today updated its UP app to version 3.1, adding several new features to improve its Jawbone UP fitness band. Multiple enhancements have been made to sleep tracking, with the app including more information on sound sleep and light sleep periods, plus sunrise and sunset visuals.

There’s a new sleep recovery menu that can be accessed if a band was not put into sleep mode, a feature originally introduced with version 3.0 of the app. The app also encourages better sleep through new personalized goals, challenging users to go to bed at the same time each night.

Following the update, reminders can also be set using customizable alerts, allowing users to set alarms for various purposes such as working out and taking medications.

– Reminders: Set customizable alerts with band vibrations to remind you to workout, go to bed, take medication and more.
– Forgot to put your band in sleep mode? Now access sleep recovery from the home screen.
– Added sunrise and sunset visuals into sleep graphs
– Introducing new Today I Will insights
– Bug fixes and sync performance improvements

Jawbone has also introduced an entirely new app, called UP Coffee, which is designed to allow Jawbone UP users to understand how caffeine affects sleep. The app lets users enter how many cups of coffee or other caffeinated foods/beverages they have consumed during the day and then calculates how long it will take to become “Sleep Ready.”

Up Coffee interfaces with the existing UP app, so users will see beverage consumption statistics entered into UP Coffee displayed within their UP apps.

Unlock a series of data-based reports on how your body reacts to caffeine. Check in with UP Coffee when you drink, and even when you don’t, for just 7 days to reveal your Caffeine Persona. Keep tracking for 3 more days to reveal the relationships between how much and when you drink with your bedtime, sleep duration and nighttime awakenings. Knowledge is power, so get buzzed.

UP by Jawbone app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

The UP Coffee app can also be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Mercedes wants to bring CarPlay to older vehicles this year

The biggest catch of Apple’s CarPlay (aside from platform support) is its limitation to newer vehicles; at last check, most people won’t buy a new car just to get better smartphone integration. Mercifully, Mercedes-Benz tells 9to5 Mac that it’s planning to deliver an “after market solution” for older cars by the end of 2014. The automaker isn’t providing many details, although there’s a good chance that its solution involves more than a simple software upgrade. Other brands haven’t outlined their plans for aftermarket CarPlay support, but it’s early days — don’t be surprised if there are more announcements once manufacturers are ready to show their cards.

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Mobile, Apple

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Via: Pocket-lint

Source: 9to5 Mac

Apple Seeds First OS X 10.9.3 Build to Developers

Apple today seeded the first test build of OS X 10.9.3 to registered Mac developers, just over a week after releasing OS X 10.9.2. The new beta, build number 13D12, is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store as well as through the Mac Dev Center.

Apple is currently asking developers to focus on Graphics Drivers and Audio, but there is no word yet on specific fixes and changes included in the update.