Apple's New Ad Campaign Focusing on Branding and Enriching Lives

At the end of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote yesterday, CEO Tim Cook introduced a new TV ad focusing on how Apple's products and services enrich lives. The ad's tagline is "Designed by Apple in California", leveraging the statement displayed on every Apple product to make an emotional connection with consumers over the care the company puts into its products.

This is it. This is what matters. The experience of a product. How will it make someone feel? Will it make life better? Does it deserve to exist? We spend a lot of time on a few great things, until every idea we touch enhances each life it touches. You may rarely look at it, but you'll always feel it...this is our signature, and it means everything.

Bloomberg now reports that the ad is part of new campaign being launched by Apple and longtime advertising partner TBWA\Chiat\Day. The company's "Photos Every Day" and"Music Every Day" ads that have been running over the past several months are also part of the campaign.

MacBook Air's PCIe-Based Flash Storage Approaches 800 MB/s Read and Write

Aside from the "all-day" battery life that comes alongside the upgrade to Intel's Haswell processors in the new MacBook Air, one of the other major improvements is the adoption of PCIe-based flash storage for much faster performance. The new PCIe flash will also be coming to Apple's radically redesigned Mac Pro later this year, and undoubtedly other Macs as well.

Available in capacities up to 512GB, this next-generation flash storage is up to 9x faster than a traditional 5400-rpm notebook hard drive. And it’s up to 45 percent faster than the flash storage in the previous-generation MacBook Air. So when you flip open MacBook Air, it’s ready to go right away. Even after a month in standby mode, the screen springs to life.

AnandTech has taken a closer look at flash storage performance and other benchmarks in the new MacBook Air, finding that read/write speeds are approaching 800 MB/s.

The drive in my system uses a Samsung controller, although I've heard that SanDisk will have a PCIe solution for Apple as well. A quick run through Quick Bench reveals peak sequential read/write performance of nearly 800MB/s. 

This is a pretty big deal, as it is probably the first step towards PCIe storage in a mainstream consumer device that we've seen.

Beyond battery life and flash storage enhancements and the shift to Haswell, Apple's new MacBook Air brings several other enhancements as well, including faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi and dual microphones for reducing background noise.

Windows Phone shows up in Quantum Break game trailer

Quantum Break is a newly announced exclusive Xbox One game launching in 2014.

The trailer was released at E3, and Windows Phone fans would immediately notice an advanced model phone in the hands of one of the protagonists.

A Quantum Break television series is also in production, with the developers Remedy stating that "how you play the game impacts the show, and the show informs how you play the game," so I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of the handset in the future.

Via Reddit.com

Apple promo video asks “how can anyone perfect anything?

Yesterday the internet was abuzz about all things Apple; the new Mac Pro, Mac OS X Maverick and of course, the long-awaited update to their mobile platform, iOS 7. One aspect of the keynote that went a bit overlooked was the intro video called “Intention” about perfection, and how hard it is to attain it. The vid describes Apple’s lead designer, Sir Jony Ive’s pursuit of “purity and simplicity in design” and that “true simplicity is derived from so much more than just the absences of clutter or ornamentation… It’s about bringing order to complexity.” Apple, according to the video, first seeks how a product make people “feel.”

For iOS 7 Ive cleaned up the look and brought some needed changes, but it’s interesting how Apple uses a rhetorical question – “how can anyone perfect anything?” – to stifle the doubters who claim they lack innovation and that they now copy and enhance various features that have existed within Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry for years.

Check it out below, let us know what you think!

Source: YouTube
Via: The Verge

Spigen Ultra Thin Air Transparency Samsung Galaxy S4 case

Some individuals adoration cases, others don't – so its a matter of inclination. On the other hand, putting on a case likewise implies sprinkling on that modest touch of security to an overall inclined mechanism. Although different cases mass and cover away the Samsung Galaxy S4's outline and style, the Spigen Ultra Thin Air Transparency case goes in the inverse heading by supporting its exquisite figure.

Out of everything, its the transparency of the case that emerges generally, as its ready to give it the "bare" look that some individuals hunger for. Indeed, there's nothing favor about the case's configuration, yet it shouldn't be the one to emerge when its put on the Galaxy S4, seeing that its the handset that ought to be the star of the show. On one hand, insurance is somewhat negligible with this one, so the handset may bring about some harm its dropped. Notwithstanding, it'll do extraordinary in ensuring the handset from scrapes and scratches.

Presently provided that you're agonized over getting scratches on the showcase, just realize that the edges of the case are raised somewhat – so it won't come into contact with a surface. In the meantime, however, Spigen is great enough to incorporate its Steinheil screen defender and three diverse colored home catch decals. So yes, they're included goodies that are incorporated with the $24.99 buy of the Spigen Ultra Thin Air Transparency Samsung Galaxy S4 case. At last, assuming that you're all about holding the wonderful outline of the S4 without having a case impeding it completely, this is undoubtedly a thing that'll speak to you. 

Nokia and Microsoft 'working even closer,' will have something to show us soon

At a Uk preparation for Nokia's approaching Lumia 925, the association uncovered that its pressing on to develop its association with Microsoft. Nokia Uk's Ray Haddow said that it was "working even closer" with Redmond and that we can hope to see the foods grown from the ground of this matching "in the following not many weeks." While we're not certain what that will involve just yet (and we're as of now hoping to see some beta programming practicality arrive on our audit model), we're making plans to see some new characteristics from the group up. Better still, we've recently gained our particular Lumia 925 to test, so want a survey extremely soon.

Overhaul: As the gathering advances, we've caught an additional little tidbit out of Nokia identified with this coordinated effort. It creates the impression that reps have been underscoring the promoting parts of this pairup, recommending the two associations will work together in publicizing and expanding Nokia's perceivability. We'll upgrade this post with additional illumination provided that we get more illumination on precisely what we can envision. 

Native Instruments outs Kontrol Z1: an iOS DJ mixer with audio interface

It wouldn't take a virtuoso to decipher that Native Instruments was set to discharge some fittings to snuggled up to that sparkling new ios form of Traktor Dj. What's more here it is --the Kontrol Z1 --a two-channel blender with an implicit sound interface in particular for ipad and iphone. Connect this to your idevice, and Traktor Dj gets full precue purpose, in addition to some fitting (club-level, 24-bit) sound yield, also committed faders and 3-band Eq controls. The fittings (which is comparative in size to the Kontrol F1) implies you can break out the blender area, leaving the touchscreen showcase committed to transport and exhibition. The Z1 will keep your idevice energized, too (it ought to be connected to), so you're handy for that epic Balearic cool off set. In like manner, it likewise works with Traktor Pro 2, assuming that you're looking to incorporate something somewhat more diminutive into your portable computer setup. It'll require a lightning connector to function with the most cutting edge units, and costs $199 / €199 from your most beloved Dj outlet. The application won't uphold the equipment until a June 24th overhaul, however meanwhile, move past the break for the demo film. 

SOURCE: Native Instruments

Google Buys Waze Mapping Sevice

It’s possible that real-time mapping capabilities are on their way to Google Maps applications through the purchase of Waze, instead of just an in-house update to Google Maps, following today’s purchase of Waze by Google.

Apparently a maps application combined with Google’s mapping product won’t happen for some time, with Google saying in the statement announcing the purchase that Waze would continue to operate separately from the rest of the Google “for now.”

The company does say that it’s “excited about the prospect of enhancing Google Maps with some of the traffic update features provide by Waze and enhancing Waze with Google’s search abilities,” though it doesn’t give any sort of exact timeline for when either might happen.

Waze

Rumors earlier this year indicated that Apple had looked into purchasing the company, but they immediately died down after sources talked to CNET and TechCrunch completely debunked the rumors. The new real-time directions could complement the dynamic routing functionality that was announced to be coming to iOS and Android users sometime later this year during Google’s Keynote at Google I/O 2013.

That dynamic routing technology allows Google Maps to analyze current road conditions like weather and traffic to get users to their destination faster than if they would have used solutions that rely on static routing. Services that rely on static routing process the road and traffic conditions at the beginning of the user’s journey, completely ignoring any conditions that might arise once the user has already left.

Though most standalone navigation solutions already provide real-time routing information, like Waze and the upcoming Google Maps update, many navigation applications for mobile devices don’t.

Waze itself is powered by its user base, and uses the devices of users running the application to gather all the real-time data and traffic information that users might need. Users can then send the service alerts about accidents, speeding traps, road conditions and even fuel prices in the area.

Previous rumors of a Waze purchase by Google had indicated a price of around $1 billion for the application.

Google’s purchase of Waze comes a day after Apple announced that its upcoming iOS 7 version of the Siri voice assistant would ditch Google’s search engine in favor of relying on Microsoft’s Bing search engine for some queries, a process that began with the removal of YouTube from the iPhone’s preinstalled applications and replacing Google Maps with its own in-house service mapping service.

Apple’s Apple Maps currently relies on data provided by Waze. It is unknown how today’s purchase might change that relationship.

How to Split the Screen on Your iPhone for Side-by-Side Browsing & Faster Multi-Tasking

It seems like I'm constantly switching between apps whenever I need to get something done on my iPhone. If I'm playing a game and want to change the song in the background, I have to double tap the Home button and go to the Music app. Not a difficult process, but it still forces me to leave my game to do anything else.

The iPhone can obviously handle running two applications at once, but why not give the option to share the screen between them like the latest version of Android Jelly Bean? Like so many other things on the iPhone, there is no native split-screen function, but there are a few workarounds. In this guide I'll walk you through your options weather you're willing to jailbreak, or would prefer to stick with stock iOS.

Non-Jailbreak Options

If you're not jailbroken, your options are a little more limited. There's no way to split the screen between two different apps, but there are a few ways to make multitasking a little less painful.

1. iBrowse Duo

iBrowse Duo Mini is a really simple multitasking web browser. It lets you split the browser into two separate windows rather than using the browser's built-in tab function.

The app does just what it says, but may be a little to basic for some people. It doesn't save your history, there's no way to save images or bookmark your favorite pages, and you can't customize any settings or choose your own homepage.

Here's how it works:

It may not have the full multi-app functions many would like, but if you're just looking for a minimal multitasking browser, you can pick up iBrowse Duo Mini from the App Store for 99 cents.

2. iNetDual Lite

iNetDual Lite is similar to iBrowse Duo, but has a few more features. The application is a browser with split-screen capabilities and built-in buttons for Wikipedia, Google and Dictionary.com for faster searching.

You can also adjust the size of each window by dragging the gray separation bar located in the middle of the browser, and it runs pretty smoothly. iNetDual Lite does support bookmarks, and has a batch download option for images.

Unlike iBrowse Duo, iNetDual Lite is free to download. The full version is $1.99 allows for a higher number of image downloads, more bookmarking options, and access to the browser history.

3. Mini Browser Pro

Mini Browser Pro is another multitasking web browser and claims to be one of the most comprehensive dual screen application available. Some of the more notable feature include unlimited windows, private browsing and full-screen mode.

The main windows will show your current page and you can access other windows by swiping to the left or right. The app also supports HTTPS and untrusted server certification support, so it's more secure than the other two already mentioned.

You can grab Mini Browser Pro in the App Store for $1.99.

AirPlay

If you don't want to download an app, or can't find one that fits what you want to do, AirPlay is a good workaround for multitasking. You can use your iPhone with your Apple TV or a computer to either mirror your iPhone display or stream music or video over the wireless network.

So, you could play a movie that you bought from iTunes through your TV or an external monitor and still continue to use your phone for other tasks. Same goes for music. Just sync your speakers to the same Wi-Fi network or plug them directly into an Apple Airport. Then, connect your phone's music player to the speakers and you can use your phone for anything else.

To see if your device is compatible, check out the Apple Support Page. And if you don't already have Apple TV, you can use AirPlay to stream content to your Mac instead.

Multi-Tasking Options for Jailbroken iOS Devices

As usual, there are a few more interesting options for those with jailbroken iPhones. While there still aren't any applications that divided the screen so that I could play Temple Run 1 and 2 side-by-side, there are some cool non-browser alternatives.

Activator

Activator is a must-have app for anyone with a jailbroken iPhone. You can find the free application by searching for it in the Cydia store. Activator gives jailbreakers the option to create custom functions for all their apps and phone actions.

For example, instead of having to switch out of one application to change the song or access your camera, you can designate a specific action to do just that. So, if I'm playing Plants vs. Zombies and I need to change that Justin Bieber song, I can assign the next song function to the volume key (or any other button) using Activator so I don't have to switch to the Music app.

Multifl0w

Multifl0w is another great Cydia app for multitaskers. It's the most viable option for those looking to interact with multiple apps at the same time. If you're a Mac user, the style is very similar to the Expose feature available on Snow Leopard and earlier. Multifl0w can open up all applications that you're currently running and you can select or interact with an individual item.

You can download Multifl0w from the the Cyida store for $4.99. You will also need to install Backgrounder, which is free. Multifl0w is optimized for the iPhone 4 and iOS 4.0.1, but support for iOS 5 was added a while back. Check out the video below to see Multifl0w in action.

CardSwitcher 2.0

CardSwitcher 2.0 is very similar to Multifl0w as it allows jailbreakers to receive live updates on up to four applications at once. You can load up a Safari webpage and activate the switcher to access your Facebook app without interrupting any of the webpage loading. CardSwitcher 2.0 utilizes gestures to close and switch applications. It has been tested on iOS 5 and is available in the Big Boss Repo for $1.99.

Here it is in action.

Do you know any other apps or hacks to split the screen on the iPhone? Let us know in the comments section below.

source

Completely Close Out Running Applications in iPhone iOS 7 to Save Battery

The new iOS 7 brings an updated multi-tasking view for switching between your running apps, but it also silently changed the method used to completely quit & close out your apps running in the background.

If you're anything like me, you like to be able to fully exit your apps to help free up memory, improve battery life, or to just get out of an app that has become unresponsive.

iOS 7's new method to completely exit your running apps (and prevent them from running in the background) is even easier than iOS 6's, although it isn't immediately obvious.

All you have to do is double tap the home button to bring up the multi-tasking view, then swipe up on the screenshot of the app you want to exit. The app will fly off the screen, and release its resources to the OS.

Easy, right? Don't feel bad if you couldn't figure it out. While many of the new features will be familiar to veteran iOS users, some aren't immediately obvious. One of the first things that I had difficulty figuring out was how to force-quit my apps.

Pro-Tip: Close Multiple Background Apps at Once

Although there isn't currently a way to completely exit all your background apps at once in iOS 7, you can use multiple fingers to swipe and close up to three apps up at once. Repeating the gesture multiple times will make quitting everything quick and easy.

Previous Versions of iOS

With previous versions of iOS (from 4-6), all you had to do was double tap the home button, tap and hold on the app you wanted to close and tap on the red icon that would appear. Now, tapping and holding the icons in the multi-tasking bar does nothing.

More iOS 7 Tips Coming Soon!

This week we've been kicking the tires on iOS 7, Apple's latest OS for the iPhone and iPad, and while there's a lot to like, there's also a lot to learn, so come back soon as we explore more of the new features and hidden tricks to mastering iOS 7.

Apple's iTunes Radio brings ads to the Apple iPhone lock screen for the first time

With iOS 7 beta 1 being made available to those who are registered Apple developers (at $99 a pop), Apple's new streaming music service is now live for some code jockeys to use before it gets rolled out to the general public with the launch of iOS 7 next quarter. So far, one interesting little tidbit from iTunes Radio is that it reveals the first ad content ever on the Apple iPhone lock screen.

The ad is actually for iTunes itself. When you are listening to the soothing tunes coming from your iPhone, you can lock the screen and let the music play. When the phone wakes, it will show cover art of the album from which the track you're listening to belongs. On the bottom of the cover art is a link that enables you to purchase the song you're hearing from iTunes. This link only appears if you're not a subscriber to the $24.99 Apple iTunes Match service. Subscribers to the service will see only the cover art. 

Those iTunes Match subscribers looking to buy a particular tune can do so by opening up the music application on the phone. That will reveal a link on the right hand side to iTunes along with the price to download the song. This could change once iOS 7 gets out of beta, but for now the Apple iPhone has its first lock screen ad. 

Most Apple iPhone users are seeing their first lock screen ad

source: AppleInsider

iOS 7 to allow blocking of calls from specific phone numbers

Phone number blocking is coming with iOS 7

We already went over all the new major features that iOS 7 will bring to select iPhone and iPad owners. The minor tweaks and improvements, however, deserve to get some attention as well, even though not a whole lot of them were highlighted during the iOS 7 announcement. 

A small feature that many iPhone users will truly appreciate is the ability to block specific phone numbers. Unwanted incoming calls, text messages, even FaceTime conversations will not be allowed to disturb one's peace if that particular contact is on the blocked list. Cool, isn't it? To learn more about iOS 7 and the changes it brings, take a look at our extensive iOS 7 coverage.

source: 9to5Mac

iOS 7 Hotspot 2.0 adds WiFi roaming for ubiquitous connections

iPhones and iPads running Apple’s new iOS 7 later this year may be able to roam more easily between WiFi hotspots, thanks to quietly added support for Hotspot 2.0. The feature, confirmed among the new functionality in iOS 7 that Apple didn’t have sufficient keynote time to detail yesterday, builds on the Wi-Fi Alliance’s “Certified Passpoint” system, effectively a simple roaming system for WiFi access points.

Launched last year, though to little fanfare, Certified Passpoint devices automatically discover and select networks, and support WPA2 security. Unlike traditional open hotspots, the system is intelligent enough to automatically log into compatible access points.

Assuming the iPhone or iPad user has a suitable roaming account, that should mean they’re able to jump onto a WiFi connection just as readily as they roam onto a foreign cellular network when abroad. The Hotspot 2.0 system is designed to help cellular networks offload high-bandwidth usage from 3G/4G connections to fatter WiFi pipes.

That doesn’t necessarily happen today, even when a carrier’s plan includes bundled access to one or more WiFi hotspot services. That’s often down to the subscriber being unaware of the access they get, of where they can take advantage of it, or not bothering to go through the process of registering and/or logging on.

Running iOS 7, however, an iPhone or iPad would be able to do all that logging-in automatically, relying on SIM authentication. The system does require a compatible SIM, however, with support for the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), though a second protocol – EAP-TTLS – can be used which works on usernames and passwords for devices such as WiFi-only tablets that lack SIM cards.

AT&T rolled out the first SIM-authenticated WiFi hotspot roaming earlier this year, while Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 is actually the first smartphone to support Hotspot 2.0. It’ll be a while before networks are up to speed with the authentication technology, however, with some estimates pegging 2014 as the earliest that we should see widespread deployment.

Still, by that point most recent iPads and iPhones should support the system, making getting online while on the move far more straightforward. The iOS 7 beta is available for developers now, though Apple says the full release isn’t expected until the fall.

Gorilla Glass for cars tipped for lighter, quieter automobiles

Gorilla Glass is used in millions of handheld products, including smartphones and tablets. The glass offers a stronger, more durable build that makes it scratch-resistent and less likely to break. While it’s mostly meant for consumer electronic devices, we could be seeing Gorilla Glass make its way into the auto industry as soon as next year.

However, while durability is the selling point behind Gorilla Glass, auto makers seem to want it due to its lightweight design and soundproofing abilities. According to Corning senior vice president Jeffrey Evenson, Gorilla Glass would help reduce a car’s overall weight, boosting fuel economy by up to a few percentage points depending on how much Gorilla Glass is used.

Since most auto makers are looking for more ways to make lighter vehicles in order to improve fuel economy, Gorilla Glass could be a viable way to accomplish that. Plus, the glass could also kill two birds with one stone and provide a quieter interior for drivers, something that’s a significant factor for a lot of car buyers.

Evenson says that he expects at least one high-end auto manufacturer to use Gorilla Glass on new cars within the next year, but as for a possible timeline of when Gorilla Glass could become mainstream, Evenson didn’t discuss that. However, he talked about the next-generation of Gorilla Glass, saying that the company is looking into “anti-microbial” materials.

Evenson says that the bacteria-killing glass would initially be used in the healthcare world to maintain cleanliness and sanitation with electronic devices in hospitals and such, but the mainstream market is also a strong possibility, with the ongoing statistic that smartphone screens have more bacteria on them than a toilet seat. Corning hopes to get the new anti-microbial glass certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency within the next few months.

SOURCE: MIT Technology Review

HTC Butterfly S to be announced on June 19

While the HTC One seems to be very successful – at least 5 million units may have been sold until now – this is no reason for HTC to stop introducing new high-end Android handsets this year. One of them will be the successor to the HTC Butterfly (released in late 2012).

Taiwanese website Sogi reports that the new smartphone is called Butterfly S – not Butterfly 2, as we’ve previously heard. This name appears on an invitation for an event that will take place on June 19.

The Butterfly S should come with an UltraPixel rear camera, LTE connectivity, a new processor, larger battery, Android Jelly Bean, and Sense 5 UI. Its display is probably similar to the one found on the original Butterfly (5 inches, 1920 x 1080 pixels).

Also on June 19, HTC will launch the Desire 600 in Taiwan. We’ve heard that this would arrive in Europe in the first half of June – so we could see it hitting the shelves here in the next few days.

The Desire 600 (pictured above) is a dual SIM smartphone that features Android Jelly Bean, a 4.5 inch qHD display, HSPA, quad-core 1.2GHz processor, Beats Audio, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal memory, 1.6MP front-facing camera, and an 8MP rear camera (without PureView technology).