Amazon is having a sale on Duke Nukem Forever, Dragon Age Pack, and Spore for the Mac, as well as other titles for your PC-using friends today only. These are the digital download versions that can be downloaded again if anything happens to your Mac or you get a new one.
If you’re uncertain whether downloading games is for you, the Amazon Game Downloads Help page has the answers for all of your questions.
Being the resident “extreme” iPhone case enthusiast (and also the klutz who drops his phone most often), I was intrigued by the new cellhelmet Kickstarter project. This $44.99 case combines svelte design with protection against drops, but bundles it with an actual insurance policy that replaces your iPhone if damaged while in the case.
The case in and of itself isn’t magical, and according to David Artuso of cellhelmet creator cellpig.com, the case isn’t “superman.” The design has angled edges to protect against drops, and a choice of 6 different colored backplate shields to protect the glass, providing great protection without the bloat of other solutions.
What sets the cellhelmet apart is the bundled insurance policy, administered by Global Warranty Group. Should the iPhone break while in the case, a $50 handling fee covers any repairs required, or complete replacement if necessary. I’ve written about iPhone insurance before, but the fact that this case includes the insurance for the $44.99 purchase price is what makes it interesting.
The plan does not cover water damage, nor does the case protect the water sensors, but according to gadget insurance provider SquareTrade, glass breakage accounts for 82% of its claims. The cellhelmet is competitive with SquareTrade’s own insurance program, but is slightly less expensive, applies even to used iPhones, and of course, comes with a case. Your iPhone has to be in the cellhelmet for its policy to apply, however.
Coverage lasts for one year from the time you purchase your cellhelmet, and should you every have to claim a total device replacement, you’ll have to buy another cellhelmet, but that’s consistent with other third-party insurance programs. If all your device requires is a screen replacement after an accident, you get unlimited repairs.
For slightly more money than a stylish iPhone case, and slightly less than a third-party insurance program, you can get both by backing the Pittsburgh-based company’s project on Kickstarter. Not a bad deal, especially if you can’t seem to keep a firm grip on Apple’s beautiful but somewhat slippery smartphone designs.
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Saturday Night Live we’ll debate at another time. Music we’ll discuss now, because there’s more great music out there than ever, it’s just not on the radio or on MTV. So, where do you look for it after your subscription to CMJ has expired? Try out 955 Dreams’ Band of the Day, now a universal app for iPad support.
About Band of the Day, from the press release:
Late last year, 955 Dreams launched a completely new platform for daily mobile publishing with the release of Band of the Day (BoD) for iPhone. The world’s first mobile-exclusive music publication was adopted by hundreds of thousands of users in its first few weeks, and Band of the Day was quickly named iPhone App of the Year Runner Up by Apple. Unlike the path of mobile adoption taken by traditional magazine publishers, BoD is built from the ground up for iOS Devices. Expanding its daily magazine platform to the tablet, Band of the Day is now available for the iPad. Also built on the 955 Publishing Engine, BoD iPad app features emerging artists using beautiful magazine layouts, full play songs and easy access for social engagement. Unique navigation mechanisms, like allowing users to flip through editorial pages rather than scrolling, keep user engagement very high. Band of the Day has proven to be a revolutionary new way to discover great music directly on iOS, as seen by passionate iTunes user reviews and consistent 5 star ratings.
Band of the Day provides a simple way to find great bands from all over the world, the kind my buddy John and I would play for each other on those long drives between New York City and our hometown in Ohio. The only problem with an app like this is that it’s possible to find too many new bands, which can be a burden on your wallet.
But if you’re an actual fan of music, Band of the Day gives you a free, easy way to get that thrill of discovering new bands directly from the convenience of your iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
Product [Band of the Day]
China Telecom is getting very near to launching Apple’s iPhone 4S on its network, the carrier said in a press release Tuesday obtained by China Daily. China Telecom subsidiary Beijing Telecom said a CDMA version of the iPhone 4S will likely be available to its customers by the end of February or the beginning of March.
Apple has been taking preparatory steps in advance of a launch with China Telecom, China’s third largest mobile network operator. Earlier in January, Apple secured regulatory approval to sell a device in China that operates using the CDMA2000 network standard, which is the technology China Telecom uses for its 3G network. At the time, the only step remaining for Apple was to get a license from China’s Telecommunications Equipment and Certification Center to begin selling the device, which it gained on Monday this week.
Earlier this week, Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty predicted that Apple could grow its iPhone sales by as many as 57 million units in China over the next two years if it succeeds in securing partnerships with China Telecom and China Mobile. China Telecom will offer Apple a potential subscriber pool of roughly 15 million high-end subscribers according to Morgan Stanley’s numbers, approximately doubling its current reach through official partner China Unicom.
The deal hasn’t yet been confirmed by Beijing Telecom’s parent company beyond the report from China Daily, and no pricing details have been released, but the pieces are in place, and there’s little reason to suspect Apple wouldn’t want to expand its presence in China as quickly as possible. No doubt a partnership with China Mobile, which reaches 650 million subscribers and has around a 70 percent share of the Chinese mobile market, is also a priority, but technological factors likely precludes official iPhone support until Apple creates a version specifically for China Mobile’s network.
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Apple released a fairly big update for its Final Cut Pro X video editing app on Tuesday. It only tips the version number slightly up to 10.0.3, but it brings a couple major additions pro users have been clamoring for. Apple clearly wants to win the hearts of FCP 7 users who felt the new version made too many concessions to novice users.
The two big new features in the 10.0.3 update, which is free through the Mac App Store, are multicam editing, allowing users to automatically sync a maximum of 64 angles of video and photos, and a beta version of a broadcast monitoring feature that works with both Thunderbolt and PCIe cards. The removal of multi-camera editing was a major complaint among FCP 7 video editors, since it made combining photo and video from multiple camera sources a much more complicated process.
In addition to those new features, the update also brings improved image and color controls, including the introduction of color sampling, edge adjustment and light wrap editing abilities, which means you’ll be able to depend more on FCP X directly, and less on external programs like Motion when working with complex keying challenges, Apple said in its press release.
Apple also took the opportunity of the release to point out that the third-party application ecosystem for FCPX has grown considerably in recent months, and now includes tools like 7toX, which allows FCP7 projects to be imported to the newer software. The inability to import old projects in FCPX was another of the major complaints users had with the latest version.
Apple promised updates to answer a lot of user concerns with the software back when version 10.0.1 delivered XML support, and judging by a recent Ars Technica report on the continued reticence of video pros to use the software, the sooner it can deliver more updates like this one that address major pain points cited by users, the better.
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Apple won a small victory in Germany Tuesday as the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court upheld its decision against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1. The 10-inch slate is still barred from sale in the country, and the appeals court also determined that the Galaxy Tab 8.9 falls within the scope of that injunction. In the meantime, the European Union is putting Samsung’s recent patent claims under a regulatory microscope.
Samsung has already sidestepped the initial injunction against the Tab 10.1 by releasing the Tab 10.1N in the German market, which features a redesigned case that avoids infringing on Apple’s community design patent. The ruling on Tuesday was based on a violation of German unfair competition law, Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents notes, and not on the original community design the injunction was issued for.
Mueller thinks that the win in the Düsseldorf appeals court is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, the ruling is obviously in Apple’s favor. On the other, it doesn’t necessarily apply to the redesigned Samsung 10-inch tablet, so there’s no guarantee it’ll have any commercial impact for Apple. Also, the full-blown proceeding still has to take place, and that’s where the more important matter of Apple’s design patent will take place. Finally, Mueller says that in general, design-related lawsuits will probably have much less of an impact on the final outcome of the intellectual property value between the two companies than technical patent infringement claims, because they’re relatively easy to work around.
In what may end up being a much more significant blow for Samsung, Tuesday also saw the announcement of a full-blown investigation of Samsung’s use of its patents which fall under fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) licensing requirements. The European Commission had this to say in its formal press release on the issue:
The European Commission has opened a formal investigation to assess whether Samsung Electronics has abusively, and in contravention of a commitment it gave to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), used certain of its standard essential patent rights to distort competition in European mobile device markets, in breach of EU antitrust rules.
Samsung will now face a formal inquiry regarding its claims of infringement on patents deemed to be essential in the EU. The action was likely prompted by Samsung’s infringement claims against Apple, which it went after in multiple EU courts regarding patents carrying FRAND licensing requirements.
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AirPort Utility 6.0 will definitely be more highly favored among novice users with supported hardware, as the interface has been significantly updated to offer the simplicity of the iOS version of the software. However, more advanced users may still choose to stick with version 5.6, even with a supported base station. Unfamiliarity with the new user interface in AirPort Utility 6.0 and lack of some advanced features—including the inability to use the app while performing a firmware update on a base station—are reasons aside from hardware incompatibility that may convince users to stick with the “older” and more familiar AirPort Utility version.
Regardless of your choice, whether voluntary or not, both AirPort Utility 5.6 and 6.0 are available now via Software Update and Apple’s support documents for each version.
Via [TUAW]
The newly-rebranded Macworld | iWorld 2012 (formerly known as Macworld Expo) has just wrapped up, and attendees this year were treated to a symphonic smorgasbord on the show floor. There were speakers for every taste and budget, headphones for active lifestyles, and even a few apps designed to work with your music library and listening setup to enhance the listening experience.
Here is a roundup of some of the best audio products demonstrated by several companies, some old standbys and a few fresh faces:
The venerable Dutch firm B&O used Macworld | iWorld to demo the first B&O Play device, the Beolit 12. B&O Play represents a new iDevice-centric sub-brand for the upmarket firm, with their signature focus on simplicity and stunning design all at a more affordable price. The Beolit 12 is a portable, rechargeable speaker capable of playing tunes via AirPlay, audio in, or USB connection.
A surprise newcomer, and a selection in Appletell’s Favorite Products of Macworld | iWorld 2012, Gavio turned many show attendees’ heads with their impressive audio and even more incredible designs. The Wrenz speakers, which look like small metallic or jewel-encrusted birds, and Sgul earphones, which resemble the Terminator sans skin carried loads of style and an impressive sound to match.
The display at the Polk Audio booth certainly matched its description in the press materials: High-Flying and High-Fidelity. The stars of the acrobatic trampoline act were pro acrobats demonstrating the staying power of the Polk’s new Ultrafit sport & fitness headphones, while the stars of the booth were the Ultrafit headphones themselves. The 500, 1,000, and 3,000 series in-ear headphones looked good and sounded better, while the 2000 series on-ears were comfortable and provided convenient controls right on the headset.
Rounding out the bunch is SRS Labs and their MyTunes iPhone app. This app provides audio enhancement, equalizer, and volume leveling technology developed by SRS labs for custom hardware—Apple even used the SRS Surround Sound processing tech in its old MultipleScan AV line of displays. With customized audio enhancement profiles for various output devices like car audio, in-ear or on-ear headphones, or speakers, MyTunes makes your music sound its best regardless of where you’re listening. The free version provides a time-limited trial, while the full version is $4.99 on the App Store.
Be sure to check out the rest of our Macworld | iWorld 2012 coverage.
This past week, Bell quietly launched their new Mobile TV app in the iTunes App Store. Bell Mobile TV is currently one of the featured apps if you browse the store from your iPhone or iPod touch so we thought we’d take a closer look at exactly what the telecom giant has to offer. Bell also has a PVR iPhone app.
At its core, the Bell Mobile TV app lets you access 24 channels including CBC, CTV, TSN, and the Comedy Network plus a variety of unspecified on-demand content. You can do all of this, according to Bell, without affecting your current data plan, for an additional $5/mo. According to Bell, the $5 nets you 5 hours of viewing time over 3G with a charge of $1 for every additional hour of viewing.
The kicker, however, from what I can tell is that content viewed over WiFi is unlimited. That means that anyone with the $5 plan could view as much live, on-demand, or sports programming as they wanted as long as they’re on a Wi-Fi connection. Currently, Bell is promoting the app as a way to watch the SuperBowl live on Feb. 5th. Considering that watching the whole event in its entirety might run you a full five-hours the WiFi option might be an important consideration.
As more Canadians drift away from the traditional means of consuming entertainment, and the number of cable and satellite subscribers diminishes, it isn’t surprising to see a telecom like Bell make a move toward the mobile media market. For years now both Bell and Rogers have been buying up television assets in order to compete in a changing market place. For the consumer it means more options and that’s probably a good thing but in terms of exclusive content, especially around major sporting events like the Olympics or the World Cup, it could mean customers subscribed with the wrong telecom are left out in the dark.
In the meantime, $5 seems to be a pretty reasonable price to pay for access to all kinds of programs, sports events, and live TV especially if streaming over WiFi doesn’t count towards the time-limit. On the other hand, if you do most of your viewing away from home isn’t $1/hour for TV over 3G a little steep?
Bell Mobile TV App Announces Sports Line Up to Watch from iPhone is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog – Canada's #1 iPhone Resource
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Tim Cook has made his first major appointment since taking the reins at Apple, bringing in the head of British technology retailer Dixons, John Browett. He comes in to fill the gap left by the departure of Ron Johnson, the man who spent a decade building the Apple Store into a force to be reckoned with.
To say that Browett inherits a big job is an understatement. Apple’s retail strategy has been phenomenally successful over the past decade — responsible for $14 billion in sales in 2011, according to the company’s most recent results — and the company scoured the globe and waited several months to find somebody.
Immediate reaction to the news was intriguing, because it was split down the middle. On one side were those who read Browett’s credentials and the PR puffs. To them, it looks as if Apple has just hired a man who has succeeded at most things he’s tried, and spent the last five years steering a large retail business with more than 1,200 stores through a difficult period for the economy.
On the other hand, for those who know Dixons as it exists in the real world, the reaction was somewhat different: the most common refrain I saw was “Has Tim Cook ever been in a Dixons store?”.
I’m sure John Browett is a smart guy, and that Apple knows what it’s doing. But the idea of Apple Stores going Dixoney… *shudder*
— Christopher Phin (@chrisphin) January 31, 2012
Dixons operates two major store brands — Currys and PC World — and a number of online outlets, and their approach probably puts them somewhere in the region of Radio Shack and Best Buy. They are not widely loved by the public. And while it’s fair to say that Browett inherited a troubled company and improved its offerings to ordinary shoppers, he has also presided over a calamitous 90 percent fall in its share price over the last five years.
But Apple is standing by its choice, with Cook suggesting that “our retail stores are all about customer service” and Browett “shares that commitment like no one else we’ve met.”
So perhaps it’s worth asking who Browett actually is.
Let’s take a look at the evidence to try and understand what he might do at Apple.
First, he comes with serious academic chops, with degrees from Cambridge University (albeit in zoology) and an MBA from Wharton. In this Retail Week profile from 2009, he is called “affable and intellectual”, and a fierce advocate of good customer service who prides himself in knowing the ins and outs of every product on sale:
A tour of a PC World or Currys store with him reveals a schoolboy enthusiasm for talking at length about the technology behind flatscreen TVs.
On another occasion, he revealed his hands-on nature when a disgruntled customer barged into a back room after realising who Browett was. He leapt to his feet and attended to the customer.
It’s not quite on a par with the late night email habits of Steve Jobs, but this is the sort of detail that Apple will love. They will also like his reputation for driving very, very hard deals with suppliers: Browett is known for trying to extract every last ounce of value from a deal.
Meanwhile, in a Guardian profile published in 2007, just as he was about to take over at Dixons, a friend is quoted as saying that Browett is not the sort to rant and rave.
“He’s more measured, and more democratic – but not too much of a democrat.” The new DSG boss was “full of enthusiasm in a low-key, measured way” when they spoke last night, according to Mr Hyman. But the group could be in for a shake-up, Mr Hyman believes, saying: “You don’t hire John Browett if you’re not looking for some quite important strategic changes.”
This suggests his personal style is likely to fit with Cook’s own approach — but it is the last part that interested me the most: he is the sort of man who wants to have a strategic impact, wherever he goes.
Why is this particularly interesting? Because of the other businesses he’s linked to.
Browett cut his teeth with Tesco, the world’s third-largest retailer and a dominant force in British supermarket retailing. He was the man responsible for building Tesco’s online presence, creating a leading web-based grocery outlet and delivery service, and he also expanded the company’s ranges way beyond food.
He’s also been on the board of EasyJet, the low-cost airline that became famous for its cheap and cheerful approach to flying, for the past five years. Things have been pretty good at the company recently, but it is locked in a battle with the founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, who has publicly attacked the company’s directors for what he sees as greed. The board is trying to push through a pay deal that would grant directors substantially more cash than they currently receive.
Both Tesco and EasyJet are companies that seem to come from a very different place than Apple. They both built their reputations through being cheap, aggressive and expansionist. Of course, they pay attention to customer service — but they also achieve highly variable results.
Customer service review site Trustpilot ranks both companies as “acceptable” — Tesco with 6.6 out of 10 and EasyJet with 6.4. Dixons, meanwhile, gets just 4 out of 10: by comparison, Apple scores an 8.
At this stage it’s hard to know what this all means for Apple’s retail strategy. But take a look inside a PC World store and you see that it’s much closer to a pile-em-high approach of Tesco than the pared back approach that Apple prides itself on. The question is whether Browett’s smarts will simply be subsumed into Apple’s existing approach, or whether his instincts for squeezing value out of the lower end of the market will start to dribble into the company.
Photograph used under Creative Commons license courtesy of Flickr user cpchannel
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