Sunday, February 10, 2013

iWatch — the missing link

Is Apple's next product a watch? A wearable device always connected to your iPhone could make your life much easier, and here's why;


Payment and Passbook
Apple owns a huge database of credit cards used in iTunes and App Store. Using NFC chip in an iWatch, payments, loyalty programs and tickets can be verified just by tapping an NFC reader. Apples Passbook app would suddenly be much more usable, and adoption of NFC in stores would likely surge.

Notifications
Messages, e-mail and calls could display on iWatch. Calls could be answered or declined on the watch.

Sensors
A gyro and accelerometer could sense movements and light up the display automatically when looking at the watch. An overlay e-ink display could show time and notifications when the display is off to increase battery life.

Apps
By allowing developers to create apps for the iWatch, possibilities for sports, navigation, news and other areas would be huge.

Geofence
If you wear the watch at all times, it could even be used to unlock your devices. Everything from phones, iPads and notebooks to door locks, garage ports and lighting could be controlled by sensing your iWatch presence by Bluetooth.

Apple wants to make the iPhone thinner and lighter. By adding some technology to a satellite device, the iPhone could stay pocket-friendly, yet be more accessible through iWatch.

When do you think we'll see a device like this from Apple? Could be sooner than later...

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Top 10 list — Cydia tweaks for iOS 6 Jailbreak

Did you jailbreak your iOS 6 device already? Here follows a list of some of the greatest tweaks available on Cydia and supporting the latest iOS 6.1.



  1. Swipe Selection (free)
    An awesome tweak to make text selection and navigation fast and easy.
  2. NCSettings (free)
    Add controls to Navigation Center, e.g. Bluetooth, WiFi, Airplane Mode and Brightness.
  3. f.lux (free)
    Changes the display white point in darkness, making the display colors warmer and easier to the eyes.
  4. Accelerate (free)
    Increases the speed of animations in iOS, making your devices feel faster.
  5. Activator (free)
    Add you own actions to gestures and buttons, e.g. swipe from left and double volume press.
  6. 5 Icon Dock (free)
    Add one more icon to the dock.
  7. Auxo ($2.99)
    Auxo replaced the standard icons in the task-switcher with cards showing the a preview of the app. Also includes swipe gestures and improved playback controls. (iPhone only, iPad support coming later)
  8. Barrel ($2.99)
    Animates icon screen swipes in various ways like 3D cube, curl and squeeze.
  9. Infiniboard ($1.99)
    With Infiniboard you can scroll the home screen vertically, adding as many icons you wish.
  10. Screen Extender (free)
    If you have an iPhone 5, then this Tweak will make every app full screen. No more black bars!

What is your favorite tweak in Cydia?

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Apple iOS line-up for Q4 2013?

This is GR's prediction for the iOS line-up EOY 2013 (iPhone and iPad).

Apple TV will likely see an update, too. The big question is if this will be a screen or a revised box. 2013 will be a great year for iOS, but 2014 will probably be the year when a new category is released.