Apple Pay is the new service introduced by Apple this morning, and although it’s something that people have been waiting for for quite some time, it’s pretty exciting that it’s finally here and seems to be worth the wait in terms of design and simplicity of use.
Apple Pay uses NFC (Near Field Communications) to make purchases securely and simply – by holding up your phone to an Apple Pay reader in a store to complete the transaction.
Added to the 220,000 merchants across the United States, Apple has gotten some of the biggest chains and brands to get on board the Apple Pay train – such as Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Wallgreens, Duane Reade, Staples, Subway, Macdonalds, Wholefoods, Disney and Sephora. And, the Apple retail stores. Duh.
So what does this mean for you? Well, Apple is hoping to replace your wallet and put your purchasing power directly in your phone, making it
easier and more secure to make payments.
You simply load Apple Pay with a credit card (and it will work with Amex, Visa, Mastercard and -so far- 6 of the biggest issuing banks along with a few more) from iTunes or by taking a picture of it with the phone’s camera.
Apple will automatically verify with your bank that you are the owner of the card, and then you can go ahead and make purchases. In store, you place the phone near a sensor with your finger on touch iD. Online, stores that will use Apple Pay such as Target, Groupon, Uber and the MLB store, will allow you to make the payments within their mobile apps.
So how is it more secure? It’s a combination of the Touch ID and a new chip called the ‘secure element’ which stores all payment information encrypted. Your card numbers are never actually stored within Apple Pay. With each transaction the only information that is shared with the merchant is a device only account number, a one time only payment number and a dynamic security card.
This means that if your iPhone is lost or stolen, you can use Find My iPhone to suspend all payments BUT you don’t have to cancel the card.
We’re looking forward to this catching on. It’s great forward thinking technology. There will assuredly be some hiccups down the line, but, there’s still hiccups (pretty major ones, Hi Target) with the current credit card system, and that’s some 50 years old. Time to move on, we thinks.
So, hey.. Developers? We were wondering how long it will be until Apple Pay includes Bitcoin?
Apple Pay will launch in October and will be a free update in iOS 8.
Has the sleep/wake button on your iPhone 5 stopped working? Thought it was a lost cause? There might be some hope yet!
Apple has released a statement to The Loop regarding a recall of some iPhone 5 models because of broken sleep/wake buttons, which means if you are one of the device owners affected- you could get it replaced for free.
Here’s the lowdown-
You’ll need to enter your iPhone’s serial number here to see if your device is one of those affected by the recall.
If your phone is affected and you want to get it fixed for free ( duh) you can bring it to any Apple Retail Store or Apple Authorized Service provider. Your device will have to be sent away to an Apple repair centre to be fixed, however it is believed that for the interim some Apple stores are lending customers iPhone 5 16Gb models. You can also mail your device directly to the repair centre if you’d like.
According to Apple your device will take 4-6 days from the time it is received until it is returned to you, and all customers should back up all their data and erase all content and setting before sending it in to get fixed. All devices that receive a new sleep/wake button will be updated to iOS 7.
If you’ve got an iPhone 5 that is affected by this recall and you’ve already paid for an out-of-warranty replacement, you should contact an Apple customer service rep to ask for a refund.
This recall and placement program will be effective for 2 years after the initial retail purchase of your device.
According to some reports there are stores that are offering customers affected by the recall a $350 upgrade credit for a new device, but you must specifically ask for it, your phone must be in perfect condition other than the sleep/wake button, and it’s of course not guaranteed.
By the way, why doesn’t Apple have a cooler name for that button? Writing sleep/wake button over and over has cemented the fact that it’s a pretty stupid name. It should be called, like, the enforcer button or something. Just saying, Apple.
Good luck Guys! Let us know how you go if this recall applies to you!
If you’re thinking of selling or giving away a stinky old iPhone, you need to understand how to turn off the ‘Find My iPhone’ function. ESPECIALLY if the device has been upgraded to iOS 7, whereby it will also be loaded with Apple’s Anti-theft Activation lock.
That’s not it. The Anti-theft Activation Lock introduced with iOS 7 is however super awesome for preventing theft by rendering the phone basically useless and worth roughly one eighth of its proper resale price. However, it also does this if you forget to turn it off before you sell it or give it away.
For instance, here at iPhone Antidote, we cannot give you the total quoted amount for your iPhone unless the Anti-theft Activation lock is turned off.
So, you guys need to know how to turn it off! And luckily for everyone involved, whilst not being the funnest 3 minutes you ever spend (we hope) it IS super easy! High Five!
There is a couple of different methods depending on the condition and location of your iPhone. If your iPhone works and is with you, you should-
Remove your iPhone from Find My iPhone by turning it off on the iPhone.
Simple! On your iPhone, go to Settings > iCloud, then tap to turn off ‘Find My device.’ It will ask for your Apple ID password ( The one you use in the App Store), then BAM, both Find my iPhone and the Anti-theft activation lock is turned off.
YAY!
If your iPhone is not with you, already sold or given away OR broken or water damaged so that it won’t turn on, it’s also, really, really easy. HIGH FIVE!
If you can’t use your iPhone because it’s too damaged, or you’ve already sold it or given it away, you can remotely remove it from Find My iPhone and remotely remove the Anti-theft Activation Lock.
Your iPhone must be powered off. Easy to do if it’s broken! Also easy enough to do if you’ve sold it to a company such as ourselves or you can get in contact with the friend that you gave it to.
Then:
Sign in to icloud.com/#find with your Apple ID (the one you use with iCloud & the App Store).
Click ‘All Devices’ at the top of the page. Wait for the website to locate your iPhone, then select it from the drop down menu. It should appear as offline and grey.
A menu of options will appear on the right hand side of the screen. IGNORE THESE ( Unless you want to remotely erase your iPhone)
Click back on the ‘All Devices’ button at the top of the page. There should now be an X next to your iPhone. Click it. Click it good.
Click “remove” on the next screen to confirm.
Aaaaaand you’re done! Now someone else can now activate the device, making it worth a whole lotta more clams from us/high fives from the friend you gave it to!
If you guys have any problems removing the anti theft activation lock from your iPhone – please contact us and let us know! We’d LOVE to help you out! And we give hugs too!
iPhone Antidote LOVES christmas. We put our christmas tree up in October, no joke.
AND we’ve been tracking the best gifts this year so you can get everyone in your life the best damn christmas present they’ve ever had. We’re talking tears in the eyes of the toughest man you know kind of christmas gifts. You guys are gonna get so much christmas karma this year!
Although tech stuff tends to be on the higher side of the budget range, we’ve tried to include a broad range of prices AND gifts for a broad range of ages and interests.
We’ve also provided some nice gift viewing music to serenade you whilst you read. Did we mention that we love Christmas?
You ready? Here we go!
Health Conscious
For the health conscious in the family, any of the Fitbit product line will make for a perfect gift. At iPhone Antidote, we recommend the FitBit One (seen above), but the Fitbit Flex has been reviewed positively as well.
The gadget tracks steps, miles,and other activities undertaken as well as calories taken in and expended, weight and even your sleep patterns. A very effective tool for maintaining or improving healthy living.
The Fitbit range is sold in most good tech stores. The Fitbit One is $99.99 and the FitBit Flex sells for $99.99 everywhere. Try Best Buy or Target.
Speakers.
Cos everyone loves music, right? And how awesome is it when you can just press a button on a device and music comes pounding out across the room? Or across the campsite? That’s why everyone needs a portable bluetooth speaker, like the Beats by Dre Pill ( shown above), $199.95 at most good techy retailers. Try Macy’s or AT&T.
We’d also highly recommend the SoundLink Mini Bluetooth speaker from Bose. Get it here for $199.99.
Groupon currently has a good deal on the BassBoomz Portable Bluetooth Speaker, usually $130, now $29.99. Click here to see the deal.
On the other hand, Airplay speakers ( strictly Apple only connectivity) give better sound quality than bluetooth, but you certainly pay for it. The one we like the most is the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Air for $599.99. Click here to get that price.
The iKross Bluetooth Stereo Music Audio Receiver makes any speaker in your house a bluetooth connectable speaker. Uh, awesome? Get it for $24.98 here.
Game systems
If you haven’t already snapped up one of these and are wanting to, well, we wish you luck my friend. They are a little scarce on the ground at the moment, but we think that supplies might bulk up towards the pointy end of Christmas. Might.
But if you can, either of these would make a smashing christmas present. Just make sure you get the right one, and we’re not telling you which one that is- they are both awesome, but it is a fierce battle forged in people’s minds as to brand alliance, much like Samsung and Apple products. If the person you’re getting it for has no alliance, you’re good to go on what suits the budget and environment.
The Playstation4 is $399.99 at Walmart, Best Buy & most good retailers. The Xbox One is $499.99. Consider getting a product bundle as well.
The alternative to the two big players is the Nintendo Wii Ufor just $299.99 at Best Buy -that’s the Wii U Console Deluxe Set with New Super Mario Bros. U AND New Super Luigi U games.
Games
Games! Woop! These are the top coolest games we can think of to recommend!
Grand theft auto V. The game everyone’s been talking about! Be warned, this is not the game to get your 10 year old! Mature themes run throughout, but those, uh, mature enough to play it? They say it rocks socks. In a more mature way of saying that. Available now on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.$59.99 at Best Buy.
Groupon currently have a deal to buy Just Dance 2014 for Wii, Xbox 360 Kinect, or PS3 Move . Super fun and easy game for everyone to play. Usually $39.99, now only $29.99.
Toys
We scrounged the very bowels of the internet to get the top 5 coolest kids toys for your little munchkins this year.
The new Furby Boom toys are the most interactive Furbies yet. And they’re back, in a BIG way. Starting at $47.80 at Walmart.
Snap Circuits – super award winning learning toy, where the objective is to build projects such as AM radios; burglar alarms; games, etc. Shop Amazon for $45.07 with Prime here.
Romo Robotic Pet for iOS. Romo is a little guy creature ( downloadable app) that lives in your iOS device – attached to his wheels he can roll around, snap photos and interact with and adapt to his environment. Get this at Brookstone for $199.99.
Ubooly Smart Toy is an interactive smart toy that doubles as a really cute little thing AND an educational toy with 1,000+ fun activities for ages 4-10. Ubooly tells stories, plays games, teaches lessons and every week, new activities are pushed wirelessly to your mobile device. Yes please.
The iStabiliser Monopod. A smartphone and gadget holder thingy, so your photos turn out super stable, and your arm doesn’t hurt when you’re filming. Get it here for $ $34.95.
Hellonomad Charge card (seen above).USB powered charge card that is the size of two credit cards, so can fit easily in your wallet. Get it here for $25.
For cases, we reccomend trying out either Opena casefor function ( they have the bottle opener case among others) or Red Bubblefor design.
Groupon currently has a deal for Agloves Touchscreen Winter Gloves, so you can use all your smart gadgets even when it’s super cold! Usually $25.99, now only $ 7.99! Get in fast, it’s super limited.
Groupon currently has a deal on for the HMDX Bluetooth Speaker & Alarm Clock with Apple Lightning Pin Dock. Usually $79.99 now only $39.99! Get it here.
iHip Robot Mini Speaker. Super cute brightly colored little speaker guys! Groupon currently has them down from $29.99 to just $6.99. Excellent stocking stuffer!
Quadcopter/helicopter
No matter what age, a Heli or Quadcopter will bring a lot of joy this holiday season. The best of the lot would be the Stunt Copter ( seen above) at Brookstone for $69.99. It takes a little learning, but comes with a repair kit and takes some good smashes with no damage. Designed for inside and outside play, it’s a perfect toy that takes some practice- but the practice is hella fun.
For more of a toy than a project, we’d recommend this the Hovermaxx UFO RC Helicopter, for only $19.99 from Brookstone, it’s perfect for beginners age 6 and up for inside play and includes 6 LED lights on the device.
For the Quads, we’d definitely recommend the Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 App-Controlled Quadricopter($299.99 at Brookstone), it’s big brother the Parrot AR.Drone Quadricopter Power Edition which lets you stay in the air for 3 x longer ($369.99 at Brookstone), or if you want to go REALLY LARGE – the DJI Phantom Aerial UAV is really top notch. Check it out. ($453.44 with prime at Amazon)
Smartwatch if you cants wait ( but we suggest you do).
If you or one of your loved ones realllly can’t wait for the iWatch or similar expected far advanced tech, then it’s ok, we got you.
We recommend the Pebble Watch if you’re after a standalone smart watch (173.99 from Amazon), or the Martian Passport Smart Watch if you’re after a stylish accessory to go with your smartphone ($299 with Prime from Amazon).
Both are great Smart Watches and hella stylish to match, but expect big advances in battery time and capabilities as early as next year in their own updates and in new products.
Cool things
Light show fountain speakers. Turn on your favorite jam ( do we still say jam for music? ) and the water inside the speakers will dance to the beat and the 4 multi-colored LEDs will light up. Super rad. $49.99 from Thinkgeek.
GoPro Hero 3. You’ve all seen the video’s right? These are the cameras that you attach to things as you go hurtling down a ski-field, climbing up a rock or simply hiking to the ocean. They’re also beginning to be a must have. Starting at $199.99
Bird Photo booth. Catch the au naturale side of your backyard bird friends with this bird photo booth. Uses your own iPhone or GoPro, but comes with macros and polarising lenses. You can also, uh, talk to the birds using FaceTime? $149.99 from Thinkgeek.
Game boy watch. Everyone loves vintage gamer stuff! And now you can wear it on your hand! $86.87 including shipping here.
Perfect Drink App-Controlled Smart Bartending. Exactly what it says it is; a fancy cocktail machine. It includes a smart scale and app that lets you choose from hundreds of drink recipes, follow real-time pouring instructions, and watch as a virtual glass fills on your smartphone or tablet, as well as suggesting what drinks you can make from what you have. (Kahlua and Bacardi 151 anyone?) $69.99 from Brookstone.
Really cool things
ELECTRIC DELOREAN DMCEV.Brought to you by the DeLorean Motor Company in association with Epic EV, the Electric DeLorean is battery powered but its AC induction liquid-cooled electric motor packs 260 horsepower. That means a top speed of 125mph and 0-60 in 4.9 seconds.
The Flying Hovercraft. Yes, it’s a flying hovercraft. It glides over land and water yet also soars in the air up to 70 mph with the aid of integrated wings. A 130-hp twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled gasoline engine, turbocharged and fuel-injected, drives its 60″ wood/carbon composite thrust propeller while a 1,100-rpm 34″ lift fan inflates its durable vinyl-coated nylon skirt for hovering above the ground.
That’s a wrap! ( get it? …Christmas wrap? ..no?) I hope you guys found some nice gift ideas for your loved ones and enjoyed the dulcet tones of Miss Mariah!
Happy Happy Holidays!
P.S. Watch out for our 2nd tech christmas guide coming soon on where to find the best deals on everything Apple!
HTC have released a new smart phone, and it’s the second one in recent history to have a fingerprint Sensor. The first, of course, was featured on the home button of the iPhone 5S, and it was called the Touch ID.
HTC ‘s new phone is called the HTC One Max and the fingerprint sensor is located on the back of the device, near the camera lens.
You activate the sensor by swiping it and while it can only recognize 3 different fingers, each finger can be linked to different functions, i.e. unlocking the phone or opening the camera.
Unfortunately, the positioning of the sensor, the fact that you need to wake the phone from sleep before using it and no doubt it following so quickly in the footsteps of the highly viewed Touch ID means the reviews of the HTC Max One inclusion of a fingerprint sensor is coming under some quite loud criticism.
“The fingerprint scanner implementation here is clumsy, awkward, and comfortably in line with the long history of failed attempts at making this technology work.”
“A big part of the frustration is that you can’t really see or feel the scanner to position your finger on it properly. Equally, it’s not obvious how the thing works — it doesn’t technically “scan” an image of your fingerprint, but instead measures the capacitance of your skin to create a unique signature. ”
“Overall, the fingerprint scanner could work better; it’s not quite as intuitive as Apple’s Touch ID, and we’d happily have given it up in exchange for something more useful, like optical stabilization in the camera module.”
Hmm.
Other than the Fingerprint sensor, the phone is said to be, well, eh. Eh-y. It has a huge screen at 5.9 inches diagonally, but doesn’t have the fastest Snapdragon 800 processor. The thickness of the device and the camera are also not as great as expected.
If you think about it, it’s a wonderful thing for people to have great expectations for your company’s products, as many people do for HTC. Missing the mark one time? Not so bad. But we might wait for the next HTC phone.
Think it’s for you? The HTC Mac one will be available on Sprint and Verizon later in October.
This is going to be a quick one, guys, because going on and on and on about Facebook privacy changes is important but kinda boring, and no doubt you’ll see it repeated many times on your newsfeed.
But just in case you don’t we felt you better know!
Facebook is getting rid of a privacy feature that let users limit who can find them on the social network.
With an announcement on Thursday, Facebook announced that you will no longer have control over whether users can find you when they try to search for you. The feature is called “Who can look up your timeline by name?”
For those who didn’t have this setting enabled would have, with their eagle eyes, seen it disappear last December, but those who have had it enabled will start to see removal notices in the coming weeks.
According to the Facebook guys, only a single digit percentage of the almost 1.2 Billion people on it’s network used the setting, so they’ve decided to take it away as a privacy option.
So if you had the tick box that let you hide from search enabled, uh, sorry? Now people will be able to see that you have a Facebook account. But keep in mind these words from Michael Richter, Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer.
“The best way to control what people can find about you on Facebook is to choose who can see the individual things you share.”
It’s important to remember that if you care about your privacy in relation to the information you share on you Facebook Profile, you should check and update your privacy settings often.
The ‘Friend’s Only’ option is your… friend. Friend.
Ok, so the advisory committee for the Federal Aviation Administration have come through with something that looks like it could be positive at some point in the future for most travelers.
The bird is not the word- Vague is the word! ( Just kidding, The bird is still the word )
Basically, this special advisory group made up experts within the industry have recommended that the rules regarding electronic device usage of commercial aircraft be relaxed, that passengers should be allowed to use personal electronic devices in all parts of flight, including taxi, take off and landing.
So that’s pretty cool.
The FAA does not, however, need to actually do anything about these recommendations at all. Some rules may be relaxed and some might not – so you might be able to use an e-reader on take off but not an iPhone unless it’s on flight mode. You might not be able to talk on the phone but you could use it to play a game or listen to music
They could decide to just leave everything as is, because it’s easier to control. If they do make changes, it will more than likely be a while before we as passengers see any change.
Hey guys. So we seem to have been referencing getting your beloved shiny iPhone wet recently. Tackling the hard to talk about stuff, as per usual…
We understand that it’s not funny when someone accidentally drops their phone into a pitcher of beer, or falls into a pool, or does something to a person that gets them so mad they revenge pee on their phone ( happened to a friend of a friend of ours…)
Well, no, scratch that. That stuff is really funny, as long as it’s not your phone, and if it is your phone, you usually get your sense of humor back if, IF you can rescue your wet wet iPhone.
Here’s what you should do to try rescue that poor wet puppy!
1, Don’t freak out. Crying will just bring more wetness. Duh. Your phone needs you to be strong, just like your Grandfather when he used to, like, walk all day in the snow to get to work and stuff.
2, If the phone is submerged, unsubmerge it. Dry the surfaces real quick.
3, If the phone is still on, turn it off ASAP. If it’s already off, don’t try and turn the phone on RESIST THE URGE! Trust us. If your iPhone refuses to respond to your touch and refuses to turn off, well… no you can probably cry a little bit.
4, From here, it kind of depends on what stores you have at your disposal. The easiest helpful drying ingredient most people can get their hands on is Rice. Put some rice in a ziplock bag or tupperware container – anything airtight- and completely envelop the phone within.
5, Rice is a great option, but what’s better is Silica Gel. Silica Gel is the stuff that’s inside those little packets of stuff you get in Beef Jerkey bags.
You can buy these at craft stores ( It’s intended use here is for flower drying). Again, submerge your phone in an airtight container full of the sachet’s.
6, If you have a good hardware store nearby, you could try to get DampRid.Works the same as the Silica Gel. Again with the airtight container, submerge, etc.
7, Place the container/ziplock bag in a warm dry place.
8, DON’T TOUCH YOUR PHONE FOR 24 HOURS! Even if you think it might really be ok, and you’re expecting the most important text ever, leave it in there. We would actually recommend leaving the phone for a full 48 hours, but the minimum has to be 24 hours to give it the best chance of surviving.
Poor little fella.
If all of this fails, send him on over to us, we’ll give you some CASHMONEY and make a nice new home for him out here on the farm. You can do this HERE.
So there’s been a bunch of stuff doing the rounds about Touch ID, the Apple iPhone 5S fingerprint sensor. We thought we’d clear a little bit of it up for you, because some of it sounds stupid and some of it sounds a little bit scary.
Number 1. Yes, apparently you can use the fingerprint sensor with your toe, or other ( cough) appendages. We haven’t personally tried it, because we don’t really get the point. But it is apparently a thing, so that’s cool we guess. Not as cool as this picture of Bruce Willis though.
Number 2, Yes, some dudes called the Chaos computer club hacked the fingerprint sensor, which allowed them access to someone’s phone without them having to use the owners finger.
But it’s really ok, guys. We mean, we don’t know what kind of information you guys have stored in your iPhones, but unless you’re James Bond or the like, chances are people are not going to want to go through what these guys went through in order to get into your iPhone. Especially when they can just make you tell them your PIN if you have one.
The German Chaos computer club used the same method that people do to hack into other fingerprint authentication systems, except with a few minor improvements because Apple made their fingerprint sensor using a super unusually high resolution scanner.
In their own words:
“First, the fingerprint of the enrolled user is photographed with 2400 dpi resolution. The resulting image is then cleaned up, inverted and laser printed with 1200 dpi onto transparent sheet with a thick toner setting. Finally, pink latex milk or white woodglue is smeared into the pattern created by the toner onto the transparent sheet. After it cures, the thin latex sheet is lifted from the sheet, breathed on to make it a tiny bit moist and then placed onto the sensor to unlock the phone.”
Simple stuff right? Ummm… not really. We think we’ll be fine.
It is still something to know and understand, of course, because it could lead to issues down the line – these are only the first guys to have successfully done it, there are no doubt plenty more guys out there trying to prove they’re smarter than Apple.
Until then, enjoy Touch ID. Just… if you’re going to enjoy it in weird ways, with weird parts of your body, let people know before they touch your phone, yeah? Yeah. Cool.
Images courtesy of Macrumors, freakingnews.com & petsadvisor.com
Apple, Apps, Cool Features, iPhone, New Releases, Security | iPhone-Antidote | 
September 9, 2014 6:38 pm | 
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