Samsung’s New TV – Watch two things at once ( and no, we don’t mean with split screen)

We gotta say, Samsung have impressed us with this one.

You guys know the feeling, where you’re sitting with your beloved significant other, and love sitting next to them, and being near them, and being able to touch them, but really really hate the crap they have playing on TV cos it’s their turn to pick?

We do.  …Sorry iPhone Antidote’s significant other.

But! Can I hear a hell yes? Cos here’s the fix!

Samsung have now released a new television in the US, one which was announced back in January 2012. This magical and most welcome entry to the television market is a $9000, 55-inch, curved, OLED multi-view T.V.

Hi, KN55S9C! You’re a little expensive!

If you do have the cash, it may just be worth it. The multi-view function is not created using split screen or picture in picture, but is instead enabled by Samsung 3D glasses that come equipped with little headphones. This allows two parties to see two different programs on the same curved screen. This also means that the TV has 3D capabilities, and additionally is a Smart TV, with internet connectivity. Pretty sweet.

The fact that it’s OLED ( Organic Light Emitting Diode ), means that the television is thinner and lighter with the abilty to produce a higher contrast ratio than LCD sets. The curved screen is said to work better with the curves of your eyeballs. huh. Also makes it very, very hard to mount on a wall, according to consumer reports.
You can order one now here, and it comes with free shipping until August 31st!

Image courtesy of Gizmag.

Samsung’s Smartwatch and Galaxy Note III revealed Sept 4th!

It’s all happening!

Samsung has confirmed that come September 4th, they will be holding a special ‘Unpacked Episode 2’ at The IFA in Berlin.

IFA, if you’re wondering, is the excellent sounding Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin, or, if you’re one of those people who like things to be explained clearly –  one of the biggest industrial and consumer electronic trade shows in the world.

At the IFA last year Samsung unveiled the Note II, and the year before that the Note. It stand to reason that everyone is expecting the unveiling of the Galaxy Note III at this years event. Pretty cool.

At their Unpacked Episode 1 on March 15th this year, Samsung launched the Galaxy S4 handset at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. The event was also streamed live to Times square- a flashy  display it is believed they will replicate at the Unpacked Episode 2 event.

So what can we expect from this event?

As we’ve said- we’re more than likely looking at the unveiling of the the Galaxy Note III,

AND ( this bit’s a little bit exciting),

Samsung new Smartwatch, purportedly called the Galaxy Gear. Fandroids excite!

Samsung are apparently super excited that they get to show the world their Smartwatch before Apple even gets there’s to the gate. The tech world will, of course, be very interested in matching them up against each other when Apple does release their rumored iWatch, and this will very likely happen late this year or early 2014.

Until then, though, on September 4th, we will be able to feast our eyes on Samsung’s Galaxy Gear.

According to SamMobile, the Smartwatch is likely to come in four different colors with a fifth being released a week later. The colors will be white, orange, gray, black, and the fifth color will be white gold.

It is also said to have a 2.5-inch touchscreen display with a camera, speakers, and an accelerometer.  The watch will not be a stand alone device, using bluetooth and NFC to draw data from your smartphone.

These are said to be the specs:

Get the itunes festival iOS App!

You guys have heard of the iTunes Festival right? If not, here’s whatsup. It’s a month long free concert series. It’s pretty cool. Lots of famous and broadly attractive acts. Aaaaand it’s in the UK.

Ok, ok, so unless you’re a lucky special little flower, you more than likely won’t be able to travel to the UK to watch any of the concerts held in Camden, London. Even if you are, only UK residents can enter to go, so there, richy rich.

BUT! Fear not! Come September, you can stream the shows—live or after the performances—for free with the official iOS app, on your computer with iTunes, or on your big screen with Apple TV.

Here is the line up, so pick your performers, and arrange a little UK themed iTunes awesome live music party! Or two! Or thirty! Yeah!

• 1 September: Lady GaGa 
  
• 2 September: Sigur Ros
  
• 3 September: The Lumineers
• 4 September: Paramore
• 5 September: Rizzle Kicks
• 6 September: Queens Of The Stone Age+ Palma Violets
• 7 September: Pheonix
• 8 September: Bastille+ The 1975
• 9 September: Arctic Monkeys
• 10 September: Jake Bugg+Valerie June
• 11 September: Kings Of Leon + Jimmy Eat World
• 12 September: Elton John + Tom Odell
  
• 13 September: Avicii
  
• 14 September: Chic+  Janelle Monae
• 15 September: Vampire Weekend + The Olms
• 16 September: Jack Johnson + Bahamas
• 17 September: Ludovico Einaudi
• 18 September: Thirty Seconds to Mars
• 19 September: Kendrick Lamar
• 20 September: Primal Scream
• 21 September: HAIM
• 22 September:Ellie Goulding
  
• 23 September: Jessie J+ Lawson
• 24 September: Robin Thicke
• 25 September: Pixies + NO CEREMONY///
• 26 September: Tinie Tempah + Naughty Boy
• 27 September:  Dizzee Rascal
• 28 September: John Legend
• 29 September: Justin Timberlake
• 30 September: Katy Perry+ Iggy Azalea +Icona Pop
  

Image courtesy of iTunes.

Apple shares over $500! Time to invest?

Because of one man, the shares in Apple have gone up by more than 5%, almost reaching the $500 mark and making over 17 million dollars for Apple. Sweet.

First, it started with a simple tweet from stockbroker turned billionaire hedge fund manager and investor Carl Icahn. It read;

“Had a nice conversation with Tom Cook today. Discussed my opinion that a larger buyback should be done now. We plan to speak again shortly.”

Then came the second tweet;

“We currently have a large position in APPLE. We believe the company to be extremely undervalued. Spoke to Tim Cook today. More to come.”

Less than two hours later, Apple shares had closed up by nearly 5 percent at just under $490.

In the days leading up to the Icahn tweets the shares had already been rising due to the leaked news of the Apple iPhone 5S announcement on September 10th,  as well as the news that the Obama administration had overturned an import ban on some older iPhones and iPads, and that the International Trade Commission had ordered several Samsung smartphones be banned for infringing on Apple patents.

All positive things for Apple, which reflects in their share prices.

Icahn is investing in Apple because he believes it to be undervalued, yes, but also because he thinks that if Apple use some of their massive $150 billion cash stockpile to buyback stock, the value of the stock could skyrocket to around $700.

No news yet if this is something Apple will be doing, but with a slate full of new product releases scheduled for the end of this year through to 2014, the general consensus is that Apple shares will remain positive.

As of today, the stock prices have reached $507.15 after hitting a peak of 513.43 April 19th, the highest the shares have been since September 19th 2012, when it reached the peak of $702.10. Although the price has gone slightly down, the fact that they remain above the $500 mark is a good sign.

So, time to invest?

Images courtesy of Appleinsider.

Playstation 4 release date

Previously rumored to be released on November 13th, the much anticipated Playstation 4 now has a confirmed release date!

All you gamers, the more than one million people who have pre-ordered it, and, well, everyone else who’s interested can look forward to getting your hands on the wonderfully fantastic next generation Playstation on-

wait for it-

November 15th! 

Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment said this about the release:

“We set out to build the most powerful gaming platform with a deeply held, consistent focus on you, the gamer … I’m delighted to say that PlayStation 4 will be launching in 32 countries this holiday season.”

November 13th is also the 319th day of the year, and the day in 1969 that the first Wendy’s restaurant opened. So there you go.

The Playstation 4 will be going up against the XBox One which is yet to announce a release date, but it is believed to be around the same time.

The console will sell for $399.

Yay!

Image courtesy of  Harvey Norman.

iPad 5 and iPad Mini updates!

Apple has a busy second half of 2013 coming up!  As Tim Cook said, we can look forward to an amazing new product release schedule this fall through 2014. And look forward we will Tim, look forward we will.

Alongside the iPhone announcements and releases forecast for the upcoming months is the very likely prediction of the announcement and release of the 9.7 inch iPad 5.

The iPad 5 will reportedly be thinner and lighter, taking cues from it’s little bro the mini. Like the Mini, the iPad 5 will be incorporating smaller bezels on the sides in portrait mode (bezels are the sides that aren’t screen; see below) as well as GF2 or GF Ditto technology.

This means that instead of the G/G glass based touchscreen that the iPad has currently, the iPad 5 will have a film based touchscreen, making it overall a huge amount lighter and thinner.

The lovable little brother of the grown up iPad, the iPad Mini will be having it’s own little release at the end of the year as well! Most likely just a small update for the little fella, the mini is said to be getting a beautiful new retina display. And we all love those. Lovely little mini perfection.

Both the iPad 5 and the updated iPad mini won’t be announced on Apple’s September 10th Special Announcement, but we are promised from those deep in the know that we will see these devices released within the last three months of the Year.

Bring it on Apple!

Images courtesy of Tapscape.

Jeff Goldblum’s drunken Apple ad

I can hear you guys think- did I miss something? What rock was I living under when Jeff Goldblum was drunk doing an Apple ad?

Well, you weren’t, and he wasn’t… technically.

Jeff Goldblum did do an Apple ad, and it was a fine ad. Grand ad, perfectly respectable ad.

Then, some comical mastermind slowed it down… just a bit.. and this, kids, is the result. Say hello to Drunk Jeff Goldblum, our new favorite way to talk about Apple.

Whaaadya think the greaaaatest gift ‘a the haaalidyas is??

Image courtesy of hark.com

Anyone want google glass?

You guys have heard of Google Glass right?

The proposed future of wearable technology that will be the ultimate integration of life and computer?

The thing that has some people up in arms about privacy and we’re all going to become androids aaaaagh?

The thing that you think kind of makes people look a bit silly but you really want to try out anyway?

A wearable computer with an optical head-mounted display? 

Augmented-reality glasses?

This thing?

Yeah, that thing.

Up until now it’s kind of been something you hear about in the press, but don’t realllly see right? If you live in a Tech city, or know someone lucky enough and really into their tech, you might have heard of someone who has one. Or someone whose whose cousin has one.

It’s quite frustrating, actually, no matter what your opinion about the technology involved.

You still want to be able to play with the silly futuristic tech toy that you can’t even play with for who knows how long, especially because you’re a reasonable person right? You wouldn’t have an opinion on something until you’ve actually experienced it, tried it, right?

But Google are in control and it’s just stupid, why do we have to wait for soooo long?

Well, kids, the time of Google Glass in the public domain is getting closer. One person at a time, actually.

Google has begun inviting more people to try Google Glass out. Participants in the Glass Explorer program for early adopters have been sent an email from Google, inviting them to, in turn, invite one friend into the Google Glass Explorer program.

The invitations are limited to people who are U.S. residents, at least 18 years old and able to pick up Glass in San Francisco, New York or Los Angeles.

Around 8000 competition winners are currently taking part in the Google Glass early explorer program, as well as the various tech heads around that are lucky enough to be testing them out.

So…. Time to put your thinking caps on guys. There is the actual possibility in the world right now for you to be able to play with new and supposedly futuristic technology before most of the rest of the world.

A small chance, probably, yes, but still a chance!

All you need to do is to go and find one of the early adapter people, make an amazing impression on them so that they pick you above their family and friends, and hence start using Google Glass. Cake?

Go to it! And soon you too can look like this…

Images courtesy of  cnet.com and turnstylenews.com

Back to School!

So guys, back to school time, huh? Time for a back to school app review then I guess! Hooray for school and work and stuff! ACTUALLY hooray for iOS apps that make it all easier!

Whether you’re going back to high school, college or have a kid doing one of those, here are the top apps we recommend for helping to educate oneself the besterest!

And, because we understand the life of a student, most of these apps are free! But Priceless! Like that Mastercard ad! Kinda. Also, there’s a couple on the end that we think are worth a little bit extra cashola.

Enjoy kids! Don’t forget that all work and no play makes Homer …something… something

*StudyBlue has over 150 million pieces of student authored content, taken from tens of thousands of colleges and high schools from around the world. Browsing is easy, group collaboration makes those dreaded group projects easier, and if you don’t want to use other people’s quizzes, review sheets and flashcards, you can create your own to perfect your study experience. FREE from the Appstore!

*MyHomework Student Planner App.
This beautifully designed app will sync and track your schedule, classes, assignments, exams and homework. Even better- if your teacher or Professor uses the amazing Teachers.io, you can get a buttload more information such as syllabi, attachments, resources and communication from your professor.
MyHomework is FREE with ads, however if you want the ad-free experience, it’s only $1.99 per year.

*EasyBib.
Here’s some big words for you: Automated bibliography and citation generator. We like the sound of that. You know what we don’t like the sound of? Writing Bibliographies. Ugh, right? Well, sigh no more kids, the EasyBib App is here to save the day!
All you need to do is scan the barcode of the book you’re referencing, or type the name into the app and EasyBib will automatically create MLA, APA and Chicago style citations for you. These can then be emailed to yourself or exported into EasyBib’s online bibliography management service.
FREE from the app store.

*Mint.
Picture this: you’re in class when suddenly you realize that you are almost 94.6% sure you were supposed to pay, like, 5 bills in the last week and you actually have no idea how much money you have because you’re educating yourself and shouldn’t have to worry about things like rent and when you get paid and debt and lalalala. Well, the Mint.com App has all these things covered, so you can go ahead and not worry you’re pretty little smart head over it. Mint categorizes and organizes your bills, spending, income and debt into lovely little tables so you can keep a track of what money is going where and when chunks of it are incoming and need to be outgoing. Just remember to check it! Free from the App store.

* iSlick
So we all know education is big money right? But you still gotta eat, drink, have household items, maybe catch a baseball game, take your girlfriend out and party right? Welcome to the wonderful world of Slickdeals. Slickdeals.com has a mobile app- iSlick, which will show you the wonders of secret sales, unbelievable deals and the dream that is double (or triple ) couponing. Free with Ads or $1.99 ad-free.

*Gasbuddy. Y’all wanna get the cheapest gas prices out there? Get the Gasbuddy app and you’ll always know where to get the cheapest Gas. Simple as that, and it’s FREE from the App store.

*OnWatch.
Our pick from the range of Campus safety apps- a tool which shouldn’t have to be used but stays in the better safe than sorry category of must-download apps. A safety blanket even if never needed. And we hope that is the case!

OnWatch has 6 ‘watch’ modes that stay on your phone when you think you may be at risk or are feeling a little uncertain. From there it’s only two taps to contact friends, 911, campus police or a combination of those. You can also set an alarm for a future time and when that time arrives, you are asked to enter a passcode- If you don’t- the app will send your pre-selected friends a message and your location.
There is currently a 30 day free trial, after that It is $19.99/year or $2.99 per month. Even if you discontinue with the app for whatever reason, the call 911 and call campus police features remain free forever.

*BenchPrep. This app is essentially a be all, end all tool for study and exam preparation with a huge interactive course library with study features, reports and test preparation materials.
The App includes a massive amount of material for academic subjects from Algebra to Spanish to Biology, Test preparation for those special flowers smart enough to be taking the LSAT GMAT MCAT and a bunch of others, as well as courses on practical subjects such as eMarketing, Accounting, and Word.
An invaluable study tool, as seen by this: Students who learn with Benchmark receive 15% better grades than before they started using the app. 15% better? Not much to lose here, except the fee, which is a $25/month for one course and $99/month for access to all courses.

*Wolfram Alpha Mobile App
The best computation and expert knowledge search engine app out there in our opinion- it’s really impressive. Simply ask the app what you want calculated or a question you want the answer to – from complex mathematics to how old a president was when he entered office. $2 or – try out Wolfram Alpha Pro, which goes beyond text input and includes downloadable results. A monthly subscription is $4.99/ month or $2.99/month for students, and for a very short time ending TODAY; you can get the first three months free with an annual subscription.

*iStudiez Pro is the established and award winning student planner app that will track and summarize in simple and yet extensive detail, your assignments, due dates, schedule for classes, work and extra curricular activities, as well as your grades. It will give you alerts for upcoming exams, classes and assignment due dates and sync with other co-existing apps such as the calendar. Each class has the ability to include your professors contact information with simple tap to connect features to be able to reach them on your mobile. Highly recommended for years, this is one well worth checking out. $2.99 or free for the Lite version.

For those of you looking for some extra tutorials, or for those of you not going back to school but still looking for some education, we also recommend downloading the iTunes University app. It’s awesome.

Also, because we totally understand procrastination, there is SelfControl. Not an App, but something that may just change your life…even though you might end up hating us for introducing you to it!
Available only on Mac OS X 10.5 and above, SelfControl is a way to try and curb your Internet based distractions whilst studying. Simply add any website or access to your mail server to your ‘blacklist’ and an amount of time you would like to be blocked from them, and BAM! No more distractions ( on the internet) until that time is up. Restarting or deleting the application from your computer will not make a difference either! Useful and annoying! And FREE!

Also handy is ratemyprofessors.com, check it out to make your class choices a little more informative. Last but not least, don’t forget that good ‘ol Tinder app… College is all about making friends, right?

So that’s it! If you have any other handy apps or tips for going back to school let us know!

Hope we’ve given you a l’il bit of help!

Good luck Kids!

Images courtesy of Mashable.com, laptopmag.com, beautifulpixels.com, readwrite.com, crunchbase.com, Glamour.com, kicks99.com, zdnet.com and easybib.com

The iPhone 5c? Wha?

So here’s the juice, kids. Apparently, according to super secret sources, Apple will be introducing a cheap version of the iPhone named the iPhone 5C, with the C standing for color.

Interesting.

Although the idea of Apple releasing a cheaper version of the iPhone has been kicked around and  rumored for a reallllly long time, these rumors have ramped up recently suggesting that perhaps there may be a grain or more of truth to them!

Here’s what’s been making the rounds:

* Sonny Dickson, an Australian dude in the know leaked these photos of the alleged phone:

*This supports the rumor and earlier leaks that the iPhone 5C will come in a variety of colors, green, yellow, red and blue for starters, much like the iPod mini. Sonny Dickson also leaked this photo of the supposed volume buttons:

*The shell will be polycarbonate, slightly thicker, and will have rear curved edges.

*There is believed to be a single flash camera.

*Although there seems to be quite a lot of information leaked about the aesthetics and hardware of the iPhone 5C ( trustworthy or not is up to you to decide!), there has been in comparison hardly any information leaked about the software capabilities, except that the 5C will most likely not have Siri.

*The iPhone 5C is believed to be released either on September 10th with the iPhone 5S, or, if separately, by the end of the year. The price is believed to be in the $400 range before carrier subsidy.

*Gene Munster, an analyst from Piper Jaffray predicts that Apple will discontinue all iPhone device’s except for iPhone 5, iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.

That’s all we have for now, but we have a feeling we won’t have to wait for too long to discover the truth…. cos it’s out there. X-Files taught us that.

images courtesy of Sonny Dickson’s website, Macrumors.com