How many people have upgraded to iOS 7?

iOS 7 has been out for just over two weeks and although there have been some bugs surrounding the software upgrade (hi iMessages and Mail), and despite some of the media beating up on it, the general consensus is that iOS 7 is a good thing.

With the help of the guys over at Mixpanel, we can track the the number of people who have upgraded their devices to iOS 7.

The number is currently sitting at just over 65% and is still rising, which is much greater than the uptake of iOS 6. Maybe those media beater upperers had a plan…

Anyway, Apple is fixing the bugs that came along with the release and millions of people using it, and a new version of iOS 7.0.3 is due next week.

Have you upgraded? Check out this link to see the status of how many people have upgraded their devices ( it’s updated by the hour).

https://mixpanel.com/trends/#report/ios_7

Image courtesy of Cult Of Mac.

New Logitech iPhone controller sneak peak!

Gamers!

Hi!

You guys by any chance remember the leak about Logitech’s groundbreaking iOS 7 controller way back around WWDC in June? Ya? well it happened, way to be up to date so called gamers.

Just kidding. C’mon, smile! Here’s a leak of what the controller looks like!

Logitech appears to have left space for the camera, which means possible future augmented reality compatibility and games that allow for the use of the camera! Sweet!

Apparently there will be 2 types of game controllers offered for play in coordination with iOS 7 devices- the above form fitting controller where the iPhone slides right in snug as a big, and a second controller which is standalone and connected through bluetooth.

There will apparently be space allowing for joysticks, yay, but there is as of yet no hint about when these bad boys will be released, or how many bucks they’ll ask us to cough up.

It will be interesting to see how iOS 7 games will change with the increase of control these guys will allow, or if they will sell, even.

Hands up if you’d want/use/really really need one of these?

Image courtesy of Appleinsider.

MORE GOLD DEVICES?

Gold iPhone, Tick.

BLING SOPHISTICATION

Well, tick only for realllllly lucky people so far, but tick in general. There are even companies offering gold stickers for the rest of us shmoes… do you think it’ll have the same effect? huh? hmmm.

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE!

Could we be getting a gold iPad?? Some people think so! Chinese website DoNews recently posted photos of a golden colored iPad Mini 2nd Gen with a Touch ID!

As per usual, there’s going to be lots of rumors starting to swirl before the next Apple release.

NEXT APPLE RELEASE WHA?

Well, yeah. It’s coming. It won’t be as big as the iPhone 5C and 5S, but it will more than likely focus on the iPad slate of products, including a new retina screen iPad Mini and a 5th Gen iPad. AND MAYBE SOME GOLD STUFF TOO SORRY WE’RE IN A CAPILIZATIONY MOOD

The announcement regarding these product upgrades is suspected to be kinda sorta around October 15th.

And we wait!

Image courtesy of iMore.com

We might be able to do what on planes now?

There are three types of travelers in the world-

1, Those who turn their mobile devices off before they’re told to and place them neatly in their carry on bag with a smile.

2, Those who wait until the last minute to turn their devices off or (with a sneaky, guilty look) place them on airplane mode before ever so anxiously and reluctantly sliding them into their pocket.

AND

3, Those who smile as the flight attendant walks by, then checks their email whilst waiting to see when exactly during take off their phone will stop getting service, smiling calmly at anyone who looks in abject horror in their direction.

This, boys and girls, is because for, like, forever, everyone has had to turn off their phones and other devices capable of transmitting data during take-off and landing.

This is so that your device doesn’t interfere with the plane’s communication and navigation equipment.  These rules are, by all accounts, predominantly precautionary.

With the rise of portable devices and smartphone capabilities, there has been a similar rise in complaints from really busy business dudes and general everyday people that not being allowed to have their devices on is stupid and bad. Sometimes they even put it more eloquently.

Now some of the high up important people might have paid attention!

Smile! Because we might soon become one big happy flying family, friends! Except for the people who grab the top of your head from behind when they’re getting up or walking by. Or the people who steal your Apple juice AND blanket ( totally happened). God, those people. We’ll never be family.

Anyway.

By the end of next week, the FAA ( Federal Aviation Administration) will hear back from a panel of industry folk regarding the possible relaxation of the in-flight device rules. Um… AWESOME!

According to the FAA:

“The FAA recognizes consumers are intensely interested in the use of personal electronics aboard aircraft, that is why we tasked a government-industry group to examine the safety issues and the feasibility of changing the current restrictions. . . . We will wait for the group to finish its work before we determine next steps.”

( Statement was made to USA Today)

Well, independent panel of dudes from the flight industry, we eagerly await your results and suggestions!!

By the way, how awesome is this photo on a scale from 1-100?

Images courtesy of designboom.com, thesavoia.com & smh.com.au

We’re feeling spoiled! New & improved iMacs coming our way!

An iMac Announcement Today!

A move a lot of people have long been waiting for, Apple has today announced the launch of updated iMacs with Intel’s Haswell processors, faster PCI express based flash storage options and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.

Philip Schiller, the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing was Apple’s spokesperson for the announcement, saying

“iMac continues to be the example that proves how beautiful, fast and fun a desktop computer can be,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “Inside its ultra-thin aluminum enclosure, the new iMac has the latest Intel processors, faster graphics, next generation 802.11ac Wi-Fi and faster PCIe flash storage.”

New models:

21.5-inch
– $1299: 2.7 GHz quad-core i5 and Intel Iris Pro graphics
– $1499: 2.9 GHz quad-core Intel i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M with 1 GB video memory

27-inch
– $1799: 3.2 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 755M with 1 GB video memory
– $1999: 3.4 GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M with 2 GB video memory

All standard configurations come with 8 GB of RAM and a 1 TB traditional hard drive. You can, as per usual, build up from the standard models.

The new iMacs, basically, will be super, super speedy, have faster graphics and will be able to connect to the next in line of Wi-Fi tech that provides up to three times the connectivity of the current 802.11n standard.

You can order the new iMac today online in the Apple Store, with shipping coming in at 2-4 weeks.

We just love the sneaky “Oh yeah, by the way we totally improved one of our big products and it’s way better now, thought you might like to know…”

Sneaky McSneaks.

Image courtesy of Appleinsider.

One of Apple’s employees got picked to be a super government person under Obama.

How to tell when you’re doing your job properly? Good feedback, tick, people you work with like you, tick, pay-rise, tick, getting nominated to serve in the White House… uh, wha?

That’s what has just happened to this nice lady – Catherine Novelli.

Currently Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs, Ms Novelli has been nominated by The White House to serve as Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment.

EEP!  She’s been with Apple since 2007 and as of yet there is no news as to whether she will continue to work with the tech giant, or move entirely to the, well, world government giant.

Kudos Catherine Novelli! I think you can give yourself a great big tick on this one.

Image courtesy of Macrumors.

New YouTube Mobile App feature!

Youtubers!

Good news! Very soon you will be able to download video using the mobile app on your phone or tablet AND watch said video later, when you’re offline for some weird reason.

Cool huh? Well, it’s like a 6 on coolness. Could definitely come in handy, definitely good for flights and camping and space flights.

But… some commercial partners, such as the music video service Vevo, have the option and are taking the option to not participate. Wah.

The service will still be free, still contain ads, won’t work for movies or TV episodes that it currently rents, and the downloaded video will work to watch offline for up to 48 hours.

Thanks, YouTube.

Image courtesy of YouTube.

Wait, how many new iPhones have been sold?!

Do you guys know how many polar bears there are in the world? C’mon we’re going somewhere with this, we promise.

It’s around 25 thousand. What about Penguins? You guys know much about penguins?

Well we got a few more of those cute bastards running around. Around 2 million.  Annnnd… how many pet birds in the United States?

That’s sitting at about 6 Million-ish.

Put all of that together, and now you have the number of iPhones Apple sold in the first three days of their release.

Yup, that’s NINE MILLION IPHONES.

That’s right, Kanye. NINE MILLION Sheesh.

That’s like almost half of all Australians bought an iPhone. OR like, everyone in Slovenia bought 4 and  a bit. Last year in the same 3 day period, the iPhone 5 only ( ha, ‘only’) sold 5 million units.

iOS 7 has also been updated by 200 million users- doubling the rate that iOS 7 was adopted.

Here we have Tim Cook:

“This is our best iPhone launch yet — more than 9 million new iPhones sold — a new record for first weekend sales. The demand for the new iPhones has been incredible. And while we’ve sold out of our initial supply of iPhone 5S’s, stores continue to receive new iPhone shipments regularly. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough new iPhones for everyone.”

He later went back on Twitter to say:  “Thanks to all our amazing customers for the fantastic weekend!”

Not surprisingly, Apple stock has jumped back up around $490.

Although Apple has not broken down the sales between the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C, the general consensus is that the iPhone 5S has far outsold the iPhone 5C worldwide – but that the cheaper model will start to catch up in time.

SO, Yay apple! You guys did good.

p.s. it was depressingly hard to find enough cool animals to compare to the sale of the new iPhones in 3 days. Sorry to sad out on you guys, but like, give a lion a dollar or something next time you see one.

Images courtesy of imore.com, themetapicture.com, imfunny.net, cafemom.com

Don’t forget!

GUYS GUYS GUYS

Just in case you’re not one of the lucky few who will be buying a shiny new iPhone, you can still get a lot of shiny new features by downloading iOS 7.

And you can do that! Today! Today today!

Going on release times from previous years, you should expect to be able to download it from 10AM PST. You will probably even get a push notification reminding you as well, as this happened about mid-afternoon last year Californian time.

iOS 7 is FREE and will work on the following Apple products: iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5. The iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S will come with iOS 7 already loaded. iOS 7 is also compatible with iPad Mini, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4 and iPod Touch 5G.

You should  DEFINITELY make sure your phone is backed up first, so go here and follow the instructions.

You can download iOS 7 by plugging your device into your computer and using iTunes or directly on your phone. Make sure you have the latest versions of both iTunes and iOS – these should be 6.1.4 for iOS and 11.1 for iTunes.

For iTunes, once your iPhone or iPad is plugged into your computer, select it under Devices in iTunes and then click Check for Update. Choose download or download and update. The second is what we would suggest.

If you choose to do it directly on your phone, and you don’t want to use up data on your phone plan, then you should probably be somewhere where you can use Wi-FI.

THEN;

Go to settings on your phone, and there should be a number 1 next to the word General. If you click on that, you should see the same number 1 sitting pretty next to the words Software update.

Click that, and you will have the option to install now. Do that.

Dance.

Image courtesy of maclife.com

How to pre-order the new iPhone 5C

Alright you guys, so this blog post is all about how to pre order the iPhone 5C. That’s cool. It’s also weirdly difficult to describe when this can actually happen. We know what’s right, we think, but it sounds wrong. So we’re gonna try it so that there can be no misunderstandings.

You will be able to pre order the iPhone 5C at 12:01, the night time version, on the 13th of September. So, like, when its the 12th of September, wait until it’s 11pm, wait an hour, and then you can go ahead and pre order!  That’s California time, too. Make sense?

Now, we got the time right, but what do you do then? Well, you do a little jig, cos you’re buying an iPhone 5C b*tches!

Then, you do this stuff. (Do most of this stuff before midnight though, cos the amount of iPhones available for pre order will shrink. Real fast.)

You need to decide if you’re buying on or off contract.

For the free spirits out there, you can buy the iPhone 5C off contract with T-Mobile, or SIM free. You can do both through Apple.

If you do this, you’ll be buying the phone outright for $549 for 16Gb, and $649 for 32Gb in both of these options, but you don’t get a SIM with the SIM free option. Duh.

If you choose the SIM free option you WILL need a SIM from somewhere at some stage for the phone to work as a phone. Specifically, you’ll need to get a GSM compatible nano-SIM. Your iPhone will be unlocked, so you can use a SIM from any carrier, domestically or international, as long as it has the right specifications as above.

If you choose to buy the iPhone 5C off-contract with T-Mobile, you will be choosing them as your mobile provider, and will pay them month to month for data, voice, text etc, but you won’t be locked in to a contract and can exit any time. Your phone will arrive with a nano-SIM card already installed that you can activate by visiting an Apple Retail Store or a T-Mobile store or by calling T-Mobile.

If you’re already on contract, but really want the new phone, you have the option to upgrade. You are of course eligible to upgrade once you have ended your current contract, after 2 years.

But, here’s the thing. A lot of people don’t realize that you are more than likely eligible for an upgrade 18 months after your contract started, not two years. It’s definitely worth checking! Go check, dudes.

For Verizon, Sprint and AT&T upgrade eligibility, you’ll most likely need the number for the phone you would like to upgrade, the last four digits of the primary account holder’s Social Security number, and the billing ZIP Code. To see if you’re eligible for an upgrade, or to see the price you qualify for, check out this link.

For Sprint you can also use your phone- dial *2, press send, press 1, enter your phone number and then press 1 to check for eligibility.

AT&T also has the option to check your upgrade eligibility via your phone, just dial *639# and press send and you will receive a text message shortly after letting you know when you’re eligible for an upgrade.

If you’re a little unsure about the whole idea of upgrading, you should talk to your carrier. BUT, you should also read this– If you are eligible for an upgrade, it means that all you have to pay to get the new phone is the price Apple shows next to the phone.

For the 5C, that means that when you upgrade and preorder, you will pay upfront and outright $99 for the 16Gb version and $199 for the 32Gb version. You will be committing to another 2 year contract with the provider.

If you are not eligible for an upgrade, but you reallllly want the new phone, you can, of course, get it. You will pay an extra fee, and how much that fee is depends on the carrier, but i’ll give you an example.

Say you started a new 2 year contract this time last year when you bought the iPhone 5. You’re a year into your contract, so you won’t be eligible for an upgrade, but you’re going to go ahead and get it anyway, because hey, it’s a free country right?

Your carrier will more than likely be absolutely cool with that, because that means they have your business guaranteed for another 2 years, but, they will charge a fee, which will more than likely be about $200. So you’ll be paying $300 upfront for the iPhone 5C 16Gb, and $400 upfront for the iPhone 5C 32Gb.

You also absolutely always get to keep your old phone, so that you can use it as financial leverage! It’s a stinky old iPhone! Sell it for CASHMONEY, YO!

If you’re joining up with a new provider, you’re looking at 2 year contract and paying upfront $99 for the 16Gb or $199 for the 32Gb. When choosing a new provider it’s important to look at their plans, and it’s also important to check out the coverage maps of each of the options. You can do this below by clicking on the blue links.

AT&T Coverage Map

Verizon Coverage Map

Sprint Coverage Map

T-Mobile Coverage map

Ok, so now you know what category you’re in, and you’re prepared for all your choices and options, how much you have to pay, which carrier, upgrade eligibilty, etc.

Now it’s almost midnight.

Dance!

And then, time to move!

You can pre-order on all of the carrier’s websites, as well as Apple’s.

To buy straight from Apple, go to this link.

Choose your color, you sparkle pony you. You have the option of blue, green, yellow , pink and white.

Next, choose the model you want, the smaller 16Gb or the 32Gb. The bigger the GB ( Gigabytes), the more stuff you can have on your phone, basically. Things that take up storage space include photos, videos, lots of songs or apps. 1000 songs is about 7Gb, for example.

Once those decisions are made and entered into the system, you’ll have to fill in some personal details, you will need a credit card, and you will need to press enter at the end. You will need to do a little dance. And send it to us. Yeah, do that.

Remember, if you’re upgrading from an iPhone 4S or older and have accessories that use the old connector port, such as a dock or something, you will also need to purchase a lightening to 30 pin adaptor.

And, guys, last year the iPhone 5 pre order was sold out in about an hour. So be quick. If you miss out, you have to wait until the 20th of September, when they’ll be available in store.

Happy pre-ordering! Remember – 11PM, Californian time, on Thursday the 12th of September. You have one hour after that until you can pre – order.

Image courtesy of The Verge. addictinginfo.com, iphonehacks.com, speres.com & sweetclipart.com