Cicret Smart Bracelet

There’s some new (very new) tech that’s  been doing the social media rounds lately, and it looks, um, amazing. It’s a bracelet called The Cicret Smart Bracelet.

Cicret claims it’s developed the bracelet to be able to let you control your mobile device remotely by projecting its display on your skin and sending touch input back to your device.

They’re currently fundraising on their website to finish the prototype (They still need 700,000 euros at the time this article was written) and there isn’t very much information available as to how exactly they are going to make it all work. But if they can, this is what we’ll be looking at:

It sounds too good to be true, but we really hope they can pull it off, because that tech be cool. If these guys can make this happen, and make it work like they say they can, this could be amazing.

Have we told you recently how much we love technology?

App of the Day! Camera Edition

You guys, it’s almost the Holidays! One week ’til Halloween, then Thanksgiving and then Christmas! All the times you’ll be wanting to take the best possible camera phone photos…

SO you’ll prolly be wanting to get the updated version of VSCO Cam. It’s super cool, the newest update has been catered towards iOS 8 and you can manually control all kinds of wonderful photo-taking things like shutter speed, white balance, focus and exposure.

Not to worry though, they also actually manage to make all that stuff pretty intuitive to folks who aren’t that versed in camera terminology.

It comes equipped with post photo editing tools and the ability to share straight to Facebook or Instagram from the App and it’ll make your Holiday pictures superb, we promise.

Get it from the App store.  It’s free with the option to make in-app purchases for filters etc.

Apple Pay Making it’s Debut Monday!

Apple pay will be making it’s spectacular (ish) debut this coming Monday the 20th October!

Secret sauces ( mmm KFC, uh…) spilled the beans last week that retailers who will have Apple Pay enabled at their point of sale systems have already completed their training for the payments process AND THEN Tim Cook confirmed at the iPad media event on Thursday that Apple pay will indeed be up and running on Monday.

Banks however look like they’ll begin to support the payment system at different times (makes sense) making the release more of a staggered release. For example, USAA, one of Apple’s bank partners, has claimed that it plans on starting to support Apple Pay come November 7th.

Apple Pay will be enabled on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with a free update to iOS 8.1 and will be available in over 220,000 merchants country wide, including some big name chains such as Macy’s, Bloomingdales, McDonalds, Staples, Sephora, Walgreens, Whole Foods and, obviously, Apple. Because it would be weird if they didn’t.

You will also be able to use Apple Pay within the apps of companies such as Groupon, Lyft & Uber, Airbnb, OpenTable and Target. You will be able to use Apple pay with iPhone 5, iPhone 5S and iPhone 5c’s with the addition of your very own Apple Watch next year.

Hooray for Apple Pay? It’s spectacularish because it should be awesome, and a solid improvement to how payments are processed BUT not everyone can use it yet and there will probably be some (non-security related) bugs to work out before it becomes totally stable. BUT WE think it’s pretty exciting!

Therefore, Hooray!

uh oh Kapaernick got caught wearing beats on camera!

Colin Kapaernick is an amzing quarterback who plays for the San Francisco 49er’s, the best team in the league (we might be biased… might). He also happens to have a contract with Beats by Dre, who capitalize on his fame to promote their range of Headphones. Here he is in an ad for Beats which you might remember played during the World Cup.

The NFL, however, has just signed a deal with Bose, to make them an official sponsor of the game, and as such banned all players from wearing Beats on camera during training camp, practice sessions or before, during, or 90 minutes after any game.

Our favorite quarterback broke those rules last Sunday by wearing bright pink beats to a post-game press conference after the 49ers win over the Chiefs. Kapaernick has since explained that he was wearing those particular headphone in an effort towards Breast Cancer Awareness, (his Grandmother is a survivor) which is awesome, but unfortunately that don’t really cut it when it comes to legally binding contracts between the NFL and a big sponsor like Bose.

Hence, he was fined $10,000. Ouch.

Well, at least we won. And, now, more than a few more people are aware of the meaning behind those bright pink headphones. Check out how you can help those with breast cancer by raising awareness or donating here.

Deals Of The Week Wednesday!

Welcome back kids!

Ready for some deals? Yup? Here they are comin’ ‘atcha:

*T-Mobile are offering 4 lines for $100 a month with up to 2.5 GB of 4G LTE data per line until 2016 if you switch your family to T‑Mobile’s Simple Choice Plan. It’s a pretty stellar deal –  take a look to see if it’s right for your family here.

* Also at T-Mobile, but if you’re not currently on a plan, get a T-Mobile Prepaid Phone SIM Card Activation Kits for just $1 + Free Shipping. Go here and enter code SIMDEAL99 at checkout.

* Save 20% AT BEST BUY on one regular-priced small appliance and enter coupon code  SAVE20SMALLS at checkout to receive your savings. Expires: 10-12-14

*Get a Bunta Frosted Macbook Hard-Case Shell with a Silicone Keyboard Cover for $19.99 from Groupon. Because they funky AND protecty. Gotta love that.

* Best Buy have Beats Mixr On-Ear Headphones on sale for $199.99 down from $249.99 plus free shipping. Get an extra $100 off with an .Edu email student discount. 

*Get a Foscam FI8910W Wireless Camera with Optional 9dBi Antenna for $54.99 from Groupon. Unsure what you would use it for? We use ours to spy on our Guinea pig. So you could do that. (Not on our Guinea Pig, you weirdo)

*Get $10 Off $80, $12 Off $99 or $15 Off $120 Coupon for Brookstone online with coupon code AFF625. Expires: 11-30-14

*12-Month Xbox Live Gold Card for $49.99 From Groupon.

* Get $15 Off $75 at HP online with coupon code 15HPSAVE. Expires: 11-05-14

* Got an old car? We’re so cool with that, because old cars are gangsta, duh. But sometimes they need gadgets to bring them up to date. Get an A.M.P. Bluetooth Receiver for $18.99 from Groupon.

Aaaaaaaand we’re dealed right out. Happy shopping, campers.

Apple Watch battery

So we’re pretty excited about the Apple Watch.

We know there are a lot of people out there who aren’t- people who dislike Apple for the sake of disliking Apple, people who don’t like to wear watches, people who have really fat wrists…

But we’re excited. The one thing, however, that was rather glossed over in the Special Media Event where it was announced was battery power. Specifically, how long the battery will stay powered.

There have been rumors that this is one reason for the (some say) delayed release date of early(ish) 2015 instead of the predicted release date of 4th quarter 2014. The little Apple Oompa Loompa’s have apparently been working around the clock to try and increase the battery length of the Apple watch past one day’s use, which it seems to be at currently.

In comparison with other brands of smart watch, the Apple watch seems to be a fierce competitor, however when we’re talking specifically about battery length, not so much. Although it’s not too bad – the other watches range from less than one day ( Hi Moto 360) to one day, to 7 days ( Hi Pebble Steel).

These two things obviously interact- with more processing power and capabilities comes less battery life. If Apple is unable to increase the battery life on the Apple Watch, and it does indeed need to be plugged in overnight, every night, will that sway those in the market for the next new & big thing? The newest Apple wearable tech no less?

Hey, maybe it’ll be a Jony Ive Christmas Miracle and they’ll figure out completely wireless charging in time for the release! And then, in twenty years, our children will ask us why we sometimes call starting to charge something ‘plugging it in’.

Just like some kids these days don’t know why we say ‘roll down/up’ the window’. Isn’t that WEIRD?

*We’re sorry, that was mean

How to download iOS 8 the easy way!

Here’s the deal guys: iOS 8 is available to download onto your iPad or iPhone right now, and iOS 8 needs a lot of space to download onto said devices. Like, up to 6GB of free space.

BUT! Don’t panic and delete all of your photos and videos (which is where all of your space is usually taken up). That can end in error. Nobody likes deleting photo errors!

First – Back up your device to the cloud, silly. Sh*t happens. You don’t want it happening to your data.

Second- Plug your device into your laptop and open iTunes.

You may be asked to ‘check for update’, or if it recognizes that there is an update available, just ‘update’. DO NOT click ‘Restore iPhone’ as that will ruin everything and restore the device back to it’s very birth. IE it will forget it ever knew you.

Download and update your device with iOS 8 directly from there! Yay! Much less space needed and more reliable than an Over-The-Air update which is performed on the device itself.

The update should take roughly 25-30 minutes and then BAM! Hi iOS 8!

We’ll be testing all kinds of things featured in iOS 8 and letting you know all the ins and outs of the new operating system so if you’re not updating yet we can let you know what to expect!

We’re already addicted to not typing our own messages. Booyah!

The Apple Watch

It’s FINALLY here! ONE MORE THING! This morning the iWatch Apple Watch was revealed and we have all the beautiful wearable tech details for you!

Firstly – how to solve a problem like no-one wants to wear the same watch? Make a bunch of watches, dummy. And that’s what Apple has done with the Apple Watch. It’s the most highly customizable technology Apple has ever made.

As well as 6 different (and interchangeable) strap options and what seems to be a bazillion types of changeable displays, the Apple Watch comes in 2 sizes (dimensions not specified yet), and 3 models: The Apple Watch, The Apple Watch Sport and the Apple Watch Edition. Respectively it goes: Stainless Steel; Aluminum casing, and 18-karat gold.

You will need an iPhone to have the Apple Watch. We mean, you can probably have one without owning an iPhone, but it wouldn’t do much. At all. You need an iPhone for the Apple Watch to work. BUT the excellent news is that it will work with any iPhone from the iPhone 5 and up. Bajinga.

The fancy innovation that we knew was coming with the watch is in the crown, or, we should say, the digital crown. The twisty knob that normally sits on the side of watches is instrumental in the user interface of the Apple Watch, becoming a zoom, scroll and home button all in one.

There is a button below the digital crown that, when pressed, calls up your favorite contacts and lets you call, message or contact them via the Apple Watch’s ‘new form of communication’. This includes sending your heartbeat to someone, sending customizable emoji’s, your own doodles and drawings, and sending taps. Time to learn morse code?

Raise your wrist and the watch face display disappears and in its place is your recognizable navigation home page, with all your apps. You can move in and out to see more or less of the apps, and touch to go into them.

A really cool feature we liked a lot was in the messages app. If you receive a message and wish to reply, you can either dictate the reply and the device will send it via type or audio to the recipient, or it will give you a list of replies created from analysis of the original message.

The given example was a message with a question regarding song choice for Karaoke, giving two options. Those two options were included in the possible replies the device gave. Our lives are slowly turning into a one-button lifestyle! We think we like it…

Exciting feature number 2: Apple Watch has Siri! It will be interesting how close you have to hold the watch to talk to Siri, as in the demo Kevin Lynch was leaning quite close to the demo watch.

Apple Watch can tell the difference between a touch and a press which allows easier movement around the user interface and includes a feature called Taptic feedback – which means if you get a notification, a direction on maps, or a special message – it doesn’t vibrate, it taps to you, so only you feel it. Each direction on maps has a different ‘tap’. James Bond much. We foresee magical blindfolded missions with our Apple Watches! Is that just us?

You can keep your photos on the device, which is pretty sweet, and any photo you favorite in iPhoto or on your iPhone will automatically appear on the Apple Watch.

4 sapphire lenses on the back of the watch detect pulse rate and the combination of a gyroscope, accelerometer, Wi-Fi and GPS creates a comprehensive picture of your daily activity. We’re talking tracking standing and running and walking and heart rate and we’re all going to be healthy. Or feel bad about ourselves about all the not being healthy we’re doing.

To charge, although not specifically mentioned, it seems like the Apple Watch might need nightly charging, but it does charge with a specifically designed, snug little MagSafe charger, so no complicated new cables or awkward positioning needed.

Apple is giving the Apple Watch over to developers for the rest of the year, looking forward to the added capabilities they can give the Apple Watch. New applications mentioned by Tim Cook that will for sure be included are for the Starwood Hotel chain, the ability to check in and unlock your hotel room door with the watch, the ability to check into your American Airlines flights, the ability to control lighting and temperature in your home, MLB sports updates, the ability to control Apple TV, the ability to use the watch as a viewfinder for your iPhone camera AND walkie talkie ability. Sweet 80’s ski-slope style.

Overall, the Apple Watch was what we expected and a little bit more- a bunch of extremely useful technologies with a focus on health and making life and communication easier, bundled up into one beautifully designed, highly customizable watch.

The watch will start at $349 and will be available early 2015.

Apple Pay

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. 

The iPhone 6!

It’s finally here! The iPhone 6. AND iPhone 6 Plus. Fancy. Here’s what you need to know about the new iPhone models:

They look remarkably similar to the leaks we’ve seen in the past few weeks with rounded edges, and extended camera lens. The power button is indeed positioned on the upper right hand side and both iPhones are what we expected for screen size and a lot thinner than their predecessors. The iPhone 6 sits pretty at 4.7 inch screen size and 6.9mm thin and the iPhone 6 Plus is 5.5 inch screen size and just 7.1mm thin. For comparison’s sake, the iPhone 5S has a 4 inch screen size and is 7.6mm thin.

Combine this larger screen size with the screen resolution and it sounds pretty magic. Both models have what Apple calls ‘Retina HD Display’, with the iPhone 6 featuring a 1334 x 750 display at 326 pixels-per-inch while the iPhone 6 Plus features a 1920 x 1080 display at 401 ppi.

The iPhone 6 has more than 1 million pixels. The iPhone 6 ups it’s game here to 2 million pixels. According to Apple that’s 185% more pixels on the iPhone 6 Plus. Fewf. Good thing we like having lots of pixels.

There are updates to Apps to make one hand control easier and to take advantage of the extra space the screen size brings – such as two tone display for email, messages, etc.

The iPhone 6 models have a next generation A8 chip, 2 billion transistors and 64-bit support. 25% faster CPU performance. Which means, basically, that it’ll be faster and better.

The battery will be equal or better than the iPhone 5S,  for example, watching video you’ll get 10 hours on the 5S, 11 on the iPhone 6 and 14 on the iPhone 6 Plus.

The iPhone 6 models come with a barometer that measures relative elevation from air pressure, which, in combination with the M8 chip will make fitness applications tell accurately when your cycling/walking/running/ as well as being able to estimate distance/steps/elevation. This will all be recorded in the Health app that comes with iOS 8, of course.

The cameras on both models come equipped with an ‘isight’ sensor that will apparently help take better photos. It’s a 8MP iSight camera, 1.5µ pixels, ƒ/2.2 aperture that will focus almost twice as fast, has advanced face detection, tone mapping, and noise reduction. Panorama photo capability will improve with up to 43 mexapixel photos and a gyroscope means stitching is seamless.

The iPhone 6 has image stabilization, however the iPhone 6 Plus again steps it up to include optical image stabilization. Which is fancy, and will make your photos better and cleaner.

Video will be shot at 1080p at 30fps and 60fps, and slo-mo at 240fps (holy moly), up from 120fps on the 5s. The iPhone 6 models will both include time lapse photography capability.

The front facing ‘FaceTime’ camera has also been improved with f2.2 aperture that lets in 81% more light. It also has improved face detection and burst selfie mode, single shot HDR and HDR in FaceTime video.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus come in Gold, Silver and Space Gray. All in all, its a nice, rounded update with no surprises but improvements that will make the user experience a better one. When we get our hands on one we’ll let you know about how the larger screen sizes feel, and how noticeably faster and better performing the new models are.

Pricing!  The iPhone 6 – 16GB/64GB/128GB for $199/$299/$399.

AND

The iPhone 6 Plus – $299/$399/$499 for 16GB/64GB/128GB

Both models will be released come September 19 and its preferred operating system, iOS 8, launches September 17th. BUT take note- you can preorder starting September 12.

P.S.  Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake are the voices behind the new ads!