New ‘Shot on iPhone’ ads released

The “Shot on iPhone” advertising campaign highlights the iPhone’s camera, and Apple just released four 15 second ads of photos and videos captured on a single night in New York, Johannesburg, Shanghai, and Tokyo set to music.

All of the photos and video featured were shot on the same night – November 5th, 2016 – all over the world.The ‘night’ theme is meant to underscore how good the iPhone Camera works in low light, and these ads fit into their ‘One Night’ campaign, which features images and videos taken by 16 photographers across 15 cities on six continents.

Check them out:

AT&T comes to the party with all 4 main carriers now offering Unlimited plans

AT&T has a new unlimited data plan! Hooray!

Starting today! HOORAY

Previously only having unlimited data plans available to customers who were also DirecTV or U-Verse Customers, this unlimited plan will be available to all postpaid AT&T customers.

The new plan will provide unlimited talk, text, and data on four lines for $180. This includes unlimited calls from the U.S. to Canada and Mexico and unlimited texts to more than 120 countries around the world. Customers are also able to talk, text, and use data in Canada and Mexico with no roaming charges.

BUT the $180 is after a $40 credit for the fourth smartphone line, which will start after two billing periods. Prior to then, customers will need to pay $220 per month for the plan.

According to AT&T, the company “may slow speeds” during periods of network congestion for customers who consume more than 22GB of data, because, 22GB is kind of a lot, you know?

With AT&T coming to the party, now  all of the major carriers in the United States have unlimited data plans available!

UNLIMITED DATA PLAN PARTY

Sprint and T-Mobile have offered unlimited data plans since August, and Verizon announced its unlimited plan just this week with inclusions like 10GB of tethering data and HD video streaming. T- Mobile have since implemented similar changes.

T-Mobile is $70 per month for a single subscriber, Verizon’s plan is $80 or $180 for four subscribers, and Sprint’s plan is priced at $55 per month for a single subscriber, but its coverage can’t compete with T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T.

AT&T is $100 per month for the first smart phone, and $40 for additional smartphones with the fourth line free after bill credit.

From the Source:

“We’re offering unlimited entertainment on the nation’s best data network where and when you want to enjoy more of what you love,” said David Christopher, Chief Marketing Officer of the AT&T Entertainment Group.

Is Apple bringing an AR product into the game?

There are some big rumors floating around the techisphere that Apple has partnered with German lens specialist Carl Zeiss to create Augmented Reality/mixed reality smart glasses.

It would make for some lovely symmetry if, when the world is expecting a great iPhone 8 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the groundbreaking iPhone, they instead produced another groundbreaking product… and a great iPhone 8.

The rumor has come about because of a (purposefully?) not-very-tightlipped Zeiss employee at CES, at a Zeiss booth, which had no Augemented Reality products, but was situated in the AR area.

So… not super concrete.

But it sounds good, right? Augmented reality, in case you’re wondering, is different from Virtual Reality, because it superimposes digital information and images onto your view of the world, instead of creating a whole new world (good luck getting that song out of your head now, suckers).
Think: Pokemon Go, but less annoying?

Apple CEO Tim Cook has talked-momentarily- about his interest in AR before, and that he considers it to be of a higher commercial value than Virtual Reality, and Apple does have some patents out that could relate to this possibility , but we’re just not sure if this might not be reaching a bit.

Exciting rumor for this Wednesday Afternoon though.

The iPhone was introduced 10 years ago today

Ten years ago today, Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone at Macworld in San Francisco.

The iPhone was officially released to the public six months later, and well over 1 billion of them have been sold since then.

From the Sauce, CEO Tim Cook:

“iPhone is an essential part of our customers’ lives, and today more than ever it is redefining the way we communicate, entertain, work and live, iPhone set the standard for mobile computing in its first decade and we are just getting started. The best is yet to come.”

Oooh… ! Them fancy iPhone 8 words! Well, actually, it’d be super weird if he said ” The best is behind us!” Right? The best better be yet to come, Apple! We do love us our iPhones though, so thank you. Ten years of iPhoning for the win!

The release of the iPhone 8 in the Fall will be the tenth anniversary iPhone and there are rather large expectations that come with it. At least one new model will feature glass casing with a curved OLED display, with (apparently) a nearly bezel-less edge-to-edge design with the Touch ID embedded directly into the display. Wireless charging, facial or iris recognition, and a vertical dual-lens camera capable of 3D photography effects are also rumored.

Kevin Hart + Nike + Apple = TeeHee?

Kevin Hart is: “The Man Who Kept Running.”

Literally, as the star of a set of new crossover ads between Apple and Nike, Kevin loves his Nike+ Apple Watch that he just can’t quit running.

There’s 7 ads in all, which can be viewed on Nike’s YouTube Channel here. 

The Apple Watch Nike+ is a Nike-branded (duh) version of the Apple Watch Series 2 with an aluminum casing and a special perforated band. It includes exclusive Nike watch faces and it works with the Nike+ Run Club app, designed to motivate users to run each day.

Watch the 1st three ads here:

…Did they convince you to get one yet?

New year, new Apple Watch

Apple is expected to release the 3rd Gen  in the 3rd quarter of this year, however most of the upgrades will apparently be to the interior workings of the device, such as increasing battery life and speed, rather than physical hardware changes.

Earlier today, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News claimed that this upgrade will be manufactured by Taiwan-based Quanta, which is not all that surprising, considering they were also responsible for the 1st and 2nd generation Apple Watch.

Other rumors swirling around the wearable include further reaching health sensors, adding cellular connectivity, the ability to identify a user by their heart rate, and a super rad teleportation feature.

One of those is probably not true…

If the 3rd Gen does come out in the 3rd quarter,  it would be at around the same time that the (rumored) iPhone 8 – the 10th anniversary iPhone – is expected to come out. Exciting times.

Best Tech Gadget Gift Guide

Yay Holidays! Need some gift inspiration for your loved ones? We got you! Check out our recommended tech gift buys for 2016.

*Google Home. $129.99

Google’s foray into a home assistant is budget friendly, and  super handy. Have it do the dirty googling for you, stream music, and manage your tasks and smart home features with this voice activated speaker.

On the other side of the home assistant scale, we also have:

*Amazon Echo or Amazon Echo Dot. $179.99 / $49.99

A bit more expensive, or waaaaay less expensive if you consider the Echo Dot, the Amazon Echo (Alexa) has been around for a while now, and is very well respected as a fantastic addition to people’s homes for playing music, providing information, controlling smart home features, reading the news, setting alarms, etc.

The Echo dot is smaller, and isn’t actually a speaker – so you’ll need to connect it to one via bluetooth or 2.5 Stereo cable. Apart from that, it’s a standalone device that still does all of the above.

*Know someone who enjoys music? I’m guessing you probably do. It might be you. These are pretty much the most highly recommended headphones. Bose QuietComfort QC35 Wireless Headphones $349 from Amazon

Noise-canceling headphones, wireless, over-ear headphones with long battery life, and a niiiice sound quality. Pricey but worth it.

*MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and Touch ID. From $1,799

The all-new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and Touch ID is sleeker, lighter, more powerful and feature a great new keyboard,  trackpad, beautiful display and great battery life.  Available with 13-inch and 15-inch display, it features the Touch Bar, which delivers relevant shortcuts and tools for the apps that are in use.

*The RC Lamborghini Veneno from Hammacher Schlemmer. $99.95
This is the RAD AF remote-controlled replica of the exclusive Lamborghini Veneno Roadster.

Whaaaaaa.T

1:12 scale model faithfully reproduces the original from its aerodynamic hood to its bucket seats and gear shift in its “cockpit” interior. The iconic Lamborghini bull adorns the hubcaps and hood, the LED head- and taillights illuminate, and the exterior is painted the same “Rosso Mars” shade as the full-size version. You know you have someone in your life who’d want this.

* GoPro Hero5 Black $399.99 from BestBuy, REI, B&H, other retailers.

If you’re looking to splash some cash this Christmas, and you have an ACTION JACKSON amongst your loved ones, look at the GoPro Hero5 Black. It’s pretty much the premium adventure camera, with voice control, 4K video capture and electronic image stabilization to avoid shaky footage. Plus, you can use it in up to 33 feet of water without any additional housing.

* Roku Ultra. $129 from Amazon $129.00

The Roku Ultra is prettttttuy sweet guys. It delivers 4K content with HDR support for beautiful vision, and it offers more than 3,500 channels, with a remote that has both voice search and a headphone jack for private listening.

* Bluetooth shoe warmers from ThermaCell

Gettin cold, huh? We all have that someone in our lives whose little toesies are always shivering, and this is the answer they will thank you for. Bluetooth Shoe warmers. Check them out.

* Trip on a spaceship with Virgin Galactic $250,000

A gift of making someone into an Astronaut? Yes pelase, on both sides of the gift giving. Very expensive, and with no set date, this one is a little out of reach for most of us, but if you’re reading this and it seems like it’s in reach for you… do it. Just do it. Give someone the gift of being an astronaut. Kind of. 

* Sony Playstation VR. Best Price we saw was $399 with free shipping from Walmart

VR might just be the way of the future, and man, it’s fun. Someone in your life WILL appreciate this. Guaranteed. This is the standalone device, but you can also get the $600 bundle from Amazon that includes the VR headset, camera and two PlayStation Move motion controllers.

*Google Cardboard $15

On the cheaper scale of Virtual Reality, someone in your life will also definitely appreciate this, because it’s amazing. A little harder to source content, but there’s great games and 360 videos out there. You just need a smartphone.

* Nintendo NES Classic Edition $60 Currently sold out at BestBuy and… well, most places. Good Luck!

The NES Classic Edition includes 30 classic games like Super Mario Bros., Mega Man 2, Donkey Kong, Legend of Zelda and Pac-Man. Old-school controller is also included, as well as a newer-school HDMI cable. Weeeeee all the way back to the eighties!

* Spectacles by Snap

From SnapChat, these funky glasses capture 10-second circular videos which you can then share in Snapchat. A friendly light on the glasses shows friends that you’re recording, and the Spectacles charge in the included case.

Because of marketing, these are only being sold in ‘bots’ – traveling vending machines. These are placed in a new location about every 48 hours. A countdown will generally start on the Spectacles website 24 hours before the location is unveiled and there’s no clues before then as to where it will drop.

OR visit the pop-up store in that Snap recently opened in New York City at 5 E 59th St across from the Apple store. The location is open Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and on the weekends from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.

*The 8,000 Stars Home Planetarium. from Hammacher Schlemmer $129.95

This desktop planetarium projects an accurate view of 8,000 stars and simultaneously plays music from your smartphone. Its built-in LED illuminates the ceiling and walls of a room with an accurate view of 61 constellations as seen from the Northern Hemisphere while a built-in Bluetooth speaker connects to a paired iPhone or Android device and plays one’s preferred ambient star-gazing soundtrack. The planetarium’s whisper-quiet motor simulates the turning of the Earth by slowly moving the image and can be sped up or slowed down with five variable speeds and accurately aligns with every day of the year.

ISN’T THAT THE RADDEST THING YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE?

* The Child’s 3D Printing Pen. $99.95

Have your kid create three-dimensional works of art with harmless warm thermoplastic that hardens within seconds.  The pen is powered via the included micro-USB cord and is ready to use in less than one minute. Includes eight color plastic packs (192 strands), eight stencil discs, and a project book.

*The Levitating Bluetooth Speaker. $149.95

Sure, there are a lot  of awesome sounding speakers out there. But this one floats. 

It also delivers impressively robust audio from its full-range 5-watt driver when paired with a Bluetooth- or NFC-enabled device up to 30′ away. Volume is controlled from your device and LED-lighted rings on the base and speaker add a mystical glow.

* Lastly, if you’re thinking of buying a loved one a new iPhone, we’d recommend the iPhone 7 Plus. And then, get them to sell their stinky old iPhone to us so it’s like a double Christmas present. Really. A new iPhone and cash. Wrap these with some friends and family love and you’ve got yourself a rockin’ Christmas!

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Tweet at Google for why?

Starting yesterday, if you tweet an emoji at Google,  it will most likely respond with a bunch of relevant and related results. Yay! Words are so overrated, right?

Example: Tweet a burger emoji @Google, and Google will respond with a link to Google search results for the best burger in your area on a map.

The feature will apparently work with over 200 different emoji for food, sites and activities near you. There will also be easter eggs! EASTER EGGS ARE THE BEST.

Try it today!

Samsung might remove headphone jack too

Duh?

Apparently there are credible rumors that Samsung will be following the controversial Apple move by removing the headphone jack from their upcoming Galaxy S8.

There are upsides to removing the headphone jack – creating a bunch (relatively) of space for a thinner sleeker design and new tech improvements, but as we saw with Apple, it can be a decision that consumers will not necessarily be happy with.

Credible rumors are to be taken with the knowledge that they are still rumors, however we’ll find out in February 2017 when the Galaxy S8 debuts at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona.

Oh, and the Apple AirPods? They’re coming… soon. Before Christmas, according to Tim Cook.

Accessory of the week! Extra iPhone storage!

STORAGE. It’s big, yo. or it’s not, but it needs to be. Everyone wants more storage. Because we need ALL THE THINGS! The music things, the video things, The App things, all the things!

SanDisk might be your new best friend. Because of this:

It’s the new iXpand Memory Case and guess what? It’ll boost your iPhone’s storage capacity. Is that awesome or what?

It’s available for iPhone 6 or 6 Plus with extra storage options of 32 GB, 64 GB, and 128 GB for $60, $100, and $130 respectively and it connects via the lightening port.

Caveat: You’ll need to use a SanDisk app to take advantage of the extra space. But this app can automatically back up your camera roll and password-protect your photos and files. There’s also an optional 1900mAh battery pack that can be attached to the case for $40 extra.

Check it out SanDisk here, and pick one up from Amazon here!