Who wants to win a shiny Gold 5S? Anyone?

GUYS GUYS GUYS

Wanna win a brand new shiny iPhone 5S? In GOLD?

UH… D’UH? It’d be a bit weird if you didn’t, just saying.

The wonderful tech website 9to5Mac are teaming with a vinyl skin manufacturing company, dbranc inc. to promote their wares, which are all pretty awesome, and to give away an unlocked gold 64Gb iPhone 5S.

That’s right! You’ll also get a bunch of gold skins to use on any of your other devices to make them look fancy and shiny so they don’t feel all left out and jealous of your new phone.

To Enter: Make sure you’re following @9to5mac on Twitter and retweet the competition post or reshare it on Facebook.

Not this post, although, you can do that too, but it should be their post that you share. You’ll find it here.  And the share button is alllll the way down the bottom. 

Good luck! Actually, guess what we just decided. If we win, we’ll just give it to one of you guys. Deal?

Image courtesy of VH1, Sonny Radio & 9to5Mac

Facebook Privacy Change is a comin’

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.

Image courtesy of Facebook & Seattle Wolf.

Deals of the day!

Alright alright alright! It’s deal time!

We scoured the world ( internet) for you guys to try and find some really good deals, and we found a couple! Yay! Time not wasted!

 

You guys want to keep those shiny iPhone shiny and non-stinky right?

 

There’s differing opinions on the worthiness of protection cases, but if you’re into ’em, then this is a pretty good deal.

 

Tanga has an OtterBox Commuter Series Case for iPhone 5/5S (black, purple, or white) for $12.99. Shipping is $3.

Check it out here.

T-Mobile changing the way we travel with phones?

WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOOOOOAH.

This is pretty groundbreaking stuff, and we don’t want to startle you guys but, it’s pretty hella exciting.

T-Mobile has announced a new way of doing things. Something that (we hope) will change how other carriers do things in the future as well as change how we travel.

CEO John Legere has dropped a few hints on Twitter – “Today is the day! The day we change the way the world uses their phones!”

And then they did. So here’s the deal.

Starting October 20 for new customers and October 31st for existing customers, T-Mobile’s Simple Choice Plan, will include unlimited 2G data in 115 countries, free texts, and calls for only 20 cents per minute, all without signing an annual contract!

We don’t know about you guys, but this is something we are really excited about. 

Traveling internationally with your phone is always super useful and yet also really annoying.Previously, there has just been too many choices, and none of them were good.

Do you choose to try to buy a local sim in each country? Or one sim to rule them all that kind of works and costs a bajillion dollars? What about using your home sim and being really careful until you forget and start playing online mushroom wars drunk one night in Sofia?

Thanks to T-Mobile, now you don’t have to worry about it!

The international data comes at no additional cost as long as you’re on the Simple Choice Plan, and unlimited free texts and 20 cent phone calls will be an additional $10/month. This addition will also enable unlimited calling to landlines on over 70 international countries.

Take a look here to see what countries are included and all the extra details:

And remember, this means you can use your smart phone overseas, SAHWEET, but it doesn’t mean you always should. C’mon, don’t be that guy. Or the guy who travels with a guitar. We hate that guy. Sorry guy.

Next Apple Event October 22nd!

Thanks to AllThingsD, we’ve got a date of the next Apple event! With announcements of new products and upgrades and wheeee!

(so far unconfirmed by Apple, but that’s pretty normal.)

Pencil it in kids: October 22nd, 2013.

The event will most likely focus on all things iPad, although Mavericks OS X and the new Mac pro will also probably get a look in.

The fifth gen iPad is expected to be announced, with more than a passing resemblance to it’s little bro the mini, with a thinner, lighter design and smaller side bezels ( the bits beside the screen).

It is also expected to have  a 64-bit A7 processor and an improved 8-megapixel camera.

Sahweet!

According to up and coming tech leaker Sonny Dickson – these are leaked pictures of the 5th Generation iPad next to the current gen.

The mini is expected to have a nice little upgrade, with similar 64-bit chip and camera improvements as it’s big bro as well as a retina display. FANCY.

Just a word of warning- According to some, the iPad mini won’t have much availability once it is released. Because it’s fancy, ya see.

There have been leaks (unconfirmed) that the upgraded iPads MIGHT come in the gold color seen in the much sought after in the iPhone 5S, and/or equipped with the Touch ID also seen on the iPhone 5S.

Both the 5th generation iPad and the upgraded iPad mini should be offered in Silver & Space Grey, if not Gold as well.

With the announcement looking like it’s 99% on October the 22nd, we’ll probably be seeing the launch of the upgraded products on November 1st.

In the tech world, the date of Apple’s fall event coincides with both Nokia’s Innovation Reinvented showcase, and the retail debut of Microsoft’s new Surface 2.

What do you guys think, are you excited about the announcement or over it for the year?

Will you get a new iPad or iPad Mini?

Image courtesy of iftodayisyourbirthday.com , Sonny Dickson & Zazzle.

Meanwhile, Samsung quietly launched a smartphone with a curved screen

Apple is now the most valuable brand in the universe

Who’s the most valuable company in the world? Who is?! Apple is! We always get Run DMZ in our head when we read that sentence for some reason. So, naturally, now you guys get to have it in your head…

There! Ok, so last week Apple was named the world’s most valuable brand. In the world. Technically, in the universe. Alf got nothing on you, Mr Cook.

We miss Alf.

Back in 2000, a company called Interbrand began compiling a ‘Best Global Brand’ survey of the top 100 brands worldwide. The company that produces that sweet, sweet, black gold, Coca Cola, has been number one every single year.

Until now. BUM BUM BUUUUUUUM

This year, Coca Cola has fallen to the number 3 position and Apple has taken place at the top of the brand castle, thank you very much.

Apple climbed from the number 2 position in 2012, and all the way from the number 8 position in 2011.

According to Interbrand’s report, Apple’s brand value has increased by 28% from last year, sitting at 98.3 Billion. That’s… a lot of apples.

Google, with 93.3 billion, placed 2nd this year, and 5 of the top ten were tech companies, a trend that should only become more clear in the years to come.

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