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!

How many new iPhones have sold so far?

Last year the iPhone 5S and 5C broke Apple’s previous record of opening weekend sales with over 9 million units sold.

We like to think that everyone in New Jersey went out and bought one.

This opening weekend, the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus broke that record, with the opening weekend ringing up sales of over TEN million units.

AND not just in New Jersey! The iPhones were on sale here in the US, as well as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK and will be available in more than 20 additional countries on September 26, with another 115 countries by the end of the year.

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin.”

Boom! Shatter those records Tim!

Thinking of becoming one of those millions buying an iPhone 6 or 6 Plus? You’re currently looking at shipping estimates of 7-10 business days for the former, and 3-4 weeks for the latter.

What to expect from the iWatch?

The much anticipated iWatch is said to be revealed alongside the two models of the new iPhone 6 this coming September 9th, which is in 4 days, 19 hours, 40 minutes, but who’s counting? We’re very, very excited.

But why should we be excited? What should we expect from the iWatch?

Check out our earlier article alongside this one to see who Apple have hired purportedly for the creation of the iWatch, and what that might mean for the technological features we can expect.

The iWatch will most likely have a range of health related capabilities from fitness tracking to sleep recording, heart monitoring and medication monitoring, among many others. There are reports that alongside the iPhone 6, the iWatch will also have NFC support allowing for mobile payments.

The watch is likely be able to be used as a standalone device but will be best used alongside and in coordination with an iPhone. There is a good chance that the iWatch will have a curved and flexible screen and… drumroll please… wireless charging. We certainly hope that rumor is true, because that would be, um, amazing.

We should expect a price point of around $400, but that’s a fairly wide shot in the dark at this stage. In fact, some reports are coming in that the price may not even be mentioned on September 9th when the iWatch is announced, as it won’t have been finalized yet. Further reports speculate that there will be a range of pricing based on differing model features.

Most of the people with secret sauces are saying that we, unfortunately, won’t see the iWatch shipped until early 2015. We still have a sliver of hope that we could see it in time for Christmas, but the chances are looking  a little slim.

This is the first time in a while that Apple has released a completely new product, and it feels like it’s going to be a really nice, really useful tech device. AND REALLY BRAND SPANKING INNOVATION – Y ! YEAH!

We’re excited. If you couldn’t tell.

iWatch mock up photo by Brett Jordan Via www.adr-studio.it/site/?p=269 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

iWatch very likely to be unveiled September 9Th!

Exciting Apple rumors have intensified today amongst those who have previously proven to be in the know, as well as others, leading many to believe that the long awaited and highly anticipated iWatch will indeed be unveiled alongside the new iPhone on September 9th.

Say Wahhhhhhat?

That’s right. The guys over at Re/Code and many others are saying that come September 9th, the world will be shown 2 new iPhones and – One more thing – The iWatch.

It is believed that although the iPhone will then be released to the public roughly 10 days later, the iWatch won’t be available until later this year or even early 2015 ( we personally think that it will be available in time for Christmas shopping, but we’ve been wrong before).

Click here to see what to expect from the iWatch, and stay tuned for more rumors as we hear them about the upcoming iPhone 6 models AND the iWatch!

iWatch mock up photo by Brett Jordan Via www.adr-studio.it/site/?p=269 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Definitive indication there will be two models of the iPhone 6!

So, the rumor mill has been spinning off it’s wheels lately  ( do mills have wheels? Sure they do.) regarding Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6 release, which is expected to be announced early september.

Most people believe that there will actually be two versions of the iPhone 6 – differentiated by size. One is said to be 4.7 inch whilst the other will be a pretty massive 5.5 inch.  Speculation is rife as to if this will come to fruition, if those are the correct specifications, and if the’ll they be released concurrently.

BUT WAIT! Now we seem to have something pretty definitive ( probably) with a recent announcement from Takorn Tantasith, who is the Secretary General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) in Thailand.

Uh, what does he have to do with anything? Well the NBTC needed to approve Apple’s application to distribute two iPhone 6 models in Thailand. Which they did, and according to government regulations, these approvals had to be announced publicly. Which is also what they did.

On August 5th, Apple reportedly filed the import application and on August 8th they received certification of equipment and a written approval notice  for two iPhones with model numbers A1586 and A1524. The approval was then announced and was also mentioned in a tweet by Nakorn Tantasith. 

Details on the iPhone 6 handsets referenced in the documents are, unfortunately, sealed. Bummer hummer. Guess we’ll just have to wait like patient little Appler’s!

New iPhone announcment September 9?

Behold! The future is getting closer!!

(Duh)

According to sauces in the know, specifically John Paczkowski from Re/code,  Apple will hold a special media event regarding the iPhone 6 on, wait for it, wait we already told you in the title, September 9th! That’s only like, 34 days, 6 hours and 4 minutes away! Who just got shivers!?

The rumors are still holding strong that the new iPhone will come in 2 sizes, most likely 4.7 and 5.5 inches respectively, that they will both retain the fingerprint sensor, run on new and improved A8 processors and feature sapphire displays.

Traditionally, the new iPhone is released to the public the next Friday after they are announced, so if Apple continues on that theme, some of us will be able to hold the new iPhone 6 in our hot little hands come Friday, September 19. Lucky Us!

And THEN we can use that awesome piece of technology ( we hope)  to track the next piece of Apple newness – the iWatch, rumored to be announced in October! Yay!

Apple TV now comes with these new stations

As of this morning Apple TV now includes a bunch more content !Hooray! Fox Now and CNBC now feature as part of the Apple TV line up, and FX now (including the Simpsons catalog) will be coming soon to an Apple TV near you!

To access Fox Now and CNBC you will need a cable subscription to unlock the content, however some videos and episodes will be available without this.

CNBC will show live broadcasts as well as previously aired content. With Fox Now, you will be able to access such wonderful shows as American Idol and Glee. Wait. We mean such wonderful shows as Family Guy. Yeah. That sounds better.  

So… Have you guys heard about the bird? The bird is the word. ( If you don’t get the reference – quick! To your Apple TV! Family Guy! )

Emjoi your FACE!

Everyone loves the glee Emoji’s bring us young and young at heart, but now, someone has gone a step further by doing that thing where you go I SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT and created an App where you can make an Emoji out of your FACE. Or yo mama’s face.

Created by San Francisco based App developer Tom Smith, Imojiapp has the ability to turn any face into a sticker that can then be used as an Emoji in iMessages.

Simply download the app (free from the App Store), sign up with your email address, agree to the terms and conditions ( Duh) and you’re off face creating!

Here is the favorite so far at the iPhone Antidote offices. Meet Papa Nu Guinea Pig as an Emoji.

3nder is here!

So the next ‘nder’ App some people may or may not have been waiting for is here!  That’s right, it’s the threesome answer to Grindr, Tinder, and Brenda, and it’s called, trumpets please – 3nder. That’s pronounced ‘Threender’ for those of you playing at home. And playing at home (with more than one person) is indeed the aim of the game in the particular circumstance. Or, you know, in hotels and stuff too.

The App is new, even though the idea behind it certainly is not –  neither is how it works. Once you download the App from the App store, you log on through Facebook, set your parameters  such as distance around you in which you’re interested in finding people, how many people you are and how many people you’re looking for, and what kind of interests and desires you have.

For example – 24 yr old single guy looking in the local 300 mile area for a couple of bi ladies who are interested in adding a male bedroom partner to their date nights. And, good news guy – after playing around with the app for research, we can attest that there indeed are such ladies on 3nder!

The App then works it’s magic, and shows you pictures of people in your prescribed area, their interests and desires, if they are in a couple or single,their sexual persuasions,  etc. Scrolling through the pics, you have the option to swipe up over them to indicate interest, and to swipe down if it’s more of a mmmm….no. You can them continue on scrolling through your options.

Once you swipe up and you are lucky enough to be matched ( meaning of course that they are also interested in you)  you have a set time to talk to the person or people that you’re interested in, so there’s less of the procrastination that some find in Tinder, where you find a match and then everyone just sits around being excited about the match and not talking to the person.

As 3nder says, it’s ‘the gentlest way to form a trio, without the knowledge of your friends and family.’ And it just might be.

3nder is currently available free through the App store, although you can upgrade to an incognito version for $2.99. An Android version will be available later this year.

‘King Penguin threesome on the beach’ image provided by Liam Quinn under the CC BY-SA 2.0 License

Kindle unlimited – books foreVER!

Kindle has today officially announced the release of their new Kindle Unlimited product, which should make the bibliophiles amongst us prettttty happy! Kindle Unlimited is a subscription service that offers unlimited access to all of Kindle’s library of titles and thousands of Audible audiobooks.

If you subscribe, you can access all of this on a Kindle, or on a Kindle app on the iPad, Mac or iPhone for a monthly fee of $9.99. . The nice guys over at Kindle are offering a 30 day free trial which also comes with a free three month Audible service.

Reading is pretty much one of the only things you don’t have to do in moderation, if you think about it, unless you’re paying a lot of money to do it. And now you don’t have to! Yay reading!