iPad By Davis: “Easyjet app update brings mobile boarding passes and Passbook support” plus 15 more |
- Easyjet app update brings mobile boarding passes and Passbook support
- Thor 2: The Dark World hits theaters this fall, but you can get lots of great Thor stuff from iTunes right now
- BlackBerry CEO supposedly says dumb things about the future of tablets, but what are the smart things?
- Currency for iPhone review: Convert between currencies on the go
- X-Doria Offers New Collection of iPad mini Cases, Exclusive to Target
- Feed Wrangler aims to make you forget about Google Reader, make RSS easier with Smart Streams, filters, and more
- Infuse plays videos in multiple formats, keeps track of what you watch
- Time for those six second 'selfies' with latest Vine update
- Review: Poetic Covermate iPad mini Case
- How to disable location reporting in Google Search for iPhone and iPad
- TripAdvisor iPad App Updated: Bigger Photos, Videos, More
- Belkin ships Thunderbolt Express Dock
- Deal of the Day: 33% off Seidio OBEX Waterproof Combo for iPhone 5
- Where's the Monday Brief? Or: 4K is hard!
- How flat is too flat: Where do you want to see the future of iOS design? [Poll]
- EE expands 4G LTE to 12 more UK towns, total up to 62
| Easyjet app update brings mobile boarding passes and Passbook support Posted: 01 May 2013 02:24 AM PDT
Passbook enabled apps in the UK are still a rarity, but we can now add another one to the list. UK based low-cost airline, Easyjet, has updated their iPhone app bringing with it mobile boarding passes and Passbook support. This ties in with a new Easyjet initiative whereby all their airport check-in facilities are to be closed, and replaced by online check-in methods. The mobile boarding passes are initially in a trial phase, with six airports -- those at Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Manchester, Nice, London Stansted and Southend -- taking part. Eventually this will likely increase pending a successful trial and the co-operation of the remainder of Easyjet's partner airports. Online check-in can be done from within the app itself, or online, with a mobile boarding pass then downloading to your iPhone which you are able to add to Passbook. At present only one boarding pass is possible per device, though Easyjet does say that they're hoping to increase this very soon.
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| Posted: 30 Apr 2013 08:20 PM PDT The first teaser trailer for Thor 2: The Dark World has hit the internet and... I don't know what to make of it yet. I enjoyed Malekith, the accursed dark elf, as Walt Simonson rendered him in the Thor comics decades ago, but I don't get any real sense of his character here and how it plays into whatever greater story arc they have for Thor this time around. And his look in the film doesn't really wow me so far.
There seems to be some reverse fish-out-of-water action going on, with Sarah Foster going to Asgard this time instead of Thor going to Earth/Midgard like in the previous film, but other than that... not much is shown. Hopefully they're building up to Surtur and an adaption of Ragnarok 'n Roll for the third movie in the series, because that's probably the best Thor story ever written, and I'd love to see it brought to film. We'll have to wait until more trailers are released later this summer, and ultimately until Thor 2: The Dark World is released and we've seen it to know for sure, but in the mean time there's lots of great Marvel Thor media on iTunes to tide us over. Here are some of my favorites. (I'm re-watching Avengers for what must be the 12th time on my iPad mini right now.) 
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| Posted: 30 Apr 2013 06:09 PM PDT
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins was quoted today as saying tablets didn't have much of a future, product or market-wise. Given the huge, and still growing success of the iPad, even the idea sounds ridiculous. Here's what Bloomberg posted:
I love a good CEO-snap story as much as the next blogger. Almost every time Ballmer or Schmidt open their mouths, it's gold for everyone in our industry. Hell, the previous leadership at BlackBerry, co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, said amongst the dumbest things in the recent history of mobile. To see such affluent, powerful people come off as utterly out of touch with reality is about as great a shot of schadenfreude as it gets. So to think the only man currently responsible for a purely mobile computing company on the planet -- BlackBerry carries no legacy desktop or services business -- doesn't think there's a future in the most computer-like form of mobile technology today is... stupefying. Granted, he wasn't talking about today, but about 5 years from now -- and the velocity of mobile makes it difficult if not impossible to predict the market even a couple of years out, never mind five -- but I'd put good money on the tablet having a bigger future than the desktop for most people, most of the time. That's why Steve Jobs reportedly said the iPad was the most important product of his life. BlackBerry's version of the tablet, the PlayBook, hasn't been anywhere nearly as successful to date. I've gone on record as saying the PlayBook was probably an ill-advised distraction that led to BlackBerry being even further behind in the phone business than they might otherwise have been, and for BlackBerry it certainly doesn't seem to have been a good business model. Here's BlackBerry PR's response:
And Kevin Michaluk of CrackBerry sums it up this way:
The futurist in me wants to take that a step further, to where the computing is decoupled from device, and the "brains" are a constant thing we always have with us, hooked in everywhere, capable of being expressed as a phone or tablet or laptop or desktop or holodeck for that matter. All my stuff, existing everywhere, accessible everywhere, through any hardware interface available. In that world, interface becomes commoditized. Panels, even beautiful ones, would be utterly interchangeable and transfigurable. In that future, what would an iPhone or iPad look like? What would an iTV or iWatch look like? Manifestations? Yes, Heins' comment came off sounding ludicrous in the context in which it was presented, and if that's how it was given, he deserved the headlines he got this morning. But funny blog headlines only last a few hours or days. In the greater context, and in the way BlackBerry has been positioning themselves, and in the way Apple has been building out iOS, and in the way Microsoft could figure out 3 screens and the cloud, and in the way Google could take Android or ChromeOS, given some time and coherent thought, the idea of ultra-personal computing 5 years in the future is fascinating. Feel free to lay into the CEO of BlackBerry in the comments if that's your thing, but also let me know -- where do you see the future of tablets and of computing in five years? 
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| Currency for iPhone review: Convert between currencies on the go Posted: 30 Apr 2013 03:23 PM PDT
Currency is a super simple, yet beautiful, currency converter for the iPhone. It features a clean design and historical charts. If you're an avid traveler or have financial interest in other currencies, Currency may be an excellent app to add to your collection. When I say Currency is simple, I mean it. The main screen is a list of all the currencies you're interested with the primary currency at the top. So if you have 400 USD set for the main currency, the equivalent amounts for the other selected countries will be displayed below. Swiping the main amount to the right will reset the amount back to zero; sliding to the left will go back to your previous amount.
When you tap on the main amount, the keyboard will slide up from the bottom of the screen, or you can manually slide it up yourself. Swiping the keyboard to the left will review the historical data over the past six months for your #2 currency. Ordering your currencies how you want is a bit of chore, however, because they appear in the order tapped. So you if you want USD followed by CAD, then you need to tap CAD to bring it to the top, followed by USD to push CAD down to the second spot. The good
The bad
The bottom lineAlthough it can benefit from a few more features, especially decimals and the ability to reorder the list, Currency is a beautiful currency converter and I appreciate its simplicity. There's a lot of potential in this little app.
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| X-Doria Offers New Collection of iPad mini Cases, Exclusive to Target Posted: 30 Apr 2013 02:24 PM PDT
X-Doria have announced a new collection of iPad mini cases, available exclusively in Target and via target.com. The collection includes three case designs, those shown above:
All these cases support the iPad mini's automatic sleep/wake feature and can serve as a stand as nearly all cases of this type can. They're priced at $39.99 each. I don't feel wowed by any of these designs, but I suppose if Target is your favorite shopping spot then you may want to take a look...         Related Stories
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| Posted: 30 Apr 2013 12:05 PM PDT
Feed Wrangler for both iPhone and iPad is the new guy on the block when it comes to RSS reader apps but that doesn't mean it lacks in quality. Complete with smart streams, Google Reader import options, and read it later integration for both Pocket and Instapaper, it may be a better option for those who don't like the more dynamic interfaces of apps like Feedly or Flipboard. While Feed Wrangler is a free download, you'll need to subscribe to the service in order to actually use the app. This service will run you $18.99 a year which might be off putting to many users. What you're paying for, however, is sync and server-side smarts, which is what made Google Reader so fast, and now makes Feed Wrangler really fast as well. Since "free" services like Google Reader have a way of disappearing, they can ultimately be more costly in terms of time, stress. Apps that charge a fair and sustainable price could be a better alternative to some users. And at $18.99 a year, it's pennies a day. If you decide RSS is a service worth paying for, the first thing Feed Wrangler asks you to do is import your feeds from Google Reader or add them manually. This is easy enough within the app settings, or via the website. Just be aware it may take a few minutes for your feeds to filter in.
Feed Wrangler also has deep read-later integration with both Pocket and Instapaper. In a nice touch, if I had no need feeds, Feed Wrangler gave me an instant link to my read-later service of choice. One thing I always seem to do is forget that I've saved articles for later and then I have a ton to catch up on when I do remember. This may help to me jump in and play catch up more often when there aren't any new stories available to browse. Many Google Reader users may have categories set up but sadly, those won't import. The good news is that Feed Wrangler actually has what a lot of people may consider a better way to sift through news feeds. Smart streams allow you to enter keywords and create a stream that will filter in news that only contains those terms. For example, if you wanted to create an Apple stream, you can input keywords such as iOS, iPhone, iPad, and anything else you're interested in. Feed Wrangler will then follow that criteria and, under that stream, only feed in stories that contains those terms.
Features like search work exactly like you'd expect. Results are displayed quickly and in most cases, accurately. The good
The bad
The bottom lineFeed Wrangler is incredibly fast and for users that want a simple interface that allows them to just read content with no distractions, it may be a perfect fit. The $18.99/year subscription fee will undoubtedly be a turnoff to potential users. However, with Google Reader going away this summer, it's very possible we're going to see RSS subscriptions become a much more common option. Great sync and great server-side services aren't easy, and "you get what you pay for" is a cliché for a reason. Either way, it will definitely be interesting to see where the RSS market goes over the next several months.If you decide to give Feed Wrangler a try, let me know what you think about the app and the service.
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| Infuse plays videos in multiple formats, keeps track of what you watch Posted: 30 Apr 2013 11:11 AM PDT
Infuse, a new app that can play video in several formats, has been released for iPhone and iPad. Infuse supports fourteen file types for videos, including MP4, M4V, MOV, AVI, WebM, and WMV. You can add videos to Infuse through iTunes syncing and file sharing, email attachement, and Dropbox. Artwork and information about your videos will be downloaded where available, allowing you to keep your library organized. Infuse has robust subtitle support, and users can either take advantage of those found in the app or add their own, as Infuse supports a variety of subtitle types as well. Infuse can also connect to trackt, a service that keeps track of the shows and movies you watch, keeping you informed about new episodes and making recommendations about new programs and movies. If you have a large video library with multiple formats, check out Infuse, now available in the App Store.
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| Time for those six second 'selfies' with latest Vine update Posted: 30 Apr 2013 10:04 AM PDT
If all those Instagram 'selfies' just isn't enough for you, then the latest Vine update for iOS has you covered. Until now, the social mini-video sharing service has limited budding film makers to using the rear camera. The update pushing out today in the App Store adds to the toolbox the front facing camera, so you can film yourself doing, well whatever you can do in six seconds. It's real simple to flick between the two cameras, just as it is in the main iOS camera app, with a single button on screen to tap. It isn't all about the front facing camera though, as mentions get some much needed attention as well. You can now tag people with their username within the post, and those users will get a notification in Activity. As you begin typing, Vine will show up suggestions as to who it thinks you're writing about. Simple, but much needed. Grab yourselves a copy of the latest update from the App Store now, but do please give us your front-facing Vine ideas in the comments below too. Source: Vine
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| Review: Poetic Covermate iPad mini Case Posted: 30 Apr 2013 09:40 AM PDT
A few weeks ago I posted about a $6.95 iPad mini case, and said it was one I just had to see. That case is the Poetic Covermate iPad mini Case. I ordered one on the same day I wrote that post and I've been using it for a couple weeks now, and of course I've now got some review thoughts to share on it. Notes The Covermate iPad mini Case is a folio style case with a polyurethane front cover and a hard poly-carbonate back cover. There are 5 different design options to choose for the cover – Rock, Urban Paint, Butterfly, Love in Paris, and Tree. The one I spotted on Amazon was the Tree pattern and I wasn't aware of the other choices – so that's the one I have. The case supports the iPad mini's automatic sleep/wake feature. At the Poetic site it is priced at $39.95, but as of this writing you can find it at Amazon for $12.95. ...  Related Stories
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| How to disable location reporting in Google Search for iPhone and iPad Posted: 30 Apr 2013 09:47 AM PDT
If you snagged the update to Google Search yesterday, you're probably ecstatic that you now have some of the features Android users have been enjoying including Google Now capabilities. You may have also noticed that it likes to use location services like crazy. If that bothers you or you're worried about conserving some battery when you don't need Google Search polling your location, you can disable location reporting within the app. Here's how:
That's it. Google Search will now not report your location unless you want it to. 
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| TripAdvisor iPad App Updated: Bigger Photos, Videos, More Posted: 30 Apr 2013 08:02 AM PDT
The TripAdvisor app for iPad and iOS has been updated this week, to Version 7.0. TripAdvisor is an excellent travel planning app that includes over 100 million reviews and opinions from travelers. It promises to give you quick access to low prices and deals on airfare, hotels, and top places to see. This isn't a huge update, but it adds a few nice new features. Here's the list of changes in this update: • Browse bigger, more inspiring photos This is one of the best iPad travel apps I've seen, and was one of our choices for Best Free iPad App of the Week last year. Here's an App Store link for TripAdvisor; it's still a free app and a universal app designed to run on both iPad and iPhone. © patrickj for iPad Insight, 2013. | ...  Related Stories
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| Belkin ships Thunderbolt Express Dock Posted: 30 Apr 2013 07:47 AM PDT Belkin announced Tuesday that it's shipping its Thunderbolt Express Dock, an expansion chassis for Thunderbolt-equipped Macs that provides a Gigabit Ethernet connection, FireWire 800 port, two Thunderbolt ports, three USB 3.0 ports and separate headphone and mic jacks. Belkin's aiming the device at MacBook Air and Pro users with Thunderbolt-equipped systems who want to be able to quickly connect to and disconnect from peripherals at their desk. Belkin isn't the first out of the gate with one of these gadgets and they won't be the last. Do you have a Thunderbolt-equipped Mac? If so, do these sorts of gadgets appeal to you?
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| Deal of the Day: 33% off Seidio OBEX Waterproof Combo for iPhone 5 Posted: 30 Apr 2013 07:40 AM PDT | ||||||
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Where's the Monday Brief? Or: 4K is hard!
Posted: 30 Apr 2013 07:29 AM PDT
It began, as many things do with an idea -- we had our Monday Brief host, Ashley Esqueda in NYC for #TM13, along with all our site editors, Kevin Michaluk, Phil Nickinson, and Daniel Rubino, yours truly, and Georgia, and we had Martin Reisch and his RED Scarlet 4K camera. So, we figured "why not shoot the Monday Brief in 4K!". And therein began the longest Odyssey in Monday Brief history.
If you're not familiar with 4K, it's what they're calling Ultra HD, but is really just 2160p, or double again 1080p resolution. Picture four 1080p TVs in a square, and that's 4K.
The shooting itself went pretty well, with Ashley and Georgia kicking things off, and Kevin doing his best to finish the show with a bang. Then things started getting complicated. Turns out it takes a long, long, long time edit and render 4K video, and a really long time to upload it.
The first attempt needed some fixing, so now we're on attempt two, and it's taking even longer.
Maybe it was hubris to even try, and this is our wings melting off, and our tumble back to earth. But we like being audacious at times. We like trying new technology and new workflows. And we like bring you along for the ride with us.
You should see the results later today -- fingers very firmly crossed -- and we can talk about the pros and cons, how far along 4K is, and how close to a reality 4K programming is.
We'll absolutely get you your MoNa MoBr fix just as soon as possible! Apologies for the delay, but... SCIENCE!
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How flat is too flat: Where do you want to see the future of iOS design? [Poll]
Posted: 30 Apr 2013 05:07 AM PDT
There've been a lot of rumors lately about how Jony Ive, now in charge of all human interface across Apple, may be reducing or eliminating the use of heavier textures, gradients, skeuomorphs, and other rich visual elements in iOS 7. Everything from buttons to icons, tabs to panels, bars to skins seems ripe for a subtler, flatter, more digitally authentic refresh. But what does that mean exactly?
For some, "flatter" could just mean taking things down a notch -- less severe gradients, lighter shadows, shallower bezels, fainter textures, and an overall refinement of what's already there. For others, "flatter" means scorched earth -- no gradients, no shadows, no bezels, no textures, and an utter obliteration of all that was.
Truth is often in the eye of the beholder, and somewhere in between the extremes. But it does prompt the question: how flat would you like to see iOS 7? Vote in the poll up top and let me know the details, and the reasons for them, in the comments below!
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EE expands 4G LTE to 12 more UK towns, total up to 62
Posted: 30 Apr 2013 04:49 AM PDT
The UK's only current 4G LTE provider, EE, has announced the switch on in another 12 towns across the country beginning from today. This is of course fantastic news to anyone in the affected areas with an iPhone 5, or LTE capable iPad or iPad Mini using the EE network.
EE customers in Aylesbury, Berkhamsted, Billericay, Blackpool, Brentwood, Dewsbury, Huddersfield, Lytham St Annes, Marlow, Pontefract, Thame and Windsor are now able to put to use LTE for the very first time. The latest additions brings the total number of towns and cities supported by EE LTE to 62, which the carrier says now provides it with a 50% coverage of the UK population.
Furthermore, EE is committed to adding a further 18 locations to the list by the end of June, with a 70% population coverage aimed for by the end of 2013. Rival carriers are expected to begin their own LTE offerings later this year, utilising spectrum gained through the recent auctions.
Source: EE
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