Category Archives: volume

Wren Sound Systems V5AP AirPlay speaker: Stunning design, incredible sound

Posted on June 18, 2013 by admin

When it comes to getting music from your iOS device to a good speaker, there are a lot of different methods. There’s the tried and true dock method, which can fall to pieces when Apple comes out with a new connector design as they did last year with Lightning. Some manufacturers have the mistaken hope that people will just use an adapter and a pair of wires to run to a speaker or two, while the vast majority have gone the route of Bluetooth. Wren Sound Systems has changed all that with a Wi-Fi connected AirPlay speaker called the V5AP (US$399) that is provides excellent sound reproduction in a beautiful design. Design The unique design of the Wren Sound Systems V5AP speaker is an eye-catcher. Whether you’re using the V5AP in a crowded, dirty dorm room or a mansion, the gently curving lines and wood surfaces immediately draw your eyes to the speaker. The case is finished in either a light finished bamboo or in deep, rich rosewood. Along the front of the speaker is a silvery grille that is backed with a diamond (shaped) matrix so that music is pumped through without distortion. On one end of the speaker is a vertical array of controls. Unlike the confusing mess that many speakers clutter up the control panel with, this simply has four buttons: a power button, a set of volume buttons, and a button for selecting input (Wi-Fi, USB, or AUX). LEDs glow unobtrusively on the speaker case and don’t tend to glare or attract undue attention. Gallery: Wren Sound Systems V5AP AirPlay Speaker There are a pair of 19 mm edge-driven soft dome tweeters, one at each end of the speaker, to produce a nice, open sound. On the bass end are two long-throw drivers with 4-layer voice coils. The bottom of the case is covered with a 4 mm silicone pad to absorb transmitted vibration when you really have the volume cranked up. Inside that enclosure you’ll also find an Intersil D2 50 Watt DSP-controlled digital amplifier to drive all of the speakers, along with the other fun electronics. There’s a tuned acoustic port on the back to help the bass along, and the back is also where you’ll find a setup button, USB port and AC adapter connection. By the way, if there’s one thing I have to say is a failing of the V5AP is that it comes with a rather generic AC adapter and power brick. Fortunately, it has a nice long cable so you can increase the distance between power outlet and speaker. Last but not least, the box includes a remote control that I frankly never touched, preferring to use the controls on my iOS devices. Note that the V5 speaker also comes in a Google Play-Fi version (V5PF), and a Bluetooth version is in the works. Functionality Setup of the Wren Sound Systems V5AP is very simple. The company actually provides two methods; I chose to use my iPhone to set it up. Basically, you plug in the speaker, turn it on, make sure that USB is selected for connectivity, and then plug your iPhone or other iOS device into the speaker. Almost immediately, a dialog appears on the iOS screen asking if you wish to share your Wi-Fi settings with the speaker. Tap OK, and a few moments later your V5AP is joined to your Wi-Fi network. You can unplug the iPhone at this point, although I kept mine plugged in for a while to give it a charge! Next, it’s just a matter of selecting the speaker from the AirPlay controls on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. You’ll want to make sure that the speaker has good Wi-Fi connectivity, but once you’re connected you can begin playing music… …and that’s where the joy of this product comes in. The sound is full, crisp, and just plain amazing. The V5AP sounds better than any other AirPlay speaker, Bluetooth speaker, or dock that I’ve reviewed. I was able to crank this speaker up to the point that the floor was shaking and the sound was still undistorted. Regarding my comment about needing good Wi-Fi connectivity: I moved the speaker to several locations, one that’s a known “dead spot” on my Wi-Fi network. While I still had connectivity, traffic from the MyFi card in the camera I was using for photographs actually caused the connection to drop momentarily. Bringing the speaker back into an area with better Wi-Fi coverage resolved this issue. Conclusion Many AirPlay or Bluetooth speakers on the market are plagued with either boring design, bad sound, or complicated setup. Wren’s V5AP is simple to set up, pleasant to look at, and boasts audiophile sound quality. Pros Beautiful case design Easy to use controls Simple and fast setup Best-in-class sound quality Cons Uninspired use of a generic AC adapter that Steve Jobs would hate Who is it for? The connoisseur of good design and excellent sound quality — in other words, the V5AP is perfect for any Apple customer Wren Sound Systems V5AP AirPlay speaker: Stunning design, incredible sound originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Source  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments Continue reading →

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Apple’s 2013 13-Inch MacBook Air Sweetens The Deal For One Of The Best Available Computers

Posted on June 17, 2013 by admin

The MacBook Air was the only new Apple hardware to be announced and launched at WWDC this year (besides the new AirPort Extreme), and while it isn’t a big change from the previous version, it packs some crucial improvements that really cater to the Air’s existing strengths. The 2013 Air is really Apple pushing the envelope with its ultraportable, and that has helped make one of the best computers in the world even better. Basics (as tested) 1440 x 900, 13.3-inch display 128GB storage 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 4GB of RAM 0.11-0.68 inches thick, 2.96 lbs 802.11ac Wi-Fi 12 hours battery life $1,099 Pros MacBook Air portability/construction still amazing Next-gen Wi-Fi great for LAN transfers All-day battery life literally lets you forget the power cord at home Cons Still no Retina display Could use more ports Apple hasn’t changed the MacBook Air’s physical design since its last major update a few years ago, but the sleek, aluminum chassis isn’t showing its age. Sure, thinner computers have emerged  (though the Air is still thinner at its tapered end) but the fact that PC form factors are really only just now catching up speaks volumes to the quality of the Air’s industrial design. Apart from overall good looks, the Air has a tremendous leg up on most computers in terms of size, weight and portability. If you haven’t yet used one for any sustained period of time, you’ll be absolutely blown away. Going from the 13-inch MacBook Pro to the 13-inch Air is like leaving the past behind and joining the future; big leaps in computing design are seldom so observable, and so noticeable in terms of your daily usage. A concern with many who aren’t familiar with the Air is that the thin and light chassis won’t be durable, but having used both the 11- and 13-inch as my daily working computer for months at a time, while jumping from desks to various remote working locations, I can attest to those fears being unsubstantiated. The Air may not feel quite as rock solid as the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, for instance, but it isn’t fragile by any means. Apple has improved the Air in key areas with this redesign, and that’s where it makes sense to focus, based on the understanding that the previous version was already one of our favourite computers. Apple has focused on changes that should have the biggest impact, like the new Intel Haswell processors, the much speedier flash storage, a near doubling of battery life, and networking speeds that embrace 802.11ac, a tech on the verge of becoming conspicuous in consumer goods. Of these changes, the one with the greatest impact for the average user will be the new, all-day battery life afforded by the 12-hour capacity built-in pack (on the 13-inch Air; the 11-inch also gets a boost, but should afford you 9 hours, not 12). Apple is also testing battery life under more demanding conditions now, which suggests that if people go to extreme measures to conserve juice they might be able to get past that 12 hour mark. And indeed, I was able to eke out around 13 hours at least once, with screen brightness dialed down and other battery drains like Bluetooth disabled. The battery is truly remarkable. In standby mode, I haven’t yet even begun to scratch the surface of how long it can last after a week of usage. It really sips power when managing background tasks, and that should improve even further under OS X 10.9 Mavericks, which adds even more battery-conserving features to Apple’s desktop OS. The Air still ships with Mountain Lion, but you can bet Apple’s engineers were working on the upcoming OS X release when they were developing the new Air hardware. Even without the extreme measures, this is a computer that you can forget is unplugged without fear of running into dire problems. If you’ve got a charge in the morning, and provided you aren’t doing anything too demanding that’s burning CPU cycles, you should have enough to get you through a reasonable mobile workday. Which is to say, we’re nearly at the point most people really badly want to be in terms of their MacBook’s battery life (short of limitless, endlessly clean and cool energy). And the other upgrades help as well; the MacBook Air I reviewed was the 13-inch base model version, which retails for $1,099, but it come with double the internal storage standard vs. the 2012 model (128GB vs. 64GB), and Apple says that its new type of flash is a better performer, beating the previous generation’s storage performance speed by up to 45 percent. Certainly in testing the Air near-instantly recovered from sleep, and side-by-side with my top-end 2011 model, was snappier with nearly every task – likely also helped by the next-generation Intel Haswell processor. Some nice new features on the MacBook Air that add to the computer in small ways are the addition of dual mics, which greatly improves call quality for things like FaceTime when you aren’t using headphones, and the new Intel HD Graphics 5000, which gives you around a 25 percent bump in performance over the Intel HD 4000 graphics chipset used in previous generations. The other big new step-up in terms of features is the 802.11ac Wi-Fi networking card, which is complemented by the new AirPort Extreme router that offers the same. It’s a technology that’s becoming more and more commonly available on other routers, too, so it’s a very nice-to-have feature on the new Air, even if you can’t take advantage of it just yet. Still, in my brief tests with LAN performance over 802.11ac, I found that transfer times for files between computer and network-attached storage on the new router were just about halved vs. 802.11n speeds, though still lagged far behind wired Ethernet transfer times of course. The new MacBook Air isn’t a dramatic change, but it is a very good one. I’ve fallen in love with Apple’s Retina displays, so if I have one complaint about the computer it’s that there’s no ultra-high resolution display, but incorporating that kind of screen in this generation would’ve likely meant trading a big chunk of that new battery life away, and also increasing the price tag by around $400-500. For those who value the portability, flexibility and economy of the Air above all, the 2013 edition definitely hits all the right notes. Continue reading →

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NES cleverly turned into an iPhone speaker dock

Posted on June 17, 2013 by admin

E3 took the gaming world by storm last week, so it’s fitting that we take a walk down memory lane today with this old Nintendo Entertainment System that is now an iPhone dock . Made by Pete Morris, the same guy who did the Atari speaker dock , the speaker system tightly integrates into the remnants of what once was Nintendo’s crown jewel. Housed inside the console is a speaker system with six EQ settings, FM radio and support for apps. The iPhone fits in the front of the console, and the open lid provides a convenient backrest for the device. The dock uses a 30-pin connector, but a Lightning adapter is available as an optional accessory. Once plugged in, the NES controller lets you change the volume, control playback and power on the dock. The lighted display on the dock can show the volume, the frequency of the current radio station and even the time when the dock is off. It’s a clever new use of old technology. The NES speaker dock is available to purchase on Etsy for £185.00 (US$290). The dock is designed for the iPhone 3GS/4/4S, but you can convert it to support the iPhone 5 by purchasing a Lightning port adapter for £25.00 ($40). NES cleverly turned into an iPhone speaker dock originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Source  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments Continue reading →

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Alleged metallic Nokia EOS body teased again, this time with a dozen of them

Posted on June 16, 2013 by admin

That baffling metallic Nokia EOS chassis we saw the other day? It’s back, but this time the same leakster from Sina Weibo managed to get a shot of at least 12 of them, meaning the device has likely reached some sort of production stage. In another photo, we can see the same button arrangement — presumably volume, power and camera — that’s already present on the current Lumia range. The strange thing is we’ve yet to see a cover plate that will match this seemingly smaller camera opening, but the square shape does make us wonder whether this will fit Pelican Imaging’s 16-lens array camera . After all, Nokia did announce its investment in this plenoptic camera technology. Hopefully Elop will personally explain what’s going on at his event on July 11th — maybe with both this and the plastic EOS in his hands. Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile , Nokia Comments Via: Engadget China Source: Sina Weibo (login required) Continue reading →

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Traveling to San Francisco for WWDC [Gear Guide]

Posted on June 16, 2013 by admin

(via Nick) I had the opportunity to travel to San Francisco this year for WWDC and experience the City by the Bay for my first time. Though I wasn’t among the lucky few to attend the keynote this year, that hardly robbed me of any adventure in the journey. Because this was my first time making the trek ( and I was technically covering a portion of the event for work ), I deliberately planned what gear was most appropriate for trip and sort of compiled a list of recommendations based on my experience below. My iPhone 5 (16GB, black) was the most important item to bring of course. I even ended up with two iPhone 5′s before the week was over, but more on that in a bit. For me, the iPhone has become the most important computer I own. It may not be my default computer, as I still need my Mac to post to the site for the most part, but I’m composing the bulk of this article on my iPhone. That speaks volumes for me. My iPhone included my boarding pass for JetBlue , enough podcasts and offline reading material to entertain me for the duration of the flight, and Über for arranging black car pick-up service from the airport to the hotel. I packed my Nikon 1 camera expecting to use it most often during the trip, but the ease of access made the iPhone 5 my primary camera it turns out. As Apple has reminded us time and again , it’s just so personal. My bag of choice is made by Incase . It’s called the Incase Nylon Compact Backpack  and fits most of my needs. It respects my gear and offers plenty of pockets and stash spots for a number of accessories. Most importantly, it’s plenty spacious and keeps it shape regardless of how packed or how empty it is. I packed my MacBook Air (13-inch, 256GB, mid-2012) , which still impresses me with how light and beautiful yet capable it is, and found it especially useful on the plane for watching movies and drafting thoughts in text files. OS X still proves more capable than iOS, even with the iPhone being such a staple in my workflow, so I wouldn’t recommend a similar trip without packing the Mac if it’s a notebook. For example, I couldn’t have posted this report  in real time without my MacBook . I could probably string it along on iOS, but iOS 7 might have been out of development by then. I watched the keynote on the television in the hotel room using my Apple TV (3rd gen) , which I packed in case Apple announced an update. The hotel offered WiFi but required a browser splash page, so I connected my AirPort Express to my MacBook Air to share the network (thanks to some help from Michael Steeber ). On the second day of WWDC, I attended The Talk Show, Live at WWDC , which made useful the Nikon 1 . I’ve noted in previous posts that I’m no photographer by any means, and the iPhone is fantastic for most situations, but my vantage point was just far back enough that any photo taken with the iPhone would have been utter garbage. Having a “real camera” certainly enhanced the experience and that 30-110mm lens is essential for long shots. Another essential in any bag is any form of battery backup for your iPhone . It’s so easy to find one these days, and you’ll most always regret it if you don’t carry one. For me, I travel with a Tekkeon MP1580 TEKCHARGE  and a big pack of AA batteries . Living in South Florida means intense tropical storms and hurricanes that cause power outages, and AA batteries are easily accessible, so this solution works better for me than other battery packs with rechargeable batteries. But they all accomplish the same thing. Aside from a good battery backup, the most important thing in my bag was the abundance of Tic Tacs . I know, it’s not an Apple gadget or fancy device, but fresh breath never goes under appreciated. Oh, and remember when I mentioned I came home with two iPhones? That’s because the number one rule for the first two or three rounds of beta versions of iOS is that you don’t install it on your primary phone. Lots of Apple bloggers came to town with their iPads and iPad minis expecting to use it as their test device, but Apple surprised us ( unless you’ve been reading Mark’s reports ) and only released iOS 7 beta on the iPhone and iPod touch for now. Luckily, I had a couple of extra upgrades and could manage to pick up a spare iPhone 5, this time white because iOS 7 seems heavily designed for that device. My colleague @ apollozac just ran across the street to buy a white iPhone 5 because of the iOS 7 UI. This isn’t a joke. Someone help.— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) June 10, 2013 For the first few hours after installing iOS 7 on my test iPhone , I kept my SIM in my iPhone running iOS 6 while hot spotting the iPhone 5 with iOS 7, but soon decided, okay, the iOS 7 device is really sexy and stable enough to rely on (save for a few scheduled crashes), but kept a paperclip in my bag in case I needed to quickly move my SIM to an iPhone running stable software. Nath, Mark, and myself in San Francisco ( from iDockAll ) During my flight home, I spent most of my time with my iPad mini . Its weight and size is perfect for holding and reading for hours at a time. I pre-loaded Safari Reading List with tons of reaction articles to all the news of the past week. Offline reading is really a great feature on a redeye across country. It sort of felt like I was breaking the rules being offline but having hours of content on the web to read and enjoy. In summary, I can recommend a  spacious bag for lots of gear , an iPhone and MacBook ( iPad optional), an AirPort Express to enhance your hotel WiFi experience, a battery backup and breathe mints , and absolutely bring comfortable shoes! If you hit all these bases (plus maybe some post- Beard Bash Advil ), WWDC week in San Francisco should be as frictionless and enjoyable as possible. Continue reading →

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Test-driving the Blue Microphone Spark Digital

Posted on June 14, 2013 by admin

Many podcasters and musicians love the digital and analog microphones made by Blue Microphone . The company’s booth at trade shows usually has a long line of computer geeks eager to see what the latest mic is, and earlier this year we were wowed by both the Spark Digital (US$199.95) and the just-released Nessie ($99.95). Now that the initial crush of orders for the Spark Digital has subsided somewhat, I was able to get a review device for a test drive and found a lot to like in this compact microphone for Mac and iPad. Design When I say it’s a compact microphone, I’m saying that the Spark Digital isn’t as massive as the Blue Yeti that I currently use. It comes with a small adjustable tilt stand that not only has some vibration-isolating padding on the bottom of it, but also includes a separate shock mount that suspends the microphone body from a series of elastic cords. The body of the mic is dark metallic blue with light metallic blue highlights at top and bottom. On the front is a chrome-plated Blue logo, and a mute/gain/volume knob. There is an LED in the knob, as well as a set of four tiny LEDs that glow orange to denote gain level or blue for output level. On the back is a switch for Focus Control — more about that later. The top of the mic contains the action — in the words of Blue Mics, it’s the “same studio-grade condenser capsule and hand-tuned components for high-fidelity recording and consistence performance in any situation- vocals, drums, piano, speech, location recording and more.” The capsule is in a see-through metal cage that acts as a bit of a pop filter, although professionals will want to invest in a separate pop filter to keep those plosives from wrecking their recordings. Gallery: Blue Microphones Spark Digital With the Spark Digital, Blue Mics includes two cables. One is used to connect the microphone to a USB port on a Mac or PC, and includes a separate headphone jack for monitoring what you’re recording. The other cable also has that separate headphone jack, but ends in a 30-pin connector for use with an iPad. If you wish to connect it to a fourth-generation iPad or iPad mini, you’ll have to invest in a separate Apple 30-pin Dock connector to Lightning adapter. To carry all this on the road with you, there’s a nice microfiber-lined carrying bag with the Spark Digital logo on the side. There’s a separate pocket for the cables, with the mic being carried in the main pocket of the bag. Functionality Mac According to Blue Microphones, the Spark Digital was designed from the start to provide a rich and vibrant sound, perfect for podcasters and singers but also appropriate for many musical instruments. I’ll get to the meat of the review right now — the sound quality of the Spark Digital absolutely blew me away, and that’s coming from someone who has used a Blue Mics Yeti for years. Listen to the following Garage Band recording on the Mac in which I first record a sentence with the Yeti, then the same sentence with the Spark Digital without Focus Control enabled, and finally with Focus Control enabled. Sound is quite subjective, but for me the Spark Digital recordings sound much more realistic than the one from the Yeti. There’s much less background noise in the Spark Digital recordings, and the Yeti seems to be emphasizing the lower tones in my voice, making it boom a bit more. The Yeti sounds a bit more “mechanical” to my ears. Note that the Yeti was set up with a similar cardiod pickup pattern to what is normal for the Spark Digital. There’s less of a difference between the Spark Digital recordings with Focus Control disabled and enabled. However, after listening repeatedly to the two recordings, the one made with Focus Control enabled seems to me to be the most accurate representation of what my voice actually sounds like. It’s just a hint “warmer” than the recording made without Focus Control on. Monitoring with a set of headphones worked well; just changing the output settings to “Blue Microphones Spark Digital” allows monitoring of everything that’s being picked up by the mic. iPad The Yeti can’t be used with an iPad, so I was unable to do a similar comparison between the two Blue Mics. Instead, I did a comparison between the built-in microphone of the iPad and the Spark Digital. Unsurprisingly, the Spark Digital did a wonderful job. Llsten to the recording below to hear the built-in microphone first, followed by the Spark Digital. Unless you love background noise and hisses, you’ll agree that the Spark Digital recording is hands-down superior (this was done with Focus Control turned on). I apologize for cutting off the beginning of the second recording. Once again, monitoring worked perfectly through the headphones; I could even hear the “countdown” cue to the start of the recording. For the first time, I could actually imagine recording a podcast or music (if I had any musical talent other than singing) on the iPad. It’s almost hard to believe that both recordings were made in the same location on the same iPad — the Spark Digital did an excellent job of ignoring the background noises that the iPad’s built-in mic seemed to exaggerate. Conclusion With the Spark Digital, Blue Microphones has created what is probably the best microphone for recording both on iPad and Mac or PC. The unique design and superb electronics combine to make a microphone that excels in capturing voices in a most realistic way and would most likely be (I was unable to test) excellent for musical recordings as well. For podcasters who want to get the most out of their computer or iPad, there’s currently no equal to the Spark Digital. Test-driving the Blue Microphone Spark Digital originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Source  |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments Continue reading →

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Acer won’t do Windows Phone this year, wants Microsoft to pick up the pace

Posted on June 14, 2013 by admin

It’s been a long, long time since Acer launched a Windows Phone … and from all indications, we’re going to keep waiting. The company’s Allen Burnes tells Pocket-lint that Windows Phone 8 is good, but “not the right decision” for Acer in 2013. His firm is concerned with boosting sales volume, and the Liquid series of Android phones are currently better for that task, Burnes says. In his mind, Microsoft has to make a stronger case for Windows Phone — Acer will come back to the OS once there’s improved marketing and (hopefully) more demand. We aren’t entirely surprised that Acer is holding off when it’s already reluctant to back Windows RT , but the cautious attitude is still a disappointment for those who want a little more diversity in Microsoft’s mobile ecosystem. Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile , Microsoft , Acer Comments Source: Pocket-lint Continue reading →

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How to: Create a bootable OS X Mavericks USB Flash Drive from original App Store package

Posted on June 13, 2013 by admin

On Monday Apple finally unveiled to the world the next iteration of OS X, Mavericks.  A developer preview of the new operating system is available now as a Mac App Store download for registered developers.  Delivering Mavericks via a download is super conveient and easy for everyday users but can be unhelpful in several troubleshooting or advanced OS modification situations.  The only way to obtain a bootable OS X Mavericks USB flash drive is to create your own: The Marek Bell blog   notes that creating a bootable flash drive of Mavericks is a bit more intricate than Mountain Lion because “it is no longer possible to simply restore the InstallESD.dmg to get a bootable image for USB / Flash drive installation.”  But there is a way around this obstacle, which Marek outlines in his thorough walkthrough of creating a bootable OS X Mavericks flash drive.  You will need at least a 8GB Flash Drive (USB 3.0 is obviously a better choice). You are going to need to see some hidden files for this.  So start by opening Terminal.app and pasting in the following (don’t worry, we’ll undo this change when we are done)… defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES killall Finder Download the installer as normal from the app store. (At time of writing this is only possible for those with access to the developer previews). After download you will have the ‘Install OS X 10.9′ app in your /Applications folder. Right-click it and select ‘Show Package Contents’. Navigate to the Contents/SharedSupport.  There you will see the InstallESD.dmg file.  Unfortunately, you can’t just grab it and restore it.  Instead double-click it to mount it. You should now see the normally hidden BaseSystem.dmg file in the mounted volume. Open Disk Utility and restore the source BaseSystem.dmg to the destination of your USB drive. Now open up the restored USB volume (default name is OS X Base System) and navigate to System/Installation. In there you will see an alias for Packages. Delete this alias. Copy the full Packages folder from the root of the mounted InstallESD volume (the same place you got the BaseSystem.dmg file) to the USB volumes System/Installation folder. Basically, replace the Packages alias you just deleted with the real Packages folder from the original InstallESD volume. The USB drive should now be bootable. So simply restart, hold down the Option key (Alt) when booting with the USB drive in your machine, and you should get the option to boot from the USB drive. Remember, to rehide the normall hidden files just repeat step 1 but change YES to NO. Continue reading →

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iOS 7 to include support for standardized, MFi hardware game controllers, new turn-based game modes, & more for gamers

Posted on June 12, 2013 by admin

In what seems to be an announcement lost within the buzz of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks (amongst other WWDC news), Apple will finally open up the iOS SDK to fully support hardware game controllers, enabling handheld-esque gaming experiences akin to the Nintendo 3DS and Playstation Vita on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. As with background apps downloads and new Directions APIs, Apple announced hardware controller support during Monday’s keynote address in one of those ‘things we added but didn’t have time to talk about’ slides (pictured above). The slide indicates that the iOS 7 SDK will support ‘ MFi  game controllers,’ which is a reference to Apple’s licensing program for third-party hardware accessories. Additionally,  Touch Arcade  points us to  images from Apple’s iOS 7 Developer Guide  showing a graphic of two controllers, strikingly similar to the Nintendo 3DS and Wii Classic Controller (from left to right), showing new methods of interacting with iOS via hardware buttons and joysticks. Moreover, we can’t help but notice that this announcement comes right off the heals of Tim Cook’s pledge at D11 to be ‘more open’ than before. There are also a few other enhancements for gamers coming in iOS 7….Here’s how Apple explains the new Game Controller framework: The new Game Controller framework, added in iOS 7 and OS X v10.9, makes it easy to find controllers connected to a Mac or iOS device. Once discovered, your game reads control inputs as part of its normal gameplay. There are three kinds of controllers available: -A standard form-fitting controller: An iOS device sits inside the controller and the player can access both the iOS device’s screen and the controller elements. -An extended form-fitting controller: An iOS device sits inside the controller and the player can access both the iOS device’s screen and the controller elements. -An extended wireless controller: A controller that wirelessly connects to an iOS device or Mac. -Controllers Must Be Optional -Controllers Are Automatically Connected Once Discovered -Profiles Map Hardware Controls to Software Needs -Snapshots Record Controller Data A few other things Apple announced is coming in iOS 7 but didn’t show off in detail:  Secure game scores, Authenticated Game Center players, new turn-based game modes, and ranking-style leaderboards.  While existing hardware and software controller solutions currently exist, such as Joypad and the iCade respectively, none have yet been able to seamlessly integrate themselves directly into the operating system in order to facilitate smooth, reliable gameplay. Up until this point, third party developers have had to custom code software to specifically enable support for add-on hardware in specific apps. With each yearly iOS release, changes to the operating system’s SDK often broke existing parts of developers’ configurations, forcing some to rewrite their code each year and others to abandon the concept and integration entirely. Fortunately, with iOS 7, Apple will be able to provide a consistent graphical interface and under-the-hood standard for developers to match and configure per their use-case. Such integration directly into the OS will allow for controllers to take advantage of some of the first party perks bluetooth keyboards now feature today, such as button/key mapping and volume controls. Perhaps with new additions to the iOS 7 SDK like inter-app audio and new Multitasking APIs, new game controllers will allow users to trigger multitasking and perhaps even iTunes Radio right from the controller without having to jump into different apps. These new additions will certainly make users of existing controller solutions extremely happy and may even foster a new wave of popularity for these accessories. It’s even possible that Apple has a bigger plan for controller support than just handheld gaming. While we’re only speculating, one could easily assume that Apple may have plans to integrate controller support with Apple TV via AirPlay and bluetooth, to enable console-like gaming on the big screen. Could this just be the beginning of Apple’s foray into the home gaming console market? With new product categories on the horizon, anything’s possible. Continue reading →

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WWDC 2013: A Recap Of All The News In One Spot

Posted on June 11, 2013 by admin

Every year there is excitement about what Apple will announce at their WWDC keynote. Yesterday, the company announced some great new updates to OS X, some Mac hardware, and  huge iOS update.  Here’s a giant recap in case you missed all the news yesterday and don’t have time to go digging through a billion posts to find the information. If you’d like to read more information than what we’ve provided here in the post, the link will take you to our more in depth articles on each topic. The Stats Apple usually starts off their event with providing stats, and today was no different . Some of the most impressive stats that the company include in its keynote include: Apple has paid $10 billion dollars to developers and, there are currently 900,000 apps in the App Store. OS X Updated: We’re Gonna Be Mavericks Soon One goal that Apple announced last year was yearly OS X updates . Today, they showed off OS X Mavericks and some of its improvements . Instead of having multiple windows open, the Finder can have numerous tabs available. This makes working on the Mac easier and means that you no longer need third-party apps to do Finder tabs. There is also tagging, which allows you to tag files and make them easier to find. One more great thing is that when you have an Apple TV connected to a Mac, it can be used as a separate display. Notifications Notifications was improved in OS X Mavericks. These improvements include “Interactive Notifications,” “Updates from Websites,” and the “While You Were Away” features. The best of the bunch is Interactive Notifications, as they are notifications that can be responded to without leaving the current app you are in. Password Management Passwords just become much easier to use now with iCloud Keychain . The service syncs passwords between devices and not only suggests complicated passwords, but also remembers your credit card information (but thankfully not the security code on the back of your card). Anki: Toys of the Future There was a live demo by a brand new company called Anki, who showed off a real world racing game called Anki Drive . It is similar to remote cars of the past, but better. The cars are controlled by iOS devices and can sense the track it is driving on. Calendar App Updated The Calendar app for Mac was also updated . The leather is gone, and it looks more like a typical Mac app. Locations can be searched within the app, and the transit time can be added to events you that you know not to book anything during that time. Maps Coming To OS X Maps are coming to Mac too, and it is much needed. You can search for directions on you computer, and send them off to your iOS device. Maps also have the features you would expect, including 3D flyover. Airport Extreme Updated The AirPort Extreme was updated as well. It has a brand new look and now supports 802.11ac. Plus, there is even a “beam forming antenna array” that provides more power to 802.11ac devices. Finally, A Sneak Peek At The Mac Pro Apple promised that they would bring a Mac to the USA to be assembled earlier this year , and we now know that it will be the Mac Pro . The professional class computer has a completely new design, taking up one eighth the volume of the previous design. It has tons of ports, and will amazingly support 3 displays at a 4K resolution. MacBook Air Gets A Bump The hardware updates don’t stop there. The MacBook Air got a refresh , and receives a huge battery life increase. There is also support for 802.11ac, which will hopefully work great with Apple’s new Airport router. iWork Reappears For iCloud Though there wasn’t an update for iWork on the Mac, Apple did bring back iWork for iCloud on the web . This includes Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. iWork for iCloud will also sync with the iOS versions of iWork and be available to the general public later this year. iOS 7 Announced All of Apple’s native iOS’ apps have received a major update  in iOS 7. Jony Ive played a big part in reshaping the look and feel of iOS. The skeuomorphism is gone, and the UI has a flatter appearance that looks similar to the music app Rdio. Translucency and the color white also play a huge role in this redesign. Also, the 3D background perspective is fantastic. Safari Gets Tweaked Apple has added new features to Safari. Some of them are quite helpful, including iCloud keychain, a smart search field, and parental controls. The smart search field provides Google suggestions as you type. iTunes Radio The much rumored radio service by Apple was officially announced. It will not be called iRadio, but instead its name is iTunes Radio. The service is like Pandora and integrates with the Music app on iOS and iTunes for Mac. The service will be free with ads or ad-free as part of the $24.99 per year iTunes Match subscription. It’s pretty much Songza, but with Apple’s iTunes library. The service will only be available in the US immediately. The Camera App Photography was not forgotten about, as changes were made to the Camera and Photos apps . In the Camera app there are new ways to take shots, including traditional and cropped photos. One of the main feature updates to Photos is called “moments.” This is a way to sort pictures into groups, such as when they were taken. The app also now ships with a bunch of photo filters. Siri Now A Little More Articulate Siri has been improved too. New languages have been added, including German and French, with more on the way. The voice of Siri is new, and there is even an option for a male voice. Siri will be included in a new feature called “iOS in the Car,” which will allow drivers to do things such as make phone calls, play music, and iMessages dictation. The Rest Besides a new look, iOS 7 also added some key features that people have been clamoring for. These features include Control Center, improved multitasking, and AirDrop support. Control Center brings up important settings such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Multitasking has been improved by showing different windows of the apps you have open by double-tapping the home button. AirDrop allows for sharing things like photos and contacts between users with a peer-to-peer connection. As it stands, AirDrop doesn’t work with OS X. Could change by the time the beta ships to the public. To wrap up the keynote, Apple showed a commercial that talked about their philosophies about making products that change people’s lives. Also, the commercial talked about Apple not making unnecessary products that the market doesn’t need. This was a great WWDC keynote, and the crowd really seemed to enjoy it. Many Apple fans will be excited to see these product updates when they are released to the general public in the coming months. Continue reading →

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