News

Apple plans to convert Android users with trade-in program

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While Apple would rather say “non-Apple users” instead of Android users which is slightly amusing, the company’s latest announcement is to offer a trade-in program. This trade-in program will make it easy for Android phone users to switch to iOS by trading in their device and getting an Apple gift card. The gift card can be used to buy any Apple product from Apple retail store. The amount of the gift card would depend on the model and brand of the Android phone to be assessed by Apple employees.

This trade-in program is an extension of the 2013 iPhone Reuse and Recycle which is exclusive to iPhone users. It is expected that, like this earlier trade-in program that is ongoing, there will be terms and conditions to the Android-gift card swap. The iPhone Reuse and Recycle program includes the following conditions:

An old iPhone can only be applied to the purchase of a new iPhone and the same rule applies for the iPad. One cannot exchange an old iPhone for a new iPad or vice versa.
Not all Apple retail stores are offering this program
The gift cards are not convertible to cash nor can they be reloaded or bought from any other place than an Apple Store. The denominations of the Apple gift cards are from $2 to $2,000.

apple-trade-in-programs — Current Apple program

Selected Apple employees have begun training to assess the value of Android phones and the new trade-in program is expected to launch in a few weeks.

The reasons for this new approach by Apple are two-fold, at the very least. One, it sees a rising demand for smartphones especially in Asia. Two, the price of the iPhone is the main deterrent to higher sales so being able to lower the cash out might convert Android lovers to Apple.

Clearly, the focus of Apple is to slow down Google’s Android. Together, these two companies share 96.3% of the market turning the smartphone market into a duopoly. As of last quarter of 2014, Apple was slightly ahead in terms of increase in sales but trailing behind Android in terms of overall market share which dropped from 78.2% to 76.6%.

Also interesting to note is a Bloomberg Business report that Apple could use Brightstar Corporation to resell the Android phones overseas just like they do with the iPhone and iPad devices surrendered for upgrades. Apple has yet to confirm or deny the report.

News

Apple Watch knockoffs already being sold in China

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Stopping the Chinese from making cheap knock offs continues to plague big name companies including Apple. The Apple Watch will be released on April 24 in 9 countries but Chinese manufacturers have already got their versions that look surprisingly authentic. To the untrained eye, only the $40 price would hint at something amiss because original Apple watch has a suggested retail price range of $349 all the way up to $10,000 for the 18 karat model and a whopping $17,000 for the Apple Watch Edition. Of course, with the fake Apple watches, there are no apps, software, and iOS, just a strange-looking Android.

As for the genuine Apple Watch – the geeks are going crazy. Can Apple really be serious about selling this watch as a status symbol for smart watches because of its iOS and apps? The price of the 18 karat model would be equivalent to that of a 4 year travel holiday, classic 1960 Jaguar, or deposit on a house.

Thus far, what has been released about the details of this product are:

Will only work with iOS 8.2 or later, and will need the iPhone 5, iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, or iPhone 6 Plus
You can customize the watch, get notification from your iPhone, download and organize the apps using your iPhone. You can also send pre-set messages, animated emoji, or voice messages from the watch
Battery life is 18 hours, less if you use apps frequently

The watch can also get heart rate, pulse, send GPS location, count calories, help you get fit, track your movements and activities, be used to pay for online purchases, use Siri, and display your mood for all to see.

What the Critics are Saying

Naturally, the world would be a quieter place without critics and they do have a mouthful to say about the Apple Watch. Needless to say, the majority are reserving judgment yet still contributing their point of view.

First of all, it won’t function as anything more than a timepiece without the iPhone. You don’t get cellular activity or GPS which means you still have to carry around 2 gadgets instead of one since the Apple Watch does not replace the iPhone, rather comes as an attachment.

Second, there is a lot going on with the display. Instead of just swiping to get data, you will have to turn the crown, tap and swipe making it more complicated to use.

On the other hand, the piece is beautiful even if it looks a bit bulky and is still just the start of what Apple can do with a watch. No doubt, the lines will be long and stretched out on April 24 – and the watches will sell out quickly simply because it is Apple and First Edition. Pre-orders start on April 10.

Mac

Apple looks to address lingering issues with New improved MacBook

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The Apple MacBook early version, specifically 2011 MacBook Pro, has been on the receiving end of complaints about graphic failures and systematic crashes. The problems began to appear in 2013 and as of last year, authorized Apple service providers were still accepting MacBook repairs and now that the new and reinvented Apple MacBook is out, expectations are high that old issues will have been addressed and settled.

The new MacBook was unveiled last March 9 during the Spring Forward Apple Watch and is called “New MacBook 2015. It will be available for retail on April 10 through authorized dealers, the Apple Online Store, and Apple retail stores. It is a notebook that weighs 2 pounds making it the lightest MacBook as well as the thinnest at just 13.1 mm.

According to Philip Schiller who is the SVP for Apple’s Worldwide Marketing, almost everything about the MacBook has been reinvented. Some of the changes include an ultra thin Retina display, fanless design, a new Force Touch trackpad, new battery design, a super thin full-size keyboard, and a USB-C port. This USB-C port means there is only one single connector so you no longer need separate ports for charging, video out and data transfer. The most shocking for many though is the price tag at around $1,570 for the 1.1 GHz model and up to $1,954 for the 2.6 GHz model.

usb-c-port-macbook — USB-C (5 Ports in 1)

The specs for the New MacBook are:

Intel Core M Model with Turbo Boost speeds of 2.4 GHz for the lower-priced model and 2.6GHz for the higher-priced model
8 GB memory
256 GH of flash for the lower-priced and 514 GB for the higher priced model
5th generation Intel HD Graphics 5300
2304 x 1440 pixel Resolution
812.11ac Wifi
Bluetooth 4.0
Butterfly mechanism on the keyboard
35% better battery capacity and 30% less energy consumption without sacrificing display brightness. Battery is capable of 9 hours wireless use and 10 hours of movie playback
Available in silver, Space grey and gold

macbook-logic-board — New Logic Boards are 67% Smaller

The Force Touch Trackpad is one innovation likely to be pleasing to users because of it deep click feature which can fast forward videos or be used to force click to launch apps. You can also customize the trackpad by changing the amount of pressure so that every gesture or click on the trackpad will mean a specific command assigned by you to fit your personal preferences.

Most impressive is the fact that there are no more moving parts on this New MacBook 2015. This will mean greater efficiency and a very quiet, noiseless device.

macbook-battery-cell-capacity — Batteries now take up most of the MacBook casing

As far as old issues on crashes and graphic failure, Apple has addressed these and one can expect to have fewer issues moving forward. We’ll have to wait until the April launch for testing. For the user who needs a powerful light notebook, this new 12″ MacBook could be the answer.

iPhone

Best Cydia apps to Download Music and Watch Movies for free

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Many iOS users like you would like to customize their devices with more games, apps, and themes. This is why one would prefer to jailbreak an iOS device. If your iDevice is not jailbroken, there could be many limitations when it comes to your choices of applications.

Apple does not allow you to install applications from other sources other than from its app store. However, the problem here is that most of the applications from the Apple app store are usually too expensive to download or sometimes, the features are not good enough. If you’re looking for an app to watch movies and download music like mp3s for free, then you can try Cydia.

Here is the list of the best applications from Cydia which will help you watch movies and download music on your iOS device.

1. Movie Land App – When you get this app, you are in fact entering the land of movies. It has a wide collection of movies and you can easily download it on your iOS device. All you need to do is to create an account in order to begin downloading and watching your favorite movies. The good thing about this app is that once you buy your favorite movie, you can watch it anytime as many times as you want on your device.

This app offers you high speed downloads and high quality movies for only $6.99. This can be bought from BigBoss repository.

2. BigU Movie App – With the help of this app, you can either download or stream the movie of your choice in a flash. Aside from that, the movies come in high quality so you can really enjoy watching the movie. Of course, new content is added regularly to ensure that you get the latest movies out there. With a user-friendly interface, everyone in the family can enjoy using this app.

A special feature of this app is that you can watch your downloaded movies on your television. There is a feature called TV-OUT which will enable you to watch your movies on your big screen TV. If you prefer to watch on your computer, this is also possible with the My Movies tab where you can find and play all the movies that you have downloaded.

3. iPlayApp Cydia App – This free app enables you to stream many movies on your device. The good thing about this app is that it updates you regularly for any news or events to make sure you are connected. The movies are divided into categories which will help you choose the movies you want. There are categories for latest releases, highest ratings, and many more.

As you try to select your movie, you are also given a synopsis about each movie. This way, you can easily find the movie genre that you really want. This app is available from BigBoss repository.

4. MusicDog App – This free Cydia app let’s you stream your favorite songs wherever you are as long as you’re connected online. It has a huge library of music to make sure that you find all the songs that you want. If you don’t have connection all the time, do not worry. Similar to Spotify, you can also choose to listen to your playlist offline. The only thing you need to do is to register your device upon installation, then you’re good to go.

5. EZ-Mp3 Player App – If you’re a music lover, then this app is for you. It lets you stream the music of your choice. You also have the option to create a playlist of your favorite songs so that you can play them whenever you want.

You don’t have to worry about copyright issues or anything else here. It is a legal app that also gives you access to a built-in radio with 25 radio stations and 22 genres of music.

How-To

How to use your Mac to make and receive phone calls or texts

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With the release of Mac OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 Apple introduced several new features that make cross-platform communication easier and more seamless than ever. Two of those features – SMS/MMS and Call Relay – allow you to make and receive calls through the FaceTime app as well as to send and receive text messages though the Messages app. In this article we’ll show you how to enable this functionality.

What you’ll need:

A Mac running OS X Yosemite that’s connected to Wi-Fi
An iPhone running iOS 8.1 or later connected to the same Wi-Fi network that has the ability to make calls and send text messages
Both devices have to use the same Apple ID for iMessage/FaceTime

Note: It is important to understand that making calls and sending texts from your Mac is not free. All of the data still goes through your phone, you’re just interacting with it on your computer. So your carrier will charge you for the calls and texts as if they made through your iPhone.

Tip: Unlike Handoff, Call Relay and SMS Relay do not require Bluetooth LE communication between your Mac and iPhone in order to work, so this feature is available to all devices that run the required operating systems.

iphone-cellular-calls — Setting Up Call Relay

How to set up Call Relay:

On your Mac, open FaceTime from Launchpad, your dock or Spotlight.
Click on FaceTime in the menu bar.
Click on Preferences.
Ensure that the option “iPhone Cellular Calls” has a checkmark in front of it.
Tip: At the end of the option’s description you can see the phone number that will be used to place and receive calls.
On your iPhone, go into the Settings app.
Open the FaceTime section.
Ensure that the option “iPhone Cellular Calls” is turned on

same-apple-id-as-on-mac — Use your same ID as used on your Mac

How to make and receive calls:

If you’ve ever received a FaceTime Audio call on your Mac, you already know how to receive regular phone calls since they appear in exactly the same manner. The great thing is that you don’t need to keep FaceTime open in order to receive FaceTime and cellular phone calls.

Making a phone call is more tricky. In apps like Mail, Contacts, Maps, Calendar, Safari, etc you need to hover over a phone number with your mouse until a blue phone icon appears. Clicking on it will initiate a call. The biggest drawback is that there isn’t an integrated keypad, so you can’t dial random phone numbers. Fortunately, Mac App Store apps like Keypad can add this functionality.

text-message-forwarding-iphone-setup — Text Message Forwarding

How to set up SMS/MMS Relay:

On your iPhone, go to Settings.
Choose the Messages section.
Enter the Text Message Forwarding menu.
Enable the toggle next to your Mac’s name.
On your Mac you should receive a popup with a numeric code that you need to enter on your iPhone in order to complete the setup.

Tip: If you’re not receiving your numeric code on your computer, log out of iMessage on your phone and Mac and then log back in. If that doesn’t work, try adding a new email address where you can receive iMessages and follow the steps again.

How to send and receive texts on your Mac:

Sending and receiving texts is identical to sending and receiving iMessages. Everything is done through the Messages app. If you need to text a number that’s not in your Contacts, just enter it as the recipient of a new message, type in the text and send it.

How to set up Call Relay:

How to make and receive calls:

How to set up SMS/MMS Relay:

How to send and receive texts on your Mac:

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