iOS 6 beta in the Singaporean eyes

Hi guys! So basically after finally getting iOS6 up on my new iPad, i have been playing around with it for pretty much the entire day (After I got 3 hours of sleep at least, thank god Im on leave today). So here I am now at the end of the day with some of my take backs from playing around with it. This might even prove more useful to Singaporeans since I will try to make my comments based on how it will affect us. Click on!

How to get iOS6 on your device

Tempted to get your hands on iOS 6 after seeing all the changes? I know I am. (In the end haven't slept and just stayed up all the way working on it). However I faced some problems which kinda made me waste a few hours. So learn from my mistakes and don't mess up! Click on to find out how to install iOS6 beta on your selected iOS device.

Retina MacBook Pro updated in Apple Store

Decided to just point this out since it appeared before bed. The new MacBook Pro has been updated into the Apple Store. To get more info, you can go to the Apple Store and check it out directly. For Singaporeans, prices starts at $2988SGD, ouch.

Even more of an additional note, MacBook Airs has quietly had a price increase to $1388 for the cheapest model (Previously $1288). Guess you are basically paying for the spec bump. Going by the info on the Mac Compare page, here is a basic list of some of the upgrades for a typical MacBook Air.
Click on!

WWDC updates gathered from various sites

Here are just some of the sites I am gathering info from, feel free to check out on my opinions of what will be announced tonight at the same time!

Gizmodo Meta Live Blog 

The Verge Live Blog

iMore Live Blog

9to5Mac Live Blog

Digital Life Facebook - For Singaporeans mainly lol

Click on for more. If I have any live readers lol, keep refreshing!

WWDC2012 is finally here!

And WWDC2012 is finally coming soon! In about 3 hours time (1am Singapore Time, apologies I previously put 2am because i forgot to check about daylight savings), Tim Cook will be going up on that stage to bring us the new cool item into the Apple World!

So what do we know so far? Or at least whats rumored / confirmed. Here are some of the things expected to be shown today.

iOS6! 

Even though I thought this year it would be pushed back to be released with the next iPhone, guess they decided to go ahead with the annual tradition of pushing for the new iOS in June. This has been 100% confirmed with banners being put up at the event hall.

New Stock Apps!

iOS6 will probably come together with changes with some changes to the stock apple apps or even new ones, should tradition hold true. Apple's new Maps app perhaps? Or maybe a new Organizer app rumored to be released tonight?

FaceBook integration!

A function several users have been crying out for FaceBook integration in iOS, and with recent Tim Cook's interview at AllThingsD, Tim Cook has told us to "Stay Tuned". Will it finally be here? Well, stay tuned!

Siri on the iPad!

Another thing that had people scratching their heads wondering why it did not come with their new iPads, Siri! I personally don't really use it that much, but is 8 months enough time for Siri to finally be done with its 'beta' status and be released in the other devices aside from 4S? Hmmm...

iPhone 5???

Another thing which some people are still hoping for, the new iPhone / iPhone 5! As before, I don't think this will appear tonight, but some videos have come in showing a new iPhone's back cover in with new port (minus the 30pin port), moved audio jack position, elongated body of 4 inches long and several other changes. Does that mean it will appear tonight? Chances are low, but, who knows?

Thats it for the iOS segment of things. Of course that won't be everything, I do expect some minor updates, such as iCloud enhancements (finally allowing a stock folder to be created in your phone like dropbox anyone?) and other app enhancements, but probably not the focus for tonight. Moving on to Macs!

New MacBooks!

A specs sheet has been leaked out, showing some general details of incoming MacBooks, such as 15 inch retina MacBook Pros among others, all in together with a price list. To get a general idea of what the terms mean, you can check out 9to5Mac's site. In my opinion, this is definitely on the cards for tonight's announcement.

Mountain Lion finally out!

Several websites believe that Mountain Lion will be out today, which following trends of 2009 and 2011's WWDC, should be pretty true. This is probably a given actually, considering how Apple has been seeding developers with beta versions over the last few months, and even providing a release date for end summer 2012. (kinda like this month lol?) As long as the new MacBooks are announced today without any changes, this should be confirmed.

Last but not least, Apple TV updates together with iTV?

Updates with probably be made to the Apple TV software together with the new iOS. Hopefully it addresses some complains about how users find it unintuitive. Personally I just use it to Airplay my iPhone / iPad so it doesn't really concern me.

Whats really on everyone's mind will be whether Apple will finally release its own TV today? Think this has already been discussed by too many people so shall not touch too much on it. As before, my opinion is, not yet, way too soon. I would expect more towards end of this year or maybe even next year. Though if some analysts are right, what is so special about Apple's version of the TV will be more on its OS and apps, rather then the screen. So technically speaking, entirely possible to be done since the technology is obviously all there. Its more towards whether they are ready to release it. Considering all the hoohah from the iPad's being mailed all across the world and the lack of it so far, well. Totally not going to happen. Better luck in October!


And thats about it for this post. I have finally done this post with 1.5 hours to go to the conference. Do check out this blog after the conference to see what was released!

PC Show is here!

And the PC show is here! This is gonna be a short post because I am at the office. For anyone interested in looking out for hot deals, check out Bootstrike's website, where he is uploading all the leaflets they are giving out at the PC show, so you can know about the deals even while you are in the office. Thats what I am doing now LOL.

So what are you waiting for?

CLICK HERE!

Personally, I am looking for a bluetooth speaker with speakerphone capabilities. Something like the Jawbone Jambox (Dont know what is that? You should google and check it out), but hopefully on the cheaper side since I am more interested to use it as a speakerphone rather then playing music so I can work with something slightly lousier. Any recommendations?

Singtel bringing in 4G plans. Excitement? NO!

Singtel has just launched a 4G media event where they have officially launched their 4G data plans. So we finally have 4G in Singapore! Does that mean we should all start buying the new iPads and sign up with Singtel? NO! Since Singtel kinda just used a different frequency from the iPads (Basically works with the Androids LTE phones only), this isn't really anything to be excited about. Though honestly even if it were iPad friendly, I still won't be excited. Here's why...

	Flexi Lite	Flexi Value	Flexi Plus	Flexi Premium
Monthly subscription	$39.90	$59.90	$99.90	$205
Local outgoing minutes	100	200	500	2000
Local SMS	800 (previously 550)	900 (previously 650)	1000 (previously 700)	2500 (previously 2000)
Local data bundle (previously 12GB)	2GB	3GB	4GB	12GB
Excess usage and data cap (previously $2.76/MB)	$5.35/GB (w GST) for 3G subscribers. Applicable to 4G subscribers during promotion from 1 July to 31 Dec 2012. $10.70/GB (w GST) from 1 Jan 2013 for 4G subscribers.

So, aside from our 'supposedly' faster 4G data speeds, we got extra local useless SMSes and extremely nerf-ed data bundles, woohoo! And why do I say supposedly faster? Thats because their "typical download speeds between 3.4Mbps and 12Mbps" is pretty much still slower then the standard of HSPA+ promised since ages ago, which is 3G levels. 

And of course adding much to local SMSes when everyone is pretty much just using Whatsapp (which is why you would even be in the category of people interested in 4G anyway), is really just adding insult to injury. Lets not even get started on the data bundles which is now less then 20% of the original amount for the cheapest plan.

Personally the only good thing i see out of this is that they are finally starting to count excess data in GB instead of the previous MB, making excess data charges a lot less crazy. So if you use android phones, feel free to get excited about 4G. Personally, even if they had made this available for the iPad's frequency, i doubt i will be changing anytime soon...

WWDC for June is set!

Woohoo! WWDC is coming soon! And as you would expect, a keynote has been set and confirmed for 11 June 2012, set at 10am Pacific Time (GMT -08:00). That is 1am Singapore time on 12 June 2012 if you intend to catch it like I do. There is even an app that you can download to obtain the schedule of WWDC2012 if you are interested in what goes on.

WWDC 2012 (USA)

So what does this mean? Or rather, what is in store for us on that day? Here are some possibilities.

1. A new iPhone???

9to5Mac reports on a new iPhone case part which was discovered to be sold by China parts supplier. Personally, i doubt this will happen so soon, but there is of course still that slight chance.

2. iOS 6!

Boy Genius Report has released exclusive images of a new maps app for iOS 6, which utilizes 3D mapping, which will likely replace the current Google Maps. Again, I think this is something abit too early and only due to be released together with the new iPhone.

3. MacBook Pro cum Air and iMac updates

Definitely what seems to be the most likely thing to be announced come June 11. There are a few different versions of what is expected on that day. Some say that we will get 15 inch ivy bridge MacBook pros, which will be at a half way point in size between the pro and air while providing retina display, which seems very possible. Chances are they will also remove the optical disks so as to save space, just to allow their pros reach the air sizes.

4. iScreen / iTV / iHub or whatever Apple choses to name it

And last but not least, something which has been discussed and suggested that may appear anytime. The proposed iTV. Or iScreen. Or iHub. Whatever they choose to name it. This one is another wild card, with no real info on when is it exactly coming. And of course with that means June being a viable possibility. With not much info on what to expect from this one, it is anyone's guess when it appears. Maybe a Steve Job's style "One More Thing" to finally come from Tim Cook?

And thats about all the things which you can look out for in a nutshell, hope that the info was useful!

Absinthe 2.0 Jailbreak is out!

Hot off the press, the new jailbreak is finally out!

Here are some links that you can refer to for more info or to download, courtesy of iDownloadBlog.

Instruction page on how to jailbreak with a Mac
Instruction page on how to jailbreak with a Windows PC
Download page for Windows and Mac (Scroll down to Absinthe 2.0)

Also for those who have already jailbreak-ed to a tethered version previous and want to convert to untethered, you can refer to this link to use the Rocky Racoon 5.1.1 Untether package

Enjoy peeps! Especially for those new iPad users (me included), this is something you have been waiting for~

Multiple Updates

Hi guys, really sorry for the lack in blog posts last few days. Basically been busy with work so haven't even had much chance to take out my MacBook which I always use to blog. Things should improve by late June. In the mean time, I have quite a few things up so I am going to just summarize up the post.

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Your new Jailbreak tweak of the week, Unfold



Unfold is one of those previously cool concept ideas which became a real tweak you can get from the BigBoss repo, so yes, strictly for jail breakers. What it does is replace your slide to unlock with a slide to unfold. Really a cosmetic tweak which looks pretty good so you might want to try it out, especially since it is free. Just take note it only works on iPhones for now.

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Jailbreak coming in soon!

According to news from most iOS news sites, the next jailbreak, Absinthe 2.0, is coming in the next couple of days and will support most devices up till 5.1.1. In fact, especially for people using the new iPad, you should especially update it till 5.1.1, since it apparently will not work for previous versions. The same goes for all A5 devices (Which means iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and the new iPad) For more info, you can check out iDownloadBlog or CultofMac posts.

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Kickstarter love

CordLite for lighted iPhone cables so that you can plug them in the dark. Really looks like a cool idea, though abit pricey at $30USD (Add in another $10USD for Singaporeans and it really hurts) Think its exactly something which you might need/add to your cool factor? Go to their funding page here.

 Une Bobine (Weird name I know) gives you an iPhone cable combined in together with one of those memory wire alike kinda things. Put together, you get a bendable iPhone cable that is still stiff enough to maintain in a position that you want to. That means you get to have an iPhone stand that you get to shift around however you want, yet continue charging at the same time. At $25USD with free worldwide shipping, it looks pretty worth it. Check it out here.

And last but not least, you guys remember Pebble? It has finally ended at a cool sum of $10 million dollars funding and a promise for an update to bluetooth 4.0. It has even confirmed a collaboration with Twine, which is basically another Kickstarter sensor filled device that notifies you of various things through motion sensors, humidity sensors etc. To read up more about the collaboration or about Twine, you can look at their Twine Blog here.

And thats about it from me for now. Hopefully I will have more time soon for my next post~

SwipeSelection for advanced text editing

Have you ever found that your iOS's solution for doing text editing is pretty troublesome? Similar to how you would prefer to use your keyboard to navigate to a particular spot in an article simply because moving your hand to the mouse is troublesome, i find having to change over to selecting the text is an inconvenience. (This may not be the case for people who do not have to type very often)

Along with a concept video released last week, a jailbreak tweak was created to allow you to navigate through what you are currently typing, simply by swiping through your keyboard, named SwipeSelection. It even allows you to either scroll through your text at higher speeds by using 2 fingers, or allowing you to select a string of text by starting your swipe from the shift button. You can see a video created by iDownloadblog for a view of the tweak in action.



If you think this tweak is very useful for you, you can head over to your cydia app and do a search for it, since it is hosted on the big boss repo, which is by default included already when you install cydia.

For those who do not wish to jailbreak but are interested to try this concept out, you can wait for an app due to be released soon, named SlideWriter. The app will basically be a text editor which will provide the functions similarly, though implemented in a slightly different way.



Honestly I think this tweak makes a lot of sense and I can see Apple making this a default function in the future. Hopefully we will see this in iOS 6!

Toys for your iPhone and iPad

Today I am going to share on some new gadgets that were just announced and are up for pre-order. First up is a new iPhone pico projector named Pop Video!

At the price of $99USD, you get a pico projector which you can carry around in your pocket. It boasts 2 hour of playtime battery life, with 15 lumens of brightness at half an inch thick with a video output of qHD (960 x 540 resolution) All in all, seems like a pretty good deal to me, considering you can bring it around with you. Though of course at 15 lumens, you are not going to get much mileage from it during the daytime so it will be pretty much an indoor/night tool.

Interested? You can make a pre-order at their website, or check out for more info in their video below.



Next up is the Logitech Solar Keyboard Folio! At a pre-order price of $130USD, you get a bluetooth keyboard case for your iPad which can be charged by solar energy, with a crazy battery boast of 2 years usage for the keyboard when it is full charge, even in total darkness. (Though i would wonder if you actually get such a thing would you even use it beyond 2 years LOL.)

Of course, even though you will not need it a 2 year battery lifespan, you will at least not have to worry at all about the battery life for the keyboard. It closes up nicely when not in use, with a magnetic case for the automatic sleep/wake function.

And of course, they have apparently though through it pretty well. by providing the case with 2 different view forms, though only for landscape. The first is your typical work form, where you can type as you do your stuff like a laptop, while the other form is abit lower, meant for movie viewing. When I say they have thought it through, its because they have apparently maintained access to the first row of the keyboard, which supposedly will provide access to standard controls such as play, pause and volume changes. If you think this is the perfect case for your needs, make your pre-orders at Logitech's website here.

Just take note that both of these products above are for pre-orders, so I don't have full info on shipping, especially to Singapore. If somehow any of the products above only ship to USA, you will need vPOST to ship them to you.

Speaking about toys for your iPhone, remember Pebble? They have just confirmed a partnership with popular fitness app, RunKeeper which boasts over 10 million users and are still actively looking for more app developers to join up with them. With RunKeeper, you will get to track your workout data directly by looking at your watch rather then having to take out your iPhone. Considering that they have already pre-sold over 50,000 Pebble watches and already have a funding base of 8 cool million dollars, Im sure more developers will be coming into the picture soon. You have 2 weeks left to sign up people! At the rate it is going, I think Pebble will end up with 10 million dollars funding once these 2 weeks are up, which is OMGBBQ loads of cash!

Games for a fun filled day

Hi guys! Today I am going to share on a few games which you can add into your iPhone/iPad. Some are new, while some are old though recently updated and made fun.

First up is Jetpack Joyride, which is an awesome game you can get at the even more awesome price of free!

Jetpack Joyride is a game that was released over a year ago so it may not be totally unknown to some of you. The gameplay involves a guy who got bored of his day job so he broke into a lab and stole a jetpack (Everyone's dream right LOL). So now with the aid of his new Jetpack and some of the crazy vehicles (Bad as Hog or Gravity suits anyone?) he finds along the way, he tries to escape out of the laboratory, escaping lasers and missiles among other things.


Whats new to the game is the addition of gadgets which you can purchase and equip to yourself, which include things like Nerd Repellant and Air Barrys, which adds a new aspect to the game and makes it fun so get it now~
Jetpack Joyride (USA)
Jetpack Joyride (Singapore)

My 2nd game recommendation for the day is non other then another all time favorite, Plants vs Zombies!

Before you give me the, been there done that look, Plants vs Zombies has some new additions to the game. Though mainly the additions will be familiar to those who have been playing the PC version, such as Zen Garden and various mini games. However honestly, who really sits down at their PC and plays Plants vs Zombies constantly? Plants vs Zombies in my opinion fits best on your iPhone or iPad, playing a quick stage or 2 on the train or bus before you move on. 

If you are interested, lay down your $2.99 USD and get the game from the links below.

Plants vs Zombies (USA)

Plants vs Zombies (Singapore)

My last game recommendation for the day is an all time favorite for arcade fighting games, Marvel vs Capcom 2!

Arcade visitors will definitely remember this game so no further introductions really need to be made. For the uninitiated, this game is basically your good old stick fighting game ported over to your iPhone and iPad, where you can use a team of 3 members from the Marvel or Capcom series. There are a good number of 56 characters that you can use, including Avengers heroes such as Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America so that may interest those who are fans of the movie but never played the game.

This recommendation was honestly abit iffy for me, since there are still some issues with the game in my opinion. Controls are rather sluggish and difficult to use (though I can still manage a respectable air combo), and graphics are a disgrace to the new iPad's retina display. And honestly I doubt I will be able to recommend this for the iPhone especially due to the number of controls needed.

In all, this is currently a game for fans, since there are really still some issues with the game itself. If you fancy having MVC2 with you on the go, lay down your $2.99 and try it out.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 (USA)
Marvel vs Capcom 2 (Singapore)

Hope you enjoy the games and happy labour day to my fellow Singaporeans!

Tips on how to get around a spoilt Home button

Hi guys, today's post is just some tips on how to get around a mulfunctioning iPhone's home button. You may have tried my tip on Home button calibration mentioned here but did not get any success. Well, if you do not want to make that trip to the repair store, what are you to do? Here are a couple of tips for both Jailbreakers and none Jailbreakers!

The first method is through using your Accessibility functions. Yes, that function that you have totally ignored in your phone since day 1. Head over to your Settings->General->Accessibility->AssistiveTouch and turn it on. What happens is you get a shiny little button that you can move around on your screen. By pressing it, you can simulate a home button press. Further more, you can even create shortcuts for it. Pretty much the non-Jailbreakers Activator.

 And what is Activator you may ask? Activator is 1 of those must get default tweaks to get once you Jailbreak. In fact, several of the tweaks that you download will auto download Activator for you. With Activator, you get to set shortcuts for practically anything, by doing practically anything on your phone. You can swipe left to right at the clock area, double tap on your status bar, swipe up, down or whatever hand action you can think of, and set it either open an app, activate a tweak, etc. Benefits are pretty limitless!

As for those of you who want a more dedicated option and are willing to spend that bit of cash ($4.99USD in fact), you can get Zephyr! Zephyr allows you to do several different shortcuts made specifically for app switching. It allows you to swipe left and right to switch between apps, or swipe up to see your multitasking switcher. Sounds familiar? Yes, it is precisely what your iPad does when you activate gestures! This however gives you the additional option of just closing your apps, depending on how you change the settings.

So there you have it, 3 different ways to go around a spoilt home button. Which one will be more suitable for you?
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In other news, WWDC is coming again soon! For those who don't know what WWDC is, it basically stands for Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Convention. It will be held on June 11th to 15th, with tickets for it going at $1,599USD and basically sold out within 2 hours of its announcement! (5,000 tickets * $1,599USD = OMGBBQ loads of cash)

So why is this news even exciting for anyone? Well, the WWDC is basically the place where Apple announced the previous iPhones (save for iPhone 4S), together with several other goodies like MacBooks. This year, I expect that iPhones will stay to the same course of being announced only in October (Makes sense for Apple to split up the timings of their 3 main products, namely iPhone, iPad and MacBook), though MacBooks are pretty much due to be updated. Some say MacBook Pros will be removed, with the new focus for Apple to be purely in MacBook Airs. While there are some others that say both will be combined together.

And of course there are those that says Apple will *finally* release their iTV or whatever they choose to call it. Well, whatever it is being announced, June looks to be another exciting time for Apple fans so keep a good lookout!

Cydia for your Mac

Im sure that if you are a Jailbreaker you would have heard of Cydia, where basically Cydia is the appstore for your iPhone or iPad which stores all the none Apple approved apps. A new kid is in town for your Mac, which is the Hack-Store!

You can head to their website to download their app. Basically what it does is gather together all the apps which are not available in the Mac's appstore and put it up for easy access by allowing to search for these apps. Some of these include allowing you to download Flutter, the Messages (beta) app released by Apple, iExplorer, all of which are pretty cool stuff which I am currently using myself. There are also a few other interesting apps which I intend to try out as well.

So if you ever thought that you would like a place where you can easily find these apps to try out, go to their website and try it out~

What is Jailbreaking?

Not much posts lately simply because nothing much has been going on. There have been a few rumors with regards to upcoming MacBooks (rumoured to be announced possibly in June's WWDC) and the next iPhone (rumored to be announced in October), but basically nothing confirmed. Will have more information up here once there is any confirmed information.

In the meantime, today's post will be talking about Jailbreaking! Here are some things which some of you may not know about Jailbreaking.

1. Jailbreaking is legal
2. Jailbreaking is NOT just about getting paid apps for free (Especially since that part is the illegal side of Jailbreaking and not supported by all of the Jailbreaking community)
3. Jailbreaking frees your iPhone from Apple's restrictions and allows many customizations to be done

The above is my home screen which basically shows some of the things that you can do with Jailbreaking, such as
1. Changing your carrier name
2. Adding extra icons to the dock (you can see my video app hiding at the corner)
3. Removing app names (I find that it clutters my screen too much)
4. Changing icon dicrections (Helps when I am using my phone while lying down)
5. Installing improved apps over the stock apps, such as biteSMS, mxTube, etc.
6. There are several other useful things that you can do which are not visible on my current home screen which I will introduce on this blog along the way

Futhermore, Jailbreaking is relatively safe, since it is very easy to do (Anyone can do it within 10-15 mins), and you can also restore it to its pre-jailbreak status by restoring the iPhone within that same amount of time. You can also continue to sync your iPhone to the computer even when you have Jailbroke your iPhone so that you can easily restore your iPhone anytime without losing any non-jailbreak related info.

Currently, you can jailbreak all iPhones and up to iPad 2, with the iPad (2012)'s jailbreak still in the works. I shall not attempt to explain the process since there are already several such pages which describes the process of jail breaking with several video tutorials and the files immediately available. One such page is iDownloadBlog's jailbreak info page so I recommend you go check it out~

Paper Monsters gives you Super Mario experience on iOS

Well, today's post is not about a new game on the iOS. Just something which you may have not noticed yet. Paper Monsters!

 Paper Monsters is a really nice little game with awesome graphics to say the least. It gives your Super Mario fan in you your coin collecting fix by letting you jump around picking up paper clips and buttons! Not exactly my best description about a game, but hey, that was pretty much the main aim for everyone in Super Mario anyway.

Along the way during the game, you will meet various monsters that obstruct your way, or even that you have to defeat to move on. (No not boss monsters, just the usual small fry which actually prove essential to kill because the path opens only after you kill them. No spoilers here!) So how do you kill them? In all true Mario fashion, jump on them!

Best part is the game even provides hidden areas within levels. Well not exactly hidden since they are pretty obvious. There they are in the background, where you can access them only by... Passing through a tunnel! LOL! Not to say that this game rips off the Super Mario totally but it shares a lot of the similar traits, which I believe are purposely kept the same to let people be reminded of Super Mario.

Even better? Typically the game costs only $0.99, but for today only, the game is going for free, so time to go download it!

• Paper Monsters (USA)
• Paper Monsters (Singapore)

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In other news, remember that iPhone friendly watch, Pebble I reported previously? Over the little then 1 week ago since I have made the post, there has been a crazy climb from 7,000 to 30,000 backers providing a total sum of 4.3 million dollars to the project and counting, which also makes it the most successful project on Kickstarter ever. That is leading them to provide various upgrades to the watch before it is even released, such as making it waterproof for swimming. So what are you waiting for?

Crackle for your movie watching needs + Keynote Freebies

Especially for all Singapore readers, ever wished you could stream movies onto your iPhone / iPad without requiring a Netflix/Hulu/etc account? Try out Crackle! Named as 1 of the best entertainment apps in the iPhone entertainment category, Crackle provides several good movies and tv shows for free.

Thats right, you heard right, for free! The movies and tv shows are all full length in size, with no hidden, pay to watch after 5 mins viewing or such nonsense. They regularly add about 20 new movies and tv episodes every month and it works nicely with airplay as well. Also aside from a few short video ads, there isn't really much other things here that may spoil your viewing experience. A small price to pay for getting free access in my opinion. 

The only catch? You need a USA iTunes account to download the app, and do remember not to give Crackle access to your location services, since the app only works in USA, Canada, UK and Australia.

• Crackle (USA)

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Also, do you have Keynote but ever thought that you would like to learn more about how to create clickable prototypes, sales videos, animated cartoons etc all for the fantastic price of free? Here over to Cult of Mac here where they are throwing out a freebie for you to learn how to do all over these in a series of video tutorials lasting over an hour. There are about 6 days left to go sign up for the freebie, after which you will get to watch them permanently for free, so what are you waiting for?

Pebble brings your phone to your watch

Hi guys, today's post is about a new Kickstarter project taking the tech world by storm, Pebble!

Pebble is a watch that links up to your iPhone by bluetooth and allows you to run apps from your iPhone. It then proceeds to do quite a lot of cool stuff like follows.
1. Letting you know when your phone rings and giving you caller ID info
2. Email notification and reading
3. Calendar alerts
4. Facebook/Twitter alerts for your social needs
5. Weather alerts
6. Silent vibrating alarm and timer
7. Music Control
8. GPS for speed, distance and pace data
9. Who knows? They are providing the SDK to developers who are interested to create apps for it

It comes with various watch faces that you can go download together with the sunlight friendly e-paper display you see on Kindles, making this outdoor friendly. My only gripe is it will not support SMSes for iPhones, only Android. Even though they claim that Apple does not release the info, Im sure Jailbreakers can find ways around this, such as auto forwarding SMSes to an email.

Of course, the watch by itself does not really add functionality to your iPhone per say, since all the above benefits I stated may be done directly on the phone. However it makes your phone that much more fun to use. I can especially see iPhone docks finally becoming popular since you can finally control it by remote, especially when it is a remote you wear all the time.

1 point to note though, is that despite their claims, it is not the first watch that lets you use your phone in such a manner where the first would be I'm Watch, which honestly provides loads more functionality. However once you look at I'm Watch's price tags and take in that deep breath, Im sure you would think Pebble is a lot more wallet friendly.

If you are interested head on down to the project page now and go back it! Over 7,000 backers have already placed $1,000,000 dollars in the project and within 28 hours so get to it. (Already at $1.8mil in less then 2 days)

iPhone home button callibration

Have you ever faced problems with your home button? By problems, I refer to how you may have to press your home button multiple times and not being able to go to the home screen. Well, before you declare that your iPhone is damaged and go to the repair store, you may try this simple 3 step recalibration method.

1. Go to one of the stock iPhone apps. (Stock refers to the apps your iPhone came with, such as Photos, Contacts, etc)
2. Press the power button until you see the slider to power off your iPhone.
3. Release your power button, and press the home button until you end up back in your home screen.

And you are done! Assuming your home button is not really damaged somehow, you should find that your home button's sensitivity has relatively improved, hopefully back to the state of how it was when you first got your iPhone. Hope this tip helps!

Top 100 apps for your apple products

Been abit busy so today's post will be quite short, sorry about that. Appstorm has come up with a list of top 100 apps for your Mac, iPhone and iPad. I have been through the list and noticed quite a few apps which I am already currently using while a few new apps that I didn't notice previously. Pretty good stuff here, so go check it out~

Top 100 iPhone apps
Top 100 iPad apps
Top 100 Mac apps

Dragon rearing makes for fun addiction

Dragonvale is a nice little freemium game which lets you build an entire city for rearing and breeding dragons. Then by having these cute little dragons on your magical floating islands, you get visitors who visit your island, allowing your dragons to generate income for you.

You can use your income to then buy more dragons, build more habitats or even give them treats to level them up. Once you have 2 dragons at least in the juvenile stage, you can breed them to get other types of dragons for yourself. There are several interesting combinations of dragons such as the firefly dragon, iceberg dragon and a lot of other cute looking dragons.

The game brings in a fun aspect by allowing you to build a colosseum where you can send in one of your dragons to join in an event, allowing you to even earn gems which are otherwise impossible to get without paying. This makes it a plus, since it essentially means you can actually get the full experience of the game without having to pay for anything (something that does not usually happen in freemiums) The colosseum also allows you to put your dragons to fight against against your friends as part of the social aspect. What's also cool is the game has been updated to the retina display, giving your new iPad more fun games that use that extra resolution.

Honestly, I have already played quite a few of these city building games and rearing cute dragons on them is not something I would expect myself to do. However, this game is really quite fun and you find yourself unable to stop worrying about how your dragons are doing. If you are interested, go to the links below to try them out.

• Dragonvale iPad (Singapore)
• Dragonvale iPhone (Singapore)
• Dragonvale iPad (USA)
• Dragonvale iPhone (USA)

Updates in iPad Singapore plans

Hi guys, this is an update post on iPad price plans on the telco websites, namely Starhub and M1. Following in Singtel's footsteps, they have both added a new line stating their typical download speed, naming their previous max speed now as being *Theoretical*. Here is the updated info below.

Telecom	Starhub	Singtel	M1
Monthly Subscription	$41.30	$40.00	$40.00
Data Bundle	10 GB	10 GB	10 GB
Theoretical Download Speed	Up to 21 Mbps	NA	Up to 21 Mbps
Typical Download Speed	0.6 ~ 6.6Mbps	*1.7 ~ 4.8 Mbps	Up 5.76 Mbps
Excess Data Charge Cap	$94.16	$94.16	$30.00
Upload Speed	Not mentioned	Not mentioned	Up to 5.76Mbps
16 GB iPad	$399	$399	$399
32 GB iPad	$499	$499	$499
64 GB iPad	$599	$599	$599
	*Only typical download speed, maximum not stated

I suspect that they may have gotten many calls from subscribers stating that their data speeds have not really changed from their iPhones which typically have 7.2/14.4Mbps right now. You would think having 50% at least more speed would make it that much faster right? 

Apparently not. The difference is indicated especially on M1's website which has gone around to test their network's speed. Hardly anywhere near even 1/3 of the theoretical maximum speed which makes it pretty sad, especially when you hear of people in USA enjoying crazy data speeds. If you don't want to check out the website,