MasterCard Airs 'Priceless Surprises' World Series Ads Featuring Apple Pay

Earlier this week, Major League Baseball and MasterCard announced a partnership that has seen Apple Pay support roll out at concession stands at ballparks in San Francisco and Kansas City for the World Series. As part of its World Series promotional push, MasterCard also debuted a pair of television ads during last night's Game 1, featuring Apple Pay and the company's "Priceless Surprises" program that has seen cardholders surprised with various rewards.






One spot features former New York Yankees star Mariano Rivera and longtime Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, while the second features Kansas City Royals legend George Brett, with MasterCard promoting surprises such as meet-and-greets with the stars and tickets to World Series games.






On its Priceless Surprises website, MasterCard notes it has surprised over 70,000 cardholders with various rewards, and now Apple Pay gives users more ways to win.



Apple launched its Apple Pay mobile payments service on Monday with the debut of iOS 8.1, with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus supporting the service in-store and in apps, while the new iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 support it for in-app purchases only.



MasterCard, Visa, and American Express have all signed onto the program, as have over 500 banks and a number of major retailers. Launching first in the United States, Apple Pay is now accepted at over 200,000 points of sale and the cards and banks responsible for the vast majority of U.S. credit card spending are compatible with the service.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, October 22

RANKED: The 4 worst iPhone scandals of all-time

Although there's been a lot of coverage this week on whether or not the iPhone 6 Plus bends too much, we should recall that this isn't the first time Apple has been hit with a "scandal" after the launch of a new flagship device. In fact, the last three non-"S" iterations of the iPhone — the iPhone 4, the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 6 — all drew scrutiny for flaws that generated a firestorm of media attention.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, September 26

$71 worth of awesome paid iPhone apps you can now download for free (7 apps total)

Another day, another batch of great paid iPhone and iPad apps that are now available for free for a limited time. Following the six apps we shared with you on Wednesday — some of which are still free if you hurry — we now have another seven apps to tell you about that are worth a combined $71. As always, you can get each and every one without paying a cent if you get a move on.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, September 25

$57 worth of awesome paid iPhone apps you can now get for free (6 apps total)

Now that well over 10 million people own Apple's new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus smartphones, it's time to start filling them with great new apps. It's easy to spend a fortune on apps, of course, so BGR does our best to help you save money by letting you know when nifty paid iPhone and iPad apps go on sale for free. Today, we have 6 solid apps worth a combined $57, but they're all available as free downloads if you hurry.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, September 24

New leak may confirm a crucial 5.5-inch iPhone 6 specification

It's a fact: Bigger phones need bigger batteries. This is why we've been hoping that Apple, which has been taking shots from Samsung over the iPhone's subpar battery power, would really up its game when it comes to putting a high-powered battery into its 5.5-inch iPhone 6. And now a new leaked photo from Nowhereelse.fr shows that our prayers may have been answered as it appears Apple will include a 2,915mAh battery in its first-ever phablet.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, September 02

How to get paid to give up the personal data on your smartphone

Making sure your private information stays private is more difficult than ever before. From major companies being hacked to vulnerable apps on smartphones, everyone with an electronic device that connects to the Internet is at risk, but how much would it cost for you to give up that privacy once and for all?

Market research group Luth Research thinks that $100 a month should do the trick.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, August 26

BAD NEWS, iPHONE FANS: Now we know why the iPhone 6's release date might get pushed back to October

Depending on whom you ask, Apple will launch the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 either in September or October, with the 5.5-inch version expected to arrive a few months later, although most reports seem to favor September as the most likely launch month for the handset. KGI Securities analyst Ming Chi Kuo has learned more details about Apple’s iPhone 6 production, Liberty Times reports, revealing the company is facing yield issues with certain components, including in-cell touch panels and metal chassis.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, August 05

Demo of iPad Passcode Theft via Google Glass Highlights Benefits of Touch ID [iOS Blog]

Looking over a nearby person's shoulder is a common technique used to steal a PIN code for a device that is targeted for imminent theft. But as reported by Wired , a research team from the University of Massachusetts Lowell has taken this shoulder surfing trick to a whole new level by increasing the working distance and automating the process using Google Glass and other similar camera-equipped, mobile products.



The UMass Lowell researchers improved passcode theft by analyzing video captured from wearable and mobile devices such as Google Glass, the Samsung Gear smartwatch and the iPhone. The system anlyzes the incoming video using a custom video recognition algorithm that detects the shadows from finger taps and uses that information to predict PINs codes. Unlike the standard over-the-shoulder method that requires a direct view of the target device's display, the UMass method also can be employed at an indirect angle, allowing someone to steal a password while standing at your side.






The system is surprisingly accurate -- allowing a malicious user to capture PIN codes inconspicuously with at least 83 percent accuracy from a distance as far as three meters. This accuracy was improved to more than 90 percent when a sharper camera such as the iPhone was used or manual error correction by the researchers was added to the video analysis.

“I think of this as a kind of alert about Google Glass, smartwatches, all these devices,” says Xinwen Fu, a computer science professor at UMass Lowell who plans to present the findings with his students at the Black Hat security conference in August. “If someone can take a video of you typing on the screen, you lose everything.”

The researchers didn't test longer passwords, but believe they could reach an accuracy rate of 78 percent when stealing an 8-digit password from a device such as the iPad. If you are concerned about password hacking, your best line of defense is to cover your display as you type or when possible do away with a PIN code entirely such as by using the Touch ID fingerprint in the iPhone 5s.



With the results of this study, the researchers hope to convince mobile operating system companies to improve the security of their PIN input screens by taking steps such as randomizing the layout of the keypad.



Apple's Touch ID fingerprint authentication is of course another alternative to traditional passcodes. The feature launched on the iPhone 5s last year and is expected to make its way to the iPad and iPad mini later this year. Aside from increased security compared to passcodes, Touch ID has also increased usage of security features, with Apple noting during its WWDC presentation earlier this month that passcode/Touch ID usage has risen to 83% on the iPhone 5s, up from just 49% passcode usage previously.

UMass researchers capturing PIN codes using Google Glass

(Image from Cyber Forensics Laboratory at University of Massachusetts Lowell)

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, June 25

One ad exec explains why he’d rather sell sugar water than work for Apple

Back when Steve Jobs was trying to convince then-Pepsi executive John Sculley to come over to Apple, he famously asked him, "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?" If one anonymous ad exec quoted by AdAge is any indication, Sculley probably should have said he'd rather sell sugar water.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, June 10

It looks like Apple might actually make Liquidmetal devices some day

About four years ago, Apple signed an agreement with Liquidmetal Technologies that gave it exclusive rights to the company's unique metal alloy material for use in consumer electronics products. To date, Apple has used the exciting new material to create exactly one thing that we know about: a SIM ejector tool.

Apple hasn't given up on the material though, as a recent SEC filing reveals that Apple and Liquidmetal have extended their exclusive agreement for another year.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, May 22

Apple has figured out how to make embarrassing misdirected texts go away

One of the problems with Apple’s popular iMessage instant messaging/SMS system – other than being almost impossible to ditch in some cases – is the fact that users who text a lot with many other people using it may often send misdirected, and sometimes embarrassing, messages to other users or groups than they'd intended. Apple is apparently aware this may be a problem to some users, and has figured out a way to make it go away, AppleInsider reports.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, May 15

The best thing about the Samsung Galaxy S5

It feels like we have been waiting forever for the Galaxy S5 to launch. The release of Samsung's new flagship smartphone actually comes less than a year after the Galaxy S4 first debuted, but to be frank, the S4 was a pretty big let down. It was a jack of all trades, master of just one: the display.

Samsung's flagship smartphone for 2013 wasn't a bad smartphone, per se, but it really wasn't anything special. And it certainly wasn't the envelope-pusher we were looking for from the top smartphone vendor in the world.

But with the Galaxy S5, Samsung tried even harder to wow us.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, April 14

Study shows why Apple absolutely needs a bigger iPhone 6

A new survey from ChangeWave Research shows that a bigger iPhone 6 model would be a huge hit with buyers, revealing that even more early adopters in the U.S. would be interested in buying an iPhone this year than in previous years, Fortune reports.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, April 10

LEAKED PHOTOS: All New HTC One compared to iPhone 5s, Galaxy S4 and more in new leak

With less than a week to go until HTC finally announces its brand new flagship HTC One smartphone, it seems like there is absolutely no mystery left. We have seen photos of the sleek new phone leak at least a dozen times. We've seen videos of the phone as well. We recently saw a walkthrough of the One's new Sense 6 software and we also know just about everything there is to know in terms of specs. Now, on top of everything else, we can see how the new HTC One stacks up against its toughest competition from Samsung, Apple and more.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, March 19

New Nexus 6 details emerge

LG will continue its partnership with Google and launch a Nexus 6 smartphone this year alongside Google’s first Nexus smartwatch, Gizmodo.de has learned from a source during last week’s MWC 2014 event in Barcelona, Spain.

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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, March 05

The high-end Android phone you’ve been waiting for from Nokia may actually launch soon

The Nokia Android dream is slowly coming to fruition, with the Nokia Normandy (Nokia X) expected to be unveiled at MWC 2014. But that’s not going to be the only Android phone coming from Nokia, or at least whatever will be left of the company once Microsoft grabs its mobile division. A new report from Chinese publication Tech.qq says that multiple Nokia Android devices across a variety of price points are in the making and may be unveiled later this summer. However, specific details about them aren’t available at this time.



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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, February 12

New app promises ‘more awesome’ sex for Google Glass users

Are you a Google Glass user who has always wanted to see yourself during sex? OK, so the laws of probability suggest that you aren't but for the .00001% of people out there who are, then new Glass app Sex With Glass is just what you've been looking for.



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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, January 21

Leaked photos reveal Samsung's gorgeous new Android interface!

Coming off of a notable profit miss for Q4, Samsung is looking to start 2014 off with a bang. The South Korean company kick-started CES on Monday with an abundance of hardware announcements, including four new tablets of various shapes and sizes, but the most exciting Samsung reveal of Tuesday might not be from CES at all. The latest images from @evleaks purport to show off Samsung's new smartphone UI, or at least an interface that the company is testing.



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Posted in 2014 at 03:10PM, January 07