iPhone Photography Awards Showcase Best iOS Photos of 2014 [iOS Blog]

Photos from the winners of the seventh annual iPhone Photography Awards have been posted on the IPPA website, offering a look at some of the best pictures taken with the iPhone over the course of the past year.



Like last year, the photos include a range of subjects, from landscapes and animals to people and macro shots. The winning photo, featuring a hiker on a snowy mountain comes from photographer Julio Lucas. The second and third place photos feature a shadowed man and a spotted dog on a matching background.





Along with three top winners, the IPPA also has awards for several different categories, including animals, architecture, children, flowers, food, landscape, nature, and more. A closeup snapshot of a fox won in the animal category and a fantastic shot of an incoming storm won in the panorama category.





According to the rules of the contest, all of the photos were taken with an iPhone. While photo editing apps like Instagram, VSCO, and Snapseed were permitted, no external manipulation was allowed.



Apple's iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s continue to be, by far, the most popular cameras on photo sharing site Flickr and Apple has remained committed to improving the iPhone's camera with each new iteration. Several camera improvements were introduced with the iPhone 5s, including a True-Tone flash and an improved sensor, and even more camera improvements are expected with the upcoming iPhone 6.



Photos from all of the winners of the iPhone Photography Awards can be found on the IPPA website.

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Posted in 2014 at 11:57PM, June 10

Progress on Apple Campus 2 Continues as Walls Go Up

Construction at Apple's Spaceship campus continues, with the circular building beginning to take shape according to an image posted to Twitter by KCBS news and traffic reporter Ron Cervi (via 9to5Mac ).



In the most recent shot, a wall has been built around the perimeter of the building, outlining where the foundation will be poured. A different tweet by @DawnMortensen notes that Pruneridge Avenue, a road that runs through the campus itself, has been permanently closed.



Street-level photographs back in December revealed several buildings still standing, but another aerial photo from February suggested a large portion of the demolition work had been completed. During construction, Apple has closed off sidewalks and built a large green privacy fence to keep the area hidden.

Progress on #ApplesNewHQ, a small wall around the foundation of the spaceship has sprouted. #sky1hightechtour http://bit.ly/TH1a4A

— Ron (@Sky1Ron) June 10, 2014

Cervi has been posting a number of images of the campus over the past few months, tracking the progress of construction. Campus 2 is expected to open in 2016.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:45PM, June 10

'Ringly' Smart Ring Relays iPhone Notifications Over Bluetooth [iOS Blog]

Ringly, a new iPhone-connected smart ring designed for women, uses Bluetooth LE to connect to a phone, lighting up and buzzing to alert users of calls, messages, emails, and other app notifications.



Billed as the first connected ring, Ringly aims to allow users to continue to receive notifications even while a phone is put away in a bag or otherwise unavailable. The ring, which lasts for up to three days on a single charge, connects to an accompanying iPhone app to deliver notifications.

Ringly creates jewelry and accessories that connect to your phone and notify you about the things that matter most. Put your phone away and enjoy the moment.

Ringly is designed to light up or vibrate when a notification is received, and it is entirely customizable by the end user. It features four vibration patterns and five colors that can be assigned to different notifications. Incoming Twitter notifications might buzz in a certain way, for example, while a phone call might light up. The ring is also able to sync with reminders, letting users know when a meeting or appointment is coming up.






Ringly is available in three sizes (6,7, and 8) with four different designs that feature precious and semi-precious stones in 18K matte gold settings. Three of the rings can be pre-ordered for $145, while a fourth ring sells for $180. The rings will retail for considerably more, starting at $195. The first 1,000 rings sold are also advertised as having a real diamond in the side.

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Posted in 2014 at 10:20PM, June 10

The single biggest thing Microsoft needs to fix with the next Surface Pro

Microsoft has been pitching its Surface Pro 3 as "the first tablet that can replace your laptop" and early reviews of the device have generally been very positive about how well the device works both as a laptop and a tablet. However, Business Insider's review of the Surface Pro 3 makes clear that Microsoft still has some work to do with the device's kickstand setup to truly make it as comfortable to hold in your lap as a MacBook Air or an Windows ultrabook.

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Posted in 2014 at 08:40PM, June 10

Ubisoft debuted some of the best-looking games of E3 2014 – here are the 5 most exciting ones

Ubisoft is on a roll. Between Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and now Watch Dogs, Ubisoft has a stable of some of the most popular franchises on the market, and the company didn't disappoint with another huge showing at E3 this year. There weren't many surprises, but unlike some of the other conferences, many of the games Ubisoft presented will actually be on store shelves at some point this year. This isn't an outline of the new generation — these are games we'll all be playing in just a few months.

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Posted in 2014 at 07:01PM, June 10

Apple Adds ESPN and Local NPR Stations to iTunes Radio

Apple has expanded the content available on iTunes Radio with a new ESPN Radio station and more than 40 local National Public Radio (NPR) stations. First noticed by AppleInsider , the new stations can be accessed directly within iTunes Radio on both iOS devices and desktop computers via a search, though the new stations may be available to some users in the Featured section.



The ESPN Radio station on iTunes Radio offers the same live streaming content that is available through traditional ESPN radio affiliates, and the schedule of content can be found on the ESPN Radio website. Content includes national sports talk shows including Mike & Mike, The Freddie Colman Show, The Dan LeBatard Show, and more.





Special events, such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Major League Baseball playoffs and World Series, and college football will be broadcast on the station, kicking off with the broadcast of the Atlanta Braves vs. the Colorado Rockies game on Wednesday, June 11 at 5 PM Pacific Time.

"We are thrilled to make our industry-leading sports talk and championship play-by-play content available to fans via iTunes Radio," said Traug Keller, senior vice president, ESPN production business divisions. "And we are excited to partner with Apple to expand our digital reach. Our fans can look forward to expanded ESPN Audio offerings on both the national and local sports levels in the future."

Along with the new ESPN station, there are over 40 new NPR stations from cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Austin, and more. NPR first came to iTunes Radio back in March with the launch of a national news channel and at that time, NPR officials promised additional content from local stations. Content provided will include a mix of live and taped news.



iTunes Radio, which launched alongside iOS 7 last September, is still limited to the United States and Australia. Apple does, however, have plans to expand iTunes Radio to the UK, Canada, and New Zealand in the near future, eventually bringing the service at least 100 countries.

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Posted in 2014 at 05:46PM, June 10

A great idea, ruined: Perpetual negativity is driving me away from social

I’m spending far less time on social media these days than I once did. A combination of factors have led to this. First off, there’s the inherent risk of saying something that ends up crossing an esoteric line and gets you fired while you’re high above the Atlantic en route to Africa. Second, it’s simply too noisy to make sense of in any sane amount of time. And third, I’ve found that focusing more on my surroundings — things that I choose to take enjoyment in — leaves less time for negativity to find its way into my soul via someone else’s keystroke.

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Posted in 2014 at 05:51PM, June 10

HUGE GALAXY NOTE 4 LEAK: Beastly Galaxy Note 4 specs revealed in new leak

Apple may be planning to release bigger iPhones but for the time being, Samsung and its Galaxy Note series of devices remain the kings of the phablet world and the upcoming Galaxy Note 4 is shaping up to be a real show stopper. SamMobile's sources say that the American version of the Galaxy Note 4 will be powered by a 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor and will feature a quad-HD display and a 16-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization (OIS).

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Posted in 2014 at 05:26PM, June 10

Here are the 5 most exciting games EA showed off at E3 2014

As expected, EA's press conference on Monday was packed with new titles from some of the biggest studios in the world. EA Sports showed up with five new games, most of which will be out before the end of the year, Maxis is preparing to release the fourth entry in the hugely popular Sim series this September, BioWare is working on a new Mass Effect game as well as a game still in its earliest conceptual stages and Waystone Games is putting a fresh spin on MOBAs.

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Posted in 2014 at 05:01PM, June 10