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- Logitech announces wired iPad keyboard
Logitech announced an interesting new keyboard for the iPad. To date pretty much all keyboards have connected to iPads via wireless Bluetooth. The new Wired Keyboard for iPad, as the name suggests, connects to the iPad's Lightning or 30-pin dock connector via a cable. Logitech says the keyboard is designed specifically for classroom labs where keyboard are not tied to a specific device. Added bonus is teachers won't have to manage keyboard battery life.
The wired keyboard is expected to ship in August for devices with the Lightning connector and a 30-pin model is slated for October. The product has an MSRP of $60.
- Twitter launches two-factor authentication
Twitter joined the recent ranks of online services with new two-factor account verification. The system is used by Google and recently Apple to send a text code to your phone as an extra verification step. This should help users secure their Twitter accounts from attackers and phishing scams.
- Otterbox acquires LifeProof
Otterbox Wednesday announced it purchased rugged case maker LifeProof. The company made its name with cases resistant to the elements, including water, dust, snow, plus shock protection. The company has a line of products for most Apple devices including the iPhone 5/4/4s, iPad 2/3/4/mini, and iPod touch 4.
At CES, Otterbox announced their Armor line, which is their first water proof case. In addition to companies like Griffin Technology and Liquipel, water proof concepts have been an area of innovation in device protection.
LifeProof is based out of San Diego with about 250 employees, while OtterBox is based out of Fort Collins with 650 worldwide. Otterbox said the company will begin integrating LifeProof products under the Otterbox brand in the coming month.
- iMap Weather Radio app sends severe weather alerts to your iPhone (Video)
iMap Weather Radio is pretty cool app that sends alerts right to your phone when severe weather is approaching. It's pretty customizable for specific alerts and always tracks your location without requiring a large battery drain.
- ZAGGKeys Cover and Folio keyboard cases for iPad mini
Tuesday ZAGG announce two new slim keyboard cases for Apple's iPad mini. ZAGGKeys Cover and Foilio feature a Bluetooth keyboard in a thin design. The Cover is 6.3mm thick while the Folio is 6.9mm. Both keyboards also feature black lit keys, which is fairly unique to these products. Also, the rechargeable batter promises up to three months of use. Both cases can be propped up for desktop viewing/typing and offers protection for the iPad screen when not in use.
Both the cases are expected to ship this fall for $99.99.
- Double Decker from Trans Intl stacks up 2 drives in Mac Pro bays
The Double Decker basically doubles the built-in drive capacity of Apple's Mac Pro. The mount replaces one of the four 3.5-inch hard disk sled in a Mac Pro with two 2.5-inch drives. These can be either HDD or SDD storage options. Actual storage capacity and performance will of course depend on drives selected.
If a user wishes to add more than four drives to the Mac Pro, they will need to add on a SATA controller. The Mac Pro only ships with four drive ports running at 3Gb/sec SATA, so this is also an opportunity to boost performance to 6Gb/sec. If you want to go all out, Trans Intl is suggests an ATTO R608 RAID card with eight 6Gb/sec internal ports for up to 9.6 GB/sec combined performance.
There are two Double Decker models available for the 2006-2008 Mac Pro and 2009-2012 Mac pro. Each mount sell for $78. The ATTO R680 RAID card sells for $968.00 with other cards also available.
- Pebble releases new SDK for greater app functions
Pebble announced a new developer kit for third-party app makers. The new features allow greater functionality with how mobile devices work with the smart watch. Currently the phone works mostly as an extension of the smartphone by doing things like relaying alerts and incoming calls. The new functions sound like it could expand on these features plus more, depending of course what developers create.
- iKlip 2 and iKlip Studio for mini now available
IK Multimedia last week started shipping two new models of their iPad holder. The iKlip 2 is an improved version of the original iKlip, which attaches to a microphone stand. While obviously intended for musicians, the the mount can be handy for any application, as it fits on a 30 mm diameter stand. The iKlip 2 features a new ball joint for easier positioning and can be adjusted both horizontally and vertically. The iKlip 2 is available in two models for the iPad 2 or later and iPad mini. Pricing is $39.99.
The iKlip Studio for iPad mini is a desktop stand. It joins the larger model for the regular sized iPad. The Studio for mini is available for $29.99
- Stitcher Radio gets simplified car mode
Stitcher Radio is a combination streaming radio app and podcast player. It's biggest limitation is programmers have to submit their programs, but otherwise is a nice way to listen and discover audio content.
Version 5.3 bring a new car mode which aims to make playback safer while driving. The simplified mode works in both landscape and portrait mode.
- Google shows off new Maps
At Google?s developer conference the company unveiled a bunch of new features for its Maps product. The company is pulling in resources from other services to make searching more relevant for individuals, plus more info on results. This assumes you?re plugged into Google?s services with sign-ons and utilize services such as Google+.
Users can save favorites and review places and then Google can generate other locations you may like. Also, for example, if someone is searching for a restaurant, you see restaurants identified as favorites from your friends. When clicking on the location you can see 360-degree photos, Street View, and other photos collected from users.
Also navigation gets some new features with public transit schedules and transfer info. Lastly Google Maps integrates with Google Earth with some real-time clouds.
The Web version is available as a limited preview by invite. A revamped iPad app is expected later this summer. Currently Google has only released an iPhone version of its Maps app.
- App store hits 50 billion downloads
Apple announced its app store has hit 50 billion downloads. Earlier this month the company announced a contest promoting the occasion. The 50 billion mark includes both free and paid apps, but excludes re-downloaded apps and updates. Apple said users and downloading about 2 billion apps per month, or about 800 apps per second.
The winner was Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, OH. He won a $10,000 App Store gift card for the prize. Ashmore downloaded Say the Same Thing by Space Inch, LLC.
Apple said the store currently offers over 850,000 apps for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and more than 350,000 native iPad apps.
- Google announces new Hangouts app, consolidates messaging
The app looks to consolidate all of Google's messaging services into a cross platform app. A little Facebook Messenger a little Apple Messages, but no SMS integration, it appears.
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