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LifeProof iPhone Case Offers Protection Against Water and Shock Damage - Thu, 09 Feb 2012
One of the most frequent reasons for an iPhone to go on a trip to the Apple Store's Genius Bar is because of water damage. Typically, a water damaged iPhone can be replaced for a flat $199 fee, though with the recently launched AppleCare+, that price can be reduced to $49.

Most ultra-durable iPhone cases, like Otterbox's Defender or Case Mate's TANK, are merely water-resistant -- not actually water proof. They might protect an iPhone during a rainstorm, but they can't handle a dunk in the pool or -- perhaps more likely -- a drop in the toilet.


LifeProof's iPhone case, however, promises otherwise. The manufacturer claims the case is Waterproof, Dirtproof, Snowproof, and Shockproof -- the video below demonstrates the waterproof claim. The case completely covers the iPhone, using rubber gaskets around each seal to ensure a tight fit. There is an removable screw that plugs the headphone jack, allowing easy access to that port when necessary. LifeProof also sells an adapter that allows waterproof headphones to be hooked up for use while swimming.

It's not for those who like to switch cases frequently, however. The installation manual warns that the gaskets have a limited lifespan and the case shouldn't be removed and reinstalled more than a few dozen times. Further, the installation process is a bit of a pain -- before it is installed, LifeProof recommends that the case be put underwater for an hour, to ensure that there are no leaks in the gaskets.

The $79 LifeProof case comes in black, white, pink and purple. It is available from LifeProof's online store.

The iPad 3's A6 Processor to be Dual-Core? - Wed, 08 Feb 2012
TheVerge's Joshua Topolsky summarizes the iPad 3 casing findings reported earlier today, but also adds his own sources regarding some details of the iPad 3.

Image from RepairLabs
As expected, the iPad 3 will reportedly include a 2048x1536 Retina Display, be nearly identical physically, and use the A6 processor. The A6 processor, however, is claimed to have a dual-core chip, not a quad-core one, at least according to his sources:

What is surprising, however, is that our sources say that the A6 will not be a quad-core chip, but will remain dual-core. We've previously had heard that the device would have a quad-core CPU as well as an LTE cell radio on-board, but at least part of that story wasn't accurate.

Previous rumors for the iPad 3 have claimed that the A6 processor would include a Quad-Core processor. iOS 5.1 also showed some early evidence of code-support for quad-core processing.

While a dual-core A6 is certainly possible, Topolsky's iOS device sources haven't had the greatest track record. In early 2011, his sources claimed that the iPad 2 would include a "super high resolution display" as well as an SD card slot, and a "completely redesigned" iPhone 5 to come in summer 2011. Topolsky did backtrack on those predictions, but not until the week before the iPad 2's launch.

Topolsky was also the original source of the the tapered iPhone 5 design and elongated home button. While we do believe that design was based in reality, it's hard to ignore that it never came to be.

Tweetbot for iPad Hits The App Store - Wed, 08 Feb 2012
Popular iPhone Twitter client Tweetbot has finally arrived on the iPad, with a user interface instantly familiar to any current Tweetbot user. Designed for the Twitter power-user, Tweetbot packs a lot of punch into an intuitive, slick interface, with unique functionality like Smart Gestures which give quick access to a variety of features through double or triple-taps.

The Next Web and Business Insider have more in-depth reviews.

The app is $2.99 and is a separate purchase from the iPhone app, a fact some users may dislike, but Tweetbot co-developer Paul Haddad explained his thoughts behind the pricing strategy to Business Insider:

People complain that it isn't $.99 or free. But we never said we'd make Tweetbot universal. If you look at the other paid universal Twitter clients they are for the most part $5 and I think we have more features than those, so we're comfortable with the pricing and having separate apps.

Also released today was Tweetbot 2.0 for iPhone, bringing updated timeline, direct message, and reply views, as well as a number of other smaller changes. It's a solid upgrade that's free for current Tweetbot for iPhone users.

Tweetbot for iPad is available for $2.99 from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tweetbot 2.0 for iPhone is available for $2.99 from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Vonage Rolls Out "High-Definition" VoIP Calling App - Wed, 08 Feb 2012
Vonage has introduced yet another app to its growing mobile arsenal. The latest, called Vonage Mobile (not to be confused with another app called Vonage Mobile, introduced in 2009) adds a Skype-esque component to the old app's VoIP calling component.

Users with Vonage Mobile installed can make "high-definition" audio calls or SMS-type text messages over Wi-Fi and 3G to other Vonage Mobile users. Users can also make low-cost international calls with credits added via In-App Purchasing.


Calls to landline or wireless numbers in the US, Canada or Puerto Rico, from anywhere in the world, are free for a limited time -- Vonage expects to charge around a penny per minute for those calls eventually. The company believes its higher call-quality and competitive pricing will allow it to stand apart from competing apps like Skype.

Vonage Mobile is available free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

'iBank Access' Seeking to Remake Personal Finance on the iPad - Wed, 08 Feb 2012
As Intuit's Quicken options for Mac users continue to falter in the wake of a stripped-down Quicken Essentials release and the company's ongoing efforts to make the more fully-functional Quicken 2007 compatible with OS X Lion, other personal finance software firms have attempted to step into the void.

One of the more successful companies has been IGG Software with its iBank software, which is available as both a Mac application and a companion iPhone app. IGG Software has been teasing a few tidbits about its work on an iPad application over the past few months, and as noted in a new blog post today, the company appears to be making significant progress in moving toward the release of iBank Access for iPad. The forthcoming app will serve double duty as either a companion app to iBank for Mac or as a standalone personal finance app.


Among the most significant features of iBank Access is "Direct Access", IGG's new service that will provide users with significantly more options for automatically importing account data from their financial institutions.

After you enter valid credentials to log in to the bank’s website, you are given a list of accounts that you have at that financial institution – with the option of choosing which accounts you actually want in iBank. For example, many folks might have a checking, savings and even credit card all at the same bank and in the last screen you would be given the option to choose which of these you might not want to import. Most users will link all of the accounts. When the accounts are created, iBank imports available historical transactions associated with each account and even does some automatic categorization.

Here is where the beauty of our new aggregation system really begins to shine. Each time you launch the app, it goes out and fetches any new transactions. Unlike iBank for Mac, however, there is no separate window that appears where you have to manually verify which transactions to import. The new transactions just automatically appear conveniently marked.

In an effort to learn more about iBank Access and IGG's broader iBank efforts, MacRumors spoke with IGG's chief architect James Gillespie, a nearly 15-year veteran of Intuit who joined his brother Ian's company in 2008 to oversee iBank and other projects.

With the change to Direct Access for automatic syncing of information from over 5,000 financial institutions, iBank Access represents a paradigm shift for IGG in that it will require a small monthly fee ("in the range of a fancy cup of coffee") in order for users to take advantage of the service. Users who choose to manually import their transactions will not need to pay the monthly fee, but IGG believes that many will find the service worthwhile. Gillespie says:

Internally, people who have used it are very excited and love the experience. We plan on offering some sort of free trial so that everyone who wants to, can try it out. If people like it, then great - they can sign up, if they don't, then that is fine too. This is not something we are pushing for everyone, just for the people that want to import from their banks and not go through the Mac.

The new Direct Access capabilities will also eventually be making their way to iBank for Mac, increasing by tenfold the number of financial institutions able to feed data directly into iBank. For those users who prefer the existing OFX import solution, it will remain available.

Gillespie also notes that IGG is working on iCloud compatibility for its iBank products. MobileMe's iDisk service has been a popular method for iBank users to keep their data in sync, and IGG will continue to support iDisk syncing until Apple discontinues the service at the end of June. The transition to iCloud will be a relatively straightforward coming from iDisk, but will enable IGG to make further enhancements to syncing capabilities down the road.

We also asked Gillespie about the impact of the Mac App Store on iBank sales. iBank has been available in the Apple's marketplace for Mac software essentially from day one, and Gillespie notes that it has become the second-largest distribution channel for iBank, behind the boxed software and ahead of IGG's own download store. But sales have been increasing across the board, suggesting that Mac App Store sales are not cannibalizing other distribution channels and may indeed be helping to bring increased visibility for the company.

Finally, Gillespie shared details on some of IGG's recent hires, which have included two former Intuit employees who were core members of the team that led Mac software development and TurboTax for iPad development during their time there. With IGG providing them with a new home focused solely on Mac and iOS applications, the company believes that it has the right team in place to continue challenging Intuit in the personal finance software market.

iBank Access for iPad is still under development and IGG has not yet promised a release date, but the company is intending for it to launch sometime this summer.