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iPad mini with Retina display

If you've been waiting for the new iPad mini with Retina display to go on sale, it's time for you to head over to the Apple Store online. Apple announced the iPad mini with Retina display alongside the iPad Air three weeks ago, but the mini didn't see as immediate a release at the Air did due to supply constraints on the Retina panels. It's an odd move for Apple to launch as major a product as a new iOS device by simply releasing it on sale on its online store without it also being available in its physical retail locations, but that's exactly what's happened. You can order your iPad mini with Retina display now, and it'll currently ship in 1-3 business days if you want a 16GB or 32GB model. If you prefer 64GB or 128GB, those will ship in 5-10 business days. You may be able to do in-store pickup, but from what we are seeing, those are very, very few and far between.

The iPad mini with Retina display sports a 2048 x 1536 display, new Apple A7 processor, and MIMO Wi-Fi connectivity. Pricing starts at $399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi model, while the top-of-the-line version has 128GB storage and LTE connectivity for $829.

You can order your iPad mini with Retina display now.


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This is an entry from our 2013 Holiday Gift Guide. Check it out for suggestions on what to buy your loved, liked, and hated ones this holiday season!

Apple TV

iOS devices like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch will be big holiday gifts this year, make no mistake about it. The Apple TV is actually a fantastic complement to Apple's handhelds, worthy of being featured in our 2013 Holiday Gift Guide. A nice little device in its own right, the Apple TV gives you access to Apple's iTunes Store entertainment content right on your television. In addition, you get Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, sports networks, and plenty of other entertainment options. Connect it to your iTunes Home Share, and you can use your iOS devices as remote controls for the Apple TV. The best part, though, is AirPlay. You can beam audio and video content right to the Apple TV with ease from your iOS device, or your Mac. You can also mirror the display of these devices as well, all wireless over your home network.

You can pick up the Apple TV for $99, or $94.95 on Amazon.

Honorable Mention: Roku 2 XS Streaming Player

Read More | Apple TV

Apple's iPad Air is the thinnest, lightest, and sveltest full-sized tablet from Apple yet. We open up the new iPad Air at the Apple Store at Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, Washington, giving you a look at the new thin tablet, along with the other things included in the box (in this case, just the iPad Air AC adapter and a Lightning cable.) Stay tuned for our iPad Air video review, and be sure to check out our full iPad Air review.

You can pick up the iPad Air now from Apple.

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iPad Air review

Thinner. Lighter. Anyone familiar with Apple keynote events knows that these two words mean a lot to the company. In essence, Apple aims to reduce the bulks of its products, stripping away any unnecessary heft while simultaneously packing in as much power as possible. It's quite a task, really. The company has backed itself into a corner where it's now expected that anything that's a newer version of a previous thing will be smaller, thinner, and lighter.

Back in 2008, Apple did this with the jaw-dropping MacBook Air. Fully a Mac, but so thin you could slid it into a manila envelope. It was hard to believe that a Mac that thin, with a full-sized keyboard and display, was possible when PC makers were all focusing on grossly underpowered netbooks with cramped keyboards.

Now, Apple has done the same with its tablet lineup. Three-and-a-half years after releasing the original and iconic iPad, Apple has now made it almost impossibly thinner and lighter with the iPad Air. Sporting a new, slim design that borrows heavily from that of the iPad mini, the iPad Air bezel has been reduced by over 40%. Thickness has been reduced as well--20% thinner than the iPad 4 at 7.5mm. Perhaps most importantly, the iPad Air sheds almost half a pound of weight when compared against the two iPads that preceded it, all while maintaining the same impressive 9.7-inch Retina display.

So, the question now is, is the new iPad Air worth your time, attention, and hard-earned cash? Read on for our full iPad Air review as we explore Apple's latest flagship tablet.

Click to continue reading iPad Air review


Nike+ Move

As announced at the iPhone 5s launch, the Nike+ Move app is now available in the Apple App Store for free. Nike+ Move harnesses the power of the iPhone 5s’ M7 coprocessor. Apple describes it as a dedicated sidekick chip that analyzes the movement of the instruments without utilizing the A7 processor. The results is more efficiency with tracking physical activites, such as significantly less battery consumption, while still giving fitness apps access to the gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass. Take a gander of the features of Nike+ Move:

Nike+ Move is the simplest way to capture your every move, and motivate you to move more!

Exclusively for use with iPhone 5S, Nike+ Move uses the M7 coprocessor to convert your movement into NikeFuel, the first-ever single, universal unit for measuring all kinds of activities. No matter your age, weight or gender, the same activity earns you the same amount of NikeFuel.

Nike+ Move offers insight into when you move, how you move and where you move - and lets you challenge your friends to see who moves more.

  • Win the day by beating your NikeFuel average and watch your goal ring change from Red to Green.
  • See when you are most active throughout the day and how you’re doing compared to yesterday.
  • Move more often and win as many hours as you can throughout the day.
  • See how you moved through the day with a breakdown of running, walking, and other movement.
  • See where you're moving and where you move the most each day.
  • Check out how you compare against your Game Center friends or other Nike+ Move users near you.

*Note: iPhone 5S is required to get motivated with Nike+ Move.

Read More | Nike+ Move [App Store]

AirPort Utility 64B 2

Alongside the Apple TV Remote app update, Apple has also released AirPort Utility 1.3.3, bringing 64-bit support to the app when using it on an iPhone 5S, iPad Air, or iPad Mini 2. While the prior update gave it a redesign, this update brings AirPort Utility up to par with other Apple iOS stock apps that have transitioned to the higher bitness. Clearly, Apple is on the move and is transitioning all of its first-party app over to 64-bit. Get a look at all the features after the jump.

Features

  • See a graphical overview of your Wi-Fi network
  • Get information about your connected Wi-Fi devices
  • View and change network and Wi-Fi settings
  • Restart or restore a base station, or update the firmware on a base station when available
  • View or update passwords for your network, base stations, or disks
  • Easily access network information such as IP address, DNS servers, and router address
  • Manage DHCP reservations and port mappings
  • Configure base stations for IPv6
  • View status or error messages
  • Archive Time Machine backups

New In Update 1.3.3

  • Adds 64-bit support

Read More | App Store

Remote App iOS 7 Theme 1 Remote App iOS 7 Theme 2

The popular Apple TV Remote app has finally received a much-needed iOS 7-themed face lift. The update adds a clean, flat look with a tasteful translucent aesthetic that gives it depth. The Remote app is not yet 64-bit optimized, but perhaps it will in the next subsequent update similar to the update cycle of the AirPort Utility, which received a redesign update first then became 64-bit ready in the sunsequent release. Remote is now iTunes 11.1 ready and is a unversal binary, compatible with all iOS devices. Here’s a list of what's new in Remote:

Features

  • Control iTunes and Apple TV from anywhere in your home
  • A simplified look with new ways to browse your library
  • See upcoming songs with Up Next
  • See all songs in an album with Expanded view on an iPad
  • Add new songs to hear them next and then automatically continue where you left off
  • Browse, listen to, and control your iTunes Match library on Apple TV
  • Pause, rewind, fast-forward, shuffle, and adjust the volume from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
  • View album, movie, and TV show artwork
  • Create and update iTunes playlists, including Genius playlists
  • Search your entire iTunes library
  • Control iTunes to send music to AirPlay speakers
  • Control the volume on each speaker independently
  • Use simple gestures to control Apple TV
  • Enter text with the keyboard
  • Control shared libraries on iTunes and the new Apple TV

What's New In This Version:

  • This version of Remote has been completely redesigned for iOS 7 and adds support for iTunes 11.1.

You can download Remote from the App Store for free.

Read More | Remote [App Store]

Xbox One Invitation

Microsoft's latest ad for its upcoming Xbox One console focuses on the gaming experience in a fun way. As you can see, characters from games like Titanfall, FIFA, Dead Rising, and Forza Motorsport 5 all invite the player into the game itself. Become one with the game, if you will. Also shown is the slick integration of Skype, letting you video chat with those you're playing games with in a second window, and the movie watching experience, highlighted by Mr. Spock inviting the viewer into the movie. Definitely a cool spot. Check it out after the jump.

Click to continue reading Microsoft Xbox One ad invites you to become part of the game


Tweetbot 3.0

Tweetbot is the Twitter client of choice here at Gear Live HQ, and we've been delighted by the newest version, Tweetbot 3.0. Released yesterday on the App Store, Tweetbot 3.0 is an all-new app, completely rewritten and redesigned from the ground up by the team at Tapbots. If you're a user of the older version, the new Tweetbot may seem a bit unfamiliar at first, but that's just because the team stripped away old design ideas, and decided to take on iOS 7 design language, and it turned out fantastic. New functionality makes the app faster, and it's normally ready with your fully updated timeline whenever you launch it, thanks to the integration of the iOS 7 Background Fetch API. Sounds in Tweetbot are as whimsical as ever, and the whole app just feels brighter and more open. If you're already a Tweetbot user, it should be noted that Tweetbot 3.0 is a new, separate purchase. Check out a video demo after the break.

You can download Tweetbot 3.0 for iPhone now for $2.99.

Click to continue reading Tweetbot 3.0 for iPhone brings updated design to an already great app

Read More | Tweetbot 3.0 for iPhone

TiVo remote streaming

If you're the owner of a TiVo Roamio Pro or Roamio Plus DVR, out-of-home streaming (a.k.a. TiVo's holy grail) has finally arrived, letting you stream and download content from your TiVo to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad when you're away from home. Even better? You can also access one of your tuners for live television watching remotely as well, so when you're away from home and wanna watch the big game live, you can do so. For now, out-of-home remote streaming requires that your iOS device be connected to Wi-Fi, but LTE streaming is definitely in the cards, set to launch in 2014.

"Until now, your shows have been locked up in your set top box at home," said Jim Denney, Vice President of Product Marketing at TiVo. "Now with a TiVo Roamio DVR, whether it’s a hotel in Denmark, the waiting room at the dentist office, when you’re stuck at the airport, or at the gym, out-of-home streaming gives you the level of choice, control and freedom that consumers have come to expect from TiVo."

Out-of-home viewing requires a software update, which begins rolling out to TiVo Roamio Pro and Roamio Plus users today. If you have a base-model TiVo Roamio, you'll need a TiVo Stream in order to enable out-of-home streaming (support for out-of-home for the TiVo Stream is set to roll out next month.) As mentioned, remote TiVo streaming works only on Apple iOS device, and they've gotta be running iOS 5.1 or higher. Android users, don't worry, you'll be able to get in on the remote streaming action in Spring 2014 (let's be honest, you're used to watching iOS get the cool stuff first,) alongside the launch of LTE streaming.

You can pick up the TiVo Roamio Plus, TiVo Roamio Pro, TiVo Roamio, and TiVo Stream right now on Amazon.


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