How to better protect your iPhone and iPad against hacks and other security and privacy risks

Security and convenience are perpetually at war. There will always be errors, compromises, and oversights that put our privacy at risk. Old ones will get fixed but new ones will get discovered. So what can we do? Luckily, while some of the conveniences of iOS and OS X make our devices easier to use, there are also ways to remove those conveniences and make our devices even more secure. If your privacy is worth more to you than ease of use, here's how you can better lock down your iPhone and/or iPad, and any Mac it might connect to.

IMPORTANT: These steps are not necessary for most people, most of the time. Following them will absolutely make your iPhone, iPad, and/or Mac more secure but will also make it much less convenient. Consider it the difference between living in a house with a lock on the door and maybe an alarm system compared to living in a panic room. Think carefully about your risk level, read over your options, then implement the ones that make sense to you. You can always go back and turn more on, or off, as your needs or feelings change.

How to setup and use a passcode, Touch ID, and strong passwords

Before we get into specifics there's something everyone should do to better secure their iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad — setup and use a passcode, or if your device supports it, Touch ID, or if you consider yourself at greater risk, a strong alphanumeric passcode.

This is the equivalent of locking your front door. If your iPhone or iPad leaves your house, it should have a passcode set at the very least. Even if it doesn't leave your house, it should have a passcode set at the very least.

• How to secure your iPhone or iPad with a 4-digit passcode


• How to secure your iPhone with Touch ID


• How to secure your iPhone or iPad with a strong alphanumeric password


• How to choose a better master password [AgileBits blog]


• Password haystacks

How to minimize data exposure on your iPhone or iPad Lock screen

For the sake of convenience, Apple allows you to access Notification Center, Passbook, Siri, and Control Center right from your Lock screen. That means you can quickly glance at incoming messages, pay for your Starbucks beverages, set a Reminder, or toggle on the Flashlight. It also means anyone else within eyeshot or reach can glance at your messages, try and photograph your barcode, ask for certain types of information, and toggle on Airplane mode without having to enter your passcode, Touch ID, or password.

If you value those features on your Lock screen, then by all means enjoy their convenience. If security and privacy is more important to you, however, you can turn them all off.

• How to disable Notification Center on the Lock screen of your iPhone and iPad


• How to disable access to Siri and Passbook from the iPhone or iPad lock screen


• How to disable Control Center access from your iPhone or iPad Lock screen

How to minimize other forms of data exposure

"Backdoors" are only one type of potential threat to your data. While it would be nice if we could trust everyone all of the time to never try and steal our devices or data, hijack our accounts or identities, or otherwise act outside the bounds of publicly document laws and simple human decency, we can't. It is very really a jungle out there. I say that not to scare anybody, but simply to remind all of us that locking our devices should be as standard a practice as locking our doors, our cars, our bikes, and safes, and our other valuables.

How to use 2-step verification for your online accounts

Security works best in layers, and defensive depth means having as many layers are possible. Biometrics (like Touch ID) cover "something you are", while the password is "something you know", a token is "something you have". Unfortunately, Touch ID is currently used instead of a passcode or password and can't (yet?) be required in addition to a passcode or password, but 2-step verification can be required for many online accounts, including your Apple ID.

With 2-step verification you will have to enter an app-specific password, or an additional pincode/password the first time you set up the service on your device, but it'll make it more than twice as strong for only a minimal amount of extra effort.

• How to set up 2-step verification for Apple ID


• How to set up 2-step verification for Google accounts


• How to set up 2-step verification for Dropbox


• How to set up 2-step verification for Twitter

How to keep your web browsing, location, social and other data private

Your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad can accumulate a lot of data over time, including data you may not want or need it to accumulate. Likewise, you can grant access to your data to a lot of apps and services over time, including apps and services you may no longer want or need to have access. Luckily, iOS makes it easy to review and change your privacy settings. So do many online services as well. Also, if you're on a network you don't trust, and have access to a VPN service you do, you can use that to help keep your data private as well.

• How to keep your web browsing private with Safari


• How to revoke app access to your location


• How to revoke app access to your contacts


• How to adjust privacy settings on Facebook


• How to connect to a VPN

How to secure your iPhone, iPad, and Mac against pairing record theft

Pairing records are what allow you to repeatedly connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or Windows PC and sync data, transfer media, update software, install betas, test apps, or perform other tasks without having to enter your passcode or tap "Trust this Computer" each time. In other words, they're a huge convenience. Unfortunately, in their current form, if someone else takes physical possession of your computer they can retrieve those keys and use them to access your iPhone and/or iPad.

If you've never paired your iPhone or iPad with iTunes, Xcode, or similar software, no such records will exist. If you have paired but no longer ever need to, existing records can be removed. If you have paired and continue to need to do so, existing records can be better secured. If you're concerned someone might try to take your iPhone or iPad and pair it without your knowledge or consent, or try to trick you into pairing, new record generation can be prevented.

How to remove existing pairing records

Unfortunately pairing records do not (yet?) expire after a period of time, nor can they (yet?) be audited and deleted through iTunes on the desktop or Settings on iOS. On the Mac or Windows, however, they can be accessed through the file system:

• var/db/lockdown or ~/Library/Lockdown on Mac or C:\Program Data\Apple\iTunes\Lockdown on Windows

On iOS your current option is limited to wiping your device, setting it up as new, and not paring it going forward. That's a nuclear option, however, and depending on how laden your device is with personalized settings, apps, content, etc. not one that should be taken lightly. (I wipe and set my iPhone up as new whenever a new version of iOS is released, but I also keep my iPhone setup very lean so it only takes me a day or two to get back up to speed.)

• How to reset your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and wipe all personal data


• How to set up your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad as new

How to better secure existing pairing records

Unfortunately, if you want to keep connecting your iPhone or iPad with iTunes, Xcode, or other computer software, there's no option (yet?) to require your passcode/password to be entered each and every time, or even have the Trust this Computer requester pop up every time. You can, however, do your best to secure the computers that contain the records.

Every Mac running OS X Lion or later, including the current OS X Mavericks and the upcoming OS X Yosemite, include Apple's FileVault2 full disk encryption system. With it, the data on your hard drive, including pairing records, can't be accessed without your Mac being logged in under your username and password. If you work in a sensitive industry or consider yourself at great risk, you can also set a firmware password on your Mac.

• How to secure your Mac using FileVault 2 encryption


• How to secure your Mac using a firmware password

How to prevent new pairing records from being generated

Unfortunately, if you want to keep your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad from pairing again in the future, there's no "Allow Connections to Computer" option (yet?) in Settings that you can easily toggle to "Off". However, there is Apple Configurator. It's is a free tool from Apple meant to help schools, businesses, and institutions set up and manage large amounts of iPhones and iPads. With it, you can prevent your device from pairing with other computers or accessories, which prevents it generating pairing records, which prevents those records from being used to access your iPhone or iPad without your consent.

• How to prevent unauthorized pairing with your iPhone or iPad using Apple Configurator

Bottom line

If you value your privacy and security over your convenience and ease of use, the above are some of the steps you can take to further lock down your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Mac. It's by no means a complete list, and it's by no means for everyone. It's what we believe is measured and reasonable against a broad range of needs and requirements.

It's important to remember that some or all of the above vulnerabilities will be patched and compromises be made better. It's equally important to remember new vulnerabilities will be discovered and new compromises will be made. That's the nature of the beast.

We try very hard to provide information and empower our readers. We make very sure we don't yell "FIRE!" when there is none, and we make just as sure not to ignore any exposed wires sparking near the stove.

If we've left anything out, please add it to the comments and, if appropriate, we'll update to include. Also, please let us know how you're balancing your convenience vs. your security. Wide open, locked down, or somewhere in between?

Clash of Clans: Top 8 tips, tricks, and cheats!

Clash of Clans strategy guide: How to work (and cheat!) your way to faster, bigger, and better wins in Clash of the Clans for iOS!

Gird your loins! Collect your elixir! You call that an upgraded wall? Clash of Clans brings the brazen aggression of Scottish warfare to the addictive and simple mechanics of casual gaming. It's insanely popular, and we’re here to make sure your camp is the toughest to break through, that you're rolling in gold, and that you're climbing the leaderboards.

For those unfamiliar, players in Clash of Clans build forts with gold and elixir resources. Buildings are dragged and dropped however players like, and resources are collected and stored whenever you hop into the game. Over time, they build an army of various troop types. They can be taken on single player missions to raze the villages of nearby goblins, or on raiding parties of neighboring villages. Similarly, other players can raid your town, but don't worry, nothing is permanently destroyed (though they can snatch some of your gold and elixir). Players earn and lose trophies through their multiplayer raids, and band together in clans in order to concentrate their attacks.

It sounds simple, but there's a lot more to it.

Originally published October 2013, updated September 2014 with two bonus tips for Clan Wars

Craaave is an app that finally makes music truly social

Making music social is a feat many have tried accomplishing but no one has quite nailed it. Spotify and Facebook came pretty close when they teamed up to share what Spotify users were listening to on their Facebook profiles. This worked for a little while, but the prominence of music on Facebook has since diminished, signaling mediocre results to the experiment. So what's next? Craaave is a free app for iPhone yearning to answer that question. It's built entirely around the concept that music can and should be social.

The UI of Craaave is ever so slightly reminiscent of Foursquare before its redesign. Much like a floating check-in button, a pink, hungry PacMan-esque icon at the bottom of the app is seemingly begging for someone to tap it. If you give in to its wishes, you are given two very distinct options. The first is "Tap to Listen" and the second is "Type to Search."

Tapping to listen requires access to your iPhone's microphone so Craaave can enter what's essentially a Shazam mode -- that is, it'll listen to surrounding sounds and identify the song playing. It's not as fast as Shazam, but in my tests it was repeatedly accurate. If you aren't listening to music at the moment, start typing any song, artist or genre and Craaave will feed you results as you type.

The app pulls music from a variety of services and your experience depends on which ones you use. Upon signing up, you're asked to link these to your account. The list of currently supported services include Spotify, Deezer, Rdio, SoundCloud and your iTunes library which Craaave includes by default. Even if you choose not to link anything else, the app also searches through SoundCloud's public database.

Now here's where the social part kicks in. When you find or identify a song, you tap to send it to one or multiple friends on Craaave, optionally including a brief message up to 40 characters in length. They receive it in their inbox, just like you would if they send you a song. From there, they can play the song, press and hold it to save it to a particular service or buy it on iTunes.

What's even more impressive is that you, as a sender, get to see this take place. If you switch to your Outbox view at the top, the app lists the songs you sent along with whether your friends decided to save it or not. This is a fantastic way to indirectly determine whether your friends have similar music tastes.

The only potential downside I see to Craaave lies actually within its users. A group of people can still be friends while each person prefers a different genre of music. It takes either a friend group of similar or at least eclectic music tastes for this app to really shine its brightest.

Luckily, music in general is something we all have in common. It's almost human nature for each person to feel a connection with some rhythm. This app has the potential to bring a lot of people together by taking the powerful experience of music and planting it in its own social network. Free and executed well enough, Craaave is available in the App Store.

Source: http://ift.tt/1tn12qo

How to quickly add an item to a list or calendar with Fantastical 2

If you use Fantastical 2 on your iPhone or iPad, there are lots of handy tricks and keyboard shortcuts you can use when entering an event or reminder. One of the most convenient and time-saving ones is how to switch what calendar or reminders list the new item will go on. Of course you can always manually select a calendar or reminder list, but why if you achieve the same thing in half the time?

1. Launch Fantastical 2 on your iPhone or iPad.


2. Tap on the + sign to add a new event like you normally would.


3. Type out your event or reminder title such as "Lunch with Rene at 2."


4. This time, instead of manually choosing a different calendar or list, type a backslash followed by the list or calendar name.


5. So instead you would have "Lunch with Rene at 2 /personal".

You should instantly notice that the calendar that the event is going to go on changes in the preview. You can actually change the calendar in even fewer keystrokes. For example, since I only have one calendar that starts with the letter "p", as soon as I start typing personal, the calendar changes. So I can actually just type "Lunch with Rene at 2 /p" and achieve the exact same result. If you have more than one calendar that starts with the same letter, just type until you get to the first distinguishing letter and Fantastical 2 takes care of the rest.

Give it a try and let us know how it works for you!

• Fantastical 2 for iPhone - $4.99 - Download Now


• Fantastical 2 for iPad - $14.99 $7.99 on sale - Download Now

Flick Knights is flicktastic fun

Flick Knights is a turn-based strategy game where you play against others online or in local play. The goal of Flick Knights is to flick your characters into the opposing team's characters to cause enough damage to flick them out of the arena and clear a path to their target button which you can flick one of your characters into to score a point. The first team to drain the other team's vat of liquid at their base wins. Flick Knights is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 6.0 or later.

In Flick Knights, players create their own team by giving it a name, team uniform, characters, and team colors. Flick Knights features an array of different characters to include in your team, each with their own unique attack, strengths, and weaknesses. You can upgrade each character using coins received in the game. You can even buy new characters to include in your team using coins or gems. This helps keep the game feeling customizable and adds to the fun of building a custom team.

There is a short registration process at the beginning of the game which requires an email address before you can make your team and play online. This is a minor annoyance but it is a very short process done in a rather unobtrusive way and makes sense for the online nature of the game.

After registering and making a team, players can choose to either play an asynchronous match, live match, or a local match. The asynchronous matches are turn based with other online players and have a 48 hour turn limit which means players may be waiting awhile for the other player to make their move before they can continue playing. I was not able to do any of the live matches because the server did not find anyone for me to play against after numerous times of trying to connect which is a little disappointing as I was really looking forward to this type of gameplay. It is inteded to be a match against a live opponent with timed turns.

The local matches are a lot of fun as you can play against someone next to you on the same device. My suggestion for the matches is that it would be really nice if there was a bot mode that you could practice in. It can be hard to keep playing this game if you can't find someone to play with and I ended up playing local matches against myself which is fun to a point but it takes away the random nature of the game. The human element of the gameplay, waiting to see where the other player puts their team members, what strategy they employ, is really cool and it is reminiscent of a chess match. Like in chess, you have to balance defending your base, the queen, and attacking the opponent's base, their queen. There is a lot of room for trying out new strategies and you have to keep on your toes because an opponent could get past your team and score easily if you don't consider what their next moves may be.

Another feature that would help in the matches would be if in local play you got to pick your own team to play as and customize the members of that team. Currently, the teams are blue vs. red and the team members are randomized. It would be interesting if each player got to choose a certain character to play as that they might not have yet to test out if they want to get that character later.

Flick Knights is a exceptionally fun turn-based strategy game that incorporates a lot of interesting characters, team customization options, and a strong reliance on being agile in strategies which creates an enjoyable experience that keeps players coming back. Flick Knights is free on the App Store and definitely recommended for those who love online multiplayer games.

Source: http://ift.tt/1vZoOXJ

New Aerial Video Shows Significant Construction Progress at Apple Campus 2 [Mac Blog]

Apple appears to be making significant progress on its forthcoming "Spaceship" campus in Cupertino, as an aerial video shared by YouTube user jmcminn (via Apple Spotlight/9to5Mac ) shows the site now featuring significantly constructed walls, spots for buildings, and a more defined oval shape.

Apple closed off sidewalks and built a number of privacy fences to keep the area hidden, but this latest video taken with a DJI Phantom 2 drone and GoPro camera goes above the site to show an assortment of vehicles and materials helping to build Apple's newest campus. Previous photos showed initial work on the site's walls and deep trenches for what was said to be "underground tunnels." The site was once the home of Hewlett Packard's former offices, which were vacated and demolished by Apple ahead of its initial work on its Campus 2 project.

Apple is currently at work on the first phase of its Campus 2 construction, which includes the 2.8 million square foot ring-shaped main building and an underground parking facility capable of holding 2,400 cars. Those structures will also be complemented by a 100,000 square foot fitness center and a 120,000 square foot auditorium, with some of the landscape being occupied by more than 4,500 trees.

The first phase of construction is expected to be completed by 2016, and will be followed by additional 600,000 square feet of buildings along with another parking structure in the second phase.

See what time it is around the world with Time Zones + World Clock Time Converter

Although the included Time app from Apple is useful enough, Time Zones + World Clock Time Converter (free with in-app purchase) goes Apple a few steps better.

The attractive GUI features the ability to rename locations, so you can call a place "Mom and Dad". The app displays the time differential in hours for all the locations you enter, and a 'quick check' mode lets you look up a date and time anywhere in the world, converting it to your local time. I could see that being useful for business calls in different time zones.

As the day moves along, the colors of the GUI change to reflect the time of day.

The app is ad supported, and when you open the app a full page ad comes up that has to be dismissed, which I judge mildly intrusive. A in-app purchase of U.S. $4.99 removes the ads, but I think that is a bit too expensive. I'm getting along with the free version, and if the developer would lower the purchase price to $0.99 I think he would get more takers.

Time Zones + World Clock Time Converter is a nicely done app. It's more useful that what Apple provides, and has a nice look and feel.

The app requires iOS 7 or later. It seemed to work fine using iOS 8 beta 5, so I don't foresee any issues going forward.

Another app with similar features is World Clock Time Zone. It's free too but has a $1.99 in-app purchase which removes the ads. The screens are a little more cluttered, so I prefer Time Zones + World Clock Time Converter for quick ease of use.

Source: http://ift.tt/1Chs84E

Smiley Alarm Clock is how the selfie generation wakes up

Capitalizing on the selfie craze, the Smiley Alarm Clock aims to start your morning off with a smile. Unfortunately, the app, which requires iOS 7.1 and works on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, leads to frustration and general annoyance.

The concept is simple. When the alarm goes off you grab your phone and pose for a morning selfie. In theory, the app snaps a photo and the alarm turns off when it detects your smile.

Once Smiley Alarm Clock takes your photo you can share the picture on Instagram or Facebook. Undoubtedly you'll include the hashtag #iwokeuplike this, or something similar.

But who wants to take a picture of their morning face, let alone share it with the world? Not me. You couldn't even pay me to do it, as is evident by the loads of makeup I'm wearing in these pictures.

I'm sure there are people who do this under the safety of Instagram filters, but Smiley Alarm Clock has zero filters to hide the bags under your eyes.

Beyond the problematic concept, there are two major flaws with the app itself.

You'll notice that I used the phrase "in theory" earlier and that's because the app doesn't do what it says it does. I spent a full 60 seconds smiling my face off and the app never took a photo and never shut off the alarm. You can manually shut off the alarm, but then what's the point of the app?

This happened more than once, leaving me extremely frustrated. I tested this out in the afternoon; pretty sure it would've left me enraged had this happened at 7am.

The second flaw is somewhat amusing but mostly annoying. You would think that the app would take your photo when your face is positioned nicely in the center of the screen and you look awesome.

Nope.

I took about 15 test shots and all but two of them turned out decently. A few of them only captured my forehead and eyes because the app didn't wait for me to position my phone correctly. Considering the camera is supposed to be triggered by a smile, those were pretty odd photos for it to take.

Most of the time, I had to move my phone around randomly until it took a picture. These were the most unflattering pictures ever and were taken from very weird angles. They will never see the light of day.

I wouldn't be surprised if the developer is deliberately trolling us here.

Oh, and you don't even have to smile for it to work.

Incidentally, this image sums up exactly how I feel about this app.

When you're already not a morning person, the last thing you want is to fake a smile and pretend you don't hate how you look when you haven't had your first cup of coffee.

However, if you are really into how you look in the morning, Smiley Alarm Clock is available for free in the App Store with an in-app purchase for extra alarm sounds.

Apple Hires Longtime Technology Journalist Anand Lal Shimpi

After announcing his departure from AnandTech , veteran technology journalist Anand Lal Shimpi will join Apple in an undisclosed role, reports Re/code. A representative for Apple confirmed that Shimpi would be joining the company, but also declined to provide any further details.

Image credit: Anandtech

Shimpi launched AnandTech in 1997 and established the website's reputation around in-depth analysis and reviews on a number of topics from the world of technology, including posts on Apple's line of desktops, notebooks, iPhones, iPads, iPods, and accessories.

In his farewell post on AnandTech published yesterday, Shimpi stated that he "won't stay idle forever" and added that there are "a bunch of challenges out there."

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)

This Weekend in the App Store -- the best free apps, new apps and app updates Posted: 31 Aug 2014 03:00 PM PDT Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can. Apps Now Free StarTracker - Best...

Follow Europe's best in Champions League 2014-2015 Posted: 31 Aug 2014 02:30 PM PDT The draw for the Group Stage of the Champions League was held recently with the first games set for mid-September. You can follow all the action live on Champions League 2014-2015. The universal free app requires iOS 5.1.1 or later. In Champions...

A roundup of recent hardware reviews on TUAW Posted: 31 Aug 2014 01:00 PM PDT Last week, we reviewed a variety of hardware and accessories that'll complement your favorite iOS or OS X devices. Here's a quick roundup of recent hardware reviews that you may have missed: Sonos Play:3 and Play:5 wireless speakers review for Mac...

Last week's popular and featured articles on TUAW you don't want to miss Posted: 31 Aug 2014 11:00 AM PDT Last week was a busy one with your favorite TUAW writers posting some excellent How-To guides, commentary and other useful articles. Here's a quick roundup of our recent feature worthy posts you may have missed: Mobile Payments may be a big part...

All the best app reviews last week on TUAW Posted: 31 Aug 2014 08:00 AM PDT Last week was a busy one for apps in the iOS App Store, giving your favorite TUAW writers a chance to post some great reviews of the apps that grace their home screens. Here's a quick roundup of our recent reviews -- and a few app roundups -- you may...

Roundup of iOS and OS X Labor Day deals Posted: 30 Aug 2014 03:00 PM PDT It's time to save some of that hard-earned cash with our Labor Day Deals, featuring our own handpicked iOS and OS X selections. All prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly. TUAW is not responsible for third-party deals...

This Weekend in the App Store -- the best free apps, new apps and app updates

Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can.

Apps Now Free

StarTracker - Best StarGazing app to Explore the Universe [iPhone; Now free, down from $2.99] Hey, get outdoor with your friends and start star gazing! Let StarTracker guide you to explore the universe.

CollabraCam™: Collaborative Social Video Production [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] CollabraCam™ your next video with friends and edit live from four iPhone, iPad or iPod touch cameras streaming in realtime over Wi-Fi or Hotspot.

Symbols [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $0.99] Need a special character that's not available on system keyboard? Use Symbols to quickly find and copy it.

Rockmate [iPad; Now free, down from $2.99] Rockmate turns your iPad into a complete music studio that is easy and super fun to use.

Ghostbusters Paranormal Blast [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Blast and then steer ghosts into a virtual ghost trap for containment and collection in a strikingly immersive augmented reality battle. Just like a real Rookie!

Beach Games [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Hit the beach and master FIVE different sports.

Clone Magic - Clone Yourself, Split Pic, Clone Camera and Air Pic Maker for SnapChat, Tumblr, Kik Messenger and Flickr [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Do you want to make a photo where many of you appear? It's now very fast and easy with Clone Magic.

Labor Day Weekend Sales [iOS and OS X] Roundup of Labor Day sales on select iOS and OS X apps.

New and Notable Apps

Rhonna Designs Magic [iOS Universal; $1.99] Want to sprinkle magic on your photos? With RD Magic, you can add colors, filters, light leaks, bokeh, edges, blur, texture, & even load in your own images!

Cookie Monster's Challenge [iPad; $2.99] Cookie Monster needs your help! Play through sets of fun and challenging mini games to build a cookie contraption and deliver cookies to everyone's favorite Monster!

Ninja Smasher! [iOS Universal; $1.99] Q-Cumber Factory's "Ninja" series's recent game!

Updates you don't want to miss

Back to Bed [iOS Universal; $3.99] Back to Bed is a 3D puzzle game set in a unique and artistic dream world, wherein you guide the sleepwalker Bob to the safety of his bed. Version 1.0.2 brings the following changes:

• Changed cutscene videos to look good on both 4:3 and 16:10


• Minor bugfix in credits


• Shader optimizations


• Fixed rare bug causing apples to be placed at the wrong location


• Fixed model tablecloth model issues

Humin - Phone and Contacts [iPhone; Free] Your phone and contacts app now remembers all of your relationships, just like you do. Version 1.0.1 brings the following changes:

• New Feature: Split a contact


• Re-designed Meetings, Friends, Work, and Education cards on profiles


• Faster voicemail playback


• New FAQ section in Settings

Source: http://ift.tt/1nQ7MKl

Follow Europe's best in Champions League 2014-2015

The draw for the Group Stage of the Champions League was held recently with the first games set for mid-September. You can follow all the action live on Champions League 2014-2015. The universal free app requires iOS 5.1.1 or later.

In Champions League 2014-2015 you receive a complete breakdown of the Group Stage match ups and can follow all the games live as well as get live updates on the Group Tables, scorers, yellow and red cards, and on the city where the matches are being played. The thirty-two teams have been broken into eight groups of four and will play each of the other teams in its group twice. At that point, the top finisher in each group plus the runner-up in each group move on to the the next stage.

You can also test your soccer knowledge by making predictions on the outcome of each game and the actual game scores. The app tracks your predictions and you can compete with your friends and other fans to see who knows the most.

Champions League 2014 provides a list of all the teams that have qualified to participate in Europe's top annual soccer tournament. To get more information about the team, just tap the team name and you will be taken to the club's web site. Most offer English versions although I found a couple that did not. How's your Russian and German? The web sites are full of background information on the clubs including the roster, stats for the players and the team in the club's domestic league, league and national cup competitions as well as the Champions League. Most also offer a history of the club and video highlights from the current and past seasons.

In mid-February the action moves from the Group State to the Knockout round with just sixteen teams remaining. The eight group winners are matched against one of the eight runner-up and play two games, one at the club's home field and one at the opponent's stadium. That format continues as the teams are cut from sixteen to eight, then four and finally just two. The final is a single game elimination held in May. All of the game information can be found in Champions League 2014 as it was in the group stage so you can track your favorite team all the way to the finals, if they are good enough to make it that far.

The same developer also offers an app to follow the Europa League that competes over the same time period. The clubs in this competition are out of the same domestic leagues as those in the Champions League but not quite at the same level. Europa League 2014 contains the same type of data including schedules, game statistics, the ability to make predictions and news updates on all the teams. Europa League 2014-2015 is free universal download and also requires iOS 5.1.1 or later.

With Champions League 2014-2015 and Europa League 2014-2015 on your iPhone or iPad you will have no trouble tracking these prestigious European soccer competitions this fall, winter and into next summer. May the best team win and hopefully it will be your favorite.

Source: http://ift.tt/1nNHy7f

Visa, Mastercard may join American Express on your iPhone Wallet this fall

Come this fall when Apple has its September 9th event, a digital wallet may be coming to the iPhone to help grow the mobile payment business. We've heard that American Express may be a major partner to the initiative, and now we are also hearing that Visa and Mastercard may also be joining forces with Apple in a rumored NFC-based payments announcement.

Like Google Wallet and ISIS for Android phones, the Apple-built iPhone wallet may use NFC to communicate with payment terminals at retail stores and the TouchID fingerprint sensor to authenticate user and make the experience safe.

Apple has not commented on the rumors, though if Bloomberg's sources are accurate we may see a lot more than just iPhone and iPad devices being announced soon.

Source: Bloomberg

The iPhone and iPad Blog by Simon

If you’ve been using an iPhone for a while, it’s likely you have a group of friends, family or people that you need to stay in touch with frequently. These specific groups of people, consisting of peeps and family members, come in handy in critical situations.

iOS, however, isn’t very friendly when it comes to group messaging, so you might be better off with an app such as the newly released Contact Center. This particular app lets you get in-contact with your in-group quicker and in an easy way.

The app lets you send group messages through the default messages app, make quick calls to anyone in the ground, send group emails as well as GIFs.

How to use Contact Center for iOS

After downloading the app, you can start by creating a group of people that you keep in touch with frequently. The app automatically picks your favorites, and then you and the favorites are added to the shortcuts on the main interface. They can be added or removed through the edit button at the top right.

The group message and group email can be sent to one of the groups or you can select a contact to send a quick message to, send an email, send an image, or make a call. Group actions allow for sending emails and messages and other actions don’t work for the whole group even though they appear.

The user can add a shortcut or a new folder to the home screen by tapping the edit button at the top. The shortcuts are for making calls to particular contacts, sending emails, and accessing the dial pad.

Also, you can automatically paste the clipboard into a message or an email, dial a number using a keypad, display details of a particular contact, save time with canned messages, and go directly to a contact in Watsapp.

Final thoughts

Contact Center does its best to make groups faster to reach and easier to get in touch with. It features advertisements which can be removed with a $2.99 upgrade. The app works with iOS 7.1 and above, and can be downloaded for free from the App Store link.

This article, Contact Center Makes Group Messaging Quicker and Easier, was originally published at simonblog.com.

The post Contact Center Makes Group Messaging Quicker and Easier appeared first on The iPhone and iPad Blog.

A roundup of recent hardware reviews on TUAW

Last week, we reviewed a variety of hardware and accessories that'll complement your favorite iOS or OS X devices. Here's a quick roundup of recent hardware reviews that you may have missed:

• Sonos Play:3 and Play:5 wireless speakers review for Mac and iOS


• HooToo TripMate Elite: A travel jack-of-all-trades


• Catalyst Case for iPhone 5 / 5s provides rugged, waterproof protection


• Bluelounge Soba cable director organizes your wiring mess


• The marriage of Eyefi Cloud and IFTTT is a very fruitful one

TUAW will be back next week with another round of in-depth hardware reviews, so be sure to drop by and check out what's new and what's useful for your Mac, iPhone or iPad.

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Daily iPhone Blog

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