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One thing that seems to be a common attribute of hard-core Apple fans is that they are connoisseurs of great design. It doesn't matter if it's the sleek curves of a new iMac or the minimalist slab of the iPhone 5, we love how the devices are designed with pleasing dimensions and an enjoyable tactile sensation. That's why I was instantly attracted to the Kenu Airframe (US$24.95), a simple and lightweight smartphone car mount that's perfect for present and future iPhones.

Design

Some of the car mounts I've received for review over the years have been expensive overkill. They often use a suction cup mount to stick to the front window of the car, which doesn't work very well in hot dry environments as they tend to pop off when they sit in the sun for a while, dropping your expensive phone to the floor of the car. There's usually a long arm designed to bring the iPhone closer to your hand, which has the undesirable effect of making the phone sway or bounce.

The Kenu Airframe is simplicity defined: it uses a soft plastic clip to attach to an air vent in your car. That clip rotates 90 degrees to properly fit thick or thin grilles on your vent. The idea of mounting the iPhone to your air vent is pure genius as well, as in hot conditions you'll most likely have air conditioning turned on, which will cool the phone and keep it from overheating.

An expandable jaw on the Airframe can hold most phones regardless of their width, giving you some semblance of insurance against needing to purchase another car mount should a future iteration of iPhone be a different width.

One other fun thing: if you need an impromptu stand for your iPhone, just grab your Airframe and a business or credit card from your wallet, then pop that card into the clip on the back. Voila! Your iPhone is standing up on its own.

Functionality

Installing the Airframe is quite simple. Find a spot in your car with a vent where you'd like to hang your iPhone, and push the clip onto the plastic grille. That's it. Next, grab your iPhone and push it into the jaws of the Airframe, and you're done. One note: if you have a thick iPhone case like the Mophie Juice Pack, the Airframe won't be able to grab onto your phone. It works swimmingly with a lot of the thinner cases.

The way the clip is designed virtually guarantees that the Airframe is not going to fall out of the vent grille. There's a lot of road construction going on near my home right now and it's practically "four-wheeling" territory on one of the main drags with a lot of bumps and dips. Even at the maximum speed allowed in the construction zone, the jarring and swerving didn't move the Airframe or my iPhone a bit.

The travel stand idea with the credit card is also brilliant. It's a perfect way to use a car mount anywhere -- something that you can't do with a "normal" suction-cup equipped mount.

If there are any negatives I can think of, it's that this might not be a good idea in the winter if you have the clips inserted into a vent blowing hot air onto your iPhone. I don't know for sure if this would cause your iPhone to shut off due to high temperatures, but it's worth thinking about.

Conclusion

Whether you use your iPhone in the car for entertainment, directions, or just to have your phone at arm's reach when you're driving, the Airframe is a simple, sturdy, and functional car mount that takes up very little room.

Pros

• Very compact design and light (less than 1 oz.) enough to carry anywhere
• Doesn't rely on suction cups to mount your phone in your vehicle
• Using the Airframe with a credit card as a travel stand for your phone is sheer genius
• Soft rubber material on the jaws and clips ensures a tight grip to phone and vent without scratching either

Cons

• Doesn't work with thicker cases like the Mophie Juice Packs
• Rather expensive when some car mounts are available for as little as $3.57

Who is it for?

• Anyone looking for an unobtrusive and functional car mount for their iPhone

Kenu Airframe: An ingenious car mount for your iPhone originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 17 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to a new report from IDC, the smartphone market continues to be dominated by Android and Apple's iOS. Together, the two mobile operating systems accounted for a whopping 92.3% of all smartphone shipments during the first quarter of 2013.

Impressively, Apple during the quarter gone by shipped 37.4 million iPhones, a 6% increase from the same quarter a year ago. Shipments of Android-based smartphones, however, increased by 79.5%. Consequently, Apple's share of smartphone shipments last quarter slipped from 23% down to 17.3%.

IDC's report notes:

Apple iOS marked its largest ever first quarter volume on the strength of its iPhone shipment volumes, yet the operating system posted a year-over-year decline in market share and lower year-over-year shipment growth than the overall market. Although demand remains strong worldwide, the iOS experience has remained largely the same since the first iPhone debuted in 2007. That appears ready to change as online rumors and speculation predict a massive overhaul of the user interface when iOS 7 debuts.

Underscoring how fast the smartphone market continues to grow, IDC's data reveals that worldwide smartphone shipments shot up 59.1% year over year, increasing from 125.4 million units shipped during Q1 2012 to 199.5 million units in Q1 2013.

Some other notes of interest from IDC's report include the fact that Samsung by itself accounted for 41.1% of Q1 2013 smartphone shipments, representing 54.6% of all Android-based smartphones shipped during the quarter.

The largest year over year gain was recorded by Windows Phone as shipment volume increased 133%, hitting a total of 7 million units for the quarter. During Q1 2013, Windows Phone devices accounted for 7% of all smartphones shipped while BlackBerry's share of smartphone shipments fell to 6.3%.

iOS and Android comprised 92.3% of Q1 2013 smartphone shipments originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 16 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rovio has announced, via tweet and then by news release, that it has lined up a deal and a date with Sony Pictures to distribute the upcoming Angry Birds movie. Rovio's been working on putting the frustrated fowl into a motion picture for a while, but this announcement makes it more or less a done deal -- all that needs to happen is that it gets made. Rovio says the movie will be out in theaters on July 1, 2016.

The film will be in 3D (and animated, of course). It'll be produced by "Despicable Me" producer John Cohen, along with David Maisel. There's no director or writer yet announced, but this isn't exactly rocket science: Odds are that there will be green pigs stealing the birds' eggs, and the birds will have to team up together in a heartwarming way to get revenge. In fact, Rovio, if you need a hand, I could punch out a treatment for you. Just let me know.

Rovio teams up with Sony for the Angry Birds movie, coming July 2016 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 15 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My birthday was last week on May 6, and Firaxis must have heard about that because in recent weeks they've released not one but two great turn-based strategy games. First, Haunted Hollow was released as a great, original free-to-play title, and now the legendary Sid Meier (of Civilization and Pirates) has released a game called Ace Patrol, available as a free download on iOS.

Ace Patrol is excellent -- it's a turn-based dogfighting game, where you manuver pilots in WWII around a battlefield, climbing, diving, and swooping around into position all while trying to accomplish certain goals or take out the other side. Progression in the game is marked by "maneuvers," so pilots who have leveled up have access to more and advanced moves. Weapons fire for free, but you've got to line up closely to the enemy, preferably behind them, to avoid any incoming attacks.

Unfortunately, as good as the game itself is, Firaxis really missed the mark on this one's freemium plan. The in-app purchases on Ace Patrol are just plain confusing -- you can play through a number of missions for free, but then when you spend some money to unlock the rest of the missions, you (currently -- I'll bet this is fixed soon) don't get to keep your progress. Additionally, while in-app purchases give you access to other nations, you also sometimes need to pay to get your lost pilots out of being captured. Fortunately, there are "superpacks" you can buy (which essentially open up the game's content), but the whole scheme just isn't well thought-out. Haunted Hollow's IAP was clear and well-designed, but the same care hasn't been taken here, unfortunately.

Still, Ace Patrol is an excellent game, a very well-designed set of battles put together by a master game developer. There are quite a few of these turn-based battle simulations to go around (Leviathan Warships is another recently released variant, though that one takes place on sea and is more complicated than Ace Patrol), but Ace Patrol does an excellent job of combining really deep strategy with easy and accessible gameplay. Grab this free download right away for sure.

Daily iPad App: Sid Meier's Ace Patrol is an excellent game sold badly originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Tue, 14 May 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The next entry in our seemingly endless parade of new iPad keyboard cases is the Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad (US$129.99). This case, which works with the second- through fourth-generation iPads, has some new features that make it attractive as a full-time companion for your tablet.

Design

Like the the recently-reviewed iPad Keyboard Folios from Logitech, the Ultimate Keyboard Case is designed for full-time use on your iPad, protecting the back of the device while providing a flip-out keyboard for easy data entry.

The keyboard in this case is backed with a nicely-designed aluminum shell, and uses black keys with white lettering. The iPad cover is kind of an odd affair -- it's made of what feels like hard polyurethane around the sides, but the "hinge" that connects it to the keyboard and allows the iPad to be placed into three different positions is made of a much thinner flexible plastic with a faux leather look.

That thin plastic makes it possible for this keyboard to be only 6.4 mm thick. That's pretty incredible, beating the Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover at 9.96 mm.

There are generous openings around the camera, switches and ports, and a nice touch for those who want to be able to hear sound from their iPad while typing -- a small channel for directing sound from the speaker to the ears of the typist.

Like the Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio, the Ultimate Keyboard Case automatically senses when the iPad is flipped into typing position and turns on the keyboard. When the iPad is moved to a "tablet" position or closed, the keyboard turns off. This helps the battery run for up to 160 hours between charges and stay viable for up to 1,900 hours (6 months) in standby mode. It uses a USB to microUSB cable for charging.

As mentioned earlier, the iPad can be magnetically "locked" into three different positions (all in landscape mode) for typing, so getting the screen adjusted to resolve a reflection is a piece of cake.

Functionality

Weight-wise, the Ultimate Keyboard Case tops the scales at 14.7 ounces. That means the iPad/case combo is almost exactly the same weight as an 11" MacBook Air -- 2.39 pounds versus 2.38 pounds. That's quite a bit lighter than the Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio (2.69 pounds) and the needs-to-go-on-a-diet Logitech Keyboard Folio for iPad (2.82 pounds). If the amount of weight you lug around is important to you, the Ultimate Keyboard Case might make your day.

When using the Ultimate Keyboard Case on a table or desktop, I found it to work just fine. The keys seem to be spaced almost identically to the ones on my Apple Wireless Keyboard, and unlike the keys on the Logitech keyboard folios they are much more standard. In other words, I don't need to type a fn-Q to hit the tab key, nor does going into Caps Lock require a fn-A.

Using the Ultimate Keyboard Case in my lap was a different matter. I found that even the slightest jar made the iPad flop down into my lap. The magnets that hold the iPad in place just don't seem to be as strong as those on the Logitech cases. That, coupled with the rather flimsy plastic "hinge", seems to be a strong warning to users to keep this thing on a table or desk.

One feature I did like a lot was the addition of three keys to the bottom row -- a microphone key for use with Siri dictation on the iPad, an @ key next to the space bar (perfect for typing internet URLs), and a key to change to an alternative virtual keyboard like the popular Emoji keyboard.

I was very impressed with the SoundFlow design of the iPad holder. At the same volume level, the perceived volume was noticeably louder with the case installed than when it was off. That's a real plus if you like listening to music while working on your iPad.

Conclusion

While the support of the Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case seems a bit wobbly for laptop use, this is a strong competitor to Logitech's recent product launches. The slightly lower price tag, ability to prop the screen in three different positions, SoundFlow design and keyboard layout are all points in favor of Belkin's latest keyboard folio.

Pros

• Lighter than the Logitech Keyboard Folios recently reviewed by TUAW
• Ultrathin; it's hard to believe it's a keyboard case
• Excellent feel to the keyboard, with no function key required to use tab or caps lock functions
• Helpful keys for Siri dictation and changing keyboards
• Less expensive than the Logitech FabricSkin Keyboard Folio
• Can be "locked" into any one of three positions while typing
• Auto on/off feature works very well

Cons

• Thin plastic prop on the back of the iPad case doesn't work well when using the case in a lap
• Does not offer as much protection as the Logitech folios we recently reviewed

Who is it for?

• Anyone who wants a fairly lightweight iPad keyboard folio case with good keyboard feel, automatic on/off features and a standard keyboard layout.

Giveaway

We're giving away our review Ultimate Keyboard Case to a lucky TUAW reader. Here are the rules for the giveaway:

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button.
• The entry must be made before May 17, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time.
• You may enter only once.
• One winner will be selected and will receive a Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad valued at $129.99.
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Belkin Ultimate Keyboard Case for iPad: Review and giveaway originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Mon, 13 May 2013 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ahead of ABC's spring upfront this coming Tuesday, May 14 ("upfronts" are the glitzy network presentations to get advertisers revved up about the coming season's programming), the New York Times' Brian Stelter found a scoop that has more to do with how we watch TV than which programs we watch.

Disney's ABC network plans to revise its iPad/iPhone app lineup by Tuesday to include free live streaming of ABC channels for viewers in two Northeast cities. The live streaming feature, which will appear as a "live" button in a new Watch ABC app (akin to ABC-owned ESPN's Watch ESPN app) set to replace the the existing ABC Player app, will be available to customers in New York and Philadelphia who can verify that they have access to ABC via a cable or satellite subscription.

GigaOm says that the service's requirement for pay TV subscription will kick in after a six-week introductory period, where it will be open to all comers. According to that post, the ABC live encoding will be powered by the same upLynk hybrid local/cloud streaming technology that's currently at work behind the company's Watch Disney app.

Stelter notes that ABC's programming currently appearing on ABC.com and Hulu Plus may be curtailed in the future, with longer delays before free-to-stream episodes appear; the most current content would be reserved for pay TV subscribers. This would undoubtedly drive cord-cutters somewhat batty.

The streaming feature will be iOS-only for now, and limited to those two markets (where the affiliate stations are owned by the parent company) while the network negotiates with affiliates in other cities. The first affiliate deal, with Hearst Television, will soon add live streaming to 13 additional cities like Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Kansas City and Honolulu. Having NYC be one of the first launch markets means that ABC must be rooting for the New York Knicks (currently down 2-1 in a playoff series with Indiana) to go deep into the NBA playoffs, which the network is carrying this year.

This isn't the first device-centric live television play, by any means. Most US cable, satellite and fiber providers offer some flavor of live channel streaming, with varying marquee features and limitations. Some, like Time Warner Cable and Xfinity, restrict all-you-can-stream access to the subscriber's home WiFi network and offer a more limited channel lineup on the move. Verizon's FiOS app streams plenty of popular pay-TV channels but no network content. In the case of ABC's live channel stream, the branding for the network can move completely out from under the program provider's umbrella; that way, there are fewer distractions to lure eyeballs away from ABC's live and library content.

Customers with Dish Anywhere and the sleek Dish Explorer programming discovery app from the satellite TV provider may have the most flexibility: the company's Sling technology actually restreams anything the Dish receiver can show, including live TV on any channel or recorded DVR programming. (Most DVR recordings can even be transferred from the Dish Hopper receiver onto the iPad for later viewing, which would require an EyeTV or other approach with most providers.) But this approach does require plenty of home bandwidth, and can tie up your receiver; ABC's stream doesn't have those drawbacks.

If over the air TV is your thing, there are several iPad options out there. EyeTV's EyeTV Mobile adapter, for $99, adds an antenna to your tablet and delivers programming via the Dyle digital broadcast system. The MCV consortium behind Dyle includes NBC, Fox and Telemundo (but not ABC), so those networks are generally represented and available on the system. The legally challenged but still eagerly expanding startup Aereo doesn't share those channel limits; anything an antenna can see in the NYC metro area, Aereo will gladly deliver to your iPad or desktop browser for a monthly $8 fee. Aereo's one-antenna-per-user model is being contested by the networks, but so far they've not been able to put together a compelling legal case to stop the company from providing its service; in fact, it's expanding to Boston this month.

In many ways, ABC's move (which the network says was shifted up from a planned 2014 rollout; "We watch how people are behaving with their devices, and we really felt that we needed to move faster," said Disney/ABC Television Group co-chair Anne Sweeney) is of a piece with these other new-world-order programming options. Consumers are getting their television content via all sorts of pathways, and fewer and fewer of them are tied to a traditional primetime lineup at the network's convenience. Even this circumscribed step away from the default delivery of TV, with its leash of a pay subscription, says a lot about ABC's willingness to ride the wave forward rather than fighting to keep a hold on the status quo.

[Although the Steven P. Jobs Trust, led by the Apple co-founder's widow Laurene Powell Jobs, owns some 7.7 percent of Disney/ABC's outstanding shares, regulatory filings noted by Bloomberg suggest that the trust has no intention to influence Disney/ABC operations. -Ed.]

ABC to add live streaming to iPad app this week, for a few and with a catch originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 12 May 2013 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You thought you were going to get through another weekend without that TUAW classic Caturday? Well, you're wrong. Today's feline geek is Max, a six-month-old Singapura who loves to help his human, Sumner Paine, work on his 27" iMac.

According to Sumner, "He helps me type on the keyboard, he helps me swipe on the Magic Trackpad, and he defends against those pesky mouse pointers by pawing and pouncing at them every chance he gets. On those occasional lazy days when he's in the mood to rest, he enjoys napping on the Time Machine under the desk."

If you've got a Caturday nominee to share, let us know via our feedback page. For security reasons we can't accept inbound attachments, so you should host the photo (Dropbox, Flickr, iPhoto Journals, etc.) and send us the link.

Thanks, Sumner!

Caturday (late): Max and his Magic Trackpad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Sun, 12 May 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just in time for the weekend, here's a few apps that have dropped their (already cheap) prices even lower, meaning that you've got plenty to play here for just a few bucks' worth.

• The PC classic turned iOS port Carmageddon has gone completely free for today only.
• The Incident is on sale for 99 cents.
• The Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders flight simulation title has dropped down to just a buck.
• Just a few weeks after release, Sega's dropped The House of the Dead: Overkill to just $2.99. The game's not fantastic, but it does have a really innovative shooting mechanic built for iOS.
• Crazy Taxi is also on sale for 99 cents.
• Zach Gage's Halcyon is currently completely free to download.
• Chillingo has dropped Tiny Troopers 2: Special Ops down to free as well.
• Velocispider is on sale for 99 cents.
• NetherRealm's impressive Batman: Arkham City Lockdown is just under a dollar, too. Excellent price to try that one out at if you haven't.
• Cavern is a roguelike RPG with some good buzz that's on sale for $1.99.
• Big Fish Games' cute and polished point-and-click adventure title Fetch is only $2.99. That's just a buck off the usual price, but the game's well worth it.
• Finally, the retro arcade space shooter Plasma Sky is also available for free right now.

Personally, I'm still enjoying Firaxis' free Haunted Hollow, but I'm loading up a few of these on my iPad as well. Enjoy!

Carmageddon free, The Incident and more on sale originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 10 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We've been blessed with not one but two great strategy games from 2K Games recently. The first, the freemium Haunted Hollow, was a Firaxis title that put some board game mechanics around a haunted town. And this latest title, Sid Meier's Ace Patrol, is now out today on the App Store, and it's a turn-based flight combat simulator put together by none other than the grandfather of strategy himself, Sid Meier.

This one is also free to play, and you can unlock extra nations to play with via in-app purchase. There are over 120 missions to play through, and as you go, you can upgrade your pilots and their maneuvers, giving you more options to take down the opposing team.

The whole game seems very fun, and this is an iOS exclusive, straight from Sid Meier and his team. Both this and Haunted Hollow are excellent games, so if you haven't yet, go pick up Ace Patrol for yourself.

Sid Meier's Ace Patrol now available on the App Store originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 09 May 2013 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kwikset has made a new lock it's calling Kevo that makes use of your iPhone to lose your keys for good. The idea on this one seems great, and apparently the company picked up some money from a pitch on the Shark Tank TV show. The lock has both standard key-based and wireless mechanisms, so instead of using your key, you can simply put your smartphone or a branded fob up to the lock, and it'll open up for you.

You can also send a key to someone else's smartphone, so if they need to get in your house for some reason, you can send them a temporary key that only works for a given amount of time. That's great, and because the lock is still a standard mechanical lock, it'll work like a traditional lock as well if all else fails.

The Kevo lock runs on two AA batteries for about a year, at which point those need to be replaced. Still, I'd love to have one on my apartment door. It's set to be available this summer.

New Kevo lock uses your iPhone for keyless entry originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 08 May 2013 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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