Dr. Dre Beats by Dre

Nobody Will Forget About Dre: Apple Wants Beats by Dre for $3.2 Billion

Could Dr. Dre become the first billionaire in hip hop? Conflicting reports have come out that Apple has either bought Beats by Dre or are in talks to acquire the company for an astounding $3.2 billion. Obviously, Beats by Dre will come out the big winner if the acquisition goes through, but analysts are dumbfounded as to why Apple would splurge on the popular headphone manufacturers (who also have their own music streaming subscription service amongst other products and services beyond the headphones).

The acquisition would allow Apple to step their headphone game up, hopefully making the included iPhone earbuds a thing of the past with some better quality Beats by Apple wear. However, the biggest aspect of the acquisition is not Beats by Dre's big selling point (their headphones), but their steaming service Beats Music. The acquisition of the system and its algorithm could help bolster Apple's own music service in an attempt to compete with Pandora and Spotify. However, the Beats Music install base isn't known to have many subscribers.

If the deal goes through, it would become Apple's most expensive (and riskiest) acquisition to date. Meanwhile, Dr. Dre would become the richest rapper in the music industry. As a fan of both Beats by Dre and Apple, I'm all for the acquisition. If this means increasing the audio quality across all Apple products (iPod, iPad, iPhone, MacBooks, etc.), it can only be a blessing. Sure, stingy audiophiles will complain about Beats by Dre's focus on deeper bass for a muckier mid tone, but really, the common consumer won't even notice while they're juking to their iPads Powered by Beats by Dre Audio™.

[via CNET]


Free ProCam app for iPhone

ProCam App turns your iPhone into a DSLR for FREE

Ok, the ProCam app may not literally turn your iPhone camera into a DSLR, but in terms of user interface and camera functionality, it offers a long list of features that allows you to have much more control in the photo-taking experience. What's even greater about this app is that for a limited time only it's FREE, so you may want to download it right now.

Although it's no secret that the iPhone 5s already has one of the best smartphone cameras in the industry, we also know that Apple’s camera software is also one of the most basic camera apps out there. Unlike rival companies like Nokia, Samsung and HTC that add innovating new features to their camera software, Apple continues to rely on third-party developers to issue camera enhancements for the iPhone. Then when you see a popular camera app like ProCam in the App Store, and it’s easy to understand why Apple does this.

ProCam for the iPhone is undoubtedly one of the most versatile iOS camera apps out there, and it was created by notable developer Samer Azzam. The app gives your iPhone camera 12 different shooting modes, DSLR-like settings, a bunch of photo enhancement options, and even allows you to switch the type of lens your using (like Vignette, White vignette, Fisheye, Tilt Shift and Kaleidoscope). The only thing it lacks compared to a real DSLR is the image quality, of course.

Check out photos below for a closer look. To see a full list of features from ProCam’s description and to download it in the App Store, click here. Let us know how it works out for you.

[Via Yahoo! News]


Disney Frozen

Disney Movies Anywhere Launched As Disney's First Movie Streaming Service

Disney, while a huge industry in itself, has a huge market for most of its productions. Creating many works that families can trust to watch as a whole, the characters and plot lines of every story becomes a huge potential for money and legacy years after each release. A company invested in expanding whenever possible, Disney launched today that a new streaming service called Disney Movies Anywhere will be available for consumers to stream their favorite Disney films with an app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Apple TV will also be providing the cloud-based service access, but consumers can log in to the website on a computer or laptop as well.

Disney's streaming option has been speculated for the past few years with many wondering if they would join with UltraViolet, another popular digital streaming service. However, they decided to go their own route and team up with iTunes as the main destination for film purchases. They're the only major studio that won't be affiliated with UltraViolet, and their separation as well as Apple's from the digital movie service is being blamed for the slow-rising popularity. However, with iTunes consumers will have the ability to select from about 420 films produced by Disney, Pixar, and Marvel with the appeal of a "buy once watch anywhere" approach. Content previously purchased on the web as well as digital copies can be accessed from accounts as well. The hope by both Disney Movies Anywhere and UltraViolet is that digital movie purchases will become more appealing to all.

It seems that the bait trying to lure consumers into the Disney digital kingdom will be the ability to purchase Disney's latest blockbuster Frozen three weeks before its release on DVD and Blu-Ray. Another push for consumers to join will be a free digital copy of the Disney-Pixar classic The IncrediblesDisney, while creative all on levels, seems to approach everything they do as an enterprise, and this is only going to increase their market value more than it's already worth.

[via Variety]


The Holiday Season Is Here: Apple Solid Gold iPhone 5S

It's the holiday season and time to go shopping for yourself or the special people in your life. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get someone an iPhone 5s since most people would appreciate that as a gift. You could also give someone the iPhone with a gold finish so they can stand out, or if you really want to show your love, you can get them a solid gold iPhone 5s.

Yup, you read that right; there's a solid gold iPhone that costs around $3,300 made of 24 karat gold covering the top, bottom, edges and back. If gold isn't really your style, you can go with the other options like platinum or rose gold, as well as an array of customization options. If you really want to make a statement when you whip out your iPhone, head on over to Gold Genie here.

[Via Goldgenie]


I Was Forced Into Cyber Monday

Let me start off by first saying I am not a shopper. As my roommates and my mother will attest, shopping is not my forte. I can't make decisions, and getting money to leave my pocket for anything is generally an exercise in hostage negotiation. However, this weekend after returning home from Milwaukee late Saturday night, I was surprised to notice the next morning that my car had been tended to by the local gypsies who helped themselves to their pick of my things, including the all-holy iPod that was left in the center console. Lost and confused without my song library at my fingertips, I immediately hit the Internet to try to figure out the most prudent way to re-gain my mobile audio adventures. Little did I know where this foray into online consumerism would take me.

Being such a self-described poor shopper, I was just barely aware at the behemoth Capitalism push that has become known as Cyber Monday. Simply a way to get Americans to waste the paychecks they received a few days before, Cyber Monday may be the worst, best thing ever.

I dipped my toe into the waters of the "deals" that are unveiled around the first post-Thanksgiving Monday by innocently searching for "Deals on iPods" which alerted me to about 1000 different sales on everything from an iPod touch to a jogger's armband. Not sure what was legit and what was a penny stock scam, I opted for the most noteworthy of the search results and headed to Amazon, where I found out that Apple doesn't participate in Cyber Monday, Black Friday or any sort of consumer holiday that means a break in price or profit. For this reason, I found myself staring down a $250 price tag to relinquish my jams.

A desperate Tweet around noon was my final goodbye to the world as I was sucked into Cyber Monday deal at sites like Nice Kicks, Bucketfeet, Mishka, IllRoots, JackThreads, and more boasting savings of 70-90%. By this point, it was official: what had started as an investigation into iPod prices had left me stranded in the wide sea of online retail around the holidays. Friends sent me sales, my mother sent me sales, it seemed as though all anyone was worried about was how to shave some dollars off that new Kindle or get the latest gadget or fashion item on the low. As I wallowed from one to the next, desperately leaning on my right side to keep myself from grabbing at my wallet for my card that accessed my abused bank account, I realized just how disgusting this holiday shopping season has gotten.

While I'm all for cheap things, there is a certain anxiety that comes with trying to get the best deal on something, a certain anxiety I, as a non-shopper, am not accustomed to, and which I can assume is to blame for the majority of the turkey and stuffing-filled stampedes that enter stores every year at the brink of midnight. While Cyber Monday may come without all the broken bones and bruised egos that come with Black Friday, it is an interesting beast, best akin to a Hallmark holiday like "The Sweetest Day," a corporate celebration that is a cause to do what? Spend money.

For my part, no money was ultimately spent. While Cyber Monday deals are exciting and, at times, too good to be true, it simply became too much at once for me, the ploy backfiring on the big guys upstairs. While we can process more today and through the Internet than we ever could have a generation ago, throwing a million sales at people may not be the best way to go about it. So, after logging on to the 'net around 9 AM, it is now almost a full day later and my iPod dock is still empty. Cyber Monday covers a lot, but still comes up a bit short in my book.


New Apple OS X Mavericks is available for free

Mac and Macbook users, listen up: The latest OS X, Mavericks, is available for free. Users running OS X Snow Leopard, Lion, and Mountain Lion can download the OS X upgrade for free through the App Store. In an unprecedented move, Apple announced yesterday that they want "every Mac user to experience the latest features, the most advanced technologies, and the strongest security. We believe the best way to do this is to begin a new era of personal computing software where OS upgrades are free."

Mavericks comes with a few new features and updates, including Finder Tags to help find specific files, better functionality for multiple displays, the addition of the iBooks and Maps apps conveniently from your desktop, the iCloud Keychain that stores all important passwords to an iCloud account for easy use between iPhones and Macs, and more.

However, the biggest upgrade that came with Mavericks is the operating system's ability to boost computer performance and reduce the strain on battery life. Like I mentioned back in June, Mac Timer Coalescing and App Nap minimize the use of inactive data running in the background while you work. For a personal example, I always have Photoshop and Chrome running for work. Mavericks detects this and idles any other program/app I'm not currently using at that time to give a performance boost. I haven't noticed much of a difference, but that's only because I downloaded Mavericks 8 hours ago.

Nevertheless, considering the price tag, Macbook users should download Mavericks as soon as they can to give their old laptops/computers that much extra bit of life.

[via Engadget]


Microsoft top brass wants Gates out

Don't bite the hand that feeds you, goes the old mantra. Of course, that and really any common sense gets tossed out the window once money is involved. The guys at the top are greedy, what's the difference between $1.1 million and $1.5? Really, though. So, in the latest instance of a company turning on the person that made them, a few of the board members over at Microsoft decided they've had it with this Bill Gates guy, calling for his ouster from his post as Chairman of the board.

Apparently, these three grumpy old men think that dropping Gates will allow the company to move forward more succinctly, that Gates is holding them back. Let's back up. This is the guy that created the concept of the window all of you are reading this post on right now. Gates is the Mick Jagger to Steve Jobs' John Lennon. You don't fire Gods and they also don't usually step down.Not to mention Gates is one of the most beloved businessmen in recent memory, a guy who donates $2 billion a year and still endorses higher taxes on the rich. Rockefeller he is not. He is a genuinely good guy doing genuinely good work, so what are you waiting for-get him out of there!

So, with that, Microsoft, which has real problems (see: Microsoft Surface) that having someone experienced like Gates will help solve, is instead trying to push out one of the most important business and tech minds of a generation. Too bad there isn't a good example of a huge tech company pushing out their founder only to fall apart and ask for him back. . . oh wait.


Apple sells more than nine million iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c models in first three days

The new era of Apple’s popular iPhone ushered in on Friday with the launch of two new models: the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c. As has been customary for years, many lined up to be among the first to take a bite out of Apple’s next wave of the popular smartphone, so much so that the company has set a new record.

This morning, Apple announced that the combined weekend sales of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c had reached nine million units sold with plenty more to come over the upcoming weeks as stores are restocked with extra shipments. Of course, the news comes with an asterisk to the record as this is the first time that Apple has released two new iPhones at the same time; the eight different color variations for the smartphones (three for the iPhone 5s, five for the iPhone 5c) also helped pad the enormous amount.

Of course, nine million units sold in three days is nothing to scoff at despite any positive PR spin Apple applies to the launch. However, what would be more eye-opening would be the revenue the company made over the same three day time period with the cheapest versions of each phone priced at $199 for the iPhone 5s and $99 for the iPhone 5c.

[via engadget]