We non-US Apple fans have a bad of a hard deal – all of the best media and many of the top apps just do not show up in the SA iTunes store. So if you are really desperate to get Angry Birds, the only way to get hold of an iTunes voucher is to make Apple believe you live in the US. Luckily that is not too hard, and I will explain to you how to do that here.

Before you get started, you have to know that in order to buy content from the US iTunes store, you will need to buy iTunes vouchers. Your non-US credit card will not work with the US store, but luckily it is easy enough to buy vouchers through sites like WildTwig. But first you need a US iTunes store account:

How to Open Your US iTunes Account:

1) First off, you obviously need iTunes, and an internet connection.

2) Open iTunes, then go to iTunes Store on the left.

3) Make sure you are signed out of any iTunes account. Make sure the top right of the iTunes store states “Sign In”. If it is signed into another account, click on the account name, and click Sign Out.

4) Scroll to the bottom of the iTunes Store page, and click on the country icon. This can be any country’s flag.

(more…)

9to5 Mac has received some information from a reliable source at Foxconn Technology Group in China that the next iPhone, known as the iPhone 5, is currently being geared for production.

The source revealed that there are various sample devices around but it is impossible to tell which of them is most likely to be the final product. However, there are a few features that are common among all the devices. They include:

• 4+ inch display (made by LG on at least one of them).
• Rather than a teardrop shape, samples are all symmetrical in thickness
• None of the samples have the iPhone 4/4s form factor

What is important to note here is that iPhone 4S production did not gear up until late spring of last year.  If a pattern is followed and an approximate five month lead time is given, it would appear that Apple is back on its new iPhone launch for summer/WWDC pattern that it maintained until last year.

The source that provided this information was the same source that indicated to 9to5 Mac late last summer in the U.S. that the iPhone 5 was not about to be launched, against the prevailing tide of information, and that Apple was building the iPhone 4S model instead.

Any thoughts on all the emerging iPhone 5 details?

Apple has just announced its financial results for its fiscal 2012 first quarter which spanned 14 weeks and ended December 31, 2011.

Apple had $97.6 billion in the bank as of the end of its first quarter and that amount has almost certainly crossed the $100 billion mark by now. Apple sold 37 million iPhones in the quarter, more than Wall Street was expecting and the sales of iPads and Macs also beat estimates. Apple also posted twice as much revenue and profit as Microsoft did in its holiday quarter.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook announced that “We’re thrilled with our outstanding results and record-breaking sales of iPhones, iPads and Macs. Apple’s momentum is incredibly strong, and we have some amazing new products in the pipeline.”

However, Cook did emphasise that the company can do even better. He was quick to point out that Apple had been struggling with shortages all quarter. Tragic floods in Thailand have led to poor availability for components across its devices, the company was not able to make as many iPhone 4Ss as it would have liked and due to the rampage in Mainland China on launch day, was unable to sell any new iPhones.

When asked about Apple’s success during his first four months as CEO, Cook was adamant about praising the work of his colleagues and that he was lucky to be surrounded by them. When asked to elaborate, Cook simply pointed to the company’s monster earnings to make his point. During a conference call with analysts Cook said “I think the team is doing a fantastic job. We feel really good about where we are.”

(more…)

According to a study conducted by Nielsen, a global information measurement analysis company, the high profile and much anticipated launch of the iPhone 4S toward the end of last year had a significant impact on the proportion of smartphone owners who chose an Apple iPhone over other available mobiles.

Posted on Nielsen’s blog site, research results reveal that among those who acquired a smartphone within the last three months (recent acquirers),  44.5 percent of those surveyed in December said that they chose an iPhone, compared to the 25.1 percent in October. Furthermore, 57 percent of new iPhone owners surveyed in December said they chose to get an iPhone 4S. However, Android continues to take the lead among all smartphone users with 43.6 percent of all smartphone users that were surveyed in the fourth quarter of 2011.

(more…)

On Thursday Apple will hold a small event to show off its latest efforts in the education market. Most sources seem to agree that the event will focus on ways in which textbooks can be brought into the digital age of tablets – but Apple might have a few other tricks up its sleeve. The event might also focus on the announcement of new tools that can be used to create these digital textbooks.

The case for digital textbook has been around for a while. Textbooks are expensive to buy, expensive to print and also heavy to carry around. Imagine a student a few years from now just carrying around a tablet, which has his/her textbooks stored. But the aim is not purely to replace existing textbooks – the value will lie in what type of interactivity can be built into a digital textbook. Instead of static images you find in normal textbooks, textbook publishers can now build in interactive features that enable the reader to better understand a particular issue – think videos, 3D models, sound clips etc.

Traditional textbook publishers will probably show off what textbook experiences they are planning for the iPad, while Apple might show some new content creation tools that will make it easier than ever to publish for the iPad. Right now the digital publishing market is also ripe for revolution with publishers being forced to code apps from scratch, or to use tools like Adobe’s Folio Builder. If Apple can build an easy to use, but powerful tool to build interactive textbooks, it will create another market in which Apple can dominate. The iPad is already doing very well, but if Apple can convince publishers to publish exclusively to the iPad, we can expect to see many students to switch to iPads.

(more…)

At CES 2012 in Las Vegas, Pocket-lint witnessed what was a regular iPhone being repeatedly dunked into a fish tank filled with water. This demonstration served to show off the capabilities of a new nano technology that will likely save your smartphone from getting water damage and may be included in the next wave of smartphones by Apple and Samsung.

Called HzO, the technology that has already been applied to a number of devices such as the iPhone and Samsung phones for testing, creates a nano-scale film barrier that has special water repelling properties once applied to the inside of electronic gadgets. The technology is already installed into the phone during its manufacturing process, rather than by the consumer once the phone has been purchased.

A company representative has said “We expect HzO to be in next season’s phones,” referring to Apple’s interest in the technology. Samsung is also reportedly “very excited about the technology.”

(more…)

Yesterday the Apple iPhone 4S was supposed to launch in China, after it was finally approved by the Chinese government. But the number of people who showed up at the Apple retail stores proved to much to handle. Customers was waiting outside in -9 degrees celsius temperatures, and the stores did not open at the normal 7:00 AM time. At 7:15 AM people started chanting “Open the Door!” after an Apple representative announced to the crowd that the phone would not go on sale. The delay sales was not in all stores however, with Shangai getting their allotment on time.

Soon afterward the police had to be called in to calm down the crowd, who started pelting the stores with eggs. Customers were instead told to order their iPhones online, and Apple has decided to not continue sales of the iPhone in stores, in order to prevent unruly crowds forming again.

“The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible, and our stores in China have already sold out,” an Apple spokesperson told AllThingsD. “Unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being. Customers can still order iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers.”

See our review of the iPhone 4S here.

Source: AllThingsD

Among the 50 products in total that it unveiled at CES 2012, Behringer introduced the iNuke Boom. With a price tag of $30, 000 and 10, 000 watts of power, Behringer claims that it is the loudest iPhone, iPad and iPod docking station ever developed.

If you’re interested in owning the iNuke at 400kg and measuring 8ft by 4ft by 4ft, make sure that you have the space for it first. Running off two 15 amp residential circuits, users won’t have to worry about blowing a fuse and a large switch at the back of the device offers an extra 12 decibels. The base is as a result of dual 18 inch sub-woofers built inside the unit.

For more about the iNuke Boom, watch the video below: