Category Archives: News

Skech brings some great cases to market [CES]

Skech, a company which began in 2003 has been attending CES for the past couple of years. Each time, it’s booth gets better and better. This year, Sketch had one of the better looking booths at CES –or at least in the iLounge pavilion. Skech had some exciting new (some relatively new, others new for CES) cases to show off.

One of these cases is the Blueboard, a folio case with a wireless typing pad that magnetically attaches and detaches instantaneously. The keyboard is very similar to Apple’s chiclet counterpart, though from my use, I still prefer Apple’s. According to one of the representatives, the reason behind the detachable keyboard is for those who mirror the iPad to a TV as well as those who wouldn’t always want the keyboard. Continue reading →

Angry Birds Updated to 2.0, Bringing 15 New Levels

As a celebration of the second “birthday” of Angry Birds – the ultra-popular and wildly successful game that so many people know and love, Rovio has released Angry Birds version 2.0. While the update is mainly evolutionary, rather than a full-fledged “Angry Birds 2″, it continues Rovio’s commitment to delivering new content to players.

Angry Birds 2.0 brings 15 new levels to the game, along with modifying how the player progresses through the game. Now, all the “episodes” (sets of levels) are unlocked from the start, allowing new players to jump right into any of set of levels rather than playing them in strictly sequential order.

Angry Birds is available on a multitude of platforms, including all iOS devices (with an appropriately-scaled “HD” version for the iPad), along with Android devices and even a web app available for the Chrome web browser. Angry Birds for iPhone and iPod touch is available for $0.99, and Angry Birds HD is $4.99.

Flippin’ for Flipboard

Flipboard, a social magazine app loved by millions of iPad owners the world over has finally arrived on the small screen, the iPhone and iPod Touch to be exact. Released in 2010, it quickly gained traction with the iPad user base due to its beautifully designed interface that behaved like a magazine, requiring users to “flip” through their feeds. The iPhone version thankfully retains all of the features that made the iPad version such a success, while also adding something new to the mix with Cover Stories. The Cover Stories interface collects and displays your most recent photo uploads, status updates from Facebook and Twitter and shared articles all in one place, and is conveniently placed at the top, so its the first thing you see when you open the app. The service did launch with a few hiccups, but they’ve all been sorted out by the hard working devs. Download it today and see what all the fuss is about.

Minecraft: Pocket Edition to Gain Survival Features in Future Updates

In my review of Minecraft: Pocket Edition, I mentioned how the game focused more on the free-building a creative aspects of the full Minecraft experience in order to create a game that was perfect for 10-15 minute stretches. While I still think that launching a creative-mode-only game at first was a smart move, I was left with a sense of wanting more out of the Pocket Edition of my favorite PC/Mac game.

I was understandably very excited when, yesterday, Daniel Kaplan, head of the mobile version of Minecraft, made a post on the official Mojang blog giving an overview of what his team will be working on for future versions of Minecraft: Pocket Edition. Kaplan is quoted below… Continue reading →

Group of developers band together to create the first Mac App Store bundle

Are you one those people that constantly scours the internet looking for the best deals? If you answered yes, then please allow me to make your day easier by pointing you to a sale a group of developers are putting on (here). For today only, select apps normally priced at $9.99 will be reduced to only $0.99! Granted, this is a one day, limited time only sale. Apps include Ensoul, Hider, Focus, VirusBarrier Plus, and more. Check out all the apps here while time lasts!

Get CleanMyMac for 50% off today

With Thanksgiving comes Black Friday, a day of deals, chaos and impulse buying. MacPaw, the folks behind CleanMyMac, have put up a deal offering the software for 50% off regular price. This makes a lifetime license just $15! Check out the deal here or just remember coupon code ‘BKF11′.

Bluelounge enters the case market with Shell for iPad

Earlier this week, Bluelounge released its newest accessory and first ever case, the Shell for iPad. Setting it apart from the crowd, the Shell features unique imprinted designs on the rear. Though I have yet to get my hands on it, the case appears to be something worth taking note of. Check it out here and read on for the full press release… Continue reading →

TheMacFeed is looking for writers

Great news for all you wannabe TheMacFeed writers out there because we are looking for a few editors! Please, try to contain your excitement, though it is understandable if you want to get up and run around in a circle for a bit. We’ll wait.

Who are we looking for, you ask? It is not a necessity to be someone with “professional writing experience,” but someone who is passionate about what they have to say and the knowhow to put it into words –well written words at that! And yes, these are paid positions.

If you are interested in the gig, please shoot Daniel an email at danielfeeney(at)me(dot)com as soon as possible. Thanks!

Heckler Design’s OneLessDrop is 100% stunning

Heckler Design is mainly known for its OneLessDesk, however just recently, thanks to a very successful Kickstarter campaign, an “elegant power cord anchor.” Founder Dean Heckler told me the story behind the OneLessDrop:

When visiting one of my vendors to oversee the production of one of my other product’s part, one could not help but notice all the raw aluminum stock around their shop. I would obsess over how mesmerizing all the solid blocks of aluminum were to hold a look at. What also became clear is how few inexpensive consumer products are made from aluminum block. I wanted to design something made of of solid, polished aluminum.

My original ideas focused on an over-the-top gorgeous bedside iPhone rest. I did a number of designs and shared them with friends and family. The response was tepid, so I kept at it. As I was pondering what simple features could be added to the iPhone stand concept to make it more interesting, more clever, I thought about how every night I’d search the carpet next to my bed to find my phone’s power cord. So I added a groove in the top of my phone stand design. The groove would hold the power cord to the table when the phone was Not present and plugged in. Folks loved this feature. I figured, if they love the groove, but don’t love the stand, I’ll just ditch the stand.

A few dozen design revisions from that point, and I came upon OneLessDrop’s design.

It goes for $25 with free shipping from the Heckler Design website. Check it out here.

Image via

Twelve South releases the PlugBug

Today, Twelve South released the PlugBug, a travel charger which snaps onto your MacBook Power Adapter allowing for charing of both an iOS device and MacBook. Plus, by using the PlugBug, one can charge an iOS device much quicker than the normal USB connection is capable of doing. Check it out here or read on for the release and images… Continue reading →