IOS

With Marco Arment’s piece on Apple losing the functional high ground gaining widespread visibility this week I find the timing of a recent fiasco with my iPad to be a perfect opportunity to throw in my two cents.

 Are you planning to buy an iPhone from Craigslist or eBay? Here are a few ways to find out if that iPhone was stolen before you buy it. All you need is the serial number or IMEI number of the iPhone. The seller should be willing to provide this to you if you contact them.

Dave Fumberger has written a really interesting piece about what goes into making a promo video for an iOS app. There is a lot more going on in the production than I would’ve expected.

My iPad mini just got a lot more productive. Federico’s review is right here.

Federico Vitticci’s in-depth review of Editorial for iPad is as profound as the application itself so I’m not going to say anything more than go buy the application if you need to write anything on the iPad. It’s really good.

Earlier today I shared my new iPhone lockscreen online and was asked where it came from.  I realized I’ve kept my favorite desktop/wallpaper site to myself. I think it stemmed from a “first rule of fight club” mentality. I’ve used Simple Desktops for years and it’s absolutely my favorite website for finding fresh, minimal desktop (and mobile) desktops. Today I noticed that they have Mac, iPhone and Android apps.

The best GMail application for iOS just got updated to be optimized for the iPad.

If you’re like me then your schedule lives in Google Calendar and the computer you always have on you is running iOS. While Fantastical is my go-to calendar app on the Mac and iPhone I find that Calendars+ from Readdle is the best iPad app for Google Calendar as I need to see what availability I have before committing to an event or meeting.

 Update: If you’re upgrading from the alpha I would recommend clearing out all support files using a tool like AppZapper, Hazel or CleanMyMac. My favorite podcatcher for iOS has been in alpha for the Mac over the last few months and as of this morning is out in public beta. Martin and his team at Vemedio have been working hard and iterating quickly on the Mac version of Instacast and it’s really matured throughout the alpha. The initial design was scrapped and they’ve been listening closely to users for feedback and to make the best podcatcher for OS X.