We just keep hearing about an iWatch, so it seems pretty definite Apple is working on such a device. The question is whether they'll bring it to market, since they're known for developing devices that they eventually decide not to release. 

Given, though, that CEO Tim Cook has said that Apple has an interest in wearable computing, and given that Apple has hired some top people from the fashion industry, it seems inevitiable that we'll see some kind of wearable device from Apple. And a watch would make sense, since the smartwatch market seems to be taking hold. According to DigiTimes, Qualcomm, Sony, Samsung Electronics, Pebble, Casio, Nike, Adidas, Epson, and LG are all planning to launch wearable devices this year, mostly watches. The DigiTimes article says that Apple is already doing test manufacturing of an iWatch but the "yield rates" are below 50 percent. That means that of the devices manufacture, more than 50 percent have some defect. In order to bring a device to market cost-effectively, the yield rate must be much higher than that. According to DigiTimes, the manufacturers are having trouble with the molded chassis for the watch. Glitches like this, however, are all part of the process, and it won't likely have a bearing on whether Apple brings an iWatch to market.

My two big resolutions for this year were 1. to read more books, and 2. to write more creatively. While I've been on break from school it's been easy to carve out some time for reading and writing, but I know once classes start up again next semester I will have to be more diligent with my time. So I’ve been on the hunt for apps that will make both endeavors easier. Here are the two I found to be most exciting and helpful. 

Goodreads App (free) 

the Goodreads website has been a nice resource for me as a book reviewer over the years—it’s an easy format for sharing reviews with other readers and finding great recommendations. What I didn’t realize was the app's easy-to-use functions meant it had more to offer than the website. The first function that sparked my interest was the scanning option. You scan the barcode of the book you are reading and it takes you right to the book within the Goodreads system. From there you can post your review or look up other reviews. This would especially come in handy while browsing at a bookstore to get honest reader reviews of books by one swipe of a barcode. The app's other unique function is the eBook downloader which allows you to download books directly onto your iPhone or iPad. The social connectivity on the app is a great way to interact not only with your friends (as it connects you automatically via Facebook or Twitter) but also with authors who are trying to spread the word about their work. 

A Novel Idea (free, advanced $2.99) 

One of my biggest challenges as a creative writer is keeping track of my random ideas and character developments while writing. In search of a new way to stay on task and organized, I found the app A Novel Idea which allows you to input scenes, characters, locations, and ideas for your novel. the app then organizes and connects the dots for you. Once you finish outlining events and settings with heavy character detail provided by the app, you can export all of the information via email or iTunes. I find this to be extremely useful when I come up with an idea in while away from my computer or if I think of something in the middle of the night. My phone and the app are always nearby and that makes the whole process much more organized. I recommend purchasing the full version in order to export your information once you are finished. 

In many of my older articles (like this one), I've praised BUZZ Player. ($3.99) and BUZZ Player HD. ($3.99). Up until 4.0.2, which royally messed up the player's MKV playback capabilities, making it one of the worst choices for MKV playback.

(A quick note: note the full stop after the name of both the iPhone and the iPad-specific apps. I've explained the cause for this seemingly amusing name HERE.)

In the meantime, newcomers to the iOS multimedia player scene, nPlayer($4.99; read my latest review) have become the most important “go to” player for everyone looking for MKV playback and not wanting to play back DTS audio.Since 4.0.2, BUZZ Player (HD). has slowly and steadily become better and better. As of 4.1.0 (released early 2013), it regained DTS audio and, with series 5 (late 2013), also AC3 audio. (DTS and AC3 are almost exclusively the format of audio tracks in MKV files – even of those you save from your Blu-Ray discs youself, with MakeMKV, the de facto DVD and Blu-Ray rip utility.) 5.0.2 has been released recently:

Unfortunately, apart from the complete lack of AC3 support, the MKV support of 4.1.0 was still full of bugs. For example, it's still unable to even start playing back an MKV file with an AAC audio track in it. As has already been hinted on, series 5 turned out to be much more MKV-compliant than the previous one. It no longer refuses to play back MKV files with AAC audio and, even more important, it reintroduced AC3 audio. In addition, its DTS MKV playback is certainly more fluid than that of VLC, CineXPlayer, or the jailbreak-only RushPlayer+.

Unfortunately, it has also introduced a major bug not present in series 4: lack of Retina screen support on both iPhones, iPod touch devices, and iPads.

On the former, MKV's are played back using low resolution on Retina devices (iPhone4+, iPod touch 4+), rendering the resolution just plain awful. An example showing the playback screen of the standard ISO 12233 test chart in an MKV container:

(Click for the original-sized image should you really want to be able to compare the demonstrated resolution difference. They aren't really conveyed with size- and quality-reduced thumbnails.)

Fortunately, BUZZ Player. has no such problems with iOS-native files (MP4, MOV, M4V). With them, it looks as it should (read: high-resolution):

Unfortunately, the iPad version is even worse. It just doesn't make use of the Retina screen. Everything is scaled down to XGA resolution—even iOS-native video files. Obviously this isn't a problem on a non-Retina iPad (iPad 1, 2, and the first iPad Mini), but it is on a Retina one. This is how it renders anything:

4.1.0 has no such problems. That is, it renders in high-resolution:

• on iPads, everything
• on iPhones, not only native files (MP4, MOV, M4V), but also MKV's.

An example of this:

Similarly, on small-screen devices, MKV playback is also flawless under the old, 4.x series—unlike with the new.

Of course, as has been previously explained, it can only play back MKV's with DTS audio but nothing else—no AAC, no AC3. However, as has been explained above, if you only want to play back DTS MKV's, it's considerably a better choice than the very few other MKV-capable players. I've contacted the developer about these issues. I don't have high hopes for an answer though, given that he has not responded to my previous email, sent immediately after finding 4.0.2 practically useless.

Still Image Support

In THIS article, I've explained in which cases you will find the still image support of this player indispensable, particularly if you jailbreak and want to quickly review images on external storage. The native image support of iFile (the best jailbreak file handler tool) is very bad; this player has, on the other hand, pretty good still image support. And this has been greatly enhanced in 5.0.2.

As you can see in the screenshots of my just-linked article, previous versions have had adequate image controls—but in no way did they allow for generating and displaying thumbnails of them, something the stock Photos app has always done greatly on iOS. A screenshot of the image handler of 4.1.0:

As you can see, it's basically the same as that of 4.0, released and reviewed in September 2012.

And this is what the newly released 5.0.2 looks like (note the thumbnail quick selector widget at the bottom and the thumbnail-full size switcher in the top right corner):

Note that the screen resolution problems don't apply to still mode, which can easily be seen if you simply compare the legibility, pixelization, etc. of the two screenshots above. They show the original image being rendered at exactly the same resolution.

This is the brand-new thumbnail mode, after enabling it using the top right icon:

All in all, if you jailbreak and often need to review still images, particularly on external media, and aren't afraid of symlinks, you will enjoy the new player a LOT.

Conclusion

If you still have 4.x.x and only play back MKV's with DTS audio and have an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad with a Retina screen, don't upgrade. You will also want to stick with the old version if you watch iOS-native files with the player and have a Retina iPad. If, on the other hand, you have a low-resolution device or all you want is to watch iOS-native files on your iPhone or iPod touch (but not the iPad!), it's worth upgrading—the MKV engine of the new series is considerably better.

Also, if your device is jailbroken and you need a really decent image viewer for images anywhere in the file system, even on an external storage card or USB memory stick mapped to the Documents folder of the player, you'll want to go for this player and certainly upgrade. The image support is orders of magnitude better.

Wow, another year flew by, and can hardly believe I'm here again at CES getting my press badge and gearing up for the writing extravaganza to begin! Several of us from the iPhoneLife writing pool descend upon the show like tech vultures every year, and this year will mark my fourth. 

There will be posts aplenty full of gadgety coolness and wonder over the next several days, starting tonight with Pepcom and continuing through the week (and probably some follow-ups in weeks to come). Keep an eye out for innovative wireless audio, wearable tech, fitness-oriented accessories, gaming, and much more. This year should prove to be another great year in tech, and CES is the harbinger event that showcases it all. Stay connected with our iPhonelife blogs to keep yourself up-to-date!

A post late last week on the website BGR, which cited a Chinese website, reported that Apple will be coming out with 4.7- and 5.7-inch iPhones this year — significantly larger than the 4-inch display of the iPhone 5 family. The source for the information is said to be Foxconn executives. While it's impossible to know what Apple will do, the repeated rumors of a larger iPhone clearly suggest that Apple is testing larger prototypes. Typically when we get incessant rumors such as this, there tends to be some credence to them. The post on BGR gives an overview of previous iterations of this rumor, which has been reported by respected media such as The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. A 5.7-inch display would put the iPhone in the same league as Samsung's Galaxy Note 3, which also has a 5.7-inch display. Phones of this size are often referred to as "phablets," an elision of "phone" and "tablet."

Originally Apple had insisted that the iPhone be small enough that you could comfortably hold it in one hand. And when the iPhone went from 3.5 inches to 4, Apple made it taller but didn't increase the width. So larger iPhones would go against the grain of their earlier conception of what a smartphone should be. On the other hand, it's clear that the market is trending toward larger-screen options, so Apple may want to capture some of this market. Still, one reason Apple has been so successful in making money is that they've kept their product line very focused, with typically only a few options. Having multiple sizes of iPhones is also a departure from the past. 

However, Apple is known for developing prototypes that never launch, so just the fact that they're testing various sizes doesn't necessarily mean that they'll bring these to market. My hunch, though, is that we'll see a larger iPhone.

The report also says that the new phones will have the Touch ID feature found on the iPhone 5s. 

For me the Pepcom Digital Experience is like the unofficial launch of CES, an informal party where exhibitors give us a preview of what we can expect in the coming days of CES. With the sprawl of wireless charging solutions, audio gear, gaming gear, robotics, cameras, and wearable smart accessories it was a challenge to absorb everything that is on display. Nonetheless, I did my best to check out each and every booth at this condensed version of CES, and the following are some of the highlights of what I came across last night.

Torque Headphones

Get ready, Torque headphones are about to light up the headphone market with their soon-to-be-released on-ear/over-ear convertible headphones. To say that these headphones are meticulously crafted would be an understatement. I got to spend some time chatting with their designer, Yasu Yamamoto, and his passion, enthusiasm for these highly customizable, precision headphones was more than evident. These headphones feature swappable ear cushions that attach magnetically and incorporate different "valve" structure into their internal architecture to provide a delicately fine-tuned listening experience. Stay tuned, these totally unique headphones are set to hit the market later this year (as of now I don't have any word on pricing) and when they do, I'll be sure to let you know.

Steel Series Stratus Apple-Certified MFi Wireless Game Controller

I'm a big fan of iOS gaming in general, so when I was catching up with the folks at Gameloft about what we can expect from them this year, and they mentioned that Steel Series had their new Stratus wireless game controller on display just around the corner, I quickly made a bee-line for their booth. The Stratus is everything a good iOS game controller should be, and brings to the playing field lots of elements that the other game controllers on the market do not. The Stratus is compact, comes with a protective snap-on cover, features snappy, responsive controls, feels sturdy in your hands, and perhaps most significantly, it's the first and only MFi game controller to wireless connect with your iOS device via Bluetooth, allowing you to play on your iPad, iPhone, or connected TV. I'm expecting the Stratus to retail for $99 when it becomes available.

Korus Wireless Audiophile Speakers

Don't let these awesome speakers fool you. These award-winning, high-fidelity speakers are not your run of the mill Bluetooth speakers, not by a long shot. The Korus speakers use patented SKAA technology, which does away with the audio quality loss that can often be associated with Bluetooth speakers. The sound these speakers pump out is amazing; they have to be heard to be believed. Available in different size options, the Korus speakers also allow for super simple pairing, a connectivity range of 65 feet, the option of running the speakers off of D-cell batteries, for a truly portable boombox experience. These speakers are all you’ll need for the home, or for massive audio on the go. The larger V-600 retails for $399.99 and the smaller V-400 for $299.99.

Lacie Fuel Wi-Fi Hard Drive

Lacie’s new, Apple-friendly hard drive is quite the revolutionary invention. This miniature 1TB hard drive serves as a wireless hub that allows you to wirelessly connect up to five different devices to it so that wherever you go, whether it’s to Starbucks or on a camping adventure with the family, you can all access the content of the hard drive. Furthermore, it's also integrated with Dropbox, allowing you to access and update whatever media files you have in the Dropbox cloud. The accompanying app makes browsing your libraries a breeze and the whole system is as iOS-friendly as can be. The Lacie Fuel is expected to retail for only $199.00.

Nest Smart Thermostat and Carbon Monoxide/Smoke Detector

The next generation of smart home appliances are making a huge splash at this year’s CES, and leading the way with a great deal of critical acclaim is Nest. Makers of the “learning” thermostat and intelligent and interactive smoke detector and carbon monoxide monitor, nest has redefined the way we can interact with our home appliance technology.

The Nest Learning Thermostat ($249.00) learns your temperature habits and adjusts the indoor climate accordingly, with an auto away feature to help keep your bills down by not overheating your house when your family is at work and school. It also allows you to manage your house’s temperature using your iDevice as a remote control.

The Nest Protect Carbon Monoxide and smoke detector ($129.00) can give a friendly, gentle alert for burning toast, before setting off a full scale alarm, and allows you to silence the alarms with a simple wave of your hand in front of the device. It can also send alerts to your iDevice for unprecedented home safety monitoring.

Fugoo Skin-Changing, Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker

This rugged Bluetooth speaker is quite the gem. I've come across a lot of Bluetooth speakers in my time and this one from Fugoo seems like it would suit just about anyone’s tastes. It’s extremely portable, with a massive sound for a speaker not much larger than a can of soda. It’s completely waterproof-able and can be submerged under 3-feet of water for half an hour; it supports Siri or google Now; and most uniquely, it allows for the interchange of external shells. The shells I saw on display ranged from very simple to totally blinged out; from gem-studded affairs, to rugged and extra durable. Whatever your style, the Fugoo likely has a shell to match. The Fugoo line of speakers are priced at $229.00.

Stay tuned to iPhone Life, I'll be bringing you more in-depth reviews of all of these amazing new items once I’ve had a chance to catch my breath after the whirlwind that is CES!

Darn near everything I saw last night at the CES pre-shows in Las Vegas included some kind of wireless. Wireless watches and fitness products galore, wireless bicycle handlebars, a real wireless basketball which tracks your shot-making skills in the cloud (which will be another post entirely.) To put it succinctly, I was wirelessly wowed! I did manage to find a few items that were not so wirelessly connected, but still very cool...

I have to give some big love to the iDAPT guys (who were showcasing several innovative products at DE this year). A brand new dock called the i4w, an add-on charger module which adds an inductive charging plate to older models, several revolutionary universal device mounts/stands, and a "stackable" charge system called the Modulo. You stack up the small chargers and cumulatively they produce enough amperage to charge an iPad, then break em down again when you need just a trickle for the family iPhones. Very cool!

I was wowed by the amazing screen image picture quality (a tech-enabling prototype) on display in the Dolby booth called Dolby Vision. You probably know that Dolby has been a titan in the area of audio and sound signal enhancement. They are showcasing a game-changing hardware/software display technology which is gaining traction in both the CE and motion picture industry (a commercially produced Sharp display is purportedly at the show as well). The rep there demonstrated in stunningly beautiful clarity how the rich and full color of an HD motion picture can truly be experienced (screen on the right), by minutely manipulating the light emitted instead of merely increasing pixel density. Even our mobile devices may enjoy significant screen viewing improvements through the adopted use of Dolby Vision!

If you want to sound good on Karaoke night, this digital karaoke kit from Sing Trix is definitely for you. It can enhance your voice into just about any sound, including that of Barry White, a robot, or a chipmunk. Coupled up with the Sing Trix app, mic, mic stand, and a 100Watt speaker (all included), you can belt some seriously impressive vocals at your next big party. Designed by two music industry professionals that also worked on products like Guitar Hero, this digital Karaoke kit is only $299. Now you can finally do a proper job hitting those high notes on your favorite song, and without scaring the cat...

More great CES coverage to follow, so stay plugged in here at iPhoneLife!

The Pepcom Digital Experience is one of the most anticipated events at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. More than 200 brands come together the night before CES officially opens to show tech journalists their best products of the year, and I'm bringing my three favorite products for teens to you.

1. Looxcie Hands-Free Video Cam (starting at $99.00)

Record videos and upload to your social media networks (through the free app), and do it all while living in the moment with the Looxcie video camera. Your teen can take videos while skateboarding or riding a bike and immediately upload it to Facebook to share with friends via built-in Wi-Fi. 

2. TYLT Energi Travel Charger (price not announced yet)

No need to carry an extra charging cable with you anymore because the TYLT Energi comes with a lightning cable attached! This makes me more than just a little happy. This 1,800mAh charger doubles as a wall and portable unit and it built to last. 

3. Jam Classic Wireless Bluetooth Speaker ($49.99)

Jam Audio is not new to Pepcom or CES, but they didn't hold back on their line this year. This 2.5 inch tall speaker is now the bestselling Bluetooth speaker in the U.S. The Jam Classic has a rechargable lithium-oin battery and connects via Bluetooth to your favorite iDevice.  

The iPhone 5s camera is already a wonder, and clearly Apple has plans to make it even better, as indicated by the news this past weekend that Apple had purchased both the SnappyCam app and the one-man company that developed it: SnappyLabs. The app had been quite popular because it allowed users to take a burst of high-quality photos, similar to the burst mode Apple eventually incorporated into the iPhone 5s. Apparently creating this feature was no small feat, and Apple must have been impressed by the achievement of the developer, John Papandriopoulos. Apple's intention is likely to incorporate some of the impressive technology of SnappyCam into the iPhone's Camera app. But Apple also purchases companies with the intention of not only acquiring their technology but also their personnel. And so Papandriopolous will now be contributing his expertise as an employee of Apple.

All of this is good news, and one more sign that Apple is always forging ahead. Already the iPhone 5s camera has features found in no other smartphone. And indeed the dual flash has features found in no other camera in the world. 

SnappyLabs is just one of  many companies Apple has purchased in the past year, with the purpose of integrating cutting-edge technologies into their products and continuing to develop a team of talented engineers. One of Apple's purchases in the past was AuthenTec, and now we see the fruit of that purchase in the iPhone 5s in the form of TouchID.

Although International CES 2014 didn't officially start until today, Monday night was the big kickoff for the press because that's when Pepcom held their big Digital Experience electronics extravaganza.

iPhone Life bloggers found much to geek out over: 

Becca Ludlum sought out the top Pepcom offerings for the teens in your life.

Nate Adcock was blown away by all the wireless tech he saw last night at Pepcom from smartwatches and fitness bands to a wireless basketball. There were also a few non-wireless things that caught Nate's eye.

Siva Om also saw some things he really liked at Pepcom, from an iOS-compatible 1TB hard drive, to some awesome gaming and audio devices. Check out the whole list HERE

Other highlights from last night included the announcement of a cool bendable TV from Samsung. Transformers director Michael Bay took the stage to give his endorsement, but quickly exited after the teleprompter malfunctioned, which was not exactly the kind of stir Samsung was hoping to create. Other companies showed off their unbendable 4K flat screen TVs, including some that have integrated the Roku smart TV platform directly into the set. 

Pebble released a new generation smartwatch called the Pebble Steel. The newest iteration looks good, but the $100 price jump to $249 means the Steel is not exactly a steal. 

And finally, Corning announced a solution to the fact that we're all disgusting and every time we swipe our smartphone screens, we leave a trail of germs and filth. Corning's new Antimicrobial Gorilla Glass 3 is infused with ions of silver, which is apparently naturally antibacterial, meaning our future smartphone screens won't be quite so germ laden. The antimicrobial glass probably won't do much for the filthy fingers doing the swiping though. For that you'll have to go the low tech route and wash your hands.

While photos taken with our iDevices may never evoke the same feeling as one from a classic film camera, it doesn't hurt to try. With the thousands of photo-editing apps available in the App Store, it's tough to find one that stands out, but the recently released Faded($0.99) is one you should take a look at.

Developed by Vintage Noir, Faded aimsto be your all-in-one photo-editing app, complete with 70 film-inspired filters (34 for free, 36 premium filters available via in-app purchase), effects like color gradients and light leaks, and a full suite of tools to adjust your photos.

Design

Upon launching Faded, you'll be able to take a photo from within the app, or import one from your device's Camera Roll. Once a photo is ready to be edited, a toolbar will appear on the bottom of the screen to provide you with all your editing options.

Functionality

The first section of the toolbar is home to Actions and filters. Actions are a saved set of adjustments and edits you make to a photo, so you don't have to apply the same filters and adjustments to another photo.

After selecting a filter, a slider will appear to adjust the filter's intensity. From there, it's smooth sailing. Most of the available filters result in a very usable photo, but Faded offers plenty of customization options to get your photos just right.

Even if you don't apply a filter, you can still adjust a photo's exposure, contrast, brightness, and more from within the app. Also available are crop and rotation tools, and photo overlay options.

After editing your photo to your liking, it can then be saved to your Camera Roll, or exported to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and more.

Pros:

• Beautiful design
• Plenty of available filters
• Intuitive interface
• "Actions" feature is great for power users

Cons:

• Extra filters and effects cost money on top of the app's initial purchase
• Extensive editing options may be overwhelming for some

The Verdict

Faded is a wonderful app to use if you'd like to make your photos pop with better filters than many comparable apps available in the App Store.

Our iPhones and iPads are capable of amazing things, but most of us only use a small percentage of their abilities. In this weekly column I share tips and tricks for beginners, or anyone who wants to harness the full power of their iDevice. This week, I'm going to give you tips for labels, cellular data, bold text, and storage.

1. Turn on Labels

Labels in iOS 7 show you if a feature is turned on (green) or off (white). If you would like a more pronounced indicator you can turn on Labels. First, open Settings then go to General > Accessibility > On/Off Labels, then toggle the switch to green.

2. Restrict Cellular Data Access

Some apps use a large amount of cellular data, especially apps that stream videos or music. You can restrict certain apps to Wi-Fi only and manage cellular data by going to Settings > Cellular > scroll down to the bottom and then turn off any apps you don't want using data.

3. Bold Text

If you have trouble seeing the light font in iOS 7, you can change it to make it bolder. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > then turn on Bold Text. You will be required to restart your iPhone.

4. Available Storage

If you are worried about storage on your iDevice, you can find out what is available by going to Settings then Usage. There it will show you how many GB are available and how many are used. There is also valuable information that shows you which apps are taking up the most storage on your iDevice. In addition, you can see how much storage is available in iCloud. 

Apple announced Tuesday that App Store sales exceeded $10 billion in 2013, including $1 billion in December alone. According to the press release, iOS developers have now earned over $15 billion. Apple also reported that there are now over 1 million iOS apps available, including over 500,000 designed specifically for the iPad. The press release highlights some of the surprise hits of 2013, such as Ellen DeGeneres’ Heads Up ($0.99, games), ProtoGeo’s Moves ($2.99, health & fitness), Simon Filip’s Afterlight ($0.99, photo & video), and Kevin Ng’s Impossible Road ($1.99, games). And it highlights some of the year’s most successful games that were created by international developers, including Candy Crush Saga (free), Puzzles & Dragons (free), Minecraft ($6.99), QuizUp (free), and Clumsy Ninja (free). 

“We’d like to thank our customers for making 2013 the best year ever for the App Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “The lineup of apps for the holiday season was astonishing and we look forward to seeing what developers create in 2014.”

What impresses me about this app revenue is that, unlike the wild swings in revenue associated with Apple's devices and computers, this revenue stream is steady—and steadily increasing. Apple is seen mostly as a hardware business, but apps and media are an increasing portion of their revenue. Apple has been very astute in broadening their offerings in this way. 

To illustrate how steadily this aspect of Apple's revenue is growing, Macworld noted that initially it took Apple two years to earn $3.6 billion from the App Store. Very soon it will be making that much money per quarter. This will still be a small percentage of Apple's overall revenue, though. In the most recent quarter, which ended in September, Apple overall earned $37.5 billion. And the company projected it would earn between $55 and 58 billion in the quarter ending in December.

The Force ($129.95) is the latest sleek wristband from Fitbit sporting an attractive OLED status screen, and on display here at CES 2014 in force (pun intended). Not only does the latest wearable activity tracker keep tabs on your health stats including sleep quality, and waking motion, but also tracks calories burned, motivates you to stay active, compete with friends, monitors incoming calls, and leverages Bluetooth 4.0 to keep everything in sync (wow, what a mouthful)! 

With the latest Fitbit app, now featuring MotionTrack, loaded on your iPhone 5, you can also take advantage of the motion co-processor to stay active and healthy. Check out this great accessory product here, or just go grab the free enhanced  and popular iTunes Featured App here on the App Store!

All the rumors are now starting to refer to the forthcoming phone as iPhone 6. And the latest rumor, courtesy of Forbes, is that it will be just 6 mm thick. 

That's slightly less than a quarter of an inch. By comparison, the iPhone 5s is 7.6 mm thick. And the iPhone 3GS was 12 mm thick—twice as thick as the forthcoming phone. This will be quite a trick, especially since the rumored iPhone 6 is said to come with larger displays of 4.7 and 5.7 inches. Forbes says the new phone has been dubbed "iPhone Air."

While walking the show floor at CES today, I found so many fun new iPhone cases. There are cases for every budget and every style here and I loved learning about new brands (and planning out my next few case purchases). From tweens that love every new colorful accessory to adults who want their iPhone case to match their next handbag, there is quite literally something for everyone. 

Jellyfish has everything your tween needs to dress her iPhone in the latest colorful accessories. Gummy cases, fun animal prints, screen protectors in bright colors (and glitter!), and even decorative plugs for the headphone jack are just a few of the things you'll find from this fun company.   

Speck has a great new clear and protective Gemshell case so you can show off your new iPhone 5s without compromising it's safety. It's a win-win. The Gemshell has a glossy one piece shell with a tough back and rubberized sides to protect your phone from drops.  

I reviewed Ventev's prduct line earlier in 2013, and I've been a fan for a quite a while. I was especially excited to see the new pink and purple options in their Powercase 2000. This case is one of my favorites because it quickly charges my iPhone up to 100 percent without the need to carry a larger bag to hold an external portable charger. 

I was introduced to Cellairis at this year's CES and I was blown away by the number of cases they offer. They have several lines with several different price points, including personalized cases, cases with rhinestone designs from Elle & Blair, and cases with fun sayings and great patterns. Cellairis cases are perfect for those of us who carry our iPhone everywhere and don't want to be stuck carrying a less then stellar case. 

I like things that are simple. No wires, no fussy setup and updates. Just plug it in and press play. Korus is producing speaker technology to go head to head with other boutique wireless speaker products, and doing so without annoying lag or cumbersome setup. The V600 ($449.99), and V400 ($349) speakers were both on display at the show, and we got an up-close look and listen of these attractive new speakers. The sound of course was as superb as touted (as much as listening to them on the show floor is possible), but the cool thing is that they use neither Bluetooth nor WiFi to stream, but a frequency-hopping algorithm patented by their engineering team.

The LiveStage acoustics also provide a depth that ordinary speakers would struggle to match. The only thing I didn't like that much was the fact you have to insert an annoying dongle in your device; but then the wireless signal has to come from somewhere, and it's a small price to pay for both excellent HiFi capability and simplicity. The Aux-in and extreme low latency mean you can enjoy DVD/BR movies or other external sources without lag (which is an annoying artifact with Sonos). An integrated free app lets you control it all, so if you are in the market for a home wireless speakers system, these should be among those you are considering.

Day one of International CES 2014 saw the floodgates of tech opened wide. What did our bloggers find?

Becca Ludlum found every iPhone case you could ever imagine wrapping your precious iPhone in. 

Nate Adcock and his ears got to experience the wireless innovation of the new Korus speakers. 

Todd Bernhard, a Pebble smartwatch enthusiast from way back in the Kickstarter days, checked out the new Pebble Steel. Did the next generation live up to his expectations? 

Nate Adcock is loving all the wearable tech available for the fitness inclined. Here's what he thinks about the Force from Fitbit.

Other CES Happenings:

Michael Bay (and Samsung) probably wishes everyone would just shut up now about the whole teleprompter snafu/unplanned exit fiasco that has Bay continuing to trend on social media for all the wrong reasons. 

The CES organizers cleverly get attendees to visit less trafficked areas of the show by appealing to the kid in all of us with an iBeacon scavenger hunt. 

Our bloggers continue to scour the show floor for the coolest offerings. Stay tuned for more updates plus all the awards announcements coming up.

I'm a big fan of the Pebble SmartWatch as one of the early backers on Kickstarter. So I was anxious to see their announcement at CES yesterday. But frankly, it was a letdown. As I mentioned, I like my Pebble. I wear it almost everyday and appreciate that I can get text messages and caller ID on it. I appreciate the magnetic charging capability and the fact that the battery lasts about a week.
 

So when they announced the $249 Pebble Steel at $100 more than the original Pebble, I wondered what new features we could look forward to. After all, while the original watch is nice, there is still room for improvement. The Pebble display could be brighter, perhaps in color, or even offer a touchscreen as others like the Qualcomm Toq and i'mWatch do. There could be a Bluetooth speakerphone and a Siri button, like my Martian Watch offers. The charging mechanism could use induction charging so you could just place it on a pad.

Instead, for $100 more, you get both a steel band and a leather band, the case is slightly different and the buttons are a little more responsive. The magnetic charger is a little different but without an apparent benefit. It just means your old charger won't work with it and vice versa.

So, I'm disappointed. At the same time that Pebble went upscale, Martian Watches went downscale, from $250 down to $129 with their new Notifier watch. It forgoes the speakerphone capability but maintains the OLED display for text messages, Caller ID, and notifications, while using an analog display to tell time.

More competition is good, and the result should be more powerful, fashionable and affordable SmartWatches. And Apple hasn't even entered the market yet!