It's almost official. Apple is expected to send out their "save the date" notices, and that date is September 9. The date is almost exactly a year after the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c were announced, on September 10, 2013. Last year, online orders began September 13 with availability on the 20.  In the case of the gold version of the iPhone 5s, availability was extremely limited. 

Assuming Apple's typical schedule, announcing on a Tuesday with availability on the Friday of the next week, the next iPhone would be available ten days after announcement on September 19.

It will be interesting to see if Apple manages their supply chain a little better this time. Now, they know "Gold is best" and ideally will have better availability. What is likely is that an even larger iPhone, with a rumored 5.5-inch screen, will be harder to come by and probably wouldn't be introduced at the same time.

Coincidentally (or perhaps not) Samsung has their own date set, for September 3. That's when they are expected to announce their next tablet, the Galaxy Note 4. So Samsung might squeeze out a few days of press coverage before the industry turns to see what's behind Apple's curtain.

We know, it's still summer, and while you're likely in denial about the cold weather in our not-so-distant future, you now have an excuse to plan your winter festivities early with our iTunes Gift Card Challenge!

The Challenge:

Write in and tell us how your would spend a $50 iTunes Gift Card to make your holiday season awesome. You can include four to eight movies, books, songs, TV shows, or apps available on the iTunes Store, and explain how each item would contribute to your holiday fun. 

Keep your word count to less than 350 words total, and email your responses to donna@iphonelife.com by September 20. The total cost can be within $2 of the $50 target.

The Prize:

Christmas will come early to whoever submits the best defense of their iTunes Store selection. The prize? You guessed it, a $50 iTunes Gift Card! We'll also feature you in our holiday issue of iPhone Life magazine!

Deadline to submit your selection: Sept. 20.

Do you think Steve Jobs had any idea of the educational impact his iDevices would have? Read on for some interesting news about what iDevices have done to mobile learning. If you'd like to read more about the state of mobile education, head to your nearest store and purchase a copy of the September/October Education issue of iPhone Life magazine, which hits newsstands August 19. 

Our Apple ID account contains sensitive personal and financial information. If someone were to guess your password and security question answers, they could possibly access and change your Apple ID information and make iTunes and App Store purchases as you. If you want to keep that information extra secure, consider enabling Two-Step Verification This will prevent anyone from using your Apple account even if they know your password. Here's how:

In an Internet browser, go to My Apple ID, click on Manage Your Apple ID, and sign in.

Click on Password and Security. Answer your security questions and then under Two Step Verification, click Get Started.

Apple will email you a verification code, which you will need to enter in order to continue.

Once you enter the code, you will need to wait three days before you can complete signing up. Apple will send an email letting you know when the waiting period is over.

After the waiting period is complete, sign back in at My Apple ID, click on Password and Security, answer your security questions, and then click Get Started under Two Step Verification.

Enter your phone number. Apple will text you a verification code.

Enter the code and you will be given a Recovery Key.

Print the Recovery Key and store it in a safe place.

Confirm your Recovery Key.

Check the box and click Enable Two-Step Verification. 

From now on, any time you make a purchase or access your account, Apple will text you a verification code that must be entered before you can proceed. And no one can access your Apple account without two of the three following things:

1. Your password
2. Your verified iDevice
3. Your Recovery Key

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Top image credit: Nobuhiro Asada/Shutterstock.com

When it comes to photography, there’s no doubt that lighting is one of the most crucial aspects of creating a great image with your iPhone, but did you know you can also have a lot a fun with it?

The following are some of my favorite iPhone-related lighting tips and tricks!

1.  Sun Flare

Though the presence of sun flare in an image is considered a fatal flaw by some, for others it is a lovely form of artistic expression. Personally, I love sun flares. They're my favorite! And if you love a good sun flare as much as me, you’re in luck! This effect is actually a lot easier to achieve than some might think. Simply place the sun at the corner of your image, slightly behind your subject, or even directly in the image and you’ll usually get a nice sun burst effect. You can also place the sun directly behind your subject, only slightly peeking out, to achieve a much hazier look. Every situation is different of course, but typically you can move the sun around in the image until you get what you’re looking for or even focus on various parts of the image to make the sunburst more or less intense.

2. Silhouettes 

Ok. So I know I said sun flares were my favorite photographic lighting effect, but I admit I’m pretty obsessed with silhouettes too. They just have a way of really bringing character to an image while also reducing the distraction of detail. Silhouette shots are best achieved either early in the morning or later in the evening, when the sun is rising or setting. You should then position the sun directly behind your subject and focus on the lightest part of your image. This will create a beautiful silhouette effect.

3. Getting Creative with Shadows

Like silhouettes, I love shadows due to their simplicity and lack of distracting detail. Shadows are easy to capture; just snap some pictures before or after mid-day and you’ll be able to get some decent photos. The later or earlier in the day, the more dramatic your shadows with be.
 

4. Watch the Sunrise and Sunset

Really. A nice sunrise or sunset is beautiful and makes for some even more beautiful photos. The best part is that they're never the same—some are more colorful, others highlight unique cloud formations. It's hard to go wrong with this tip, and it's so relaxing too!

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Don't forget to enter this weekend's Giveaway Contest! 

Here's how it works: Every other weekend we raffle off tons of great apps and accessories for FREE then announce the winners through iphonelife.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. To enter, go to iPhoneLife.com/giveaways. If you win an app, we will email you the promo code. If you win an accessory, we will ask you for your mailing address.

This weeks featured items are:

1. LifeCharge iPhone 5/5s Battery Case: Retail Price $79.99

LifeCHARGE Battery Case's sleek, streamlined design naturally fits to the form of your phone, allowing portability of your iPhone 5/5s. Never run out of power again with the built-in 2300mAh lithium-Polymer battery. It offers up to eight hours of added time on a 3G network, 10 hours of Internet use on Wi-Fi, 40 hours of Audio playback time, or 10 hours of video playback time. Eye-catching LED indicators inform you what energy level you're currently operating under.

2. Bandshell iP5 iPhone 5/5s Case: Retail Price $29.99

The Bandshell case is ultra-slim and durable, and improves your iPhone listening and viewing experience. This dual-purpose case amplifies the volume and sound quality of your music, videos, podcasts, movies, and programs without the need for extra speakers or cords. The Bandshell kickstand allows the phone to stand up on its side, making it easier to watch movies and videos without having to hold the phone or lean it against something. Enjoy using your smart phone to listen to music, watch videos, host a conference call, or make a live recording. 

3. Targus SafePort Case Rugged Max Pro for iPad mini: $59.99 Retail Price

The SafePort Case Rugged for iPad has it all, from function to style. Specifically designed to give everyday protection for the 3rd- and 4th-generation iPad and to protect your device from everyday impact.

Questions or comments? Email Brian@iphonelife.com. Good luck and remember to visit iphonelife.com/giveaways to enter! Also check out our other contests at iphonelife.com/contests. The next contest drawing is August 11!

As new iOS apps flood the App Store every day — recently topping 1,000,000 — we know it’s tough to tell which ones are worth their salt. But thanks to our Weekly Scoop, you can have the best for free! Here you’ll find a weekly roundup of the coolest apps free or at a discount for a limited-time only. Each week features the best and brightest from websites like Free App Report, AppsGoneFree, AppieDay, AppShopper and more.

Hurry! Get 'em while they’re hot!

1.Prizmo($2.99 from $9.99)

Offered at a whopping 70-percent discount for a limited time only, you can't pass this one up! Prizmo is made for everyone! It's a universal photo-based scanner app that allows you to scan text documents, business cards and photos for exporting. The app promises an elegant and intuitive design, making it easy to use and nice to look at too!

2.Deus Ex: The Fall($0.99 from $6.99)

At 85 percent off, this is a STEAL! You should feel guilty. Like, really bad, but get it anyway! Playing this award-winning game is an experience no gamer should miss.  

3.)Launch Center Pro ($1.99 from $4.99)

This app speeds up just about everything you're trying to do on your iPhone. It's kind of like speed dial for sending a message, searching Yelp or posting to Instagram. With just a tap and slide you can launch apps in a snap! 

There is a commonly held belief that men don't like to ask for directions. As a guy, I am here to say it's true. At least for me. With Siri, I can ask for directions without anyone knowing.

All I have to do is hold the home button to start up Siri, and say "Directions to 302 Mountain View Dr., Colchester, VT," and Siri will plot the route in Maps. It really is that simple. 

But what if you don't like Maps and would like to get those directions through Google Maps or Waze or some other navigation app you have on your phone? Just add "via transit" to the end of the command, and presto, Siri will pull up a list of all your navigation apps for you to choose from and you can get your directions from the app your prefer.

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In addition to the rumor last week that the much-anticipated iPhone 6 will be announced September 9, a number of additional details surfaced, nicely summarized by Jonny Evans on the Computerworld website. Macworld UK reported that the new phone will look more like a small version of the iPad mini than the iPhone 5s, with an edge-to-edge display and rounded edges. The narrower bezels means that the screen will be able to be larger without the overall size of the device being proportionately larger than the iPhone 5s. In addition, a leaked photo posted on Cult of Mac suggests the phone will have a protruding camera lens. The implication of this is that the protrusion is necessary to accommodate an even slimmer design. Another leaked photo suggests the phone will have pill-shaped recessed volume buttons. In addition, it appears in one photo that an embedded Apple logo will be made of Liquidmetal.

According to the website VentureBeat, which claims to have a source with knowledge of Apple's plans, the display on the new phone will indeed be harder than the currently used Gorilla Glass, but not as hard as pure sapphire crystal. This squares with the scratch-test video of purported iPhone 6 front panels that I posted about earlier. VerntureBeat's source confirmed that the phone will come with the new A8 chip — and revealed the detail that it will be 2Ghz per core, compared to 1.3Ghz on the iPhone 5s. This will make the device more responsive and much faster at rendering graphics. Both the cellular and WiFi wireless will reportedly be given a boost, with improved LTE capable of 300Mbps and WiFi being upgraded to a faster version of 802.11ac.

VentureBeat also says the phone will include an NFC chip for mobile payments. This is a bit confusing, since Apple seems to be focusing on iBeacon, which is being increasingly adopted and which uses Bluetooth. It had seemed as if this would be Apple's solution to mobile payments. 

VentureBeat and other sites are reporting that Touch ID will be improved, which is to be expected. The improvements will speed up read times, increase accuracy, and contribute to greater security. The report on VentureBeat also says something I hadn't heard before: Apple is experimenting with a technology that would allow a "handshake" between the iPhone and Beats headphones in order to authenticate the headphones via the Lightning port.

Sometimes rumored features don't make it into the final production model, and VentureBeat's source wisely cautioned that everything he was passing along was based on current models but that things could change by the time the device goes into full production.

In any case, we'll know in a month what Apple has in store for us. There was even a rumor last week that Apple will announce their wearable device next month.

Whenever you're unsure of where to eat for your next meal, whether it's your typical night on the town or a special occasion, there are apps that can put you on the right path to satisfying your hunger. Here are some of the best apps to find a restaurant near you:

1. Zagat (Free)

Zagat offers reviews for restaurants, shops, hotels, and bars in your area, providing ratings on scales in three different categories -- food, decor, and service -- from 0 to 30. The app also lets you look at menus before deciding on where to eat and gives you suggestions of where to go out for different occasions, among other features.

2. Yelp (Free)

Yelp contains more than 50 million reviews on businesses and shops around the world. You can search for different venues based on price, location, and distance. With Yelp, you can also get expert advice on local options, share your location on social media, and add your own food photos and reviews.

3. Urban Spoon (Free)

Urban Spoon lets you find restaurant contact information and compare prices and ratings of different venues. You can find reviews of restaurants from critics and diners alike, as well as glance at menus and photos of different food items before you decide where to eat.

4. FoodSpotting (Free)

FoodSpotting allows you to find great restaurants near you -- or, you can find a place to eat based on what you're craving. The app has a social media element to it: follow friends and experts to see what foods they have enjoyed and where they ate, keep track of your meals at different restaurants, rate different dishes, and upload your own photos. You can also earn points for contributing to discussions about where to eat.

5. Where to Eat? (Free)

The Where to Eat? app keeps you informed on the nearest restaurants and provides directions to find your way there. You can search from more than 45 cuisine categories and 30 food types. Additionally, you can review your most used or recent searches.

1.Use Your Old iPhone as a Fancy Clock 

Locate the black plastic packaging from your iPhone box and turn it into a horizontal stand for your phone by cutting out a section as seen below. Install an alarm clock app, place the phone in the stand, and display it proudly on your bedside table. 

Source: Lifehacker

2.Display Your Old iPhone as Wall Art

Awaken the artist in you and mount your iPhone on your wall as a piece of artwork. Come up with unique designs that make you smile every time you get a glimpse of your old buddy. You can even incorporate your old phone accessories for an added touch.

Source: Mashable

3.Use it as a Halloween Costume

Get creative and use your old iPhone as part of your costume. MethodShop.com recommends uploading some cyborg pictures and incorporating them into a cyborg costume. 

Source: MethodShop.com

4.Make Your Old iPhone Your Kitchen Recipe Holder

Download all your favorite cooking apps onto your old iPhone and turn it into an assistant chef. 

Source: USA Today

5.Use Your Old iPhone as a Desktop Skype / Facetime Station

If you're keeping your iPhone around, you might as well add it to the other tech sitting on your desk. Prop it up in a stand and use it for Skype calls with clients or friends. 

Source: Mashable

6.As a Digital Picture Frame

Hang your old phone on the wall or place it in a stand on top of your mantelpieces to showcase your favorite pictures.  You may have to touch the screen every few minutes but I’m sure it’s a minor detail you can deal with. If you do not want to do that, another option is to make sure the iPhone is connected to power (this is battery intensive) and press play in the iPhone’s Photos application. Remember to set the Auto Lock to "Off" in the general preferences, and the slide show repeat setting to "On", or the slide show won’t last for very long.

Source: SheKnows

7.As a Full-time E-Reader 

Kindle, iBooks, and Newsstand allow you to turn your device into an e-reader. Since you'll no longer be using 3G, the battery will last until the wee hours of the morning.

Source: Mashable

8.As Home Scanning System

Digitize receipts, bills, and other documents to free up some space in your wallet. Rig up your iPhone to a sturdy location to take photos of paper documents, which you can then transfer to your computer.

Source: Mashable

9.Use as Universal/Apple TV Remote

Frequently misplacing your remote control? You can turn your old iPhones into one by simply downloading remote control apps.

Source: eTech Parts

10. Create as Home Decor

If you are feeling extra crafty, gather up old accessories from friends and use your creative skills to create masterpieces like this clock made by Twice Used.

Source: NYDailyNews

We hope this sparked your interest and got your creative juices flowing! There are more ideas out there on how to repurpose your old iPhone. Share your ideas in the comments below!

Last week, we told you to save the date (September 9th) for the next iPhone announcement.  Now comes evidence that developers might want to save a whole week, June 8th - June 12th, for Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.  This isn't much of a stretch, as Apple typically uses that second week in June to hold their WWDC event and introduce their next mobile and desktop operating systems.  About 5,000 lucky raffle-winning attendees get the privilege of paying $1,300 to learn from Apple's experts.

I've attended a few WWDC's and got to see Steve Jobs in person.  Whenever I attended, I booked a refundable hotel room well before Apple announced the event, so if you can book that far in advance, you might get some good deals.  San Francisco hotels can be expensive, and the conference and airfare aren't cheap so the more you save, the better.

The source of the rumor for the date was the Moscone Center's official website, which originally listed a 'Corporate Event' the week of June 8th.  That has been removed, but nothing else is showing for that week.  It could be that the notoriously secretive Apple didn't want any indication of the date made public, or perhaps they haven't booked the venue for certain.

One thing is for certain, you may not get a WWDC ticket even if you want one.  But you can get a ticket to the MacTech Conference in Los Angeles, the first week of November.  You can even benefit from Early Bird Pricing if you act soon.  Unlike WWDC, MacTech has independent speakers so you get the straight scoop on technologies and not just what Apple wants you to hear.  You also get some amazing extracurricular activities!  Last year, we got to see the Space Shuttle and this year, attendees will visit Disney's Animation Studios!  I will be there, as iPhone Life Magazine is a media sponsor, so be sure to say Hi if you attend!

Privacy is a huge topic these days. But despite this, how many of us download apps and accept the terms without even thinking about it, thus giving apps access to our contacts, location, social media accounts, and more?

If this describes you, no worries. I am going to tell you how you can check your privacy settings on your iDevice and revoke the access you absentmindedly gave to these apps.

First, go to Settings>Privacy:

From here, open each category one at a time: Location Services, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Photos, Bluetooth Sharing, Microphone, and Motion Activity and see a list of which apps have requested and been given access to that category. Revoking access is as simple as toggling the switch to the off position.

Here are screen shots for Location Services and for Contacts on my iPhone:

Continue doing this until you have checked all the categories and determined what, if any permissions you want to revoke.  

You will most likely find that most of the apps in each of these categories are toggled to on. That's okay, mine were too. You only have a choice to accept or deny approval when you install an app. But once that app is installed, you can revoke any access you choose through these settings.

Please understand that your installed apps may behave strangely or not at all once you have revoked access. Most apps will prompt you to give them permission again.

And never forget whether or not you revoke permissions to an app is a choice. Some people don't care, while others, once I show them this, are shocked at how much access every app has.

It's your iDevice; choose wisely, or the app developers will choose for you.

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Top image credit: Maksim Kabakou/Shutterstock.com

Thanks to everyone who entered the August 11th iPhone Life Biweekly Giveaway! Every other week we give away three amazing prizes, so if you didn't win this time, make sure you enter the August 25th giveaway and tell your friends to enter too!

And the winners are... (drum roll please):

R. Hayes, Sutasinee McClary, and Charles Coyle. 

Didn't Win This Week? No worries! Visit iphonelife.com/giveaways for the chance to win in the next giveaway round. If you see your name but didn't receive an email, please check your spam folder.

This weeks featured items are:

1. Bandshell iP5 iPhone 5/5s Case: Retail Price $29.99

The Bandshell case is ultra-slim and durable, and improves your iPhone listening and viewing experience. This dual-purpose case amplifies the volume and sound quality of your music, videos, podcasts, movies, and programs without the need for extra speakers or cords. The Bandshell kickstand allows the phone to stand up on its side, making it easier to watch movies and videos without having to hold the phone or lean it against something. Enjoy using your smart phone to listen to music, watch videos, host a conference call, or make a live recording. 

2. PerfectFit iPhone 5 Screen Protector: Retail Price $19.95

This precision pre-cut ScreenShield applies directly to your device, providing the best, most durable protection you will find that covers the maximum amount of the device surface. Transparent and ultra thin, this screen shield provides unbeatable device scratch protection.

3. Speck HandyShell iPad Mini Case: Retail Price $49.95

Protect your iPad mini and enjoy it in ways you never imagined. This HandyShell iPad mini case features a sturdy flip-out handle that you can adjust for multiple standing, holding, and hanging angles, giving you the freedom to use your iPad mini around the house, at the office, or on the go.

Questions or comments? Email Brian@iphonelife.com. Good luck and remember to visit iphonelife.com/giveaways to enter! Also check out our other contests at iphonelife.com/contests. The next contest drawing is August 25!

I use Wikipedia to gain background knowledge on any number of technical concepts, and because of the reputation of possible inaccuracies (due to it's open system of content contribution), I always cross-check the source material with other leading technical sources. In every case, I have found it to be quite accurate. So, I am pretty stoked to be able to get quick and up-to-date access to this oracle of information on my iPad or iPhone using the newly released and official Wikipedia Mobile app! Read on for our full review of the newly minted mobile encyclopedia.

Note: When I originally wrote this review, the main app had been released; however while I was writing the review (actually just before I finished it), a beta update came out on Test Flight, which actually addresses some of the missing items I mention below. Not sure when it will be officially released, but if you download the original app reviewed here, I would look for the update to hit the App store in the near future.

Some would say that Wikipedia is at it's worst, filled with dubious content contributed by un-vetted contributors who either lack the expertise to write on a given subject, lack the ability to write about it well, or even write inaccuracies for malicious reasons. On the other hand, others would say it is quite accurate on many academic topics, and in fact, many studies have shown that Wikipedia is at least as precise as other leading encyclopedias. In my experience, both notions could be correct, depending on the topic. However, Wikipedia itself provides guidelines for use of it's free content (see this).

The web site admits out front that for academic use cases (like citing supporting information in a research article), Wikipedia is not a recommended source. However, for gaining background knowledge on a subject (and in some cases digging a bit deeper), it is an excellent source. The rule of thumb when doing any kind of technical research of course is to always have multiple sources to support your content. The mobile app handily brings Wikipedia content pages down to the small screen in an integrated offline reader, saving you the trouble of poking around in Safari.

There are any number of third-party apps and tools that offer a Wikipedia content wrapper. One we reviewed a few years back on our old Pocket PC site was an electronic reader called WikiReader designed for the purpose of Wikipedia-dredging (you can still get these $20-30 gadgets on Amazon, though the company seems to have let their Internet presence lapse and may be OOB). Somewhat late to the ball, the Wikipedia Foundation--more or less the Facebook of online encyclopedias--finally got round to designing and fielding their own app.

Fancy the app is not, but it is the only "official" app, and designed totally by the Wikipedia Foundation for a mobile device. It is also totally free (like Wikipedia), and ad free, and according to the press information about the app, will remain so. I wonder if they will succumb to obnoxious banner messages asking users to donate as their web site occasionally has in the past? Not saying there is anything wrong with asking for a donation, but ad banners tend to annoy more on mobile. Anyway, if you are used to the rather staunch formatting of Wikipedia, you will not be jarred by the app, which seems little more than a scaled down mobile version.

Plain as it is, some cool things about the app however do appear. One is the ability to log in and save content for local off-line viewing. You can quickly browse through an article using the topic heading menu through a button on the top right, and also share content in a message or mail, but oddly cannot choose to open a content page in Safari? The app home screen, like the Wikipedia main page, includes a random featured article (another tip about using Wikipedia content is that Featured content may be more reliable as it is getting active vetting and updates from contributors). Of course, you can search, but there is no "Local" feature which would return content from your immediate location, presumably by making use of your phone's location settings. Oddly, there is also no Home or Today button in the app..? You can return to previous content, look up random selections or search (but you can't go home..?). That one really had me scratching my head. The app also does not apply any style settings you may have selected for your account. Other than maybe saving content, not really sure the point of applying a login to the app, since I also could not find a way to access my saved articles on the web, so...

The Verdict

I think the mobile version of Wikipedia is actually superior to the new app version, but that's not to say I did not see a useful future for this app. It needs, well, a few more features: Personalized content and content awareness based on my interests or past searches would be a good start. Some other simple enhancements might be alert settings for my content watchlists (maybe alert for articles that have been updated recently that I have saved). I can see a ton of other possibilities, and am looking forward to future enhancements, but if you want a simple app for browsing Wikipedia and saving your articles offline, this free app will serve as-is. Grab it at the links above.

Yes, it's true.

You can now have the convenience of a waterproof and battery case at the same time. 

The folks at iBattz have made yet another amazing product (remember my review of the Battstation Optimus?), and I'm not surprised. They know that iPhone users everywhere love waterproof cases. They also know that we love battery cases. They put them together and made the Refuel Aqua waterproof battery case ($119.95). 

Tough? Yes. Take a look at where this case was tested:

Whitewater Rafting in Alaska. No damage to the phone, and no lack of pictures from the trip. 

The Mojo Refuel Aqua case includes an interchangable 2200mAh battery (in case you exceed the 300-500 charges that it provides and need a replacement, or want to go off the grid for a while and rely on several batteries) and is IPX8 certified. It's waterproof up to 3 meters, shockproof, snowproof, dirtproof, and childproof.

The Touch ID on the iPhone 5S isn't accessible when using the Refuel Aqua as a waterproof case, but the case does come with an extra (silver) bumper to use with the battery case when the waterproof case isn't needed. The silver bumper allows access to the Touch ID. 

Some will say that the Refuel Aqua is a little bulky, but I say that it's a waterproof charging case–a waterproof iPhone case that charges your battery on-the-go–and its size is just fine. It's a pretty amazing product, and for what it does, the size is just fine. 

The case comes with a pass-through headphone adapter, a battery module, micro-USB charging cable, a top cover, and a protective sleeve. For around $120, this is a great investment for that camping trip or family vacation you're taking.  

As we get closer to September 9th, the rumored launch date for the next iPhone, more parts and photos are leaking out.  The latest, from Sonny Dickson, shows a scratched up back casing.  There's a lot to learn from these photos, assuming they're real, of course.  But they do jibe with previous leaks and Sonny has a good record.

As noted by my colleague, Jim Karpen, we can expect a protruding lens.  This is likely due to the thinner case of the next iPhone, and the goal of improving the optics.  This will force add-on accessory vendors like OlloClip to redesign their gadgets but they probably would have had to anyway, given the thinner phone.  The protruding lens will make it trickier for slider cases as opposed to snap-in cases.  Apple, especially under Steve Jobs, was never a fan of cases, but in particular, the slider cases can trap particles and cause scratches when sliding on or off.

Speaking of scratches, this leaked part is pretty beat up, but of course it may have been put through the ringer.  The Apple logo is clearly a cutout, which we've written about before.  This could allow for a plastic opening, to enable radio transmission, for WiFi, Bluetooth, or perhaps Near Field Communication.  In this photo, the metal was pinched and bent in a couple of spots, showing this could be a weak link.

Another potential weak spot is the plastic around the border.  Plastic was required to separate the metal antennas in previous iPhones, and they appear to play an important role in the next iPhone.  Let's hope that the shipping version is a bit more robust, and that the updates to the camera lens and Apple logo offer new features instead of just cosmetic changes!

You can easily adjust the voice navigation volume in Maps up or down while using the navigation app by pressing the volume buttons on the side of your iPhone. But you probably don't want to discover you can't hear the voice navigation in Apple Maps and then have to mess with your phone while you're barrelling down the highway. A safer way to make sure the voice navigation is always at the right volume is to change Map's default volume.

You can change the default volume from within the app itself or from within Settings.

To change the default volume from within Maps, enter your destination and tap start. Next tap anywhere on the navigation screen and then tap on the volume icon that appears in the lower right corner. Select the default volume you prefer from the menu.

To change the default volume from within Settings, go to Settings>Maps and choose your preferred default volume setting.

In Maps Settings you can also choose whether you see distances in miles or kilometers, turn off English as the default language for map labels, and choose whether the app offers walking or driving directions as a default.

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Top image credit: Denys Prykhodov/Shutterstock.com

Photo Credit: Hilton Worldwide

The hospitality world felt the tremors of change take place a couple
of weeks ago with the news that the Hilton company has begun to
implement new technology that will enable anyone with an iPhone
to totally bypass front desk services entirely to check into their
hotel room. The hotel chain recently disclosed a few details about
this plan in preliminary coverage by the Wall Street Journal. The
new plan will eventually be the norm in all 4,200 of the chain's
properties worldwide.

Hilton Worldwide isn't the first to seize upon using smartphones
in this manner. The Starwood chain began to introduce this tech
in two of their Aloft hotels, one in Manhattan, New York and
appropriately enough, one in Cupertino, California earlier this
year. The process utilizes Bluetooth to first recieve a key code
from the hotel upon making a reservation. The hotel guest then
arrives on scene, heads to the room, and gains entry either by
tapping the smartphone on a panel by the door or twisting the
phone in the air. Hilton, however, has made the biggest commitment
to this innovation to date, at an estimated cost of $550 million
dollars to install the locks in their properties so that all guests
can use it once 2016 rolls around. This will not just be exclusive
to iPhone users(the tech works on the 4s and up), Android 4.3
users will be able to take part as well. For those travelers who get
weary just at the thought of long lines at the front desk and
want things to be as smooth as hotel checkouts have now become
thanks to digital advances, it's a sigh of relief.

I love it when plans come together. The other day my kids were planning on camping in the backyard and they asked for a wireless speaker to enjoy their tunes. However, the forecast called for rain.  While my kids can handle getting a little wet, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of ruining my electronics. That same day, the Boombot REX arrived, from Boombotix.

The REX is a wireless (Bluetooth) speaker that is also water resistant. The case is rugged and protected by rubber, and all of the USB power and audio ports are sealed by rubber flaps. The REX is available in a variety of colors and designs, and comes with some attractive purple cables. Since the REX is a Bluetooth speaker, and it includes a microphone, it could be used as a speakerphone in a conference room, or on the go.

Despite the small size, the REX has a subwoofer and delivers ample sound. I like the built-in heavy duty belt clip, and indeed I used it to listen to music just the other day as I walked around at an outdoor festival!