I spend way too much money on electronics, which explains why I have achieved "Elite Plus" status at Best Buy. But today that's a good thing, as Elite customers get early access to Black Friday style deals, from the comfort of their own homes. The brand new iPad mini 3 can be picked up for $75 off, without waiting until Thanksgiving and worrying about stock and crowds. In addition to the deal on the iPad mini 2, a 40-inch TV can be purchased for $180

There might be slightly better deals, also at Best Buy or Target or Wal-Mart, but those will require logging in at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving day, or heading to the store that night or the next morning (or sometime in between!)  I'm done with camping out, and I also would feel guilty, playing a part in making those employees work on the holiday.  Now I can enjoy my Thanksgiving meal, knowing that my shopping is done!

You can also hedge your bets, as Elite and Elite Plus customers get extended return times, so by buying now, and keeping the shrinkwrap on, and paying attention to deals on the actual Black Friday, and beyond, you could return today's purchase, if needed, and get the best of both worlds.

If you do a lot of texting, your Message app is probably clogged with old messages. Before iOS 8 you had to manually delete conversations or individual messages. Now you can set the app to automatically delete all messages older than 30 days or one year. The default setting lets you keep your messages forever, which could be handy if everything you write is a gem of unparalleled wisdom. Everyone else, read on:

Go to Settings>Messages and tap Keep Messages to open.

Select 30 days or 1 year and your iDevice will start automatically deleting messages once they are older than your chosen time period. 

It would be nice if Apple offered more time intervals for this feature. Inspired by the Siri work around for setting custom repeating reminders, I attempted to set messages to delete after six month using Siri, but was unsuccessful.

Top image credit: Lorna Roberts/Shutterstock.com

There's a line from The Social Network where Justin Timberlake's character says "a million dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool? A BILLION dollars." Apple could say the same thing to the makers of Pebble, the watch I wear, and the first to raise $10 million on Kickstarter. According to analysts, Apple should sell 20 million Apple Watches and earn $10 billion from those sales. That doesn't even count the inevitable apps that will be formatted and sold for the small screen. If you do the math (as I did) this requires an average sale of about $500, which assumes customers may choose more expensive bands, extra chargers, and of course, the $5,000 gold model. Plus, I've heard other analysts predicting 30 million sold, so this could be a conservative estimate.

Apple's new product line joining the ten billion dollar club would not only be "cool" it would firmly cement Apple in the fashion industry. It's no wonder Apple lured Angela Ahrendts from the CEO job at Burberry to head up Apple retail. When Steve Jobs dropped "Computer" from "Apple Computer" he did so to let the company expand into consumer electronics and beyond. I love that a guy who wore the same jeans, sneakers, and mock turtleneck every day would have made such an impact on the fashion industry.

I have a good job. I get to review apps and accessories, often before they hit the market. But today that good job is a great job, as I had the opportunity to interview Jon Taffer, host of two of my favorite shows, Spike TV's Bar Rescue and Hungry Investors. Unlike most "reality" TV shows, Taffer's programs are truly real (although condensed for practical purposes) examples of bars and restaurants that need help, and get it, from one of the industry's most renown experts. Jon walked me through how the unscripted shows are produced, without his meeting any of the players in advance. The one thing we don't see is his crew of more than fifty working in parallel to rebuild each bar from the inside out, in less than five days. But this interview wasn't just about his TV shows.

I spoke with Mr. Taffer to discuss his brand new app, Jon Taffer's BarHQ. Jon Taffer has made it his life's work to study, improve, and promote the bar and nightclub industry. But as we discussed, he can only do so much, and be in so many places, without cloning! His new app is the solution to that dilemma. Naturally, the app is full of "Taffer Tips" which are video lessons, custom made for the app, offering advice from his decades of running and rescuing bars. But it's so much more.

Jon Taffer's BarHQ will let restaurateurs create dynamic promotions and distribute them on social media such as Twitter. Through clever integration with each of the bar's employees' social media accounts (assuming they give permission), an owner could create a deal like Ladies Night. A custom image  and message is created, and automatically tweeted by each employee to their followers. Rather than relying on the business' social media accounts, this is a novel way to leverage the accounts of the bartenders, waiters, cooks, and more. I've always wondered how Taffer packs each bar for his "stress tests" and now it's apparent. Of course, being a numbers guy, Taffer made sure that there are analytics in the app that measure how successful each promotion is. Sales and inventory management are also part of the solution. These features alone would make worth a hefty price.

Another headache the app solves for restaurant owners is scheduling. Employees can request time off or call in sick using the app, and automatically other employees are alerted to the new work opportunities. And this is done anonymously, so waiters and waitresses don't need to share their phone numbers with coworkers. I worked as a dishwasher in high school and I remember scheduling was a major hassle and ultimately was the reason I quit. Automating the process is overdue, and many industries could benefit from such a system. This alone would make Jon Taffer's BarHQ a great app, and again Taffer easily could have charged a lot for this service.

The best analogy I could think of is that Jon Taffer's BarHQ app is like the well-regarded Salesforce.com customer relationship management system, created specifically for bars and restaurants.  But unlike Salesforce, the app is completely free. Just as Taffer has been able to offer free renovation services, automation, entertainment, and technology for a few lucky businesses, he is making the app free for business owners who could really benefit from that decision. There are ads, but they are relevant and unobtrusive. Jon told me it was important that any ads didn't interfere with the app's use. Obviously, Taffer's focus has been on bars and restaurants, but he is well aware that the service and app could be repurposed for other businesses. Next, look for Taffer to rescue salons and other service and retail industries!

For the next few months we are running a special Award Winner Edition of our iPhone Life Biweekly Giveaway featuring prizes from companies that won iPhone Life awards at the recent Super Mobility Week powered by CTIA 2014 trade show! 

Thanks to everyone who entered the November 17 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 December 1 giveaway and tell your friends to enter too!

And the winner is... (drum roll please):

Braden Park.

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 week's featured items are:

1. Scosche boomBOTTLE H2O: Retail Price $99.99

Experience remarkable audio with the boomBOTTLE H2O- The boomBOTTLE H2O packs remarkable wireless audio into a rugged IP67 waterproof frame—perfect for the poolside, beach, snow, or any other environment.

2. Otterbox Alpha Glass: Retail Price $29.95

Ultra thin glass screen protectors for iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c for hardcore, anti-shatter protection you can't see. Premium display clarity worthy of protecting your iPhone's touchscreen.

3. Toast Real Wood Cover: Retail Price $34.00

The original cover that started it all. (And by "all", we mean Toast.) This elegantly crafted real wood cover for the iPhone includes a back cover, sleek side wraps, and button covers. As you expect from any Toast product, this cover is beautifully engineered with precise details, cut by lasers, and finished by hand. Simple peel and stick application. Max it out with a matching wood front cover for extra protection and woodiness.

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 December 1!

Apple has released the iOS 8.1.1 update, which is now available for download. It fixes some minor bugs, but more important, it improves the performance of iOS 8 on older devices, such as the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4s. Many users of older devices regretted upgrading to iOS 8, especially those with an iPhone 4S. Hopefully iOS 8.1.1 will take care of the performance problems people had been experiencing.

iOS 8.1.1 can be installed on the iPhone 4S and later, the iPad 2 and later, all models of the iPad mini, and the fifth-generation iPod touch.

As always, you can install the update via Wi-Fi by going to Settings > General > Software Update. And you can also update your device by connecting it to your desktop computer, booting up iTunes, clicking on the icon for your device in the row of icons at top left, selecting Summary in the left menu, and then clicking on Check for Update. 

If you have very little free space on your device, you may not have the option of updating via Wi-Fi, and will have to either free up some space or update via iTunes.

Be sure to back up your device before installing the update.

When Apple announced that their keyboards would now have a predictive text feature in iOS 8, the general reaction was, "About time, Apple!" But it turns out there are some iOS users who find the feature really annoying. Fortunately it's easy to turn predictive text off:

In any app with a keyboard, swipe down on the predictive text field to collapse it. Now anytime you type on your iDevice, this feature will be hidden. 

To unhide the predictive text feature, simply swipe up.

Top image credit: klublu/Shutterstock.com

I have seen the future of online mobile gaming, and it is MOBA. Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas is a term familiar to any core, hardcore, or professional gamer. If it's not already a common term in your vocabulary, popular iOS MOBA titles like Fates Forever (free), Vainglory (free), and Heroes of Order and Chaos (free) plan to change that, as they help usher in the new renaissance of mobile gaming.

2014's The International $10-million eSport championship.

Have you played any of the amazing MOBA games available in the iOS App Store? Well you're certainly not alone if you haven't spent time playing any of these capture-the-flag-style, real-time battles. As popular as they are, many people are not even aware of the massive popularity of the genre and the high-stakes, professional-level gaming environment that surrounds breakout PC hits like Dota 2 and League of Legends. MOBA are the next "big thing" and I won't be the least bit surprised if within a few years we see a mobile title like Fates Forever or the newly released MOBA, Vainglory, competing on the world stage for the attention, the fans, and the massive prize awards that their PC predecessors currently enjoy. Some of these games have competitions that play out on the international stage and attract millions of spectators to events that can be viewed live at major sporting arenas, or online at sites like Amazon's newly acquired company Twitch. There are potentially millions to be won on the professional circuit for those who are extremely proficient at MOBA games, and this emerging breed of action-packed iOS MOBA games can definitely compete with the best of the PC titles.

This genre is really taking off on mobile platforms, as evidenced by the fact that Apple called upon the newest MOBA, Vainglory, to show of their new iPhone's Metal. Apple obviously took into consideration the staggering numbers of spectators watching live video games known as eSports on sites like Twitch and ESPN. The following are our top three MOBA games on iOS. I could easily imagine any one of these games building upon the popularity of the MOBA genre, and becoming part of the first generation of highly profitable, professional-level eSports on iOS. Now, without further ado...

iPhone Life's Top 3 MOBA on iOS

1.Vainglory (Free)

Vainglory is my new favorite and deservedly takes the number one spot for best iOS MOBA. Vainglory debuted at the unveiling of the iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, and was used to show the next-generation gaming capabilities that are possible with Apple's Metal interface. I fully expect this game to do extremely well, especially riding the momentum of Apple's iPhone 6 introductions. It's a very new game, although it has had a gradual roll out in Australia and Southeast Asia, and in a short period of time Vainglory has managed to amass a strong following. This game is making waves within the international game community, and from the awesome gameplay footage below you can see that it's a MOBA to be reckoned with.

Vainglory debuting at the iPhone6/Apple Wacth reveal.

This game is perfectly positioned to capture the hearts and minds of MOBA fans worldwide, and with good reason. Vainglory effectively does away with the argument that iOS games are somehow not as good as PC or console games. Along with its balanced gameplay and phenomenal graphics, Vainglory also features intuitive, touchscreen-friendly controls and a solid storyline to support its capture-the-flag gameplay. This game is the complete package and even though it's a new game, I expect to hear many great things about it over the years to come.

5 out of 5 stars

3:Heroes of Order and Chaos(Free)

This title is from the prolific game development house that is Gameloft. As we have come to expect from Gameloft, Heroes of Order and Chaos has great graphics and gameplay while adhering to the basic formula and common threads that make up other popular MOBA games. With Gameloft's far reaching, international fan base, I expect this one to continue to do extremely well as it capitalizes on Gameloft's tremendous popularity and solid reputation. Heroes of Order and Chaos is the first iOS-specific MOBA to get full Twitch integration, paving the way for iOS MOBA titles to skyrocket in terms of both popularity as well as cash prize awards.

4 out of 5 Stars

It's that time of year again. Right after a new iPhone comes out there is the inevitable deluge of great cases to protect your new investment. This happens with every iPhone release, but perhaps never more markedly than with the introduction of the completely new form factors of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. If ever an iPhone needed a case, it is these large and larger models, with their increased real estate, slick, rounded edges, and extra weight. Rather than clump a bunch of individual cases together I'll be focusing on one great case each  week over the course of the coming months. This week's featured case is the Powerful; a tremendously protective, extreme-duty iPhone case  of gargantuan proportions from Love Mei.

The Powerful adds bulk, as you can see with the iPhone 6 Plus resting on top.

The Love Mei Powerful case is an excellent and more affordably protective case for the iPhone 6 series. The folks at MobileFun turned me on to this exemplary case and I have to say, I am quite impressed, which is saying something, considering how many cases I review. The Powerful is available for both the iPhone 6 as well as the iPhone 6 Plus with both sporting a bargain price of $45.99.

This case is well made, with lots of flair and pizzazz! That said, it's a BIG honkin' case, and heavy as the dickens! It makes a big phone like the iPhone 6 or the iPhone 6 Plus ginormous! But the extra heft and proportions come with the benefit of some pretty hardcore protection. This case is built like a military defense vehicle.

Practically Speaking

On a practical level, the honeycomb-injected silicone rubber inner frame is shock absorbing to the extreme and it extends outward on the edges by almost a quarter inch with an air-suspension style design. Not only does the inner silicone shield your iPhone from all but the harshest blows, it also covers all the ports and buttons without limiting access to the controls or functionality of the iPhone in the least. In fact, the Powerful actually makes it much easier to find and interact with the iPhone's minimalist button design. The only feature of the iPhone 6/6 Plus that is not accessible with the iPhone in the Powerful case, is Apple's Touch ID/Reachability features, which may or may not be a bad thing, depending on who you talk to. Instead of a thin, relatively flimsy piece of plastic over the home button, like many other rugged cases opt for, the Powerful employs a sturdy protective disk as armor over the home button.

The Powerful's  silicone skeleton is sandwiched between two panels of aircraft grade aluminum, which screw together over the silicone shell for even great shock and impact protection. Attached to the metal front panel is a screen protector made of shatter-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass, the same glass Apple uses for the iPhone's touchscreen. This is particularly impressive since high-quality glass screens are a luxury reserved primarily for the traditionally much more expensive, high-end rugged cases. The use of a glass screen protector also makes interacting with the iPhone's touchscreen almost identical to the experience you would have if you weren't using a screen protector at all! I could go on about how sweet it is to have a genuine glass screen protector on a rugged case, but if you've already tried out rugged cases with their standard, plastic touchscreen protectors, you already know that plastic screen protectors pale in comparison to glass.

A valid concern when it comes to heavy-duty cases is how much they will diminish the iDevice's sound quality. Love Mei has addressed this problem by building two sound channels into the case's design where the microphone and speakers are, and then covered the speakers and mics with a durable steel screen. While almost all rugged cases take a little away from the iPhone's sound quality, the Powerful manages to take little away from the microphone's clarity and if anything, it enhances the bass of the iPhone's lower speaker while preserving the mid-range frequencies. However, I did notice a slight loss of acoustic quality at the higher end of the spectrum.

Style and Flair

If you can handle the added bulk of the Powerful rugged case you'll be in for a treat, this is one snazzy heavy-duty case. It has a style and fitness that is sophisticated and modern. It sits well in the hands with a smooth feel while still providing plenty of contour and traction to help keep it from slipping out of your grip. And, since the Powerful is such a mammoth case, you may want to take advantage of the lanyard loop so you can loop it to your wrist (especially in any precarious circumstances) with your lanyard of choice.

The headphone port cover is a shiny hinged door with its very own bling in the form of a tiny stone-cut style jewel embedded on it. The mute switch (which is now located on the front face of the iPhone) is actuated by a slick looking button that looks as if it were set with an onyx stone. And the glass screen protector is an inclusion that makes interacting with the iPhone a sheer pleasure usually reserved for folks who like to live dangerously with no screen protection whatsoever.

Conclusion:

With the water-resistant, shock-proof and crush-proof Love Mei Powerful case you can rest assured that your iPhone will be receiving some of the highest level of protection on the market. If you anticipate the need for an extreme-duty protective case, the Powerful is a bargain deal and well worth consideration. Rated on looks alone the Love Mei Powerful is a solid five-star case. The only slight drawbacks to this case are its size and weight, but then again, it's size and weight factor into the fact that this is one powerhouse of a rugged case. Additionally, the lack of access to Touch ID might be a deal breaker for some folks, but then again, having a solid, slightly textured button over the iPhone's home button might not been seen as a shortcoming for anyone looking for a truly rugged protective case.

iPhone Life rating:

4.5 out of 5 Stars

I had the opportunity to interview Sumit Mehra, CTO of Y Media Labs, whose clients include PayPal, Salesforce, and Sesame Street. Y Media Labs helps businesses with their mobile roadmap, artwork, programming, cloud services, testing, and maintainence. As a large digital agency, they keep a close eye on emerging technologies and markets. The Apple Watch is just such a device worth considering, so I asked him about it.

Sumit expects that Apple will differentiate their offering from the existing smart watches which seem a bit rushed. Users will appreciate the details and finesse that Apple has managed to embed in their smallest computing device to date. Apple is hardly the first to offer wearables, given Google Glass, Samsung Gear, LG, Motorola, Pebble and Microsoft Band. But none of those have been a breakout success. Samsung has tried their hand at smart watches for a while with the Gear and revisions with mixed results, which in turn makes one wonder if Apple Watch will be as lucrative as predicted. Mehra sees these offerings as a "me too" approach, where each vendor feels obligated to have a wearable, and see how the market reacts.

At launch, there will be a few select apps from Apple-approved developers who have had early access to hardware and software such as BMW, American Airline, and others. Mehra pointed out that Apple Watch apps will differ from traditional iOS apps in a number of ways. Just as when the iPhone App Store was released, traditional application developers who tried to force existing programs into the smaller screen didn't do so well. The developers who made an effort to figure out what makes sense on the smaller device were rewarded.

Mehra believes that the initial crop of Apple Watch apps are likely to be add-on utilities that extend the basic functionality of the watch or gimmicky apps, as was the case of the original App Store. After that we'll see a new class of apps that try to make sense of what should be on the watch itself. He thinks that successful apps will embrace subtle, point-to-point communication, and of course health apps. Given the small size, look for functionality based around gestures, real-time notifications, and smart home control. Sumit calls this interface distinction Actionable versus Interactive.

For some larger developers, there may be a wait and see approach because, even if the Apple Watch is a success for Apple, it won't ship in the same numbers as the iPhone, and probably not even as well as the iPad. While businesses are now embracing iPads, it's not clear that the Apple Watch will find a home in the enterprise, until or unless there is a killer app. Indie developers might jump in and try to make money, while established developers might wait and see, given the expense of app development for a smaller, unproven market.

When Steve Jobs lured John Sculley to run Apple, he asked the CEO of Pepsi if he really wanted to sell "sugared water" for the rest of his life, or change the world at Apple. We all know how that went, but ironically, in January 2015, Coca Cola will be releasing an update to their Freestyle app and dispensers that will allow users to customize their beverage, with 3 combinations of 100 different choices plus their choice of percentages, to create a unique mix. Living up to the Freestyle name, users can experiment with different flavors and find the perfect combination to soothe their tastebuds. The experimentation is likely to result in extra revenue given how many tries a user might have to attempt to get their personal favorite. They can then share that concoction with friends.

This is an interesting use of the Internet of Things. The Freestyle unit will display a QR Code that identifies which device the user is standing in front of, then they can use their app (iOS or Android) to create their mix and send it to the device by scanning that QR Code. Then, the custom drink will be dispensed. Perhaps in the future this process could be improved with Near Field Communication and Apple Pay. I could also see it being used at Starbucks and other outlets or vending machines like Redbox. Everyone carries around an Internet-connected touchscreen device, so they can essentially serve as their own Point of Sale unit. After all, the Freestyle unit still doesn't accept payment, but with such an integration, it could. It already saves the restaurant or movie theatre the hassle of pouring the drinks, and the next logical step would be integrated payments, either Apple Pay, Google Wallet, or both.

How do you take a popular internet meme and extend its life that much more? The answer lies in a new game called Trap The Doge(free). 

The game is centered around the Doge himself.(Doge is Internet slang for a dog, in particular a Shiba Inu that gained popularity last year.) Now, according to the plot, the Doge has gotten tired of being Internet famous and is looking to make a break for peace and quiet in parts unknown. It's up to you to make sure that doesn't happen. Once you open the game up, the Doge sits on a matrix field. The object is to tap the light blue dots to turn them green and, hopefully, trap the Doge. If successful, you get a chance to show off your score via Facebook or Twitter and compel your friends to try their hand at it. The fewer steps you can trap the Doge in, the higher the score.

Trap The Doge is fairly easy to play, but that straight-forward approach hides a lot of complexity within it. The Doge's maneuvering is tricky, and will confound you to the point where just when you think you've cornered him, he escapes. And that's the beauty of this game there's a lot of replay value to be found here. In playing, I've been lucky enough that out of every ten tries, I've gotten to trap the Doge twice. It seems comical to say that, but a lot of the game depends on your ability to think fast enough to tap the right dots and make good use of pre-filled dots to make the Doge move into a situation in which it can be trapped. 

The overall look of the game is pure  8-bit retro, which adds some whimsy. The Doge himself has a few effects, most notably the whimpering when you've got him cornered. It would have been great to have more advanced levels in the game, and possibly that might be the case in later versions. But for a few minutes of engrossing puzzle-based fun, Trap The Doge is a good choice.

In iOS 7, deleting individual emails from your inbox in the Mail app was a multi-step process. You had to swipe left on the email preview and then choose Delete from the options that appeared. It's much faster in iOS 8.

In your inbox, simply swipe all the way to the left of the screen on the email you want to delete, ignoring the options that appear as you swipe. This is so much faster than any other method of deleting, even for deleting multiple emails, that you may prefer to just delete all your emails this way.     

Top image credit: Steve Byland/Shutterstock

Apple is encouraging developers to get ready for early spring when the Apple Watch is expected to ship. To maximize the number, and quality, of apps available on that date, Apple released their new WatchKit, along with a beta version of Xcode and iOS 8.2. This release is available only to developers, but interested parties can view a new video from Apple with more details. In the meantime, here's what Apple had to say on the subject:

In a recent post I noted that iOS 8.1.1 is now available for download. This morning I added a sentence to that post reminding people to BACK UP FIRST. That's because it's not uncommon for something to go wrong when one updates. For example, when I updated to iOS 8, I encountered an error, and the only way to get my iPad out of it was to restore to factory settings. Doing so means that everything is lost. Fortunately, I had backed up first, so it wasn't a problem.

But what if I hadn't backed up? This, of course, has happened to some people, such as the person who posted this question on Quora. He or she had updated without backing up, and was now faced with losing everything. My answer was that there was nothing the person could do, though I pointed out that much of the person's data, such as email, calendar, and contacts, would still be in iCloud and would be restored when he or she logged into iCloud.

However, it turns out there are other options that apparently can help you recover data from your iPhone or iPad. If you're ever faced with a situation where you need to restore data from an iPhone or iPad that's stuck in recovery mode, then here are some of the possible solutions that others posted in the Quora thread.

This answer points to software called iOS Data Recovery and gives detailed step-by-step directions for recovering data. It's commercial software, but a free trial version is available. It's available for both Mac and Windows.

One person answering the question had had success with Tenorshare iPhone Data Recovery, a utility that lets one recover data after a jailbreak, iOS update, or factory restore. It's commercial software available for both Mac and Windows, and offers a 90-day money-back guarantee.

RecBoot Utility is a free download for Windows and Mad that lets you put your iPhone in or out of recovery mode. It's intended as a tool for jailbreakers, but apparently is also useful for someone who gets stuck in recovery mode.

Finally, there's the free Reiboot, reviewed and available for download on CNET. It's a free Windows application that "enables you to resurrect your iPhone if it crashes, gets stuck in a given mode, or experiences a variety of other problems."

It's a given that if Apple has a good feature, it will find its way into Android and vice versa. "Good artists copy, great artists steal" is the line Steve Jobs stole from Picasso, so we don't need to argue over who stole what. It happens. So I am hopeful that Android's new Smart Lock features (enhanced in Android 5.0 Lollipop) will end up in iOS in one form or another. This feature lets you determine when your smartphone should remain unlocked by more than just a time setting. Trusted Devices allows for unlocking via a nearby device, like a smartwatch.

With Smart Lock, Android owners can unlock their device by facial recognition. Just look at the phone and it will unlock, thanks to the internal camera. But what if a family member needs to use it? The latest addition to Smart Lock is Trusted Places. Simply set your home or work location and the device will stay unlocked in that area.

The integration of Touch ID is great, but Apple took a step back by requiring a passcode or Touch ID immediately to unlock it, instead of allowing the user to specify the number of minutes before Touch ID is required. It would help if Apple added a time setting, but the Trusted Places feature could really improve accessibility. And with the pending release of the Apple Watch, unlocking by device would also help.

Black Friday is almost upon us and while retailers are hoping for lots of "ka-ching" in the registers the day after Thanksgiving, shoppers are making their plans to nab the best deals. The circulars will be coming out in newspapers soon, but you can download some great apps right now that will show you where to get the best bargains.

1. Black Friday 2014 by BlackFriday.fm (Free)

This app gives you access to all the best deals from Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more. Search for deals by store or category, get notifications on the latest news and sales events, and create and share your own shopping list.

2. TGI Black Friday (Free)

I told you about this app last year and it's still going strong for 2014. TGI Black Friday lets you search, sort, and compare over 10,000 deals in stores and categories. Ads are available for download so you can view them offline. Create shopping lists and mark off items as you buy them and compare prices online. This app also includes Cyber Monday sales and coupons.

3. Black Friday 2014 by dealnews.com (Free)

Another app for the biggest shopping day of the year includes ad leaks, sales, circulars, and more deals. As with the other Black Friday apps, you can create a shopping list on your iDevice, but also access it from your computer at DealNews.com. Then you can tell your friends and family about the great deals you've found by posting them to Facebook or Twitter, or via email.

4. Black Friday by FatWallet (Free)

FatWallet has kept some great features from last year like being able to compare over 100 major store ads page by page and save deals to wish lists to share with family and friends. Brand new for 2014 is the ability to browse interactive ad scans, view Black Friday store opening times and give ratings and comments.

5. Black Friday 2014 by Slickdeals (Free)

Step up your Black Friday game with this app. Gear up on door busters and final markdowns, and get up to 90 percent savings from your favorite stores including Walmart, Macy's, Kohls, Target, and more. You can also make purchases straight from the app for deals available online.

As promised, Apple has delivered its first version of WatchKit, which allows you to create apps for the upcoming Apple Watch. In a surprising move, Apple released information regarding its new WatchKit in a web page open to the general public.

New Information on the Apple Watch

In the information that Apple has made publicly available, here are some new things we have learned about Apple Watch:

• The main part of a Watch App runs on the iPhone, not the Apple Watch! You deliver a Watch App within your iPhone App.

• There are two parts of a Watch App are:

1. WatchKit Extension - This is the main app that actually runs on the iPhone.
2. User Interface - The app's user interface is installed on the Apple Watch.

• When a user launches your app on Apple Watch, the associated WatchKit extension is launched in the background on the iPhone.

• The 38mm watch is 272x340 pixels and the 42mm watch is 312x390 pixels, which makes them Retina-quality.

• Apple created a new San Francisco font specifically for legibility on the Apple Watch. 

• You can change the default font size on an Apple Watch.

• When a notification is sent to Apple Watch, the wearer first receives a short-look notification containing a minimal amount of information. If the wearer keeps their wrist raised during a short-look notification, after a moment, it turns into a long-look notification, which contains more detailed information.

• Even if you haven't built a Watch App yet, wearers can still receive notifications on Apple Watch from your iOS apps.

• Instead of referring to Watch App "users", Apple refers to them as "wearers". This is an important mind-set for developers to remember as they create Watch Apps.

It will be interesting to see how consumers respond to this iPhone / Apple Watch connection, and how well the link between the two devices works.

3 Ways to Interact With Apple Watch

There are three main ways your iOS app running on an iPhone can interact with Apple Watch:

1. WatchKit Apps - Your create a user interface that is installed on the Apple Watch that the wearer interacts with. The wearer can manually launch the app from the Home screen of their Apple Watch.

2. Actionable Notifications - Your app can send notifications the wearer can respond to by selecting an action, which can transition them to a specific area of your Watch App, or viewed later in Apple Watch Notification Center.

3. Glances - You can provide read-only alerts, which gives users an abbreviated view of important information in your app.

Architecture

 The Watch app is comprised of these two main pieces, one that runs on the iPhone and another on the Apple Watch:

1. The WatchKit Extension runs on the iPhone. It executes code in response to user interactions on Apple Watch.

2. The Watch App's user interface is located on the Apple Watch. It's loaded from a bundle containing your storyboard, images and other resources.

When the wearer views your Watch App, Notification, or Glance, Apple Watch loads the appropriate interface. It communicates with the iPhone and tells it to run your WatchKit extension.

As the user interacts with the Watch App, Apple Watch and iPhone send information back and forth. User interaction on Apple Watch, causes code to be executed in your WatchKit extension on the iPhone. Your code on the iPhone updates the Watch App user interface and performs tasks related to providing data to the Watch App.

Watch Apps in Xcode

You need to get Xcode 6.2 beta from the iOS Dev Center in order to create Watch Apps.

To create a Watch App, you add a new Watch App target to your existing iOS app. Your iOS app installs and manages your Watch app. You use the same familiar Xcode tools such as storyboards and code editors to design a Watch App.

The iOS Simulator allows you to view and debug your Watch app. To view the Watch App in the Simulator, select one of the Apple Watch options in the Simulator's Hardware menu. You can even test and debug custom notifications in the iOS Simulator.

WatchKit Framework

There are a variety of UI elements in WatchKit framework that you can incorporate in your Watch Apps. Here are some of the controls highlighted by Apple:

Dates and timers update their values dynamically. Once set, these objects run autonomously on the Apple Watch and do not need additional intervention from your WatchKit extension on the iPhone.

The Map control is a non-interactive version of the standard map interface. You create a map snapshot in your WatchKit extension on the iPhone and send it to the Apple Watch for display. When the user taps the map control, it takes them to the Maps App on the Apple Watch.

A wearer displays a menu in your app using a force touch gesture. A menu can contain one to four items and each menu item consists of an icon and a label (the label can contain two lines of text). 

Where to Learn More

I've just touched the surface of all the information Apple has released about Apple Watch Apps. To find out more, check out this link, which includes a 27-minute video that provides an overview of the development process. I'm looking forward to diving in and will be writing more about WatchKit in this column!

As my fellow blogger Todd Bernhard noted in this earlier post, Apple has now released WatchKit to developers, enabling them to develop apps for the forthcoming Apple Watch. This is of interest even if you're not a developer because it has revealed details about the watch that Apple hadn't yet announced. According to AppleInsider, the larger 42 mm watch will be 312 x 390 pixels and the smaller model 272 x 340 pixels. However, AppleInsider notes that the dimensions refer to the case rather than the display size, so the pixel density is unknown.

Perhaps the most fascinating detail is the manner in which Apple Watch apps will require an iPhone to function. According to 9To5Mac, the coding logic for an app actually takes place on the iPhone and then is sent to the Apple Watch to be displayed. They say, for example, that an animation would be pre-rendered on the iPhone's general processing unit and then sent watch as an image sequence for the watch to display. However, 9To5Mac says that according to Apple, fully native Apple Watch apps will arrive later in 2015.

Another interesting detail on 9To5Mac is that Apple is exerting much more control over the interface of Apple Watch apps. Developers create their apps around a core set of user interface components and layouts.

WatchKit offers developers three different kinds of approaches: WatchKit apps, Glances, and actionable notifications. A WatchKit app is a standalone app. A Glance is a "template-based notification" on the watch display sent via an app on one's iPhone, such as a weather app. You can't interact with the Glance but it does act as a gateway to link you to the parent app on your phone. And an actionable notification presents information on the screen that you can respond to, and this feature is basically an extension of the notifications already available on your iPhone. According to 9To5Mac, Apple also exerts tight control over how these notifications appear.

Apple's press release, available on Apple's Website, gives interesting detail about the ESPN app that is a good example how these different approaches work:

“Fans crave real-time and personal information, and the ESPN app for Apple Watch gives us the ability to deliver live scores and information for their favorite teams,” said John Kosner, executive vice president of Digital and Print Media, ESPN, in a statement. “Glances provide fans with a snapshot of live games, and if there is no game taking place, they’ll get valuable game-time information or the final box score. With actionable notifications, the experience becomes even more personal, as fans receive alerts on score changes, news and more.”

Similarly, the press release describes how the Instagram notifications on Apple Watch will let you instantly like a photo or respond with an emoji. A news and watch list will let you see your friends' photos, get a real-time view of your likes and comments, and more. And the American Airlines app will use notifications to remind you when it's time to go to the airport as well as update you on gate changes, connecting gate, and when boarding is beginning. Plus, it will give real-time location information while you're in the air via Glances.

AppleInsider says that the Apple Watch will use San Francisco for the system font. This font will take advantage of the Dynamic Type feature of iOS, which dynamically adjusts letter spacing and line height depending on the font size in order to make text the most readable. Developers will be able to use a font other than San Francisco, but it won't then have the Dynamic Type feature.

One of the most-requested features for the iPhone and iPad was the ability to add third-party keyboards, and Apple responded to that request in iOS 8. Popular keyboards such asSwype ($0.99) and SwiftKey (free) add many features, and can speed up text entry.

To add a third-party keyboard, first download a keyboard app in the App Store. Then once you've downloaded it to your device, go to Settings>General>Keyboard.

In the Keyboards screen, go to Keyboards>Add New Keyboard. Under Suggested Keyboards you should see the name of the keyboard you've downloaded. 

Tap on it, and it will now appear in the list of keyboards in the Keyboards screen.

Then you need to make a choice regarding privacy. Tap on the name of your new keyboard in the list of keyboards, and it will bring up a screen that says "Allow Full Access." If you turn this on, it will give the keyboard access to data such as text that you've previously typed. If you're concerned about privacy, don't turn this on. However, I found that the keyboard works much better if you turn this access on. 

Now you're ready to use your new keyboard. When you're typing text, you can invoke your new keyboard by pressing and holding the globe at the bottom left of Apple's onscreen keyboard and selecting the name of your new keyboard.

Top image credit:gilotyna4/Shutterstock.com