One More Thing is conference all about how to make brilliant iOS software and, more importantly, how to make a living doing it! Last year some of the best and the brightest of Australia’s iOS developer community took the stage, including our Iterate co-host, Marc Edwards of Bjango. This year they’re pulling in some international all-stars including Loren Brichter (Tweetie/ex-Twitter), Neven Mrgan (Panic), Karl von Randow (Camera+), Raphael Schaad (Flipboard), Matt Rix (Trainyard), Shaun Inman (Last Rocket) and many more.

One More Thing isn't a traditional programming conference. It's a meeting for iOS developers, designers and those who just want to come along for the ride. You won't directly learn to code better. Your UI probably won't improve either. But you will leave with more confidence in your abilities as an iOS developer or designer.

One More Thing is organized by Anthony Agius and Lauren Watson. It takes place in gorgeous Melbourne, Australia on May 25 and 26, 2012. You can find more information, and a complete listing of their all-star speaking lineup below.

More: One More Thing

A while back, after being frustrated he couldn’t unlock his off-contract AT&T iPhone to use outside the US, a gentlemen wrote Apple CEO Tim Cook to express his frustration, and Cook’s officer arranged for AT&T to provide him with an unlock. It seems that wasn’t a one off, as 9to5Mac reports it’s since happened several more times.

We have received upwards of six emails from readers confirming an email sent to [Apple CEO Tim Cook]'s office resulted in a response from AT&T Partnership Operations informing them the carrier would make an exception to unlock their devices. Like the original reader, our tipsters have not received responses directly from Cook, but they did receive an email with instructions to tether their iPhone to iTunes to complete the unlock.

Official unlocks work via IMEI number — the carrier enters the iPhone’s EMEI number into Apple’s database and the next time iTunes detects to the device, it connects to Apple, verifies the eligibility, and carries out the unlock. International carriers have been doing this, for free or for a fee, for years. AT&T hasn’t.

So the question becomes, if these stories are accurate, and if AT&T is capable of doing unlocks when Tim Cook’s office requests it, why can’t they simply have an official policy? Why can’t they just do it because, when you’re off contract, it’s the right thing to do?

An unlocked AT&T iPhone can’t be used on Verizon or Sprint, and can only be used on T-Mobile 2G EDGE is most places, so any paranoia about losing customers could be more than offset by the goodwill it would engender from those very customers. And if a customer really is leaving for another country, wouldn’t they be better off leaving with a great impression of AT&T, than bad feelings and a paperweight for a phone?

Source: 9to5Mac

Steve Jobs put an end to the Newton project, in part because he hated the concept of using a stylus. The original Palm Pilot was a runaway hit — in part because of the use of the stylus and its handwriting recognition. Now, Palm is dead and Apple is ginormous and Samsung is trying to bring the stylus back with the Galaxy Note line… So, who was right?

Just as the iPad is reaching the stratosphere in usage, the stylus is making a comeback.

We ran a quick poll and the initial results were intriguing enough we wanted to get a better sense of just what was going on across all platforms and all of our mobile communities. So here’s a short survey. Does the stylus inhibit or amplify your touch screen experience? Let us know!

Take the Survey!

Or, why building a solid iOS app ain’t like dusting crops, boy!

Han Solo’s right. People release thousands of apps a week into the App Store, with varying levels of commitment and forethought to the final products. At Nickelfish, we pride ourselves on not being those kinds of people. Which is why when Rene and the Mobile Nations guys came to us and asked us to build them a great iMore app, we said yes. Obviously, as a podcast host and occasional contributor to iMore, on a personal level I’m deeply invested in making iMore and Mobile Nations look as good as possible, so there was a definite component to this project that made the stakes a little higher. It also made making choices that much more difficult. That’s what it’s all about though — making the right choices at the right time, and releasing a product of which you can be proud.

We knew collectively that in order to release a great 1.0, among the most critical choices would be what we needed to leave out. It’s the basic tenet of Apple’s iOS philosophy at its core: to do a few things really well, and add others later when the time is right, and the appropriate level of planning and work has been applied to them. We knew the app would be “missing” features. We knew that people would talk about what’s not there (yet). This was a conscious choice we had to make as a team. We believe strongly that in most cases, it’s far better to develop a strong first entrant into the market and iterate quickly and effectively to continue strengthening the product. It’s the path we took with iMore, and it’s a path we’ve walked before with great confidence.

Since there isn’t a whole lot of clarity for the end user in many of these cases, I also wanted to write something about it after the launch in an effort to not only share how this process works with the iMore community, but also as my own little way of creating the right expectations going forward — for this app and for other apps people may download in the future. We often forget that real human beings are pouring hours — and their hearts and minds — into their work. The App Store makes it easy to overlook the complexity of how this all comes together (and it should — that’s what makes it an effective sales and distribution platform). So here’s a tiny bit of background on the thinking that went into the app’s development.

Taking a lightsaber to it

Rene and I, as well as his Mobile Nations team and our NF team all talked about what the big picture for the app looked like. The whole thing. Let’s put everything on the table and add every possible feature we would want in this most killer of killer apps. A large feature list is compiled. We all read it and continue adding things to it.

Then we take a lightsaber and slice that thing open. We take out what we don’t need (tauntaun guts) and make sure the things that are most important for right now (Luke) go in.

Now we ask the tough questions. What do we need for a 1.0? What is the core idea behind the app? Who is the target audience for the app? These seem like easy answers, especially if you’re already an iMore fan. However, you need to consider the much wider audience of the App Store now. What do those people want in an app, and how do we deliver it without executing a “lowest common denominator” approach (so as not to alienate or take away from a hardcore fan’s experience)? Do we need forums? Yes, we need forums. Well, it turns out, after days of research, phone calls halfway around the world on weekends (yes, to do things right, you have to sometimes work on weekends) and a lot of heavy discussion, we realize we can’t do the forums the way we want to. Visually, functionally, and in any number of other ways, we aren’t happy with the results. Do we want to drop them completely? No, of course not. Will it bother people that they can’t access the forums from the app? Almost certainly. But it’s a choice — do we appease everyone at the cost of seamless functionality and aesthetics? Or do we draw a line in the sand and say “now that’s a v2 feature”? Or it’s an app unto itself, as Rene has already mentioned.

It’s a trap

Everyone will look at this app and say “it’s really great, but it’ll be even better when it has (blank)”. We know. We know because we had that same thought when we first discussed the app, again when we first designed it and again and again when we tested the early alpha and beta releases. We had the same thoughts we knew everyone else would have when they held it in their hands and saw it on their iPhones. And we had a long talk about it, and we had to make a choice. No one liked it, but it had to be done. Because if we hadn’t, you’d say “it’s cool that (blank) is here, but it kinda sucks the way it works”. And that’s a trap. It’s pure poison. Your impression is already tainted, and the delight we could have provided is diminished by our inability to properly choose what is most important at this time and place.

We see it every day, in software, in devices, in almost every facet of consumer electronics. The more you try to do, the less you’ll be able to do really, really well. It’s a simple equation. The other part of that equation is much more quantifiable: budget and time. Things cost money, and making things takes time. If we waited to do all the features that should be in the app, you wouldn’t be enjoying it right now. It would still be 6-12 months away from launch. And if we thought of more features, or if new devices hit, or new versions of iOS, it could be even longer. It could be Duke Nukem longer. The more you try to do before you launch, the more you will watch the market, people’s expectations, and even your own feelings about the project change — all of which are out of your control.

Here’s where the fun begins

In case I haven’t already beaten this point to death, it bears repeating just once more. Being great isn’t about hitting all the targets all at once in any way you can. It’s about systematically taking each one down with precision. Each step you take with a project should be meaningful. And you’ll never please everyone, so don’t even bother — make something great, something that makes you proud. Which is what we tried to do.

And we can’t wait to show you what’s coming next.

Free – Download iMore for iPhone now

Kaleidoscope Camera is an iPhone app that will turn your iPhone’s camera into a machine that transforms your environment into a geometric work of art. We usually only think of using the iPhone’s camera for taking photos and recording video, so it’s cool to find another fun use for it.

Kaleidoscope Camera is actually a very basic app. All of the UI elements appear on a single screen. When you open the app, the camera is immediately put to work and the geometric video immediately starts. In the corner, you’ll see a little box that shows what your camera is actually looking at with a white triangle spinning inside of it. This area inside the triangle is the area that Kaleidoscope Camera is actually using to produce the image. Tapping the main view will toggle preview on and off and tapping the preview will switch between the rear and front-facing cameras.

If you were using a physical kaleidoscope, you would spin it around while holding it up to your eye to watch the shapes spin and change. To mimic this effect with Kaleidoscope Camera, you simply use your finger to “spin” the camera. You have control of the speed and the zoom.

On the bottom of the screen, you’ll see the four different modes and a camera button. Tapping the camera will capture a still shot of what you currently see on the screen and pop up a menu to save to your Camera Roll or to send to Facebook, Twitter, or email.

I was very impressed that even at night with only one light on in my living room, Kaleidoscope Camera was still able to produce great results.

The Good

• Four different modes
• Interactive
• Sharing to Facebook and Twitter

The Bad

• None

The Conclusion

Kaleidoscope Camera reminds me the days of being a kid and running around playing with a cheap $1 kaleidoscope — only it’s better.

$1.99 – Download Now

BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) today launched their first iPhone app. No, unfortunately it’s not BBM for iPhone. It’s a BlackBerry Mobile Fusion client and, while not flashy, it marks their foray into cross-platform enterprise device management. After installing the BlackBerry Mobile Fusion Client on an iPhone, your company’s IT administrator will be able to roll out company-approved apps, handle device configuration, remotely lock or wipe devices, and set policies for device usage by group or individual. Of course, from the admin side, the web-based Mobile Fusion console allows management of all sorts of phones: BlackBerry, as you’d expect, as well as Android devices.

Say what you will about RIM’s dwindling market share (even in the business space), this is a smart move on their part. They’re realizing BlackBerry isn’t the king of the castle anymore, but they’re still playing to their established strengths. Of course, that’s no guarantee for success; RIM is going to need to do a better job of iPhone enterprise management as a third party than Apple is able to with their own Configurator software. There’s certainly an advantage in supporting all of the major platforms, and considering their partnership with Bing, it wouldn’t be surprising to see RIM include Windows Phone support once demand for Microsoft’s mobile platform rises. Regardless, BlackBerry will always get the top treatment in Mobile Fusion, and businesses that run predominately on another platform may prefer a solution that’s equivalently specialized.

In any case, I can only imagine the smirk on the face of the Apple employee that got to approve Mobile Fusion for the App Store. Any votes for BBM on iOS next? Any administrators in the house interested in trying this out will be able to sign up for 60-day trial, after which it costs $99 per user for licenses, or $4 per month per user.

Free 60 day trial – Register now

Free app – Download now

Source: CrackBerry

Popular iPhone social network, Path has been updated again, this time to version 2.1.1 to further address the privacy concerns that gained widespread media attention over the last couple of months. The new version of Path will hash your Contact data including names, e-mail addresses, Twitter handles, and Facebook profile IDs. Hashing basically takes the data and applies a cryptographic algorithm to it that renders it unintelligible to anyone who might try to intercept it as it’s transmitted between your device and Path’s server. (A so-called “man in the middle” attack.)

We take privacy and security seriously, and we believe your data deserves to be well-protected. That's why, with the release of Path 2.1.1, we are enhancing our security by hashing user contact data so that it is anonymized. This means last names, phone numbers, email addresses, Twitter handles and Facebook IDs. We collect this data to connect you with those who are closest to you.

The extra precautions are welcome, and if it increases sensitivity to privacy in general, well worth the controvery and attention it got a while back. It wasn’t the first time, it won’t be the last, but hopefully it will become even less frequent going forward.

Although developers should be responsible with how they store and utilize people’s data, it’s also vital for us to understand how our data can be used online. Apps like Girls Around Me used data in a way that can be described as just plain scary. The worst part is they weren’t really pulling anything that the entire world didn’t already have access to. This is why it’s so important for users to understand how to change and edit their privacy settings across all social networks. And the best rule still applies — if you don’t want the whole world to know or see something, just don’t post it to begin with.

Free – Download Now

Source: Path

Additional resources:

• How to review your social network privacy settings
• iMore social networking forums

Two years ago today Apple released the original, first-generation iPad Wi-Fi. Decried by critics as a “big iPhone” it turned out that was just exactly what the mainstream market wanted, and the iPad has gone on to pretty much create it’s own product category. Rather than a complicated, desktop-style experience, Apple produced something remarkably focused.

No one really knew what to make of it back then, not even everyone at Apple. Their late co-founder, Steve Jobs, however, believed it was the next step towards the future — post-PC before the coin was termed, a computing appliance when many felt the idea itself arrogant and oppressive. Something to once again democratize technology and make it even more accessible to the masses. (Something the iPad 2 would later run away with.

The line ups on launch day were geeky, filled more with people who already used Apple and iOS products and less with the mainstream crowds that would come just a year later. (Steve Jobs went to the one at Palo Alto) Apple managed to sell 300,000 original iPads that weekend, a tenth of the 3 million they sold on iPad 3 launch day this year, but an incredible amount by the standards of the day. (And unbelievable compared to the previous ten years of Tablet PC sales…)

There were a surprising amount of good, tablet-optimized apps available on launch day (I bought about $120 worth of them that morning!), and they just kept getting better and more numerous as developers figured out the strengths of the newer, bigger platform.

Now we have Retina display, LTE networking, everything iOS 5 has to offer, and the wonder of what iOS 6 might bring. But then we had the fresh and fervent memory of Steve Jobs putting sneaker to stage to introduce his last next big thing, something we’d seen for month but suddenly became real to us that morning when we finally got our hands on it and that big screen lit up bright.

The future.

So here’s a slice of birthday cake and two candles burning just as bright. Happy birthday, original iPad, and here’s to many more to come!

Here’s my recollection of getting the original iPad, make sure you share yours!

Foursquare has revoked API access to the iOS app Girls Around Me, forcing them to take their tracking app down from the Apple App Store. This follows a scathing editorial on Cult of Mac in which the privacy implications of the app were called into question. The Russian developer, i-Free, has since issued a statement claiming  that they’ve done nothing wrong, and that they’re only using APIs on Foursquare and Facebook to enable users to find the names and locations of girls and guys nearby.

We are absolutely convinced that it is good and important to educate the users to take care of their privacy and what they share publicly. But we believe it is unethical to pick a scapegoat to talk about the privacy concerns.  We see this wave of negative as a serious misunderstanding of the apps' goals, purpose, abilities and restrictions. Girls Around Me does not provide any data that is unavailable to user when he uses his or her social network account, nor does it reveal any data that users did not share with others. The app was intended for facilitating discovering of great public venues nearby. The app was designed to make it easier for a user to step out of door and hang out in the city, find people with common interests and new places to go to.

Girls Around Me is without a doubt a skeezy concept, and I’m all for raising internet privacy awareness — Girls Around Me serves as a perfect example of why you want to be mindful of what you post online. Still, I think it’s a little unfair to demonize the app and its developer. They were simply making a buck with the tools that were available and addressing an obvious demand. Is there anything stopping registered Foursquare users from monitoring recent check-ins at their favourite haunts and drilling down into those profiles to find linked Facebook accounts? It seems like Girls Around Me only simplified and monetized an activity that was (and still is) possible to engage in with anyone that had Foursquare and Facebook installed on their phone. Case in point, Foursquare didn’t pull the API on moralistic grounds; they explained that it was done simply because of how i-Free was displaying the data.

We have a policy against aggregating information across venues using our API, to prevent situations like this where someone would present an inappropriate overview of a series of locations.

Girls Around Me basically just made it so would-be stalkers wouldn’t have to browse through each business individually, and could instead just glance at a map for recent check-ins. Even that kind of service is already available elsewhere.

There are ways to implement location-based dating without getting creepy — namely, providing a layer of anonymity that can protect people from being spied on unless they explicitly allow access. That said, people who don’t want to be tracked down shouldn’t be checking in on Foursquare, and if they are, they should take some time to figure out the privacy settings.

Was Foursquare right to revoke API access to Girls Around Me? Will doing so actually improve awareness of online privacy concerns or prevent abuses?

Source: WSJ, Cult of Mac

For today only, the iMore Store has the Case-Mate Tough Case for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 on sale for only $17.95!. That’s a huge 49% off! Get them before they’re gone!

Shop Case-Mate Tough Case for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 now!

The Tough Case combines high quality protection with a custom color combination for your iPhone 4S, AT&T iPhone 4, or Verizon iPhone 4.

Dual layers form together to guard against any fumbles. A form-fitting silicone skin surrounds the device completely, while absorbing shocks and impacts. The ABS plastic hard shell wraps around the skin for extra protection, as well as an easy-to-hold grip. The Tough Case features access to all ports and functions.

Features:

• Dual layers of silicone and ABS hard shell plastic combine for secure protection
• Form fit feature covers back and corners
• Impact resistant, flexible plastic shell
• Access to all ports and functions

Apple has announced that they’ll be telling us precisely how insanely rich they are after new iPad sales on April 24, 2012. The quarter will cover their sales from December 31, 2011 to late March, which includes the launch period of the new iPad. On the first weekend alone, Apple was able to sell three million new iPads, and one can only imagine how much that figure has ballooned since then, especially if the Q2 2012 results are taking into account the international releases that followed.

As if Apple needed any help attracting investors, they’ve also recently announced a share buyback program and that they’ll start issuing dividends to stockholders. Some analysts think that Apple’s stock will break the $1000 mark within a year; given its growth rate and the fact that it’s sitting at around $630 presently, that doesn’t sound too far off, does it?

You’ll be able to catch the investor’s call webcast over here.

A two year old boy has been rescued after falling down a narrow well thanks to an iPhone and some quick thinking rescue workers. The boy was playing with some friends when he fell down a 40 feet deep well, became stuck, and needed emergency assistance to get out.

The incident happened in Yunnan Province near Mengzi City, China. Local villagers tried in vain to get the boy out of the well while they waited for rescue teams to arrive. Once the fire-fighters arrived an hour later, they fed oxygen down the narrow shaft to enable the boy to breathe. They tried to lower a harness down the well but as it was an adult harness the boy kept slipping out of it and proved too dangerous to use.

In a move of brilliance, one fire-fighter attached his iPhone to a rope with the video camera enabled and lowered it down the well. The video was then played back and this let the rescue team to see exactly how the boy was positioned in the shaft and guide rope into the correct position and complete the rescue.

The boy escaped with only minor bruising; so was extremely lucky that the recuse team had such great vision and of course an iPhone. As they say, all's well that ends well…….

Source: App Advice

“Evernote is hands down the best way to take and organize notes on the iPad whether you’re in class, in a meeting, or on the go. Pair that with the ability to use Evernote across any platform available and it simply can’t be beat.”

Taking notes on the iPad is a great way to save on the amount of physical paper you have floating around and a much easier way to stay organized. There’s so many note taking apps in the App Store that choosing one can be a bigger task than anything. Syncing notes across all your devices and organizing them has never been easier when you use Evernote for iPad. If you prefer typing out your notes instead of using a handwritten notes app, Evernote is the best choice.

Whether you need to take freeform notes, create checklists, or upload pictures – Evernote’s got you covered. The best part about Evernote is that they’ve got a client for pretty much any platform you’ll be using. I frequently take notes on my iPad in meetings or during consults. When I get back to my office they’re already synchronized and available on my iMac. From there I can share them via e-mail, Twitter, or Facebook or send them directly to my printer. If you’ve ever had to take minutes for a meeting it’s never been easier to send notes out to all attendants before you even leave the meeting.

Upon starting a new note in Evernote you’ll notice that you’ve got the option to add them to notebooks and add tags to notes. This makes searching and sorting less of a task and super simple. I’ve got several types of clients from consulting to web design. I simply tag the note appropriately in my work notebook and I can find their notes in just a few taps from anywhere inside Evernote.

I’ve also found Evernote to be a great place to store information such as serial numbers or photos when price shopping. Just take a quick photo inside a new note and tag it however you’d like. I love doing this when shopping for electronics or other items that I want to check prices for at multiple places. It allows me to easily compare prices without hand typing information that’s already on the price tag.

While Evernote is free to use you are limited as to how much storage you can use in one month. A free account gives you 60MB a month worth of storage. It’ll reset every month back to zero. If you plan on taking more text notes than anything a free account will suit you just fine and you’ll most likely never come close to hitting that cap, unless you’re a note taking maniac. If you plan on saving a lot of images or screen caps to Evernote, you can probably come close to that cap and may want to consider upgrading.

For $5.00/month or $45/year you’ll get 1GB of storage upload space per month as well as many other premium features including the following –

• Offline access
• No ads
• Extensive note history that allows you to view past versions of your notes (good if you’re collaborating with others)
• 50MB uploads per note
• Pin lock allowing you to lock your Evernote application to prevent unauthorized access
• PDF search

I personally have always used the free version of Evernote and I’ve never hit the cap. 60MB may not seem like a lot of space but if you’re only snapping a few pictures here and there and most of what you’ll be doing involves taking text notes, a free account will serve you great. While the free version is ad-supported, you’ll only really see ads on the PC or Mac version of the client and they’re tucked away in a corner and extremely unobtrusive.

The good

• Great user interface across all platforms that’s familiar when you jump from one device to another
• A free account will be sufficient for many users
• Fast syntonization across all your devices for easy access to your notes from anywhere
• Multiple notebooks and tags make organizing your notes super simple

The bad

• No way to passcode protect your notes unless you pay for Premium which is a bit of a let down

Conclusion

Evernote is hands down the best way to take and organize notes on the iPad whether you’re in class, in a meeting, or on the go. Pair that with the ability to use Evernote across any platform available and it simply can’t be beat. Whether you use an iPad and an iPhone or an iPad and an Android or BlackBerry, Evernote has you covered.

What are your favorite note taking apps for your iPad? Is Evernote your favorite or do you think something else deserves the title title for best iPad app for note taking?

Free – Download now

Have you ever had trouble reading, watching, playing, or otherwise using your iPhone while caught out in direct sunlight? Here’s an easy workaround that’s doesn’t involve taking your iPad back inside

The iPad has a big, bright beautiful display that looks absolutely amazing under normal condition but, because it’s glossy, can become reflective or washed out to the point of uselessness under the glare of direct sunlight. Luckily, all hope is not lost!

Here’s what’s going on. The iPad has an in-plane switching (IPS), light-emmiting diode (LED), liquid crystal display (LCD) that produces crisp, clear colors under normal conditions. It’s not laminated the same way the iPhone screen is, so it’s even slightly more reflective when it catches rays.

So, what can be done? There are various anti-glare screen protectors you can try out, but those aren’t practical to put on and take off every time you’re out in the sun.

Chances are, however, if you’re out in the sun, you’ll have a pair of sunglasses. Like any self-respecting beach boy or bikini chic, they might even be polarized. If not, pick up a pair that is. You can also use passive 3D glasses if you’re geeky enough to have those handy. They can make all the difference in the world when it comes to reading the web or eBooks, watching movies or TV shows, using apps or playing games.

To explain why, we’re turning to Mobile Nations‘ own Stephane Koenig, our very own ocular science guy!

How to use polarized sunglasses (or passive 3D glasses) to see your iPad in direct sunlight

I’ll spare you the fascinating explanation (it really is a clever trick of light that facilitates passive 3d, non- reflective coatings and a bunch of other good things).

Phew! So we can skip ahead to putting our polarized sunglasses on!

If you experience a black screen with your sunglasses on turn the iPad 90 degrees… i.e. if it’s black in portrait rotate it to landscape and vice-versa.

The effect is dramatic, gradual and proportional to the amount of turn.

It happens because the lenses block light polarized in one dimension and LCD panels produce light polarized one (potentially different) dimension as well. Coatings on some panels reduce this effect in order to reduce reflection/glare at the cost of lower ‘compatibility’ with polarized glasses. Sometimes they oppose each other and no light gets through. It’s sort black magic if you don’t understand what happening.

Here’s a simple explanation and here’s a deeper explanation — scroll down past the science bit to see examples of uses…

• Radio: AM/FM radio waves are polarized which is why radio antenna tend to be vertical for best reception and TV antennas are horizontal
• Shop windows have similar coatings to reduce ambient reflection – they want you to see the products not yourself.
• Passive 3D glasses work because the left eye only lets light through polarized one way and the right eye lets light through polarized the other way. The projector polarizes the light from alternate frames to give a pseudo-3d effect because each frame show an image slightly with perspective slightly off-set from the other. Try tilting your head during the performance to test the extent of this technology. Better yet… pop out the lens, place them on top of one another then turn one of them 90 degrees to block out all light.
• Camera lenses have coating which can remove reflection from windows (an a commensurate amount of light) in the same way that some windows have coats as above
• If you view car window through polarized lenses you can see the stress lines in the glass, manufacturers exploit this as one of the quality tests for their tempered glass.

Thanks Steph! So bottom line, if you want to take your iPad to the beech or the pool, out on a sunny street or park, or anywhere where there will be bright, direct sunlight, just bring a good pair of polarized sunglasses with you!

Bonus tip: Because of the way the iPhone display is constructed, polarized sunglasses can greatly reduce glare and increase visibility in both portrait and landscape mode!

Variable – Polarized sunglasses on Amazon.com – Buy now

Found an interesting article you want to share with iMore? Have a burning question about that feature you just can’t figure out? There is ALWAYS more happening just a click away in the forums. You can always head over and join in the conversation, search for answers, or lend your expertise to other members of our community. You check out some of the threads below:

• iPad recommendation for an artist?
• Dedicated hardware gaming controller?
• Stylus for iPad?
• Small issue: iPhone won’t vibrate
• What folders do you use on your home screen?
• True tales of Find my iPhone

If you’re not already a member of the iMore Forums, register now!

LockScreen Lab is an iPhone app that lets you design custom Lock screens that can include important information like a calendar, contact info, to-do list, and your blood type. This is great for people who have a passcode setup on their iPhone, or if you just want to make it easy for someone to contact you when they find your iPhone.

There are four different types of objects you can add to your design: contact information, to-do list, calendar, and text box. For all objects you can adjust the color and opacity.

For contact information, there are 4 different styles to choose from — two horizontal ones (one with one line, another with two), one that’s a corner banner, and the fourth is actually a way to display your blood type and looks like a red liquid drop.

Text boxes allow you to adjust the font size, alignment and opacity. The todo lists are kind of neat, but you have no control over their size. There are 4 different looks for your lists: check boxes (that can be checked/unchecked), bullets, stars, dashes, and Apple symbols.

Lastly, there a four different calendars to add to your lock screen backdrop: two vertical ones and two horizontal ones.

One thing I noticed about the objects is that you cannot adjust their size. For example, in my Lock screen, I have my email address on the bottom and a calendar on the left. They are both designed to be full length/width, so the banner with my email address overlaps with calendar making it so I can’t see one of the days. I’m a little OCD with stuff like this, so the overlap is drying me nuts.

The Good

• Easy to use
• Includes great little objects
• Customization for colors and opacity
• Access to Photo albums

The Bad

• Can’t adjust the size of objects

The Conclusion

LockScreen Lab is great app for creating custom wallpapers for your Lock screen. I had never considered including information like my blood type and an emergency contact, before, but since I have my iPhone setup with a passcode lock, I’m going to always make sure I include this information from now on. LockScreen lab makes this easy to do.

$1.99 – Download Now