Table of contents for April 2012 in Macworld

Whenever we cover iOS devices in Macworld (as we do in this month’s cover story, “12 Things Every iPhone and iPad User Should Know,” page 36), some readers inevitably complain. “I don’t have an iPhone,” they’ll say, or “I see no reason to get an iPad.” The complaints usually include some variation on, “This is Macworld, not iPhoneworld!” Yes, this is still Macworld—and we’re proud of it. But just as Apple has evolved in the 28 years since the Mac was first introduced, so have we. The company now sells more iPhones and iPads than Macs. More than half of the money it took in during the last three months of 2011 was from iPhone sales. Even if you despise those other products, you can’t deny that there’s much more…

The annual expo for Mac and iOS users has evolved to focus on the user community, but the Macworld | iWorld exhibit hall where companies show off their wares is still a huge part of the show—you might even say it’s the most important part. Hundreds of products are on display, but a few stand out from the rest. We call these products the Best of Show. Adonit Jot Touch Artists who use the iPad and a stylus to draw will appreciate the Jot Touch’s support for pressure sensitivity (under $100; adonit.net). Blue Microphones Spark Digital This $200 USB condenser microphone can be used with a Mac or an iPad, and has a built-in shock mount and an adjustable stand (www.bluemic.com). Boinx Software iStopMotion for iPad You can use this…

If you really want to make the most of Reminders—the basic task manager Apple introduced with iOS 5—you need to tap into the app’s location-based features. Like the rest of the built-in app, location-based reminders are fairly straightforward, but you must master a few techniques before using them. This primer can help you with the basics. Edit Your To-Do Details Whether you want to add a specific time when Reminders should nudge you to perform a task, or you want the app to remind you about a to-do item at a specific location, just tap on a Reminders entry. From the Details screen that appears, you can tap Remind Me to schedule a time-or location-based reminder. Use the Location Slider Below the space for setting time-based reminders, you’ll find a…

A few minutes with the Willy from Insanely Great Products will make you rethink your attitude toward suction cups (macworld.com/7661). The $20 iPhone accessory comes with two of them, angled and attached to a base with a nonskid surface. Set the base on your desk, and you’ve got a capable iPhone stand that lets you prop up your iOS device in either landscape or portrait orientation. That second section cup comes into play when it’s time to hit the road—attach it to your car’s windshield, and you have an iPhone mount that’s ideal for use with the GPS app of your choice.…

HARDWARE Belkin TuneBase FM with Hands-Free This auto accessory combines an iPhone cradle, charger, FM transmitter, and playback/call controls in a package that connects to your car’s accessory outlet. It’s a bit cumbersome to set up, and if you want the best audio quality, you’ll want to use its audio line-out jack rather than its FM transmitter, but it’s sturdy and secure. ; $100; Belkin; www.belkin.com Incipio Bombproof Silicone Case for iPhone 4 and 4S Although the Bombproof Silicone Case may not truly survive an explosion, this iPhone 4 case still affords plenty of stylish protection. Available in seven colors, the ridged rubber case offers a unique look, a good grip, and plenty of shock protection. The case is also easy to slip on and off. Incipio includes an adhesive…

Multitasking arrived with iOS 4, making it a lot easier to get things done quickly on iPhones and iPads. iOS 5 brought multitasking gestures to the iPad-using masses, which helped make iOS even snappier. But those features really only help you use iOS faster once you’ve mastered them. There are two main approaches to multitasking on an iOS device: using Home-button actions and performing gesture-based actions. Status Bar Tap the status bar to get to the top of the list, page, or email you’re viewing. HOME BUTTON Pressing the Home button twice quickly opens the multitasking bar. There you’ll see your most recently run apps; they appear in the order in which you last used them (most recent to the left, less recent to the right; swipe left to see…

With all the personal information you keep on your iOS device—passwords, contacts, phone numbers, and documents—you need to make sure it’s secure from prying eyes and backed up in case you lose it. Items in Lists In Mail, swiping sideways causes the Delete button to appear; tap it to delete a message. This action works similarly in other apps. PASSCODES You can set one of two kinds of passcodes: numeric or alphanumeric. The first is a four-digit number code; the second can contain any number of letters, numbers, and symbols. The latter is obviously more secure, but it’s also harder to type in. The passcode will be required when anyone tries to activate your device. If the correct passcode isn’t supplied after ten tries, iOS blocks access to your apps…

Record and Transcribe Meetings with the Microcone Dev-Audio’s Microcone (www.dev-audio.com) is a microphone designed to record group meetings. But it isn’t just a mic: The small, cone-shaped device contains six separate directional microphones. You put the Microcone in the middle of the table and start talking. As each person speaks, the closest mic picks up what he or she is saying. (This is only effective in meetings with six or fewer participants.) The Microcone relays each person’s voice as a separate audio signal to your Mac (via USB). The Microcone Recorder app then processes and records each of those individual audio streams; they appear as separate tracks in a timeline. That’s when things get interesting. You can isolate what one person said and play it back or save it. You…

HARDWARE Logitech Mini Boombox Logitech’s $100 Mini Boombox is certainly tiny, as intended. Like the Jawbone Jambox, the Mini Boombox is a Bluetooth speaker designed to be supremely portable. Unlike the Jambox, Logitech’s portable speaker emphasizes low price over audio quality. The Mini Boombox’s audio is decent, and certainly better than the built-in speaker on your iOS device. But we heard frequent distortion at medium or louder volume levels, and bass presence is negligible. The unit simply can’t pull off the shocking sound-quality-for-the-size surprise that devices such as the Jambox and the soundmatters foxL v2 Bluetooth showcase. ; $100; Logitech; www.logitech.com MEElectronics A151 Balanced Armature In-Ear Headphone For $75, the MEElectronics A151 offers balanced-armature driver technology and the accurate sound that comes with it. Compared to many balanced-armature models, the…

Solve Mac App Store Download Errors An error that has cropped up for numerous users of the Mac App Store states: “The product distribution file could not be verified. It may be damaged or was not signed.” When this error appears, the download of the purchased application fails. A potential solution is to delete the App Store application itself from the Applications folder and reinstall it. To reinstall when using Snow Leopard, download and run a combo update (such as Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo). If you’re running Lion, reinstalling OS X via Lion’s Recovery HD partition should work similarly. I assume that running the OS X Update 10.7.2 Client Combo would also do the trick. For those users willing to take a more techie route to a solution,…

As a private pilot, I wouldn’t fly without the iPad. It is a vital and incredibly capable tool with flight planning, approach charts, nav maps, and FBO data; it’s readily accessible and always up-to-date. It has revolutionized the cockpit of pretty much every airplane out there, and many commercial carriers are now formally adapting it—certainly in the charter jet business, and beyond. William Midon, via email I am an avid iPad user, and it is a central part of my rabbinic work these days. That covers pretty much everything I do—email, writing sermons, and even using it on the pulpit. (Yes, I use my iPad in place of a prayer book and sermon text.) In addition, we recently got a grant to begin using iPads in our religious school’s educational…

Apple CEO Tim Cook says he is “outraged” by a series of New York Times reports of alleged worker mistreatment at Chinese factories that assemble iPhones, iPads, and other devices. “We care about every worker in our worldwide supply chain,” Cook wrote in an email to Apple employees. “Any accident is deeply troubling, and any issue with working conditions is cause for concern. Any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive to us. As you know better than anyone, accusations like these are contrary to our values. It’s not who we are.” The Times painted an unflattering picture of Apple’s China operations in a series of reports in January, depicting “Foxconn City”—a Chinese manufacturing hub named for the contractor that builds Apple’s iOS devices, among other electronic…

Einstein Mimobot Mimoco, maker of whimsical flash drives, introduced the Einstein Mimobot as the first product in the company’s new Legends line, with capacities ranging from 2GB ($23) to 64GB ($120). The Legends line will be based on famous people, with Albert Einstein the first to be honored. With the cap on the drive, Einstein has that familiar stoic look on his face, but remove the cap and you’ll find a variation of Arthur Sasse’s famous photo. The drive also comes preloaded with wallpapers that feature imagery of the drive itself, as well as a set of icons you can use on documents and drives, and avatars you can use online. For $6, you can buy a ProtoHoodie, a soft fabric case that protects the drive and lets you attach…

New AT&T customers can expect to see higher rates on their iPhone data plan. But they’ll also get more gigabytes for their bucks. Under a new plan that went into effect in January, AT&T’s data plans now start at $20 per month for 300MB of data for smartphone users. AT&T also offers 3GB of data for $30 a month and a tethering plan with 4GB of data for $50 per month. In effect, that’s a $5 hike for all of AT&T’s data offerings. But it also means you get substantially more data—previously, the standard AT&T plans included 200MB and 2GB of data, respectively, while the tethering package was capped at 4GB. The reason for the increases? We’re using more data. “Mobile broadband has become part of our daily lives,” wrote…

Soonr Scribble Offers Annotation, Collaboration Online-storage provider Soonr has brought its Soonr Scribble (macworld.com/7658) annotation app to the iOS platform. The $4 iPhone and iPad app lets you highlight, mark up, and otherwise annotate files in 35 different formats, including PDFs, Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, and Adobe Creative Suite files. You can save your annotations and share them with colleagues via this cloud-based service. The app comes with up to 5GB of storage.—DAN MILLER Tappr.tv Update Adds Voice Controls Deeje’s free tappr.tv app (macworld.com/7659) lets iPhone and iPad users create customized music visualizations for the songs in their music library—think lights and effects that appear in time with the music. Users can share their creations with the rest of the tappr.tv community. The version 5.0 update enables the…

Although you can connect accessories to your iOS device using the 30-pin dock-connector port on the bottom, or the headphone jack on top, many add-ons—including wireless headphones and speakers, phone headsets, and external keyboards—connect wirelessly using Bluetooth technology. You need to know how to set up those connections. CONNECTING Pairing associates a Bluetooth accessory with an iOS device. To do so, go to Settings ▸ General ▸ Bluetooth and make sure Bluetooth is set to On. With that done, your iOS device is discoverable—meaning that it’s available for pairing. Next, put the accessory in pairing mode. For most Bluetooth devices, this is as simple as pressing a dedicated connect button; in others, you hold down the power button. However it’s done, pairing mode is usually indicated by a flashing or…

Gear4 Renew SleepClock Unlike other sleep-tracking products out there (Jawbone’s Up wristband, for one) Gear4’s Renew SleepClock is unique in that it doesn’t require that you wear a device on your body to monitor your sleep. The Renew SleepClock monitor and speaker dock can detect your sleep movements from your nightstand. For example, the sensor can tell if you’re in a deep sleep by your lack of movement and slower breathing rates. And if you’ve woken up in the middle of the night and start fussing with the blankets, Renew SleepClock takes note. Using this information, it can wake you at the lightest moment in your sleep cycle. And all of that information gets stored on your iOS device, ready for you to review. Expect it to be available in…

Q: My network router is downstairs in my home and I have an Internet-ready TV upstairs. Can I put an ethernet hub in the upstairs room to handle both the TV and computer, and connect that hub to one of the ports on the router? Via the Internet A: Sure. The router is the brains of the outfit and handles all the routing, assigning internal IP addresses to those devices that request them. To proceed, string an ethernet cable between the router and the hub, configure the router to distribute IP addresses via DHCP, plug whatever you like into your hub, and tell your devices to pull their addresses from the router (you generally do this via each device’s network setting)—the router takes care of the rest. While a hub…

Apple has hired John Browett as the senior vice president of retail, reporting directly to CEO Tim Cook. Browett had served as the CEO of the European technology company Dixons Retail since 2007. Apple says that Browett will be responsible for the company’s retail strategy, including Apple’s “continued expansion of Apple retail stores around the world.” Browett’s résumé also includes stops at Tesco, where he served as the CEO of Tesco.com, along with an earlier role at the Boston Consulting Group. He graduated from Cambridge University, with an MBA from the Wharton Business School. Browett replaces Ron Johnson, who served at Apple from January 2000 until late last year. Johnson is now the CEO for J. C. Penney. Macs: Current Lineup n/a = not available. A Speedmark 7 is Macworld…

With the 7.0 update to its line of iOS fitness trackers, Abvio is cleaning up its act. Abvio offers a trio of GPS-enabled fitness apps for the iPhone for $5 apiece—Cyclemeter (macworld.com/5935), Runmeter (macworld.com/5937), and Walkmeter (macworld.com/5936)—that record a wealth of data about your workout. Tap your way through one of Abvio’s apps, in fact, and you can find around 150 data items covering everything from the speed of your run or ride to your heart intervals during your workout. The problem, Abvio cofounder Steve Kusmer concedes, is that data isn’t always presented in the most accessible way. “We have this great information,” he said. “We needed a great way to display it.” That’s the primary thrust of the changes slated for version 7.0 of the three apps, which should…

Find My Friends UTILITIES Just as Find My iPhone (macworld.com/7087) helps you locate your iOS devices, Find My Friends can find your friends’ iPhones and iPads—and, more to the point, the people carrying those devices. The app lets you and your friends share location information, displaying that data on a map. The locations aren’t always precise, but the app provides handy ways to send an iMessage, initiate a FaceTime call, or get directions to where your friends are located. The app particularly shines with its event-based sharing for planning excursions and coordinating locales.—DAN MOREN iPhone/iPad free; Apple Screens 1.7.1 UTILITIES Many apps for controlling a remote computer are clunky. Not Screens, which offers unique features that make controlling remote computers from an iOS device nearly painless. Screens offers useful tools…

Whether you’re writing an email or filling in a field in Safari, nearly every task you perform on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch involves working with text. And there are smart ways to do so. BASICS The first thing you need to know how to do is navigate and select text, and take advantage of iOS’s built-in editing tools. Scroll In almost any iOS editing field, you swipe your finger up or down to scroll through text. However, if you’re working in a text field within a webpage, a single-finger swipe scrolls the webpage; swiping two fingers scrolls through the text field. Position the Cursor Tap within a text field or document to place the cursor at that location and bring up iOS’s on-screen keyboard. (If you have an…

With iOS 4.2, Apple introduced AirPrint, which put printing capabilities directly into the mobile operating system. Unfortunately, AirPrint works only with certain printers. If you have an AirPrint-capable printer, printing from an iPhone or an iPad—or, more specifically, from an iOS app that supports printing—is simple. (Those apps include such staples as Safari and Mail.) But even if you don’t have an AirPrint printer, there are still ways to print from an iPad or iPhone, as long as you have the right helper apps. PRINT CENTER The Print command is often hidden under the Action button, alongside things like Send To Email or Send To Twitter, in apps that support printing. Once you find and tap Print, you’re asked to select a printer and specify the number of copies (up…

HARDWARE HP Envy 110 e-All-in-One The HP Envy 110 e-All-in-One inkjet multifunction printer looks like a classy VCR and prints lovely photos. It’s also fully equipped for cloud printing and is compatible with Apple’s AirPrint technology (for printing from an iPad or iPhone). Is all that enough to make you forget its costly inks? Aesthetically oriented home and small-office users who don’t print much might be willing to make the trade-off. The Envy 110 e-All-in-One forgoes basic black for a dark-mocha casing with copper-colored metal accents. Thanks to its extremely low profile—just 4 inches high—it can sit discreetly on a deep shelf. The Envy 110 e-All-in-One prints, copies, and scans, but doesn’t fax. SD Card, Memory Stick, and USB or PictBridge slots are included for printing directly from flash memory.…

During Apple’s recent education event, company executives Eddy Cue and Jeff Robbin unveiled the iTunes U app, a new way for students and teachers to manage course material for classes on an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch (for more about iTunes U, see macworld.com/7664). While the iTunes U app provides access to the content that’s available in the iTunes U section of the iTunes Store, it also offers a way for teachers and students to interact. The opening interface looks a lot like Apple’s iBooks app, with a bookshelf hosting icons that represent your courses. Tap on a course to see a list of topics. Teachers can post a syllabus, notes, and assignments, and students receive notifications when new posts are available. With the assignment lists in the iTunes U…

HARDWARE Arctic Accessories Architect Stylus Aluminum styluses are all the rage these days, with Arctic Accessories’ Architect Stylus the latest in a long line of impeccably designed devices. The 4.8-inch stylus stands out in novel ways: It sports a 7mm rubber nib, rather than the 8mm or 6mm versions currently in favor, and that nib is recessed into the pen, rather than jutting outward. The body of the stylus also eschews a bulky clip, instead providing a lanyard ring. The Architect falls short in only one regard: ergonomics. While the stylus is comfortable enough to hold at first, your hand may cramp slightly after extended periods of use. ; $23; Arctic Accessories; www.thearcticstore.com Canon PowerShot S100 The Canon PowerShot S100 offers an all-encompassing range of manual options for experienced photographers,…

The iPad has begun a quiet revolution in education. All over the world, schools are making ambitious plans to adopt Apple’s tablet on a large scale. With the company’s recent announcement of its education initiatives—textbooks in the iBookstore, the iBooks Author app, and iTunes U—those plans got a big boost. iBooks and the iBookstore Schools have typically bought coupon codes in bulk (via the App Store’s Volume Purchase Program); those codes allow students to download electronic books and apps. But those books are downloaded into individual students’ accounts and cannot be transferred elsewhere. This ownership model is out of step with the way schools have traditionally used textbooks—namely, one copy is usually used by multiple students. Unfortunately, iBooks 2 doesn’t work that way. The first purchaser owns it and can’t…