This week marks the debut of another Made in Michigan innovation, this time from Ann Arbor-based Stratos, who announced last week that it finished raising $5.8 million to fund its growth..

"There's one card and there's one computer embedded with it," Olson said. "We have a unique stripe technology on the back that allows it to change. One second it's swiping as if it's my AmEx card, the next it's swiping as my debit card or my loyalty card."

Post by Stratos.

Apple sent invitations to members of the press for an event to be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco on October 22, 2013, which will mostly cover the iPad.

As the holiday season commences and Black Friday game plans are being put together, present budgeting can be a valuable tool.

How many times do find something you want to buy but you stand there thinking about what else you've already bought for this person? How many times do you realize you've really overspent on a particular person? How many times have you forgotten about presents you purchased and lose them somewhere in your house and never give them to a person? So much valuable time and money wasted!

Last year I downloaded Christmas Gifts List Free for my iPhone and it was the perfect solutions for all of my shopping, planning, and budgeting needs for the season!

Once you've downloaded the app, start off by adding people to your list of present recievers and setting a budget for that individual.

Once you've done that, go into that person(s) section and start adding items and their cost to your shopping guide.

Once you've purchased an item for that person, check it off in the list and the app will recalculate how much you have spent and what is left of your budget for that person.

On the apps homescreen, it keeps a running tally of all the people you are shopping for this season and how much you are spending/have spent on each and everyone one of them. Once you've finished shopping for a person just place a check mark next to their name.

Apparently last year I really under-budgeted!

You can even have a secure log in password for the app to keep your pesky loved ones from snooping around and ruining the surprise!
Christmas Gifts List Free can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store for iPhones, iPods, and iPads.




DISCLAIMER: All the screencaps shown here are based on last year's Christmas shopping plus a little creative altering as examples. To those people shown here, don't get all excited... I hardly done any shopping!

It's finally here! Apple released on press invitations for its next big launch: the iPad Mini!

The invite says: “We’ve got a little more to show you.

"Little" is the keyword here. The iPad Mini tablet is expected to be much smaller than the current 9.7-inch iPad model. Rumors and leaks put the new tablet at 7 inches and at fewer pixels than the current size. Some are saying the new device could have a retina-resolution display, 3G connectivity, and use the new lightning connector introduced with the iPhone 5.

The invitation-only event will be held at the California Theatre in San Jose, CA on October 23 at 10:00 a.m. PT.

Image: Mashable

Yesterday was, what was known as, the iPhone 5 Keynote at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. However, in addition to the iPhone 5, Apple also unveiled new iPods, a revamped iTunes and brand-new earphones, called EarPods that will ship with every Apple portable product.

I could write this lenghty piece about everything that happened yesterday, however Mashable did a fantastic job of live-blogging the entire day--complete with quotes, pictures, polls, and more--so why reinvent the wheel! It was great to follow along with yesterday while I was at work but if you're not trying to watch the extremely long keynote then scrolling through the live blog would be a great resource.

But if you want to spend a few hours watching it then more power to you! Apple posted a recording of the September 2012 Keynote, it can be viewed in its entirety here.

What did you think about the announcements? Did the event live up to the hype? I was expecting more of a wow factor with the iPhone 5 but I was pleasantly surprised with the updates to the iPods. I'm curious what everyone else thought!

It's time for us die-hard T-Mo customers to face the music and move on if we ever dream about owning a fully functional iPhone. According to this leaked T-Mobile employee training memo, it looks as though the phone carrier will not be graced with the new iPhone 5.


T-Mobile is training its employees to "sell against the iPhone" with special emphasis on the date of September 21, which has been the rumored release date of the long-awaited iPhone 5 (does T-Mo have inside information or are they just speculating like the rest of us?). This doesn't actually come as a surprise to any one, however those of us who have still stuck with T-Mobile were hoping for a miracle.

For quite some time now T-Mobile has offered its customers the ability to use an unlocked iPhone and it looks as though they will continue to provide the microSIM cards needed to support T-Mo service according to TmoNews.

Is the effort to compete against the iPhone a little too late? Shouldn't T-Mobile focus on what they CAN offer their customers rather than what they CAN'T? No one is going to go into a T-Mobile store wanting an iPhone and expecting someone to sway them in another direction... especially on the day of the (expected) launch of the iPhone 5. T-Mobile has some great phones and (I can't believe I'm saying this) there are other great phones besides the iPhone, so why are they so hung up on this one?

I do have to admit that I have been using a factory unlocked iPhone 4 for over a year on the T-Mobile network and I am less than satisfied. Despite not being able to send picture text messages to anyone that doesn't have an iPhone, not having visual voicemail, and only being able to access the 2G network, I am still the happiest I have ever been with T-Mobile in the 8 years I've had service with them. It's this realization that has lead me to believe that is was not T-Mobile that caused me to fight with them weekly over the entire duration of my contract, it was the phones that caused me to be unhappy.

I went to T-Mobile 8 years ago to live out the Sidekick dream, I moved from one crappy SK model to the next, until some T-Mo rep in shining armor told me about a wondrous land called Android where I could run free with a cute little green fellow to lead the way. I tried several models and was still unhappy. Androids are great, I just don't have the patience for them. My life is complicated enough and I just wanted something simple. Straight forward. At any cost!. I'd loathed iPhone users out of pure envy until I finally realized I could have one too!

I am waiting for my contract with T-Mobile to expire so I can move on to greener pastures... pastures that include the highly anticipated iPhone 5. I thought there might be a chance they were able to get a deal with Apple for the new device, however this training memo crushes any hope of that. I'm thankful T-Mobile has been so accommodating to those of us who have iPhones on their network now but it's time to live the dream.

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I recently hit up Downtown Detroit Days with some of my girl friends in support of Detroit's new shopping scene, pioneered by Somerset Collection's CityLoft. Downtown Detroit Days (DDD) runs a few weekends throughout the summer (there's no more scheduled this year) and has been a Detroit tradition since the 1950s. DDD transforms an empty lot, once home to J.L. Hudson's, an outdoor marketplace featuring the best Detroit and Michigan based brands, local artists and entertainers. We shopped and had a great time all while taking in the sights of downtown and the heart of Woodward.

For awhile now I had been in search of the perfect bamboo iPhone case so I was pleasantly surprised to find one at DDD in the Eye Zig Zag booth. And since there was a "buy two" deal going on and I wanted to support a local startup, I figured this would be a great "Back to School" giveaway!

The real bamboo brings balance to your high-paced tech life with its natural grain and texture and it also makes for a perfect autumn accessory! The hand-made case slides apart into two pieces for easy application and features a felt internal panel to keep from scratching the backside of your phone. Cutouts in the wood allow for access to all the phone's components.

As everyone gears up for school and mourns the end of summer, I thought my followers might need this back-to-school, fall-is-upon-us pick-me-up!

To enter this contest: Use the widget below to win. Your options include leaving a blog comment, becoming a follower of katelynshelby.me on Blogger, tweeting the giveaway link and mention me (@katelynshelby) in the tweet, and/or entering the mailing list. Contestants may enter more than once for this contest. The winner will be announced Friday, September 15, 2012 at midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What new features are you expecting to see in this new iPhone model? Let me know in the comments...

Other posts on this blog about the iPhone 5:

• Rumors & Concepts Roundup (May 2012)
• New iPhone Concepts (June 2012)

I've really been wanting a case/keyboard combo for my iPad 2 but I hadn't really found one I liked.

A lot of the keyboards I came across had a very "Microsoft" feel to them like this Bluetooth® Keyboard Pro Portfolio for iPad® Tablet sold at Brookstone. So I came up with a list of requirements I needed a case to fulfill for me to deem it worthy of my use. It had to be a case and keyboard combo. The keyboard needed to have the same look and feel as the Apple product family. It had to be protective of my iPad. It had to be light in weight and easy to carry around in one of my fancy handbags. And last, but not least, I needed something easy to use. I just want to pull it out of my bag and start typing immediately.

After doing some research, I ended up going with the ZaggFolio, which was also highly recommended by Consumer Reports.

Pros

• Removable bluetooth keyboard

• Long lasting battery life (keyboard)

• Responsive keys

• Easily connectable

• Thin

Cons

• Awkward closing

• Cramped keys

• Portrait mode only

Not only am I using my iPad with the Zagg Folio for work but it also got me through my last semester of grad school after my 9 year old MacBook passed away. A lot of people don't think a tablet can be a replacement for a laptop, but if you're simply doing basic note-taking, word processing, and internet browsing a tablet is really all you need! My iPad + Zagg Folio and I are attached at the hip from the boardroom to the classroom and I couldn't imagine it any other way!

Overall, I completely love it! It's so much more portable than a laptop but much more user friendly than an iPad itself. I give it 5 stars!

As the long-anticipated announcement for the iPhone 5 on September 12 nears, the rumor mill is working over-time. And although I love hearing about all the thinner screens and missing buttons, I rather see the concepts creative geniuses all over the world are coming up with.

These design concepts are so beautiful and functional, I can't help but hope that one day I might own one.

Spider-Like iPhone

Edge-to-Edge Screen


iPhone Pro


Although these contenders are beautiful, it looks like this one might be the top contender:


What do you think? Which are you looking forward to?

This is what you've missed in the wonderful world of tech news this week:

• Apple's WWDC Event - Held this week, WWDC was the perfect platform for Apple to unveil some of this year's great products
• iOS 6 Unveiling - Here's everything you need to know about Apple's new mobile operating system
• New MacBook Pro - With the new MacBook Pro, Apple leads the market again with laptops
• Microsoft to Buy Yammer? - Yammer, the internal corporate Twitter-copycat, could be worth $1 Billion+ to Microsoft
• Longer Tweets for Some - Twitter has rolled out extended tweets for select media partners

As we all know, I love my iPad and take it everywhere with me. I also like shopping for accessories for my iPad! Lately I have realized that there is something beautiful about a handmade item paired with a flawless industrial object, like an iPad.
Check out my post over at ThoughtPizza.com that highlights my favorites.

I just ordered Apple's iPad Camera Connection Kit to use with my new Sony NEX camera that I absolutely LOVE!

Today Apple announced the time, date, and location for this year's Worldwide Developers Conference.


This year WWDC will run from June 11 to June 15 in San Francisco, with the all-important keynote taking place on June 11 at 10:00am PT. Historically WWDC is known for the announcement of iOS and OS X software updates but it is also known for the dramatic unveiling of Apple hardware products.

Some of the more noteworthy previous Apple announcements made at WWDC:

• 2003: iLife
• 2005: Intel Transition
• 2006: Mac Pro
• 2008: App Store
• 2009: Unibody Macbook
• 2010: iPhone 4

Although nothing is official yet and everything is purely speculation, here are a list of all my favorite iPhone 5 rumors and concepts:

A better camera, bigger screen, and sans home button (via unwir3d)

Metal back made of a lightweight metal, possibly aluminum, there have also been rumors of Liquidmetal, a futuristic substance that’s as easy to mold, lightweight like plastic, but as strong as aluminum (via DMA Central).

Tear drop shape? An already thinner iPhone will taper as it nears the bottom (via digitaltrends).

iPhone 5 shaped like the Magic Mouse (via CiccareseDesign)

A clear iPhone? Possibly...

Other rumors include:

• Redesigned look - As the concept images above say, we're guaranteed a redesigned look for the newest iPhone model.
• Larger screen - This one is almost guaranteed, along with an edge to edge screen. The common rumor is that we should see a increase to a 4 inch screen.
• Near-field communication (NFC) - This technology has been rumored for some time now. It would allow users to make payments iwth their handset just like they do now with credit cards. Some Androids already have NFC but NFC adoption is still low and could be years away from gaining in popularity. Would Apple waste their time with this? Or could it be Apple that will bring NFC to the mainstream?
• 4G connectivity - Another long-standing rumor. But who knows? In the past, Apple has been slow to connectivity changes. Afterall, Apple did wait a full year to jump on the 3G bandwagon. There's a greater possibility Apple will wait until carriers have opened more 4G networks.
• Liquidmetal - Several rumors state that several components of the iPhone 5 will be made out of a super-strong metal alloy called Liquidmetal that are extremely lightweight.
• Additional carriers - iPhones have been about exclusivity but will they branch out to include other carries? Perhaps Tmobile due to its large 4G network?

What other rumors have you heard? Which are your favorites? And which can't you live without?

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Instagram is now available for Android users to download through the Android Market starting today, March 3rd. Since the app first hit the iTunes shelves in 2010, Droids have been patiently awaiting their turn to be wannabe iPhoneographers. Now they have that chance.

Part of Instagram's allure was that it was exclusive to iPhone users... thus bring iPhoneography to a whole new level. It was an app for the iPhone elitists who double as aspiring photographers.

We don't speak the same language.

My first concern with Instagram turning Android was, "They won't understand my Emoji!" But then I got to thinking, I am proud to own an iPhone. It says something about me and the work that I do. My iPhone says I appreciate quality and the beautiful things in life. Instagram is a place where other like-minded iPhoners can group together and proudly show off the beautiful things we see through our 8-megapixel cameras and OlloClips.

We like to suck up each other's awesomeness as iPhone users. We can't get enough of ourselves!

Now Instagram is for common folk. With the network open to Androids I can see the fights coming, "That picture would be better if you had an iPhone!" Or, "My Droid is better than your iPhone!" And that is not what I want to spend my time reading.

I know this must sound so elitist of me but I enjoyed the common-ground of Instagramming and carrying on conversations in the comments using just Emoji... and now I can't. Or I can and just ignore the Androids. But that wouldn't be nice. 

Maybe I'm just not good with change.

What do you think? Did Instagram just ruin its appeal by taking away its exclusivity? Leave your opinion in the comments! By the way, if you didn't gather that this was some what of a joke--with my references to Emoji and by poking fun of a group of people that includes myself-- you should rethink your comment first.

Here are the things I find noteworthy from this past week in the world of tech news:

• The Future of PR is here by Charlie Kondek - An examination of the new world PR industry and the types of skills needed to be a successful PR professional. I had the opportunity to hear Charlie Kondek, Sr. Social Media Strategist at Team Detroit, speak this week on the new model of PR.
• Kony Stirs Debate - If you haven't watched the viral Kony video released by Invisible Children, then you need to watch it to understand the drama. Then a simple "Kony debate" Google search will get you up to speed on both sides. Despite who is right and who is wrong, you can't deny the power of social media word of mouth here.
• Apple's New iPad: The 9 Features that Matter - Are you still trying to sort through what actually changed with the new iPad that was unveiled on Wednesday? Here's a quick guide to the most important and exciting changes.
• How to Sell Your iPad Now - If you're in the market for an upgrade, this is the guide for you. How, where and when to sell your older iPad model.
  
• Social Media Fatigue - How it happens, the affects it has on your body, and tips to conquer the beast.
• SXSW - South by Southwest started this yesterday in Austin, Texas. As usual it is expected to have awesome film, music and internet/social media showcases. 

Today Apple announced their new application called iBooks 2, which is really just an awesome refresh on their existing iBooks app.

What's so cool about this update?

First off, basically everyone can be an author.

Image: Mashable

Any 'ol Joe Smo will be able to write and publish iBooks to the iBookstore. My dream of becoming a published author will come true soon!

More importantly though, iBooks will (hopefully) revolutionize education.

Image: Mashable

These iBooks, digital textbooks, give the reader an interactive experience with their coursework. Apple's iBooks 2 app allows users to take notes, create study cards, search within text, and take quizzes, among other features that coincide with the traditional education process.

It will also pair with the iTunes U program with launched about four years ago that has been successfully integrated into 1,000 universities and is the largest catalog for free educational content.

Image: Mashable

iTunes U will help teachers reinvent their curriculum. Complete with audio and visual (video and text), teachers will be able to create complete, online curriculum and they can monitor their courses all from an iPad. This system will allow for course outlines with a complete syllabus, the addition of office hours and assignment postings (with notifications for students when new ones are added).

Apple announced that popular publishers, such as McGraw-Hill Cos., Pearson PLC and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, will make textbooks available for high school students first then expects to expand to every subject and grade level. The expected cost of these books is $14.99 or less.

This push by a giant like Apple is huge the mainstreaming of digital resources in education. This is going to force educational systems, including higher education, to consider the cost effective move to going digital. Sure the cost of an iPad is high, but does buying 6 or more expensive textbooks per student versus one iPad and "cheap" ebooks change the game?

How about college students? How much less loan debt would college students have if they were no longer buying multiple $200 and $300 textbooks a semester? This will also take a huge weight off universities for buying back, storing, and dealing with outdated textbooks.

To date, six universities have access to the new iTunes U and iBooks and have created over 100 full, online courses... all of it on iTunes U and all of it for free!

How exciting is that?!

Now that we understand how great this is but let's get to the point, how much will this update cost?

Nothing. No cost. That's right, it's free! Talk about changing the face of textbooks. By offering this application for free, Apple is almost guaranteeing widespread use over their cited 1.5 million iPads being used in education today.


This could also be the first step towards the Social Textbook that I presented as part of a graduate project.

A few months back I published a project called Social Textbooks, which are interactive and collaborative textbooks. This type of textbook would allow students to collaborating outside the classroom to discuss their reading material, which would cut down on in-class time that would have been spent clarifying ideas and themes from the assigned reading. Basically, if I didn't understand passage "X" from Chapter 2 of this week's reading, I could post a thread within my digital social textbook and my classmates or instructor could answer. Along with these collaboration attributes, these digital textbooks would consist of high resolution images, interactive graphs and maps, and wiki style linking.

Maybe me and my ideas should join the Apple team?

How do you feel about the reinvention of textbooks and the future of education?

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was this week in Las Vegas and companies pulled out all the stops to make sure this was an event to remember!

Most of the world is far too busy to keep up with CES. It's like a full-time job trying to keep up with who unveiled what and what is about to become the next big thing in technology! The news pours out faster than the technology becoming outdated. There's also a large chuck of people that don't care about CES because some very important, life-changing companies are not present at the event... like Apple (everything else is just a cheap knock off in comparison).

But there is more to CES then the competing superpowers, Microsoft and (the absent) Apple. Some of the coolest, strangest gadgets make their way into the mainstream by way of CES. So after asleepless night, I have compiled all the main highlights of CES.

Microsoft's flop.  Microsoft's keynote speech, which has been the opening CES spectacle since 1998, was entertaining but lacked the substance that the techies need to survive. Recently, Microsoft disclosed that they would not be a part of CES 2013, so this would be their last opening keynote.

From the host Ryan Seacrest to an on-stage choir singing tweets, Microsoft's show was incredibly entertaining... but none of it was technology news! This dog and pony show did nothing for the company's position in the marketplace and it definitely doesn't help to sell their products.

Microsoft pulling out of CES comes as no surprise to many. Apple doesn't participate in CES since they hold their own earth-shattering keynotes and events. Perhaps Microsoft will follow.

Justin Bieber likes robots.  It's safe to say that JB has had an awesome year. And what better way to start a new year then to endorse some robots...? Wait. What does Justin Bieber have to do with robots? No one knows. No one, including this Mashable reporter who just really wanted to see the robots but had to deal with the Biebers of CES.

I understand that the Biebs got his start through social media and technology (he was "discovered" on YouTube) but that doesn't really cross over to robots. However, someone thought that just because this robot dances, it's one in the same as JB.

And dance is all it does. The Tosy mRobo robot dances to the music that you upload to it. Lame. I want one that makes me a sandwich and does my laundry.

Waterproofing Tech Toys.  Liquipel debuted its revolutionary waterproofing process for your smart phones. This thin covering, which they claim "you'd need a powerful microscope to detect," protects your phone from spills and from being completely emerged without the need of a case. At this point, I'm sold! But some of you probably want to know what the price point is... the prices range (for the iPhone) from $59.99 to $79.99 depending on the type of skin. Not too bad! The only catch is that you have to cut ties with your device and send it to them. After they've received it, they'll have the job completed in about 3 days. Can you sacrifice these few days for a worry-free life where your phone and water can coexist in close proximity?

High Tech Baby Stroller. Not that I'm interested in stroller shopping but 4Moms has debuted the most sophisticated stroller on the market, the Origami. Origami is a power folding stroller in which the back wheels, when rotating, power a battery that can be used to charge and run plethora of gadgets. This high tech stroller comes with running lights, MP3 hookup, a LCD screen with tripometer, and, of course, a power folder. Perfect for the tech mom on the go.

iSpy the iPad 3 at CES.  According to iLounge, you may have been seen the iPad 3 at CES and not even have known it. That's right. According to their report, the next-generation tablet is almost unrecognizable unless it is compared side-by-side with the iPad 2. iLounge notes differences in:

• Body thickness - approximately 1mm increase
• Rear camera - larger than predecessor, silver ringed and similar to the iPhone 4s (minus the LED flash)
• Screen - rumors have suggested a smaller screen, however, nothing of the short was spotted at CES but it can still be expected

With these small of changes, I almost expect for this to be an iPad 2S. I feel as though we are in for another iPhone 5 deboggle where our expectations get so high then we are just left with a disappointing iPhone 4S at the unveiling.

However, the expected "unveiling" of the new iPad is between now and mid-2012 and a lot can change, pre-production wide. So who knows what the finished product will be!

What else did I miss? Did some of you have more time to follow the releases more closely than I did? I'd love to hear what excited you!