Siri Secret Commands

You've probably already mastered how to treat Siri to get the information you want, rather than some absurd answers Apple’s intelligent assistant gives if it misunderstood your command. Below you’ll find some random useful tips on how to make it easier for Siri to precisely understand what you mean.

If you have created playlists and given them certain names, for example: ‘morning songs’ or ‘romantic’ or just anything, you can make Siri play it for you if your command sounds the following way: Play playlist + playlist name.

If you’re a busy person you probably get tones of e-mails daily. To easily sort and find e-mails by certain sender, ask Siri to: Find all email by and a contact name.

Did you know that Siri can tell you the name of that actor you know you’ve seen before but just can’t remember the name? Simply ask: Who was in the cast of and name the movie. One more thing about movies, if you’d like to get information about movie times and ticket purchasing in your area, your command should sound like this: [Movie Name] show times [zip code - optional]" – to get best results. However if you have set Google in Safari to use your current location, you don’t even need to specify an area code.

If you’ve set it up on social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, or others that let you update via SMS, Siri will message your status right to it if you say: Message + specify social network+ status: what you’d like Siri to post.

To get Siri find sports scores efficiently, just say: Yahoo/Google/Bing (or whatever) + Team name+ score, for example: Google Chelsea score – and you’ll get the answer. In this way you’ll not only be shown the current score if the game is currently in progress, but it will show the team record, score of the last game, and upcoming game.

And now, check some of the crazy answers Siri usually gives to your stupid questions below.

Technology Hub Wins Free App Poll

The winner of the week is completely different from the previous app winners and here is how: Technology Hub is an extremely useful free app that helps you solve each and every tech problem of yours, including installing the latest software, connecting your laptop to your TV, how to unlock any special feature and more! This ultimate all-knowing mobile tech guru provides personalized help anytime solving life’s big and little tech problems – using skilled knowledge and homegrown wisdom from real people around the world!

Technology Hub enables you to communicate with the real people all around the globe, so you are able to share your tech problems and get help while offer your tips and useful information to others as well. This means that you get personalized advice, not those generalized to each and every- you either solve or are solved! You can post your questions to a wide variety of categories, including: cameras, computer gaming, console gaming and platforms, DVDs, iPhones, GPS, hardware, mac, media, music players, networking, PC, portable gaming, tablets, television, website development and more.

With the built-in news feed dubbed as News Hub the app helps you stay on the cutting edge and get the latest and hottest tech news from trusted industry sources.

Technology Hub is available for free in Apple App Store  in the news category. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad and requires iOS 4.3 or later to be functional.

To become the next winner and see the review of your app on our blog, get started now, check out 

How-to Promote Your Apps On iPhone Blog For Free!  

What’s New In iOS 5.1

So much awaited iOS 5 update has finally been rolled, announced on an iPad event on March 7th , San Francisco. Due to the fact that there has been no single mention of the update since January 9th (the last beta release date), the expectations about iOS 5.1 have gone wild. Unfortunately there are no surprises in iOS 5.1  as it was anticipated, but the update brings several major improvements along with some minor changes in audio and call quality.

One of the most vivid changes concerns the way you access the camera app: if you had to double tap your device and then again press the home button to access camera in previous iOS versions, now the camera icon is always present on the lock screen when the phone is on, and is activated by just sliding the icon up.

The next change concerns the camera app too, but this time for iPad: it is redesigned the way that performs faster, smoother and has some minor basic functions added. One more thing that’s new is that you now finally have an option to delete photos from your photo stream! And the last and the most expected: Japanese Siri is also present and will be available by March 16th. 

The update also brings major battery improvements for the sake of iPhone 4S owners, fixing all the previous issues that the users complained so much about. 

Despite battery fixes, there is one  more important thing iPhone 4S users should know: iOS 5.1 turns iPhone 4S into a 4G iPhone on AT&T's network, but unfortunately without any increasee in speed.

The latest iOS firmware update is already available for each and every iDevice, but if you have jailbroken your device, avoid upgrading to iOS 5.1 because you may lose your jailbreak.

Apple’s March 7 Event Complete Coverage: New iPad, Apple TV and iOS 5 Updates

Several hours ago Apple dropped a huge press conference in San Francisco for making three major announcements: the launch of so much rumored and awaited iPad, highly expected Apple TV and some major updates with the current iOS.

New Apple TV features 1080p programming comprising iTunes movies and TV shows, Netflix, Vimeo, photos and more, and all in HD! With iTunes in the Cloud, users can get hands on their favorite movies and TV shows right from the iTunes Store instantly, enjoying them in HD. Despite the huge speed and simplicity, the new Apple TV features humbler, advanced user interface making it easier than ever to access your purchased movies, TV shows and music with iTunes Match right from iCloud. Streaming or mirroring your favorite content from the rest of iDevices including iPad or iPhone is also available. On the other hand, you can buy movies and TV shows on Apple TV and watch them on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC too, with incredibly high speed, no matter which device you choose to use.

Apple TV will be available on March 16th for a suggested retail price of $99 (US) through the Apple online store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers and requires iTunes 10.5 or later, 802.11g/n Wi-Fi network or Ethernet network, a broadband Internet connection and a HD TV capable of 1080p or 720p and an HDMI cable that is sold separately.

Now let’s move on to iLife apps for iOS. To complete this bundle, Apple introduced iPhoto for iPad and iPhone and major updates to iMovie and GarageBand. The following improvements were made:

• iPhoto now features revolutionary Multi-Touch abilities so you can use simple gestures to sort through hundreds of photos and find your best shots, augment and retouch your images using fingertip brushes and share spectacular photo journals with iCloud. To list the whole new improvements would take us far away, so to cut the long story short, so just imagine Photoshop mating with Instagram- to fully analyze the new capabilities.

• With the advanced iMovie you now are able to create amazing Hollywood-style trailers as you record HD video on your iPad and iPhone, even as you’re recording. The new Theater view lets you screen and pick from nine patterns in a range of categories including Superhero, Romance and Fairy Tale. Trailers feature soundtracks written by legendary composers such as Academy Award-winner Hans Zimmer and performed by world class musicians like the London Symphony Orchestra. 

• GarageBand introduces Jam Session, a groundbreaking and really cool feature that allows you to invite up to three friends of yours to wirelessly tie the iOS devices together for playing instruments and record live music. Jam Session spontaneously orchestrates the tempo, key and chords of your Touch Instruments so one and all sound great.

And the last and the most important- the new iPad! The third generation device of its category defining mobile device, featuring a fabulous new Retina display, Apple’s new A5X chip with quad-core graphics and a 5 megapixel iSight camera with progressive optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video. iPad with Wi-Fi + 4G connects to fast networks worldwide, including AT&T’s and Verizon’s 4G LTE networks, and still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life- just like the iPad 2, while remaining amazingly thin and light. Beginning today, iPad 2 will be offered at an even more affordable price starting at just $399!

As for the further details about iPad 3, read through:

• Retina display: delivering four times the number of pixels of iPad 2, so compact that the human eye is incapable to differentiate individual pixels when held at an ordinary distance, making web pages, text, images and video look extremely sharp and lifelike. The 3.1 million pixels in the Retina display are more than one million more pixels than an HD TV, and with 44% increased color saturation the new iPad displays colors that are astonishingly richer, deeper and more vivid.

• A5X chip – this powerful chip with quad-core graphics was specially designed by Apple to deliver a fast, receptive user experience while supporting the incredible Retina display. With double the visuals performance of the A5 chip, the A5X delivers a superb equilibrium between performance and power efficiency so you can enjoy all the benefits of the stunning new display while experiencing a smooth Multi-Touch interface, intensive gameplay, unbelievable visual depth and all-day battery life that iPad is known for providing.

• iSight 5 MP camera features progressive optics for taking fabulous pictures and recording full HD video. Backside illumination is available, allowing you to shoot great photos in low-light environments and a new video image maintenance feature eliminates the bumps and shakes naturally seen when filming with a hand-held device.

Despite the features above, iPad Wi-Fi + 4G with built-in next gen 4G LTE has the most all-inclusive support for fast networks internationally including HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA, and now both CDMA and GSM iPad users have the ability to easily roam internationally.

So much rumored Japanese Siri was also introduced, together with iOS 5.1 and iTunes 10.6 free software updates!

Pre-Orders for iPad are now available. Despite the US, iPad will also be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland, UK and the US Virgin Islands on Friday, March 16 for a suggested retail price of of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model and $699 (US) for the 64GB model. 

The new device is available in black and white colors and wills hit Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden by the end of March!

Upcoming iOS 5.1 Secret Features

The recent reports claim that Apple has finalized quality assurance examination on iOS 5.1 and will announce it together with the iPad 3 in just several hours’ time. The new version of iOS is said to comprise an augmented lock screen that gives easier admission to the camera, Japanese support for Siri – as previously rumored - and two more new features that have yet to be exposed.

A seep-out kind of the new OS was testified last month, featuring both – Japanese Siri and a ‘slide up to access camera’ gesture on the lock screen too. However, these two innovations does not account for “at least two other new features that have not been publicly leaked.” 

Although there are no actual evidences about what remains to be seen, the rumors have spread that there is at least one major feature of the iPad 3 that is yet to be unveiled and that was causing a delay in the launch of new beta versions of iOS 5.1.  There have even been some attempts at guesstimating what it might be here. Will it be Siri, Retina display requiring additional work to be ready or any new feature – will be unveiled soon, very soon.

On the other hand some reports claim that the build number of iOS 5.1 Gold Master is 9B176, which surprisingly has soon been signed by Apple yet. This confirms that any leaked screenshot would have to come from an official device authorized for testing. However, suspends our belief to see any glimpses till the actual event… As soon as iOS 5.1 is allegedly planned for release in the ‘coming days’ it is quite rational to conjecture that the update will be rolled after the iPad 3 announcement, but before it goes on sale.

iPad 3 Latest Headlines – Final Roundup

The world’s most anticipated device, Apple’s next generation iPad, which is said to officially be introduced tomorrow, is still encircled with numerous rumors about the design, name, specs and so on…

The most unexpected thing we’ve heard so far concerns the name of the next gen iPad to be iPad HD instead of iPad 3.  As Apple has a long practice to surprise us (remember the long anticipation of iPhone 5 and we got iPhone 4S after iPhone 4instead, as well as iPhone 3GS after iPhone 3G) and considering the fact that Apple is rumored to be doubling the resolution of the current iPad 2, it is quite possible that we’ll see iPad HD Tomorrow. But if Apple does go with iPad HD, what would the further next generation iPads be called - iPad HD 2, iPad HDS or what?

The next big rumor concerns the screen size. Apple is once again rumored to be purchasing respectively smaller, 7.1-inches, screens for iPad mini type device- according to multiple sources. But why would Apple, which sold 15.43 million full sized, full priced iPad 2 tablets last quarter alone, would complicate the app development process for developers or create yet another UI size for developers to target? Just to compete with Amazon’s Kindle Fire? It leaks logic a bit, but nothing is foreclosed at all…

And the last thing that sounds incredible- Ten One Design – which has a great reputation when it comes to accessories, has just announced that it is working on a pressure sensitive Bluetooth 4.0 stylus for the next generation iPad 3. However the question is whether the stylus will be coming with the next iPad in the box or will it be sold separately…

This is all for now- not to mention some minor tweaks about the huge resolution, unbelievable speed and so on. So guys, call for just a little patience and wait for tomorrow to unveil the truth!

This is all for now- not to mention some minor tweaks about the huge resolution, unbelievable speed and so on. Whatever there should be introduced, the recent study shows that 42% of iPad owners are ready to buy an iPad 3! So guys, call for just a little patience and wait for tomorrow to unveil the truth!

Shout Out Loud For The Winner Of The Week!

It’s Monday and traditionally, the time for announcing the winner of our Weekly Free App Poll. It’s the very right moment to scream, as Shout Out Loud has gained the majority of votes, and become the winner with just 1additional, but very loud vote!

With this free app found in the games category in the Apple App Store, you will always have the reason to shout out loud and not resist: here is something that would want to make you shout!

Take out all your frustration, your stress and shout for winning!!!

This is the game where both males and females have equal chances of winning, regardless the different timbres of their voices. It is all about having fun, releasing negative emotions out of you and enjoying! Based on your shout capacity and loudness, yet there are only two levels in the game:

1) Shout Loud: How loud can you shout?

2) Shout Capacity: How much can you shout?

Shout Out Loud is highly addictive and guarantees unforgettable fun with your friends. The game features leader-boards and achievements, and the current 1.1 version includes Game Center bug fix for your convenience. The future updates promise to bring more levels and multiplayer support to the game. Yet all you need to get fun is an iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (2nd generation), iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) or iPad running iOS 5.0 or later!

Hereby we'd like to let you know that the polls continue running for FREE apps only, with the winner announced every week! The next poll leader will get the FREE review on our blog on Monday, March 12th, and will be removed from the poll once the competition is over! Again, keep tracking our status updates not to miss any important notice!

To become the next winner and see the review of your app on our blog, get started now, check out 

How-to Promote Your Apps On iPhone Blog For Free! 

Your Unlimited Data Plan Will Be Throttled By AT&T – It Is Official

On Thursday AT&T will put limits on their Unlimited Data plan that slows speeds for 3G and 4G customers who exceed 3GB in a billing cycle and caps 4G LTE customers at 5GB. The carrier has explained the move on a support page, as it said: “you will still be able to use as much data as you want. That won’t change.”

Before that, AT&T had only slowed the speeds of customers who were in the top 5% of their respective markets, a practice known as throttling. Despite the fact, AT&T insists that 95% of smartphone users will not be throttled. As an AT&T rep says the cause of the change is that “customers had told us that more clarity would be helpful.”

People, who are affected, will receive a text message which explains that their usage is near 3GB (5GB for LTE users). Exceeding that threshold will lead in reduced data speeds, although you will still have the opportunity to email and surf the web. AT&T does not disclose how fast speeds will run for users who have been throttled.

As the carrier was citing the strain on its network wrought by data-hungry iPhones, it has begun throttling data for its top 5% of users last months. The practice was followed by Verizon then. As expected, the move has made riled many AT&T customers, citing the plan’s claim to “unlimited data.”

Despite the fact AT&T’s contract forbids such users from joining in a class-action suit, a person from California sued the company in small claims court last week and received a judgment worth $850.

Mystery – Why Apple Ads Always Show the Same Time

You do not even need to be an observant type, if you are a little bit attentive you would probably noticed in the past that Apple’s iPhone ads always display the same time – 9:42. It is very curious thing that has led to much speculation over the years. Presumably everyone agrees that there had to be a reason.

Now former Apple exec Bob Borcher named very boring reason, as he said that 9:42 is when the iPhone was lunched. That is true but there should have been something more interesting than that.

Senior vice president of iPhone software Scott Forstall said that the time (9:42) reference comes from Apple wanting the iPhone’s image to pop up on the big screen at around the 40-minute mark of Apple events. Finally the company plumped for 9:42 and the time on the image would match the actual time when the latest handset is shown off. When the big image of the product is appeared on screen, they want the time shown to be close to the actual time on the audience’s watches. 

The story might also explain the issue about iPad, which always shows a time of 9:41 in press images. The keynotes at which new iPhones and iPads are announced the time might not line up exactly and it tends to be fairly close at least. 

It is worth noting that the only ad depicts another time – 11:29 PM but it is about the Santa Claus from the holiday season. See the full commercial here. 

How do you think about the arguments? Do you have any other ideas about the issue? Do not hesitate to let us know in comments.