India is the most expensive place to buy an iPhone 6s

Daniel Van Boom writing for CNET about the high pricing of the iPhone 6s in India:

[The iPhone lineup] will cost more in India than any other country, starting out at 62,000 rupees for the 16GB 6S — that’s the equivalent of $955, AU$1,310 or £620 for the entry-level model.

On the other end of the spectrum is the top-of-the-line 128GB 6S Plus, which will cost 92,000 rupees, which converts directly to about $1,415, AU$1,950 or £925.

He adds:

Ironically, the high pricing could prove a costly move for Apple, with analysts saying that such expensive smartphones will alienate almost all of its prospective userbase in India. Though Samsung and its Galaxy S flagship devices have a presence in the Indian market (with the S6 starting at around 40,000 rupees — $615, AU$840 or £400) the most popular smartphones are budget, sub-$200 devices like Chinese handset maker Xiaomi’s RedMi range and products made by local brand Micromax.

I don’t know about others, but I’m fairly certain that I’m waiting it out for iPhone 7. Unless something happens to my current iPhone 6 and these prices drop over the next few months.

October 12, 2015 ✚ Permalink

The Original LIFX Smart Bulb Gets a Price Cut to $60

LIFX Smart Bulb

LIFX is a family of LED Smart Bulbs. These bulbs connect to your router over Wi-Fi and can be controlled using an app on your smartphone or tablet. Because these bulbs are always connected to the internet, you can use the power of IFTTT recipes to customize their behavior and mould them to your liking. These bulbs also do not require any ‘Hub’ and work independently.

Currently there are 3 products in the LIFX family:

  1. The Original — 16 Million Colors and 1000 lumens
  2. White 800 — 1000 shades of white and 890 lumens
  3. Color 650 — Full Color Downlight and 650 lumens

I presently have two LIFX Original bulbs in my house, with a third one on its way. I purchased the first one 18 months ago and I love everything about it.

Today, the company has just announced that The Original LIFX bulb has received a price cut from retailing at $99.99 to just $59.99 now. If you’ve been on the fence about smart bulbs, now’s a good chance to grab one.

You can order The Original LIFX Smart Bulb from Amazon or directly from their website, with both offering you Free Shipping in the US.

October 8, 2015 ✚ Permalink

Official Release Dates for Upcoming Disney Pixar Films

The official @DisneyPixar Twitter handle just tweeted out the official release dates for their upcoming films through 2019.

Release Dates for Disney Pixar Films

I am very excited for The Good Dinosaur and Finding Dory, but not so much about Cars 3.

October 8, 2015 ✚ Permalink

Enhanced Editions of Harry Potter Series Available Exclusively on iBooks

Apple today sent out a press release announcing that enhanced editions of all seven books in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series are now exclusively available on the iBooks Store.

These enhanced editions contain the full original text, interactive animations and elaborate artwork, as well as annotations throughout the series.

Until now, the Harry Potter digital books have only been available for readers to purchase through the Pottermore Shop. Starting today, iBooks® users can experience the books with all new exclusive custom covers for each title, and typography including the custom Harry Potter typefaces and new section headers and drop caps.

These books are priced at $9.99 each and are available in 32 countries starting today. Additionally, Apple has also begun accepting pre-orders for French, German and Spanish versions of these editions are they’ll be available starting November 9 in 18 additional countries.

Apple has even setup a custom landing page for Harry Potter fans at www.itunes.com/HarryPotter.

October 8, 2015 ✚ Permalink

Snapdeal invests $20M in GoJavas

Sneha Johari writing for MediaNama:

Ecommerce player Snapdeal has invested $20 million in logistics firm GoJavas to further enhance its supply chain and logistics. GoJavas will use the funds to add 100 more cities to its repertoire in the next 6-12 months. Snapdeal had picked up a minority stake in the company for an undisclosed amount in March this year.

According to Snapdeal, GoJavas has been one of its ‘best performing’ last mile logistics partners, reducing Snapdeal’s delivery time by 24 hours in the last 6 months. Snapdeal says that it has invested $100 million in the last 6 months to improve delivery timelines by 70%, while looking to invest another $200 million in the next 12 months to strengthen its supply chain.

October 8, 2015 ✚ Permalink

TwelveSouth introduces an all new BookArc for MacBooks

TwelveSouth BookArc for MacBooks

TwelveSouth, makers of some of the most amazing and drop dead gorgeous accessories for Mac and iOS devices, today announced a redesigned version of the BookArc for MacBooks. The BookArc is an all aluminum stand that lets you prop your MacBooks upright in a closed-clamshell mode, thus freeing up space on your desk and additionally making your workspace look a lot cooler.

The new BookArc has been redesigned to have gorgeous chamfered edges and a slightly tweaked shape. The interchangeable silicone inserts allow you to fit in any current generation MacBooks in the BookArc, including the new 12-inch Retina MacBook. Each BookArc ships with three inserts, so even if you buy a new MacBook, you won’t have to purchase a new BookArc.

TwelveSouth BookArc on the Desk

The TwelveSouth BookArc with a MacBook on a Desk

I had the original BookArc, released almost 7 years ago and loved using it with my 15″ Unibody MacBook Pro and 24″ Apple Cinema Display. I had quite a narrow desk back then, so it was great being able to pop the uMBP upright, just behind the Cinema Display and free up the space for other stuff.

The new BookArc has been priced at $50, similar to what the old model was priced at. If you’re in the US, you can also enjoy Free Shipping on your order. In India, Apple Premium Resellers like Imagine and Unicorn do stock TwelveSouth products, but it’s going to be a while before the new BookArc shows up there.

October 7, 2015 ✚ Permalink

Porsche chooses Apple CarPlay because Google reportedly asks for too much data

Rich McCormick writing for The Verge:

[Motor Trend] says that Android Auto tracks variables including vehicle speed, throttle position, fluid temperatures, and engine revs, information that is collated and then sent back to Google. Apple’s CarPlay, on the other hand, only checks with the car’s powertrain control module to ensure that the vehicle is moving. Porsche was apparently unwilling to enter a deal that would send reams of information back to Google — partly, Motor Trend says, because the manufacturer thinks those details make its high-end autos special, and partly because Google itself is in the midst of building its own car.

I can’t possibly imagine why Google would want all that data. Can you?

October 6, 2015 ✚ Permalink

Welcome to Nuclear Bits 2.0

I launched Nuclear Bits back in July 2012. Up until that point, I had been “blogging” on and off at http://preshit.net since 2008 and it was time to retire that site. I was looking to start fresh with a new site, a new name and new place for all the interesting links and articles, and after a couple of weeks of work, Nuclear Bits was born. Over the last three years, I have published a little over 300 posts here, posting content across topics like Apple, apps, consumer technology, India, photography, videos, etc.

Today, I introduce Nuclear Bits 2.0. The site now sports a single column layout, with the beautiful Whitney typeface from Hoefler & Co replacing the old serif, which was Process Type Foundry’s Elena. The site should also be much more responsive now, being powered by CloudFlare‘s network.

This isn’t just a visual refresh though. I’ve also gotten rid of a lot of junk that seemed like a good idea back in 2012, but just doesn’t fit in with the trends of 2015. Overall, this took about 4 hours of work on a Sunday and I’m quite happy with the results.

I’m also a lot more motivated now and plan to get back to posting quality stuff here again.

If you’re reading this in an RSS reader, click here to check the new site out.

October 5, 2015 ✚ Permalink