Just Mobile, a company so well known for its aluminum sculpted design objects, has recently introduced yet another simple and elegant multi-purpose stand for iPhone and iPad Mini called the AluCup™. As the name implies, this diagonally-cut aluminum cup lets you use its hollow space to put an iPhone or a similar sized cell phone, while its rubber friction allows an iPad Mini to rest on it. Available in a choice of four colours i.e red, black, yellow and blue, the AluCup™ is currently selling online at a price of $29.95.

Shipped in a traditional Just Mobile black box, the AluCup™ has been crafted from a single block of high grade aluminum with a soft silicon rubber insert in one of the four color options. The silicon insert, which can be easily removed from the aluminum cylinder, features high-friction edges that serve as a reclining pedestal for iPhone or iPad Mini, allowing you to place your device in either landscape or portrait mode. Similarly, the base of the AluCup™ has a color-matched rubber that holds it steady on smooth surfaces like glass.

The AluCup™ has four cable slots, one on each side of the cylinder, that let you pass your lightning or any charging cable in order to create a clutter-free charging setup for your handheld device. It must be noted however that the charging is only possible when resting the device on top of the AluCup™ and not while the device is standing straight inside the cup’s hollow.

While some of us may not agree declaring the AluCup™ a must have accessory, its simplicity and usefulness is surely unquestionable. In my own experience, Just Mobile’s AluCup™ has turned out to be a highly practical desktop object. It not only works as a compact iPhone / iPad Mini stand, but also serves well to accommodate random bits and pieces like coins, keys, pens and so on.

Review: Just Mobile AluCup™ For iPhone / iPad Mini is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

A U.S. Senate report alleges Apple’s complex corporate structures allows the company to dodge taxes and this morning CEO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer defended the company’s practices at the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in Washington, D.C.

Earlier, Ireland publicly rejected claims it allows special tax rates with companies, even though it plays a part in Apple’s ingenious “double Irish with a Dutch sandwich” tax avoidance technique.

Apple has now posted full opening statements from Cook and Oppenheimer for public viewing. Below is a segment Tim Cook wanted to make very clear about Apple’s tax practices:

I would like to explain very clearly how we view our responsibility with respect to taxes:

• Apple has real operations in real places, with Apple employees selling real products to real customers.
• We pay all the taxes we owe – every single dollar.
• We not only comply with the laws, but we comply with the spirit of the laws.
• We don’t depend on tax gimmicks.
• We don’t move intellectual property offshore and use it to sell products back into the U.S. to avoid U.S. taxes.
• We don’t stash money on some Caribbean island.
• We don’t borrow money from our foreign subsidiaries to fund our U.S. business in order to skirt the repatriation tax.

You can check out both documents full in PDF format here and here. Apple released its testimony to the investigation yesterday.

Apple Publishes Senate Opening Statements from Tim Cook, Peter Oppenheimer is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Now, we have another goodie heading your way and it’s a 16GB Nexus 4 from TELUS ($359 value). This Android phone is Google’s latest flagship smartphone which will allow users to experience what Android is supposed to be. Since all Nexus phones come unlocked, all you have to do is pop in your existing SIM card and voila.

‘Tired’ of your iPhone? Want to try something new? Enter our contest below!

1. Follow @iPhoneinCanada and @TELUS! on Twitter.

2. Send out the following tweet:

Enter here to win a 16GB Nexus 4 from @iPhoneinCanada and @TELUS! http://bit.ly/1a2spaM

3. Leave a comment in the comments section below to confirm your entry.

Contest ends on May 28 at 11:59PM PDT and the winner must have a Canadian mailing address. The winner will be announced shortly afterwards. Good luck!

Contest: Enter to Win a 16GB Nexus 4 from TELUS is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Amazon.ca has some decent sales right now on OtterBox iPhone and iPad cases, which as you probably know offers some of the best device protection available. Here are some sales that have caught our eye and are pretty hot (especially the Defender Series for iPhone 5):

• OtterBox Defender Series for iPhone 5: $22.00 (63% off; regular price $59.80)
• OtterBox iPhone 4/4S Commuter Series: $19.90 (50% off; regular price $39.99)
• OtterBox Defender Series for iPad 2/3/4: $59.00 plus free shipping (34% off; regular price $89.99)
• OtterBox iPad mini Defender: $39.00 plus free shipping (48% off, regular price $74.99)

[via RFD]

Amazon.ca OtterBox Sale: 63% Off the Defender for iPhone 5 at $22, Plus More is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

If you want to become an iPhone camera ninja, then the following iPhone photography video course might be for you. You’ll get over 93 lectures and 8 hours of content from Chet Davis, a veteran photographer with over 17 years of experience. He’s offering a massive course on sale for 51% off–available to you for just $19.

Here’s what you’ll learn about:

• Your iPhone’s Camera Settings & Functions
• Managing Photos in the Camera Roll
• Sharing Photos in the Camera Roll
• Popular Sharing Apps
• Favorite Apps for Photo Capturing, Editing, & Special Effects
• iPhone Photography Tips & Techniques – Building Your Creative Eye
• Connecting iPhone & Computers for Sharing & Archiving

[Related deal: $50 of Slickwraps Credit for just $25]

You’ll be able to view this course online forever as long as you have internet access where you will view the online course on your iPad. There’s a 30 day money back guarantee so you really have nothing to lose here.

Click here to jump on the iPhone photography video course deal while it’s still available from our Deals Store.

Learn How to Master your iPhone Camera with this Video Course [Deals] is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Future Shop has a one-day iPad sale today only on various models and accessories as well. Here’s what’s on sale:

• 16/32/64GB iPad mini Wi-Fi: save $20
• 16GB iPad 2: save $20
• 16GB 4th gen iPad Wi-Fi: save $30
• 32GB 4th gen iPad Wi-Fi: save $40
• 128GB 4th gen iPad Wi-Fi: save $50
• 64GB 4th gen iPad Wi-Fi+Cellular: save $50

iPad Accessories:

• All iPad, iPad mini Smart Covers: save $5
• Apple 12W power adapter: save $3
• Apple iPad camera connection kit, VGA adapter, Digital AV adapter, Lightning digital AV adapter: save $5
• Lightning to SD card camera reader, Lightning to USB camera adapter: save $4

These are pretty much standard for iPad sales, but the savings on the accessories are a nice touch too if you don’t have them already. Let us know if you’re going to jump on this!

Future Shop One Day iPad and Accessories Sale: May 21 Only is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Just like YouTube, iOS users will be able to upload video straight to Vimeo from their iPhones and iPads. Similarly, users will be able to upload their photos to Yahoo’s photo sharing website Flickr straight from their devices.

“Both Flickr and Vimeo will now also be integrated deeply into the new operating system, so users will be able to sign into the respective networks via iOS 7?s built-in Settings application. Like with iOS’s Facebook and Twitter ties, Apple customers will be able to log-in one time into each social network and have full sharing access.”

The report speculates that With Flickr integration, iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch customers will have the ability to share photos on their devices to Flickr with a single tap from the system-wide share menu. Also, similar to Facebook and Twitter, the new iOS integration for Flickr will allow for instant log-in to Flickr via various App Store apps.

Last year, Apple added Facebook integration to iOS and the year before, Twitter made its way into iOS.

Apple To Integrate Vimeo & Flickr In Upcoming iOS 7 [Report] is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Amazon has officially announced the launch of Amazon Cloud Drive in Canada to bring 5GB of free storage for users. Just under two weeks ago the company launched the Amazon Cloud Drive iOS app to allow users to store, share and access photos. Files are also accessible via the web, Mac and PC. Additional storage can be purchased for $10 per year for 20GB.

Russell Dicker, Director of Amazon Cloud Drive:

“We are proud to bring Amazon Cloud Drive to our customers in Canada. With Amazon Cloud Drive, you can manage and access files across multiple physical devices and you don’t have to worry about hard drive crashes. All of your content is stored safely on Amazon’s servers and is accessible from anywhere using a PC, Mac or web browser.”

Amazon Cloud Drive is yet another competitor for cloud storage seeking attention from customers. Last week Google announced it had unified 15GB of free storage across Google Drive, Gmail and Google+, while yesterday Flickr announced 1 terabyte of free storage.

Amazon continues to roll out various services in Canada previously exclusive to the USA. Note the following timeline of launches in Canada:

• Dec. 2012: Amazon Kindle eBook store
• Jan. 2013: Amazon Prime memberships
• Jan. 2013: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
• Feb. 2013: Amazon Mobile for iOS updated for Canadian Shoppers
• April 2013: Lower Amazon Kindle prices by $10

The only hold outs so far include the Amazon Kindle Fire tablets and streaming media services. If Amazon continues its expansion into Canada we very well could see Fire tablets soon.

Click here to learn more about Amazon Cloud Drive. Are you using Amazon Cloud Drive?

Amazon Cloud Drive Launches in Canada with 5GB Free Storage is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Discovered first by TonyMacx86, a leaked Broadcom BCM94360CD PCI-E mini custom combo WLAN+Bluetooth card (shown above) could possibly be Apple’s next option for WLAN+Bluetooth connectivity in the upcoming MacBooks due for announcement on WWDC in June, 9to5Mac reports.

The leaked PCI-E mini custom combo card seems to support IEEE 802.11ac, the next standard in wireless computer networking.

“The Broadcom BCM94360CD PCI-E mini custom combo WLAN+Bluetooth card supports IEEE 802.11ac, the next standard in wireless computer networking. Interestingly, it also looks like it may fit in current iMacs/MacBooks which could mean aftermarket updates could be possible”.

The Broadcom BCM94360CD PCI-E card may also support NGFF standard which is meant to improve area and Z-height, Layout, Interface support, and Flexibility. According to the source, these standards “help to reduce cost and design complexity”.

Upcoming MacBook’s Custom Combo WLAN+Bluetooth Card Leaked? is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource

Cook said that Apple pays an extraordinary amount in U.S. taxes. Having paid nearly $6 billion last year, Apple has likely become the largest corporate income tax payer in the U.S, he added. ”We are proud to be an American company, and we are equally proud of our contributions to the U.S. economy,” Cook said. ”We not only comply with the laws but we comply with the spirit of the laws. We don’t depend on tax gimmicks,” he said.

Cook said the tax code “has not kept up with the digital age” and restricts the free movement of capital in comparison to the codes of other countries. He called for a “dramatic simplification of the corporate tax code,” including lower tax rates and a “reasonable tax on foreign earnings.”

He said Apple was “deeply committed to our country’s welfare.”

While the panel’s chairman, Sen. Carl Levin called Apple ”an American success story”, he said that it doesn’t excuse the company’s tactics, which has lead it to avoid paying at least $9 billion in U.S. taxes in 2012.

“Apple executives want the public to focus on the U.S. taxes the company has paid, but the real issue is the billions in taxes it has not paid, thanks to offshore tax strategies whose purpose is tax avoidance, pure and simple,” Levin said.

Such tax avoidance by U.S. multinational companies hurts because it increases the federal budget deficit, forcing average Americans to make up the difference with a higher tax burden, he said.

Even thgough the subcommittee stopped short of accusing Apple of having broken any U.S. law, it finds the company to have circumvented the U.S. Tax Code’s Subpart F, whose purpose is “to prevent multinational corporations from shifting profits to tax havens to avoid U.S. tax.”

Tim Cook Defends Apple’s Policies For Avoiding U.S. Taxes At Senate Hearing is a post from: iPhone in Canada Blog - Canada's #1 iPhone Resource