Chris Herbert

730 posts on MacStories since September 2010

Vector & pixel trafficker for Seymour Midwest LLC, regular MacStories contributor, Hip-Hop junkie all day long; Apple addict circa 1976.

herbert@macstories.net

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AT&T Confirms iPhone Personal Hotspot with iOS 4.3, Also Offering Postpaid Subscription Plans for iPads

PERSONAL HOTSPOT

Well, we knew that when Verizon got the Hotspot feature on their iPhone 4s, AT&T’s iPhone wasn’t too far behind. With iOS 4.3 available on March 11, AT&T will also offer Apple’s Personal Hotspot feature after updating your iPhone’s OS.

AT&T will start supporting the Personal Hotspot feature in sync with the launch of iOS 4.3. Hotspot functionality will require a $25/month DataPro plan with 2 GB of data plus the $20/month add-on tethering plan that AT&T recently changed by adding an additional 2 GB of data capacity. So, you will be paying $45 a month for a 4GB of data.

At first people actually thought that AT&T may not offer this option, as it was one of the first features noticed on the Verizon iPhone, but we all knew AT&T would have to do this to stay competitive with iPhone sales. Read more

New iOS 4.3 Feature: iTunes Home Sharing

At today’s iPad 2 event, Apple said iOS 4.3 will be available next Friday, March 11. A new feature mentioned was iTunes Home Sharing, so let’s dig in.

iTunes currently has Home Sharing between Macs or PCs on the same Wi-Fi network, but now iOS 4.3 is letting you stream all your music, movies and TV shows from your Mac or PC to any iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch. After installing iTunes 10.2, tap and enjoy all your media in your iTunes library anywhere in your home. Imagine, you can stream a movie from your Mac to your iPad anywhere your Wi-Fi range can reach. Want to listen to an excellent new podcast, connect and go!

Current iOS 4.3 GM users, the iTunes Home Sharing feature is now in the beta. Others, it will definitely be in the public release on March 11.

UPDATED WITH SCREENSHOTS BELOW: Read more

The Pocket Stand - A Kickstarter Project

We’ll admit, we love unique ideas, especially ones that are driven toward Apple products. We’ve found another Kickstarter project to show you on MacStories, it’s called The Pocket Stand.

The Pocket Stand, by Mike Paek and Sam Chan,  is an iPad accessory, you could also call it a compact multi-tool for the minimalist. It is both a speaker amplifier and a stand that props your iPad in multiple configurations (Bonus: It also functions as a bottle opener). In the end, The Pocket Stand allows you to gain extra functionality without sacrificing the mobility inherent of the iPad. Read more

Engadget Awards iPad ‘Gadget of the Year’

Does it really surprise anyone that Apple’s iPad keeps winning awards? No, not really but it means Apple really knows how to make great products. Today, Engadget announced the winners of their 2010 Editors’ Choice Awards. Just a few days ago, Engadget posted their Reader’s Awards and the iPad also won ‘Gadget of the Year’ there too. Readers’ opinions are just as important as editors’ ones but it’s the editors’ decisions that more people see. Engadget is one of the most popular tech sites out there, besides us, so it’s cool to see the iPad standout from the crowd there as well. Read more