Apple started taking pre-orders for the Apple Watch this morning. If you want to read an interesting story on the history of the Apple Watch, you should check out the story that David Pierce wrote for Wired. He was given lots of access to Apple insiders, so his story is full of interesting quotes. I ordered the Apple Watch 42mm Stainless Steel Case with Black Classic Buckle. I also ordered a Sport Band to use when working out. Apple gave me a 4/24-5/8 date for shipping the Apple Watch, and a 4/29-5/12 date for shipping the band; I was surprised to see a delay for the band. And now, the news of note from the past week:
- California attorney David Sparks explains how to save a phone number with an extension in your iPhone's contacts.
- This week, Apple released iOS 8.3 for the iPhone and iPad. It includes a much better Emoji picker.. Benjamin Mayo of 9to5Mac runs down all of the new features.
- Bradley Chambers names Overcast the best podcast app for iOS in this review for The Sweet Setup. I agree, and I use Overcast just about every single day.
- If you want to watch HBO but don't want to pay for a cable subscription, earlier this week HBO made HBO NOW available for purchase for $15 a month, and the first month is free. All you need is the Internet and you can watch HBO shows on a TV (using an Apple TV), a computer, an iPhone or an iPad. According to Chris Morran of Consumerist, the content appears to be exactly the same as HBO GO, which you can also watch on an Apple TV, computer, iPhone or iPad — but to use HBO GO, you must already have a subscription to HBO through your cable or satellite provider.
- Nicole Laporte wrote a fascinating article on the origin of HBO NOW for Fast Company, noting for example that HBO CEO Richard Piepler used to work for Jimmy Iovine, who became an Apple executive after Apple acquired Beats, and that is one of the reasons that HBO NOW is currently exclusive to the Apple TV.
- Zac Hall of 9to5Mac reports that Apple Pay now works with around 180 banks and credit unions.
- I have been using an iPhone 6 for over six months now, and I've gradually gotten used to the larger size. But I still cannot imagine using the crazy large iPhone 6 Plus as my every day phone. Jason Snell of Six Colors spent two weeks using an iPhone 6 Plus, and came to the same conclusion, returning to his iPhone 6 and noting "I'm back to the iPhone 6 now and not missing the big guy at all."
- If you want to watch any of the Star Wars movies on your iPhone or iPad, this Friday the Star Wars Digital Collection is coming to iTunes and other services. More information is available on the official Star Wars blog.
- Time flies, and the iPad has now been out for five years. Rene Ritchie of iMore wrote an interesting article looking at the iPad and its impact, with lots of input from others.
- Hayley Tsukayama of The Washington Post also took a look back at five years of the iPad.
- And finally, how strong is the screen of that new Apple Watch that you just ordered? For example, what if you wanted to scratch it against bricks, or with a key? Or with a power drill? iPhonefixed in the UK claims to have acquired an Apple Watch sapphire screen and performed some torture tests on it. I hope this is legitimate, because if so, the screen is incredibly durable, as you can see in this video:
