Olloclip is already popular for its three-in-one lens macro, wide angle and fisheye attachment for the iPhone. What's been missing is a telephoto lens, and now Olloclip has answered our pleas by introducing just that: A 2x telephoto lens that also includes a snap-on polarized lens filter. Even better, the polarized lens is also compatible with the three-in-one lens kit that's already available. For many of us, the iPhone is the best camera because it's the one that's always with us. Olloclip made our iPhones more versatile with its three-in-one lens kit, and now we'll be able to bring images in even closer with a telephoto lens. Versions for the iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5 will be available in Apple stores by the end of July for US$99.99.

A new “Only on the App Store” promotion has made a number of top iOS apps and games free from iTunes. Infinity Blade II, Where’s My Water?, Badland, Tiny Wings for iPhone and iPad, Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP, Day One, Over,…

Garmin has a new spin on using your iPhone as an in-car GPS system with its HUD. Like the name implies, the HUD is a heads up display that projects navigation information onto your car's windshield. It gets the data from Garmin's StreetPilot or NAVIGON iPhone apps via Bluetooth and automatically adjusts its brightness so your directions are readable in sunlight or at night. Since HUD gets data in real time from your iPhone, it displays current traffic conditions, speed warnings, maps, and more. It includes its own power cable and a USB port so you can keep your iPhone charged up, and works as a hands-free phone system, too. This is especially cool in places like California where dashboard smartphone mounts are forbidden. HUD is priced at US$129.99 and will be available some time this summer.

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A recently published Apple patent application details flexible battery packs for use in electronic devices. Apple’s application focuses on battery packs that may consist of multiple cells, which could be connected by laminate layers. The arrangement allows “the battery to be shaped to fit a form factor of the…

Apple looks like it's pushing for even more independence in its Maps venture. First was starting it's own Google-free maps alternative, and now the company is hoping to patent its own version of Waze's crowd sourced mapping and traffic service -- a service that Apple currently uses.

Apple made it easy to use iCloud to backup the data and settings on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and the process is automatic so you don't have to remember to start the backup process yourself. But what if you need a backup to happen right now? No problem. It's easy, and we'll show you how.

Ireland's finance committee has decided against questioning Apple about its tax practices in the country despite a similar inquiry recently held in the United States. The parliament's decision extends beyond questioning Apple to include other large multi-national companies, too.

The Mac Observer Spin:
Ireland's decision to drop plans to question companies about their tax practices sends a pretty strong message: They like things just the way they are, and it's up to other countries to change if they want more tax revenue from multi-national corporations.

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently spoke to Apple Retail Store Leaders about selling more iPhones in Apple Retail Stores, according to a report. During a summit that lasted for about three hours, Cook mentioned that Macs and iPads have sold well in Apple’s stores, but 80 percent of iPhones are…

It's a red LED laser pointer to be precise. Think Geek is selling a Star Trek, Original Series, officially licensed, "Phaser Laser Pointer" that will set your "corporate presentation skills to stun."  The acrylic tip glows when the laser is on. For the geeks: Class IIIA laser, 640 nm wavelength, less than 5 milliwatts. Note, however, that it's smaller than it looks, keychain sized, and is only 4.4 inches long.

There can be too much of a good thing. When immersed in apps and technology and products, it's all too easy to grow listless.   John Martellaro suggests that the effect on writers is not very different from another not so surprising effect in society. The wealthy.

The Federal Communications Commission has approved SoftBank's plan to buy U.S. cell service provider Sprint Nextel, according to insider sources. The approval means SoftBank can move forward with its US$21.6 billion deal, and also gives Sprint the greenlight to complete its purchase of the remaining part of Clearwire that it currently doesn't own.

The Mac Observer Spin:
Getting a boost from Japan's SoftBank looks like good news for Sprint and ultimately for consumers, too, since part of the deal includes more LTE expansion for Sprint's customers.

Apple has hired Paul Deneve, former CEO of French fashion house Yves Saint Laurent. Deneve will report to CEO Tim Cook as a vice president working on “special projects,” according to Bloomberg. He previously worked for Apple in Europe in the 1990s. Considering Deneve’s fashion background, it’s possible those…

Apple has yet another new senior executive in its ranks: Paul Deneve from Yves St Laurent. With some time at Apple during the 1990s and his extensive retail background you'd think he'd be in charge of the company's retail stores. Guess what? He isn't.

I've been a Vaja fan for a long time. I had a Vaja case for my Motorola RAZR, my original iPhone, and my iPhone 3G. I'll probably get one for my next iPhone, too, but they're a little pricey. That's because they're handmade from leather, and they're insanely cool. On Tuesday, the company launched the Ivo Top SP case for iPhone 5. The case encloses your iPhone when you're not using it—protecting the front, too—and the company designed it so that it offers protection to all four corners. You can customize it with more than a score of colors, and the racing stripe is customizable, too. Check out the different pictures on Vaja's site. It's sexy, and it's priced at US$120.

Apple released Security Update 2013-003 for Mountain Lion. The patch notes offer nothing specific, saying that the update is, "recommended for all users and improves the security of Mac OS X."

Mimika Theater has posted a great video showing creative use of popsicle sticks to make an adjustable stand for your iPad. Oh, and the stand also features "a little bit of a cocktail stick." The video was made using stop motion photography, and it's pretty cool.  The stand is cool, too. Check it out! While you're at it, check out the other work the theater does.

Every once in awhile, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer outdoes himself with a doozy of a Ballmerism. That's when he makes a statement that departs so far from known facts that we just shake our head and wonder who buys the nonsense. John Martellaro takes a look.
 

Apple was granted a patent for a touch-sensitive bezel that could act as another form of input on a device. The filing details a method in which a display screen would be accompanied by a bezel that covers “a second portion of the active area.”

Staying on task while every distraction the Web has to offer is just a mouse click away might not be difficult for some of you, but for me it's a challenge. It's especially bad if you're a student or a knowledge worker who's office isn't shared with others who are also getting things done. So I set out to find a way to keep myself from tasting temptation and avoiding the work I had to do. The answer is the aptly named SelfControl.

Kreyos has launched the Meteor smartwatch on Indiegogo, a project that has already garnered $418,000 in pledges with 38 days to go, more than four times the initial goal of $100,000. In addition to being a connected smartwatch, the Kreyos Meteor adds the ability to use voice commands and gestures to control the device. Voice commands work through an on-board microphone,  while data from a 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis accelerometer allows you to use gestures as commands. It offers control of your smartphone, health monitoring, two-way text messaging, social media and other notifications, a clock, and more. Check it out.

You've heard it threatened for more than a year, and now it's here—the first Firefox OS-based "smartphone" will be released on Tuesday in Spain. The ZTE Open will be priced at €69 (roughly US$90), and that includes €30 (roughly $39) in pre-paid credit. Is this something Google and Apple should be concerned about? Bryan Chaffin says the answers are yes and no, in that order.

If you've got an iPhone 5, iPad 4, or iPad mini and you're on the go a lot, you should check out the Kero Nomad Cable. It's a USB-to-Lightning cable small enough to fit on your keychain.  Originally funded through KickStarter, the Kero Nomad Cable is shipping for US$24.99 (with free shipping). It's a clever idea that many will find very convenient—you never know when you might need a charge.

French authorities have conducted a raid on Apple's local offices as part of an investigation into whether or not the Mac, iPhone and iPad maker was unfairly blocking competition by holding back on product shipments to other retailers. Government agents seized documents linked to complaints about Apple's pricing practices.

The Mac Observer Spin:
If Apple was improperly engaging in practices that made it difficult for partner retailers to compete, shame on them. But complaints about not being able to transfer app purchases to other platforms? Really?

Recent U.K. tax filings have revealed Apple paid no corporation tax last year, despite making about $103 million in pre-tax profits. A report states, “Tax deductions from share awards to employees helped wipe out the corporate tax liabilities of the UK subsidiaries in the year to September 2012.” Apple paid…

Fitness tracking is a great way to help find and then stick with a healthy lifestyle, and the Withings team has added to their fitness tech lineup with the Pulse. The Pulse is a wearable fitness monitor that tracks how many steps you take each day, calories burned, elevation, and sleep patterns, and also auto-detects when you're running, plus it also monitors your heart rate. It sends your activity data wirelessly to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, and includes a clip so you can attach it to your clothes. The Pulse is priced at US$99.95 anbd is shipping now in the United States.

Apple hasn't confirmed that it is working on a smartwatch, or that the rumored device will be called "iWatch," but it has filed for a trademark on the name in Japan. That, in and of itself, isn't confirmation that Apple really does have a smartwatch in the works, but it sure does make the idea more plausible.

This has been a good day for the funnies: Jim Dalrymple noted at The Loop that Apple's end-user license agreement (EULA) for iTunes forbids people from using iTunes to make nuclear bombs.  Seriously, and you agreed to this when you clicked "I agree." Now what are you going to do, Evil Scientist™? The passage in question reads:

You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons.

That's pretty darned funny. (Thanks to TMO member mrmwebmax for the heads up.)

The latest edition of iLounge Weekly, our weekly newsletter covering all things iLounge, will be arriving in subscribers’ inboxes early next week. iLounge Weekly is a summary of the week’s best news, reviews, and feature articles we’ve published, and it also features giveaways and accessory discount offers from various companies.…

A new report from app analytics company Distimo claims that an app must make an average of $47,000 per day to crack the App Store’s top ten in top grossing apps. The report also notes a top ten paid app generally averages about 4,000 downloads per day, while a…

BlackBerry announced on Friday that it will not be upgrading BlackBerry PlayBook tablets to BlackBerry 10 operating system, the company's newest mobile OS. BlackBerry 10 has won accolades from users and many reviewers, and in January, the company had committed to bringing it to its not-very successful tablets.

Foxconn has demonstrated an iPhone-compatible smart watch, which it plans to release on its own as an iOS accessory. The watch can measure vital signs, as well as check phone calls and Facebook posts. Though other iOS-compatible Bluetooth smart watches have already been released — such as Martian’s Passport…

Hon Hai, which is well known as the company that builds the iPhone for Apple through its Foxconn factories, has crafted its own smartwatch designed to connect to the iPhone. The watch displays alerts and other notifications, and tracks fitness-related data like heart rate and respiration, and are looking to add fingerprint ID to future models.

The Mac Observer Spin:
The wearable tech market today is mostly a collection of health trackers and wrist top displays for smartphones. If Apple jumps into the game, get ready for big changes, and good luck keeping up. Even if Hon Hia's own smartwatch fizzles out, the company will still win since it'll most likely be making whatever Apple unleashes on the market.

Apple is dead! So sayeth Rocco Pendola writing for TheStreet.com. "There's No Question Now," Mr. Pendola wrote in the title, "Apple is Dead." Whoa. That's a doozy of a death knell that goes beyond the usual mantra that Apple is dying by jumping right to the post-mortem pronouncement that Apple is actually dead. Bryan Chaffin explains.

Apple released Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 4.07 Thursday, an update that adds RAW support for three new cameras, two Panasonic LUMIX models and a new Sony Alpha model.

Up until now, iOS has operated under a very inefficent model with regards to apps and network requests. Apple aims to change that with iOS 7's coalesced network updates, allowing multiple apps to synchronize their network requests.

Apple is offering independent music labels US$0.13 every time a song is played and 15 percent of advertising revenue if they sign contracts for its iTunes Radio music streaming service. The deal would give independent labels a better deal than they currently have through Pandora, and Apple's offer gets even better if they stick around for a second year.

The Mac Observer Spin:
If Apple wants to seriously compete in the online music streaming game it needs to make agressive deals to have plenty of content for subscribers, and it looks like that's exactly what the company is doing.

Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal has denied Apple's request to at the Galaxy S4 smartphone to its patent infringement case against Samsung. The Judge denied the motion saying it would put too much of a strain on court resources, which means we'll likely see yet another infringement case -- this time focused on the Galaxy S4 -- at some point in the future.

The Mac Observer Spin:
Think the patent infringement cases between Apple and Samsung will wrap up any time soon? Think again. Samsung will continue to crank out Android-based smartphones and tablets faster than the courts can react, and Apple will keep filing its infringement lawsuits.