I drive a lot — two hours a day covering a total of 100 miles. This week, I was shown this cool little device by a coworker and was immediately intrigued.

“*Automatic*”:https://www.automatic.com is a tiny device you plug into your car’s data port and links to your iPhone or Android (download at Google Play) through an “*app.*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/automatic/id596594365?mt=8&at=11lb7k&ct=kibbs It provides all sorts of fun information about your driving and your car. At first I thought my 2007 VW Rabbit wouldn’t be smart enough to contain the proper hardware to make this work, but Automatic actually works with most cars that have sold in the US since 1996.

The Automatic Link gives you useful information such as gas consumption, time it takes to get to and from places, driving style and car maintenance. It’ll also keep track of where you park, which can be helpful in certain situations __(I may or may have not lost my car in Brooklyn a few weeks ago…)__.

Automatic learns your driving style and gives you the appropriate feedback to improve things like wasting gas from accelerating too fast or slamming on the breaks too often. Every week you’ll get a driving score to help you improve. They even claim that a high score could save you hundreds on gas every year.

Automatic is priced at $100 and does not have subscription fees. My other car-enthused coworker may just invest in one of these in the near future. I think I may wait to hear his feedback before rushing out to grab one myself, but I think that this could provide some really cool information as well as improve my (sometimes crazed) driving.

Have one yourself? “*Tell me about it!*”:mailto:steph@smalldog.com

*Test OS X Yosemite Beta*
As Don mentioned in his intro, Apple released the Beta version of Yosemite to testers to try out. Head to Apple’s site to check out “*Yosemite*”:https://appleseed.apple.com/sp/betaprogram and you can sign up for it “*here.*”:https://idmsa.apple.com/IDMSWebAuth/classicLogin.html?appIdKey=4b98a8e6a3a3ce265b93c90207c442b53c45a1afa9ff1dc9bde8bb6928078d3b&path=%2F%2Fbetaprogram%2Flogin_to_legal&rv=2&view=3

“*Read more…*”:http://techcrunch.com/2014/07/23/apple-os-x-yosemite-beta/

*Apple Gets iWatch Patent*
Apple received a serious patent that covers all kinds of smartwatch aspects — modular, smart straps, built-in sensors, etc. The patent revolves around a wrist-worn device that can connect to other devices like iPhones and iPads.

“*Read more…*”:http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/07/22/apple-granted-comprehensive-itime-smartwatch-patent-with-in-strap-circuitry-arm-gesture-support

Apple posted a profit of $7.7 billion on sales of $37.4 billion, with gross margin improving by nearly 3 points over last year. While iPad sales were a little disappointing with “only” 13.3 million units sold, iPhone and Mac posted good year-over-year gains.

It is interesting to note that in the 4 short years since the introduction of the iPad where Apple created a new market, they have sold over 225 million units in spite of voracious competition. They enjoy a 59% overall share of the retail tablet market, 70% of the dollars spent on tablets, and 85% of the education market.

Of particular note was the increase in year-over-year Mac sales with over 4.4 million Macs sold, representing double digit growth in many countries and an increase in Mac sales at a time when PC sales at other companies are generally declining.

The iTunes store is also doing well and represents about 12% of Apple revenue, according to one source.

iPhone was the driver, though, with 35.2 million iPhones sold, up by 4 million units from the same period last year. Tim Cook summed it up by saying, “We are incredibly excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, as well as other new products and services that we can’t wait to introduce.”

Even with all the stock buy-backs and dividends, including the $0.47/share dividend announced, Apple has a healthy bank account with over $164 billion in the bank and has acquired 29 companies since the start of their Fiscal Year in October. That number doesn’t even include the mega-acquisition of Beats that will close this quarter.

Another fantastic quarter for the most interesting story in American business history. Congratulations to the entire Apple team!

Emily and I got a break from our radio show on WDEV as we were pre-empted by a Red Sox game, but you can catch us every week on Thursday from 1-2PM on the radio at FM 96.1 or streaming “*here*”:http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/wdev.portal. We have a toll-free number — 877.291.8255 — so feel free to give us a call with your questions or just to say hello!

There are also some noteworthy items left in our Famous Garage Sale. “*Peruse it here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/garagesale

Thank you for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali & Stephanie_

We have so many deals this month, we don’t have room for them! Check out all of the back-to-class specials we’re running for the next several weeks, both online and in-store:

“*Smalldog.com/dogdays*”:http://www.smalldog.com/dogdays

*Headed to a store? View the in-store flyer!*

* “*Click here*”:http://images.smalldog.com/pdfs/MTS-Flyer-0714.pdf to view our double-sided flyer with all of the specials you’ll need to see before heading back to school.

*Save even more with special in-store financing.*

Go to any retail location to apply — the application process takes less than five minutes!

* 6 month offer (no required amount)
* 12 month offer (purchases of $499 or more)
* 18 month offer (purchases of $999 or more)

__Conditions apply; note that required Minimum Monthly Payments may or may not pay off purchase before the end of promotional period. See store for details and to apply.__