Kibbles & Bytes Blog

The Twelve South HiRise for iMac is a clever new adjustable stand that raises your iMac or Apple Display to your optimal viewing height. A stunningly simple design and an easy-to-adjust internal metal support shelf make this a must-have accessory for anyone who works long hours in front of an iMac or Apple Display.

Beats Solo HD headphones look as good as they sound. Drenched in color, these Beats are the first to feature matching ear cups, cord, and headband in a unique matte finish with a reflective Beats logo. Compact enough to fit in your bag, Solo HD headphones deliver the superior sound Beats by Dr. Dre products are famous for.

Let’s review one more time in case you missed it in Don’s introduction.

* Apple Certified Refurbished MacBook Air 13-inch 1.3GHz i5 4GB/256GB
* AppleCare Protection Plan: 3-years of protection for hardware, as well as 3-years of free tech support from Apple.
* Seagate 1TB Back-up Plus Slim USB 3.0 Drive: Small, and portable for travel, back up on the go.
* Hammerhead Neoprene Case for MacBook Air: Protect your new computer in stylish color of your choice, wherever you might bring it.

ALL for *$1,219!*

Where would you be without your mobile phone nowadays? Without phone calls, text messages, social media, and even music and television? And let’s not forget being able to snap a quick selfie and being able to open all those apps that keep you going with a simple tap. As the potentially historic winter storm Juno barreled towards the Northeast, I thought about where I would be without my phone. Left with a stylish but useless brick, flashlight-less, and disconnected from society…yes a little dramatic, I know.

Here are a few tools and tips to try to keep you connected longer when the apocalypse inevitably happens…

*Battery Charger*

A backup charger for our phone or tablet can keep you linked in longer.

“Juice packs” like “*this one for the iPhone 5/5s*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/82180/mophie-juice-pack-air-for-iphone-5-5s-black double as a protective case while charging your device. These can add a little extra bulk to your phone, which I personally don’t like. So a great alternative is a battery-powered backup charger like the “*Just Mobile Gum +++ Portable USB Power Pack*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/86345/just-mobile-gum-portable-usb-power-pack-for-iphone-ipad-aluminum-gray which can provide up to three full recharges for your mobile device after the usual electrical options are gone.

Just remember to charge these devices BEFORE the next power outage.

*Solar Power*

In case you forgot to charge up your device and backup battery chargers…take advantage of the sun with the “*Guide 10 Solar Recharging Kit from Goal Zero.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/83719/guide-10-plus-solar-recharging-kit-with-nomad-7 This kit allows you to go anywhere with its ability to charge AA/AAA batteries from the sun. You can than connect the power back to the USB port and power your phone, GPS, or perk up any tablet in a pinch. Solar power can be a great alternative especially for those outdoor pups that like to get lost in the woods on the weekend.

*Laptop as Backup Generator*

Sure it seems obvious now that I’ve mentioned it, but it’s the sort of thing that can slip your mind when there is a lot of other preparation and shoveling to be done. Again, at first sight of apocalypse, historic storm, or other disaster, fully charge your laptop, or if you are like some of us Small Dogger’s, laptops plural. Then resist the temptation to use this device. When other power sources go out, plug your phone or tablet into the laptop, via the USB port, and __voilà__ you just gained a few more hours of connectivity.

*Stop Running Apps*

Check your phone’s settings. Some apps are sneaky and run even when you’re not using them, causing your battery to drain faster. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are the biggest culprits, but there are plenty of others. Disable Wi-Fi on an iPhone by going to *Settings* > *Wi-Fi* > and slide the green switch to the left.

Fun fact: Texting burns less power than a phone call, just make sure you turn down your screen’s brightness. Who would make a phone call in such a crisis? Oh, and those social media/news/weather apps that constantly ping you with updates…they use a lot of battery, so you might also consider turning off those push notifications in “*Notifications.*”

*Use a Battery-life App*

Several free apps for iOS devices promise to help extend your phone’s battery life. “*Battery Doctor*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/battery-doctor-must-have-battery/id615987910?mt=8 seems to be one of the most popular. It is a free and feature-packed battery monitor and energy saving tool that allows users to quickly look up battery charge status, as well as track down what apps and processes are draining battery life. However if you’d prefer not to download another app I find the best way to identify which apps should be closed is by visiting *Settings* > *General* > *Usage* > *Battery Usage*. After identifying the culprits, close out or delete if they can be spared.

I am always on the lookout these days for great new products that take advantage of the HealthKit and HomeKit apps on Apple’s iOS. One that we have just picked up is the Cardio Smart Blood Pressure monitor. This compact device is wireless and will dump your BP data right into Health app. It has been clinically tested and is very accurate. Grace and I have both been using it and it is simple to use. Powered by 4 AAA batteries that last for a year, the cuff uses Bluetooth 4.0 to communicate with your iPhone (or that other Android stuff).

It is just $99 and in stock now, “*check it out here*”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/86560/qardio-qardioarm-blood-pressure-monitor-white.

I am running out of verbs to describe Apple’s quarter-after-quarter record revenue and earnings. Apple is already the most valuable company on the planet and for the 3 months ending on December 27, 2014, Apple made more money than any publicly-traded company, *EVER*. Before the earnings report came out, analysts were scrambling to raise their estimates but even the most optimistic analyst did not predict the monster quarter that Apple posted. Apple had a record quarterly revenue of $74.6 Billion and a record $18 billion, or $3.06 per diluted share, of profit.

This historical financial result was driven by the wild success of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with about 74.5 million units sold. To put that in perspective, this is 46% greater than the 51 million sold last holiday quarter. They also sold over 21 million iPads and had 14% growth in Mac sales while the rest of the PC market was shrinking.

Apple is not resting on their laurels, though! They spent a record $1.9 Billion on R&D which is a 42% increase and of course, there is the Apple Watch coming in April, which Tim Cook says he uses everyday and cannot live without. That’s a big endorsement!

So just how big was this? Apple sold over 34,000 iPhones every hour, 24 hours a day for every day of the quarter. That is 575 iPhones a minute. They ended the quarter with $179 billion in cash on hand. Apple’s revenues were greater than Microsoft, IBM and Proctor & Gamble combined. Apple’s revenue was greater that the GDP of 125 countries in 2013 as listed by the World Bank.

ApplePay was also a hit during the quarter with the contact-less payment system accounting for two of every three dollars in mobile payments. Tim Cook, Apple CEO said:

bq. __We are more confident than ever that 2015 will be the year of Apple Pay.__

The number of banks and institutions accepting Apple Pay is rapidly increasing and it was revealed that at Panera Bread, for example, 80% of contact-less payments are Apple Pay. Apple also announced that 200,000 self-service stations, including vending machines, parking meters, etc. have launched Apple Pay.

Apple predicted that the first calendar quarter would also be strong with revenue between $52 and $55 billion. Apple’s board of directors declared a cash dividend of 47 cents per share.

Whenever I see Apple post another record quarter like this I do think back to the days before Steve Jobs came back to the company where Apple’s obituary was on every analyst’s lips, when Michael Dell suggested liquidating the company, and when at a pep talk for Apple resellers an Apple executive set the goal of Apple becoming a $5 billion company. This is clearly the most amazing American business success story and the chapters are still being written. We are very proud to be a part of this story and send our congratulations to the entire Apple team for an awesome job well done. Keep up the good work and keep on making more of the most innovative, intuitive and useful products on the planet!

_Dear Friends,_

It is below 0° F in Vermont and the Super Bowl is this Sunday, but Apple heated up the place with some historic financial results including the greatest quarterly profit posted EVER by a publicly-traded company! That is pretty astounding and I’ll go into some detail on the numbers below. Apple also announced that they had sold their 1 billionth (!) iOS device, an iPad that they sold to themselves to have at headquarters. That is simply astounding. iOS devices are only 8 years old and were a category of devices that Apple invented. To have sold 1 billion of anything is amazing, but 1 billion devices that cost hundreds of dollars each… *WOW!*

This week’s Kibbles & Bytes exclusive features an Apple Certified Refurbished 13-inch MacBook Air. This is the Mac that I use at home, on the road, or at the office with a large display and keyboard. This model features a 1.3 GHz Intel i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM and 256 GB of SSD storage. I am, once again, bundling this with AppleCare so you receive 3 years of protection for the hardware instead of one year and 3 years of free tech support from Apple instead of 90 days. Especially with these MacBook Airs, just about anything that breaks out of warranty will cost you more to fix than the cost of AppleCare, so it is important peace-of-mind investment to protect your Mac! I really want you to be fully protected, so there are two more parts of this bundle. We will include a 1 TB Seagate Backup Plus Slim USB 3.0 drive, so you will have a nice portable drive to go along with your nice portable Mac, and of course, a Hammerhead neoprene case for the MacBook Air. Let’s review this bundle, you get:

* Apple Certified Refurbished MacBook Air 13-inch 1.3GHz i5 4GB/256GB
* AppleCare Protection Plan
* Seagate 1TB Back-up Plus Slim USB 3.0 Drive
* Hammerhead Neoprene Case for MacBook Air

New, this would normally sell for $1,319, however, exclusively for Kibbles & Bytes readers, you can save $100 with the bundle price of $1,219! “*Check it out here!*”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag900001728