As noted by The Verge, Microsoft has released a new Windows 8 tablet ad that uses Siri to highlight a few of the iPad’s shortcomings, depicting the ASUS VivoTab Smart tablet as a robust productivity machine while implying that the iPad is more suited to entertainment.

In the ad, which is entitled “Less Talking, More Doing,” an iPad is depicted next to the aforementioned VivoTab Smart, showing off the system’s multitasking capabilities and its built-in office apps. A Siri voiceover notes that the iPad does not support multiple windows at once and does not offer Microsoft Office apps. “I’m sorry, I can only do one thing at a time,” Siri laments. “I guess PowerPoint isn’t one of those things.”

The ad ends on a humorous note, poking fun at a previous Apple commercial that depicted an iPad and iPad mini piano duet in GarageBand. The iPad is shown operating GarageBand next to the hardworking Windows 8 tablet, and Siri asks “Should we just play chopsticks?”

Microsoft also focuses on the price difference between the two tablets in the ad, pointing out that the 64GB WiFi iPad costs $699 while the 64GB Asus VivoTab Smart is $200 cheaper at $499.

Realmac‘s gesture-based list making iPhone app Clear has been updated to version 1.2.2, adding a feature that allows users to email their lists to other people. When viewing a list, Clear users can shake their phones to bring up the new emailing option.

Emails sent from Clear contain the app’s lists plus a link that provides the option to open the sent lists within the app. The Clear update also provides additional secret themes and comes with an announcement that an iPad version of the app is currently in the works.

One of the biggest feature requests we’ve had has been the ability email lists. So we added it to our Clear list, and here it is!

Shake-to-Email: just shake your phone to bring up the all-new-super-handy email option. Emails contain your lists (of course) as well as a file that whoever receives the email can open in Clear.

We probably shouldn’t tell you this, but there’s a couple of secret new themes. Enjoy

If you’ve read this far, we’ll reward you with the news that Clear will be coming to the iPad. More news soon!

Clear for the iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store for $1.99. [Direct Link]

The new list emailing feature has also been added to the Mac version of Clear, which is available from the Mac App Store for $9.99. [Direct Link]

In an event today at the CTIA conference, case maker OtterBox announced it was acquiring waterproof case maker LifeProof.

OtterBox will keep LifeProof’s San Diego location and employees will remain in their current locations. OtterBox global headquarters remain in Fort Collins, Colorado. The companies are not disclosing any terms for the transaction.

Much like OtterBox, LifeProof is a rapidly growing, multi-million dollar business with a strong global brand, comprehensive product offering, impressive intellectual property and thriving company culture. Over the next 30 days, OtterBox will begin incorporating the LifeProof brand into the OtterBox family. More information about product availability and alignment will be determined at the completion of the integration.

“The joining of OtterBox and LifeProof is a way to combine two great brands and provide customers with even more great products, services and choices for smartphone accessories,” OtterBox CEO Brian Thomas said. “Both companies are successful because we foster an environment where everyone takes pride in being part of a culture that knows how to identify opportunities and grow them quickly. Our goal in this acquisition is to create more value for our customers than we ever could have generated while operating individually.”

OtterBox, with more than 600 employees, makes cases for a variety of different phone and tablet models, including the iPhone and iPad. The company claims it current holds 23% market share in the case market and is approaching $1 billion in yearly sales.

OtterBox’s newest Apple-related case is the ultra durable Armor Series iPhone case.

LifeProof’s main case is its waterproof iPhone case, but it also makes the Nüüd waterproof iPad case.

Google has announced plans to roll out an update to the iOS version of Chrome that will enable voice searching. The feature will function similarly to Siri on the iPhone, requiring a tap on the microphone to bring up the interactive search interface.

Touch the microphone, say your search query aloud and see your results (in some cases spoken back to you), all without typing a single letter. Try these queries with the update (coming soon to the App Store):

– “How many miles from San Antonio to Dallas?”
– “What’s the weather in Rome?”
– “Who stars in The Internship?”

Google currently includes voice search in its Google Search app through Google Now integration and has also begun offering conversational voice search with the release of Chrome 27.

Google notes that the upcoming iOS update will also bring faster reloading of web pages in addition to implementing an option for third party apps to open links in Chrome and then return back to the original app. The update will be available “over the coming days.”

FiftyThree, the developer behind the popular sketching app Paper, has posted a lengthy article examining the new Zoom feature that was added to Paper earlier this month.

Zoom is one of those UI controls, like the color picker, that has grown so familiar as to become almost invisible. Designers drag and drop it out of a mental library of stock functionality, and the most pressing consideration is whether to use a magnifying glass or a +/- button for the icon.

“Pinch to zoom” reinvented zoom for touch devices, and Apple made the gesture ubiquitous by including it in iOS. “Pinch to zoom” is now probably the single most broadly understood multitouch gesture; it feels like something we’ve been doing all our lives, even though it entered the popular lexicon barely six years ago.

Paper seems to be a favorite of Apple as well, winning both iPad App of the Year and Apple Design Awards in 2012. Apple also featured the app prominently on its home page as part of its 50 billion app download contest.

Paper by FiftyThree is an iPad-only app that can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

As noted by Gizmodo, iLoveHandles has launched a new Trunk Lightning charging cable for the iPhone 5, offering an innovative posable design that allows the short cable to also serve as a stand for the device.

Unlike the short, flaccid charging cables on the market, you can bend Trunk vertical to charge on the wall, bend it the other way and use GPS in the car, or straighten it out and put it in a pocket when you’re on the move.

Why do you need all that cord? With Trunk, there is no wrapping, no tangling — no mess.

Trunk is available through the iLoveHandles online store for $19.95.

Bioware and LucasArts’ Star Wars role-playing game Knights of the Old Republic may be coming to the iPad in the near future, reports IGN, after obtaining an accidentally revealing email newsletter that Aspyr Media sent out to fans.

A header in the email, which was meant to advertise a sale on Call of Duty games, leaked the news: “The critically-acclaimed Star Wars RPG is now available on iPad…”

As noted by our sister site TouchArcade, the text likely refers to a Knights of the Old Republic game. Aspyr previously released the Mac port of the original KOTOR game and has a presence in the App Store, having released its first iOS app, Sushi Mushi, last November.

As this was an unintentionally released headline, there is little additional information available at this time, but it is likely that more details on the iPad version of Knights of the Old Republic will be available in the near future if the leak is accurate.

VUDU, the third most popular internet video-on-demand provider behind Apple’s iTunes and Amazon’s Instant Video, today updated its app with a feature that allows users to download movies for offline viewing, a redesigned video player, and more.

Previously, VUDU users using the VUDU Player app had to stream their content from within the app and could not view their movies and TV shows offline. With the new update, users can download their content at various qualities for use when an internet connection isn’t available.

Other changes include a redesigned video player that’s easier to use, Closed Captioning support for iPhone and general bug fixes throughout the app.


VUDU Player is a universal app that’s available for free in the App Store. [Direct Link]