I have always been a fan of the cases offered by SPIGEN (formerly SGP).  They are usually very high quality and look great on iPhones.  Having a $7.99 discount coupon that accompanied my last SPIGEN purchase, the Neo Hybrid EX Slim, I decided to pull the trigger on their one the newest offerings, the SATURN.  

The Saturn is very similar in concept to a case I was not very happy with, the Elago Outfit.  That case was a fingerprint magnet (see my musings on that case here).  However, the Saturn is a different story altogether.  SPIGEN took their popular Ultra Thin Air case and added an anodized aluminum backing which seems to be pretty fingerprint proof.  The red color I picked up looks great.  The black portions of the case aren't a matte finish but rather smooth feeling plastic, which I think I prefer as the matte tends to get "ratty" over time.  As you can see from the pics below, the Saturn logo is printed on the lower left hand side of the case and looks classy.  The Saturn, like other snap on cases, has open ended top and bottom areas that offers little in the way of protection but allow easy access to ports and power switch.  The side buttons and mute switch are easily accessible thru cutouts on the side.  

Overall the Saturn is a very thin, light, and minimal case that is great looking, stylish, and a refreshing change-of-pace from bumpers I have been using recently.  I think I will be rocking' this for a while.  Plus, I really dig the name! 

The Saturn is $19.99 at the SPIGEN website and can be had in Red (Black plastic), Satin Silver (White Plastic), and Metal Slate (Black plastic).
Link

Thanks to the fine folks at Mac Rumors, you can now get a "feel" for what a 5 inch iPhone might be like.  This magic is not brought to you by a phone lost in a bar but rather as a printable PDF file that when cut out, will resemble the size and depth of a proposed larger iPhone.  Keep in mind the image is using the current design of the iPhone 5.  Personally, if Apple is going larger, I think the form factor will change.  I also think that if this indeed comes to pass Apple won't release anything of this size until 2014 when it can combine the iPhone 6 moniker and subsequent changes to iOS 8. 

Knowing Apple, anything is possible.  So go ahead and download, and get a good pair of scissors.  

Try the 5-Inch iPhone Experience with this Printable Papercraft Model

Passbook is gaining momentum.  Now that the Dunkin Donuts app has been updated to support Passbook, the Passbook app has now found its way on to my main home screen.  In addition to the Dunkin app, I have American Express, several local rewards cards, and Valuepak coupons for restaurants and other products and services that I use often.  While there are more and more apps coming on board with Passbook support, there are some businesses that do either do not have an iOS app or do not yet support Passbook.  For those businesses that do have rewards cards but no app, there might be a solution: PassSource.

PassSource is a website that allows you to create a Passbook card without the need for an app.  The site currently has template inputs for around 50 vendors and the list is growing.  The list includes businesses such as Subway, RIteAid, Best Buy, Amtrak, AAA, Gamestop, Costco, and many more.  To create a new Passbook card fIrst point your iOS browser to http://www.passsource.com.  Once there, select "Create", and you are on your way to creating new Passbook cards.  The templates for vendors who have store locations have the ability to search and enter in a local (favorite) store.  After selecting a store (not required) you then input the rewards card barcode information and/or identification number.  Below is a sample of the Rite Aid Wellness+ card.
 

Once you press the Create button, a image of the store reward card is displayed with the proper bar code created with your information.  All that's left is to press and Add button on the upper right hand corner and your card will be added to the passbook application.  

The ability to add cards using this method really makes Passbook more useful and allows people to take advantage of the functionality without having to wait for the vendor or business to code an app and support electronic cards.   The PassSource site mentions that it is currently in beta, but the functionality works well and support is growing.  

If you want to try out Passbook and you are a patron of a particular business that is currently supported by PassSource, I would highly recommend going over to http://www.passsource.com and give it a whirl.  I know I have and it's made Passbook that much more useful to me. 

I know I'm fickle when it comes to iPhone cases. But honestly, I don't know if I will ever have a reason to replace the Power Support bumper currently on my iPhone 5.  This Japanese import (yes, it was expensive for a bumper), is sleek and sexy.  Power Support Japan has had these bumpers available for quite some time on the iPhone 4/S, but due to the difficulty of getting them thru online importers, I was never quite interested.  I am really glad I was able to pick this sleek beauty up through Amazon.  

I had originally purchased the Blue/Black version of this case.   I wasn't really happy with the glossy blue color but I was happy with the way the PS bumper looked and felt in my hand.  The new Slate version (officially called black), arrived today and it is wonderful.  The plastic is a matte feel as opposed to the glossy, slippery feel of the blue bumper.  The feel is equivalent to the SGP Neo Hybrid EX which is to say there is some slippery feel but nowhere near some of the slippery feeling plastic cases I have had in the past.  Overall, this case is pure perfection in terms of look and feel. This bumper looks like it belongs on the iPhone 5.  

Understanding that nothing is "truly" perfect, the Power Support Bumper does have a couple of disadvantages, one of which is really nothing major.   The first disadvantage is the deep cutout for the side mute switch.  I haven't had much issue with getting the switch flipped.  Second, in order to get that "click" feedback for the sleep/wake button, you need to apply one (or more) clear stickers on top of the power button.   Power Support includes 5 stickers and the instructions (in Japanese) show applying them to the interior of the case. I needed about 2 of them applied to the power button to get that satisfying click feedback. Once the case is on, you forget about them.  The side volume buttons are very responsive, even without the stickers.  I didn't feel the need to apply any there. Other than the aforementioned "issues", everything adds up to make this a really nice bumper.

Finally, the Lightning connector cutout is shaped wide enough to accomodate Apple's 30 pin-to-Ligthning cable connector (.02) which is a wonderful thing considering I can once again plug the phone into my iHome alarm clock.  In terms of the headphone jack, I have only used my phone with the Apple Earbuds and the Bose over-the-ears that I have. Both worked perfectly. 

You can pick up one of these beauties at Amazon for $44 USD. Expensive, I know, but if you want sleek and sexy, you have to pay for it. 

Amazon Link

My thoughts:

Pros:  

• Sleek and Slick looking, feels great in the hand
• Slate color almost a perfect match for a black iPhone 5
• Volume buttons are flush with case and have nice tactile feedback when pressed
• Inner black portion of the bumper provides lay-on-table design on both front and back
• Lightning connector cutouts work with Apple 30 pin-to-lightning cable connector
• Headphone jack seems to accomodate multiple types of connectors (Apple, Bose)
• Comes with (2) Power Support screen shields, 1 clear and 1 anti-glare and also a clear back protector

Cons:

• Expensive (it's an import from Japan)
• Side mute switch cutout a little deep
• Top sleep wake button needs included stickers to obtain a satifying "click" feedback when pressed

Just figured I'd post an update considering there's been some movement of several home screen apps on both my iPhone and iPad since my last home screen post back in the beginning of the winter.  

New iPhone home screen apps: 

• Fantastical ($4.99) - I keep going back and forth on this one.  I love the natural language text-parsing of Fantastical for quick data entry of new events.  I have a customized new entry icon in Launch Center Pro (bottom dock) for Fantastical which allows me to quickly enter a new event.  For example, I can type (or speak), "Doctor Appointment at 5:30 next Monday Calendar Doctor Appointment", which will plug in the new appointment in to the appropriate calendar.  In terms of the UI, Fantastical reminds me of another app, Agenda Plus, which does have a bit more in terms of PIM functionality.  I am hoping the Fantastical devs put in support for iOS native reminders and more robust custom repeat options for events.

• Track 8 ($1.99) - A really cool audio app that uses a Windows Metro motif (yikes!).  This music app is really slick but does have some annoying bugs.  The devs have been pretty responsive, and it does support iTunes Match pretty well so I'll live with the inconvience for now.  The app is that good.

• Weather On ($.99 On Sale) - I received the "bronx cheer" on this one from my fellow iOS Docked bretheren when I picked it for my "iLike of the Week", but I am really liking this weather app.  It has accurate information, temperature notificaiton badge (updated hourly), and has a really useful daily push notification that tells you the weather and temperature. You can customize the timing of when the push is delivered.  I love waking up and having the notification displayed on my lock screen. The app currently does not support current location weather but the devs are working on it.  I am ok with using my fixed zip code for now.  

• Rise Alarm Clock ($1.99)- What a wonderful application.  A simple alarm clock app that just works and is a model for beautiful design.  I now use it everyday to wake me up.  Buh-bye, traditional alarm clock.

New iPad home screen apps:

• Tapatalk HD ($4.99) - A little expensive for a dedicated forum reader but with the amount of time I spend perusing various forums, well worth the investment.  The HD version and Tapatalk 2 for the iPhone (separate purchase), have been redesigned from the ground up and now have a much cleaner and more modern design.  

* Special Note - While not a iPad or Universal app, Weather On has been so darn good that I decided to give it a home in my iPad dock.