You are here: Gotta Be Mobile » Archives for Will Shanklin

Author Archive: Will Shanklin
Having previously written for Android Central and Android Police, Will is shifting his focus to iOS at GottaBeMobile (without neglecting his old pal Android, of course).
He lives in Chicago with his wife, Jess, and is on Twitter at @willshanklin

Author's Website

It only takes a visit to an Apple Store to grasp just how many iconic products the company has produced. From iPhones and iPads to Macs and iPods, their products have owned the digital age like no others. Their vision not only led to enormous wealth for them, but also to a central place in [...]

In the latest installment of “The iPhone 5 is Coming Soon,” we have news that the iPhone 5 has been sent to wireless carriers for field testing. This is typically one of the last stages of a new release, and is in line with other rumors we have heard of a September or October launch. [...]

Advertising gimmicks are nothing new. From costumed characters dancing on city sidewalks to “booth babes” at trade shows, it’s easy to think that we’ve seen it all. We may want to rethink that, though, after this latest stunt by the publishers of an upcoming iPad magazine. Fellas, meet “iPad Head Girl.” Yes, if you were [...]

The entry of tablets into our lifestyles has been rapid. The splash that the iPad (and a few others) have made has left the world having to adjust quicker than it’s used to. The latest service to adapt to our new tablet-centric world is Google’s search. As detailed in Google’s Mobile Blog, Google will soon [...]

You may have noticed that prices are dropping on iPhones. Target and Radio Shack recently dropped the iPhone 4 down to $169.99 for the base model. Target did one better by selling the same one for $149.99. Heck, even the iPhone 3GS is getting a price cut (down to $20 at Target). While these offers [...]

The long-awaited Skype for iPad app arrived late last night. While the iPhone version of the popular VoIP service’s app has been available for use on the iPad, this is the first time we’ve seen a native tablet version. The app brings all of the same functionality that its iPhone app brings. This list includes [...]

With the flood of iPhone 5 rumors we get clobbered with every week, it’s refreshing to get some solid news about another exciting Apple launch that is approaching. Developers (and non-devs who have registered for an iCloud account) can now access Apple’s web portal for the upcoming iCloud (as reported by 9to5Mac) at iCloud.com. Any fears that [...]

A poll (reported by AppleInsider) shows that Verizon iPhone users are waiting for the next iPhone. In fact, a lion’s share of Verizon users are holding out for it. This tells us that the awkward timing of the Verizon iPhone’s launch was the only thing that prevented the sales explosion that some had initially expected. [...]

Just a week after we heard that Nintendo was slashing prices and sales forecasts on its 3DS, now it looks like they are trying to make up for lost revenue with the addition of in-game purchases in the 3DS (according to Joystiq). This is a desperate move to appease investors, but it will likely only lead [...]

Just as congress and the president are bickering over raising the federal debt ceiling, news comes from the BBC that Apple has a larger cash reserve than the United States of America (Apple has $76.4 billion, the U.S. has $73.7 billion). So we are going to do what any sensible person looking at these two [...]

Unconfirmed reports (traced back to Business Insider) are saying that Amazon’s tablet could be a smaller and limited Nook Color competitor - not a full tablet that would take on the iPad. While Amazon has every reason to go after the success of the Nook Color as well, we believe that we will soon be seeing a [...]

Great efforts have been taken lately in attempts to prevent digital piracy. U.S. internet service providers recently agreed to a “six strikes” agreement to put the policing in ISPs’ hands. Paypal agreed to work with London police to cut off a website that sells pirated content. And yesterday a UK high court ordered BT (the [...]

If you aren’t about to pass out yet from all of the iPhone 5 rumors we’ve been swamped with, we have one that looks like it could have some legs. 9to5Mac was tipped off by a commuter who thinks he spotted an Apple employee holding the unannounced phone on a train. He whipped out his [...]

If you need proof that apps can make or break a hardware platform, look no further than the Nintendo 3DS. The device was hotly-anticipated by gamers for the better part of a year before its launch. But it has fizzled in sales. Today the weak launch became official, as the Wall Street Journal tells us [...]

With iOS’ games library being far superior to Android’s, it’s rare to see a game that launched first on Android come to iOS. Yet that’s what we have with Cordy, a game that will wow you in the first ten seconds you see the visuals, then leave you bored and annoyed for the rest of [...]

It’s easy to forget now, but when the first iPad was announced in early 2010, there was much uncertaintly surrounding Apple’s new product. One of the big questions was whether it served as a laptop replacement. I have an iPhone, and I have a laptop – why do I need something in between? Now that [...]

Though it may not be Earth-shaking news, we just came across this back to school flyer from Verizon, and we have to laugh at the imaginative tactics Big Red is using in an attempt to move some Android tablets. The XOOM that is the centerpiece of this flyer has Kindle plastered on the screen for [...]

As Apple fans will likely be lining up for the newest iPhone (and possibly iPad 3) within the next couple of months, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at where it all started. Courtesy of the internet time capsule Wayback Machine, we took a trip back to see just how [...]

Comedian Mark Malkoff wanted to test the limits of just how “nice” Apple Store employees can be. He may have to keep trying. The video, first dug up by Gothamist, shows Malkoff push the boundaries of what one can get away with in an Apple Store before getting kicked out. His list of over-the-top tactics [...]

We hesitate to cover yet another alleged “leak” of iPhone 5 details, but this one has some images to go along with it, so why not? This latest bit of iPhone 5 “news” is based on tips (delivered by Mobile Fun) that are supposedly from multiple Chinese case manufacturers. The supposed new look happens to [...]

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is about to become the first tablet to run on Verizon’s LTE network. Launching this Thursday, July 28, the LTE Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be waiting in Verizon stores. The prices, however, may make you think twice about jumping on board. While the WiFi-only version of the Tab 10.1 is [...]

We told you yesterday about how the Facebook for iPad app was leaked via hidden code inside the Facebook for iPhone app. Today (as the folks at iDownloadBlog tell us) anyone with a jailbroken iPad can transform the Facebook for iPhone app into the unreleased iPad version. There was a previous (more complicated method) that [...]

Aside from Amazon’s tablet, one of the most-aniticipated upcoming Android slates is HTC’s 10-incher, codenamed “Puccini.” Today, courtesy of BGR, we have our first real glimpses of what the tablet will look like. Fans of HTC will feel right at home here, as the slate has the familiar style of the Taiwanese manufacturer. The front [...]

With Apple devices taking off in popularity (even in China), people of all different levels of experience find themselves asking questions about what their devices can and can’t do. Even the experts with years of experience sometimes find themselves being surprised by something that their iGadget can do. We compiled our list of Top Five [...]

The folks over at Retrevo have given us perhaps the best evidence of what we’ve been saying for a while now. The site’s study shows us that Amazon’s tablet has the potential to do things that previous Android tablets haven’t been able to do thus far – like sell. The surveys covered several categories, and [...]

New York City railway commuters had better get ready for some serious congestion on iPhone and iPad launch days. The Apple Store in Grand Central Station, which is expected to be approved later this week by the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) has been detailed – and Photoshopped – by the Wall Street Journal. While yet [...]

It seems like it was just last week that Apple released iOS 4.3.4, which patched the exploit that allowed the iPad 2 (and all other iOS devices) to be jailbroken. Actually, it was just last week. Well, Apple wasted no time issuing another update, this one bringing it up to 4.3.5 for most devices. The [...]

Apple fever isn’t exclusive to the US and Europe. China – yes, the same China in which those brilliantly fake Apple stores popped up – is just crazy about Apple. They’re so crazy about Cupertino that (as the New York Times reports) the four official retail stores Apple currently has in China can’t keep up [...]

Apple has made it very clear that, as rulers of the iOS kingdom, they are going to own the entire economy. As 9to5 Mac reported, Google Books has vanished from the iOS AppStore – and any old Muggle can figure out why. Google Books, incidentally, is set to become the sole platform for the upcoming [...]

If you’re a fan of the pirate genre and are still smarting over this summer’s hollow and forced Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, we have the perfect antidote. Sid Meier’s Pirates! from 2K Games is one of the best games to arrive on the iPad. While it may not quite sport the cutting-edge [...]

Users of the previous three versions of the iOS 5 beta may have noticed that the promised “Documents in the Cloud” feature was, up to this point, missing from the party. With today’s release of the fourth iOS 5 beta though, the folks at 9to5Mac point out that Cloud Docs support is now active. Documents [...]

Apple is keeping the beta releases coming for their upcoming iOS 5. Developers can now get their hands on Beta 4, and they don’t even need to bother with iTunes. Registered developers who are already on iOS 5 beta 3 can download the new beta 4 OTA. Simply opening the iDevice’s settings app, and touching [...]

With iOS devices being as popular as ever, gadget blog readers have been bombarded this year with everything that can possibly be spun as a story relating to iPhone, iPad, or even iPod touch. It can be utterly exhausting trying to keep up. To help you keep up, we’ve put together a list of what [...]

We’ve known for a while now that Hulu wants to sell itself to the highest bidder. We’ve heard names like Google and Yahoo bandied around, but here’s a new name (you may have heard it before) to throw into the ring: Apple. According to Bloomberg, Apple is among those eyeing a purchase of the video [...]

Apple’s latest release of their Mac firmware, OS X Lion, was purchased and downloaded over a million times in the first day it was available (Wednesday). In a press release, Apple Marketing VP Phil Shiller said: Lion is off to a great start, user reviews and industry reaction have been fantastic. Lion is a huge [...]