Universal Audio’s API Vision Channel Strip plug-in

Comprised of five API modules — including the famed 212L Preamp, 225L Compressor, 235L Gate/Expander, 550L EQ, and 215L Filters — the API Vision is UA’s most colorful channel strip plug-in to date, allowing you to inject your tracks with all of the warmth and personality of API’s flagship analog console.

UA’s plug-ins are the best. Period.

The Loop Magazine Issue 12: Making Music with iOS

In this issue, Tom Ellis looks at some tools for creating music on iOS; John Moltz looks at being a freelance writer and the need to have health insurance; Charles Perry investigates app localization; Chris Steimel is tired of hearing the same old songs on traditional radio; and David Chartier takes off on a train to get some writing done.

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BMW i3: The company’s first electric car

Top Gear:

If the i3’s range fits your life, here’s what you get. A car, a gadget, a suite of furniture, a greener option, a talking point. And a slower heart-rate.

iRig BlueBoard

Just when you start to wonder what IK Multimedia is going to come up with next, they deliver a pedalboard to control your Mac and iOS music apps wirelessly.

Tough competing with the iPhone

Ben Bajarin wrote a great piece on the iPhone and its market share in the U.S. There are so many takeaways, you should just read the whole thing.

Galaxy Round: “absolutely, completely, totally, utterly useless gimmick”

The Galaxy Round exists because the Galaxy Round exists. Samsung built and launched it so that it would be the first company in the world to build and launch a smartphone with a curved display. That’s it. The curved shape of the phone adds nothing of value to the user experience and once again, Samsung didn’t even attempt to add any useful new functionality to the device. It’s a gimmick.

That pretty much says it all.

iPhone 5s and 5c available in more countries on Oct 25

iPhone 5s and 5c will be available on Friday, October 25 in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, French West Indies, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion Island, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand. iPhone 5s and 5c will also be available on Friday, November 1 in Albania, Armenia, Bahrain, Colombia, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, India, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE. Both iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c are currently available in the US, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and the UK.

Listastic

This is a great shared lists app. My wife and I tried it last night and it worked great. I’m a fan.

Apple’s rumored Oct 22 iPad event

People familiar with Apple’s plans tell AllThingsD that the company will hold its next invitation-only event on Tuesday, October 22. The focal point of the gathering will be the latest updates to the company’s iPad line…

Yep.

Eric Schmidt says Android is more secure than iPhone

The comparison, made during a question-and-answer session at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, drew laughter from a packed-house audience.

Gartner analyst David Willis, who is chief of research for mobility and communications and who runs Gartner’s Senior Research Board, said to Schmidt: “If you polled many people in this audience they would say Google Android is not their principal platform […] When you say Android, people say, wait a minute, Android is not secure.”

Schmidt didn’t miss a beat, replying, “Not secure? It’s more secure than the iPhone.”

Eric Schmidt has lost his fucking mind.

Jimi Hendrix documentary premieres Nov. 5

Hear My Train A Comin’ unveils previously unseen performance footage and home movies taken by Hendrix and drummer Mitch Mitchell while sourcing an extensive archive of photographs, drawings, family letters and more to provide new insight into the musician’s personality and genius. Recently uncovered film footage of Hendrix at the 1968 Miami Pop Festival is among the previously unseen treasures featured in American Masters: Jimi Hendrix – Hear My Train A Comin’.

I can’t wait.

[caption id="attachment_38946" align="aligncenter" width="500"]Neale Cousland / Shutterstock.com Neale Cousland / Shutterstock.com[/caption]

Capo 3

This is one of my favorite music apps. The new version now does chord detection among many other things.

Joanna Stern reviews Galaxy Gear

It turns out that the Galaxy Gear isn’t a very smart watch. Sure, it might do more than the watch you are wearing right now — at least on paper — but your everyday watch can tell time faster than the Gear, and is certainly more comfortable and attractive. And while the Gear does put some smartphone functionality on your wrist, it still requires you to grab your phone quite a bit, whether it is for installing apps or checking for more information about certain notifications. And that’s all assuming you can keep it on for long enough, given the comfort and battery life hurdles.

Joanna did a great review of the Galaxy Gear. Samsung’s entry into the smart watch market was more about being first than actually helping users. That is very clear.

AskingPoint Mobile App Analytics [Sponsor]

AskingPoint provides Mobile App Analytics, In-App Messaging (great for cross promotion), and SaaS for Mobile Apps. Push messaging and Ap Monetization tools are coming later in October and November.

AskingPoint let’s you use your App Analytics to control anything in your Apps, in real-time. Check it out, and learn how to remote control your Mobile Apps!

Using Markdown with MarsEdit

I use Markdown and MarsEdit every day to update The Loop. Here are a few tips to make sure you are getting the most out of MarsEdit.

SEC ends review of Apple taxes

Four months after raising questions about Apple’s foreign earnings and taxes, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ended its investigation without plans to take any further action.