Hands-on with the Sparkbeats light-up iPhone case

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The Sparkbeats effect is most dramatic when the lights are low, but it's still quite visible under ordinary indoor lighting. BiteMyApple.co

There are plenty of iPhone cases that do more than just protect your phone. Some double as wallets, some zap would-be attackers with 650,000 volts, and so on.

How about one that livens up the way you receive notifications? That's the Sparkbeats in a nutshell: it's an iPhone 5/5S case that lights up and flashes whenever there's an incoming call or text. And because it leverages a little-documented feature in iOS, it requires no external power to do so.

Sparkbeats began as a Kickstarter project in Australia, but is now available for sale via BiteMyApple.co, which provided my review sample.

Available in black or white, the case sports two clear, raised channels that run from the camera LED all around the back and sides. To take advantage of this, you need to delve into your iPhone's settings (General > Accessibility) and enable LED Flash for Alerts.

With that done, the LED will flash whenever a call or text message comes in. And with your iPhone inside the Sparkbeats, that entire channel will flash as well. The effect is pretty cool, and it certainly has practical value: even if your phone is set to mute, you can see the flashing, making it less likely that you'll miss an important call or message.

Timed Company Limited

There's also a "pass-through" switch that allows you to use the LED for its intended purpose (i.e. flash photography). And if you want to have a little more fun with the case, the free Sparkbeats app lets you enable Flash Light mode (complete with an SOS option), a motion-sensitive flash, and Follow the Beats, which makes the LED strobe in response to sound picked up by the microphone.

Ironically, though, it doesn't seem to work with music you play on your iPhone proper.

All told, the Sparkbeats is a pretty cool gimmick. However, although the raised rear channels offer some added anti-slip gription, the case itself has zero lip to protect your screen in the event of a face-down drop. And it's necessarily on the thick side to accommodate the side channels.

Most of all, the Sparkbeats is a tough sell owing to its $50 (£30, AU$54) price tag. Last December I wrote about a similar product priced at just $20 (though it's no longer available, at least from that vendor). Cool and practical as this case is, I think a lower price is in order. Your thoughts?

Apple rumored to announce iPhone smart-home remote

Smart-home technology may be on the agenda at next week's WWDC. James Martin/CNET

What will Apple announce during next week's WWDC? Needless to say, the rumor mill is spinning fast and furious, with lots of expectations for new iPhones and the very likely introduction of iOS 8.

Now, with just days to go before the conference, at least one detail is starting to gain traction: Apple will add smart-home features to the next version of its mobile operating system.

Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal picked up a Financial Times report indicating a "big splash in the world of smart-home technology." Specifically, the report said your iPhone will be able to automate everything from opening the garage door to turning on the lights when you get home.

Such capabilities could be among the fruits of a patent Apple received last year, one focused on smart-home system settings referred to as "scenes."

Further evidence arrived in my inbox this morning, with a public relations rep for a universal-remote app letting slip this statement: "Next week Apple will be announcing its iPhone Smart Home remote which will be available sometime in the future."

Although that may have been mere speculation, it's certainly phrased as fact. App developers are often clued into Apple's plans long before they're released to the public.

Of course, even if the company does hop into this growing market, CNET's Rich Brown suggests that Apple won't necessarily dominate it.

What are your thoughts? Would you like to see smart-home capabilities baked into your phone? Or would you rather Apple focus more on the hardware itself, with features like bigger screens and near-field communication? Share your preferences in the comments!

Tune into CNET's WWDC live show and blog at 9 a.m. PT on June 2.

Six ways Apple can fix what's 'broken' about the iPhone

Apple will announce at least one new iPhone this year, perhaps as early as the WWDC in June. Based on the latest rumors and the natural evolution of the product, a larger screen is all but definite.

But what else? Except for the fingerprint sensor built into the iPhone 5S, Apple hasn't shown much in the way of actual innovation for the past couple years. Meanwhile, the latest smartphones from the likes of Google, HTC, Motorola, and Samsung have piled on cool features like hands-free Google Now, depth-sensing cameras, water-resistant cases, and kid modes.

That stuff is all well and good, and I'd like to think Apple will cook up at least a few surprises for the new iPhones. But unlike many users, I'm not itching for things like NFC, upgraded Wi-Fi, or even inductive charging (though I certainly wouldn't turn them down).

Rather, many of the improvements I'm hoping for can be handled with software, and perhaps even handed down to existing iPhone models. Because, let's face it, iOS is seriously lagging behind Android in some key areas.

Here, then, are six ways Apple can fix what's "broken" about the iPhone.

Gesture keyboards, like the Nuance Swype, are awesome. Nuance

My recent dalliance with Android taught me one thing: Apple's keyboard is terrible, at least compared with the likes of Google's gesture-powered keyboard (to say nothing of third-party equivalents like Nuance's Swype Keyboard).

In my experience, "drawing" a word was significantly faster and easier than tapping it out letter by letter. I can understand Apple not wanting to allow third-party keyboards, which goes against its unified-experience mentality, but there's no reason not to bake a gesture-keyboard option into the OS. Give users a choice, Apple!

iOS doesn't offer much in the way of camera controls. Apple

Eight is enough -- by which I mean megapixels, the number packed into the iPhone 5, 5C, and 5S cameras. Those phones already take pretty good (some would say great) pictures, so an iPhone 6 doesn't need more megapixels. (Indeed, as we've discussed before, when it comes to smartphones, more megapixels isn't always better.)

Instead, how about providing more shooting and editing controls? Save for toggling HDR mode and engaging AE/AF lock (by tapping and holding in a specific area), iOS offers almost no camera controls. You can't manually adjust exposure or white balance. You can't lock the aforementioned AE/AF separately from the focus. There are no scene modes to better accommodate things like low light and sports. Heck, how about a timer?

Apple could easily add such features to iOS 8. The hardware is fine; now fix the software.

One of the great, underrated features of iOS is voice dictation: Wherever the keyboard appears, you can tap the little microphone icon, say your piece, and presto, it's magically transcribed into text. And let's not forget Siri, the Gal Friday who can recognize your instructions to "remind me to buy milk when I get to Kroger."

Just one problem: None of this works when you're offline. Even "local" commands like the aforementioned reminder require an Internet connection. Why? Android's voice-recognition system works just fine (and quite a bit faster) whether you're connected or not. This is silly. Android is totally schooling ya, iOS!

Touch ID would be even better if it worked with third-party apps and services. Apple

The fingerprint sensor built into the iPhone 5s will undoubtedly make its way into the iPhone 6 as well. It's a cool feature, especially for approving App Store purchases. But it doesn't go nearly far enough.

See, password security as we know it is flat-out broken. Look no further than the Heartbleed debacle for evidence, or last year's Target breach. Even if you use "secure" passwords or passphrases, a stolen database renders them fairly useless.

But imagine if you needed a fingerprint ID to, say, buy something from Amazon. Or sign into your Evernote account. Apple's Touch ID could facilitate all that and more, if only the company would allow other apps to leverage the technology. It would, I believe, usher in a new era of smartphone-powered security -- and give iPhones quite an edge over the competition.

Everyone says they want bigger batteries, but what they really want is longer battery life. Although the iPhone 6 will be physically larger, and therefore accommodate a bigger cell, the larger screen will consume more power -- so that might end up a wash.

Instead, Apple should focus more on power management, much the same way Windows does. Why not add more granular power controls into the OS? How about different power modes that reflect different activities? One for stuff that doesn't require a lot of processor muscle (email, music, etc.), another for stuff that does (such as gaming and video).

And couldn't the iPhone switch into an ultra-low-power mode at night? Track your usage habits to determine when to throttle up the processor and when to throttle back? It seems to me iOS could get a lot smarter about battery consumption, effectively squeezing more juice out of the same old battery.

Apple should work with a company like Liquipel to make all iPhones waterproof. Liquipel

Lots of users are clamoring for more storage, near-field communication (NFC) capabilities, built-in infrared, and other such hardware amenities, but to me those are superfluous. My one hardware wish (besides a bigger screen) is a dunk-proof iPhone. I want Apple to partner with HzO or Liquipel and make every iPhone waterproof inside and out.

I've seen this in action at CES: Once coated with whatever space-age polymer these companies use, an iPhone can not only survive a drop in the toilet, a run through the washing machine, or a dip in the pool, but also keep functioning all the while. (Obviously the pool example is the only one that really matters.)

The aftermarket cost for such an application costs about $50, meaning Apple could probably do it large-scale for much less. And I'd gladly pay an extra $10-20 for a fully waterproof phone. Wouldn't you?

Thus ends my unconventional iPhone 6 wish list. Hit the comments and let me know what you're hoping for in the next iPhone, if not the next iOS.

iPhone 6: Every rumor about the specs, release date, and size of Apple's next smartphone

The rumor mill is already churning out reports about Apple's next smartphone, likely called the iPhone 6. We're collecting every rumor, whether wacky or plausible, that CNET has reported about the iPhone 6 here, so you can stay on top of the latest reports on its release date, specs, and special features. Let us know in the comments below what you're hoping to see from Apple's next iPhone.

This early in 2014, we don't know much about what Apple has up its sleeves for the next iPhone. That said, some trends are already popping up in the rumors. Analysts and sources claim that Apple will give us two phones this year, just like it did in September 2013 with the 5S and 5C. There will be a large iPhone model, likely with a 5-inch or larger screen, and also a smaller, possibly lower-end, device closer in size to the iPhone 5S.

Apple hasn't even confirmed it's even working on a new iPhone, let alone what it will be called, but following the pattern the company has used to name its previous phones, we are guessing it will be dubbed the iPhone 6.

Despite one report that says Apple will launch the iPhone 6 at its June 2014 Worldwide Developer's Conference, it's much more likely that we won't get a new phone until the fall. That's because since 2011, Apple has announced its new iPhones in September and October.

Editors' note: This post was originally published on January 23, 2014. We will continue to update it when new rumors surface.

Every non-iPod iOS device (yes, they still make those) coming out later this year, including the new iPhone(s), are rumored to pack Touch ID. The iPhone 5S is currently the only device that offers the fingerprint sensor.

Purported renderings of the iPhone 6, allegedly from Apple supplier Foxconn, have surfaced. One of the images shows a 5.5-inch model in the pipeline.

Is the Apple phablet an inevitable device? As inevitable as questions-as-headlines? The 5.5-inch iPhone rumor gets a small boost from some supply chain sources.

We're used to iPhone unveiling in the fall, before prime gift-giving season, however, the latest rumor posits an earlier release. New reports claim the phone will be revealed in August, instead of the previously expected September.

A pair of photos tweeted by Sonny Dickson, a known leaker of Apple devices, allegedly show the iPhone 6. Claiming the front and rear sides are both mock-ups, the images reveal a curvy new design.

Apple is shipping sapphire from Arizona to China, in what is speculated as a move toward a new high-end iPhone.

Apple's iPhone camera may get even better with the inclusion of image stabilization. The new feature would help reduce blurriness caused by shaky hands or low-lighting.

Curved displays are all the rage for televisions, but will the next iPhone embrace the wave? One report says yes.

More cases for the purported iPhone 6 suggest a Nexus 5 approach to its new look.

Early productions of cases intended for the Apple iPhone 6 show that the rumored larger screen is definitely in the cards, and the power button will have a new home.

The Web is abuzz with talk of a larger Apple iPhone, and a new mysterious image has popped up online to fuel the fire. The speculated iPhone 6's larger screen is held up to an iPhone 5 for comparison and it looks like, well, a bigger iPhone screen.

More rumors about a staggered launch for the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones have surfaced. The smaller one is expected in July, with the largest iPhone to date expected in September.

According to Reuters, the 4.7inch iPhone will launch before the 5.5-inch model.

A major supplier of iPhone displays just announced a new 5.5-inch WQHD screen, with shipping availability starting in April.

According to a Japanese publication, the iPhone 6 will land in September in two different sizes.

Orders that could imply mass production of batteries for the iPhone 6, suggest that the new smartphone will be available later rather than sooner.

One of Apple's manufacturing partners is opening a new factory space and recruiting workers, which is stirring up production date rumors for the upcoming iPhone 6. If true, production in the second quarter is expected.

The iPhone 6 could come equipped with its own barometer for monitoring weather conditions. Samsung added this features to the Galaxy S4 a year ago, and this could be an attempt from Apple to play catch-up.

Alleged photos of the unconfirmed Apple iPhone 6 are cropping up with more frequency. Whether these photos are the real deal or not is still up for debate. But if they are, they unveil a larger iPhone screen and a thin profile to match its thin bezels.

One hopeful source claims that Apple will release two new iPhones later this year with bigger screen sizes than before. One model is expected to boast a 4.7-inch screen and the other a 5.5-inch display. The rumor posits that these new iPhone 6 models will drop in September. We'll see about that.

The next generation of Apple iPhones is now linked to a recurring rumor about the smartphone's design: no bezels. The choice would allow for more screen space -- something many Apple loyalists have patiently waited for -- and is assumed to require the fingerprint scanner that debuted on the iPhone 5S.

A Japanese source claims that Sony is going to start making a few additional components for Apple's next iPhone camera. Sony already makes CMOS sensors for the rear cameras on iPhones. However, this report claims that the order will double soon, due to speculation that Apple will begin to use a Sony CMOS sensor on the front camera as well.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple will give us two new iPhones this year, just as it did when the company announced the iPhone 5S and 5C in 2013. This time around, the two phones will have different sizes, one around 4.7 inches, and another that's supposedly larger than 5 inches. Apple is also said to be doing away with the 5C's polycarbonate case in favor of using metal for both new devices.

Though there's been a lot of buzz about the iPhone 6's size, Cowen and Company analyst Timothy Arcuri is claiming that the next iPhone will have a 4.8-inch screen and that the design is already "locked down." He also notes that the new iPhone will have higher-speed 802.11ac Wi-Fi connectivity.

Following earlier reports, Chinese analyst Sun Changxu told Chinese-language Web site QQ Tech that the iPhone 6 will come in two sizes. First, at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference in June 2014, the company will release a 4.7-inch iPhone with a 1,136x640 pixel display, which is only slightly larger than the screen on the iPhone 5S. Shortly after that first release, Changxu says that Apple will unveil a larger, higher-resolution 5.7-inch iPhone.

Forecasts from market research firm DisplaySearch predict that Apple will release two new iPhone models in 2014, both with higher-resolution screens that would trump the current iPhone's 4-inch 1,136x640-pixel display. The "high-end" model of the new iPhone would have a 5.5-inch screen with a 1,920x1,080 low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) LCD display, which is the same kind of screen used in the 5S. The other iPhone model could have a 4.7-inch screen with a 1,600x900 resolution display.

Before you buy an iPhone from Virgin Mobile, read this

Virgin Mobile offers some unbeatable iPhone deals, but beware the hassles of getting a replacement. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Back in March, having decided that Android wasn't for me, I decided to buy an iPhone 5S from Virgin Mobile. The deal was too good to pass up: 30 percent off the phone itself and $30 per month for service -- no contract required. ("Too good" here means relative to other deals. Was the iPhone cheap? Hardly. Was it the cheapest possible way to get the model I wanted? Definitely.)

The 5S itself has been great (especially compared with the 4S it replaced), and Virgin's Sprint-powered coverage has been, let's just say good enough.

However, last week I dropped the phone, busting its screen (sob). My attempt to replace it myself was unsuccessful, so I decided to pony up the dough (double-sob) for an Apple Store repair. (Had this been a warranty claim, that would have been my destination as well: Apple handles all service issues for iPhones purchased from Virgin Mobile.)

So I made an appointment, took the iPhone in, and got a replacement. (Apple Stores don't currently do screen repairs for the 5S, so what happens is they swap your whole phone -- same as if, say, your Wi-Fi stopped working.)

That's when the trouble started.

Virgin Mobile

In a nutshell, my Genius Bar Genius (who, I just have to say, really needed a shower) couldn't get the replacement phone activated. I'll spare you the blow-by-blow, but after a full hour of trying this and that, he got on the phone with Virgin and was told that activation was "locked." It would take 24 hours to complete the process.

Nearly as exasperated as I was, he handed me the phone, said, "Good luck," and sent me on my way.

That was disappointing, to say the least, but it was only the beginning. After 24 hours, my phone still hadn't been activated. I called Virgin (and reached a live, admirably apologetic human almost immediately) and was told that the Apple Store had done it wrong: They'd registered the iPhone with Sprint, not Virgin Mobile, and there was no way to switch it over. I'd have to go back to the store.

Aggravating though this was, it helped explain the previous day's problems. Every time the "Genius" plugged the phone into a Mac, iTunes popped up a Sprint activation screen (one that wouldn't accept my VM number and password).

The second visit seemed to go smoother. I explained what had happened, and the guy helping me grabbed the store's resident Virgin Mobile expert (self-proclaimed). They swapped the "locked" iPhone for another replacement, and this time the guy vanished to the back with it, promising to go right through to Virgin's "tier 3" support so it would get activated right away.

After 35 seemingly endless minutes, he returned. This time: "It's all set, but just needs to link up with the local towers. Should be good to go within two hours."

That was around 5 p.m. I gave it till the next morning. Although the iPhone was activated, it wasn't getting service. I called Virgin Mobile again, and again reached someone right away. Here's where it gets even more interesting.

Once again I was told that the phone was tied to Sprint, and needed to be registered with Virgin Mobile. However, this courteous and apologetic rep told me they could make the switch at their end. (Note the disparity: I'm not sure which side got it wrong the first time, Apple or Virgin.) The process would take 2 to 4 hours, after which I'd receive a call back.

I waited five hours -- no call. So I called Virgin again. Got right through, apologies all around, and this time was told that the serial-number transfer was complete -- now they just needed to make a few more changes at their end. They kept me on the line all of five minutes, had me punch in a couple numbers on the dial pad, and presto! I had service.

It was a vexing couple days, but other than wasting a few hours, no major harm done. The price you pay for saving money, right?

Turns out the replacement iPhone (my third, if you're keeping score) is defective. The rear camera doesn't work, and I can't hear callers through the earpiece. So it's back to the Apple Store, and I get to go through all of this yet again.

What's the takeaway here? Several thoughts:

My local Apple Store may not be too swift when it comes to dealing with Virgin Mobile, but everyone I've dealt with his been very friendly. It's still the model of retail customer service, in my opinion.Virgin Mobile may not be too swift when it comes to transferring your service from one iPhone to another, but the company has excellent customer reps. They speak in slightly accented English, but they're polite, apologetic, and seemingly very eager to help. And I never waited on hold, not once. (This was also true with a previous experience a couple months back.)If you buy an iPhone from Virgin Mobile and need to have it replaced for some reason, expect hassles and delays. As a couple different Apple Store geniuses told me, when they swap a phone on, say, AT&T or Verizon, it takes mere minutes. Couldn't be easier. With Virgin, it's a slow and, obviously, often aggravating process.

Would all this stop me from buying another phone from Virgin? No, because despite all the headaches, the everyday experience is fine -- and much less expensive than with most other carriers. I sure do dread the idea of ever having to swap phones again, though.

By the way, if you need to reach Virgin Mobile phone support for an activation issue, call 888-322-1122, enter your mobile phone number when prompted, then press 4, then 2, then 2 again. That's the fastest way to a live human.

Have you ever had to replace a Virgin Mobile iPhone? If so, hit the comments to describe your experience with both that company and Apple. I'm curious to know if anyone had an easier (or harder) time.