BGR Daily Breaking Stories

Daily Headlines WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015

7 awesome paid iPhone apps that are all free downloads right now Yesterday’s list of paid iPhone and iPad apps on sale for free included some real gems, including a few that are still free if you hurry. For Wednesday, however, we have a fresh list with seven new paid iOS apps that are all on sale for free. Today’s list has some particularly good apps, and the first one listed below could quite possibly blow your mind. But if you want them for free you had better rush, because these sales could be over at any time.  MORE → The 9 most important things we learned from Apple’s record-crushing quarterly report Apple reported results from its fiscal first quarter on Tuesday night and in case you somehow missed it, they were incredible. As we noted in our coverage immediately following the report, Apple’s December quarter was the most profitable quarter any company has ever posted. What’s even more incredible, perhaps, is that its feat is thanks largely to just two devices — the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus — as pent-up demand for larger iPhones sent sales soaring. People are still digging through Apple’s filings for interesting tidbits, but all of the major takeaways from Apple’s fiscal first-quarter earnings are now out in the open.  MORE → The people who said Apple was doomed last year – where are they now? One surefire way to draw attention to yourself is to come up with a “contrarian” take on current events. While it’s always good to try thinking against the grain, there are times when contrarian takes simply fly in the face of reality. Nowhere in the tech world is this more apparent than the pundits and analysts who have repeatedly predicted over the years that Apple is “doomed.” We decided to follow up on two prominent examples of this phenomenon from last year to see what they’ve had to say in light of Apple’s record-smashing Q1 2015 earnings.  MORE → You can finally buy Samsung’s shockingly great virtual reality headset from Best Buy The first time I tried Samsung’s virtual reality headset, I was beyond skeptical. Here was Samsung yet again trying to jump on any trend it possibly could by quickly churning out an ill-conceived competitor. I sat down, listened to a Samsung spokesperson run through his short, prewritten spiel, and lifted the Gear VR over my head. No one was filming me so I can’t be certain, but I think my jaw hung wide open the entire time I tried it.  MORE → Even the most secure Android phone ever had a critical security bug Marketed as the most secure Android handset available, the BlackPhone wasn’t completely safe from hackers’ attacks, as a recently discovered — and fixed — vulnerability in the phone’s instant messaging application could give them access to encrypted personal data such as messages, contacts and potential control over other “vital functions” of the handset, Ars Technica reports.  MORE → Meet Coolbox, the smart toolbox you deserve People who regularly contribute to crowdfunding projects might remember the Coolest, a smart cooler that managed to become the most funded campaign of all time with almost $13.3 million in pledges. Along similar lines we now have the Coolbox, a different kind of smart toolbox that packs lots of smart features. Listed on Indiegogo, this advanced toolbox  has already smashed through its initial $50,000 goal in just a day, with plenty of time left to raise even more money until the March 12th deadline.  MORE → In a new report, Europe says mass surveillance threatens human rights The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe said in a lengthy report that mass surveillance practices, as thoroughly detailed in many reports following the extensive Edward Snowden leaks, are a fundamental threat to human rights.  MORE → Explosive documentary shows Scientology may be even creepier than you thought Did you think Scientology was just a goofy fake religion revolving around Xenu and Operating Thetan levels? Well, it turns out the reality behind the Church of Scientology is much darker than that, as evidenced by an explosive new documentary that alleges the church engages in truly vile practices such as child abuse and slave labor.  MORE → Someone dressed up as a yeti is stalking the snow-covered streets of Boston How bored is one Boston resident right now? So bored that they’re willing to dress up in a yeti suit and send out pictures of themselves stalking the streets at night on Twitter.  MORE → Video: New Amazon show wonders what life would be like if Germany won World War 2 Amazon Studios has an interesting new pilot that’s currently available to Prime members called The Man in the High Castle — based on the Philip K. Dick 1962 novel with the same name and produced by Ridley Scott — that imagines what the U.S. would look like following a different end to World War 2. Instead of the Allies winning the war, the Axis powers have prevailed, dividing America between them.  MORE →