Marianne Schultz

For this week's giveaway, Pad & Quill is generously offering a package of accessories with a total retail value of over $600 for one lucky winner.This prize package includes the company's Large Briefcase that can accommodate up to a 15-inch laptop and features full-grain American cowhide leather, parachute-grade nylon stitching, and a 25-year warranty. The Large Briefcase retails for $365 and is available in several color combinations.Also included is Pad & Quill's book-style Cartella Slim Case for the 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro. Made with traditional book-binding techniques, it uses a re-attachable and residue-free 3M adhesive while leaving all ports and vents accessible. It's available in 3 colors and retails for $99.95.Pad & Quill is also including a Lowry Leather Band

In celebration of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories, is generously offering an 'Everyday Developer Carry Kit' package where one winner can choose a briefcase bag, iPad case, iPhone case, and an Apple Watch band from the company's entire product line-up.Pad & Quill offers several briefcase bag styles. The Briefcase and Large Briefcase can both accommodate laptops up to 15 inches, with the latter offering 25% more room than the former. Both are made of full-grain American cowhide and waxed canvas, featuring solid nickel hardware, internal dividers and pockets, leather handles, and a 25-year warranty. The Briefcase retails for $295 while the Large Briefcase retails for $365.For iPads,

For this week's giveaway, Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories, is graciously offering its Woodline iPhone cases and Roll Top Leather Backpack as prizes to the lucky winners.The Woodline iPhone cases are made of real hardwood, which is polished and scratch-resistant, with a polymer core. The cases are thin, coming in at just .9 millimeter thick, and allow access to all ports and buttons. Four wood choices are available: American Cherry, Rosewood, Premium American Walnut, and Zebra Wood, with retail prices ranging from $49.95 to $59.95. The Woodline cases are available for the iPhone 6/6S and iPhone 6 Plus/6S Plus.The Roll Top Leather Backpack is made of full-grain tumbled American bridle leather with hand-pounded copper

Automatic has partnered with us for our next giveaway, graciously offering one Automatic Adapter that provides information about your car's status and performance and your driving habits via a companion app. The Automatic adapter was first announced in early 2013 with recent updates last year bringing a second-generation adapter with additional functionality and the release of an SDK and App Gallery to allow other apps to use data gathered by the adapter. The Automatic Adapter retails for $99.95The Automatic Adapter connects to a car via its ODB-II diagnostic port, which is found on most newer cars sold in the US since 1996 (Automatic offers a car compatibility checker on its site). The Adapter gathers information on mileage, gas consumption, and driving performance by analyzing

To provide gift ideas for our readers this holiday season, we here at MacRumors have written gift guides based on our own experiences with products we like and recommend to others. If you want to catch up, here are links to the guides published so far: Juli Clover, Joe Rossignol, and Mitchel Broussard.Here's my selection of gift suggestions based on products I own, use often, and recommend to anyone looking for gift ideas for friends or family:Elevation Dock for iPhone by Elevation Lab ($89)I first heard about Elevation Lab's iPhone dock through the company's Kickstarter in 2011 and I backed the project there in order to receive one before they were commercially available. The dock, which is made out of a block of solid aluminum, was intended to be heavy enough to easily remove

For this week's giveaway, we've partnered again with Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories. Pad & Quill is kindly offering prizes from its lines of leather watch bands and iPhone cases to the lucky winners.Pad & Quill's Lowry line of leather watch bands come in a cuff style and a standard band style. The Lowry Cuff is sized specifically for 42mm Apple Watch models while the Lowry Band is available for both 38mm and 42mm Apple Watch models. They're all made of full-grain vegetable tanned leather and feature nickel-finished hardware and 25-year leather warranties. The Cuff retails for $129.95 and the Band is $109.95.The company's Classic Band, which Contributing Editor Mitchel Broussard found to be durable and

For our next giveaway, we've partnered with Incase, the maker of sleek, modern accessories for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more. Incase is generously offering three items from its product line-up: the new Incase x Parabellum Apple Watch Travel Folio, an Icon backpack, and Portable Power 5400 battery pack.The Apple Watch Travel Folio is Incase's newest product that's made in partnership with Parabellum, a maker of premium leather goods. Its exterior is full-grain North American bison leather and its interior is genuine suede. It has a snap closure and features cut-outs and a magnetic flap to hold the Watch in place and charge it while it's inside the folio. The Folio is available in black and pumpkin and retails for $250.The Icon Backpack has a padded compartment for laptops

For our next giveaway, we've partnered again with Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories. Pad & Quill is graciously offering three bags from the company's new line-up of briefcases and backpacks, including the Leather Backpack (also available in a larger size), the Briefcase (also available in a larger size), and the Luxury Briefcase.The Leather Backpack models are made of heavy waxed canvas and full-grain American steer leather. Each has a padded laptop sleeve, with the smaller model accommodating laptops up to 13 inches and the larger one accepting laptops up to 15 inches. The Leather Backpack will retail for $295 and the Large Leather Backpack will retail for $365. Both are available for pre-order now and will begin shipping later

For our next giveaway, we've partnered with Ztylus, a maker of smartphone cases with interchangeable accessory attachments. Ztylus is graciously offering one limited edition Rose Gold Camera Kit for the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus that retails for $149.95.The Ztylus Rose Gold Camera Kit consists of a full-coverage case and a 4-in-1 lens attachment. The case itself has a textured leather finish that features an integrated kickstand and a unique disc mount system for the lens attachment. The lens attachment contains a circular polarizer lens and fish eye, macro, and wide angle lenses that flip out into position over the iPhone's camera lens. Ztylus makes its attachments compatible with all of its other cases so that when you switch to a new phone, you only need a new case and can

For our next giveaway here at MacRumors, we've again partnered with Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases and other accessories. Pad & Quill is graciously offering a package of two prizes for this giveaway – the winner will be able to choose one leather Valet Luxury Sleeve (for the 11-inch Macbook Air, 12-inch MacBook, or 13-inch MacBook Pro, or the 15-inch MacBook Pro) plus any one of the company's Apple Watch Accessories.The Valet Luxury Sleeves are made of full-grain leather and have hand-pounded copper rivet closures, and also feature extra pockets to carry an iPad and other accessories. The version for the 15-inch MacBook Pro retails for $149.99 while the version for the smaller MacBook models retails for $119.99.Pad & Quill has a number of

For our next giveaway, we've partnered with Automatic, maker of the Automatic Link car adapter and companion apps to monitor your car's performance and usage. The Automatic Link adapter and apps debuted in 2013 and the adapter currently retails for $99 while the companion iPhone app is free. [Direct Link]The Automatic Link plugs into a car's OBD-II diagnostic port and works with most gasoline car models sold in the US since 1996 (car compatibility can be checked here). Data is transmitted to a paired iPhone (or Android smartphone) via Bluetooth and requires an iPhone 5 or newer. The Automatic system can decode engine fault codes and track gas mileage and offer feedback to improve it. A Crash Alert feature can also reach out to emergency services or designated contacts through a paired

For our second giveaway here at MacRumors, we've partnered with Pad & Quill, the maker of premium MacBook, iPhone, and iPad cases along with other accessories. Pad & Quill is graciously offering The Messenger Bag as our prize for this giveaway.The Messenger Bag is made of leather and waxed canvas and features a padded laptop pocket that will fit a 15-inch MacBook Pro Retina and a 25-year leather warranty. The Messenger Bag retails for $369.To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below. You can also earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, following MacRumors on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page. You must be age 18 or older and located in the United States to enter.a Rafflecopter giveawayThis contest will run from today

Apple's iPhone has topped Flickr's list of the top mobile cameras for years, with Apple even surpassing Nikon to be the number 2 camera brand on the service earlier this year. Smartphone photography is booming and there has been no shortage of accessories to help users take even better pictures, and one of the latest entries in this category is the ExoLens system.Apple came to us two years ago looking for a higher end lens system for their upcoming devices” says John Willenborg, CEO at ExoLens. “The goal was to engineer something that reflected the quality and precision of the iPhone 6 with the power of a mini DSLR."What's in the BoxThe ExoLens system comprises two lenses -- a 3x telephoto lens and a 165º wide angle lens -- that screw into a machined aluminum bracket that slides

StackSocial began offering eight Mac apps in its "Ultra-Premium" bundle today, which includes Cultured Code's Things 2, an Apple Design Award winner, and Realmac Software's Typed, which was just released in December. The bundle is priced at $44.99, but StackSocial is offering MacRumors readers a $5 discount with coupon code MRULTRA5, bringing the price down to $39.99.The total retail value of all eight apps is $469, so the bundle at $39.99 offers a significant savings compared to buying each app individually. The apps included are:- ScreenFlow 5 ($99.99) - screen recording tool- Things 2 ($49) - task manager- Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth ($49.99) - turn-based strategy game- ProSoft Data Rescue 4 ($99.99) - data recovery utility- ExpanDrive 4 ($49.95) - directly

At today's media event, Apple announced the next-generation 27-inch iMac with Retina 5K display carrying a resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels, as expected from recent rumors. Featuring 14.7 million pixels, the new iMac offers improved improved contrast, viewing angles, and color accuracy.Thirty years after the first Mac changed the world, the new iMac with Retina 5K display running OS X Yosemite is the most insanely great Mac we have ever made,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “With a breathtaking 14.7 million pixel display, faster CPU and graphics, Fusion Drive, and Thunderbolt 2, it’s the most beautiful and powerful iMac ever. The base iMac with a Retina 5K display will be available with a 3.5 GHz quad-core Intel i5 processor, AMD Radeon R9

A few times a year, MacRumors partners with MacUpdate to promote a Mac app bundle deal. MacUpdate's current bundle, which was released this morning and is priced at $49.99, features 10 apps with a total retail value of $480 if purchased individually.MacUpdate has created a video providing an overview of all of the apps included in the bundle:The full list of apps included is as follows:- Toast 12 Titanium ($99.99)- NoteBook 4 ($49.95)- Tonality Pro ($69.99)- Scrivener 2.5 ($44.95)- Bookends 12 ($59.99)- Mac DVDRipper Pro 5 ($24.95)- NetShade 6 ($45.00)- iStat Menus 5 ($19.00)- SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition ($19.99)The first 8,000 buyers also receive Realmac Software's digital scrapbooking app, Ember, which has a retail value of $49.99.Buyers have the

StackSocial is currently offering a bundle of 8 Mac apps, featuring several that have won awards from Apple and Macworld. All buyers receive the following apps for just $39.99, a significant discount compared to the total retail value of $362:- Cinemagraph Pro ($100)- djay ($20)- NetSpot Pro ($149)- Keyboard Maestro ($36)- Hype 2 ($30)- Dropzone 3 ($10)- Moom ($10)- Boom ($7)Notably, djay was included in Apple's "Best of Mac App Store" list in 2011 and was updated earlier this year to include full Spotify integration. Cinemagraph Pro was selected as an Apple Design Award winner at WWDC in June.The first 5,000 buyers of the MacLovin' bundle also receive the OS X App Masterclass, a Mac app development e-learning course that has a retail value of $499, which

StackSocial has just launched a new "Summer Blockbuster Mac Bundle" that offers up to 10 apps with 10% of all profits going to one of three charities. Buyers can "name their own price" for the bundle and every purchase includes the following three apps:- DiscLabel ($40)- SyncMate Expert 5 ($40)- Tangerine! ($25)If a buyer pays more than the current average price displayed on StackSocial's sales page for the bundle, the buyer will receive all 10 apps offered which includes the three apps listed above plus the following seven apps:- Path Finder 6 ($40)- Fantastical ($20)- Flux 4 ($125)- Gemini ($10)- Logoist ($20)- Tunes Cleaner ($40)- MacX iPhone DVD Ripper ($40)The total retail value of the bundle is $400. As with its last "Name Your Own Price" bundle

Apple announced iOS 8 at the keynote event of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference today. iOS 8 gets a multitude of new features for consumers, including revamped notification features, an upgrade to auto-correct called QuickType, support for third-party keyboards, improvements to Mail, and a new health tracking component called Health.Notification CenterInteractive notifications let users pull down notifications and interact with them to respond to text messages or other notifications without leaving the current open app, or complete actions from notifications shown on the lock screen. In a demo, Craig Federighi was able to reply to an iMessage and like a Facebook post directly from the on-screen notification, which popped over a separate app he was using.Keyboard

StackSocial launched its fifth 'Name Your Own Price' Mac Bundle earlier this week that offers up to nine apps and an online iOS development course for purchase with 10% of all sales going to charity.There are two apps and an online iOS development course that all buyers receive:MacX Mobile Video Converter ($50)PDF Converter Pro for Mac ($80)Projects in iOS E-learning Course ($147)If a buyer pays more than the current average price shown on StackSocial's sales page for the bundle ($8.00 at the time of this post), the buyer will receive all nine apps offered which includes the three items listed above plus the following apps:RapidWeaver 5 ($79)Tune Up ($50)CrossOver 13 ($60)Disk Drill Pro 2.0 ($99)Voila ($30)Snapheal Pro ($40)mSecure for Mac ($20)The