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Last week I had more fun than one person should be allowed to have. At appsworld in San Francisco, I had the privilege of meeting Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple.
 
When you think of Apple, it's natural to think first of Steve Jobs and the tremendous task he performed taking Apple, a company near the brink, and completely turning it around to become one of the world's largest companies and most coveted brands. However, if there were no Steve Wozniak, there would have been no Apple. Wozniak is the wizard who designed and built the first highly successful mass-produced personal computer.

In a recent report on mobile payments, the Wall Street Journal said,  “Apple Inc. is laying the groundwork for an expanded mobile-payments service, leveraging its growing base of iPhone and iPad users and the hundreds of millions of credit cards on file through its iTunes stores.” This report does not raise eyebrows, but simply states the inevitable fact. Apple's entry into this market will undoubtedly raise the bar, with major players already fiercely competing to gain market traction over how people pay through mobile devices.

Recently, AT&T created headlines, raised suspicion, and set tongues wagging with its announcement that they are starting a new Sponsored Data program. This new plan will allow eligible 4G customers to access mobile content and apps without impacting their monthly wireless data plan. In simpler terms this would be like a toll-free service for wireless data where websites that sign up as sponsors will be free for AT&T wireless customers. As a result, no data will be deducted from a surfer’s monthly allotment of data. Data charges will be borne by the sponsoring company.

It was only last month Apple unveiled the new iMacs and iPhone 5s and 5c, and released its redesigned mobile operating system, iOS 7. But Apple is not through for the year yet. Last week, the company officially announced a special event to take place tomorrow at 10 a.m. Pacific time at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The invitation, adorned with colorful fall leaves, simply says “We still have a lot to cover.” Here's a roundup of the refreshed products Apple is most likely to deliver in time for the holidays.

And of course, check back with us tomorrow at 10 a.m. Pacific time or 1 p.m. Eastern time for live coverage of the event.

Is the iPhone 5C for Kids?

By Becca Ludlum

Apple released details about the new iPhone 5c today and with its plastic exterior, reduced price, and colorful case combinations it is easy to assume it's geared towards... dare I say it? Kids.

I know my son would give almost anything for the green model, and with a $99 price tag for the 16GB version it's a great addition to my holiday gift list for him. Is this what Apple had in mind when they designed the 5C?

Let's continue my MWC report series (previous (first) part HERE) with the stuff that makes a camera & smartphone freak like me salivate: some serious (and I do mean serious!) camera tests. Note that, as there were no really-really groundbreaking iOS announcements at MWC (as opposed to the announcements and new models of almost all other major manufacturers), I'll only cover iOS later. My exclusive stuff, measurements and new tablets, smartphones  first, even if they aren't made by Apple.

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