MacRumors

Apple has never shown much interest in styluses, even as companies like Samsung and Microsoft have embraced them as major selling points for smartphones and tablets. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs even went as far as saying "If you see a stylus, they blew it," on one occasion, and at Macworld in 2007, he asked "Who wants a stylus? Nobody wants a stylus."

Apple's focus on the fingertip as the best input method doesn't mean styluses are entirely pointless -- they can be useful for taking notes, making sketches, creating artwork, and in dozens of other situations. Luckily, Apple's disinterest in the stylus hasn't stopped third-party accessory makers from developing them, and eight years after the iPhone first debuted, there are a range of stylus options on the market.

Adonit is a company that got into the stylus game early, debuting its first stylus on Kickstarter in 2011. The Adonit Jot was one of the first styluses to incorporate a thin plastic precision disc, doing away with a rubber tip to let users see more of the screen while writing. Since then, Adonit has gone on to make a range of styluses, some that even connect via Bluetooth to incorporate pressure sensitivity.

The company's newest styluses, the Jot Pro and the Jot Mini, are standard non-connected styluses, but they're the culmination of years of work perfecting the stylus based on customer feedback and they're some of the nicest writing utensils that Adonit has produced yet. Get a quick look at the Jot Pro or Jot Mini in the video below, or keep reading to see our full thoughts on the two styluses.

What's in the Box

The Jot Pro and the Jot Mini come nicely packaged in an outer cardboard box and a plastic insert with an adhesive strap that holds them in place during shipping. They arrive with caps in place to keep the tip from being damaged and are ready to use once the cap is removed and affixed to the bottom of the stylus.

Design and Features

Both the Jot Pro and the Jot Mini are made from a lightweight aluminum in black or silver that matches the aluminum backing of the silver/space gray iPad and iPhone. Each comes with a screw-off cap that connects to both ends of the stylus and serves two purposes -- keeping the stylus safe during transport in a bag or pocket and extending the size of the stylus when in use.

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Deals have been a bit sparse in recent weeks following the holidays, but we expect things to pick up somewhat in February and March now that we're solidly into the new year.

There are a few deals to be had this week on the non-Retina iMac, older now-discontinued iPad Air and iPad mini 2 models, and the Retina MacBook Pro. We've also got some discounted Apple-related accessories and a selection of discounted apps.

Retina iMac

There are no particularly good deals on the Retina iMac from third-party resellers this week, but prospective buyers can get a good deal from Apple's online refurbished store, which has a variety of Retina iMacs available at discounted prices.

All of Apple's refurbished machines come with a 1 year warranty, but stock fluctuates often, so potential buyers may need to wait for a desired machine to show up in the store.

Non-Retina iMac

- 21.5-inch 2.7GHz/8GB/1TB (Best Buy) (B&H Photo)- $1,179, $120 off
- 21.5-inch 2.9GHz/8GB/1TB (Best Buy) (B&H Photo) - $1,399, $100 off
- 27-inch 3.2GHz/8GB/1TB (Best Buy) (B&H Photo) - $1,659.99, $139 off
- 27-inch 3.4GHz/8GB/1TB (Amazon) (B&H Photo) - $1,899, $100 off

MacBook Air

- 11-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/128GB (B&H Photo) - $854, $45 off
- 11-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/256GB (B&H Photo) - $999, $100 off
- 13-inch 1.4GHz/4GB/128GB (B&H Photo) - $919, $80 off

Retina MacBook Pro

- 13-inch 2.6GHz/8GB/128GB (B&H Photo) (MacMall)- $1,199, $100 off
- 13-inch 2.6GHz/8GB/256GB (MacMall) (B&H Photo) - $1,399, $100 off
- 13-inch 2.8GHz/8GB/512GB (Amazon) (B&H Photo) - $1,599, $200 off
- 15-inch 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB (B&H Photo) (MacMall) - $1,889.99, $99 off
- 15-inch 2.5GHz/16GB/512GB - (Amazon) (B&H Photo) - $2,319.99, $179 off

iPads

We don't recommend buying an iPad Air 2 or Retina iPad mini 3 this week if you can help it because there are no sales going on, but Best Buy is still offering now-discontinued higher-capacity Cellular versions of the iPad Air and the iPad mini 2 at discounted prices up to $130 off the standard price.

- iPad Air Cellular Silver 64GB (AT&T) - $499.99
- iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 64GB (AT&T) - $499.99
- iPad Air Cellular Silver 128GB (AT&T) - $599.99
- iPad Air Cellular Space Gray 128GB (AT&T) - $599.99

- iPad mini 2 Cellular AT&T Silver 64GB - $399.99
- iPad mini 2 Cellular AT&T Space Gray 64GB - $399.99
- iPad mini 2 Cellular AT&T Space Gray 128GB - $499.99
- iPad mini 2 Cellular AT&T Silver 128GB - $499.99

Apps

Apple is running a "Get Productive" promotion in its Mac and iOS App Stores, and as a result, dozens of popular productivity apps are being offered at discounted prices of up to 75 percent off.

Apple's App of the Week is ProCam 2, a camera and photo editing app that is normally priced at $1.99. [Direct Link]

Other games and apps temporarily available for free include DragonLair, Axe in Face, Zero Age, Fur and Feathers, and Time Surfer. Even more discounted and free apps can be found over at our sister site, AppShopper.

Apple Accessories

The Harman Kardon Go + Play II Speaker Dock for the iPhone is available for $179, down from $349, from Harman Audio. The current-generation Apple TV is available for $87.99 from Groupon, down from its original price of $99.

Scosche earphones are available for $18.99 from Groupon, down from their original price of $79.99. Groupon is also selling the Beats Pill 2.0 for $159.99, $40 off the regular price.

The myCharge Hub 6000 Portable Battery is available for $69.99 from Best Buy, $30 off its regular price. Best Buy is also selling the 32GB Mophie Space Pack for the iPhone 5/5s for $129.99, down from its regular price of $179.99.

Monoprice is offering 25% off select Apple accessories using the promo code 25APPLE through 1/31. The ZAGG iPad mini Folio Keyboard Case is available for $29 from Daily Steals, $50 off the regular price.

MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors.

Six-second video sharing service Vine today announced Vine Kids, an app that skews towards a younger generation and is meant to act as a hub for kid-friendly content that may be harder to discover on the original app.

In the announcement, Carolyn Penner, Head of Communications and Marketing at Vine, states the idea for the app came from a colleague's daughter and her infatuation with the video-clip sharing service. The idea came to her during Vine's "Hack Week," a period where the company encourages employees to set aside normal duties and begin brainstorming and working on brand-new ideas.

The easy-to-use app doesn't require an account for a user to follow anyone else, offering a newsfeed-style curated list of six-second videos picked by the Vine team that kids can easily swipe left and right through.

We’ve seen for ourselves – and heard from parents, siblings and others – that kids love Vine. So, we built Vine Kids, a simple new app that gives young children a fun way to watch Vines. Through adorable animated characters, kids can watch videos that are appropriate for a young audience. Swiping right or left shows a new Vine, and you can tap the screen to hear quirky sounds.

Acquired by Twitter in the summer of 2012, Vine has seen a handful of updates over the years, slowly adding more functionality to its camera suite and social features. The Twitter-owned service met a few scandals early-on when a sexually explicit Vine accidentally became an "Editor's Pick" on the service, violating Apple's terms of service.

Vine Kids is available to download for free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Apple's iOS and Mac App Stores were today updated with new "Get Productive" sections, offering discounted prices on many popular productivity apps for iOS devices and Macs.

In the iOS App Store, the 19 discounted apps include Fantastical 2 for iPhone and iPad, Workflow, Clear, Duet Display, Calendars 5, and more. Apps are available for up to 60 percent off their regular prices.

In the Mac App Store, there are 20 apps available at discounted prices up to 75 percent off, including popular offerings like Day One, Byword, iA Writer Pro, iTranslate, mSecure, iStudiez Pro, Notability, and more.

Apple has also named ProCam 2 as its App of the Week, and as a result, the camera and photo editing app is available at no cost, instead of at its regular $1.99 price. [Direct Link]

The iPad version of the app, ProCam XL 2 is also free. [Direct Link]

Elgato recently announced that it is recalling some of its Smart Power 6000 mAh battery packs, as they can overheat while recharging. The company sent out notices to app users today, letting them know about the recall.

For those unfamiliar, the $99 Elgato Smart Power battery pack is a compact 6000 mAh external battery that integrated with an iOS app, a neat feature that allowed users to wireless monitor the charge level of the device and receive notifications when the battery was low or needed recharging. MacRumors went hands-on with the Smart Power back in December and found it's app integration to be highly useful.

According to the company, affected Smart Power battery packs were sold between September 2014 and January 2015 and "fall within a limited serial number range." Affected customers can check if their product is affected by entering their serial number on Elgato's website.

Elgato has ceased selling the Smart Power until it can release an updated version, and all current owners of affected products will receive a full refund. The company recommends that users cease using their battery packs until they're able to check whether they have a product with overheating issues, and Elgato also encourages all customers to return affected products "as soon as possible."

Facebook for iOS is gaining a major new feature today, which is designed to provide Foursquare-style recommendations on the places that users visit. Called Place Tips, the tool will offer up posts and photos that a user's friends have shared at the same location that's being visited.

For example, when visiting a restaurant, if a Facebook friend has previously been to the same spot, Place Tips will display any photos and posts that were made at that location, letting users know what might be good to order or what to avoid.

From friends' recommendations to information about the places and things that interest you, Facebook helps you connect with the world around you. To better show you this content at just the right place and time, today we're launching a new feature called place tips. Place tips will show you fun, useful and relevant info about the place you're at. Tapping on place tips won't post on Facebook or show anyone where you are.

As of today, iPhone users may begin seeing Place Tips at the top of their news feeds within the iOS app. Tapping on a tip will display cards with information about the location as well as posts and photos from friends. Place Tips are sent out to users who have given Facebook permission to access their location, and it can be disabled in the Settings menu. The feature uses a combination of cellular networks, Wi-Fi, GPS, and Facebook Bluetooth beacons to determine user location and deliver information.

Facebook for iOS can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Following Apple's earnings call on Tuesday in which Tim Cook stated the company "saw more new customers to iPhone than we've ever seen before," research firm Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) today released (via Fortune) a report delving into the specifics of the Android-to-Apple switching statistics revealed by Apple.

Expectedly, the report - which surveyed 500 Apple device customers inside the U.S. only - notes most Apple iPhone users returned to the company with the newest iteration of the iPhone last year. But the rate of Android switchers migrating platforms to the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus wasn't much changed.

CIRP notes that the rate of Android switchers has "varied seasonally, yet remained relatively consistent," and this quarter's U.S. numbers have the firm speculating the biggest rate of Android-to-Apple switching occurred outside of the U.S.

“Apple CEO Tim Cook indicated the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus 'experienced the highest Android switcher rate in any of the last three launches.' The US switch rate for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch did increase relative to the iPhone 5S/5C launch a year ago, and was about the same as the iPhone 5 launch in 2012. This week, Apple emphasized the international strength of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch, so it appears that Apple enjoyed a much higher rate of Android switching outside the US than in the more mature US market," said Mike Levin, Partner and Co-Founder of CIRP.”

Given Apple's strong position in the smartphone market in the U.S., where there is a strong base of iPhone-to-iPhone upgrades and fewer from Android-to-iPhone, CIRP's report probably isn't too far off from fact. Apple's smaller presence in emerging markets like China, where it has been seeing very strong growth thanks to a few notable partnerships and store openings in the country has likely fueled some overseas brand switching among previously loyal Android users.

Microsoft today launched its official Outlook app for iOS, which allows users to easily view and organize their email inbox, calendars, attachments, and more under one unified view. The app works with Microsoft's own Outlook.com and Office 365 services, while iCloud, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail are also compatible. Outlook for iOS also features quick gestures, as users can simply swipe to delete, archive or schedule messages.

Now, with Outlook, you really can manage your work and personal email on your phone and tablet – as efficiently as you do on your computer. And, because we know that everyone has their own, unique way to manage email, Outlook offers customizable swipes and actions, so you can tailor the experience just the way you like it. Beyond email, the new Outlook app offers integrated calendaring that makes scheduling a meeting or sharing your schedule a single tap away.

Outlook for iOS is the first app developed by Microsoft after its acquisition of email startup Accompli, which also previously developed an email client app for iOS and Android. Microsoft has stepped up its efforts in the realm of mobile productivity in the past year, bringing Office to iOS last March and launching updates that added printing capabilities and third-party fonts.

Microsoft Outlook is a free app for iOS devices and can be downloaded through App Store. [Direct Link]