When taking on the role of Elton John in musical biopic Rocketman, the singing came easily to star Taron Egerton, who actually performed “Your Song” as his audition piece for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Egerton sings all of the songs in the movie, sometimes joined by his co-stars. However, he didn’t know how to play piano before being cast, which posed a challenge when playing a musician renowned for his piano skills....

The one standout feature of the Microsoft Surface Tablet in our eyes was the keyboard cover. But is it that great? No one outside Redmond knows because Microsoft did not let anyone touch it at the press event. But, if you can handle a paltry extra 4mm of thickness with the addition of real keys, an iPad aluminum-matched protective cover, and a built in stand, Logitech already has Microsoft beat in my eyes....

I’m old enough to have started writing on a typewriter – albeit, as a kid. I couldn’t imagine going back to one now, but there is something rather lovely about the sound and rhythm of the keys. For creative writing, I actually use an app that creates simulated typewriter sounds, simply because I find that puts me in the right mindset. So when I spotted the Qwerkywriter on Kickstarter ages ago, I always meant to check it out....

Following up its popular BookBook case for previous generations of the iPhone, Twelve South has released a new BookBook that is designed to fit the taller and thinner iPhone. The case, which we have been testing for approximately a week, not only is redesigned to fit Apple’s new iPhone design, but adds some new features as well. The TwelveSouth BookBook iPhone 5 case rolls two unique iPhone case ideas into one: an iPhone case that looks like a mini, vintage book cover, and an iPhone case that includes the functionality of a basic wallet....

Writer/director Rian Johnson surprised fans waiting in line Friday waiting for the Star Wars: The Last Jedi panel Friday at Star Wars Celebration in Orlando. This year’s event, which kicked off with a 40th anniversary panel Thursday included George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and a touching tribute to Carrie Fisher, merely set the table for an exciting weekend of big reveals. Perhaps the most anticipated event, though, is The Last Jedi panel, where the long-awaited first trailer for the film is expected to debut....

The strategy game Rome: Total War – Alexander, already available for iPad, is now out for iPhone and Android. It promises that the iPhone version will ‘deliver the full experience of the desktop version’… The game hit the App Store on October 24. The original windows version of Rome: Total War was developed by Creative Assembly and became one of the most successful PC games of all time. Feral Interactive ported it to iPad back in 2017 as a full version and is now bringing it to the iPhone....

Apple has been promising the AirPods wireless charging case for 537 days (and counting). Twitter leaker Max Weinbach was featured in EverythingApplePro’s video today with some few tidbits on the AirPods wireless charging situation. However, Weinbach doesn’t really have a track record of accuracy yet with Apple news, so we are treating these reports as sketchy rumors at this time. We have seen several sources indicate that AirPower and AirPods wireless charging will launch within the next few months....

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/58173643 w=700&h=394] Note: Not all the animations in this video made it into the final product. Cloudier is a great new CloudApp management client. While we’ve seen some of the design concepts in this app before, Cloudier adds new design features like a grid view for photos and a zip viewer for peeking inside file archives. Cloudier boasts a much lighter interface than I’m used to in Cloud clients, and I actually like it a lot....

Psyonix will stop supporting Rocket League on Mac and Linux in March, and while it’s offering refunds for the game, players are reportedly not getting reimbursed for microtransactions. Rocket League was just the second game to support full cross-platform play across all of its platforms, after Fortnite. That makes the end of support for Mac and Linux a big deal for players on those platforms, who don’t have as many options as players on consoles and PC....

Jersey Shore star Ronnie Ortiz-Magro got some good news when his kidnapping charges were recently dropped. But the TV personality is still facing domestic violence charges against his girlfriend, Jen Harley. The reality TV star has been in media headlines after he was recently arrested for reportedly threatening to kill Harley. The couple’s fights have escalated over the past year and resulted in Ronnie’s arrest earlier this month. The Jersey Shore Family Vacation star recently spent a month in rehab trying to learn to control his depression and alcohol addiction....

Mike Rundle, an independent designer and developer, is today releasing Filters for iPhone ($0.99), a visual effects photo editor. Rundle’s integrated development workflow, both writing the code and designing the interface, shows through in his work. This is how Filters describes itself. Filters boils down to one canvas view. Along the top row of buttons are import and export actions. Share is probably a better description than ‘export’ — you don’t save anything in Filters itself....

Apple Watch charging stands are sure to be a popular item as the device needs charging nightly. Not everyone, however, needs a dock that costs more than the charging cable that’s sold separately, and accessory maker Spigen has an affordable alternative for them. The $24.99 Spigen Apple Watch Stand S330 combines attractive aluminum and rubberized TPU to produce a minimal Apple Watch charging stand. It resembles the base of an iMac with a smaller footprint than other options and a price that won’t break the bank....

We all have a ton of gadgets these days that are charged by USB, from iPhones and iPads to things as diverse as cameras, scanners and GPS units. The challenge can be finding enough USB ports to keep up, which is why I resort to a powered USB hub. It’s plastic and not exactly pretty, hence my interest in a rather beautiful-looking product from Truffol–the company behind the reversible USB cable we looked at last year....

Last week, we reviewed the first iPhone 6 Plus battery pack we’ve tested, MOTA’s unauthorized but value-laden Battery Case for iPhone 6 Plus. Now a maker of stylish charging accessories called Tylt has debuted what it says is the first Apple-authorized battery case for the iPhone 6, the Energi Sliding Power Case ($100). Officially shipping in mid-January, Energi continues the sled-style battery case design we first saw years ago in Mophie’s original Juice Pack (below), though with two critical differences: for the same price, it includes a 3200mAh rechargeable cell, and a detachable case that can be used alone when you don’t need spare power....

Ahead of the iPad Mini and fourth-generation iPad becoming available to customers Friday, early reviews of both devices have hit the web. You can see in the collection below that the reviews are fairly positive, discussing how great the build quality is, the lightness of the tablet, and how well it fits in your hand. Starting with the iPad mini: The Loop: Engadget: The Verge: TechCrunch: Telegraph: On the other hand, what will make some think twice about buying an iPad mini is the price....

Rick and Morty season 4, episode 2 revealed a bizarre, hallucinogenic dream of Jerry’s in its post-credits scene. The Adult Swim comedy returned last week for its season 4 premiere after an extended hiatus, kicking off a shortened run of just five new episodes. The second of these, titled “The Old Man and The Seat”, was filled with special guest voice actors, real life connotations, and (too many?) poop jokes. Rick and Morty season 4, episode 2’s storylines involve Rick discovering that the little spot of paradise he’s carved out solely for going to the bathroom has been used by someone else, while back on Earth, Morty and Jerry deal with chaos caused by an app....

The Walking Dead has been derived from the titular comic book series, which has been on for much longer than the TV series. The main character, Rick, has been in the comics for the duration of its run and has evolved considerably over the years. The transition from comics to TV hasn’t been exactly the same, and the TV Rick is different from the comic book version in many ways. The TV Rick has also undergone different storylines than his counterpart as well, and this means the two versions aren’t the same man....

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is nearly upon us, with fans hungrily counting down until they see the conclusion of the battle between the noble Resistance and villainous First Order. With this being the final movie in the saga the stakes look to be extremely high, especially if you rewatch the various trailers and TV spots that have been released. So that means that, more than likely, some of our favourite characters may be about to perish in the battle to restore peace to the galaxy....

[SPOILERS for those not caught up on Riverdale ahead.] - Riverdale episode 5, ‘Heart of Darkness’ ended on quite a big cliffhanger, as Betty (Lili Reinhart) came to terms with the possibility that her father might be responsible for the murder of Jason Blossom. While that’s still a long way from being proven, the episode did give us more insight into Betty’s family history with the Blossoms, including an old feud between both of their great-grandfathers that resulted in murder....

Eight years after Apple opened its first Apple Store in Berlin, rumors about a second one are gaining traction with new construction pictures. Although rumors of a second Apple Store in Berlin have been circulating for a while, Apple has yet to confirm its plans. The German site iFun has now received some images from their readers showing potential construction. Located in the west part of Berlin, the site speculates about this new Apple Store:...