Even a pressure-sensitive stylus didn't help me draw the Cult of Mac logo
BARCELONA, MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS 2012 — Samsung’s showing at this year’s Mobile World Congress is light compared to the scattering of new products companies like ZTE have vomited onto the market today, but it is curiously strong, despite being hampered by the still-sluggish Android OS. First up is the Note 10.1, a proper iPad-sized version of the ridiculous five-inch Note. It’s not much different from the Tab 10.1, but for the skinny Wacom-based stylus.
When Steve takes the stage tomorrow morning, it’s pretty much a sure bet that he will use the words, magical, amazing, beautiful, and extraordinary a few dozen times each as he introduces the new iOS 5, iCloud and OS X Lion. We’re sure that iOS 5 is going to be great, but the iOSMagic Team has dreamed up something more amazing than even Steve Jobs can deliver.
Creating a new iOS app can be a daunting task. Keeping track of all the ideas, pricing schemes, graphics, and collaborations can leave a developer feel swamped. The guys behind App Cooker hope to solve all those problems by providing the most advanced iOS mockup tool made exclusively for the iPad.
Jam packed with incredible features, App Cooker aims to be a must-have tool for all app developers and designers. Here’s a quick video of some of the things App Cooker can do for you:
The guys over at Alphonso Labs have put a lot of hard work into their iPad app Pulse. Despite the plethora of reader apps out there, Pulse really stands out with its sleek interface that allows users to read vast amounts of content without feeling overwhelmed by the myriad of sources.
As fans of the app, we’re stoked that the Pulse team has decided to include Cult of Mac under their main “Featured” section. If you’re looking for another way to get your Apple and Cult of Mac fix on your iPad or iPhone, then Pulse is definitely an app that you need to check out. And make sure you add our feed while you’re at it.
When it was first revealed at CES earlier this year, we were all amazed with the Spiderpodium Tablet by Breffo ($35). Somewhere in between a toy, and a multipurpose iPad stand, the Spiderpodium has an extremely unique design that is adaptable for almost any tablet device. I got the chance to play around with the unique stand over the last few weeks, and while I think that it’s incredibly clever, there are definitely some drawbacks.
The BrudaCase for iPad 2 is a sleek, elegant case made out of wood to protect your iPad while still maintaining a classic look that is truly worthy of holding your favorite tech treasure. With its nod to the past, while still looking to the future, the BrudaCase is one of the most beautifully manufactured iPad cases I’ve come across. Handcrafted in the heart of Amish Country Pennsylvania, the case doesn’t set out to be just another piece of beauty, as it also brings a lot of thoughtful functionality with it.
The case is made from slabs of cherry or maple wood that have been precision trimmed, sanded, and finished by an Amish cabinet-maker. The two pieces are held together by two discrete hinges inside the case. Padding lines the interior cavity to protect your iPad 2 from scratching, while four magnets secure the two sides together to prevent the case from opening accidentally. One of the neat things about the BrudaCase is how they addressed the need for different viewing angles. Two different notches inside the case allow the user to adjust the viewing angle of the iPad based on preference or the need to do some typing. The typing angle didn’t feel that comfortable though as the angle of inclination was a bit greater than that of a SmartCover, and to achieve the typing angle the iPad is recessed a bit too far back in the case for my liking.
As the fervor surrounding tomorrow’s big announcement builds, fanboys and fangirls are eagerly sitting around their computers gulping down all the latest iPad 2 rumors that the Internet has to offer. One of the popular rumors out there is that tomorrows iPad 2 unveiling will be a disappointing spec bump and that the real grand daddy of tablet computers, the iPad 3, will be unveiled later in the year (possibly in September if Gruber and others are correct).
Cult of Mac has published a number of articles supporting the idea that Apple will be releasing two iPads in 2011. While there have been a significant amount of doubters to this theory of two iPads being launched, one must take into account that such a move wouldn’t be completely unprecedented. I’m referring to the iPod Mini 2G vs. the iPod Nano in 2005.
After being caught completely unprepared for the iPad’s debut, this Christmas season is looking to be a slugfest between different electronics companies each aiming to out iPad the other.
What’s the outcome going to be? According to Acer chairman JT Wang speaking to the Chinese language paper the Economic Daily News, Wang said that by the time the tablet market “stabilizes” Apple’s share will plummet from almost 100 percent to close to 20-30 percent.
While we’re skeptical that the drop will be quite so profound, this isn’t really news that Apple fans should be discouraged by. Apple barely controls 15% of the smartphone market. Android, in comparison, controls 17%, RIM 18% and Symbian a whopping 41% of the smartphone market. But so what? That hasn’t stopped Apple from making billions off of the iPhone. It hasn’t stopped the iPhone from leading the way in the mobile arena. And even though Apple’s in fourth place, it hasn’t stopped the iPhone from being absolutely synonymous with the very definition of a smartphone. iPhone is in a class by itself.
The same thing’s going to happen here. Everyone is going to release a poorly realized tablet to compete with the iPad, and since they can’t license iOS, they’ll install Android, webOS or Windows on their devices. I have no doubt that, very quickly, those operating systems will be fatter slices on the tablet marketshare pie chart than iOS will be… but so what? There’ll still only be one iPad; all the other tablets will just be competing with each other.
The JooJoo Tablet has had a long and troubled history. Originally a project by TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington to build a $200 tablet and called the CrunchPad, the JooJoo came into being when its outsourced Singaporean developers violated their contract and decided to cut Arrington out and sell the tablet themselves… a mere month before Apple unveiled the iPad at a similar price point.
By March 30th, only 90 JooJoo tablets had been sold. But if you happen to have one of those 90 JooJoos, good news: you can now install OS X on it. None too surprising — the JooJoo boasts an Atom processor, which is compatible with Snow Leopard — but why would you even want to? OS X is an even worse tablet operating system than Windows 7, let alone the finger-based custom Linux distro the JooJoo ships with.
But hey, if you’re the kind of person who was willing to drop $500 on the JooJoo when you could have bought an iPad, you’re probably already prone to some truly questionable decision making,
![Samsung Note 10.1 Tablet, Like The iPad Went To Art School [MWC 2012]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/wpid-Photo-27022012-10591-640x472.jpg "wpid-Photo-27022012-1059.jpg")
![Samsung Note 10.1 Tablet, Like The iPad Went To Art School [MWC 2012]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/plugins/lazy-load/images/1x1.trans.gif "MWCbanner2CoM")
![Spiderpodium Tablet for iPad Brings More Pain Than Pleasure [Review]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/spiderpodium.jpg)
