Apple will make its iPad 3 official in just a few hours’ time, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from turning this morning. Having had confirmation from one iOS hacker that the tablet will be the first iOS device to get 1GB of RAM, one report claims that it will also feature a new “E-Sense textured touchscreen” that allows you to feel your display like never before.
Reprogrammable Magnetic Fluids Could Let You Feel The Keys On Your iPad’s Virtual Keyboard
One of the biggest criticisms of virtual keyboards on a touchscreen display is that they offers users no feedback, making them more difficult to type on than a traditional keyboard. Designers have attempted to provide solutions to this problem with third-party accessories that clip onto your display, but Apple may be working on its own solution using coded magnets and ferrofluids that could be built into future iPads.
Kinect-Style Gesture Interface Could Help Control Future iPads [Report]
Multitouch is so 2011. The future of computer interaction is gestures. Instead of swiping a finger, say analysts, we’ll be waving our hand. And in one of those ‘back to the future moments,’ Microsoft, which Apple passed in a blur, could be leading the ‘gestures’ movement thanks to its gaming interface Kinect.
An Ode to the Click Wheel as the iPod Evolves [iPod 10th Anniversary]
A decade ago Apple introduced the iPod, and with it a new method for controlling music playback: a scroll wheel with buttons around the perimeter. The interface was novel for a portable music player, which usually used more traditional buttons in a linear or grid layout.
The scroll wheel was the brainchild of Phil Schiller, Apple’s Director of Marketing. He realized that users would have to navigate large lists of songs, and that a wheel offered an intuitive, dynamic solution.
Apple to Invest $1 Billion in Sharp Displays for iPhone, iPad?
Following recent issues with iPad displays from LG Display, which has forced the company to turn to rival Samsung, Apple is said to be considering a $1 billion investment in Sharp to secure touch screens for the iPhone and iPad.
WSJ: There Will Be An Amazon Tablet to Rival the iPad By October
Sources for the Wall Street Journal claim Amazon is getting set to launch its first tablet this October. The 9-inch device will go head-to-head against against Apple’s iPad, though it may not pack as many features.
Apple’s Working Hard To Get Lion Ready For Touchscreen iMacs and MacBooks
Steve Jobs has unambiguously said that Apple does not see a place for an iMac or MacBook with a multitouch display in their line-up of Macs. Citing the problem of gorilla arm, Jobs says that touch needs to be something that can be done in your lap, not accomplished reaching across the table. Trackpads and multitouch mice are the future of Macs.
Seems pretty unambiguous, doesn’t it? Then again, this is the same guy who just a year ago said that Apple was “pretty skeptical” about the cloud, when they were already working on iCloud. So guess what? Despite what Steve Jobs says, Apple’s also working on multitouch iMacs.
Quirky Digits Winter Glove Friendly Touchscreen Accessory for Your iPhone
Is it snowing where you live currently? Are temperatures well below freezing? Are you outside? If you answered yes to any of these questions then it is likely that you are wearing gloves right now. If you are just looking to keep warm that is okay, but if you want to use your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad you’re out of luck. The touch screens on these devices aren’t compatible with gloves so if you want to use them you’ll have to pull at least one of the gloves off and risk frostbite in order to use one of Apple’s popular devices.
Now there is a solution that will save your fingers, keep you warm, and still allow you to use your touch screens.
PadDock 10 Will Turn Your iMac Into A Tiny Touchscreen iMac-alike
Yesterday, Steve Jobs took the stage for the Back to Mac event and finally put the kibosh on the idea of touchscreen iMacs. He made some excellent points: namely, that multitouch really requires a horizontal configuration instead of a vertical one, making it only a really pleasant-to-use experience on a device like a tablet or smartphone.
Makes sense to us.If you’re just dying for the touchscreen iMac experience, though, why not transform your iPad into a semblance of one with the PadDock, which will turn your iPad into a tiny approximation of a 10-inch iPad. It contains built-in speakers, 360 degrees of rotation and the ability to charge and sync your iPad while it’s connected.
I mean, look: the PadDock is really just an iPad speaker dock with a novelty shape. That’s cool, but you may well not want to spend $100 on it, especially since the iPad in a vertical docking configuration is going to be subject to the same ergonomic difficulties Steve Jobs says is stopping Apple from bringing multitouch to the displays of their laptops and desktops. But take a good look anyway,because this is the closest to a touchscreen iMac you’re going to get this short of a really ingenious Hackintosh.