When it comes to smartphones, there are really only two companies that matter right now – Apple and Samsung. They’re both championing different mobile operating systems, but the two companies are absolutely dominating the worldwide smartphone market.
Earlier today, Gartner reported that Apple and Samsung now control 52 percent of the worldwide smartphone market, even though mobile phone sales declined 1.7 percent in 2012.
I’ve been in love with the iPhone for the past five years. I got the original as soon as it went on sale in the U.K. in November 2007, and I’ve had every model Apple has released ever since. My job has given me the opportunity to play with plenty of other devices over the years — including those powered by Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone — but I’ve always remained loyal to the iPhone and iOS.
That was until a couple months ago, when my contract ended and it was time to decide which smartphone I wanted for the next two years. I already have the iPhone 5 — I bought it unlocked when it was launched back in September — and I wanted an Android device to replace the Samsung Galaxy Nexus I broke late last year. So I decided to pick up the new LG Nexus 4.
I was lucky; I didn’t have to wait six weeks for the device to arrive from Google Play. My carrier had plenty in stock, so a unit was delivered to my door the day after I ordered it. I was looking forward to testing it out, but I figured I’d play around with it for a little bit, then switch straight back to my iPhone 5 for everyday use. Like the Galaxy Nexus, I thought the Nexus 4 would be mostly used for work — testing apps and writing the odd tutorial for Cult of Android.
But boy, how wrong was I.
Bill Gates is doing an IAmA on Reddit right now. Basically, he’s telling everyone what it’s like to be a super-rich philanthropist who wants to rid the world of polio and other diseases. Bill’s a pretty cool guy. He likes to tour garbage dumps and missile silos with his kids. He loves Weezer. And he even liked Pirates of Silicon Valley.
One thing you didn’t know about Bill Gates, though, is that he uses a ginormous touchscreen computer. Like, yeah, he’s got a Surface Pro, but that’s not enough for him right now. Look at the size of that beast in the picture above.
I just got my Surface Pro a week ago and it is very nice. I am using a Perceptive Pixel display right now – huge Windows 8 touch whiteboard. These will come down in price over time and be pervasive…
So while we’re all over here happy with our new 7.9-inch iPad mini screens, Bill is living it up on a touchscreen that’s bigger than your living room wall. And you know what? For a guy who’s trying to rid the world of HIV and reduce carbon emissions, we think he deserves every pixel on that humongous display.
Apple makes some really great software and hardware. We love it. But sometimes there are certain little things you want out of your computer that Apple can’t or won’t provide. That’s why we have jailbreaking and modding.
We love it when someone takes an Apple product and morphs it into something completely different. There have been a lot of Apple hardware mods that have crossed our desks over the last few years. Some have been simple, while others have required over a hundred hours of work. Here are the five greatest Apple hardware mods we’ve ever seen.
Although you probably wouldn’t usually call it a PC, the iPad is a personal computer. And it’s currently dominating the PC market. During the fourth quarter of 2012, every one in six PCs sold was an iPad, according to research firm Canalys. When you include the Mac as well, more than a third of worldwide PC shipments during the holiday quarter were from Apple.
Everyone and their mother is putting out a Bluetooth keyboard case for the iPad mini these days. Logitech just announced its Ultrathin Keyboard for the mini yesterday, and now Belkin has lifted the curtain on its FastFit keyboard/case combo.
The FastFit promises keys are that are larger than most 7-inch keyboards. The case is made of anodized aircraft grade aluminum and clocks in on the thinness meter at just 7mm.
Speck’s CandyShell cases are available for Apple’s entire lineup of iOS devices, and the latest edition comes to the iPad mini. Consisting of a soft, rubbery interior and a hard outer shell, the CandyShell promises impact protection from everyday dings and drops — without adding too much weight to your device.
Its simple shell design makes the CandyShell one of the most basic cases in Speck’s lineup. It provides protection from almost every angle, and leaves access to all of your ports, buttons, and cameras. But there’s nothing too fancy here; there’s no front cover or fold-out stand or pockets for your credit cards.
It is available in a number of bright and pretty colors, however, including raspberry & cool grey, flamingo & fuchsia, and harbor & malachite. It’s price at $44.95, but is it worth it?
Amazon prides itself on offering affordable Android tablets, and so it likes to point that out whenever it gets the opportunity to do so. Usually this means taking a swipe at more expensive devices, and it’s Apple’s iPad that’s on the receiving end again in the company’s new commercial.
Focusing on the high-resolution displays in both devices, Amazon suggests that “you may not be able to tell the difference” between them… until you look at the price tags.
You know what surprised me last week? That the iPad mini is almost as capable a work computer as my Retina iPad. The screen isn’t quite as readable, and you have to wait for Safari to reload pages and for apps to cold boot more often thanks to the lack of RAM, but as a machine to write on, it works amazingly well.
Which is why Logitech’s Ultrathin Keyboard for the Mini is a very welcome little accessory.
The new 128GB iPad with Retina display is now available to order from the Apple online store. The device is priced from $799, and it’s currently shipping in 1-3 business days. You’ll also be able to find it in your local Apple retail store.
The official iOS 6.1 Evasi0n jailbreak tool has been released for iOS devices. Evasi0n will jailbreak all iOS devices capable of running iOS 6.0-6.1, including the iPhone 5 and iPad mini. The only current device that is not supported is the third-gen Apple TV.
The Evad3rs, a group of prominent iOS hackers behind past jailbreaks, have released their free tool for iOS 6.1 online. There are Mac, Windows, and Linux versions.
If you’ve already jailbroken an iOS device running the latest iOS 6.1 software using the tethered jailbreak, then you won’t need to restore it and perform the whole process again to get an untethered jailbreak later today when evasi0n drops. Although this is recommended, you will be able to convert your existing jailbreak into an untethered one using a simple tweak available through Cydia.
iPad mini shipping times have today been reduced to just 1-3 business days at the Apple online store, which is the shortest wait the device has seen since it made its debut back in November. The new timescale currently applies only to the U.S. and Canadian stores at the moment, but it’s expected to roll out into other territories soon.
The SkechBook case, from master iPad case-maker Skech, was one of the things that drove me to buy and iPad mini, so slim and cute and retro-tastic is its tiny form.
Since succumbing to the mini’s charms, though, I have come to believe that it really needs no case other than the Smart Cover, and the Smart Cover is only really needed to lock and unlock the screen quickly. Why? Because the iPad mini weighs just 307 grams on my kitchen scale, making even the 68-gram Smart Cover a significant addition to its weight. And apart from the glass screen, the little iPad is so light, tough and compact that further protection seems like unnecessary coddling.
Given what a smash success the iPad mini is, it’s reasonable to assume that the next-generation iPad might borrow a few design queues from it’s little sibling. Indeed, we’ve already heard the first rumors of just that. Technologically speaking, though, how will Apple make the iPad 5 as thin and light as the mini? By aping the mini’s display technology.
Thanks to the increasing popularity of Google’s Android platform, Google Play revenue increased more than sixfold during 2012. The boost has helped the search giant gain ground on Apple’s App Store, but it still has a lot of work to do. Despite that growth, the App Store still rakes in 3.5 times more cash than Google Play does.
With Tuesday’s’s announcement of a 128GB iPad 4, Apple is clearly signaling that the iPad is not only suitable for serious work, but that it can be the primary machine for many users. Most commenters have fixated on fitting extra movies and other consumables into the extra 64GB of space, but they’re forgetting about work.
In fact, I’d say that the iPad With Retina Display, as Apple now insists on calling it, is the new desktop machine, and the iPad mini is the new laptop. Why? Let me explain:
The upcoming evasi0n jailbreak that will will allow users to hack iOS devices running Apple’s latest iOS 6.1 firmware has been completed for Mac and Windows ahead of its public release. The team behind it the exploit confirmed the update on Twitter this morning. All that remains is the Linux client and “some testing.”
Ok, get it out of your system. I’ll wait.
Ahem. So, by one-handed reading, I’m really talking about being able to hold your iPad mini or iPhone in your left or right hand, much like you can with a dedicated eReader device, like a Nook Simple Touch or a Kindle. The ones with buttons on them allow you to hold the reader in one hand, like you would with a paperback while lying in a sun chair by the pool, or in bed at night.
Here’s how to make your iPad or iPhone work more like that.
Apple couldn’t make enough iPad minis to feed demand last quarter, but it looks like supply constraints are starting to loosen. The iPad mini has been plagued with delayed shipping times in the Apple online store since its release in October of 2012.
Shipping estimates dropped to one week in early December, and now Apple is showing 3-5 day shipping times for new mini orders.
During its holiday earnings call earlier this week, Apple revealed that it sold a record-breaking 22.9 million iPads last quarter.
Source: Apple Store
Via: iPhoneinCanada
This morning we told you about how the iPad 5 will look a lot like an iPad mini with a 10-inch Retina display. iLounge’s report also said that Apple is preparing the rumored less-expensive iPhone to sell in China at a significantly cheaper price.
Now iLounge has shared some additional details regarding the iPhone 5S, namely that one of the next-gen device’s flagship features will be an upgraded camera. Apple’s internal code names for the iPad 5 and second-gen iPad mini have also been revealed.
Apple’s fifth-generation iPad is expected to finally ditch the existing design and adopt a new form factor that’s said to be much like the iPad mini’s, according to a new report that has surfaced today. A physical model of the device indicates it will be significantly smaller in almost every way, with virtually no bezel down the sides of the display.
As for the iPhone 5S, that’s expected to be very similar to the iPhone 5 — as you may have guessed; while Apple’s new low-cost iPhone, which will reportedly launch some time this year, will be built with China Mobile’s 700 million customers in mind.
An iOS 6 jailbreak has been in the works since Apple released the iPhone 5 last fall, and it’s taken a long time for hackers to crack the enhanced security measures in Apple’s latest mobile operating system. After many months, the pieces have finally been put together. There is a full jailbreak for Apple’s latest iOS devices, and iOS 6.1 is the key to unlocking it.
While the jailbreak could be released for everyone now, trusted hackers behind past jailbreaks are waiting to see if Apple squashes any of their exploits in the final version of 6.1. If the bugs that form the jailbreak are still working, the iOS 6 jailbreak will be unleashed on the world after 6.1’s release.
Samsung vice president JK Shin has confirmed that the company will be announcing the Galaxy Note 8.0 at Mobile World Congress next month, but you don’t need to wait until then to see what it’ll look like. Thanks to these pictures of the device out in the wild, we can see that the iPad mini competitor looks a lot like a giant Galaxy S III, with a traditional button setup that’s unlike other Galaxy tablets.
When I’m not seated in front of a computer, I use my iPad mini for almost everything I need to do online. Checking my emails, banking, streaming movies and music, and reading the day’s news — it’s all done on a tablet. And it turns out I’m not the only one who’s abandoning my PC for a handheld.
Perion, the creator of IncrediMail, today unveiled the results of its latest survey of 4,400 iPad owners in the United States. The majority of respondents said they consider Apple’s popular tablet their favorite device for reading and writing emails, beating PCs and smartphones by a wide margin.