iPad - page 164

It’s November, and you all know what that means: No, not the growing of wispy, creepy mustaches. November is National Novel-Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for (almost) short.

NaNoWriMo is the annual attempt by many tens of thousands of people to finally get that novel out of their head and into the cloud storage option of their choice. The goal is to write a 50,000-word novel by midnight on the 30th November, and you can get there by fair means or foul. The rules? It has to be a novel, it has to be 50,000 words (or more) long, and it has to be written in November.

The tools you will need most to write your NaNoWriMo novel are inspiration and a lot of perseverance. Luckily, apps can help you with both. Here’s the definitive guide to NaNoWriMo apps on the Mac and iOS. If you can’t drag that novel kicking and screaming into the world with the help of these apps, you can’t do it at all.

Born on Kickstarter, the MobileMount is a nifty little tool that allows you to mount almost any smartphone or tablet to a flat surface. Its design is simple; it consists of two suction cups that are held together by a ball and socket joint, so you can angle the stand in almost any direction while it’s mounted.

Both suction cups utilize a ‘turn-to-lock’ mechanism in an effort to ensure it’s super secure, and that your device never becomes unstuck. And because they’re just simple suction cups, you don’t need to remove cases or chargers from your device before you use them with the MobileMount — provided the case you’re using has a flat surface, of course.

This also means you can use one mount for your iPhone, your iPad, your iPod, and more — you don’t need to carry separate, dedicated accessories for each device. The MobileMount comes in black or white, and costs $39.99. But is it really worth it?

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The iPad mini is slated for release on Friday, and reactions are mixed: some see it as the device that finally takes the iPad line to iPhone-like mainstream popularity, while others see it as a shrunken down iPad 2 that can’t really compete with the competition in either specs or price.

So which will it be? To help predict, it might help to go back to the first “mini” sized iDevice Apple released: the iPod mini. Before that, there was just the iPod, shipping 1.5 million in a year. In 2004? The iPod mini helped increase the number of iPods sold by five times as many.

Earlier this month, we learned Borderlands was finally going to make the leap to iOS in a new title called Borderlands Legends. We immediately thought it would be a first-person shooter — like the original console games — but we were wrong.

Instead, it’s a top-down action RPG that allows you to play randomized missions as your favorite Borderlands characters. It’s available to download now on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, but according to the initial reviews, it may not be worth your hard-earned cash.

With Halloween almost upon us, what better way to celebrate than to scare yourself silly with some of the most terrifying games the App Store has to offer? We’ve put together a selection of the best horror titles that will have you watching your back this October 31, with some big hits like Walking Dead, Rage HD, Dead Space, and more.

Just when you thought an iPhone or iPad dock had been built into every possible household object, here comes the iRocking Chair. In looks, it's a pretty traditional rocker, but it has some surprises built in. Not least is the fact that it can charge an iPad 3.

Since its debut back in 2008, Apple’s iOS App Store has held the crown for the largest library of mobile apps and games available. That’s no longer the case, however, as its biggest rival, the Google Play store, has now caught up. Today Google announced that it now offers over 700,000 Android titles.

Calling the new Livescribe Sky a pen is like calling your iPhone 5 a phone. Technically the Sky is a writing instrument, but it has about as much in common with a pen as your iPhone has with an old rotary dial telephone.

The Sky lets you write and draw on paper, and it then uploads your notes wirelessly (no computer required) to your Evernote account. From there you can immediately access them from your iPad, iPhone, Mac or any device with a browser.

It stuck around for more than four days, but the initial supply of Apple’s fourth-generation iPad has now sold out, causing shipping delays for the device to increase to one week across the U.S. and international stores. The delay applies to both the black and white models, regardless of which storage option you choose.

EA’s much-anticipated Need for Speed Most Wanted makes its debut on iOS today, and it’s an instant purchase if you’re into arcade racing games. It features some of the hottest super cars money can buy, which you’ll use to outrun the cops in some of the most dangerous Need for Speed pursuits you’ve every experienced. All while enjoying console-quality visuals that will blow you away.

Shortly before unveiling the iPad mini last week, Apple announced a new fourth-generation iPad — just 7 months after it released the third-generation iPad. In addition to an improved FaceTime camera, faster Wi-Fi, and Apple’s new Lightning connector, the device comes with the latest A6X processor. But is it a worthy upgrade over its predecessor?

Well, if performance is important to you, then yes, it is.

It may seem that getting rid of Scott Forstall is a bad thing. He was, after all, the major architect of Apple’s most successful software: iOS, the software that runs the iPhone and iPad.

It’s actually a very good thing, and it means your iPhone is about to get a whole lot better.

Today, Google announced two new Nexus tablets — the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 — which will go head-to-head with more established competitors like the iPad, the iPad mini and the Kindle Fire HD. But how do they stack up?

Anrgy Birds In Space didn’t do much to get me excited enough to fling birds around on my iPad, but Angry Birds Star Wars has rekindled my love for the cute slingshot loving birdies and their pig nemeses. Rovio just released gameplay footage of Angry Birds Star Wars (you can watch it in the video above), and yes, you will get to wield a lightsaber and shoot your blaster at AT-ATs once the game is released on November 8th.

Source: YouTube

Last week, we reported on a great little hack that allows you to remove Apple’s stock iOS apps from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch without jailbreaking it first. The only problem with it was when your device was restarted the apps would reappear, and you had to repeat the whole process again to remove the apps that are wasting space on your home screen.

Now the tweak’s been improved somewhat to make the whole process much quicker by using the new Passbook app in iOS 6. And no, it still doesn’t require a jailbreak.

Ah, the ’80s — back when a Tab was something to drink, not deride, and Members Only wasn’t exactly an exclusive club. Reliving (or living, for those born after 1979) those days is as easy as tracking down a six-pack of Tab on the Internet, or purchasing this purple number.

Those who’d rather not deal with their friends’ hysterical laughter or horribly wilted taste buds can simply download a faithful recreation of DONKEY.BAS, probably the best thing Bill Gates ever made, onto their iPad or iPhone.

When Microsoft announced the Surface I was shocked. Not shocked because Balmer was doing something gutsy, but shocked because the Surface actually looks cool. Like, it’s probably the coolest looking tablet I’ve ever seen, other than the iPad, and if that crazy Touch Cover keyboard thing actually works well, then holy shit, the future is here.

Even though it’s not made by Apple, I had to try the “Surface with Windows RT” because I wanted to touch the future, and I really thought that maybe Microsoft was going to pull it off and create something that amazed me. After playing with the Surface and comparing it to an iPad though I found out that the future isn’t quite here yet, but it looks promising.

The iMpulse Game controller, now with eight days left in its Kickstarter campaign, was already planned to be a sleek little keychain-sized physical game controller. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and various Android devices, the iMpulse is getting an update to make it 20% thinner, as well as adding shoulder buttons on the bottom of the device.

For a pledge of $25 plus shipping, you can get one of these cute, sleek gaming controllers with a serious d-pad and shoulder buttons sent to your address. There are other levels of reward, as well, including a T-Shirt, dual controllers, fancy metal plating, and the like.

I had a great idea this morning. I figured I’d head to the Microsoft Store in Scottsdale around 10am, waltz in, buy a Microsoft Surface, and then be out in 10 minutes. I assumed the store would be empty. I mean, come on, this is a Microsoft tablet we’re talking about, and who goes to the Microsoft Store anyway?

I was completely wrong. Microsoft’s new tablet, the Surface RT, may not do everything an iPad can, but it’s drawing some pretty big lines to Microsoft retail stores across the country for its launch this morning.

Microsoft’s new Surface RT tablet made its debut today, just three days after Apple announced the new fourth-generation iPad and iPad mini. If you’re not completely dedicated to iOS, you’re probably having a hard time decided which tablet to go for.

To help you make your decision, we’ve put together a handy chart that compares the Surface RT with some of the most popular tablets on sale right now, including the new iPads, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD, the Google Nexus 7, and more.

While the iPad mini looks like a terrific little tablet, that’s sure to make millions for Apple, we’ve learned over the past few days that some people are unhappy with its price tag. Thanks to the rumors, the majority of us expected the device to be priced around $249. But as it turns out, it’s $80 more than that.

According to Microsoft’s Windows boss, Steven Sinofsky, that’s a lot to pay for a “recreational tablet” when you can get a new Windows 8 laptop for $279.

Galaxy Tab; Nexus 7; Kindle Fire HD—they’re all doomed, and on this week’s CultCast, we’ll tell why Apple’s new iPad mini will most definitely sit as the king of all tabs small.

Then, we review a new social iOS game so stellar, it’ll have you clamoring for Game Center friends just so you can get your fix.

All that and more on our newest CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes, or easily stream The CultCast via Apple’s free Podcasts App.

Note: Some listeners have informed us that iTunes isn’t displaying episode 39 yet, but if you subscribe, it will show up and download just fine.

Onwards, to the show notes!

When Apple began accepting pre-orders for the iPad mini at 12 a.m. Pacific, I visited the store a few times to see how quickly it sold out. I didn’t buy one; I have a third-generation iPad and decided I don’t need another one. But I was curious.

To my surprise, at 12:03 a.m. Pacific, the white iPad mini had already sold out in the United Kingdom. Only the black model was available for November 2 delivery. And just over ten minutes later, it was a similar story for Apple’s U.S. online store.

Having lost its appeal against the Samsung Galaxy Tab in a High Court ruling in the United Kingdom earlier this month, Apple was ordered to publish advertisements in British newspapers and magazines, and on its website, which must say that Samsung did not copy the iPad.

The Cupertino company has now published a statement on its website, and it makes for a very humorous read. Basically, Apple quotes the judge, who said that Samsung’s tablets “are not as cool” as Apple’s, then says that despite the decision, Samsung did copy the iPad really.

The US Copyright Office reviews the Digital Millennium Copyright Act every three years, looking at requests to create temporary changes that act as ersatz loopholes int he law, typically to address continually changing technology standards. This year, the Copyright Office allows jailbreaking of devices like the iPhone, but not for devices like the iPad.

The Office also ruled that consumers can unlock phones purchased before January 2013, but not thereafter. You’ll also be albe to bypass encryption on a DVD to use an excerpt in a non-commercial way, like in a documentary, but it will still be illegal to rip a DVD for your iPad.

The rules seem pretty arbitrary, right?