Okay, so not all of us use FaceTime for sleazy video calls, but either way, you’ll be glad to hear that your FaceTime calls really are encrypted — just like Apple promised back in July 2010 — as long as you use the right type of connection.
Apple has partnered with the Teach for America program and donated 9,000 first gen iPads to teachers that work in impoverished and dangerous schools. The donated iPads come from customers that gave to Apple’s public service program during the iPad 2 launch.
Many consumers opt to resale their used Apple devices when a new generation is released, but the people that gave to Apple’s public service program have helped to give iPads to teachers working in low-income communities throughout the US.
iPads are the new no. 2 pencil, heading out in droves to teach everyone from kindergarteners to college students what’s what. (Minor drawbacks compared to the pencil: you can’t chew on the magical device and need more skill to launch it at fellow pupils).
Cult of Mac wanted to know how those iPads get into schools – which ones want them, how they get paid for, what schools are doing with them – so we caught up with Brayden Wardrop.
Wardrop is a CTO for Utah-based company called iSchool (yeah, iKnow!), currently getting those tablet computers to schools in Texas, Colorado, Utah, Minesota and Nevada.
Wardrop manages around 500 iPad2s, 50 Macbook Pros and 75 iMacs for Colorado school Legacy Academy, the kind of deployment that costs around a million dollars “for a total technology overhaul.”
In a world of heavy data consumption, TruConnect Mobile is partnering with Sprint to offer pay as you go internet for as little as $4.99/month.
Instead of adopting a set in stone pricing structure like the carriers do for smartphone and tablet usage, TruConnect Mobile is offering a true ‘pay as you go’ internet service to subscribers. Customers will only pay for the data they use.
Even before it has even appeared on shelves, the iPhone 5 already is set for a lawsuit. Samsung plans to challenge Apple in court to prevent the next-generation handset reaching South Korean soil, according to a Monday report.
We think this is pretty cool — the iHome iDM15 ($99) is a set of Bluetooth-equipped stereo speakers that include a microphone so they can be used as a speakerphone.
In the U.S. you may have trouble getting Al Jazeera on cable, but now you can check it out on your iPad using Flipboard.
Too often, the image of older people and technology comes with seniors using bowling with the Wii, fumbling with web cams or being ripped off by Facebook scams. A new book about learning the iPad appears to feed into that misconception: use small words and speak very, very slowly.
The news just never seems to be good for RIM. Thursday, the Canadian company announced it sold just 200,000 PlayBook tablets during the last quarter. Today, an analyst predicts the iPhone 5 will “steamroll” RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry 7 smartphones.
Apple fans hoping for an iPad 3 this year should just cool their jets, one analyst advises. There’s “no rush” to unveil a new version as rival devices stumble left and right. As Simon & Garfunkel might say: Slow down, you move too fast.
Is RIM’s PlayBook the next HP TouchPad? That’s the thinking of some reading the BlackBerry maker’s news that it shipped just 200,000 of its tablets last quarter, less than half that shipped the previous financial three-month period. What’s worse: there are also PlayBooks unsold at retailers. Can anyone say price cuts are on the way?
I was just speaking with another reviewer here about how surprisingly common it is for manufacturers to copy each other’s designs. To ‘port an entire line of products, though, is a little more unusual: iHealth has just announced an app-enhanced digital scale, blood pressure monitor and baby monitor that mirrors Withings‘ entire lineup, gadget for gadget.
There’s no space the iPad hasn’t invaded — the kitchen in particular seems a favorite for me place for me to plop it down in. I’ll look up recipes, stream live TV news in the background while I’m cooking or kick back with the Grey Lady over breakfast.
But Apple’s probably going to void your warranty if they find egg yolk in the iPad’s innards. Never fear — Belkin has just announced a whole aisle’s worth of iPad accessories for the kitchen that’ll keep the iPad mess-free.
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The above video, by Winrumors, showcases a Windows 8 tablet running alongside an iPad on iOS 5.
Microsoft unveiled Windows 8 to developers at its BUILD conference earlier this week. Alongside the software, the Redmond giant also announced a series of tablets running Windows 8, one of which is featured next to the iPad in the above video.
This video serves as a quick demonstration of several compared scenarios on the two platforms. More in-depth walkthroughs will likely be posted as Windows 8 matures out of its beta stages.
(via 9to5Mac)
Although the iPad began as a “magical” device for consumers, Apple’s tablet is quickly finding a place in business. From do-it-yourself meccas such as Lowe’s to the glamorous Gucci, retailers are learning how the iPad attracts, retains and increases customers. Indeed, 25 percent of iPads sold in 2011 will go to businesses, according to New York consulting firm Deloitte.
Just how important was Steve Jobs’ departure as Apple CEO to sales of the iPad? Very little, according to a survey indicating consumers were prepared for Apple’s co-founder to step down.
The long-running dispute between Apple and Samsung has erupted again, this time in an unrelated insider-trading trial. The former manager of Samsung’s U.S. division told a New York City court he leaked shipment data of LCD screens destined for the iPad to a Calif. financial analyst.
For a number of reasons, mainly its long list of stability issues and its unquenchable thirst for any power your system may have, Apple will ensure we never see Adobe Flash on the iPad. And while the company has been criticized by competition for this decision in the past, it’s not the only one turning its back on the aging technology: Microsoft has also announced that Flash player will not feature in Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 8 tablets.
There’re few materials that can match leather for wear resistance and luxuriousness; and if you’re using an iPad in a professional or fashion-forward setting, leather makes a great choice.
Problem is, leather cases tend not to be the most practical solutions: They’re generally portlier than their proletariat plastic counterparts, and they’re also generally don’t allow for mucking about with positioning much.
Ah, but the updated Sena Folio for iPad ($100) is different.
A pair of new goodies from Logitech were revealed today; we actually snagged a little time to check out both when Logitech lifted the curtain for us at a sneak preview a couple of months ago.
You can fly a plane with an iPad but airlines still won’t loan you one to watch “Friends with Benefits” on it while sitting in coach.
Australian airlines Qantas is once again touting its iPad-inflight entertainment scheme– it has been talking about getting it on board since June 2010 – but the concept has still failed to launch in any meaningful way.
Back in 2008, the Malibu Beach Inn billed itself as the world’s first iPhone hotel.
Now apps like that one are helping people get more comfortable (or complain more quickly) in hotels around the world.
The California hotel offered guests loaner iPhones or iPod Touch devices to order room service, set wake up calls, request dry cleaning, extra blankets or replace forgotten toothbrushes, check messages or set “Do Not Disturb” notices plus shopping, eating and cavorting info.
The whole shebang runs on an app called “Hotel Evolution” from Los Angeles software firm Runtriz.
Apple hit a home run with its wireless Bluetooth keyboard. The keyboard is compact, good-looking and functional. It even works great in conjunction with devices like the iPad, thanks to its easy setup over Bluetooth.
Being only 12.5mm thick, the Levitatr Bluetooth keyboard features a design that Apple would be proud of. With a LED backlit set of keys that magically lifts off of a flat slab when you’re ready to type, this Kickstarter project has us already wanting to buy.
We knew Apple’s iPad dwarfed RIM’s PlayBook, but now the image seems even more lopsided, thanks to shipping numbers from a group of analysts. The Cupertino, Calif. company shipped 19 iPads each time the BlackBerry maker shipped one of its rival devices. Little wonder RIM, facing financial scrutiny Thursday, is back concentrating on its smartphones.
Whatever you do, don’t blink. Otherwise you might miss the superbness of this Who-tastic iPad case, and instructions for making your own.
For just two dollars, you can buy the pattern for this smart multi-dimensional iPad sleeve, and make it yourself with some yarn, some needles, and a sonic screwdriver.
Just like the real TARDIS, this one’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. On the outside, you have a 7.5inch by 9.5inch crocheted sleeve, but on the inside you have more hours of entertainment than most of us can handle in 11 (count ’em) lifetimes. Having a time machine would actually be quite a good way of keeping up with it all, wouldn’t it?
(Hands up who else is really enjoying the current series of Who?)