iPad - page 255

Apple sold 9.2 million iPads in the last business quarter of 2011, and the company’s CFO even went on record to say that Apple is selling “every iPad we can make.” This has been evidenced by the delayed shipping times for the iPad 2 since its release, with the tablet finally receiving a normal online shipping estimation only a couple weeks ago.

To contrast the iPad’s unprecedented success in the consumer tablet market, the Motorola Xoom shipped 440,000 units last quater. And, no, “ship” does not mean “sold.”

There’s nothing quite like the bliss of simply plugging a gadget into a slot and being rewarded with superb performance; and if the gadget happens to exude raw sex appeal, even better. Sounds familiar, right? Because that pretty much describes Apple’s entire lineup. It’s also a perfect description for the dynamic Samson Meteor Mic ($99).

I’ve always wanted to learn how to play piano, to be a chain-smoking, Jelly Roll Morton style jazz tinkler… but I’ve never really had the equipment to get it done. I’m sort of excited, then, by the Piano Apprentice accessory: just slap an iPad into the small keyboard accessory, and you should be on your road to ragtime in, well, no time at all.

We’re all aware of how popular Apple’s tablet is. It spawns endless lines outside of Apple stores for days after its launch, and it no other tablet is anywhere close to being as successful. Apple’s iPad is so popular in fact, that one in six Hong Kong citizens own the device.

If you’ve ever played the classic NES fighter, Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, you can probably sympathize with Nintendo right now: an absolutely huge juggernaut of an enemy has filled their screen, capable of knocking them out with a one-two punch… a blow that is only tipped by a sly wink a millisecond before.

That enemy’s Apple, and it is fighting with two weighted gloves with the iPhone and iPad, accordingly. Now Nintendo’s so punch-drunk that they are dramatically lowering the price of their latest console, the Nintendo 3DS, less than six months after it debuted.

Apple’s patents can often be an exciting glimpse into the super secret things that are being worked on at the Cupertino camp, however, this one gives no indication of the features that may arrive in future Apple devices. Instead, it covers the tool that Apple already uses to cut its logo into a number of its products.

Yet another report indicates Apple’s iPad beats the pack of Android tablets until at least 2015. More polished and less expensive alternatives could cut Cupertino’s comfortable marketshare by more than a third, new research finds.

Qualcomm launched its augmented reality SDK for iOS yesterday, allowing app developers to create impressive augmented reality apps for our devices. While augmented reality is nothing new to iOS, Qualcomm’s SDK should mean more AR apps in the App Store because it makes it easier for developers to create apps for a number of different platforms.

We all know that the iPad has been nothing short of a phenomenal consumer success. In terms of sales and mindshare, Apple dominates the tablet market with a product that’s barely 18 months old.  When the iPad was first introduced, the highly-portable device was automatically seen as the perfect gaming device— with big names in the App Store, like Angry Birds, creating iPad-optimized versions of their popular gaming titles.

Now, the CEO of Electronic Arts has chimed in and confirmed that EA’s fasting growing platform is not a traditional console- but instead the iPad.

If you love e-reading and the Kindle app for the iPad, you may have noticed the familiar “Kindle Store” button missing. Its absence is causing an uproar online and prompting questions whether Apple is unintentionally pushing consumers to buy iBook alternatives.

Not all patent defenses against Apple are created equally, HTC has learned. A trade court told the Android handset maker its shiny bundle of $300 million S3 patents aren’t infringed by Apple’s iPhone or iPad, and just partially by Mac OS X.

Rumor has it that Apple is already working on a new method of charging our iPhones for 2012, and many believe the company may introduce wireless magnetic charging using technology developed by WiTricity. But according to a report from DigiTimes, future iOS devices may absorb all the energy they need from the sun.

JVC is now shipping the UX-VJ3B speaker system. What sets the UX-VJ3B apart from similar systems is its dual-dock support for the iPad and iPhone at the same time.

For $199.99, the JVC UX-VJ3B is an affordable speaker system that will also mount your iPad and iPhone side by side. Isn’t that every Apple geeks dream?

If you walk into an Apple store these days you will find tons of iPads on display. No, we aren’t talking about the iPads that are actually available for purchase, but instead the ones that sit next to each and every Apple product with descriptions, details and interactive elements.

These iPads run an internal Apple app called “Smart Sign,” and the app is meant to help connect you with Apple store employees and show you information about products. If you’ve ever wondered what these iPad “Smart Signs” are actually made of, someone has been able to see what’s going on under the hood of one of these iPad displays. Let’s just say, it isn’t your typical iPad.

It was revealed yesterday that the long-awaited Facebook app for iPad was already here — not in the App Store, but hidden away inside the Facebook app for iPhone. We published details on how to install the app on your iPad, but soon after the news spread, Facebook decided to block access to those using the app before its public release.

Fortunately, as is often the case with these things, jailbreakers have provided a workaround — a new tweak called FaceForward that reactivates the official Facebook app for iPad.

The staggering success of Apple’s iPad has inevitably spawned a myriad of wannabe devices from a large number of electronics manufacturers. While many of these tablets are yet to really compete with Apple’s tablet, the Cupertino company is still preparing itself for a worthy adversary by “adjusting the cost structure” of the iPad 3.

Amazon’s Kindle app for iOS was updated yesterday in order to comply with Apple’s latest in-app purchase terms and secure its place in the App Store. In addition to removing the link to its external Kindle store, however, did you notice that the update introduced more than 100 magazine and newspaper subscriptions to iOS?

I’m not sure whether this guy over on the Apple Support forums is genuine, or whether he’s set up this thread purely for fun, but either way it’s hilarious. Having recently purchased an iPad 2, ‘Michael K. W’ is seriously considering returning his device to the Apple store because he cannot get his CDs inside.

There’s no shortage of covers for the iPad out there — but there aren’t many that many with Booq’s new Viper Slider’s executive panache at this price point.

Facebook apparently likes to play hardball. This morning, we told you about the hidden, iPad-optimized Facebook app that was secretly nestled in the current, iPhone-only app.

Looks like Facebook didn’t like its secret creation getting leaked out for the world to see, and it appears that the Facebook for iPad workaround has already been blocked.

I’m sure you’re already aware by now that Spotify is finally available in the U.S., with over 13 million songs ready to stream on demand. But did you know that to accompany it there’s an awesome iOS app for listening to those millions of songs on the go? Spotify for iPhone is the first app in this week’s must-have roundup.

Coverjam Pro is another great app for music lovers that provides you with awesome slideshows of your favorite bands and artists while your listen to their music. It searches Instagram and Flickr for photos with the appropriate tags and aims to “enhance your listening pleasure.”

Google+ (yes, it finally hit the App Store!) is the official iPhone app to accompany Google’s latest social network, and “makes sharing the right things with the right people a lot simpler,” with access to your Circles, Stream and Huddle.

Two fingers are enough for many tasks – a Boy Scout’s salute or a Peace Sign – but it may not be enough for tablet users. Unless you are Amazon looking for ways to undercut the iPad price by offering cheap touchscreen displays. The Internet retailer’s foray into tablets starts with a device limited to just two fingers — enough to give a one-fingered sign of displeasure.

Research in Motion is axing 2,000 employees, or 10.5 percent of its workers. RIM also rearranged its management, the Canadian company announced. Now that the iPad is trouncing RIM’s PlayBook gamble, how long can the beleaguered company keep its head above water?

As iPad use continues to grow, assessing how we use them becomes an important topic of study. This includes what kinds of tasks we use the tablet for, and ergonomic issues related to using the device.

Boston University is launching a study this fall among children of military members in an effort to help improve their math skills and teach healthy computing. They are currently looking for additional iPads to help in their efforts.

Many of us are patiently awaiting the official Facebook app for the iPad to hit the App Store, having tried a number of third-party alternatives that just aren’t quite as good as the official app for the iPhone. Well now the Facebook app for iPad is here — but it’s hidden inside the iPhone app and you’ll need to do a bit of tinkering to install it.