iPad - page 260

Remember the old “killer app” concept? The idea is that an application becomes so desirable that it guarantees massive sales of the hardware platform it runs on.

The Wikipedia has the best definition I’ve seen: A killer app is “any computer program that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware, gaming console, software, or an operating system. A killer app can substantially increase sales of the platform on which it runs.”

The best examples are VisiCalc on the Apple II and Lotus 1-2-3 for the IBM PC. Don’t laugh. Without those early “killer apps,” you may never have even heard of the Mac or Windows. (“Cult of Commodore,” anyone?)

Right now, everyone thinks the iPad is successful, and it is. But the number of iPad users sill pales in comparison with, say, the number of Windows users or the number of Facebook users (each boasting well over half a billion users). As much as we love our iPads, we must admit that so far the tablet is an optional toy for rich young people. The iPad dominates tablets, but tablets are on the fringe. The iPad, and the tablet, have not yet found their “killer app.”

But they will. And soon. Both Google and Facebook are both about to release their first-ever iPad apps for social networking. And I think the experience will be so compelling that it will drive millions of new users to get iPads, just for social networking.

Wow, check out this absolutely bonkers iPad DJing kit by Numark. Sure, it’s not for serious DJs, but for amateurs who want to play at being daftly punk, this is a very cool accessory.

In a striking sign of how the iPad dominates the tablet market, Android phone owners will likely bypass tablets powered by Google’s Honeycomb for Apple, one Wall Street analyst told investors Friday.

A new Apple patent reveals an interesting new method of exchanging information between your devices through “metaphorical gestures” that would, for example, allow you to “pour” your files into your iPad by tipping your iPhone over it.

A rogue TSA Agent who stole more than $50,000 worth of property has been fired and arrested after he was caught trying to shove an iPad down his pants.

The iPad is becoming the perfect evening companion. Usage of Apple’s tablet peaks between 8pm and bedtime, with the PC relegated to the bleary-eyed early morning and mid-morning, new research finds.

UPDATE: Youtube has marked the ad “private,” though a few other copies were available when we checked. It no longer appears on the official Pecos channel, either. We’ll let you know if we find out whether they have pulled it for copyright violations or something else.

This ad is a twofer of bad taste: Taiwanese tea makers use a Steve Jobs lookalike as they violate Apple’s policy on third-party promotions.

The 21-second ad stars a fake Steve promoting Pecos tea and the company’s iPad 2 giveaway.

If you turn on a television, you can’t miss ads for the iPhone or iPad. The same is true for Europe, where advertisements for the Apple devices are plastered everywhere. Now comes word the iPhone and iPad are two of the most-advertised mobile devices in Europe.

In order to ensure its service has the best chance of competing with rival cloud-based music services, especially those that may be coming from Cupertino, Amazon has just introduced an iPad-friendly version of Cloud Player and expanded the music storage capabilities of Cloud Drive.

The friendly skies weren’t so kind to a Russian pilot who had eight iPads nicked from his luggage somewhere between JFK and Moscow.

Oleg Korneev thought he wasn’t taking many chances with the precious cargo: he used two external locks and shrink wrapped his suitcase before boarding the plane.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVXeRe3WlvI&feature=player_embedded

Yesterday, we reported on 15-year-old Eduard Saakashvili, who typed the entire English alphabet correctly on an iPad with one hand in just 5.26 seconds, setting a new Guinness World Record.

Brian Sweet made this video showing how he touch types the English alphabet on an iPad in about three seconds, albeit using a two-handed approach.

Amazon appears confident about its rumored tablet’s chances against the iPad. In fact, the Kindle maker has ordered several million 10-inch units for the entire 2011 year.

After months of waiting, Comex and the iPhone Dev Team have finally released JailbreakMe v3, allowing any iOS device running iOS 4.3.3 to be jailbroken just by visiting a simple web page.

Even though this is as simple as jailbreaks get, though, there’s still stuff that can go wrong, so we’ve put together this handy guide for any would-be iPad jailbreakers. Here’s how to jailbreak your iPad or iPad 2 the right way.

New screenshots demonstrating Facebook’s much-anticipated Project Spartan web app platform, in addition to a tentative launch date for the service, have been published online. And despite Facebook’s promise that the service isn’t intended to rival the App Store, developers say there’s no question.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has given airlines the go ahead to ditch old fashioned flight bags in favor of the iPad — a move that promises to save paper, time and money.

After what seemed like a painfully long wait, Comex has finally relaunched JailbreakMe — the web-based unlock for (nearly) all iOS devices, including the iPad 2, running iOS 4.3.3.

If you think your fingers fly across the iPad touchscreen, try typing the entire English alphabet correctly in 5.26 seconds with just one hand.

An former executive of an Apple supplier pleaded guilty to leaking Apple secrets.

Walter Shimoon, who once worked at electronic manufacturer Flextronics a supplier of camera parts to Apple, was arrested in 2010 for spilling the beans on actual and forecast sales figures for iPhones and iPods in the third and fourth quarters of 2009.

He’s the 12th person to plead guilty so far in a government investigation of insider trading.  

While we patiently await the release of Skype for iPad, which was supposed to land last Tuesday, the Skype application for Mac just got a fancy new update that introduces background video calling and group video chat.

Could the MacBook Air offer a future for notebooks? That’s the belief of one Wall Street analyst who says notebooks could make a comeback with tablets coming out on the losing end.

The reviews of HP’s would-be iPad-killer are in, and they all agree on one thing: the HP Touchpad is no iPad, but webOS has a huge amount of promise.

Now an internal email sent out to HP staff has leaked, written by Palm’s Senior Vice President, and it compares webOS’s rough edges along with its promise to Mac OS X ten years ago.

While the release of JailbreakMe 3.0 is expected to be imminent, those of you struggling to wait any longer can now set up your own web-based jailbreak for all devices running iOS 4.3.3 and below. Here’s how!

JailbreakMe, undoubtedly the easiest method of jailbreaking an iOS device, is set to return imminently with version 3.0 — the all-purpose jailbreak for any device, including the iPad 2, running iOS 4.3.3 and below. Comex has updated the site for the second time in the past week, leading some to speculate the relaunch of the new service will be today.

Thanks to the continued growth of Apple’s iOS devices, the iTunes platform that includes the App Store and the iBookstore is set to grow at a rate of 39% over the next three years and rake in a whopping $13 billion in revenue during 2013.

Our roundup of must-have iOS games this week includes 1-bit Ninja — a unique new platformer that boasts retro gameplay in a stylised 2D side-scrolling world, which you can drag into 3D at any time to reveal hidden paths — like no other platform game you’ve ever played.

Also on our list is Pocket Academy, the latest release from Kairosoft, the developers behind Game Dev Story; and the official Transformers game from Electronic Arts.