News - page 1685

Steve Jobs said that touchscreen desktops just don’t work, pretty much ruling out the possibility of a touchscreen iMac in the future. But he also said that tablets under ten inches don’t work, and his company is now selling the awesome iPad mini. There’s every chance, then, that we’ll see an ‘iMac touch’ someday, and it’ll fit in perfectly alongside Apple’s iOS devices — as this awesome concept commercial demonstrates.

If you frequently buy brand new Apple products, you know the cycle: initial pre-order stock sells out quickly, launch day stock goes fast, and then Apple starts offering next-day reservations for in-store pickup. The iPad mini has reached the last stage in the cycle.

Apple retail stores get a limited supply of new products (in this case, the iPad mini) each night. If you’re having trouble getting your hands on an iPad mini, your best bet is to order one through Apple’s online store and see if you can walk in and pick it up in person the next day at your local Apple Store. 

We’ve got some great new apps in this week’s must-have roundup, including Path, which finally makes its debut on the iPad; a nifty utility for monitoring the data consumed by your iPhone apps; plus a great new cooking magazine that every foodie should have installed on their iPad.

This week’s must-have games roundup kicks off with the latest Need for Speed title from EA games, which is quite possibly the best arcade racing game available on iOS right now. We also have an excellent dual-stick shooter from Gameloft, Disney’s Wreck-it Ralph, and more.

Gorgeous body; super slim profile; al-lu-minium backside; yes, we’ve been fondling Apple’s new iPad mini for hours and hours now, and on our just-recorded special edition CultCast, we report what we like, what we don’t, and our overall first impressions of Apple’s brand new much-hyped tiny tab.

But we also had to ask the question: without a retina display, is the iPad mini a worthy replacement for its larger, retina-pixeled brother?

We cover all that and more this special edition CultCast! Subscribe now on iTunes, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App.

Steve Jackson (not the designer of Munchkin card games, sorry) started out writing an adventure gamebook for Penguin back in 1983. As it’s coming up on the 30th anniversary of his four-book Sorcery! series, Jackson decided to bring the proto-RPG to the modern age by teaming up with development studio Inkle and releasing four new iOS gamebook apps for iPhone and iPad.

I just got an iPad mini a couple of hours ago from the UPS guy. I took it to lunch and we’ve been playing around with it here in the office.

Couple of observations:

The screen is not great: John is absolutely right about the quality of the screen. It is manifestly lower resolution than newer Retina Displays.

A lot of discussion is raging around the iPad mini display, with pundits and tech-savvy consumers alike taking to Twitter, Facebook, and gadget review sites to villify the iPad mini display screen.

With a pixel density of *only* 163 pixels per inch, the iPad mini looks to be, on numbers alone, far lower in resolution than, say, an iPad 4. Which is the truth. But how does that stand up under the microscope? And, since tons of folks are saying the iPad mini is a shrunken-down iPad 2, how do the two screens compare when looked at as closely as possible?

The fine researchers at the Repair Labs blog decided to find out, placing all the currently released iPads, from the first generation to the mini, under the scrutiny of a microscope. What they found may surprise you.

If you live in a house divided in the smartphone wars, where some members cling to their Androids while you relish the joy of your iPhone 5, you probably have a plethora of USB cables in your house that are completely useless to you. Apple now has a solution.

You can pick up a Lightning to Micro USB Adapter from Apple for $19 now. Use the adapter to connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod with Lightning connector to a micro USB cable to sync and charge, or to a compatible micro USB charger to charge your device. The adapter is available online, or at your local Apple Store.

Following the introduction of the new Evernote 5 design for Mac, the cloud-based note company has announced that a major redesign is coming to iOS as well, bringing a major new look along with changes that make it faster than ever to find the notes you want.

The iPad mini already seems to be a huge hit with buyers, with Apple’s diminutive little tablet already selling out at the 5th Avenue Apple Store. You know, the one in New York City, a town ravaged by Hurricane Sandy that it is still half-flooded and half without power? Even a natural disaster can’t seem to keep people away.

Apple’s cracking down on apps that have no other purpose but offering emoji — that cute emoticon character set popular with some text messengers — and are kicking developer’s apps out of the App Store if they do nothing else. The reason? iOS 6 already does emoji.

By now you’ve had enough time to run to your Apple Store, buy an iPad mini and bring it back to your house in a loving embrace. If not, well you’ll get one later today, or whenever the delivery man finally makes his way to your house. We just posted our thoughts on the iPad mini, but we’d love to hear from you guys about what you think.

What are your first impressions of the iPad mini? Is it worth the price? Is the display really as bad as some people are saying? Does portability make a huge difference for a tablet? Come over to the forums and let us know what you think are the most important aspects of the iPad mini.

Click here to go to the Cult of Mac Forums and share your first impressions of the iPad mini with us

The iPad Mini is here, and it is lying naked and vulnerable on your desk/bed/lap/passenger seat. And that’s ok, because today is all about tweaking and configuring your settings, installing apps and seeing which of your pants have back pockets big enough to carry it (don’t sit down!)

But what of tomorrow? Soon you’ll start searching for cases, speakers, docks and other accessories for the latest tiny addition to your family, and that’s where we come in. Yes, you can use most of your iPad and iPhone accessories with the new Mini, but here are some add-ons which work particularly well with Apple’s littlest tablet.

Despite millions of people living without power, or gas, and a crippled public transit system, New Yorkers have flocked to the Apple Stores in record numbers to buy the iPad mini.

Yesterday we assumed that the 5th Avenue Apple Store would see shorter crowds thanks to the effects of hurricane Sandy. The lack of public transportation combined with the financial cost of the hurricane damaged seemed like they would knock prevent people from wanting to buy an new Apple device, but reports are showing that the iPad mini has drawn big crowds.

[polldaddy poll=6658614]

We just published our review of the iPad mini, and while we think it’s an extraordinary device, it’s not quite as magical without a Retina display. We think you’d be better off waiting till the 2nd generation iPad mini, but maybe we’re wrong. Let us know if you agree by voting in the poll above.

Here are the two things you need to know about the iPad mini. The form factor’s perfect, it’s beautifully designed, you will love holding it… but the screen’s awful and the performance is lacking, especially in graphics. Even at the price, it’s a deeply disappointing product that most people should think twice about buying right now.

Apple has lost its battle to secure the ‘iPhone’ name in Mexico and may have to cease selling its device under a court injunction. The Cupertino company attempted to secure the name in 2009, and wanted a local company to cease using the name ‘iFone’ under the grounds that it sounded too similar.

Unfortunately for Apple, the iFone name was secured four years prior to the launch of its smartphone, and the Mexican firm has won its bid to get the device banned.

The iPad mini is going to be a hit. It’s perfectly small, light and affordable which means that people should be flocking to the Apple Store to buy it. But today, lines at the Apple Store have been reported to be a lot shorter than other product launches.

Apple is the only consumer electronics company in the world that consistently releases new gadgets that sell in their millions during the first few days of availability. During their respective launch weekends alone, Apple sold 3 million third-generation iPad units, 4 million iPhone 4S units, and 5 million iPhone 5 units.

In fact, the company’s iOS devices have become so popular that they’re now considered a failure if they don’t sell several million within their first 72 hours on the market. According to one analyst, the iPad mini has to shift at least 3 million units this weekend for it to be considered a successful device.

Now that the iPad mini’s been on sale a few hours, it’s time to address the issue you’re all itching to know about. I’m talking, of course, about the drop test. Apple’s new tablets have been put to the test against Google’s $199 Nexus 7, and the iPad mini does surprisingly well, only sustaining any real damage when dropped on its face onto concrete.

iFixit has now performed its customary teardown on Apple’s fourth-generation iPad, and it seems like a lengthy case of déjà vu. While there are some differences between this model and its predecessor, such as the introduction of Apple’s new A6X processor and Lightning connector, it seems the device remains largely the same — inside and out.

I just switched from a giant, 27-inch iMac back to a little ol’ MacBook, and while my desk looks a lot bigger, my shoulders and neck hate me for it. What I might need, then, is the new HiRise for MacBooks from the fine folks at Twelve South. All it really does is raise the notebook up off the desk so you don’t get a crick in your neck from looking downwards all day long, but it does it with such style that it might just be worth the $70 asking price.

Especially if your whole reason for ditching a bigger computer is to make your office look cooler.

Apple’s statement regarding its battle against the Samsung Galaxy Tab in the United Kingdom has begun to appear in British newspapers today. You’ll have to search carefully if you want to find it, however. Like the statement the company made on its website earlier this month, this one appears without any Apple branding, and with a dull Arial font that attempts to disappear into the background.

This week at Apple, two important executives just got picked off the tree, and on our newest CultCast, we’ll tell you what the departure of long time exec Scott Forstall and the just-hired John Browett means for iOS, OS X, Apple Stores, and all the great Apple products you adore. Plus, Jony Ive’s about to get even more design control over all the Macs you love to own, but the question is, is that a good thing?

Then, get out your lightsabers and prepare the X-Wings, we’re diving deep into the Disney acquisition of LucasFilm and what that means for everyone’s favorite space movies.

If this doesn’t end in another Spaceballs movie, we’re gonna be upset.

Subscribe to The CultCast now on iTunes, or easily stream new and previous episodes via Apple’s free Podcasts App. And please note, if episode 40 isn’t yet showing up for you, subscribing will fix that problem right quick.

Read on for the show notes!