Cult of Mac

I was fortunate to get my hands on a new iPad a little earlier than expected, and I’ve been playing around with it and comparing it to my iPad 2. I’ve read all the early reviews from the likes of Walt Mossberg and Joshua Topolsky, and I’m sure you have to, so I won’t waste your time rehashing what you’ve already read.

The new iPad is great. It really is. If you’ve never owned an iPad before, this third-gen iteration will blow your mind. It’s by far the best tablet on the market in every way. Nothing compares. It’s not perfect, but it’s about as close as you can get right now.

Here are some of the highlights I’ve gleaned from spending a little time with the new iPad:

Paypal has finally made it into the mobile payment market after being beat to the punch by the likes of Square and Intuit. PayPal may be late to the party but they have a more recognizable name in the world of payment systems and that may just be enough to push them to the front of the line. Besides their name, they’re also offering merchants a 2.7% flat rate on transactions versus the 2.75% offered by Square. PayPal didn’t stop there either, launching a full on geometrical attack by choosing a triangle as the shape of choice for their card reader dongle.

Last night the web was assaulted with a slew of new iPad reviews. Sure, some of the reviewers remarked on a few silly things that they didn’t like, but the early reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Did Apple’s handpicked early reviewers really really like the new iPad? Or were they holding back criticism because they wanted to stay in Apple’s good graces? Maybe it was both. One thing’s for certain, this latest video review from Funny or Die is hilariously honest in its assessment of Apple’s newest tablet

https://www.cultofmac.com/153732/namcos-sky-gamblers-air-supremacy-retina-ipad-game-goes-live-in-the-app-store/

The Retina-ready iPad game Namco demoed onstage at Apple’s media event last week has gone live in the App Store. Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy costs $5 as a universal download for the iPhone and iPad.

Like Skies of Glory and other 3D flight simulators, Sky Gamblers uses your iOS device’s accelerometer and gyroscopes to control your fighter jet in the air. The graphics looked stunning onstage last week, so we can’t wait to try this game on our new iPads this weekend!

Apple has always taken privacy very seriously. When it was discovered that popular app Path secretly uploaded an iPhone user’s entire address book to its servers, the media reacted very strongly and Apple was forced to get involved. Path was violating Apple’s terms of agreement, and it was discovered that many other apps in the App Store had been doing the same thing for quite some time. Apple said that it would clarify the privacy issue for end users with a future iOS update.

High-profile meetings take place at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California all the time, but the public rarely gets to hear about what is said behind closed doors. As it turns out, Path CEO Dave Morin was summoned to Cupertino by Apple CEO Tim Cook to talk about the recent privacy scandal his app caused.

The guys at iFixit have been hard at work tearing down the iPad all morning. First posts of the teardown revealed that the iPhone’s retina display is being produced by Samsung. Well the teardown has finally been completed and posted online, exposing the full glory of the new iPad’s guts. It’s a beautiful sight, and we’ve got some of the best pictures below, but first, here are the entire specs of the new iPad.

Experts at the Intrepidus Mobile Security Group came across some interesting parsers definitions within Google Wallet’s source code that could hint at a possible iOS release. How Google actually plans on getting Google Wallet to work on a non-NFC/SE iOS device is another story, but for now, let’s take a look at the iOS definitions found by Intrepidus.

Can you literally not contain your excitement for the new iPad and its glorious Retina display? Will you be unable to sleep tonight because you can’t wait to get in line at the butt crack of dawn tomorrow to buy one? Then you may be in luck because Walmart is kicking things off early.

Starting at precisely 12:01 A.M. tomorrow, Walmart will start selling a limited supply of new iPads at its 24-hour locations around the United States. Apple’s doors aren’t opening until 8 A.M., so you’ll have the opportunity to snag a new tablet before everyone else.

As expected, third-gen Apple TV pre-orders have started arriving early in the mail. The set-top box includes 1080p HD video support and a faster processor. It comes with an updated interface and sells for $99.

Shipping estimates in Apple’s online store for the new Apple TV have slipped past tomorrow’s launch date, but those who were lucky enough to pre-order before stock sold out should be getting their device in the mail either today or tomorrow. We’ve got an unboxing for you to check out.

Apple released iOS 5.1 to the public on March 7th, and jailbreakers with A4-based iOS devices like the iPhone 4 were able to perform a tethered jailbreak shortly after the firmware hit. Those who wanted to keep their full, untethered jailbreak (including iPhone 4S and iPad 2 owners) have had to stay on iOS 5.0.1 until a new jailbreak is announced for 5.1.

There have been whispers on Twitter that certain hackers are finding exploits for a iOS 5.1 jailbreak, and the infamous hacker known as “i0n1c” has already jailbroken his way into 5.1 on the iPad 2.

Have you ever leant your iPad to a friend or family member and when you get it back you find they’ve logged out of all of your social networks and closed all those tabs you were saving for later?

With Skyfire’s new HotSwap feature on the iPad, you can setup different accounts for each users so that everyone has their own profile while browsing the web — with their own bookmarks, tabs, and settings. It’s perfect for sharing.

We’ve all seen news reports on the TV when stock markets take a nosedive. The footage is always the same: traders looking in despair at screens full of red rectangles, each one representing a falling stock.

Those magical digital rectangles are no longer for traders only. Now you can play with them yourself, in a $4.99 iOS app called StockTouch.

If you’ve ever taken apart an Apple device, you know what delicate work it can be.

Imagine trying to extract incriminating child pornography photos from a laptop and you’ll understand why tools that help you see what’s on the device before opening it up are increasingly important in law enforcement.

While some people say that waiting in line for hours just to buy a new tablet is stupid, other humans have this weird determination to be the first to everything. Every year we see people selling their spots at the front of launch lines, but it looks like selling your position in queue has become a bit more sophisticated. Apple fans are now selling their spots in line on EBay in an effort to maximize visibility and hopefully the selling price.

On first sight, the Yaro digital audio system looks unpromising. It’s an amplifier/speaker set from Kanto AV Systems that’s small, black and looks like something Spinal Tap might use on a farewell tour.

But it turned out to be about the loudest, most responsive, richest, most faithful sound-media player I’ve heard.

It’s not often that you’re able to get “maximal” savings on such a “minimal” piece of software, and in many cases these kinds of things can just pass on by. But we’re not about to let this soon-to-be-ending Cult of Mac Deals offer fade off into the sunset without giving it one last look. So if you’re tired of the Mac native Mail.app (as many are) then there’s no time like the present to pick up the premier “get email done” application for the Mac, Sparrow before the special pricing gets so minimal that it disappears!

I have a confession to make. I have never owned an iPhone. It’s not that I don’t want the most amazing pocket computer ever made. It’s just that I don’t want a phone. Or rather, I don’t want the contract that comes along with it.

For years I carried an iPod Touch, and then the iPad came along, with its monthly, non-contract 3G tariffs. Since then, I still hankered after an iPhone, mostly for its great camera, but also its portability. But right now I use an iPad 2 for everything, even listening to music on the go.

With the launch of the new iPad, though, I think Apple just destroyed any chance of me buying an iPhone. Here’s why I’m going to buy an iPod Touch instead.

As we mentioned earlier, those Dr. Jests of the DIY repair movement, iFixIt, have gotten themselves one of the very first new iPads and are already busy hacking away at it. Their server is being crushed right now, but the teardown has already born some fruit, confirming that Samsung is indeed working with Apple to build the new iPad’s Retina Display.

By all accounts, text-heavy apps really shine on the new iPad’s Retina Display, so I’m glad to see that Amazon have already updated my favorite iOS e-reading app to work at native 2048×1536 resolution.

And that’s not all. Amazon has also taken the opportunity to redesign the Kindle library view so that it’s organized in two separate tabs, “Cloud” and “Device,” which should make it easier to tell which e-books you have stored locally and which ones need to be slurped down from Amazon’s databanks.

You can download Kindle 3.0 on the App Store right now for free.

Camping out for a new Apple product is a time-honored tradition. Outsiders think it’s crazy, and even some insiders do — couldn’t you preorder it this year — but waiting for the product is just part of the reason you do it. It’s really about the camaraderie, the friendship, the adventure.

Craig Fox, organizer of the upcoming JailbreakCon, is roughing it on the streets of London outside Apple’s flagship Regent Street Store. Even if you’ve never considered waiting in line for a new Apple product, his account of the experience might just change your mind.

Here’s his report:

With your new iPad pre-order ready to be loaded onto tomorrow’s truck for delivery, you’re probably pretty excited right about now. But maybe not as excited as some MLB players, coaches, and scouts. Apple’s device allows them to identify tactics and improve their game, and scout for new talent. It’s also great for keeping in touch with their families while they’re away from home, and they’re expecting the third-generation device to be the best iPad yet.

Virtually everyone who’s ever used an Apple product has an Apple ID. This user account for all things Apple is most commonly used with the iTunes Store and the iOS and Mac App Stores. It’s used to both authorize purchases and to allow you to access content or run apps after they’re downloaded. Apple’s philosophy is that every person should have their own Apple ID and that each of us should use our individual Apple ID (and only that Apple ID) on each of our devices – iPads, iPhones, iPods, Macs, even PC’s running iTunes or other Apple software.

That’s a great concept, but it creates a big challenge when iOS devices are used in business or school environments. When someone configures an iOS device for an employee or student with a selection of apps and other content (like iBooks 2 textbooks), they need to use an Apple ID. But once that device is deployed, the end user may need or want to purchase additional apps or other materials.

This is often a stumbling block for business-owned devices. And it’s something that Apple has finally begun to address with Apple Configurator.

Weather Pro for iPad has just been updated with hi-definition maps. I know what you’re thinking: Are those dorks at Cult of Mac really going to write a post about every app that gets retina display support? Well, maybe, but this update actually brings something that can make use of all those extra pixels: Super-detailed weather maps.

In their normal fashion as dissectors and vivisectionists of the gadget world, the fine ladies and gents over at iFixIt — who flew all the way to Australia to get a literal crack at the new iPad early — have just opened Apple’s latest tablet up, as reported by their Twitter feed:

The first legit-purchased, legit-owned iPad 3 is now also the first legit-opened iPad… in the world.

Stay tuned. We’ll let you know what mysteries they find inside.