Apple’s next retail location may be Austin, Texas. The tech giant is using the annual South by Southwest Interactive Conference (SXSW) to test a 5,000-square-foot popup store. The concept, already a practice with other retailers, will be used by the tech giant to hawk its iPad and test the city’s reception toward a more permanent outpost.

Apple Monday picked the Art Deco-look of the Scarbrough Building on Austin’s downtown Congress Avenue. After a “quick tour” of locations, the tech giant reportedly is now hard at work putting the finishing touches on the location. Starting Friday, Apple will use its temporary two-week presence to hawk iPads to those attending the event known for computers, movies and music.

The International Data Corporation (IDC) reports an ongoing boom with tablet computers, with Apple’s iPad still kicking competitors to the curb.

They counted about twice as many “media tablets” sold in fourth quarter 2010 as the previous quarter – some 10 million computers.

Apple still has 73% share of the market – down from 93% Q42010 — but analysts expect them to keep that strong hold over competitors.

Apple is building on its strong 2010 first-generation iPad launch with the iPad 2, which will ship this month, before most competitors come to market with first generation media tablets. Although more competing devices will be launched this year, IDC expects Apple to maintain a 70-80% share of the market.

IDC defines media tablets as devices with color displays between 5-and 14-inches which run lightweight operating systems (such as Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android OS) and can be based on either x86 or ARM processors. Tablets, for the purposes of this research, are defined as tablet PCs run full PC operating systems and are based on x86 processors.

Just about 90% of all media tablets were shipped to the US, Western Europe and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) in Q42010.

Via IDC

Apple has just announced when its iPad 2 tablet will be available Friday. Depending how quickly you want to lay hands on the device, you can stay up till 1 a.m. Friday morning and grab the tablet online, or wait until 5 p.m Friday local time and pick up the device at a number of participating retailers.

Along with 236 Apple retail locations, AT&T, Verizon, Best Buy, Walmart, Target and other stores will have the iPad 2, which has met with mixed early reviews. Others have speculated why there were no pre-sales of the device, instead requiring fans wait until the opening day.

Patrick Robertson got in touch with Cult of Mac to tell us how keyboard launcher Quicksilver is getting on.

Yes, the very same Quicksilver that a few weeks ago I said had faded from the limelight. Not so.

According to Patrick, Quicksilver is alive and well and enjoying a new lease of life and a new website.

Luke Renner, the founder of Fireside International, reached out last week to let us know about a very worthy program he’s running that could use Macs to do a whole lot of good. His organization has started the Caribbean Institute for Media Technologies (CIMT), a center that aims to teach journalism and multimedia storytelling skills to people in Haiti, in order to help educate “Haiti’s next generation of journalists, filmmakers, authors, and spokespeople.”

Specifically, the school has just received a huge collection of Rosetta Stone language training software, which is fantastic, except for the fact that it only runs on Intel Macs, and the school only has older PPC machines. If the school can pull together 11 Intel Macs, new or old, they can launch the program in earnest and repurpose the PPC towers to an additional center they’re planning to build.

To learn more about CIMT and Fireside, see this post. To offer your support, e-mail the organization at [email protected] or make a donation through the link on the right sidebar of their site.

Making a difference in Haiti is important to me, particularly since the catastrophic earthquake of last year. I also love seeing Macs help kids learn how to make a difference in the world. It’s a worthy cause. By all means, get on it.

Metro-Envelope iPad Bag by Peasants & Travelers

If you can’t justify buying the iPad 2 because you recently purchased the original model, or you just can’t afford it, don’t despair. Instead, give your original iPad a mini make-over by purchasing one of these four cases. They are way cheaper than the new iPad 2 and won’t add anything to landfills.

Here’s how to give some new life to the poor old iPad.

If you’ve been looking for a Stickies-like application with just a tiny bit more oomph, you might like to try SpiralBound.

Good news for RSS users: NetNewsWire Lite is now in the Mac App Store.

This free news reader remains one of the nicest around, and this new update looks particularly smart, with new toolbar icons and a complete re-write of all the code behind the scenes.

Note that “Lite” means “lite”. This is a deliberately lightweight, stripped-down cousin of the much meatier NetNewsWire application (which will be on the App Store at a later date). That means that some features some people insist on – like syncing with Google Reader – are not included.

But if, like me, you just want to keep an eye on some feeds and do it quickly, NNW is an excellent choice of news reader. Recommended.

It’s now confirmed that the next-generation iPhone (supposedly to be called the iPhone 5), will feature Apple’s dual-core A5 chip, running at 1GHz. Continue reading to find out how this was found.

Just kidding. Of course it doesn’t suck. Just the opposite.

The first reviews are in, and they range from enthusiastic to downright giddy. Everyone raves how light and thin it is, and what a big difference that makes in a tablet. Across the board, the reviewers say Apple has made a great device greater, and it’ll be difficult to beat: on design, performance, experience and price.

The only knocks are the screen (last year’s spec) and the cameras, which are functional but not great.

Here are some highlights of the early reviews:

As predicted, iOS 4.3 has just dropped and is ready for download now onto supported hardware, running the gamut of third and fourth generation iOS devices from the iPhone 3GS to the iPad 2.

Here are some direct links to iOS 4.3 downloads:

• iPhone 4

• iPhone 3GS

• iPod Touch 3G

• iPod Touch 4G

• iPad

• Apple TV

Changes in iOS 4.3 include faster web browsing thanks to the Nitro JavaScript engine, personal hotspot functionality for AT&T iPhones and iTunes home sharing, allowing users to stream their iTunes libraries directly to their device. Full details are available here.

We start off with a deal on a 2.3GHz dual Xserve. The model includes 4GB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, CD-ROM drive and Mac OS X Server. Also on tap is a faux leather iPad case, along with PhoneView 2 for your iPhone.

As usual, details on these and many other items can be found at CoM’s “Daily Deals” page right after the jump.

Given up hope on the white iPhone 4 yet? You probably should, but at least one analyst hasn’t: Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that Apple will start production of the white iPhone 4 this month and ship it no later than early April.

According to Kuo’s checks, Apple has solved the problem of light leaking onto the camera sensor through the back glass plate of the white iPhone 4 by making changes to the film material used to coat it.

With the camera issues fixed, Kuo says manufacturers will initiate production of the GSM iPhone 4 in white this month. Kuo doesn’t know if the white Verizon iPhone 4 will ship at the same time.

To be honest, at this point, the only reason for Apple to release a white iPhone 4 at all is pride. They’ve already hopelessly boned it for this generation: releasing a white iPhone 4 in the last few months of its lifespan isn’t going to get many buyers. With Apple reportedly looking at revisiting an alumium

Haven’t we seen this movie before? Companies drool over the success of Apple’s iTunes. Companies announce iTunes alternatives. Alternatives gather dust, eventually vanishing from the consumer consciousness. Now come PlayBook tablet maker Research in Motion and Microsoft both hoping to launch new services that rewrite the way most of these tech stories end.

For its part, RIM wants to include the UK-based 7digital music store on its as-yet-to-be-released PlayBook tablet, while the software giant reportedly plans a music and video service codenamed “Ventura” to replace its beleaguered Zune.

TiVo’s not doing so well these days. A gadget I once considered it nearly impossible to live without has since been buffeted by streaming set-top box competitors like the Apple TV and Roku Box, even as more and more HDTV manufacturers bake DVR functionality right into their sets. Last year, TiVo actually lost $84.5 million while simultaneously running up a deficit of nearly $800 million, so needless to say, they need to pull something out of their posteriors quick if they want to stay in business.

It looks like that “something” might well be repositioning the TiVo box as a streaming device that will pump its recorded content straight to your iPad. TiVo is asking customers how they feel about the option to “stream live TV, DVR recordings and TV shows from a cable company’s On Demand library to one’s iPad” from both the comfort of their home and while they were out on the road.

That sounds like a pretty killer feature to me, especially given the feature paucity of the current TiVo remote app. Unfortunately, I don’t know if TiVo can pull it off: TiVo announced that HulU Plus would come to its DVRs “soon” way back in September of last year, and that functionality still hasn’t arrived. TiVo needs to be sprier if they want to stay relevant.

Apple really seems to want people to take Friday afternoon off. Not only are they not taking pre-orders for the iPad 2, but now they’re mailing customers, telling them to get in line at their local Apple Store if they want an iPad 2 at launch.

“Be the first to get the next iPad. This Friday, March 11, at 5:00 p.m.” the mailing reads. “The Apple Retail Store is the best place to experience iPad. Our Specialists will show you around the features, help you choose the perfect model and set everything up just the way you like. So you’ll be up and running before you leave the store.”

Just in case you’re about to call your boss, though, please take a hint from Cult of Mac: as long as you don’t mind waiting until Saturday, the easiest way to get your iPad 2 is going to be to set your alarm for 12AM PT / 3AM ET and order it off of Apple’s site with overnight shipping. Or swing by your local Target, Wal-Mart, Verizon, Best Buy, AT&T or Verizon store on the way home and try your luck. You do not need to start camping out now, though. A saner head can prevail.

The University of Kentucky’s Patterson School of Diplomacy has launched an 18 month trial evaluating the value of Apple’s iPad in professional graduate education. The entire school – students, faculty and staff – will use the iPad for tasks ranging from graduate seminars and courseware to admissions and student recruitment. The goals are both practical and forward thinking:

“With Facebook and Twitter empowering opposition movements in Iran and Tunisia, and the U.S. drawing a line in the cyber-sand in defense of Internet freedom, effective statecraft today demands mastery of new communication tools. 21st century diplomacy increasingly has a digital and high-tech edge – diplomatic training must too,” said retired Ambassador and Patterson School Director Carey Cavanaugh.

Approximately 50 Patterson School students, faculty, and staff began the iPad trial in February, and another 35 students are expected to join once the 2011 entering class is chosen.

I’m guessing this has happened to all of us at least once: you finally cave to temptation and buy that Apple product you’ve had your eye on, only to have Cupertino release a new version a couple weeks later.

To be fair, Apple’s usually pretty good about at least giving you some money back when that happens, but it’s true that our wallets are often the casualty of Apple’s secretive product release schedule.

Good on Apple for doing the right thing in this case, though: an Apple retail store in New Jersey has agreed to exchange an order of original iPads and replace them with iPad 2s.

Why the exception? The iPads in question were ordered by a class of students at Rutgers’ Center for Management Development, which was scheduled to start on March 11th. Since an iPad was necessary to take the course, but because students had to pay for them themselves, Apple decided to take pity upon a class full of kids who literally couldn’t have waited to buy the iPad and exchange them, even eschewing their usual restocking fee. Good for Apple.

Remember all the talk about Apple’s $7.8 billion deal with Samsung to supply components for the iPhone and iPad? One of the concerns was that Samsung also produces the Galaxy S smartphone and Galaxy Tab tablet. We may now be seeing the rethinking of that marriage of convenience. Samsung reportedly is being passed-over for a Taiwan-based chipmaker to supply Apple’s iPad 2, as well as a rumored iPhone 5.

The Cupertino, Calif. tech giant is said to have signed a deal with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to produce the dual-core A5 chip, which will build upon the previous A4 chip produced by Samsung and part of the original iPad. Samsung also is expected to update its Android-based Galaxy products.

Like a lot of people, I have mixed feelings about Craigslist. It’s like Ikea: in theory, you’d rather patronize mom-and-pop shops or get your stuff elsewhere. But somehow on a rainy Saturday afternoon: there you are.

Craigslist can be a pain to use or search – but if you’re looking for a garage sale, love connection or that elusive floor lamp with a table in it – you end up there.

That’s where app Lifelike Craig HD comes in.

Yesterday, BGR made a SNAFU and claimed that iOS 4.3 was due to be pumped down to users in just a couple of hours. Obviously, that didn’t happen, but The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple has iOS 4.3’s actual release pegged for later today.

That’s looking increasingly likely. Earlier today, and less than a week after releasing iTunes 10.2, Apple has released iTunes 10.2.1 through the usual channels, which is solely a release paving the way for iTunes 4.3.

In fact, it appears to be mostly a small bug fix release, as Apple’s release notes state that iTunes 10.2.1 offers the ability to sync with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 4.3, as well as improved Home Sharing, letting users browse and play from their iTunes libraries with Home Sharing on any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 4.3. That’s the same as iTunes 10.2.

No other features or bug fixes are mentioned in the release notes, but you can bet that if Apple didn’t feel that a new version of iTunes so shortly after the last version’s release was critical, they wouldn’t have pushed out so quickly. Expect iOS 4.3 to drop in a few hours.

Remember that 64GB iPhone 4 prototype we posted about yesterday, seemingly legit right down to its blanked out serial number and crossed out capacity? The lovely lads over at MIC Gadget got a chance to play with it hands-on themselves, and unless they’re in on the conspiracy, their hands-on time seems to confirm that the 64GB iPhone 4 was very real indeed. It even has the same silver ring around the camera lens that the lost Gizmodo bar prototype had.

But who cares if an iPhone 4 prototype has 64GB of storage if you can’t buy one, right? Interestingly, though, MIC Gadget’s source for the prototype — who says it was leaked from Foxconn’s Shenzhen factory — says he’s heard that the next iPhone will bring 64GB of storage capacity to all users.

That’s interesting for more than just the obvious reason. The iPhone has only one flash module inside of it, compared to the iPod Touch’s two, so it implised the iPod Touch might make the leap to 128GB of capacity in September. Once that happens, say goodbye to the iPod Classic: it’s managed to hold on until now simply by being the iPod you buy if you want to carry your entire music library with you, but once the Touch reaches 128GB, it’s all over for the iPod that started it al.

Wall Street Journal writer Brett Arends bought a $200 Nook Color, jailbroke it in 20 minutes and found himself with a functioning tablet computer.

Arends readily admits his workaround – though it worked perfectly – isn’t the same thing as having an iPad.

He does crunch the numbers and figures the $200 he saves now, if invested, will give him about an extra $1,000 by the time he retires.

Although Apple’s next-generation iPad 2 won’t be released until Mar. 11, experts are already warning rival tablet makers more than half of their devices could be left unsold. Recalling images of the Internet bubble of 2000, one analyst predicts an “increasing risk of a bubble burst” for iPad competitors during the second half of 2011.

Improvements announced in the iPad 2 “make it tougher for the first generation of competitive offerings to play catch-up, meaning actual shipments could fall well short of plan,” JP Morgan Research analyst Mark Moskowitz told investors Wednesday.

At last week’s iPad 2 launch event, Apple surprised many of us by failing to announce anything in regards to iOS 5 or the forthcoming MobileMe revamp. In retrospect, it makes sense: although comparatively modest an update, the iPad 2 event was jam packed as it is with sales figures, new software, new accessories and hardware improvements, all of which needed their presentation time. iOS 5 is going to need an entire event all to itself.

So when will Apple debut iOS 5 and MobileMe? German site Macerkopf is citing a source that says Apple plans an early April media event to introduce iOS 5 and the new revamped MobileMe.

The easiest way to tell what Apple is going to do in the future is look at what they’ve done in the past. Last year, Apple held their event debuting iOS 4 on April 8th, 2010, giving developers two or three months to get on board with changes in the operating system before the release of the iPhone 4 in late June pushed it out to end users. It would make a lot of sense if Apple did the same this year with iOS 5 as well.