“Busted” iOS battery algorithm behind shorter iPad run time affects all iOS devices?

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 26, 2012

As we told you last week, unplugging your brand spanking new iPad as soon as the battery gauge hits the 100 percent mark entails missing out as much as ten percent of additional run time, or about 1.2 hours. This has been attributed to the iOS battery algorithm, which kinda brings back old memories of a bug in reporting cellular signal levels on the iPhone 4, later fixed with a software update.

According to new findings, this is actually a system-wide behavior in Apple’s mobile operating system – thus affecting older iPads, as well as your iPhone and iPod touch. In fact, all iOS devices are affected by what’s been called “busted” battery algorithm, it’s just more pronounced on the new iPad due to its 70 percent more capacious battery.

What exactly is going on here, you ask… Read More

 

The new iPad gets regulatory approval in China

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 26, 2012

Apple debuted its third-generation iPad two weeks ago and announced shipments of three million units during the launch weekend. Although the tablet is not yet officially sold in the 1.33 billion people Chinese market, Apple has just been granted a certification for the device, an important pre-requisite for having the new iPad appear on store shelves.

While the company did not yet indicate where it will launch the gizmo next, the new iPad originally hit ten major markets, including the United States and Hong Kong, one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People’s Republic of China (the other being Macau) .

The second phase of the aggressive roll out has brought the iPad last Friday to 24 additional countries, but not mainland China. Thanks to Apple’s ability to keep up with consumer demand this year, some unauthorized Chinese resellers are already seeing smaller return on their investment. Read More

 

Some Apple Stores seeing high volume iPad returns due to lower resale value

By Cody Lee on Mar 25, 2012

MacRumors published an interesting story yesterday regarding Apple’s 5th Avenue retail location seeing a large number of third-generation iPad returns by Chinese resellers.

It appears that Apple’s ability to keep up with consumer demand this year has diminished the tablet’s resale value, prompting a high volume of returns by would-be vendors… Read More

 

10 beautiful high resolution wallpapers for your new iPad

By Cody Lee on Mar 23, 2012

Out of all of the features you’ll find in Apple’s latest iPad, the new Retina display is the one causing the commotion. The screen, which is made up of over 3.1 million pixels, is by far the best in any tablet on the market right now.

And if you’ve recently picked up a new iPad, chances are you’re looking for some high resolution wallpapers to make that display really pop. Well lucky for you, we happen to have a list of 10 great ones after the break… Read More

 

And the winner of our new iPad giveaway is…

By iDB Staff on Mar 23, 2012

Ladies and gentlemen, we are pleased to announce that we have selected the winner for our new iPad giveaway.

Special thanks to all that entered! The feedback has been insane, and it’s truly great to know that there are so many fans of iDB out there.

As we’ve stated before, we really wish we had the means to provide all of you with a new iPad, but there can only be one grand prize winner… Read More

 

Sharp, LG Display ramping up second-quarter Retina display shipments for the new iPad

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 23, 2012

Asian trade publication DigiTimes reported this morning that both Sharp and LG Display are set to increase their respective manufacturing output of Retina displays for the new iPad. The news follows a recent report by the same publication that Sharp shipped 2.71 million iPad Retina panels to Apple.

This might mean that production issues have finally been sorted out after both firms had reportedly failed to meet Apple’s exact quality requirements. Something tells me Samsung won’t like this. As you know, Apple is clever enough not to put all eggs in one basket, so to speak.

As a result of LG Display and Sharp jumping on the Retina bandwagon, Apple should be able to achieve a significant increase in iPad shipments for the next quarter and onwards… Read More

 

My new iPad review

By Sebastien Page on Mar 23, 2012

When the iPad 2 came out last year, it was like I had fallen in love all over again with Apple’s tablet. It was such an improvement over the first iPad that I couldn’t let go of it for more than a few instants. Of course, the novelty stir wore off, and after a few weeks, I started dreaming about what the iPad 3 could look like or what new features it would come loaded with. Surely, Apple would awe me again.

The Retina display was without a doubt the number one feature I expected from the iPad 3, so you can imagine my excitement when Apple confirmed the new iPad would come with a 2048×1536 display, packing more than 3 million pixels. After all, I don’t need much from a tablet. All I do with it is browse the web, read news, reply to emails, tweet, and my new hobby, editing pictures shot with my iPhone. So really the Retina display is all I wanted, although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t expect Apple to amaze me with features I hadn’t even thought of.

And maybe that’s one of the problems we have with every Apple product launch. We expect too much. The company has set the bar so high, so quickly, that we’re always waiting for them to give us more, more, more, and more. We’re expecting the unexpectable.

Did I, like many others, expect too much from the new iPad?

Let me share with you my thoughts about Apple’s new tablet, now that I’ve been using it for a week. And for those of you thinking this is going to be the same old review you’ve read 27 times praising the merits of the new iPad, you’re wrong. You’ve heard every possible compliment about the new iPad, so I’ll try to give you a more captious point of view… Read More

 

Apple updates Trailers app for Retina iPad, Netflix promises high-def streaming “soon”

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 23, 2012

Ahead of the original iPad introduction in the April of 2010, the blogosphere had been abuzz over an unnamed Hollywood exec who allegedly saw a prototype in person and claimed the product would be awesome for watching movies. It ended up being quite enjoyable for this purpose, but hardly awesome due its modest 1024-by-768 pixel resolution.

Fast-forward to today and the new iPad, which has a million more pixels than an HDTV, is perfect for watching Hollywood movies in all their 1080 glory. As developers of popular apps update their offerings with Retina support, Apple isn’t wasting time neither. Yesterday, the company issued an update to its iTunes Movie Trailers app, basically a pretty-fied frontend to its movie trailers page released last October.

At the same time, Netflix pushed an update to its video streaming client for iOS with support for Retina graphics. Though the program does not enable high-definition video streaming yet, it’s in the works and should follow “soon”… Read More

 

Some Smart Covers aren’t fully compatible with new iPad

By Cody Lee on Mar 22, 2012

When Apple unveiled its new tablet earlier this month, the consensus seemed to be that it would continue to work with all iPad 2 Smart Covers. After all, the new iPad’s frontside dimensions are identical to its predecessors.

But apparently that isn’t the case. As noted by iLounge, the new iPad uses a slightly different magnet system that causes some newer Smart Covers, and similar third party magnet-driven cases, not to work properly… Read More

 

Don’t stop charging your iPad when it says 100%

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 22, 2012

With all the hoopla around the new iPad getting a little bit toastier than its predecessor, Dr. Raymond Soneira is in high demand these days. Yesterday, he explained how the demanding Retina display and brightness levels affect the iPad’s run time. Today, he’s back at it, warning the device keeps charging even when it claims to have been filled.

Is this an iOS software flaw akin to a “bug” in cellular signal levels on the iPhone 4 (later fixed with a software update)? Hard to tell. All we know is it keeps charging for as much as an hour after the battery gauge hits the 100 percent mark. This, too, might explain why some people experience shorter run times with the new iPad versus its predecessor… Read More

 

Shocker: Running new iPad at full brightness kills run time by 20 percent

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 22, 2012

The interest surrounding the iPad overheating meme isn’t vaning. Quite the contrary, folks are eager to get to the bottom of this thing. As we hold our breath for today’s definite findings of “a battery of tests” conducted by Consumer Reports, a display expert sheds more light on how an improved LED backlighting system on the iPad’s Retina display contributes to Heatgate and, specifically, the tablet’s run time.

You’ve already seen heat maps which prove that the new A5X chip with its jumbo-sized quad-core GPU is the biggest heater in the new iPad. That said, its souped up LED backlighting is actually the No. 1 factor leading up to a faster battery drain and is partly to blame for the gizmo’s five-degree Celsius temperature increase… Read More

 

Rumor: next iPhone to feature 4.6-inch display

By Jake Smith on Mar 21, 2012

Now that the rumors for the third-generation iPad are over, rumors regarding Apple’s next iPhone are kicking in full swing. Reporting on a rumor that’s been floating around for quite awhile, Maeil Business Newspaper (via Reuters) says that Apple’s next iPhone will feature a 4.6-inch display.

The upgraded screen size has been rumored to be featured in the iPhone for quite awhile. Many Android devices include a larger 4-inch screen, including Samsung’s popular Galaxy S II. The 4.6-inch display would be Retina quality and manufactured by Samsung and LG… Read More

 

Why the new iPad gets hotter and how it’s being blown out of proportion

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 21, 2012

Image courtesy of GSM Arena

There’s an awful lot of hoopla around the new iPad overheating. People are getting spooked by heat maps and that screenshot of standard iOS prompt saying “the iPad needs to cool down” average users rarely see. It goes without saying that the press immediately jumped on the opportunity to exploit the story in order to keep those eyeballs glued to the screen.

And with Consumer Reports now throwing its credibility behind Heatgate, it’s easy to walk away under the impression that the new iPad comes with a major hardware flaw. Now, If you ever held a PS Vita, you can attest it runs a lot hotter than the iPad.

Still, it’s hard to escape the notion the story is gaining traction because it’s about the world’s most powerful technology corporation that just released the third iteration of its category-defining gizmo everyone wants (it’s selling like hotcakes). Yes, the new iPad is a bit toastier than its predecessor – full five degrees Celsius to be precise.

How exactly is this a big deal, you ask. Here’s why the new iPad gets hotter, why it doesn’t matter and how it’s being blown out of proportion… Read More

 

For some early adopters, Wi-Fi reception problems with their new iPads

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 21, 2012

In addition to the new iPad getting a bit warm when playing graphics-intensive games, it would appear that an unknown portion of early adopters are also having issues with Wi-Fi reception. A growing thread on Apple’s support forum is filled with reports describing a range of difficulties with the iPad’s wireless networking capabilities.

According to a bunch of disgruntled users, the new iPad has trouble maintaining a reliable wireless connection in places with strong signal. It also exhibits flaky connection that constantly drops or has no reception at all. Apple has not yet responded to these complaints at the time of this writing… Read More

 

Cellular data plans not cutting it for content-hungry 4G LTE iPad users

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 21, 2012

That entry-level data plan you signed up for to go along your brand spanking new iPad? It’s obsolete, thanks to the device’s 4G LTE networking that allows for speeds easily exceeding your home broadband connection. As a result, folks planning on enjoying 4G speeds on the go may likely blow past through their monthly allowance in a couple days. Your mileage may wary, of course, depending on your mobile usage habits.

Here in the U.S., entry-level data plans for iPad begin at $15 or $30 a month, depending on your carrier. AT&T’s entry-level 250MB plan will set you back $14.99 a month, with 2GB/5GB plans costing $30/$50 a month. Rival Verizon Wireless is offering 2GB/5GB/10GB tiers priced at $30/$50/$80 a month.

But even five gigabytes a month is conceivable insufficient when you stream high-definition movies and television shows to your device over 4G LTE networks, upload big photos to your social networks or edit and upload full HD movies to YouTube, etc. The Wall Street Journal has the full story (subscription required)… Read More

 

Microscope analysis of A5X chip finds jumbo-sized GPU, 310% larger package

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 20, 2012

While guys over at iFixIt have done their trademark awesome job peeking under the new iPad’s hood, one aspect of its bowels hasn’t been scrutinized yet: the Apple-designed A5X chip labeled “S5L8945X” and fabbed on Samsung’s 45-nanometer process. Enter silicon analysis firm Chipworks which just released a high-resolution photo depicting so-called “floorplans” of the A5X package.

Their analysis corroborates speculation on the A5X architecture and offers a fascinating insight into the innards of the A5X package. As you can see in the above shot, a large portion of the A5X’s die is dedicated to the four graphic cores, found to be comparable to Nvidia’s Tegra 3 chip in terms of speed.

Apple does not publicly specify the type of GPU/CPU used, but it’s been widely rumored that the A5X packs in Imagination Technologies’ PowerVR SGX543MP4 technology versus a dual core PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU found inside the A5 chip from iPad 2 (both pieces of silicon run dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU). Read on for the nitty-gritty details depicted in the polysilicon die photos… Read More

 

The new iPad review

By Jeff Benjamin on Mar 20, 2012

The new iPad. Two generations from the somewhat enigmatic, yet overwhelmingly successful debut, Apple’s latest tablet is firing on all cylinders.

No longer is there a question as to whether such a device has a place in people’s day to day lives, it’s now a question of how many such devices are necessary to have for one household.

Indeed, the iPad is about as mainstream as mainstream gets, only a few years removed from many pundits, including myself, questioning its viability.

The truth is that maybe only a handful of people knew how insanely successful Apple’s tablet would be, but now everyone but the most blinded of opposers is a believer. Even if you don’t own an Apple device, you’re compelled to give credit where credit is due… Read More

 

Does the new iPad use Retina graphics when running iPhone apps?

By Cody Lee on Mar 20, 2012

On both the original iPad and the iPad 2, iPhone apps played on the tablet would appear rather pixelated in 2X mode — whether they had Retina graphics or not. This is why the jailbreak tweak RetinaPad became so popular.

But it looks like third-generation iPad owners won’t need the utility, as the new tablet appears to already use Retina graphics when running iPhone applications… Read More

 

Comixology iPad app updated, now displays comics in super high definition

By Cody Lee on Mar 20, 2012

Graphic novel fans who haven’t yet picked up a new iPad might have just found a good reason to do so. Comixology, the world’s largest digital comics platform, just upgraded its iPad app to support the tablet’s high resolution Retina display.

The company specializes in graphic novels and comic books, and offers both as digital downloads through its iOS app. Its library includes popular works from both DC and Marvel, as well as a number of other publishers… Read More

 

Heatgate looms as Consumer Reports launches probe confirming iPad overheating

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 20, 2012

An influential United States consumer advocacy group Consumer Reports is investigating online reports describing overheating issues experienced by some owners of the new iPad, which went on sale last Friday to sell three million units during the launch weekend. The consumer watchdog also runs a monthly magazine since 1936 that features exhaustive product reviews widely accepted as credible.

A preliminary report states that the tablet hits 116 degrees Fahrenheit, or a whopping 46 degrees Celzius, while running graphics-heavy games such as Infinity Blade II. According to Reuters, Consumer Reports will publish its full findings this coming Thursday “after finishing a battery of tests”, per their spokesperson.

It’s interesting to note that Consumer Reports last Saturday published a quick review of the new iPad on its blog, proclaiming Apple’s device “the best tablet yet”… Read More

 
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