iPad mini 2

Target launches time-limited deals on iOS devices

Target, the nation's second-largest discount retailer, is launching some pretty interesting deals on Apple's iOS devices. Starting this coming Sunday, February 9, and through next week's Saturday, February 15, customers in the market for an iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPad Air and any iPad mini can get discounts in the form of gift cards.

The time-limited promotion will see some of these devices discounted by as much as $50 versus Apple's asking prices. Jump past the fold for the full per-product breakdown...

University of Wisconsin takes Apple to court over A7’s performance-enhancing tricks

The University of Wisconsin via its patent-licensing arm, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, has filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging the company's in-house designed A7 chip infringes the foundation's patent designed to improve "the efficiency and performance of contemporary computer processors" by introducing a new process for allowing quicker execution of processor instructions.

It's been reported Monday that Apple's 64-bit A7 chip, which acts as the primary engine driving the iPhone 5s, the iPad Air and the iPad mini with Retina display, apparently uses this technology without permission...

Skype gains push notifications for chats, two-way video calling in HD on A7 devices

Skype for iPhone rolled out the ability to conduct two-way video chatting back in December 2010, but the quality of these video calls left a lot to be desired. Back then, the iPhone 4's back camera could only capture video in 720p and the front-facing camera was good only for VGA-grade video chatting.

Besides, the handset lacked the processing power to make two-way video calling in high-definition a reality.

Today's update to Skype's free iPhone and iPad client brings HD video calling to the iPhone 5s, iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display, along with an improved chatting experience and more...

Retina iPad mini shipping times improve to 1-3 days for many countries

Good news for folks trying to snag an iPad mini with Retina display in time for the holidays. Shipping times for the popular tablet have improved in Apple’s web store to 1-3 days for the US, Canada and several other countries.

This applies to all configurations of the new mini, including both Space Gray and Silver colorways and Wi-Fi + Cellular models. And it means that, if you order soon, you can still get one shipped out for free before Christmas…

Retina iPad mini production bottlenecks easing

It looks like Apple's suppliers and manufacturers in Taiwan in China are finally catching up with demand. First we learned that Foxconn is finally ramping up iPhone 5s production, with handset ship times being lowered earlier this week to three to five days for online orders.

And now, despite the initial rumors of shortages concerning the new iPad mini with Retina display it would appear that production bottlenecks are easing quickly, with the Cupertino company reportedly having ordered a total of nearly four million Retina iPad minis in the month of November...

16/32GB Wi-Fi Retina iPad mini shipping times slip to 5-10 days

Apple's iPad mini with Retina display used to ship in 1-3 business days for the more popular versions with sixteen and 32 gigabytes of storage, with the more capacious variants with 64 and 128 gigabytes of storage being delivered in 5-10 days.

In another development that won't please holiday shoppers, the entry-level 16GB Retina iPad mini along with its 32GB variant have become harder to come by as shipping estimates on the online Apple Store slip to 5-10 days. Matter of fact, now all capacities, colors, wireless and carrier models (Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + Cellular) of the iPad mini with Retina display are shipping in 5-10 days...

Cellular Retina iPad mini hitting regional U.S. carriers, starting with Bluegrass Cellular

The United States wireless carrier Bluegrass Cellular started selling the iPad Air on November 1, along with many other regional U.S. wireless companies.

And as cellular models of the iPad mini with Retina display have recently begun trickling into Apple’s U.S. retail stores, the Kentucky-based carrier has started selling nearly every Retina mini model.

Moreover, Bluegrass is offering the device via both its web store and directly to customers who shop in one of its retail stores. Customers can buy the device either on or off-contract, with monthly installments making it easier on the wallet. The full breakdown is right below...

Apple now allowing walk-in Retina iPad mini sales

You can now finally just waltz inside your nearest brick-and-mortar Apple Store and pick up an iPad mini with Retina display, an indication of Apple slowly buy surely catching up to demand, despite the shortages which are expected to ease in Q1 2014.

When Apple quietly and rather unceremoniously put the device on sale on November 12, it limited availability to online orders-only, which customers could either have shipped or picked up personally at a desired Apple Store.

Walk-in purchases were not possible due to high demand up until now, with LTE-enabled models only recently having started arriving to Apple's retail outlets...

Retina iPad mini shortages deepen as shipping estimates slip at U.S. carriers

Supply of Apple's iPad mini with Retina display remains tight as the holiday season approaches fast, a new report has it. The Wi-Fi + Cellular models appear to be in short supply as the device is basically a no-show at three major United States wireless carriers - AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile. The three telcos all back-ordered on the cellular version, with shipping estimates slipping to December.

In one instance, T-Mobile is now showing the device back-ordered 6-8 weeks. As for T-Mobile and AT&T, their web stores show 6-8 week and 21-28 day delivery estimates, respectively...

Review: iPad mini Smart Case

I briefly talked about Apple’s new Smart Case for the iPad mini in yesterday’s iPad mini with Retina display review, but after giving it some thought, I think it deserves some more attention.

Let me just start out by saying that I’ve not used the Smart Case for the full sized iPad Air, so I can’t really speak on that. In fact, this is my first experience with a Smart Case. I’ve used Smart Covers plenty of times in the past, but never opted for a Smart Case until now.

Some thoughts on iPad mini with Retina display

As you’ll hear me recount on the upcoming episode of Let’s Talk iOS, I had to go through quite a lot to get my hands on the iPad mini with Retina display that I desired. The model, a Space Grey 32GB Cellular version with a bundled T-Mobile sim, proved to be a pretty tough get.

But I finally did get my iPad mini, and I’ve been able to spend the last few days truly analyzing the device, and analyzing whether or not the time I invested into acquiring it was worth the hassle.

You’ve likely read plenty of other reviews that pretty much spout off the same thing. Yes, the mini now has an awesome screen, has the same guts as the iPad Air, and it did so by compromising some of its thinness. So what’s the end result? Is this a good product? Will it go down as the best iPad ever? I share my thoughts inside.

Retina iPad mini has inferior color gamut to iPad Air

Apple's latest iPad mini with Retina display went unexpectedly on sale last Friday. As is the case with any Apple product launch, this one, too, came with its share of teething issues.

Some early adopters may have bought a device with Sharp-made IGZO screen which apparently exhibits slight image retention issue, for example.

I was deep into AnanandTech's exhaustive Retina iPad mini review the other day and stumbled upon a section which describes the device's Retina display as actually showing fewer colors compared to the iPad Air. Not that an untrained eye will notice any difference, but I've decided to post this anyway for purely academic purposes...