In an attempt to get a handle on what kind of people are out buying the iPad mini today, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster has been out and about interviewing purchasers of the tablet.
As you might expect, more than half of the early mini adopters that he talked to already owned a larger iPad. But somewhat surprisingly, more than 75% of them plan on keeping it...
Apple's (mostly) hated Podcasts app that launched in the summer last received an update in September, finally bringing iOS 6 compatibility, iCloud subscription syncing, the ability to automatically download new episodes only when on Wi-Fi and more. Earlier today, a new version surfaced on iTunes. Podcasts 1.1.2, an incremental update, includes stability and performance improvements, bug fixes and a few enhancements.
For example, tapping a podcast in Top Stations now reveals episodes you can play. Also new is the ability to turn on automatic downloads for all subscribed podcasts in Settings. Unfortunately, the dreaded 1980s animated tape-recorder interface is still there, but Jony Ive will no doubt see to it sooner rather than later...
As you may have heard, Apple's iPad mini finally went on sale earlier today. Some of you no doubt picked it up directly at your local Apple store (hope you didn't have to stand in line outside the Fifth Avenue store). Others might still be biting their nails anxiously awaiting that USP truck. If you're busy playing with or imagining handling Apple's shiny new toy, why not make some room in your car's dashboard so you can easily slide the iPad mini in and out? Look no further than Soundwaves of Tampa, which custom-built a dash in a 2012 Toyota Corolla. Video is right below...
Apple's been an avid supported of USB for years. With USB 3.0, not so much - at least not until first Mac notebooks with USB 3.0 support began rolling out of assembly lines last year. The company, however, never adopted the industry-standard Micro USB connector. Instead, and much to the horror of the multi-billion dollar accessory biz, it chose to replace its own bulky, decade-old proprietary 30-pin dock connector with Lightning, another proprietary connector similar in size to micro USB (there's a reasonable explanation for that).
So, if you fancy connecting your Lightning-enabled mobile devices to micro USB cables and chargers to sync and charge, Apple comes to the rescue with its official Lightning to Micro USB Adapter. Originally released in Europe in September due to regulations mandating that all mobile phones be charged via commonplace micro USB adapters, it's now finally available to U.S. customers. How much? Just $20. I know, don't start...
Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, Nexus Q... Who would have thought just a year ago that Google would ever be able to build its own family of branded consumer electronics products so rapidly and much in the way Apple has built its iPhone, iPod and iPad lineups. Now, I opined in May that Google becoming a handset maker could spell trouble for Apple, not just concerning the iPhone maker's thermonuclear war on Android but also realizing the vertical integration advantage this acquisition makes possible - even if we have yet to see Motorola-made Nexus phones born out of that partnership.
But Google becoming a hardware company changes market dynamics drastically, especially with much of the innovations in the Android camp happening in software right now. John Lagerling, Google's director of business development for Android, sat down with Brian Chen of The New York Times to talk Nexus devices and how Google goes about designing them, here's what came out of him...
Apple introduced the new A6X with the fourth-generation iPad on October 23. It's an improved version of the A6 silicon powering the iPhone 5 by increasing clock frequency for the CPU (1.5GHz) and GPU (500MHz) part in order to achieve Apple's claim of twice the CPU and GPU performance.
Though the A6X still runs two ARM Cortex-A15 cores with a heavily customized, Apple's own ARMv7 based processor design (called Swift), the company has improved graphics performance compared to the A6's three PowerVR-based GPU cores by moving to a newer GPU core: the PowerVR SGX 554 from UK's fabless semiconductor maker Imagination Technologies, where Apple has an ownership stake...
Talk about timing. As Apple's latest tablet, the 4th generation iPad, officially goes on sale today, Google has lifted its embargo, giving early Nexus 10 holders the green light to post their reviews.
Google announced the 10-inch slate on Monday, and with its 2,560x1,600 display, 1.7GHz dual-core processor and 2GB of RAM, it's said to be a serious iPad contender. But what did reviewers think?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TteaMDNQbdQ
It's a little weird that I'm unboxing what is basically the same product that I unboxed back in March, but that's the way the product cycle rolls these days.
True, the new iPad 4 features a CPU that is twice as fast, and graphics that are twice as fast. It also features an updated FaceTime HD camera for high def video calling, along with the new Lightning connector. With all that said, practically everything else is exactly the same as the iPad 3, and it comes in at the exact same form factor.
As you can see, for the first time I opted to get an iPad in White. This will help me to quickly tell the difference between this and the previous generation iPad.
What about you? Did you decide to get an iPad 4, or are you holding out for a more drastic upgrade?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeR0n0r00pk
I went to several Walmart's last night at midnight in search of the elusive iPad mini, but alas, no dice. Fortunately I already had one ordered from the Apple Store as a backup plan.
I literally just received my mini in the mail via FedEx about 30 minutes ago. As always, I could hardly contain myself, but I made myself wait before tearing open the box so I could showcase this unboxing on video for you guys.
Have you received your iPad mini yet? What do you think about it thus far? Stay tuned, as we'll have tons of comparison articles and videos in the coming hours and days.
The iPad mini went on sale this morning in 34 countries and it looks to be off to a pretty solid start. Now, much ado is being made about lines not being as long as during past product launches. This is understandable: after all, the iPad mini launch is somewhat subdued because of the fallout from Hurricane Sandy. Still, eager fans reportedly visit flagship Apple stores in considerable numbers to pick up the new device which most reviewers deemed an attractive buy.
In New york, in about two hours the iPad mini sold out at Apple's flagship Manhattan store on the Fifth Avenue. In case you'be been wondering about the headcount, Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports of more than 800 customers standing in the line by the time the 10am countdown began. So much about "disappointing crowds"...
Once Microsoft unveiled its Surface tablet, its first foray into designing its own mobile hardware, this summer, you had to imagine that a Redmond-built smartphone wouldn't be far behind.
And sure enough, according to a new report from a highly regarded news outlet, the Windows company is currently working with suppliers in Asia to test its own smartphone design...
We've long known smartphone owners live in a largely bifurcated world of Android and iOS. However, new research paints a dramatic picture where three out of every four smartphones shipped are powered by Google's mobile operating system. Apple's mobile OS is the only other to have double-digit market share: a hair under 15 percent.
In the third quarter of 2012, Android accounted for 136 million of the 181 million smartphones shipped, according to IDC. By comparison, 26 million iOS-powered smartphones shipped during the same period, giving Apple 14.9 percent of the market. While both OS makers grew faster than the industry's 46.4 percent, Android's 91.5 percent year-over-year growth handily overcame the 57.3 percent growth of Apple's iOS...