Month: March 2012

European carriers not impressed with the iPad’s 4G branding

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 18, 2012

Apple may be an American company, but at times it forgets that it also deals in markets that are outside the United States. Australia, the whole of Europe and plenty of other countries and continents are represented in Apple's list of release territories for new devices, and the new iPad was no different.

Apple is now very much branding its new iPad as a 4G device, something which makes plenty of sense in the United States thanks to LTE being available on both AT&T and Verizon. The problem is, 4G isn't exactly prevalent elsewhere, and branding the device as 4G has apparently upset carriers in both Australia and Europe, leaving Apple with something of a problem.

Just how does a 3G carrier explain that a 4G iPad isn't quite 4G...

iPad 2 vs the new iPad boot up speed test

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 18, 2012

Which one boots up faster? The answer to this question is pretty obvious if you take into consideration that the new iPad has more technical resources at its disposal than its predecessor.

While the iPad 2 is certainly no slouch in the performance department, the new iPad — as expected — defeated it on boot up tests every time.

Check out our hands-on comparison inside....

Top 10 iOS news of the week

Sébastien Page ∙ March 18, 2012

A new week is coming, but that doesn't mean you have to miss out on what happened last week. If you think you may have missed a few of the top stories from last week, don't sweat it, we've got you covered.

We've gathered the top 10 most popular stories from iDB last week for you to check out. As always, make sure that you're friends with us on Facebook, Google+, and that you are following us on Twitter...

Following the iOS debacle, Mountain Lion now asks permission to access contacts too

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 17, 2012

It seems that Apple's learnings from the Path Contacts debacle have extended to the Mac, too, with the latest Developer Preview of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion also seeing a Contacts-based new security addition.

Those with reasonable memories will remember that Path, the social networking app that was all the rage not long ago, got itself into some hot water for taking all the details from the iOS Contacts app – names, numbers, email addresses and more – and uploading them to its own servers. This led to all kinds of scaremongering and ultimately, Apple decided to add a warning message to iOS that tells users when an app is requesting access to contact details. Users then have to option of allowing or blocking that access.

Now it appears that Apple has pulled this security feature across from iOS to the Mac, or at least it will in the next version of OS X when it arrives later this year...

The new iPad costs Apple at least $316 to build

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 17, 2012

It's become something of a ritual for some. Apple releases a new device, be it iPhone or iPad, and then someone waits patiently to get their hands on it with the sole aim of ripping it apart. It's a regular assurance these days, and the new iPad has suffered the same fate as its brethren.

This time around, amongst others, IHS iSuppli got their hands on a new iPad and set about doing the only honorable thing: ripping it apart with the sole aim of trying to figure out just how much one of these things costs to make and, thus, how much the device is adding to Apple's world famous bottom line.

The answer very much depends on the model sold, but regardless, Apple is indeed making plenty of profit on each iPad sold...

Three different iPad (3rd generation) jailbreaks surface on launch day

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 16, 2012

As if one jailbreak wasn't enough, now there has been confirmation that not one, not two, but three different 3rd generation iPad jailbreaks have been confirmed by hackers MuscleNerd, i0nic, and chpwn respectively.

It's only a matter of time before one or more of these jailbreaks make their way to a toolset that the average person can utilize.

Chpwn is the latest hacker to join the new 3rd generation iPad jailbreak party, as he posted photos on Twitter confirming his success...

New iPad untethered jailbreak showcased on video

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 16, 2012

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is among the fastest turnaround time we've ever seen for a jailbreak for a brand new Apple device.

As we reported earlier, an untethered jailbreak has already been accomplished for the newly released iPad, and now we have the video proof.

Check inside as iDevice hacker i0n1c showcases his untethered jailbreak on video...

The iPad’s A5X benchmarked against Nvidia’s Tegra 3

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 16, 2012

During the company's new iPad announcement last week, Apple's CEO Tim Cook and VP Phil Schiller made plenty of claims about both the new tablet and its competition. One claim to stand out was one that struck right at the heart of Nvidia, and it raised a few eyebrows at the same time.

During the announcement it was suggested that Apple's new A5X chip was much, much faster than the latest and greatest competition, Nvidia's Tegra 3 chipset. With the Android powered Tegra 3 hardware believed to be the cutting edge of mobile technology, many called the claims ludicrous. Now, after initial testing, it seems that Apple may have actually be onto something after all.

A new video posted by an Australian tech blogger has compared the new iPad and the Tegra 3-equipped Asus Transformer Prime, with the results showing that Apple's device is indeed the top dog...

New iPad jailbreak gets the untethered treatment

Cody Lee ∙ March 16, 2012

Earlier today, Apple's new Retina display-equipped iPad went on sale around the world. Perhaps even more exciting was the fact that the Dev Team was able to jailbreak the new tablet within a matter of hours.

Now it looks like there has been another development. Well-known iDevice hacker i0n1c has just announced that he has jailbroken his third-generation iPad. Oh yeah, and it's untethered...

The new iPad giveaway!

IDB Staff ∙ Updated March 23, 2012

Ladies and gentlemen, this is by far the biggest giveaway that we've done at iDownloadBlog, and we're inviting you to participate.

Yes, we're giving away a 3rd generation iPad to one fortunate reader. Why buy a new iPad when you can get one for absolutely free?

All you have to do is follow a few instructions and you'll be entered to win. The winner will be announced next Friday. Check inside for more details...

The new iPad camera: we’ve seen it somewhere before

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

Now that the new iPad is finding its way into the hands of lucky buyers across the globe, we are beginning to hear reports of first impressions and as always, teardowns. One such teardown has come courtesy of Chipworks.

As we already knew, the new iPad comes packed to the gills with technology, and that battery is as massive as we expected – you've got to power that 4G somehow! – but Chipworks has also taken a closer look at the two cameras that Apple has used this time around.

Perhaps predictably, it appears that Apple has chosen to re-use parts from its existing product lines for the new iPad, which while not necessarily a bad thing, is certainly worth a mention...

TinyUmbrella updated with support for new iPad and Apple TV

Cody Lee ∙ March 16, 2012

It's not even Noon yet here on the west coast and today has already proven to be fairly eventful. Not only did Apple's new iPad go on sale around the world this morning, but the tablet was jailbroken within hours.

And now we've learned that NotCom has just updated TinyUmbrella to version 5.10.08. The new software, which saves your devices' SHSH Blobs, now includes support for the new Apple TV and yes, the new iPad...