Oliver Haslam

Expert says the new iPad causes less eye strain than its predecessors

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 19, 2012

The biggest change in Apple's new iPad is undoubtedly that Retina display. Cramming all those extra pixels into the same size screen is certainly a feat of engineering, but Apple didn't do it just because it can.

As anyone with a new iPad in front of them, or an iPhone 4/4S for that matter, will have to admit, having a Retina display makes the screen almost look like a magazine. It's impossible sharp, mesmerisingly clear.

According to one Optometrist and the editor of All About Vision, those extra pixels also help to reduce eye strain, too...

New single-day record for iPad sales and activations for AT&T

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 19, 2012

Apple CEO Tim Cook said just this morning that the new iPad has broken records during its first weekend on sale, and now AT&T is also touting the tablet's successes.

AT&T spokesmen Seth Bloom said in a tweet this morning that the carrier has broken its own iPad sales and activation records over release weekend, with Friday seeing the biggest numbers to date.

That's no mean feat considering AT&T has had the iPad since day one, and that Verizon's LTE network is arguably stronger in the United States than AT&T's own. Cue Verizon's figures showing similar results...

Sharp to begin cranking out Retina displays of its own

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 19, 2012

A new report out of the Wall Street Journal claims that Sharp is closer than ever to being able to ramp up production of Retina displays for Apple's new iPad.

Current shipping iPads feature Retina display panels manufactured by, ironically enough, Samsung, with both Sharp and LG supposedly set to join the fray sooner rather than later.

The Wall Street Journal suggests that Sharp may be the first to offer backup for Samsung, with mass production set to be underway "as soon as possible," according to a source...

Apple announces record iPad sales this weekend

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 19, 2012

Apple's new iPad may have been released on Friday, but the company is already crowing about its sales performances.

New CEO Tim Cook was asked about the new iPad's sales results during the conference call the company just held to explain what it is doing with that $100 billion war chest, and the answer was a simple one: Apple is "thrilled" by the iPad's performance.

Cook also went on saying that the new iPad had produced a "record weekend" although he did not elaborate on that comment. For all we know, he could mean the new iPad holds the record for most pixels, or shiniest box...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Photos taken with the new iPad surface

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 14, 2012

The iPad 2 was the recipient of much mockery thanks to its decidedly poor camera performance and Apple has obviously set about rectifying that with the new iPad's 5-megapixel shooter. The question we are all asking is an obvious one: just how good is that camera after all?

With iPads not arriving in the hands of the vast majority of buyers for a good few days yet, a Vietnamese site has set about showing off details of the iPad they managed to get their hands on early. We've already seen benchmark figures courtesy of the Vietnamese, and now we have sample photos, too.

The upshot? The third-generation iPad is certainly better at taking photos than its predecessor, but you probably won't wan to use it instead of the camera in your iPhone 4S...

Here we go again: iOS users struggling with DST switchover

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 11, 2012

If you live in a part of the world which required a change to the clocks this weekend, then it may be worth checking all is well with your iOS devices because, according to isolated reports, some are once again struggling to behave as expected during the switchover.

We've been here plenty of times before, so we really shouldn't be surprised. Even so, Apple's inability to make something so simple work reliably is something we just can't help but marvel at.

They can cram more pixels into a 10-inch tablet than we care to count, but ask Apple to make a phone do something that computers have been doing for years and it apparently gets stumped...

People already in line for the new iPad

Oliver Haslam ∙ March 11, 2012

We're all excited to get our hands on the new iPad, and with less than a week to go until its release, there really isn't that long left to wait. In fact, it's probably time to start queuing for the few iPads that will be available in stores.

It seems someone else has had the same idea, and believe it or not, some people are already in line outside the Regent Street Apple Store in London, England.

Remember, there is still almost a week until release day...