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iPad mini unboxing

Jeff Benjamin ∙ November 2, 2012

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.

iPad mini sells out in 2 hours at 5th Avenue store

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

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"...

Microsoft said to be building its own smartphone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 16, 2018

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...

IDC: Android owns 75% of smartphone shipments

Ed Sutherland ∙ November 2, 2012

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...

Apple seen removing emoji apps from the App Store

Cody Lee ∙ November 2, 2012

This is kind of interesting. With iOS 6 bringing expanded emoji support, it looks like Apple has decided to do something about the large number of emoji apps in the App Store.

According to a new report, several developers have received letters from the company, stating that their emoji apps are being removed now that the feature is built-in to iOS...

Phil Schiller to take the stand again in Samsung suit

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 2, 2012

The South Korean conglomerate Samsung will get another crack at questioning Phil Schiller, Apple's SVP of Worldwide Marketing, as part of the appeal proceedings concerning the Apple v. Samsung monster suit, a California court ordered yesterday following a request from Samsung lawyers. Apple must make Schiller available for another deposition this coming Monday. The massive lawsuit culminated when the jury handed the verdict, awarding Apple more than $1 billion in damages (the company wants more) while also ruling it did not infringe upon any of the patents held by its South Korean rival...

Apple loses rights to iPhone name in Mexico

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 30, 2017

Apple has lost a fairly significant court case in Mexico this week. A Mexico City Judge has denied the company's injunction request that would have allowed it to continue selling iPhone-branded products in the country.

Apparently, the "iPhone" moniker sounds too phonetically similar to iFone, a brand belonging to a Mexican telecommunications company. And the similarity is enough that Apple could be banned from using the name in the region...

Ive and Forstall were ‘rarely in the same room’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 16, 2016

That SVP and iOS chief Scott Forstall fell out of favor with Apple CEO Tim Cook and other vice presidents because of his abrasive and divisive style is no secret. Forstall, 44, was Apple's youngest vice president. He was also the brains behind OS X since 2006 and the architect of your iPhone's software. The executive was especially at odds with Apple's famed industrial design guru Jony Ive over software design. According to a new report by Bloomberg, bad blood ran so deep that Forstall wouldn't even participate in Ive's meetings where crucial software and hardware design aspects had been discussed...

iPad mini fares better in drop tests than Nexus 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 2, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbHomq4QwIk

The iPad mini just went on sale this morning in 34 countries and warranty firm Square Trade already has drop tests done. Thanks to its unibody aluminum body and rigid construction, this is perhaps the most durable iPad yet. At any rate, the smaller iPad seems to withstand drops a little better than Google's Nexus 7 and the regular-sized iPad, even if the display on all three devices was completely shattered in the unforgiving face-down drop test.

As a Nexus 7 owner, I was honestly disappointed with poor build quality and especially how loosely the screen fits inside the frame. Of course, these drop tests are not very scientific and you shouldn't read too much into them though the video does a good job highlighting the iPad mini's rigid construction. Build quality and sturdiness, in addition to design, apps and other perks, certainly help justify the $130 premium compared to other popular seven-inch tablets on the market. Go past the fold for more drop test videos...

Apple’s revised apology to Samsung hits UK newspapers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 2, 2012

As required by the UK court of appeal, Apple today published a public apology to Samsung in The Guardian newspaper, following the previous U.K. ruling that Samsung tablets did not copy the iPad. Snarky Apple yesterday published a public notice of the ruling on its web site and ran into trouble because it cunningly inserted a paragraph quoting the Judge on how consumers can’t confuse the Galaxy Tab with the iPad because “they’re not as cool", prompting Judge Robin Jacob to order that the edits be made within 24 hours.

The iPhone maker has pulled the notice upon request by Samsung, which argued that Apple's version of the notice gave the “impression that the UK court is out of step with other courts". The company did not update its web site with a revised version of the notice at post time. I take it Apple employees are busy launching the iPad in 34 countries so nobody can update the web site...

The winner of our iPad mini giveaway is…

Sébastien Page ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

The iPad mini is launching today in 34 countries around the world, and what better way to celebrate this event than giving one away to one lucky iDB reader. The response to our iPad mini giveaway has been phenomenal. Several thousand entries later, it is now time to announce the winner of our giveaway.

Without further ado, the winner of iDownloadBlog's iPad mini giveaway is...

MyPermissions lets you nuke Facebook apps that invade your privacy

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 29, 2017

So you're on Facebook and pride yourself with making sure only a select few apps are allowed to access your personal information. But you could be in for a surprise learning just how many apps actually are granted access to the data Facebook has collected on you.

Enter MyPermissions, a new iPhone app which - as the name suggests - scans your Facebook permissions and alerts you when new apps and online services gain access to your personal information on the web. It's a free download and I urge you to check it out right now and take control of your privacy.

You can also revoke Yahoo and Facebook apps right from within the app itself and do more with a handy Chrome extension. More info and a nice video right below...