Consumer Reports caused quite a stir yesterday when it reportedly found Apple's new iPad to have an overheating problem. While there's evidence that the tablet runs a tad warm, a lot of folks have called the report sensationalist.
Well the folks at CR are back again today with their review of the new Apple TV. And no, there's no mention of "heatgate" this time around. It actually sounds like they're genuinely impressed with Apple's latest set top box...
Image courtesy of GSM Arena
There's an awful lot of hoopla around the new iPad overheating. People are getting spooked by heat maps and that screenshot of standard iOS prompt saying "the iPad needs to cool down" average users rarely see. It goes without saying that the press immediately jumped on the opportunity to exploit the story in order to keep those eyeballs glued to the screen.
And with Consumer Reports now throwing its credibility behind Heatgate, it's easy to walk away under the impression that the new iPad comes with a major hardware flaw. Now, If you ever held a PS Vita, you can attest it runs a lot hotter than the iPad.
Still, it's hard to escape the notion the story is gaining traction because it's about the world's most powerful technology corporation that just released the third iteration of its category-defining gizmo everyone wants (it's selling like hotcakes). Yes, the new iPad is a bit toastier than its predecessor - full five degrees Celsius to be precise.
How exactly is this a big deal, you ask. Here's why the new iPad gets hotter, why it doesn't matter and how it's being blown out of proportion...
In wake of numerous reports on the poor working conditions at some of the factories in its supply chain, Apple erected a new section of its website entitled "Supplier Responsibility."
The page includes a number of resources, including monthly reports showing the company's progress. And according to the latest update, working conditions are already improving...
Apparently China is a hot topic today in the smartphone world. Earlier, we reported that the country's Android and iOS device activations finally passed up those in the US. And now it looks like Microsoft wants in.
The company's chief executive officer for the greater China region, Simon Leung, told Bloomberg this morning that Windows Phone will surpass the iPhone in smartphone market share in China by 2016...
With over a billion wireless subscribers, China is certainly one of the most sought-after mobile markets. Heck, China Mobile (the world's largest carrier) alone has over 650 million customers.
Now it looks like that market just got even more valuable. According to Flurry, a mobile analytics company, China is now the world's fastest growing smart device market as well...
In addition to the new iPad getting a bit warm when playing graphics-intensive games, it would appear that an unknown portion of early adopters are also having issues with Wi-Fi reception. A growing thread on Apple's support forum is filled with reports describing a range of difficulties with the iPad's wireless networking capabilities.
According to a bunch of disgruntled users, the new iPad has trouble maintaining a reliable wireless connection in places with strong signal. It also exhibits flaky connection that constantly drops or has no reception at all. Apple has not yet responded to these complaints at the time of this writing...
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzdi1lO7V_w[/tube]
An exciting update to CardSwitcher has been issued on Cydia. If you remember our initial walkthough of the tweak, CardSwitcher is an alternative multitasking solution for iOS devices.
This latest update was totally rewritten for iOS 5, and includes live application views, updated swipe gestures, and a new grid mode aimed at iPad users.
Would you consider using the new and improved CardSwitcher? If so, you can find it on Cydia's BigBoss repo for $1.99, but it's a free update for existing customers.
For all the talk about iPhone users being network hogs due to their data-hungry nature, the reality is that Apple's phone is still stuck in the slower 3G lane while the majority of high-end Android handsets boast 4G LTE networking.
As we learned this morning, 4G LTE support on the new iPad has some not-so-obvious downsides to it as some folks are blowing past their monthly allowance in a matter of days due to high-definition content downloads and streaming on the go.
But the iPhone is different, says Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. The executive said in a video interview with GSMA’s MobileWorld Live blog that iPhone users aren't as data-hungry as their Android counterparts and thus are more profitable.
His company is "pulling a lot of customers" from rival AT&T and Verizon Wireless, he said, noting that four out of every ten iPhone sales in the holiday quarter went to new customers. He also defended that costly iPhone deal...
Ever since we first saw the sneak preview of Ryan Petrich's CydiaBulletin, we've wanted something like it.
Now it looks like having notifications for Cydia updates is finally a reality, even if it's not exactly as Petrich had envisioned.
Aptdate is a new jailbreak tweak that will be soon available on Cydia, which provides banner notifications to alert you when there are updates in Cydia.
We've given it a spin on video, check out our walkthrough inside...
That entry-level data plan you signed up for to go along your brand spanking new iPad? It's obsolete, thanks to the device's 4G LTE networking that allows for speeds easily exceeding your home broadband connection. As a result, folks planning on enjoying 4G speeds on the go may likely blow past through their monthly allowance in a couple days. Your mileage may wary, of course, depending on your mobile usage habits.
Here in the U.S., entry-level data plans for iPad begin at $15 or $30 a month, depending on your carrier. AT&T's entry-level 250MB plan will set you back $14.99 a month, with 2GB/5GB plans costing $30/$50 a month. Rival Verizon Wireless is offering 2GB/5GB/10GB tiers priced at $30/$50/$80 a month.
But even five gigabytes a month is conceivable insufficient when you stream high-definition movies and television shows to your device over 4G LTE networks, upload big photos to your social networks or edit and upload full HD movies to YouTube, etc. The Wall Street Journal has the full story (subscription required)...
A pair of reports from Asian trade publication DigiTimes appeared this morning, asserting Apple's iPhone orders from contract manufacturer Pegatron are on the rise while the company is also looking to source more touch panel modules from Wintek in the following quarter. According to the first story sourced from market watchers, "Apple continues to raise its iPhone orders to Pegatron as well as placing orders for new iPad".
Pegatron, whose plants are up for inspection by the Fair Labor Association, reportedly found itself under fire over Asustek Zenbook orders, according to a story by Chinese-language Commercial Times (Google translation).
You may also recall that Pegatron is rumored to be keeping its fingers crossed to land manufacturing orders for the so-called iPad mini that the usually credible Wall Street Journal raved about.
When Apple was designing the iPhone 4, the company had adopted the smaller Micro SIM format for space constraints. Smaller in size compared to the standard Mini SIMs, Micro SIMs do the exact same job while using less space. But with mobile devices getting even slimmer these days, even Micro SIMs waste too much valuable space inside thin mobile gadgets.
Apple thinks smaller is better so last summer the company submitted a new requirement to the European Telecoms Standards Body for the use of even smaller SIM cards in mobile phones (AT&T followed suit). But the battle over the upcoming Nano SIM standard has put Apple once again on a collision course with its rivals in the smartphone space, namely the opposing group led by Android maker Google and joined by the ailing BlackBerry maker Research In Motion and Nokia of Finland, reports the Financial Times (subscription required)...