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?
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"...
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...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
As promised, on Friday the new 7.9-inch iPad and a retooled fourth-generation iPad with Retina display both went on sale in what goes down in history as Apple's broadest and deepest iPad launch ever. The initial pre-order stock was sold out within hours a week ago, with expectation that the smaller iPad will move 1.5 million units during the weekend.
According to first reports, the launch drew shorter lines than for previous iPad launches, with places like Sydney experiencing the familiar lines that stretch for several blocks. Though the turnout wasn't as big as for a new iPhone, you had to stand in line if you wanted to buy the iPad mini at an Apple store. We've got some pretty nice launch videos right below the fold...