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When Apple unveiled the iPad back in 2010, it was believed that it was going to turn the print industry upside down. Traditional newspapers and magazines were both supposed to be victims of the popular tablet.
But alas, here we are more than three years after its release, and the iPad hasn't made a very big dent in either space. In fact, according to a new report, more Kindle Fire users are reading newspapers and magazines on their tablets than those with Apple slates...
Microsoft is nothing if not an expert when it comes to spinning technology. Take for instance the software giant's latest comments that its Surface tablet actually outperforms the iPad's Retina display. You remember the Retina, the display with 3.9 million pixels and described by some as the best display ever for a mobile device?
Well, turns out the Surface's 1,366-by-768 display is even better at something called "perceived resolution." Microsoft engineer Steve Bathiche told a Reddit audience this week that the tablet's ClearType technology can reduce the glare from reflected light. The Surface's display reflects between 5.5 percent and 6.2 percent of light, compared to 9.9 for the iPad, according to the engineer...
Carmageddon, a classic arcade racing game inspired by the 1975 cult classic movie Death Race 2000, won many recognition and awards, earning its notoriety for graphical violence stemming from the carnage concept: the locals stay out on the streets at their peril and you run over or smash into them with your automotive killing machine.
As you could imagine, Carmageddon was banned around the world, which only helped fuel its popularity. I was a little bit taken aback that Apple actually allowed such a title into its puritanic App Store environment (maybe because the concept calls for borderline comedy violence?). I've included a trailer, a video interview with developers and some screenies right after the break...
Apple is expected in early November to lay down the law to its developers on producing Lightning connectors. Among the Apple edicts: Lightning pins will be strictly controlled by the iPhone maker, which will provide them to "approved [developers] with production quantities of the pin once their product is determined to have met its standards and specifications," according to TechCrunch.
As for potential knock-offs, the blog cites a source who warns lawsuits and import confiscations could be in their future. Without providing details, the source described as being "close to the program," suggests the Cupertino, Calif. company will provide "additional security against low-quality copies" of the new iDevice connector...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOTpzyuPipk
Angry Birds Star Wars the game is landing on November 8 for iOS and Android and Rovio just posted a nice-looking new trailer to promote the software. It doesn't reveal much in way of details, but sure as hell appeals to fans of Star Wars.
And as part of its broader partnership with toy and board game company Hasbro, Rovio and Hasbro pledged to release Star Wars and Angry Birds-themed merchandise and various mashups, including board games, costumes, plush toys and much more...
Next Tuesday will hopefully bring us a small form-factor iPad (affectionately called by the press the iPad mini), perhaps some refreshed Macs and possibly a tweaked iPad 3 with support for UK's upcoming 4G LTE network in the 1,800MHz band from carrier Everything Everywhere (currently, the iPad 3 uses the 700 and 2100MHz band). It's all part of Apple's aggressive roll out planned for 2012, but that doesn't mean the rumor-mill is standing still.
Quite the contrary, a new rumor out of Asia is claiming the company's already warned its supply chain to prepare for a fourth-generation iPad in mid-2013. Perhaps learning from the ongoing manufacturing woes plaguing the iPhone 5 and reportedly affecting the iPad mini launch volume, Apple is thought to be switching to "a simpler manufacturing design"...
As Apple gets to show us "a little more" next Tuesday, and taking into account that Microsoft's Surface tablet will hit store shelves next Friday, watchers have been wondering whether the iPad mini will be immediately available following the introduction, on the Friday following the event or the following week. The iPhone 5, for example, was unveiled on Wednesday, September 12 and hit store shelves the following week on Friday, September 21. According to a new report citing a source close to a major UK retailer, the iPad mini will hit retail stores on November 2 (that's a Friday)...
We know Apple often patents stuff just so rivals couldn't patent the same invention. That's what other companies are doing as well. But Apple, more than any other company, depends on being able to protect its ideas and leverage patents to prevent copycat products from eating into its sales. The iPhone maker has been on somewhat of a patent spree lately and today has been granted a key patent for design of the original iPad tablet computer...
It seems like iOS game controllers are a dime a dozen these days. There's the iControlPad 2, the iCade 8-Bitty and the Bladepad, to name a few. But we still haven't seen a single controller pull ahead of the pack.
And that's a good thing — at least for accessory-makers anyway. It means that the controller market is still anyone's game. That being said, we've got another one to show you today, and it's called the iMpulse...
Rumors that Apple had plans for a smaller version of its popular iPad tablet go back at least two years. Our earliest report on the topic dates all the way back to August 2010.
But the gossip has gotten a lot more serious over the past 9 months or so, and the iPad mini is widely expected to debut at Apple's recently announced October 23 event.
It's actually been interesting to watch this story unfold this year. And if you missed any of it, never fear, the folks over at GimmeTech put together this infographic timeline...
Ostium is a new jailbreak tweak that adds a screen splitting animation to Notification Center. The tweak works with a two finger pinch gesture, along with the more traditional slide from status bar gesture.
At first it appeared that the developer was only going to release Ostium for iPad, but iPod touch and iPhone support were added late in the game. I can definitely see the two finger pinch being more suited for the iPad's larger screen, but as you'll see, it works reasonable well on the small screen too.
Forbes called for an October 10 iPad mini media event and missed, forcing author Philip Elmer-DeWitt to apologize, writing "I don't know what I was doing in the rumor business in the first place". Then, John Paczkowski of the Wall Street Journal-owned AllThingsD blog set another date for the elusive iPad mini announcement.
Paczkowski, who is rarely wrong about these things, said Apple would hold a media event to announce the smaller iPad at an intimate Cupertino Town Hall presser next Tuesday, October 23 (and Reuters concurs). Spoiling Microsoft's Surface party, Apple just issued invites to select members of the press.
A departure from past events, this one will be held next Tuesday, October 23 in San Jose's California Theatre rather than San Francisco or at Apple's Cupertino campus. The event is scheduled to take place at 10am Pacific and iDownloadBlog will provide around the clock coverage to keep you updated with everything related to Apple's announcements.
The invitation graphics leaves little room for doubt: Apple is about to unveil a smaller, inexpensive iPad, as suggested by its tagline which reads "We've got a little more to show you". If I wanted to be cynical, I'd say that a product everyone has virtually known about for months ends up being the biggest tech story of the day. Hey, this is Apple...