You may have heard that Facebook has issued invites for a media event due this coming Tuesday to “come and see what [they're] building”. People in the know claim the news conference is a pretty big deal as Facebook could announce a brand new mobile operating system, even a so-called Facebook Phone of some sort. And now, another source has stepped forward with knowledge that the social networking giant will also launch an iPad version of its mobile Messenger app, which in a recent update has gained VoIP capabilities...
iPad
From the latest news to the most comprehensive tutorials, learn how to get the most out of your iPad with our step-by-step guides and expert tips.
Delta releases new iPad app, updates iPhone app with Passbook support
Good news today for all of you travelers out there, especially those in the Delta camp. The major US airline has just released a new iPad app and updated its iPhone app with Passbook support, iPhone 5 support and other improvements.
On the new iPad app, you can find, compare and book flights, and their are dozens of other useful features. And with the updated iPhone app, you can now take advantage of Apple's new Passbook app to store your boarding pass, and more...
PC marketshare to drop to 65% in 2013 as tablets take over
The days when PCs ruled the computer market are quickly coming to a close. The familiar battle between PCs and Macs is quickly morphing into an iOS versus Android landscape. As consumers opt for tablets over PCs, shipments of Wintel devices will drop to 65 percent in 2013 amid double-digit tablet growth.
After PC shipments fell 10 percent during the holiday fourth quarter of 2010, the 2013 PC marketshare will drop to 65 percent, down from 72 percent last year, according to researchers at Canalys. The reason: PCs - be they desktops, notebooks, or netbooks - are no longer needed for common computing tasks, such as reading e-mail and browsing the web...
Pod2g’s first iOS app, podDJ, lands tomorrow in the US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzdiezrSg0U
Famous iOS hacker pod2g, the brains behind a ton of jailbreak releases, including the untethered Absinth 2.0 for iOS 5.1.1, is releasing podDJ tomorrow, his very first App Store submission. Akin to Algoriddim's dj apps, podDJ is basically a DJing software that lets you mix and scratch music tracks from the iTunes library on your iPad tablet.
It has a gorgeous user interface and pod2g claims it will be the snappiest iOS DJing app, thanks to a sound output latency of just five milliseconds, OpenGL refresh rate of 60Hz and literally zero latency cue points and zero latency key locks, resulting in unique touch to sound reactivity...
UPDATE: PodDJ is now in the App Store in the US too. Download it now!
On budget iPhone…
Just a quick thought here on this less-pricey iPhone meme. Per reports, Apple's marketing boss Phil Schiller uncharacteristically responded with a statement to Shanghai Evening News in order to poke holes in the rumor that was beginning to pick up considerable steam. He claims that "despite the popularity of cheap smartphones", such a device "will never be the future of Apple’s products".
But it's an ambiguous dismissal (it's translated from Japanese) and it does't outright deny whispers of Apple internally exploring the idea. His words just don't tell the whole truth. Plus, Apple has a history of lying to the media. The company often makes bold denials, only to refute its own rebuttal by doing exactly what it's said won't do. If Android is anything to go by, an affordable iPhone could easily make a huge difference...
Rumor: Apple evaluating Retina screens for the next iPad mini
According to a new rumor out of Taiwan, Apple is already testing display panels for the second-generation iPad mini. With LG Display and AU Optronics already suppling panels for the current-generation tablet, Apple is thought to add a third company to the mix, Foxconn's subsidiary Shenzhen Century Science & Technology (SCST). For the iPad mini 2, Apple is considering SCST's panels with Retina-class resolution, which are based on One Glass Solution (OGS) technology. These panels have reportedly been sent to Apple for testing, indicating the Cupertino firm is in the exploration stage where it evaluates competing solutions before locking suppliers for the second-gen iPad mini...
Cook confirms cellular iPad mini coming to China late January
Tim Cook visited China for the second time since taking over as CEO of Apple in August of last year. In an interview with Chinese reporters, Cook officially confirmed that the cellular version of the iPad mini will arrive on the mainland in late January after the device gained a regulatory approval in mid-December 2012.
Both the iPad 4 and the Wi-Fi-only model of the iPad mini made a landfall in the country on December 7, following the iPhone 5's debut a week earlier which sold two million units during its opening weekend...
Samsung looks to China as Apple cuts chip orders
Samsung is preparing for the day Apple - its rival and largest customer - stops placing orders with the South Korean corporation. Ahead of a CES keynote speech, a Samsung executive said it is looking to court Chinese smartphone makers which use the company's own Exynos-branded chips.
After a string of contentious court battles, Apple is planning to untangle itself from Samsung, finding new suppliers. Although Apple is expected to spend $80 billion with Samsung for everything from CPUs, flash memory and flat screens, the paycheck could shrink 80 percent by 2017, according to a Wall Street analysis...
iPad Inc: Apple tablet earns more than McDonalds on Fortune 500
Has all the gloom-and-doom talk about the iPhone and iPad gotten you down? Are you worried Apple's three-year-old tablet is a bit long in the tooth - especially against Samsung and other Android devices? Well, turn that frown upside down. The iPad isn't going away. Indeed, one analyst says iPad sales are bigger than McDonald's, Nike and many other Fortune 500 companies. In 2012, iPad sales reaped $32 billion, amounting to 60 percent of tablets sold. If the iPad was a company, it would be eleventh largest tech firm in the United States, says Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi.
We won't see a repeat of that in 2013, however. No, the iPad is expected to rake in an astounding $46 billion and grow 75 percent...
Tablets to crush notebooks in 2013 as PCs become trucks
The argument over whether tablets should be classified as PCs could soon be moot. Shipments of devices such as Apple's iPad are expected to overtake notebook PCs in 2013. The cause: tablet (iPad) shipments are growing by double-digit percentages while PC demand is falling off a cliff - even in emerging markets...
Disney brings augmented reality to toys via iDevices
It's a familiar story. You buy your children the hottest toy, which soon loses its magic and ends up in a pile of the other overly-priced and unused items. Disney is hoping its found the solution via your iPhone or iPad camera, an iOS app and augmented reality. The goal: extending the life of toys - especially those with the Disney logo.
Instead of just playing with a Disney piano or a licensed Little Mermaid doll, children can point the camera of their Apple or Android device at a specially-designed toy and watch as cartoon characters interact with the item. The media firm's DreamPlay technology was unveiled Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas...
eBay app updated with more streamlined listing process and more
Popular auction site eBay updated its iOS client last night, bringing the app to version 2.7. The renewed app features several changes and enhancements, including an improved photo flow with new editing tools, and speedier checkouts.
But if, like me, you're in the habit of selling your old Apple gadgets to help pay for new ones, you'll be really excited to see what they've done with the listing process. Posting things for sale on the site from your iPhone just got a lot faster...