iPad

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My new iPad review

Sébastien Page ∙ March 23, 2012

When the iPad 2 came out last year, it was like I had fallen in love all over again with Apple's tablet. It was such an improvement over the first iPad that I couldn't let go of it for more than a few instants. Of course, the novelty stir wore off, and after a few weeks, I started dreaming about what the iPad 3 could look like or what new features it would come loaded with. Surely, Apple would awe me again.

The Retina display was without a doubt the number one feature I expected from the iPad 3, so you can imagine my excitement when Apple confirmed the new iPad would come with a 2048x1536 display, packing more than 3 million pixels. After all, I don't need much from a tablet. All I do with it is browse the web, read news, reply to emails, tweet, and my new hobby, editing pictures shot with my iPhone. So really the Retina display is all I wanted, although I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect Apple to amaze me with features I hadn't even thought of.

And maybe that's one of the problems we have with every Apple product launch. We expect too much. The company has set the bar so high, so quickly, that we're always waiting for them to give us more, more, more, and more. We're expecting the unexpectable.

Did I, like many others, expect too much from the new iPad?

Let me share with you my thoughts about Apple's new tablet, now that I've been using it for a week. And for those of you thinking this is going to be the same old review you've read 27 times praising the merits of the new iPad, you're wrong. You've heard every possible compliment about the new iPad, so I'll try to give you a more captious point of view...

Apple updates Trailers app for Retina iPad, Netflix promises high-def streaming “soon”

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 23, 2012

Ahead of the original iPad introduction in the April of 2010, the blogosphere had been abuzz over an unnamed Hollywood exec who allegedly saw a prototype in person and claimed the product would be awesome for watching movies. It ended up being quite enjoyable for this purpose, but hardly awesome due its modest 1024-by-768 pixel resolution.

Fast-forward to today and the new iPad, which has a million more pixels than an HDTV, is perfect for watching Hollywood movies in all their 1080 glory. As developers of popular apps update their offerings with Retina support, Apple isn't wasting time neither. Yesterday, the company issued an update to its iTunes Movie Trailers app, basically a pretty-fied frontend to its movie trailers page released last October.

At the same time, Netflix pushed an update to its video streaming client for iOS with support for Retina graphics. Though the program does not enable high-definition video streaming yet, it's in the works and should follow "soon"...

Some Smart Covers aren’t fully compatible with new iPad

Cody Lee ∙ March 22, 2012

When Apple unveiled its new tablet earlier this month, the consensus seemed to be that it would continue to work with all iPad 2 Smart Covers. After all, the new iPad's frontside dimensions are identical to its predecessors.

But apparently that isn't the case. As noted by iLounge, the new iPad uses a slightly different magnet system that causes some newer Smart Covers, and similar third party magnet-driven cases, not to work properly...

Don’t stop charging your iPad when it says 100%

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

With all the hoopla around the new iPad getting a little bit toastier than its predecessor, Dr. Raymond Soneira is in high demand these days. Yesterday, he explained how the demanding Retina display and brightness levels affect the iPad's run time. Today, he's back at it, warning the device keeps charging even when it claims to have been filled.

Is this an iOS software flaw akin to a "bug" in cellular signal levels on the iPhone 4 (later fixed with a software update)? Hard to tell. All we know is it keeps charging for as much as an hour after the battery gauge hits the 100 percent mark. This, too, might explain why some people experience shorter run times with the new iPad versus its predecessor...

Nokia says Apple’s Nano SIM card proposal is no good

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 22, 2012

Espoo, Finland-headquartered Nokia is officially opposing Apple's requirement for an emerging mobile industry standard basically calling for a miniaturized SIM module roughly a third smaller than the Micro SIM used with the iPhone 4/4S. A proposal put forth by Motorola, RIM and Nokia has some technical advantages over the Apple-backed nano SIM that requires a “drawer” to protect it.

As a result, cell phones would need to be re-engineered with this in mind. Nokia says its variant of the Nano SIM doesn't require a tray and is even smaller than Apple's. Both camps have tabled proposals to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). With 92 votes, Nokia is the largest ETSI voting body, so no wonder Apple has filed multiple membership applications in order to increase its voting power.

Nokia has explained its stance in a lengthy statement issued to The Verge just this morning...

Shocker: Running new iPad at full brightness kills run time by 20 percent

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 22, 2012

The interest surrounding the iPad overheating meme isn't vaning. Quite the contrary, folks are eager to get to the bottom of this thing. As we hold our breath for today's definite findings of "a battery of tests" conducted by Consumer Reports, a display expert sheds more light on how an improved LED backlighting system on the iPad's Retina display contributes to Heatgate and, specifically, the tablet's run time.

You've already seen heat maps which prove that the new A5X chip with its jumbo-sized quad-core GPU is the biggest heater in the new iPad. That said, its souped up LED backlighting is actually the No. 1 factor leading up to a faster battery drain and is partly to blame for the gizmo's five-degree Celsius temperature increase...

Angry Birds Space now available to download from the App Store

Oliver Haslam ∙ Updated January 25, 2016

We told you recently that those Angry Birds were going to make their way into space, and today Rovio released the new game for iOS gamers.

Angry Birds Space is pretty much what you would expect: Angry birds trying to finish those pesky pigs off, but with a distinctly starry flavour.

Available for both the iPhone/iPod touch and the iPad, Angry Birds Space takes to the skies, with planets and their own gravitational pull adding something very different to the tried and tested Angry Birds formula that has already made Rovio's games extremely popular across a range of devices. From what we've seen, this space-flavored version will be just as popular...

iPhoto for iOS gains 1 million users since launch

Jake Smith ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

There have been many mixed reviews over Apple's newest app, iPhoto for iOS. The app allows users to make quick edits to their photos and then share them across social networks. Some say they love it, while others say it's too clunky to use.

However, that's not stopping customers from downloading the new app. Apple told The Loop today that the $4.99 app is now being used by 1 million users, since its launch 10 days ago...

Why the new iPad gets hotter and how it’s being blown out of proportion

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 21, 2018

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...

For some early adopters, Wi-Fi reception problems with their new iPads

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 21, 2012

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...

CardSwitcher 2.0 now available on Cydia

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 21, 2012

[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.

Cellular data plans not cutting it for content-hungry 4G LTE iPad users

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 21, 2012

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)...