iPad

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IDC: Samsung leads shipments, Apple rules smart device profits

Research firm IDC again crowned Samsung and Apple the leaders in smartphones and tablets. The two rivals are taking different paths to the top as the South Korean company leads in sheer numbers while the iPhone maker leads profit per device.

It recently said Samsung has 21 percent of the so-called smart connected device market comprised of a collection of PCs, tablets and smartphones, while Apple squeezed $34.1 billion out of its 15.1 percent market share during the third quarter of 2012...

iDB 2012 holiday gift guide: Jim’s budget saver picks

As we barrel into the holiday season at an alarming rate, I am assuming that you, like I, have not finished purchasing gifts. As an iDB reader, you know that tech gifts are the best gifts and we are hoping to make choosing a little easier. When I was little, I always preferred something cool and new under the Christmas tree. Thanks to iOS devices, there are many new ways to pick up a new innovative or interactive gift for the kids or kids-at-heart.

My guide is split between age groups and all suggestions fall into the stocking-stuffer category, thanks to their sub $75 price tags. Why spend huge bucks when there are decent options for less? With the bargain shopper in mind, the following might not be the best toy or accessory money can buy, but they are great deals for the dollar...

Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition launches on iPad

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86NLGVQ6Iaw

I'd spent countless hours playing BioWare's Baldur's Gate back when I was a little younger so it goes without saying I'm pretty excited about a re-worked, enhanced edition landing on my favorite tablet. Developer Beamdog did a nice job updating the classic role-playing game with a bunch of new characters, weapons, adventures and maps. Even more content is available via the in-app purchase method.

The game includes the original Baldur’s Gate and the Tales From the Sword Coast expansion pack, in addition to new content like a monk character named Rasaad yn Bashir, a new adventure called The Black Pits and more. Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition can be purchased immediately from the App Store provided you're willing to plunk down ten bucks...

Apple’s return to US could be led by Foxconn

Remember when foreign auto makers such as Honda opened manufacturing plants in the United States? The same likely will be true for Apple in 2013 when the Cupertino, California-based iPhone maker relies on its Chinese manufacturing partner to hire U.S. workers to build gadgets - then increasingly exported to other nations. I'll pause while you try to follow that convoluted logic.

When Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told interviewers his company intends to spend $100 million in 2013 to produce a line of Macs in the U.S., unsaid was the fact he'll likely have to rely on its Taiwan-based go-to manufacturer, Foxconn, one analyst notes Friday morning...

Final Fantasy IV hitting iOS on December 20

Square Enix announced it will be bringing Final Fantasy IV to both iOS and Android. Apple's platform will enjoy a preferential treatment with the Final Fantasy IV release on Thursday, December 20, just days before Christmas. As for the Android build, it's gonna arrive some time in 2013. Final Fantasy IV is a remake of the 2008 Nintendo DS game, with visual improvements and a few nice mini-games, among other perks, which should be enough to keep fans of the franchise glued to their devices...

Judge calls for ‘global peace’ between Apple and Samsung

Call it a Rodney King moment, or a holiday Hail Mary, but one California judge is asking long-time judicial combatants Apple and Samsung to play nice. Apparently, the idea went over like last year's fruitcake. Judge Lucy Koh Thursday made the plea as the two rivals met for an appeal hearing where the South Korean smartphone maker objected to its $1.05 billion patent-infringement fine and Apple argued the penalty should be increased...

FCC asks FAA to allow greater use of electronic devices in-flight

Back in August, the Federal Aviation Administration started calling for public input on whether or not airline passengers should be able to use portable electronic devices during any phase of flight.

The general consensus is that there's no reason why passengers should have to power down their tablets and other devices during takeoffs and landings. And yesterday, the FCC offered its 2 cents...

iPad mini shipping times improve to one week

Despite what some considered to be an outrageous price tag, demand for the iPad mini continues to outstrip supply. But the good news is, availability of the tablet is finally starting to improve.

Hot on the heels of Apple's announcement that the mini will be landing in China on December 14, shoppers have noticed that estimated shipping times on the slate have dropped to one week...

Review: the MobileMount universal kickstand

Holding iPhones and iPads just where you want them is something of a dark art. There are more than enough docks, stands and foldable cases out there that claim to do the job and while most do just that, we've always hankered after something a little different.

When we saw the MobileMount on Kickstarter quite a while ago, we had a sneaky suspicion that we had found it. At first glance it was a car holder for a phone. Looking a little harder though suggested it could be much more than that. We were intrigued.

Since then, the Kickstarter project has come to fruition, and you can now pick up your very own MobileMount for just under $40. But should you? Let's find out...

IDC sees Android tablets gaining traction, iPad maintaining dominance through 2016

More end-of-the-year forecasts are out, again predicting Apple will shed some of its tablet market share as Android alternatives increase in popularity. This time, the full-size iPad and iPad mini would end 2012 with just under 54 percent, while Android tablets are expected to increase market share to almost 42 percent.

All told, Apple is estimated to hold half the tablet shipments through the year 2016. The figures are interesting, as far as they go, and would appear to be dire news for Apple - until you actually look at the numbers and measure sales versus usage. More about that after the break...

YouTube app goes iPad, adds AirPlay, iPhone 5 support

Following up on its sweet Gmail refresh earlier today, Google's just announced with a post over at the official YouTube blog a long-expected update to its nice YouTube iPhone app. For starters, the program finally runs on the iPad natively, which means you can now search for kitten videos using your beloved tablet and enjoy them in high-definition on that beautiful 9.7-inch Retina display.

The software also takes full advantage of the iPhone 5's bigger display and lets you stream YouTube clips to your badass TV through the Apple TV hockey puck and using AirPlay, a wireless media streaming technology from Apple. Accessibility, video playback improvements and other perks come included with the package. But first things first...

Happy twentieth birthday, SMS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4UkJZxC9uA

SMS - or what's now commonly referred to as 'texting' - is twenty years old today. Begun December 3, 1992  in London, SMS grew from one 160-character message every couple months to an astounding seven trillion texts per year. As we send tweets from iPhones and iPads connected across the globe, its time to look back at the grandfather of iMessage - and it all began over a pizza.

The whole idea of SMS was created in 1984 when three engineers at a Danish pizzeria discussed how great it would be to send text messages over the GSM network. Less than a decade later, UK's Vodafone went to work on SMS software. The first message sent: "Merry Christmas" from a Sema Group engineer to Vodafone Director Richard Jarvis. The message travelled the huge distance of 30 miles...