Kind of like eating a peanut butter sandwich with no jelly, the most obvious app missing from the iPad has been Facebook — until today. Finally! The New York Times reports that the site has finally confirmed the app’s availability just in time for eager social networkers to like, subscribe and stalk from their slates.
According to software engineer Leon Dubinsky, the app will highlight the multitouch awesomeness of the iPad, something that’s unavailable from the website alone even from a touchscreen device. The folks at FB also added that some of the newly released features will be integrated into the iPhone app as well, making it a win / win for iOS fanatics. Consider it liked.
According to ABI Research, netbooks will be the UMD segment that will be surrendering volume to tablets over the next few years. “Netbook value will shift from highly competitive computing and mobile broadband markets, including the U.S., to countries where low computing and home broadband penetration offers the greatest potential for mobile computing,” the firm said.
ABI noted that no UMD segment type has ever sustained a lead for longer than 36 months in any part of the world. The firm considers ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs), mobile Internet devices (MIDs), netbooks, and media tablets as contenders in this market. ABI predicts an UMD volume of 37 million units, 28 million of which are forecasted to be iPad 2s. It definitely looks like that the iPad and possibly the Kindle Fire will be breaking the trend in the UMD market.
However, ABI does not believe that UMDs are strong enough to take on PCs and the smartphone markets yet. “For UMDs in the US to take the PC or smartphone markets head-on, there needs to be a fundamental shift in buying behaviour driven by lifestyle enhancements and workplace requirements,” said ABI analyst Jeff Orr.
Disney is looking to give younger children an excuse other than Angry Birds to play with their parents’ Apple iPad. The company’s new AppMates toys feature small Cars 2 characters with unique sensors inside them. Download a free application, place the toys on the screen, and kids can drive around a virtual interpretation of Radiator Springs. There are even games and missions to complete for older tikes. Each set comes with two characters for $19.99, and with the potential for endless updates to the Radiator Springs universe, chances are good that kids won’t get bored of the game too quickly.
Of course, the only question is, who wants to hand over their tablet to their child aged four to nine? Fortunately, Disney has thought of that, too, and will release a well-padded Cars 2-themed iPad case later down the line. That little piece of kit will set you back a heady $49, but that’s considerably less than the cost of a brand-new iPad. Hit the jump to take a look at a video of the AppMates in action.
Whenever Apple launches a new product, no matter where the location is, you’d expect an insanely long queue outside of those Apple retailers. However, that is not the case. We never thought that this is actually possible due to the reputation that Apple fanboys enthusiasts have but apparently, nobody in China actually care about the release of iPad 2 3G in their country.
Of course, there are so many theories on what actually led to this huge snore fest. First, iPad 2 has already out in China – the launch was madness – since few months ago although only as stand-alone Wi-Fi edition. Second, the price is rather steep at USD 733 (RMB 4,688) for a 16GB unit while consumers can technically obtain it at only USD 628 (HKD 4,888) in Hong Kong. Also, an important note is that 3G coverage in China is very awful, so probably nobody is anticipating it. It also could be that consumers want iPhone 5 more than iPad 2 right now.
If you’re thinking that the global fight between Samsung and Apple over patents related to tablets and smartphones is beginning to resemble the 7 Years’ War, you’re right. We’ve already seen dueling complaints of patent infringement filed in European courts, with Apple managing to block sales of Samsung’s Galaxy tab 10.1 in Germany and getting a similar preliminary decision in a Dutch Court. And of course, South Korea-based Samsung has moved to block iPhone 5 in Korea. But if all of that wasn’t enough, their tit-for-tat battle has become tat-for-tit thanks to the Coriolis effect, as they’ve expanded their battle into the Australian court system.
In August, Apple took Samsung to court in New South Wales alleging that Galaxy 10.1 violated several Apple patents connected to iPad; Samsung countered that Apple’s accusations were based on Galaxy Tabs sold in the US, not those sold in Australia. They presented 3 different models which differed considerably from US versions, prompting Apple to accuse Samsung of removing the offending components ex post facto.
A clear sign that Google’s Honeycomb is actually very successful at eating up Apple’s iPad market pie, or is it because we just can’t afford to keep on buying an overpriced square board with a screen? Or perhaps they’ve over-estimated their sales target and the highly popular tablet from Cupertino isn’t flying off from the shelves faster enough?
Apple is cutting orders to vendors in the supply chain for its iPad tablet computer, a move that may result in slower sales for companies including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a report.
Several supply-chain vendors indicated in the past two weeks that Apple lowered fourth-quarter iPad orders 25 percent, the first such cut that analysts at JPMorgan’s electronic manufacturing services team in Hong Kong said they have ever seen. The report didn’t list the affected companies, and Gokul Hariharan, one of the report’s authors, said he couldn’t comment when reached by Bloomberg News today.
For a vendor such as Hon Hai, the cut could mean a drop to 13 million units in the fourth quarter from 17 million units in the third quarter, JPMorgan analysts wrote in the Sept. 25 report. The report said JPMorgan U.S. analyst Mark Moskowitz, who covers Apple, does not expect to lower his projection of 10.9 million to 12 million units of iPad shipments in the third and fourth quarters after the supply chain adjustments.
Reduced orders from Apple to iPad suppliers could reflect both weakening demand in Europe due to economic conditions there as well as a strategy by Apple, the world’s biggest company by market value, to operate with reduced inventory, Wanli Wang, a Taipei-based industry analyst at RBS Asia Ltd., said today.
“It’s back to reality,” Wang said. “Now it seems even for Apple, due to the market situation, we need to be conservative.”
Thus far there is no confirmation from Apple that it has reduced orders to suppliers, Wang said. Carolyn Wu, a Beijing- based spokeswoman for Apple, didn’t respond to calls for comment on the report today. Edmund Ding, spokesman for Hon Hai, didn’t respond to an e- mail or answer calls to his Taiwan and China mobile phones.
Because of its current dominant market position, Apple doesn’t have to rush to introduce its iPad 3 tablet computer as potential rivals have failed to emerge to siphon sales from the current model, JPMorgan’s Moskowitz wrote in a Sept. 16 report.
Then again, another rival is just around the corner. Amazon.com Inc. may release a product late this year that could become the number-two tablet in the market behind the iPad.
Starting next month, Qantas will join the throngs of airlines giving passengers more to chew on than honey-roasted nuts, with its Q Streaming experience. The system, which will supply one iPad per passenger, is set to run from the end of October through December and will eventually grow to include other WiFi-enabled devices. While Qantas is claiming “me first” bragging rights, saying it’s the “first airline in the world to trial this wireless streaming product,” we’ve definitely heard of similar in-flight entertainment systems stateside — hello American Airlines.
Apple just this year replaced all of the paper signage across its Apple Stores with iPads and now it seems another major company has decided to take a portion of its business the paperless route.
United Airlines this week announced that it will adopt a paperless flight deck and distribute 11,000 iPads to United and Continental pilots as part of a new electronic flight bag scheme. United said in a statement that the electronic flight bags (EFB) will replace paper flight manuals, and, a first for major network carriers, provide pilots with paperless aeronautical navigational charts through a special iPad app, Jeppesen Mobile FliteDeck.
“The paperless flight deck represents the next generation of flying,” said Captain Fred Abbott, United’s senior vice president of flight operations. “The introduction of iPads ensures our pilots have essential and real-time information at their fingertips at all times throughout the flight.”
A conventional flight bag full of paper materials contains an average of 12,000 sheets of paper per pilot. United says that each 1.5 iPad will replace 38 pounds of paper operating manuals, navigation charts, reference handbooks, flight checklists, logbooks and weather information in a pilot’s flight bag.
“The green benefits of moving to EFBs are two-fold—it significantly reduces paper use and printing, and, in turn, reduces fuel consumption,” United said in a statement. “The airline projects EFBs will save nearly 16 million sheets of paper a year which is equivalent to more than 1,900 trees not cut down. Saving 326,000 gallons of jet fuel a year reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 3,208 metric tons.”
Distribution of the iPads began earlier this month, with all pilots expected to have them by the end of 2011.
Well, the Wall Street Journal’s headline certainly isn’t going to surprise you — Apple Developing New iPad – that have been a safe assumption since the iPad 2 was announced. Rumors are circulating though that is painting an increasingly convincing picture of a Retina Display-equipped slate shipping in early 2012.
Reports are in that suppliers have already received Q4 orders for parts that may eventually find their way into Apple’s next tablet. Can we say for certain that the iPad 3 will hit shelves in Q1 of next year sporting a 2048 x 1536 screen? ‘No’ is a more realistic answer, but it’s starting to look more and more likely than last year.
We’re guessing there’s probably plenty of reasons why you bought your iPhone, but we can bet you probably never would’ve imagined you would be opening beers with it. Australian designers Rob Ward and Chris Peters first turned to Kickstarter for help with their ‘Opena’ case concept, but after reaching funding goals the product is finally going into production.
Although a bottle-opening iPhone case could sound like a disaster, the case is actually surprisingly well thought out. The durable bottle opener slides right out of the case, designed specially to avoid straining the phone itself. The placement of the opener is even designed to keep bottle foam from escaping and entering any iPhone ports. When the bottle opener is hidden inside the case, the Opena just looks like a regular, sleek iPhone case.
Available in a black or white pre-order, you can order yours here for $39.95.
If the bottle-opening iPhone case is for the partying aspect of your college career, then the BinderPad iPad case is the perfect solution for your academic needs. This simple and minimalistic case allows you to safely store (or hide) your iPad in an ordinary three ring binder. Created by ZooGue, the BinderPad Case claims to be “the thinnest most convenient iPad 2 pouch” weight in at 3.5 oz and a 1/2 inch thick.
With more and more textbooks coming in e-book form and schools beginning to integrate iPads into curriculum, the BinderPad Case could be the perfect iPad accessory for students. It allows you to keep everything nice and organized in a single three ring binder, eliminating the need to carry both a binder and an iPad separately.
You can order your BinderPad case from ZooGue here for $29.99.
Apple just this year replaced all of the paper signage across its Apple Stores with iPads and now it seems another major company has decided to take a portion of its business the paperless route.
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