Hey check this out guys! Our neighbors, Singapore, the country infamous for fining residents that are caught sticking their chewing gum in public places, will begin issuing iPads to its army, air force, and navy recruits in November. Considering all able-bodied male citizens are required to serve for two years, a large portion of the city-state’s population could eventually be using the Apple tablet.

Troops will use the iPads to upload stills and video to the military’s online education platform, and will also use custom-build apps, currently being developed by “military contractors” (app devs). Only about 8,000 iPad 2s will be distributed in the first round this fall, but Singapore’s defense ministry plans to hand out more tablets next year — to be timed with the release of a Singapore-themed Angry Birds, we assume.

When you’re bored camping with your sniper gorilla style, fear not, as you’ve got Angry Bird! Well, actually Singapore is more prone to flood than an all-out war anyway, so no harm to get some iPads for the jobless new recruits to play Cut-the-Rope!

Blizzard’s Greg Street recently told Eurogamer that the company was currently looking into the potential for MMO gaming on Apple’s iOS.

A similar statement was made earlier this year about bringing Diablo 3 to the current crop of consoles. Eventually Blizzard began hiring console developers for the upcoming hack-n-slash title slated for a Q4 2011 release. That said, does that mean Blizzard plans to do the same with iOS?

“Everyone I know here has an iPhone or an iPad so we’re huge fans of the hardware,” he said. “If we could make the right game changes to make that work, it’s something we’d be interested in. It’s not something you’re going to see in the next week or two, but it’s the kind of thing we’re always looking at.”

As with recent talk about porting the MMORPG to the consoles, the biggest issue in the PC-to-console transition would be in the controls. It’s bad enough that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 aren’t well-equipped to receive mouse and keyboard input (although the PS3 is capable), the iPad 2 doesn’t even come close to a PC-like environment. Read more…

Voltaic makes tons of solar-charging gear, from laptop bags to backpacks, but what are those living in a post-PC world to do? Well, the company just unveiled its Spark Tablet Case — a thin, padded tote designed for your iPad or other slate that can generate 8-watts of power in sunlight. In addition to directly charging your iPad in about 10 hours, it can also bank the Sun’s rays in a universal battery pack, for use when those fluffy things in the sky don’t cooperate with your outdoor computing schedule. Optionally, the included V39 USB Battery can be charged (as you may have guessed) via USB, for extra insurance. The Spark is available now for $299 and extra battery packs can be had for $99.

Dread that your brand new iPad doesn’t have Skype? Or is it the de-facto that stopped you from joining the millions of iPad owners? Well now you can rest easy knowing somewhere out there it does exist — or at least a promo video does. Earlier today, someone over at Skype unintentionally (we assume) posted what looks like an ad for a real-deal app for the iOS slab. Of course, the evidence has since been pulled, but you can check out a ripped version (sans audio) after the break. It looks like the days of blowing up ye ole iPhone Skype are numbered.

The folks over at TUAW had a chat with Skype’s Rick Osterloh about the iPad app, and he says you can expect most of the functionality to carry over from the iPhone. There are, unfortunately, a few desktop features, like file sharing, that won’t make an appearance. Sadly, Osterloh didn’t spill the release-date beans. Read more…

Nearly six months after being arrested, one hacker pleaded guilty to charges that he exposed the email addresses of over 100,000 AT&T iPad 3G users. It’s been a year since Daniel Spitler and his compatriot, Andrew Auernheimer, coaxed Ma-Bell servers into delivering the goods, with a brute force script they lovingly named the iPad 3G Account Slurper. The hacker’s plea agreement suggests a 12 to 18-month sentence, which is a lot more lenient than the 10-year maximum he could face. Spitler’s collaborator is apparently still in plea negotiations with the prosecutor. Both men initially claimed they were just trying to draw attention to a security hole, but maybe next time they’ll think twice before embarking on such altruistic endeavors.

SOURCE via MacRumors

It’s no secret that the iPad commands a serious lead in the battle for tablet mindshare, but comScore’s new Device Essentials traffic-tracking service shows just how much that translates into market dominance. Damn Steve Job’s gonna be pleased. According to the web monitoring company, the iPad and its 2011 successor account for 89 percent of tablet internet use globally, and 97 percent in the US. Of course, the slate segment is still young and accounts for only a tiny percentage of total traffic. And, it’s worth noting, the iPad has a significant advantage in being the first to hit shelves.

SOURCE via Mac Rumors

Just in case you bought an iPad 2 but really needed a netbook, ClamCase is back with a redesigned version of its case / battery powered Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard combo. This one is a hair thinner and a little lighter than the previous version (reviewed here), with cutouts for the back camera and speaker grille plus integrated magnets to awaken and sleep your tablet when the case is opened or closed. The keyboard has also reportedly been refreshed for an improved feel, but even though the black version is on sale now for $149 (white ships next month) there’s still a 4-5 week wait for shipping to get a hands-on and find out for yourself. Logitech’s Keyboard Case for iPad 2 is another option for $100, but it will only protect your precious slab on one side — something to consider while you’re checking out specs.

SOURCE via ClamCase

No new iPhone announced in the 2011, not even the “one more thing” magic from Steve Jobs can bring the iPhone. So, they broke the annual routine, now what? The internet has been abuzz with the rumours of the next iterations of the wildly successful iPhone and iPad.

With all sorts of speculation on the design and features of the new devices, Bloomberg have blown the lid open on a release date for the iPhone 5. According to two sources which are “familiar with Apple’s plans”, the iPhone 5 is set to launch this September and there is also talk of that iPhone Nano that has been on everyone’s minds since the mock-ups earlier this year. Read more…

The iPhone 4 has a very high-resolution screen (for a smartphone) packed into a small space. The intense pixel density of 326 ppi means that the dots are so small that they’re almost imperceptible. Apple markets this as Retina Display, and it’s a key differentiation point when comparing iPhone hardware against other handsets.

Some figured that Apple would be bringing a Retina Display to the iPad 2, but that didn’t happen and the current iPad still has the same 1024×768 resolution as the original model.

New hints have been discovered in the iOS 5 developer beta software that strongly suggests that Apple is prepping for something that has four times the resolution of the current iPad.

Graphics for the Apple’s Newstand application on the iPad come in both the current 1024×768 resolution as well as 1536×2048. Artwork for the new Twitter framework also references the new resolution. See screenshots of it at Techunwrapped.

Reuters this week also cited sources saying that the next iPad will have a new screen with five to six times the resolution.

These graphics could be just a test for Apple, but it wouldn’t be a far leap to assume that iPad 3 will be launched with a high-resolution screen sometime during iOS 5′s shelf life.

Well, that’s one way to make people pay for puns. The New York Post, that bastion of fair, balanced, and not-at-all sensationalistic reporting, has blocked iPad owners from reading its stories through the tablet’s Safari browser.

If folks want the full spill on Hugh Hefner getting ditched at the altar, they’ll be prompted to download the iOS app, which requires signing up for a subscription starting at $6.99 on a month-to-month basis.

Setting aside News Corp.’s hubris for a moment, what’s odd about this is the number of workarounds Rupert Murdoch & Co. left us cheapskates. You can still read the site on a desktop browser or a phone, including an Android one. Basically, then, News Corp. is strangling web access, but only for a select group of readers.

That’s a stark contrast from other content providers (even the News Corp-owned Wall Street Journal), which have been more platform-agnostic. Now if only you can get other browser on your iPad… sshhhh!!!

SOURCE via PaidContent