Apple announces new 7.9-inch iPad mini, available Nov. 2
Today Apple unveiled details of its new iPad mini, at 7.9 inches, small enough to hold in one hand. It’s an incredibly 7.2-millimeter thin, weighs half as much as any iPad and battery life reaches 10 hours. The tablet will cost $329 minimum.
At the California Theatre in sunny San Jose, Apple revealed the specs of its new iPad mini tablet, available for pre-order Oct. 26.
What can you do with the iPad mini? Hold it in one hand first of all, said Philip W. Schiller, the senior vice president of worldwide marketing at Apple. As thin as a pencil, the iPad mini is similar to the Nexus 7 in terms of size and look. It weighs .68 pounds and boasts 10 hour of battery life.The new tablet features the A5 chip, HD-quality FaceTime camera, a 5-megapixel backside camera, and 802.11N WiFi.
The Wi-Fi version will cost $329 (16GB).Wi-Fi versions of the iPad mini will ship first on Nov. 2 to select countries, and the cellular+Wi-Fi version will be available worldwide two weeks later.
Also, the company announced that the iPad would enjoy an update. The new full-sized iPad will now come with a Lightning port. A6X and expanded LTE will be added to the iPad as well. Schiller said the A6X doubles the performance compared to the previous generation, and it’s priced at $499 for the 16GB version.
Apple wasn’t done. The company revealed details of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, with “pixels so small that at normal viewing distance, your eye can’t tell the difference,” Schiller said.
The press release states: “At 227 pixels per inch, the Retina display’s pixel density is so high the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels at a normal viewing distance, so images look sharp and text looks like it does on the printed page.
It boasts a 75 percent of reduced reflection than the previous MacBook Pro. It offers seven hours of battery life, Schiller said. It’s available today and the 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor version with 128GB of flash storage is priced at $1,699, he added.Then CEO Tim Cook discussed the new iMac, both the 21.5-incher and the 27-inch version. Featuring an incredible 5 mm thin screen, the computer is 80 percent lighter than its predecessor. It boasts a FaceTime HD Camera, dual microphones, over 300 nits of brightness and a new drive called Fusion Drive (128GB) that automatically places your most popular apps in the faster Flash drive.
The 21-inch iMac, at 2.7GHz processing power, is available in November and will cost $1,299. The 27-inch version, at 2.9GHz, will hit shelves in December and will set you back $1,799.
This article originally appeared in Digital Journal [Link]
AOL to release weekly iPad magazine ‘Huffington’
A new weekly iPad magazine, produced as an app, will soon be released, according to Forbes. The digital magazine called Huffington will come from Huffington Post Media Group and will be overseen by Tim O’Brien, Huffington Post’s executive editor.
As Forbes reports, “Huffington will be published weekly and will reflect the Huffington Post’s mix of original journalism and aggregated news, possibly with a small number of stories commissioned specifically for the magazine.”
It will be designed as an app, and there are reports it will be offered free at first with a paid version in the works. No timetable has yet been set for a launch.
Arianna Huffington is betting on the success of iPad-only digital products, much like News Corp did with The Daily. Since its launch in early 2011, The Daily claims to be one of Apple’s top-grossing iPad apps in the world.
Forbes points out AOL already has a tablet-based magazine-like news product called Editions – it’s a news reader that gets content from a user’s social network.
Huffington was also in the news recently last week: Huffington Post Media Group is preparing to launch a live over-the-internet video channel modeled on the 24-hour cable news networks.
Apple announces new iPad with 4G LTE, Retina Display, Siri
Today Apple announced the next-generation iPad, available on March 16. Its features include 4G LTE access, Siri, a quad-core processor, and a 2048 x 1536 display, equalling 3.1 million pixels.
Apple announced that the new iPad will include access to the high-speed 4G LTE network and will feature voice dictation using the Siri tool found on the new iPhone 4S. The starting price for the unit begins at $499.
At the California event live-blogged by hundreds of news sites, Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke about Apple heading into the post-PC future, saying “Our post PC devices made up 76% of our revenues.”
He added Apple sold millions of iOS devices in one quarter, specifically stating they sold “an astonishing 315 million devices through last year, 62 million in Q4 2011.”Cook said Apple sold 15.4 million iPads in the last quarter alone. More than 200,000 apps have been built for the iPad, he added.
“Everyone’s been wondering, who will come out with a product that’s more amazing than the iPad 2?” Cook said, and paused, then said, “We are!”
Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller described the new iPad, first announcing a new retina display at 264ppi. “For the first time an iPad has a higher resolution than this entire display behind you,” he said, pointing to the massive screen on stage. “That’s a fun challenge.”
The display sports 2048 x 1536, equally 3.1 million pixels. “The most ever in a mobile device,” Schiller pointed out. The saturation is 44 per cent greater compared to the iPad 2.
The device also includes the quad-core A5X processor, Schiller said.
The new iSight camera on this iPad features a 5-megapixel backside illuminated sensor on the back, a 5-element lens, IR filter, and auto-focus and auto-exposure tools. The camera also lets you do some 1080p video recording, a feature many observers expected.
Then Schiller introduced the voice dictation add-on. “The iPad, like all great iOS devices, has a great keyboard and now you’ll see there’s a new key on the bottom: a microphone.” Instead of typing, you can tap the microphone icon on the keyboard, then say what you want to say and the device listens. Tap “done,” and iPad converts your words into text. Dictation also works with third-party apps.
He also announced this iPad will offer 4G LTE service, a highly anticipated feature. The iPad 2 zipped along at 3.1Mbps on EV-DO, 7.2 on HSPA, Schiller noted, but the latest tablet will access the Web at 21Mbps HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA at 42Mbps, with LTE triumphing at 73Mbps. LTE partners in North America include Verizon, Rogers, Bell, Telus and AT&T.
Schiller said the new iPad delivers the same as the iPad 2 in battery life – 10 hours of battery life, clocking around 9 hours on 4G. Size-wise, it comes in at 9.4mm thin, weighing 1.4lbs.
The new iPad will cost $499 for 16GB, 32GB is $599 and 64GB for $699. If you want a 4G unit, it will cost $629, $729 and $829 respectively. It will be available worldwide on March 16 but Apple is taking pre-orders now.
This article originally appeared on Digital Journal [Link]
Photo courtesy of Apple
52% of kids under 8 using iPods, iPads and mobile devices
by Chris Hogg
Need a babysitter? There’s an app for that. A study published this week says a huge percentage of children under eight are consuming media on iPods, iPads and other devices at growing rates.
A study published by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that studies children’s use of technology, says digital media has become a regular part of a child’s life and mobile devices are the toy of choice.
More than half (52%) of all children under the age of eight have access to mobile devices at home including smartphones, iPads, iPods and other tablets. And the rate at which kids are adopting technology is also perhaps surprising: 40 percent of 2- to 4-year-olds are using everything from TV to mobile devices and apps.
According to the study, 11 percent of all kids up to 8-years-old regularly use a cellphone, iPod, iPad or similar device and spend an average of 43 minutes doing so. Parents seem to be supporting the digital babysitters, as more than a quarter (29%) of all parents have downloaded mobile apps for their kids to use.
“Much of the focus in recent years has been on the explosion of media use among teenagers, whereas our study examines media use among young children during crucial developmental years,” said James Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media, in a media release.
“Last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed their position that children under age 2 should not engage in any screen time, yet the data shows infants and toddlers are growing up surrounded by screens. This use data is an important first step toward understanding how the prevalence of media and technology affects the development of our youngest kids.”
Among the key findings of the study:
• 42 percent of children under eight years of age have a TV in their bedrooms (30 percent of 0- to 1-year-olds, 44 percent of 2- to 4-year-olds, and 47 percent of 5- to 8-year-olds).
• Half (52%) of all 0- to 8-year-olds have access to a new mobile device such as a smartphone, video iPod, or iPad/tablet.
• More than a third (38%) of children this age have used one of these devices, including 10% of 0- to 1-year-olds, 39% of 2- to 4-year-olds, and more than half (52%) of 5- to 8-year-olds.
• In a typical day, one in 10 (11%) 0- to 8-year-olds uses a smartphone, video iPod, iPad, or similar device to play games, watch videos, or use other apps.
Those who do such activities spend an average of 43 minutes a day doing so.
While new technologies are starting to get the attention of both parents and tots, the study says TV continues to be the dominant medium and kids 8-years-old and under consume an average of 1:40 of TV or DVDs in a typical day.
Children also spend 29 minutes daily reading or being read to; 29 minutes each day listening to music; 17 minutes per day using a computer; 14 minutes daily using a video came console; and five minutes using a cellphone, iPod, iPad or similar device.
According to the study, infants between 0-1 years of age spend double the amount of time watching TV and DVDs than reading. Some children are also multitasking, as nearly one quarter (23%) of 5- to 8-year-olds use more than one device at a time.
“These results make it clear that media plays a large and growing role in children’s lives, even the youngest of children,” said Vicky Rideout, a senior adviser to Common Sense Media and director of more than 30 previous studies on children, media and health. “As we grapple with issues such as the achievement gap and childhood obesity, educators, policymakers, parents, and public health leaders need access to comprehensive and credible research data to inform their efforts.”
The study, “Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America,” is based on a survey of 1,384 parents of children up to 8 years old, and was conducted May 27-June 15, 2011.
The full study can be downloaded free here (opens in PDF).
This article originally appeared on Digital Journal [Link]
Photo courtesy of aperturismo
Facebook iPad app sparks drama
by Stephanie Medeiros (Guest Contributor/Digital Journalist)
An official app for Facebook on the iPad has been long awaited, and it seems it was accidentally discovered around two months ago. However, the app might finally be released.
It was recently discovered the former developer of the iPad app for Facebook brought the iPad version to near completion and it has been ready for release since May, but was delayed all through summer by Facebook.
In fact, tech blog TechCrunch found the app embedded in lines of code for the iPhone app.TechCrunch reports on the issue, as the former developer expressed his side of the story on his blog. The developer, Jeff Verkoeyen, eventually left Facebook for Google but claims it was unrelated to the delays with the app.
“It is now nearly 5 months since the app was feature complete and I haven’t seen it released except for when the project was leaked on Techcrunch,” writes Verkoeyen on his blog. “Needless to say this was a frustrating experience for me.”
It has been reported that Verkoeyen worked on the iPad app tirelessly, clocking in even 80-hour work weeks.However, Verkoeyen reached out to TechCrunch and explained he was not complaining about the long work hours or the delays, since he enjoyed his time with Facebook. Instead, he mentions that the iPad app is still being worked on and is not completely ready to be released.
While Google and Facebook seem to have sizable competition between them, most of the delay seems to stem from the competition between Apple and Facebook, according to TechCrunch.Apple’s relatively low-key music centric social network, Ping, was originally going to integrate with Facebook until Apple decided to cut off the project from Facebook.
Also, in another strain on the Apple-Facebook relationship, Apple instead went with Twitter with full integration in iOS 5.Regardless, Verkoeyen confirmed that the app is still being worked on and even Mashable saysit has confirmed that the iPad app will be launched on October 4, which is reported to be the launch conference for the long-awaited iPhone 5.
Despite the competition between Apple and Facebook and an unfavorable past, the two tech giants seem to be taking strides in order to work together on an HTML-5 initiative as well as releasing the iPad app.
When the iPad was first released, Mark Zuckerberg was infamously quoted in November 2010 that the iPad was “not mobile,” but instead a computer, which spurred much buzz that Zuckerberg wouldn’t be releasing any official Facebook app on the popular tablet.
This article originally appeared on Digital Journal [Link]
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
