Apple

April Fools’ Day roundup: Google overload edition

2 April 2011 2:57 AM

April Fools' Day roundup: Google overload edition

April 1st. It’s that time of the year again when the internet is rife with odd news and pranks. As before, news sites like us end up with a healthy stream of tips throughout April Fools’ Day (thanks, by the way), so let us round up some of the best findings for your comedic appetite. Contenders include the usual suspects like Google and ThinkGeek, the former of which dominating the gigglesphere this year with some new “features.” We also have some interesting submissions from Hulu, a font company, and probably plenty more to come as the day progresses, so keep watching this space as we add new entries to this post. Right, let the fun commence after the break.

First up, we have several new features from Google, starting with Gmail Motion and Docs Motion which offer “intuitive, ergonomic” gesture control to replace your outdated keyboard-and-mouse combo. But if you’re more of a Google Voice person, then you might find the Voice-alyzer handy — it’s simply an anti-drunk calling or texting tool for those special nights out. Come on, we’ve all been there.

Also from Mountain View is a new job listing for a Google Autocompleter. That’s right, turns out every single search on Google is actively monitored by human staffers, who are able to provide instant suggestions for your incomplete entries. Have a look at what autocomplete veteran Michael Taylor has to say about his exciting duty.

The iPad 2

3 March 2011 4:23 PM

The iPad 2

Apple has just made its second-generation iPad official! It features a 1GHz dual-core A5 chip and, finally, cameras, both on the front and rear. The new CPU is said to be up to twice as fast, with graphics performance up to nine times better than on the original iPad, while power requirements have been kept the same. Battery life is, consequently, unaltered, with Apple promising 10 hours. Pricing, too, has been left unchanged, starting at $499 for a 16GB WiFi-only iPad 2 and stretching up to $829 for a WiFi + 3G SKU with 64GB of storage. The new tablet will come with an HDMI output capable of 1080p — which will set you back $39 for the requisite dongle, called an Apple Digital AV Adapter — but there will sadly be no rumblings of Thunderbolt connectivity here. What you will get is an enlarged speaker grille on the back, as expected, and the same 1024 x 768 resolution and IPS LCD screen technology as on the original iPad.

Update from Engadget: We’ve gotten our first hands-on with the iPad 2 and, boy oh boy, it’s fast! – awesome.

The iPad 2

720p video recording at 30fps will be on tap from the rear-facing camera, which can also do a 5x digital zoom if you’re into that kind of thing, whereas the front-facing imager will record at a more modest VGA resolution, also at 30fps.

There’s a new cover for the device, which is best defined by Steve Jobs himself: “We designed the case right alongside the product. It’s not a case — it’s a cover.” Basically, it’s a magnetic flap that protects the front and automatically wakes and puts the device to sleep according to whether it’s open or closed. Guess we know what that proximity sensor was about now. These Smart Covers will cost $39 in plastic or $69 if you opt for leather.

The iPad 2 is 33 percent thinner than its predecessor, at a mind-melting 8.8mm, and a little lighter at just over 600g, while paintjob options have been expanded: you’ll get a choice between white and black. It’ll be available on both AT&T and Verizon, and all variants start shipping on March 11th. Apple Retail Stores will start sales at the unusual hour of 5PM, which will probably make online pre-orders the fastest way to get yours.

The iPad 2

In terms of new software, Apple’s launching iOS 4.3 alongside the new iPad and bringing with it much improved Safari performance as well as FaceTime, Photo Booth, iMovie and GarageBand (the latter two costing $4.99 a piece) apps specifically for the newly camera-enriched iPad. Personal Hotspot capabilities are also arriving in the latest version of the OS, but they’ll be exclusive to the iPhone 4, so you won’t be able to share your 3G iPad’s connection. The minimum compatible version of iTunes for the new iPad 2 will be the freshly released 10.2.

The iPad 2

Live: From Apple’s iPad 2 event

2 March 2011 6:54 PM

We’re going to be liveblogging Apple’s iPad 2 announcement (and whatever else they have in store). Check back at the times below, and get ready to make history together!

UPDATE TO ALL:
Please check engadget! for the latest pictures and news.






10:15AM Doctors are using the iPad… and spending more time with patients. Also, the iPad has been performing brain surgery.

10:14AM Chicago schools… using the iPad, seeing huge gains.


10:13AM Yes, Apple.

10:13AM Phil: Some people call this a post-PC device.

10:13AM Gist of the video — the iPad is magical. Sales were through the roof. Stuff is amazing.


10:12AM Phil Schiller: No one predicted this would be as successful as it’s been.

10:11AM Hmm… screen just says… Video. Oh there we go.

10:11AM “We made a video about 2010, the year of the iPad…” Video time!

10:11AM “One of the things that’s helped us roll this out so fast is our retail stores. They were built for moments like this. We have hundreds of Apple stores now. Without them, we wouldn’t have been successful.”


10:10AM Ouch — Honeycomb logo… 100 apps.

10:10AM “There’s never been anything like this for photography… 65,000 apps specifically for the iPad.”

10:10AM “They’re taking advantage of this incredible, magical UI.”

10:10AM “Fantastic games, a lot of apps for business and vertical markets. The things people are doing here are amazing.”

10:09AM Steve is showing off some of the iPad app selection.

10:09AM “Samsung put one out last year. They said ‘our sell-in was quite aggressive, 2m, but our sell out was quite small’.” Zing!


10:09AM “Many have said this is the most successful consumer product ever launched. Over 90% market share… our competitors were flummoxed.”

10:08AM “We sold 15m iPads… that’s more than every tablet PC ever sold.”

10:08AM “When we said the iPad was magical, people laughed at us. But it’s turned out to be magical. And people questioned whether it was an ‘unbelievable’ price — well ask our competitors.”

10:07AM “Today we’re here to talk about Apple’s third post-PC blockbuster product. That’s how we think about these things. We started with the iPod, then we added the iPhone, and then the iPad. Every one has been a blockbuster.”

10:07AM “We’re in a position where most of our revenue comes from these products.”

10:06AM “Lastly — we recently shipped our 100 millionth iPhone.”


10:06AM “A lot of people have tried to copy this.”

10:05AM “Another milestone… let’s look at the App Store. We recently paid out over $2b to devs in total. Devs have earned over $2b from selling their apps on the App Store.”


10:05AM “Now Amazon doesn’t publish their numbers, but it’s likely this is the most accounts with credit cards anywhere on the internet.”


10:05AM “That’s iBooks. As you know, that’s one of our three stores. They all use the same Apple ID to access them. Recently, we just crossed 200m accounts.”




10:04AM “We have over 2500 publishers in the iBookstore.”

10:04AM “Users have downloaded over 100m books in less than a year. Today we’re announcing that Random House is bringing over 17k books.”

10:03AM “We’ve got something great to announce today, but first some updates. First iBooks.”

10:03AM “We’ve been working on this product for awhile, and I didn’t want to miss it.”

10:03AM Standing ovation for Steve Jobs. People are flipping out. He looks good!

10:02AM Whoa! Steve is out!

10:02AM The lights are going down… we’re about to begin!

9:59AM “Ladies and gentlemen, our presentation will begin shortly. Please switch devices to silent mode.”

9:58AM As you can by the photo, the chair / table setup is here… just like when Steve showed off the first iPad.

9:58AM Did we mention that they’re playing a lot of Beatles right now?

9:56AM For those wondering — no sign of Steve here, but Jony Ive is in the front row.

9:54AM If you’re seeing any trouble with comments, don’t panic. It looks like Disqus might be experiencing the Apple effect right now.

9:52AM It’s all Beatles all the time here.

9:51AM Joz is also in the house, just being Joz.

9:50AM Packed house today — we can see Tim Cook and Phil Schiller near the stage right now. Expect to see more of them.

9:46AM Okay, we’re in our seats and… the Beatles are on the sound system.

09:31AM We’re inside and waiting to sit down! All the usual suspects are here — and we’ve heard that Pixar’s John Lasseter is somewhere in the mix as well.

08:00AM – Hawaii
10:00AM – Pacific
11:00AM – Mountain
12:00PM – Central
01:00PM – Eastern
06:00PM – London
07:00PM – Paris
09:00PM – Moscow
11:30PM – Mumbai
03:00AM – Tokyo (March 3rd)
05:00AM – Sydney (March 3rd)

All content and photos copyrighted © to engadget.com and Aol Tech.

Apple unveils subscription service in App Store

15 February 2011 11:22 PM

Apple launched a subscription service at the App Store for magazines, newspapers, videos, and music bought through its App Store.

In a move that goes a long way to addressing concerns of many in the magazine and newspaper sectors, Apple said today that publishers will be allowed to set the price and the length of the subscription term. The processing of payments will be Apple’s job and handled within the App Store. Apple will collect 30 percent of the revenue.

“Our philosophy is simple,” Steve Jobs wrote in a statement. “When Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share. When the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing.”

“All we require,” Jobs continued, “is that if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app.”

The Apple iPad has proven to be a popular media-consumption device and magazine and newspaper executives are typically excited about the tablet’s appeal as an e-reader. But to get their content on the iPad, some in the newspaper and magazine sectors are dissatisfied with the money Apple once offered–a 30 percent cut forever. They were also unhappy with the amount of control Apple would exercise over subscriptions and user data.

But this latest offer from Apple Inc is more publisher friendly, said Chuck McCullagh, a former senior vice president with the Magazine Publishers Association of America.

“Apple should become a significant channel and this might reduce pain [for publishers],” McCullagh told CNET. “If Apple brings a customer to app it gets 30 percent. When publisher brings new or existing subscriber, Apple gets nothing. That is an advance.”

But McCullagh, who is now a consultant and advises magazines on their digital strategies, also still sees some sticking points. Apple’s requirement that publishers must offer the same subscription for the app as it does out of it, could “bump into the common publisher practice of selling subscriptions at different prices across [distribution] channel’s,” McCullagh said. Some of those channels include the publisher’s Web site, direct mail and newsstands.

Apple said this is the same digital-subscription billing service that the company recently launched with The Daily app, created by News Corp. for the Apple iPad, In that case as with the latest announcement, Apple is giving subscribers the option to provide personal information, such as name and e-mail address, to publishers. This won’t meet the needs of the publishers, McCullagh said, adding that publishers don’t want third parties overseeing their relationship with readers.

Apple said that the relationship between the publisher and the App Store isn’t exclusive. Publishers can sell subscriptions on their own site or offer free access to existing customers, Subscriptions can be weekly, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, biannual, or annual.

Publishers must provide their own authentication process within the app for subscribers who have signed up for service outside the App Store, according to Apple.

Chuck McCullagh is the father of CNET.com reporter Declan McCullagh.

Rumour: Apple to expand iPhone 5 screen to 4 inches?

15 February 2011 3:27 PM

Will the iPhone 5 feature a larger 4-inch screen?

Following persistent rumours of plans for a smaller, cheaper Apple iPhone nano, the latest Apple rumour this week is that the Cupertino-based tech giant is planning to release an iPhone 5 with a larger, 4-inch screen.

Details of Apple’s next gen model reportedly leaked from component suppliers via Digitimes suggesting that Apple will release a larger-screened iPhone in order to compete with the growing threat from Android in the 4-to-7-inch smartphone market, such as Samsung’s’ Galaxy S and Google’s Nexus S.

“We need a bigger screen”

That’s according to component suppliers, who told DigiTimes that the production lines for Apple’s next gen iPhone have begun testing.

“The component suppliers noted that the production lines for Apple’s next generation iPhone have begun testing, and Apple is interesting (sic) in expanding the screen size to 4-inches to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market.” – Digitimes anonymous source.

“What is worth noticing is that Dell has re-defined the market position of the Dell Streak 5 – which was originally focused on the tablet PC market – as a super phone. The Dell Streak 5 uses a 5-inch panel which stands in the gray area between tablet PC and handset segments and indicates there is an overlap in the market for 4- to 7-inch panels.
iPhone 4 currently features a 3.5-inch widescreen touch-controlled ‘Retina’ display, with Apple reportedly looking to increase the size of the screen by 0.5 inches to compete with the numerous other 4-inch touchscreen phones on the market.

Via Digitimes.