Category: Apple (Page 20 of 65)

iPhone OS 4: FINALLY

April 8, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

The world got a look at the upcoming changes to the iPhone OS today and it seems there was just one response: FINALLY. Finally, the iPhone will have the ability to multitask. Finally, you can organize your apps into folders and customize the background. Finally, mail will support attachments for third-party apps, threaded conversations, and easier inbox switching. Finally, finally, finally.

I know, it seems surreal. A lot of these features have been on other platforms for months, years in some cases. The multitasking support is really the best of the update, bringing the iPhone in line with WebOS and Android. It does make me wonder when we’ll see new hardware. The ad copy for the new iPhone’s bigger battery for that great multitasking feature practically writes itself.

For now, you can keep an eye on Apple’s official site for iPhone OS 4. The OS is available in closed beta for developers. Expect more feature leaks soon.

Apple, iPad, iPhone, News

iphone multitasking iphone OS 4 iphone os changes multitask multitasking apps new iphone os new os os 4 os 4.0

Apple stores still have the iPad in stock

April 7, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

You waited for hours in that line. It was hot, cold, rainy, snowing, windy, sunny, exhausting, tiring, irritating, lonely, funny, strange, whatever. It was unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, I love standing in line for nerdy stuff as much as the next guy or gal. There’s a certain camaraderie you just don’t get anywhere else. It’s pretty damn frustrating, though, when you find out it wasn’t necessary.

It seems that despite rumors of a day one sellout, most Apple stores across the country still have the iPad in stock. Some have even received second shipments. It’s a good position for Apple to be in, as you can bet there will be those who just had to play with one before they bought it (I’ll admit, I didn’t give two hoots about the iPhone until I spent about an hour with one).

Most of the major retailers seem to have sold out (meaning all of the Best Buy locations) but you don’t have to overpay just to get your new tablet. Head to your local Apple store and your troubles are over.

Apple, iPad, News

ipad ipad day one ipad launch ipad release ipad sales ipad sellout ipad sold out ipad stock

Sorry film nerds, a widescreen iPad doesn’t make sense

April 6, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

When the iPad was first announced there was a lot of crying about the screen size. If the thing was meant for watching video why wouldn’t it have a 16:9 aspect ratio? I mean, who wants black bars on the size of an already smaller screen than you might be used to.

I do, actually. Why? The iPad is about more than just visual media consumption. Yes, movies are going to look great on that pretty little screen, but it needs to do more than that. From everything we’ve seen about the iPad (and everything you probably know if you’ve held one) it’s meant to be wielded a lot like a book. Imagine that book on a 16:9 aspect ratio. It would be ridiculously awkward to hold.

That says nothing of actually viewing content either. Reading websites, ebooks, and browsing content like photos makes much more sense with a 4:3 screen. The iPad is not a purpose-built device; it’s designed for all sorts of content.

If you’re really that concerned about a 16:9 screen, get yourself a JooJoo. I hear that company is doing very well.

Digital Media, ebooks, iPad

ibooks ipad ipad movies ipad screen movie viewing widescreen widescreen movies

iPad has already been jailbroken

April 6, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

Well that was certainly quick. I’d heard that George Hotz had potentially jailbroken Apple’s new tablet but he wasn’t talking. Another Dev-Team member, MuscleNerd, said it took him just 24 hours to get the crack right. May the unauthorized app installation/piracy/warranty-voiding fun begin!

The break is apparently a variation on the “Spirit,” jailbreak used for iPhones running iPhone OS 3.1.3. The crack uses a browser to achieve root access and allows you to run whatever apps you’d like on the iPad, authorized or no. For now, the crack remains in that “only if you know what you’re doing” range of hacks. Come on, though, it only took 24 hours. I’m sure you can find a way to automate this little process, MuscleNerd.

Source: MacNN

iPad, News

ipad ipad crack ipad hack ipad jailbreak ipad jailbroken

Actually, the iPad sold just 300,000 units

April 5, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

The initial estimates for iPad day one sales were somewhere around 700,000. I was hugely impressed by the number, especially in the context of iPhone day one sales and the Kindle installed base. As it turns out, the official sales figures are “over 300,000,” a far cry from that whopping estimate. While 300K is good it’s hard not to feel a little underwhelmed.

Technically the iPad is a new frontier. There hasn’t been a tablet device like it, and it’s certainly the sleekest of the slew of tablets that have released of late. But the iPhone OS and the App Store that make up the iPad are old hat. Millions and millions of people know and love the system, so why such middling sales?

Part of it could be that this is the first of two iPad launch days. A lot of people probably want the assurance of a 3G connection, especially since it doesn’t require a contract. The more likely reason is that no one knows just how good the iPad can be. The device has a ton of potential for media consumption but the content providers need to be on board. iPad versions of newspapers and other media are ridiculously expensive, especially considering that news and other media are freely accessible by other means. As great as browsing on the iPad must be, browsing on my laptop doesn’t cost anything, doesn’t require any app other than my browser, and is only marginally less convenient than toting around an iPad.

It seems the world is convinced that the iPad justifies the existence of expensive, tailored content when in reality it’s the reverse. The content needs to justify the existence of the iPad. If I can stream video, read books, read my news sources, browse the web and listen to music for reasonable rates then of course I want a comfortable, portable device for doing it. If that device is going to send the price of all those content streams through the roof then screw it, I’m fine with regular TV, books, DVDs that I can rip to digital formats for free, and relatively cheap music downloads on a conventional device.