New iPad vs. iPad 2: Should you upgrade?

by Taylor Hatmaker, Tecca on Mar. 10, 2012, under USA Today News

The cat’s out of the bag about Apple’s newest iPad, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve got all of your questions answered. If you’re a current iPad owner, opting to buy Apple’s newest tablet is an even tougher choice. If you sat out the iPad 2, it’s probably your cue to upgrade to Apple’s third generation tablet, since that original iPad is starting to look downright Jurassic.

But what if you’ve got an iPad 2 in your lap? In the face of a new set of hot features, does last year’s tablet really cut it? Read on to weigh the options and decide if you should stay the course or if it might be high time to trade in.

Ultra-crisp Retina display

The new iPad’s single killer feature is its Retina display. Doubling the pixel count of the iPad 2 up to a very nice 2048 x 1536, the newest iPad offers a sharp, bright screen just like its miniature counterpart, the latest iPhone. The new pixel count is a visually noticeable boost over the last generation iPad, and your eyes will be able to feast on ultra-HD gaming, web browsing, and reading. While the iPad still can’t compete with an E Ink screen when it comes to going easy on the eyes (a backlit display is always going to produce eyestrain), the Retina display’s stunning pixel density should do plenty in the way of making your eyes happier.

Blazing fast 4G speed

Beyond the ultra high res screen, the newest iPad is Apple’s first foray into “true” 4G. 4G networks are leagues faster than traditional 3G carrier networks, and the new iPad will be able to hop on Verizon or AT&T’s own flavor of 4G, known as LTE. What does that mean for you? Mobile data speeds will be screaming compared to what you might be used to, making streaming videos and just about anything else when you’re away from Wi-Fi a seamless, speedy experience. On the flipside, more data speed comes with more responsibility — and by that, we really mean massive overage charges. Burning through the pool of data that your carrier portions out to you per month will be easier than ever, so you’ll want to pay close attention, should your hunger for data verge on insatiable.

Processing power-up with a graphics boost

Naturally, Apple has upped the power of its newest generation iPad. While the new iPad uses a processor that shares a lot in common with the iPad 2′s dual-core A5 chip, the new A5X should provide some nice oomph where it counts. Since the newest iPad will be stunning all who dare meet its gaze with a pixel-packed Retina display, the A5X’s quad-core graphics chops will translate into a high def gaming experience that should blow the iPad 2 out of the water. Of course, the iPad 2 was no slouch in this department, but the new iPad will venture more toward the cutting edge of tablet tech, putting it on par with high-end quad core gamer’s tablets like the Asus Transformer Prime.

A camera you’ll actually want to shoot with

The first iPad didn’t come with any camera at all, and by many accounts, the iPad 2 hardly did either. While its front-facing camera proved adequate for video chatting with FaceTime, the last-gen tablet’s back-facing shooter packed less than one paltry megapixel for still shots. Clearly Apple never intended for people to snap photos with any sort of seriousness on its tablets — until now. Not only does the new iPad up the lens ante to a respectable 5MP with 1080p video recording, but Apple is clearly pushing for a photo-friendly experience, throwing an iOS version of its iPhoto image organization and editing software into the mix. People might not have been wild about tablet photography before, but Apple is clearly positioning the new iPad to create just as much content as it lets you consume.

The same sleek design, just a sliver larger

At first glance, the new iPad is almost visually identical to its predecessor. Closer examination shows that the new iPad is a hair thicker (.37-inch vs. .24-inch) and a teensy bit heavier (1.44 lb. vs. 1.33 lb.) — those new features have to fit somewhere, after all. While it may have bulked up a teensy bit, the size difference should be all but negligible in everyday use. If you liked the design of the iPad 2, you’ll be just as pleased with the new iPad’s good looks, but there’s nothing here worth upgrading over.

A familiar pricing scheme

With the new iPad, Apple kept the price tag fixed right at a $499 starting point for a Wi-Fi version of the tablet packing 16GB of storage. As expected, the company dropped the last-gen iPad 2′s pricing by $100, making it something of a steal if you’re not under the Retina display’s siren song. That said, with a vastly improved display and a respectable camera at long last, Apple’s packed quite a bit of quality and value into that $499 starting price.

Verdict: Worth an upgrade?

Ultimately, if you’re eyeing an upgrade, there are really just a couple of killer features to consider. The newest iPad didn’t go back to the drawing board by any means, but it did toss a trio of important features into the mix. If the Retina display alone moved you enough to upgrade, we certainly couldn’t blame you — especially if e-reading and gaming take up a lot of your tablet time. And if you’re a genuine speed freak when it comes to zipping along on mobile data networks, 4G is going to be too sweet to pass up.

Beyond that, the new iPad’s considerably less laughable camera coupled with the new iPhoto app will likely entice mobile photogs to take a long, hard, HD look at Apple’s latest offering. But if none of the tablet types strike a chord with you, the iPad 2 might still be up to snuff — and with its recent price drop, it’s a strong contender for the best tablet priced anywhere near $399.

Copyright © 2010 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Apple plots smartphones powered by hydrogen

Apple is working on laptops and smartphones powered by hydrogen fuel cells that would last for weeks without needing to be refueled, patent filings have revealed

04:33 PM Dec 26, 2011

In two documents submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office, the iPhone maker said its proposal "eliminates the need for a bulky and heavy battery".

A hydrogen fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen into water and electrical energy.

The technology has long been touted as a potential power source for cleaner cars. Electronics manufacturers also have shown growing interest in replacing batteries that rely on toxic chemicals with hydrogen fuels cells that would last longer and produce only water as a by-product.

"Our country's continuing reliance on fossil fuels has forced our government to maintain complicated political and military relationships with unstable governments in the Middle East, and has also exposed our coastlines and our citizens to the associated hazards of offshore drilling," Apple says in its patent filings.

"These problems have led to an increasing awareness and desire on the part of consumers to promote and use renewable energy sources."

It also notes that hydrogen fuels cells could be smaller and lighter than batteries, while still powering mobile computers for longer.

"Such fuel cells and associated fuels can potentially achieve high volumetric and gravimetric energy densities, which can potentially enable continued operation of portable electronic devices for days or even weeks without refuelling," Apple said.

The two patents, "Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device" and "Fuel Cell System Coupled to a Portable Computing Device" not the first signs that Apple is working to replace battery technology. In October a further pair of patent applications detailed ways of squeezing more power from lighter hydrogen fuel cells.

Battery technology has long been viewed as a bottleneck in the smartphone industry, leading microchip developers to focus on developing processors with lower power consumption. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Source:

http://www.todayonline.com/TechandDigital/Digital/EDC111226-0000062/Apple-plots-smartphones-powered-by-hydrogen

Kinect accessory for the company Nyko (14 photos)

Western Resources discovered a very serious vulnerability in the iPad 2 installed iOS 5. Any owner of a cover of Smart Cover can bypass your numeric password! ...

Here's what to do if you want to reproduce the vulnerability:
- If the numeric password is not enabled, enable it in Settings → General → Password protection;
- Lock the iPad 2 by briefly pressing the button Power;
- Press and

Remembering Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs

1955 - 2011

If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com

NOBODY else in the computer industry, or any other industry for that matter, could put on a show like Steve Jobs. His product launches, at which he would stand alone on a black stage and conjure up a “magical” or “incredible” new electronic gadget in front of an awed crowd, were the performances of a master showman. All computers do is fetch and shuffle numbers, he once explained, but do it fast enough and “the results appear to be magic”. He spent his life packaging that magic into elegantly designed, easy to use products.

He had been among the first, back in the 1970s, to see the potential that lay in the idea of selling computers to ordinary people. In those days of green-on-black displays, when floppy discs were still floppy, the notion that computers might soon become ubiquitous seemed fanciful. But Mr Jobs was one of a handful of pioneers who saw what was coming. Crucially, he also had an unusual knack for looking at computers from the outside, as a user, not just from the inside, as an engineer—something he attributed to the experiences of his wayward youth.

Mr Jobs caught the computing bug while growing up in Silicon Valley. As a teenager in the late 1960s he cold-called his idol, Bill Hewlett, and talked his way into a summer job at Hewlett-Packard. But it was only after dropping out of college, travelling to India, becoming a Buddhist and experimenting with psychedelic drugs that Mr Jobs returned to California to co-found Apple, in his parents’ garage, on April Fools’ Day 1976. “A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences,” he once said. “So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions.” Bill Gates, he suggested, would be “a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger”.

Dropping out of his college course and attending calligraphy classes instead had, for example, given Mr Jobs an apparently useless love of typography. But support for a variety of fonts was to prove a key feature of the Macintosh, the pioneering mouse-driven, graphical computer that Apple launched in 1984. With its windows, icons and menus, it was sold as “the computer for the rest of us”. Having made a fortune from Apple’s initial success, Mr Jobs expected to sell “zillions” of his new machines. But the Mac was not the mass-market success Mr Jobs had hoped for, and he was ousted from Apple by its board.

Yet this apparently disastrous turn of events turned out to be a blessing: “the best thing that could have ever happened to me”, Mr Jobs later called it. He co-founded a new firm, Pixar, which specialised in computer graphics, and NeXT, another computer-maker. His remarkable second act began in 1996 when Apple, having lost its way, acquired NeXT, and Mr Jobs returned to put its technology at the heart of a new range of Apple products. And the rest is history: Apple launched the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad, and (briefly) became the world’s most valuable listed company. “I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple,” Mr Jobs said in 2005. When his failing health forced him to step down as Apple’s boss in August, he was hailed as the greatest chief executive in history. Oh, and Pixar, his side project, produced a string of hugely successful animated movies.

In retrospect, Mr Jobs was a man ahead of his time during his first stint at Apple. Computing’s early years were dominated by technical types. But his emphasis on design and ease of use gave him the edge later on. Elegance, simplicity and an understanding of other fields came to matter in a world in which computers are fashion items, carried by everyone, that can do almost anything. “Technology alone is not enough,” said Mr Jobs at the end of his speech introducing the iPad 2, in March 2011. “It’s technology married with liberal arts, married with humanities, that yields the results that make our hearts sing.” It was an unusual statement for the head of a technology firm, but it was vintage Steve Jobs.

His interdisciplinary approach was backed up by an obsessive attention to detail. A carpenter making a fine chest of drawers will not use plywood on the back, even though nobody will see it, he said, and he applied the same approach to his products. “For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.” He insisted that the first Macintosh should have no internal cooling fan, so that it would be silent—putting user needs above engineering convenience. He called an engineer at Google one weekend with an urgent request: the colour of one letter of Google's on-screen logo on the iPhone was not quite the right shade of yellow. He often wrote or rewrote the text of Apple’s advertisements himself.

His on-stage persona as a Zen-like mystic notwithstanding, Mr Jobs was an autocratic manager with a fierce temper. But his egomania was largely justified. He eschewed market researchers and focus groups, preferring to trust his own instincts when evaluating potential new products. “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them,” he said. His judgment proved uncannily accurate: by the end of his career the hits far outweighed the misses. Mr Jobs was said by an engineer in the early years of Apple to emit a “reality distortion field”, such were his powers of persuasion. But in the end he changed reality, channelling the magic of computing into products that reshaped music, telecoms and media. The man who said in his youth that he wanted to “put a ding in the universe” did just that.

Rage HD for iPad 2

Remember id Software’s hit iOS game – Rage? Well it looks like John Carmack and his boys aren’t quite done with it yet, and have offered a new update to the game so that it is now more iPad 2-friendly. The latest update to Rage HD includes some new features that make the game more worthwhile for iPad 2 users. Rage HD, now at version 1.21, features 1080p HDMI TV output, and has been recompiled for

Targus Versavu Keyboard Case for iPad 2

For those who would rather replace their laptops with an iPad 2, but still want a physical keyboard to type long emails, or edit substantial documents, Targus has come up with the Targus Versavu, Kayboard and Case, a variant of their original Versavu case.

Just like the original Versavu case, the exterior is made of leather (I’m not sure if it’s real leather or not), and the part that holds the

Facebook v 3.4.4 for iPhone , iPod Touch and iPad

Facebook has released version 3.4.4 of its official client for the iPhone of Apple . Among the innovations of this update include the restoration of the Send button for comments, chat and messaging, friends lists, and News in the filter section have been resolved a number of bugs that caused the interruption of ‘ application .Facebook for iPhone  and iPod Touch is also compatible with iPad and

iOS 5: Tweet everywhere

by Twitter on Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 2:29am

Twitter has always been the best way to instantly share whatever is happening around you, and everything you're interested in, anywhere you are. And today we're working with Apple to make sharing on Twitter even easier: Twitter is built right into iOS 5, coming soon to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices worldwide.

This means that you’ll be able to sign in to your Twitter account once and then tweet with a single tap from Twitter-enabled apps, including Apple’s apps—Camera, Photos, Safari, Contacts, YouTube, and Maps. And developers of all of your favorite apps can easily take advantage of the single sign-on capability, letting you tweet directly from their apps too.

Building Twitter into iOS 5 truly creates the easiest way to share everything that’s happening in your world. Take a picture, tap “Tweet”. Tweeting has never been simpler.

Security researcher’s app is like an over-the-shoulder iPad keylogger

A security researcher has created an app that allows you to log an iPad user’s keystrokes from any distance, so long as you’ve got a line of sight to the device’s keyboard.

Researcher Haroon Meer of security firm Thinkst in South Africa’s Pretoria announced the app, shoulderPad, earlier this week, Forbes’ Andy Greenberg reports.

The app, which can be installed on Mac OS and jailbroken iPhones and iPads, uses image recognition software to identify each keystroke an iPad user makes. As a form of feedback, the iPad’s virtual keyboard flashes blue when you hit a key to confirm that you pressed the right one. It’s this blue flash that allows the app to decode keystrokes automatically.

The same technology could be used on recorded surveillance camera footage to get the same results, Meer told Forbes.

This development is bound to provoke some discussions at Apple, and I know I’ll be more careful about punching in a password in public — even if it is unlikely there’s someone watching with shoulderPad.

iPad: iCade Review

The guys at Toucharcade take the iCade from ThinkGeek for a spin.


[Via]

Mac security firm ships first-ever iPhone malware scanner

Lets iOS device owners do 'on-demand' scans of file attachments

By Gregg Keizer

Computerworld - A French security company known for its Mac OS X antivirus software today released the first malware-scanning app for the iPhone and iPad and iPod touch.

Intego's VirusBarrier for iOS has been approved by Apple, and debuted on the App Store Tuesday for $2.99.

Because iOS prevents the program from accessing the file system or conducting automatic or scheduled scans -- as do virtually all Mac and Windows antivirus software -- VirusBarrier must be manually engaged, and then scans only file attachments and files on remote servers, said Peter James, a spokesman for Intego.

"Because of the sandbox, you can't scan the file system," said James. "Since you don't see the iOS file system, the only things you can scan are attachments sent by email or files in, say, your Dropbox folder."

Unlike software written for Android -- such as Lookout, from the San Francisco-based company by the same name -- VirusBarrier cannot scan apps for possible infection.

When an email attachment is received by the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, the user can intercede by calling on VirusBarrier, which then scans the file for possible infection before the file is opened or forwarded to others.

"We've had enterprise customers say that although they know you can't do a full system scan of an iPhone, they don't like the fact that files go through these devices and end up on a Mac or Windows PC," said James. "They want their users to be able to check that an attachment is safe."

He characterized VirusBarrier for iOS as a way for iPhone and iPad users to prevent their hardware from spreading malware. "You don't want your iPhone becoming a 'Typhoid Mary,'" James said.

VirusBarrier for iOS can scan email attachments in a variety of formats, including Microsoft's Word, Excel and PowerPoint; PDF documents; JavaScript files; and Windows executables, those files tagged with the .exe extension. It can also scan files in a Dropbox folder, those stored on MobileMe's iDisk, or files downloaded via the iOS version of Safari.

The scanning engine and signatures -- the digital "fingerprints" used to detect malware -- in VirusBarrier for iOS are identical to those used by Intego's Mac OS X product line.

VirusBarrier for iOS lets iPhone and iPad users run on-demand scans of email attachments before those files are opened or forwarded. (Graphic: Intego.)

"It's important that people understand what [VirusBarrier] can and cannot do," said James, pointing to the malware scanner's limitations. "Although there is no malware written for iOS today, if attackers do try to exploit the [recent] PDF vulnerability, this is something we can scan for."

James was referring to the still-unpatched vulnerability in iOS that can be exploited through a malicious PDF document, one of two bugs used last week to "jailbreak" an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

VirusBarrier for iOS can be downloaded to an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch fromApple's App Store. It requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld. Follow Gregg on Twitter at  @gkeizer or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . His e-mail address is gkeizer@computerworld.com

AssistiveTouch in iOS 5 – Live video demo

Heres a quick demo on how to enable and use AssistiveTouch in iOS 5.

How to Jailbreak iPad 2 using new JailbreakME

JailbreakMe 3.0 was just released. This allows you to jailbreak your iPad 2 on iOS 4.3.3 (and all other iDevices too). Here is how to jailbreak your iPad 2 on iOS 4.3.3 using JailbreakMe 3.0 No computer is required for this jailbreak. Big thanks to Comex for working on this jailbreak.


1.) Visit http://www.jailbreakme.com
2.) Tap On “Free” then “Install”
3.) Cydia should start installing on

Jailbreak Guide: Untethered iPhone / iPad iOS 4.3.1

NOTE: Those of you who rely on a carrier unlock MUST STAY AWAY from Redsn0w and stock iOS 4.3.1 firmware. Instead, use PwnageTool (on Mac) or Sn0wbreeze (on Windows). Files needed for the Jailbreak:
Redsn0w 0.9.6RC9 (Windows) : http://tinyurl.com/43r4g39
Redsn0w 0.9.6RC9 (Mac) : http://tinyurl.com/3knaoyh


[Via]

How To Jailbreak iOS 4.3.2 (FULL Untethered) for iPhone 4, 3GS / iPod 3G, 4G/ iPad

iOS 4.3.2 download : http://tinyurl.com/4-3-2DOWNLOAD
Redsn0w 0.9.6RC14 (Windows) : http://tinyurl.com/6goj6nk
Redsn0w 0.9.6RC14 (Mac) : http://tinyurl.com/6yp3a7u
NOTE: Those of you who rely on a carrier unlock MUST STAY AWAY from Redsn0w and stock iOS 4.3.1 firmware. Instead, use PwnageTool (on Mac) or Sn0wbreeze (on Windows)
[Via]

Hack unlocks iPad Screen mirroring

Heres another look at the iPad screen mirroring feature that can be hacked on first-gen iPads. This has been tested on the Apple VGA Adapter as well as with the Apple Digital AV Adaptor, both work!


Go to www.natureseyestudios.be for the 6-step how to guide!
[Via]

How to use iPad 2 Smart Cover with iPad

This is a simple hack to use the new Apple Smart Cover for the iPad 2 with the original iPad.

Smart Cover for iPad 1 from Studio Neat on Vimeo.
[Via]

Tethered Jailbreak iOS 4.3 firmware on iPhone 4, 3Gs, iPod Touch 4 and iPad

Heres a guide on how to Jailbreak 4.3 Firmware On iPhone 4, 3Gs, iPod touch 4 & iPad  (Tethered).
Download:
Sn0wbreeze 2.3b1
http://hotfile.com/dl/110017122/acd9499/sn0wbreeze-2.3b1.zip.html
4.3 Firmware
http://www.felixbruns.de/iPod/firmware/
Devices Supported iPhone 4
iPhone 3Gs Old & New Boot Rom
iPod Touch 3rd Gen
iPod Touch 4th Gen
IPad 1






[Via - Thx Pece]]

List of iPhone / iTunes error messages – And Solution on how to fix the error

Heres a list of different error message that you might get on your iPhone / iPhone 4 / iPad / iPod Touch or iTunes. You can also find a solution on how to fix the error after the break.

Errors -9815
Set exact date, restart computer.

Errors -9814
Set exact date, restart computer.

Errors -9800
Set exact date, restart computer.

Error -50
Delete Storm Vedio, QuickTime, iTunes, then reinstall

RedSn0w 0.9.7b3 Guide: How to Untether iOS 4.2.1 Jailbreak for iPhone, iPod touch & iPad

Redsn0w 0.9.7b3: http://tinyurl.com/27×98aj
iOS Official 4.2.1: http://tinyurl.com/26qlwnl
iOS 4.2beta3 : download from Apple Dev program or google “download ios 4.2 beta 3″

1) cd /usbmuxd-1.0.6/python-client
2) chmod +x tcprelay.py
3) ./tcprelay.py -t 22:2222

- THIS IS STILL A BETA! Do this at your own risk.
- iPhone 3GS or iPod touch 2g/3g currently not supported
- Mac only for as of today
-