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Posts in iPad

The 4th Generation iPad Brings iPad Up to Date with Lightning Connector, Faster A6X Processor

Before the Phil Schiller introduced the brand new iPad mini, he surprised the audience in attendance with the introduction of Apple’s 4th generation iPad during today’s Special Event.

The 4th generation iPad comes in the same chassis as the 3rd generation iPad. It’s been updated with Apple’s new dual-core A6X processor with quad-core graphics, which offers performance that’s twice as fast as the previous generation model. The camera has been updated to a FaceTime HD camera, able to record 720p video and snap 1.2 MB photographs. A Lightning connector has also replaced the old dock connector.

It’s an incremental update that’s big on performance, but not so substantial that purchasers of the 3rd generation iPad should feel the need to upgrade. The launch of the 4th generation iPad is a simple revision to the existing model that neither reduces weight or thickness. It does, however, possibly change Apple’s release cycle by placing the iPad ahead of the holiday shopping season instead of after it. The updated iPad also brings it up to date with Apple’s most current technologies, such as Apple’s new Lightning connector that was introduced with the iPhone 5.

As a buyer’s note, Apple hasn’t replaced the iPad 2 with the 3rd generation iPad. Instead, the iPad 2 remains for sale, while the 4th generation iPad simply succeeds the 3rd generation. If you want a new iPad, you’re still choosing between a model that has a Retina display and doesn’t.

For more coverage, check out our October 23 news hub and follow @macstoriesnet on Twitter.

Apple’s Hire of William Stasior May Be for More than Just Search→

Earlier this afternoon, AllThingsD’s Kara Swisher reported that Apple has hired Amazon executive William Stasior, who was in charge of Amazon’s A9, which focuses on product and visual search technologies. Swisher reports that Stasior will be working with the Siri team in his new position at Apple.

What’s more intriguing is what else Stasior might find himself working on — presumably, strengthening Apple’s search and search advertising technology in the wake of its increasing competition with Google.

“Apple’s search and search advertising technology” covers a broad swath of search that could be… well anything. If I was to take a stab at what Apple might specifically want Stasior for, I’d look at one of the products A9 ended up introducing on the App Store. Flow Powered by Amazon is a visual search app that attempts to visually recognize and display relevant information about books, music, video games, and more by simply pointing your smartphone’s camera at the cover or UPC barcode. The app allows people to bring up product details and customer ratings by identifying the product’s packaging (it’s in the same vein as Google Goggles).

Siri would be well suited as not just a voice assistant, but as a visual assistant. Given Apple’s recent foray into books, magazines, and textbooks, using Siri to scan and subscribe to a magazine through your iPhone, get more information on a paperback, or find more novels by an author could be a possibility. I could see Apple offering album ratings for music from iTunes, or displaying rental fees when you scan the cover of a Blu-ray boxset. A9 also powers CloudSearch and Product Search at Amazon — I don’t see the hire being related to search advertising, but rather for product search as it applies to Apple’s digital ecosystems.

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Behind The App: MoneyWiz

Early this year, I set out to find an iPad app that I could enjoy using to manage my finances. After a couple of days of looking, I settled upon MoneyWiz from the developer SilverWiz. Its developers describe it as “beautiful, powerful and easy to use”, and having stuck with the app since late January I’m inclined to agree. In my reviews of the iPad and Mac versions my overall take was mostly positive (there is also an iPhone version, but that I have yet to use).

After exchanging a few emails with Iliya Yordanov, the founder of SilverWiz, I thought it would be interesting to have a Q&A with him and learn a bit more about the app, similar to what we’ve done in previous interviews here on MacStories, but this time, I decided to change things up a bit. For this interview I’ve assembled all the various stories about MoneyWiz and the SilverWiz company that Iliya shared with me into a single story that (hopefully) gives you a fascinating and unique look behind the app and company.

Disclaimer: At the time of publication SilverWiz is one of the advertisers on MacStories; however, this article was in the works before the campaign began. Advertising on MacStories is not handled by editors but by BackBeatMedia, and has no relation to editorial content whatsoever.

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