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Wooden iPad 2 Cover Is Cheap, Beautiful, And Smart

For as much as we at MacStories are in love with Apple’s Smart Cover, we’re also curious to see what kind of products third-party accessory makers will release for a device that’s got magnets and a flat surface perfect for covers and stands. Now that word about Apple’s magnet implementation is out there, it shouldn’t be long enough until we see all kinds of Smart Cover replacements come out. And while I’m sure many of them won’t offer Apple’s exceptional build quality and usability, the Miniot Cover for iPad surely is something to get excited about.

It looks like a Smart Cover, but it’s got a wooden surface that rolls into a cylinder (that’s right) to offer typing and stand modes. It easily attaches to the iPad and the wooden finish on the surface is simply beautiful. I can’t wait to try one of these things out, and I’m just going to say that Apple should allow Miniot to feature their product into the retail stores.

Shipping in a few days at €50 (it’s cheaper than Apple’s leather model sold at €69 in Europe), the Miniot Cover is set to provide a great alternative to the Smart Cover. Check out the video below. [Miniot via TUAW]
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Instacast 1.1 Casts New Features, Updated Playback Controls

If you’ve been consuming podcasts with Instacast or have been waiting for some more features to trickle down the pipe, Vemedio has opened up the fire hose with their latest update. The interface plays a huge role in making Instacast incredibly user friendly, thus interface sounds have been added to provide the audible feedback element. That doesn’t seem like much, but the biggest improvements have been made to the playback controls. Shake your iPhone or iPod touch to rewind the podcast thirty seconds, and adjust the playback speed of your podcast (if you prefer 2x speed for example) with a simple tap on the artwork. Other interface tweaks include clearer button labeling and options to control how many unread feeds you want pouring in when you add new podcasts, and best of all there’s been lots of little bug fixes that make Instacast more pleasurable.

If you haven’t dove into to Instacast yet, now’s the time. It’s only $1.99 in the App Store, and you can supplement the recommendation with our original review.

Analyst Predicts Apple Will Be Bigger Than IBM and HP→

Analyst Predicts Apple Will Be Bigger Than IBM and HP

Founder of Forrester Research George Colony thinks Apple will outgrow IBM and HP, keeping its steady 50% sales growth rate year after year:

They’ll be bigger than IBM next year, and they’ll be bigger than HP the year after that,” Colony said, citing Apple’s 52 percent sales growth last year. At current growth rates “they’re going to be a $200 billion revenue company,” he said.

Hewlett-Packard had sales of $126 billion in the year that ended in October and IBM’s revenue was $99.9 billion last year, making them the largest technology companies, respectively, by sales. Apple ranks No. 1 by market capitalization.

HP is coming out with a tablet this summer (following the Palm acquisition), whilst IBM has become more of a research giant rather than a consumer electronic company. Apple may be bigger than both companies from a user’s perspective, but it’ll be interesting to see whether the HP TouchPad will be able to change the current tablet market landscape.

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#MacStoriesDeals - Thursday

If you didn’t already know, we’ve set up a new twitter account for Deals, it’s @MacStoriesDeals. We’ll tweet the daily deals there as well as exclusive weekend deals too. Help spread the word! Here are today’s deals on iOS, Mac, and Mac App Store apps that are on sale for a limited time, so get ‘em while they’re hot!

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iPad 2 Lines Around The World [Pics]

(iPad 2 line in Sydney via BeauGiles)

The iPad 2 is coming out tomorrow in 25 countries. As announced by Apple earlier this week, the device will be available in the following countries at 5 PM local time: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The launch was delayed in Japan as Apple is focusing on recovering from the earthquake and tsunami that hit the country two weeks ago, and helping out employees and their families.

In the 25 countries scheduled for launch tomorrow, the iPad 2 will be available in Apple retail stores and authorized resellers. With the Apple Stores opening at 5 PM (same as the US launch on March 11), it’s no surprise that some people have decided to spend the whole day in line waiting for the doors to open – but some Apple fans have really broken any record this time. Take the Sydney Apple as an example: as reported by Fortune, Alex Lee and Marius Eilertsen started waiting in front of the store on Wednesday, 53 hours before the iPad 2 launch. Crazy. They are, of course, no. 1 and 2 in line, but they had to bring chairs and blankets (and water, I guess) for their adventure. The line has grown bigger, and it’s not extending down George Street with dozens of customers waiting. Read more

Flare: Photo Editing with Style

The Iconfactory, makers of apps such as Twitterrific, CandyBar, xScope, IconBuilder, iPulse, and Frenzic, are the “World leaders in icon design, custom design services, software, royalty-free stock icons and much more.”

So what app niche could they fill next? How about photo editing. Unless you’re a pixel pro who uses Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture, there are few options for the semi-pro and amateur out there to dabble in image effects. That’s where Iconfactory’s new app, Flare, comes into play. The Iconfactory worked together with ARTIS Software to bring Flare to the Mac. Read more

AppAppeal Collects iOS Apps That Are Donating Proceeds to Japan

Created by developers Masashi Ono and Milo Bird (Bird is the same guy behind popular RSS reader Byline), appappeal.jp is a website that collects iOS applications whose developers are currently donating 100% of the proceeds to the Japan relief effort. As developers around the world donate their proceeds to charities like the Red Cross, App Appeal wants to provide a unified way of discovering which apps you can buy to get great software, and contribute to Japan at the same time.

The list isn’t huge for now, but Bird and Ono aim at collecting more apps as developers get to know about App Appeal and through the classic word of mouth. So, if you’re a developer and you’re planning on donating your proceeds to help the people of Japan, you should get in touch with App Appeal; if you’re an iPhone or iPad user, keep an eye on the website to see which apps you can buy now and the ones that will be added in the next days.

If you don’t want to buy new apps to help Japan, Apple also lets you donate to the Red Cross in iTunes.

Microsoft Prepares Enterprise Software To Manage iOS, Android and WP7 Mobile Devices

Despite the perception of Microsoft being bitter enemies with Apple it sure seems as if this rivalry is cooling off lately with Microsoft working to provide several services and products to iOS users in particular. From their iPhone apps to additional features in Bing (that won’t even make it to Windows Phone 7 till late 2011), Microsoft is making a concerted effort to be relevant in the increasingly iOS (and Android too) mobile market.

Its latest foray is an enterprise and corporate focused piece of software that will allow IT departments to more easily manage a workplace of iOS, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone 7 mobile devices. Named, in typically superfluous Microsoft fashion, System Center Configuration Manager 2012, it will let those IT departments enforce password complexity and security, remote wipe devices amongst other key functions.

As Microsoft describes it, SCCM can “Streamline operations with a unified infrastructure that integrates client management and protection across mobile, physical, and virtual environments.” The Beta 2 of System Center Configuration Manager 2012 is available for download but it does require registration and only runs on Windows Server 2008.

[Via TUAW]