While I’ve complained every now and then about the price of iBooks compared to hardcover offerings on Amazon (which honestly would equal out anyway after shipping costs), the convenience of downloading books with nothing more than a tap and an instant charge to your credit card is looking rather bright. Not only are people buying iBooks en masse, but this speaks volumes of what people actually think about the iPad: it is in fact a great reading device.
US Publishers Thumbs Up with iBooks Sales
iPad Jailbreak: Camera Connection Kit + External Hard Drive, Extra Storage
Ever wondered what could happen with an iPad, the Camera Connection Kit, SSH, a USB drive, a Macbook and GoodReader all rolled into one?
A 20 steps tutorial to mount an external hard drive on your iPad happens, and unless you really have some good spare time - maybe it’s better to hold on for a more “user friendly” hack to show up. The result is impressive anyway, be sure to check out the text guide here or the video after the break.
[via]
OmniGroup Makes $175,000 on OmniGraffle for iPad in 32 Days
“The Omni Group today announced that it sold its five thousandth OmniGraffle for iPad on Wednesday, just 32 days after its introduction on April 3.
“We strongly believe in the iPad’s potential as a productivity tool, and it’s a fantastic endorsement of the product category that OmniGraffle is still on the App Store’s top grossing list a month after its release,” says Ken Case, founder and CEO of the Omni Group. “People are clearly interested in using the iPad for more than media and entertainment. We are thrilled and grateful, and we hope to keep pleasing our customers as we continue in our iPad development efforts.”
You do the math. What was the problem with expensive apps not selling, again?
If you still don’t get it, iPad users want to be productive. And Omnigraffle is just a great app.
Google Has Bought BumpTop, But Apple Has A Patent for 3D Widgets
As Patently Apple reports, Apple has been granted a new patent and this time is all about making the next iteration of Mac OS X go 3D. Well, the patent is actually about three-dimensional widgets, and we’re just speculating that something like this will come to Mac OS X in the future, but from what we can see in the patent - it would be amazing.
Basically, you see these widgets with multiple surfaces (like, say, a cube) and each one has a different “view”: a weather widget, for example, would have one surface for forecasts in Cupertino and one for those in New York. You get the hang of it.
“In general, one aspect of the subject matter described in this specification could be embodied in methods that include defining a viewing surface; modeling a depth axis extending from the viewing surface; generating a plurality of three-dimensional widgets disposed along the depth axis, each three dimensional widget being a three-dimensional representation of an object and having a plurality of application surfaces; and for each three-dimensional widget having a plurality of widget functions, associate the widget functions with corresponding application surfaces. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products.
Another aspect of the subject matter described in this specification could be embodied in methods that include defining a viewing surface; defining a back surface disposed from the viewing surface along a depth axis; and generating a widget receptacle disposed along the depth axis, the widget receptacle and having a plurality of receptacle surfaces, each receptacle surface being associated with a widget and being actuated by a selection of the receptacle surface, and upon such actuation causing an instantiation of the widget associated with the receptacle surface. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products.”
Check out the patent details here, and a couple of screenshots after the break.
Prototype Apple T-Shirt comes Back from the 80s
Apple does make some incredibly sexy pieces of clothing. After all, who wouldn’t want to proudly wear the original 80’s Apple logo-sash-thingy? Well folks, starting at a bid of $149 dollars, you too can wear the mark of Jobs.
New iPhone 4G Leak Confirms Higher Resolution, LCD Screen
Italian iPhone blog iSpazio has posted two photos of what they claim to be the frame and screen of the next iPhone, which they’ve got from a reliable source.
As you can read in the post (here’s the Google Translation) the frame has the same corners and little hole for the front facing camera as Gizmodo’s prototype, but what’s interesting is that they’ve been told from their source that Apple won’t use the much rumored AMOLED screens for the next iPhone, which will have a LCD screen, like the current generation.
Also, it seems like the screen connector is bigger, and this would confirm the alleged higher resolution of the new device.
Check out the photos after the break.
ClamCase Delivers an Apple Netbook
Steve Jobs didn’t create the iPad to be used as magical slates designed to deliver content at the tips of our fingers. Nope, the iPad was always destined to be a Netbook. You know it was Apple’s plan all along to wait for a manufacturer to deliver the perfect laptop clam-shell case, perfectly housing an aluminum device in its plastic housing. And folks, ClamCase has delivered that promise.
Take This iPhone To Heart
Apple’s patents are fascinating, and the one Unwired discovered is just insane: an iPhone with built in cardiac sensors that can monitor heart rhythm and identify who’s holding the device.
