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Posts tagged with "iPad"

iFacePad App Enables FaceTime On The iPad

Two weeks ago we reported a hacker managed to get FaceTime working in the first generation iPad, even if the device doesn’t come with the camera and the hack requires to perform a jailbreak and load some iPod touch system files. If you really want to run FaceTime on your iPad, but you don’t want to go through the manual effort of copying files and repairing permissions, iFacePad is a new app for the Mac that simplifies the process and allows you to install the iPod touch FaceTime app on the iPad in a few minutes.

To use iFacePad, you’ll need a jailbroken iPad and the iPod touch 4th gen firmware file. An app like PhoneDisk to access the iPad from the Finder is also required, and you can check out the full set of instructions here. Demo video below. [iSpazio via FunkySpaceMonkey] Read more

“The Matrix” iPad App Creates Video Walls

We have covered several video / app walls on MacStories in the past. From Apple’s app wall at the Moscone Center at last year’s WWDC to the Welikesmall iPod Touch Wall, it appears that developers and hackers alike have been playing around with the idea of turning multi-touch displays into interactive installations a lot. So this new app for the iPad, called The Matrix and available at $4.99 in the App Store, doesn’t come as a surprise at this point. But the result, as you can see from the video below, is quite impressive.

The app can turn any rectangular iPad setup into a video wall. Once installed on multiple iPads (demo video shows 3), one instance of the app will act as a server sending video to the clients, which need to be placed properly next to each other for the effect to work.

The Matrix will cost you $4.99 in the App Store, but I guess that’s a no-brainer if you consider you’ll need at least 3 iPads to get it to work. Check out the video below. [via TUAW]

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Apple To Outsource A4 and A5 Production? iPad 2 With “Enhanced” A4?

A second report from Digitimes this evening suggest that Apple might outsource the production of the A4 chip and the rumored Cortex-A9-based A5 to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, TSMC. Apple is reportedly concerned about leakage of production techniques and specs now that Samsung is directly competing with them in smartphone and tablet market, and TSMC already provided A4 production when Samsung was unable to meet demand last year.

Apple is reportedly looking to outsource the production of its A4 processor as well as the next-generation ARM Cortex-A9-based A5 processor to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), according to industry sources. The Apple A4 processor is currently exclusively produced by Samsung Electronics, and the previous S5PC100 used in the iPhone 3GS was also developed and manufactured by the Korean company.

TSMC declined to comment on the report.

Digitimes also reports the iPad 2 will feature an “enhanced” version of the A4 chip, while the iPhone 5 will come with the brand new Apple A5 processor. A number of reports surfaced in the past indicated Apple was working on a CPU for the next iPhones and iPads, although it is unclear at this point which one will get the new A5. Several pundits also speculated Apple will adopt dual-core processors and implement RAM up to 1GB in the iPhone 5, which will likely come with a universal GSM / CDMA antenna as well.

What Overheating iPad? Judge Dismisses Class Action Lawsuit

Does the iPad overheat when used outside under directly sunlight or warm weather? U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogol has thrown out the case, where plaintiffs claimed Apple deceptive Apple marketing. The plaintiffs argued that books “don’t shut down,” arguing Apple advertised that the iPad was able to be read “just like an open book.”  Computerworld reports that this case didn’t go very far.

“The Court concludes that these allegations are insufficient,” Fogel wrote in his order. “At the least, Plaintiffs must identify the particular commercial or advertisement upon which they relied and must describe with the requisite specificity the content of that particular commercial or advertisement.”

I’m not going to outside and roast my iPad on the sidewalk and wait for it to overheat, but with any sort of common sense (or perhaps purchasing sense) you should realize the iPad’s screen is pretty glossy and isn’t desirable to read in sunlight in the first place. The Judge has given the plaintiff thirty days to gather evidence per his request, but what could they dig up? Commenters, do you think Apple any of Apple’s advertisements or website promotions could be sufficient for this case?

[Computerworld via Macworld]

Steve Jobs Kicked In The Face In LG Optimus Pad Promotion

The LG Optimus Pad promo was just another boring tablet video that was more effects than awesome product showcase. At about a minute in, however, any morning coffee drinker would have instantly rewound the tape only to ask, “Did I just see get Steve Jobs get pummeled in the face?” We’re not kidding: In a mock game of Street Fighter (apparently called Spec Fighter), Optimus starts the match with a swift flying kick and stomach punch to none other than Apad, modeled after Steve Jobs. Tasteless? Of course. I mean, they didn’t even show the part where Jobs used his Hadouken. Video from CrunchGear after the break.

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Help Desk Service Zendesk Releases iPad App

The web-based help desk service Zendesk has today rolled out a spiffy iPad app to allow companies and their employees to manage customer help desks on the go. The iPad application joins the existing offerings of iPhone, Android and BlackBerry apps that have a total of over 80,000 downloads.

The iPad app contains similar functionality to those existing mobile apps with some additions such as the ability for users to view a real-time list of tickets assigned and bookmark tickets for later response or reference. Zendesk’s CEO Zack Urlocker said to TechCrunch that he believes the iPad app will become their most popular mobile application as companies adopt the iPad in their businesses.

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Walmart Gives Man A Fake iPad

An Atlanta man is filing a lawsuit against his local Walmart store over an iPad he purchased, and turned out to be fake. The iPad, which you can see in the video above, presents the typical aluminum case with Apple logo, however it’s got fake glass on the front (I don’t even know if that’s glass at all) and a paper homescreen below it. It’s a store display unit that definitely shouldn’t have ended up into a retail box.

For this reason, the man is suing Walmart but the retail chain is blaming Apple as, apparently, they’re the ones who handle operations with store demo units and actual devices. Some speculate a customer bought a real iPad, swapped it with the fake and returned it to Walmart. But then again, how come employees didn’t notice that? Anyway, Walmart is refusing to give the man a refund over the fake iPad he got, and can’t use in any way.

Well, at least he can eat off of it. [via 9to5mac]

Barclays: 33 Million iPads This Year, Apple “Far Ahead” Of Its Competition In Enterprise

In spite of Microsoft’s attempts to convince the enterprise folks that the iPad is inadequate, iOS devices, and especially the iPad, are doing well in the enterprise market segment. Apparently, they’re doing so well that RIM itself has fallen behind and SAP rolled out 1,000 iPads to its employees a few months ago. The recent additions in iOS 4 and 4.2 for business users surely helped along the way in getting iPhones and iPads into offices and large companies. But the iPad, thanks to its larger screen and notebook-like features, is set to produce even bigger results in 2011.

According to Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes, the iPad is “far ahead” of competitors in the tablet market; without setting up a salesforce, Apple is “listening to enterprise customers”. More and more corporate users are quickly shifting to the iOS environment and, most of all, they are bringing these devices to work. The popularity of the App Store and the fact that thousands of applications are available and continually updated in the Business category helps these users install work-related software on their devices, which are also used for personal purposes. As Reitzes notes, this is “the consumerization of IT”. And when the App Store doesn’t provide the right tools to deploy applications on a large scale, wireless app distribution introduced in iOS 4.2 allows enterprises to host and wirelessly distribute their own in-house apps, both on WiFi and 3G.

Last, Reitzes believes 47 million tablets will be sold in 2011, including 33.7 million  iPads. Similar numbers were shared by analysts Wolf and Fidacaro earlier this week.