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Posts tagged with "iPad"

Shocker: iPad 2 Won’t Use AMOLED

As noted by 9to5mac, Digitimes published yet another report last night about the next generation iPad – or, “iPad 2” – claiming that Taiwan-based company Coretronic has been selected to supply the backlight units (BLUs) for the new device to Chimei Innolux and LG Display.

The second generation iPad is expected to hit the market at the end of the first quarter of 2011 and suppliers in the supply chain are estimated to start shipments in the first quarter.

It is understood that Coretronic is the only BLU supplier of CMI for iPad 2, while LG Display is getting iPad 2 BLUs from Coretronic and Radiant Opto-Electronics.

So according to this new report, the next iPad won’t use the popular AMOLED screens (well, at least popular on Android devices thanks to Samsung’s “Super AMOLED” units) but will keep relying on standard LCDs instead.

Surprised, huh? Don’t be: Apple never really liked AMOLED screens, and with the iPhone 4 they decided to deploy their own LCD solution with extremely high resolution and call it “Retina Display”. The iPad also comes with IPS (in-plane switching) technology, which allows for improved viewing angles and picture quality.

The real question is: will the iPad 2 have some sort of Retina resolution?

Infinity Blade Now Available In The App Store - Not The U.S. One Yet

Infinity Blade is one of the most anticipated games for iPhone and iPad to hit the App Store this holiday season. Demoed on stage at Apple’s event back in September and released as a tech demo known as Epic Citadel back then, the game is built on top of the Unreal Engine 3 for iOS devices and it shows impressive graphics and animations. Apparently, Steve Jobs couldn’t believe the game was running on an iPhone when he first saw it either.

As previously confirmed in November, the game changed its name from Project Sword to Infinity Blade and was set to come out in December. TouchArcade also revealed that the app would be released on December 9th at $5.99, but we just took a look inside the New Zealand App Store and found out that, as usual, iTunes started propagating the app on its own due to time zone differences.

Infinity Blade is available at $8.29 over there, and you can take a look at the screenshots and full description from iTunes below. The app isn’t available in other stores for now, but we believe it’ll start propagating in European ones in 10 hours. The app is universal and runs on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPod Touch 3, or iPod Touch 4 – with Retina Display-ready graphics optimized for the iPhone 4.  From what we can read in iTunes, it seems like there will be customization possibilities, a “dynamic single player campaign” and support for Game Center leaderboards and achievements.

We’ll take a deeper look at the game once it becomes available in the U.S. Store. Read more

Hardware Orientation Lock for iPad Returns … As a Case

MacLocks just added what it calls “The First iPad Security Cable Lock”, the iPad Lock - a clear plastic iPad case that can be closed with a lock (same locking mechanism as a bike lock) and tethered to whatever your heart desires with a coated steel cable. In Apple-fashion, “This makes the iPad Lock flexible and light, not to mention stylish, so you can easily pack it in your bag and take it with you wherever you go!” Once it’s secured, the only way to remove your iPad is with a key. The case itself is $39.95, or you can purchase the bundle (case & lock) from MacLocks for $64.95.

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Watch Flash Videos On iPhone & iPad, No Jailbreak or Apps Required

Most of web video has been optimized to display just fine on iOS devices, but it’s still annoying to open an article from your favorite blog and find out that the author didn’t use Vimeo’s updated embed code compatible with the iPhone and iPad. Vimeo offers a new embed technology to support iOS devices, but it’s not turned on by default. Just like Vimeo, other services such as Flickr, Megavideo and Dailymotion sometimes struggle in offering video embeds capable of being displayed on Apple’s mobile devices.

The Skyfire browser has been making the rounds recently: an iPhone app that can take any Flash video from any web page, and convert it in seconds to an HTML5-based video you can watch on the iPhone. The app is paid though, and perhaps many users don’t need all of its functionalities. Then, some developers even released tweaks and hacks in Cydia to activate Flash on iOS – with very disappointing results, I have to say. Put simply: either you jailbreak your device to sorta gain access to some Flash content on the web, or you buy Skyfire to convert Flash videos. But there’s no easy way built in Mobile Safari to play that Vimeo embed on the iPhone.

This is changing today, thanks to this neat bookmarklet called iOSFlashVideo I found on iSpazio (Italian) and installed on my iPhone and iPad a few minutes ago. With just the tap on the bookmarks bar, you’ll be able to instantly watch videos from Dailymotion, Flickr Video, MegaVideo and Vimeo through the iOS standard media viewer. It’s very simple to install. Read more

Ego for iPad Updated for iOS 4.2 Multitasking, Now Available at $2.99

Ego is the best iOS app to check on stats coming from Mint, Twitter, RSS, Vimeo and a variety of other online services. By representing stats as small widgets on a dark background, Ego has managed to become one of my most launched apps both on the iPhone and ipad.

An update to the iPad version (our review) was released a few minutes ago. Version 1.0.6 includes iOS 4.2 compatibility and support for multi-tasking (fast app switching), plus various bug fixes to address Twitter auto-login issues and the detail view on iOS 4.2.

But what’s really cool about this update is that Ego for iPad is now available at $2.99 in the App Store. It’s not a sale, it’s the new price. Go buy it now.

MacStories Giveaway: Win A Copy of djay for iPad and Mac

djay by Algoriddim is an excellent music making / mixing software for OS X that recently made its way to the iPad, with an app that takes full advantage of the new features introduced in iOS 4.2. From our review:

…the great value of djay lies in its own software nature: it’s not a complicated piece of hardware you have to set up and manually wire, it’s a great app that can be used in professional environments and by casual users like me at the same time. I’m sure “pro” users will delve deeper into the app to test all the impressive tech that’s behind it, but for someone like me — who’s not really a DJ nor does know all the terminology necessary to understand all the features of djay — this is just so cool, and useful.

We have two copies of djay to give away: one for the iPad, one for the Mac. Check out the giveaway rules below. Good luck! Read more

Creepy Guy Destroys iPad, Delivers It To Steve Jobs [Video]

I don’t know what’s going on with mysterious website SayHiToSpace.com. Sure, there’s a countdown in there and even links to email and Twitter, but it’s their Youtube channel that creeps me out. Basically, the first video from SayHiToSpace went viral as it featured a creepy guy finding out that the iPad lacked a camera, then destroying it making a hole in the middle of the device with a water jet.

Here’s the first video:

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AutoCAD WS Updated with Retina Graphics, Offline Editing and Email Support

AutoCAD WS for iPhone and iPad was released in late September and it quickly became one of the most popular apps in the App Store – mainly thanks to the huge AutoCAD userbase that was looking forward to being able to edit and share DWG files on mobile devices. The app allows you to preview and annotate drawings using iOS’ multi-touch gestures and save your edits to the AutoCAD WS online workspace.

The 1.1 update, released a few hours ago, brings several new features and optimizations to WS – and it’s going to be an update AutoCAD users will love. First off, offline editing: by activating the option in your online AutoCAD account, you’ll be able to sync an offline copy of a document to the iPhone and iPad, edit it without a 3G or WiFi connection, sync it back to the account once you’re back online. Perfect for iPad WiFi users who carry their tablets around and don’t happen to have an internet connection available all the time.

AutoCAD WS can now also open email attachments: if you receive a DWG or DXF account via email, you can copy it to AutoCAD WS –but you’ll need an internet connection to upload it right after the import process. Among other changes, Retina Display-ready graphics and improved connectivity.

AutoCAD WS is available for free here. Check out the official video detailing offline support in AutoCAD WS below. Read more

Rise Alarm Wakes You Up In Style - Review & Giveaway

iOS bugs aside, I’ve been using Apple’s default clock app for years to set my alarms, quick reminders and check on world’s time zones. Rise Alarm by Ken Yarmosh, though, is a nicer alternative to the Clock app, which comes with both an iPhone and iPad version and lots of options to choose from.

Rise Alarm sports a great design, a variety of sounds to customize the alarm clock experience and an intuitive user interface based on gestures. Can it replace the default Clock app? Read more