There’s been some talk about Best Buy allegedly hoarding iPad 2s in order to have inventory for a big sale. We heard a few different stories and I don’t know what to actually believe, but it appears that those rumors had some truth, because Best Buy is apparently going to launch an event on Sunday across the country, according to a leaked memo. → Read More
When the A4 came out, I was surprised at the fanfare surrounding it. Why such a big deal? Apple was now designing their own chips, isn’t that great?— came the echoing chorus. But they weren’t — the A4 was almost entirely a Samsung design implementing existing ARM processor tech. But Apple touched it, so it turned to gold. I kind of expected Apple to ride that wave for a while and just “overclock” the processor for the iPad 2, but to my surprise, out came the A5. → Read More
So a school district in Maine has approved $200,000 for the purchase of 285 iPad 2s for their kindergartners. I’m of two minds about this news item. First, I think it’s great to engage kids early on with the prevalent tech of the day. When I was growing up, of course, we used Mac IIs and eventually LC3s, though everyone in the world had PCs. Still, it was good to familiarize us early on with such fundamentals as typing, mouse-based navigation, and file systems. So why not give kids today iPads? → Read More
A reader who works at Best Buy just told us that there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding between the electronics retailer and Apple. Apparently, Best Buy was holding off on selling the iPad 2s it had in stock, telling customers there weren’t any when in fact they had just reached their quota of sales for the day.
Not smart, BB! → Read More
This past weekend, I went on a trip and did the unthinkable — I didn’t turn on my computer. Not even once. Okay, that’s sort of misleading. While I didn’t turn on my computer, I did use my iPad. Extensively. But I still fully expected to get the urge to turn on my computer as well. And I never did.
That itself isn’t that remarkable; I’m sure a lot of iPad users have experienced the same thing by now. What is a little remarkable it is that I’m a heavy, heavy computer user. As in pretty much every hour I’m awake. And I used to think the iPad could never fully break me of that. Future generations? Sure. But not me. Now I’m starting to sway the other way.
On a deeper level, I’m realizing something else: the iPad (and iPhone) is changing the fundamentals of computing for me. → Read More
Everyone’s favorite magazine your grandpa still reads, Consumer Reports, has given the iPad 2 with WiFi and 3G top billing, above offerings from Motorola and Viewsonic. Other than the obvious “iPad is good” stuff, Consumer Reports found that most of the cheaper models are garbage:
With prices for the best tablets still too high for many budgets, consumers may be tempted by lower-priced competitors. Don’t be, says Consumer Reports, whose tests have found the performance of models costing $300 and under to be at best mediocre.
Love that baby blue Smart Cover, but think it looks weird against the plain back of your iPad? The solution (apart from getting a grey Smart Cover, of course) is as simple as putting a matching rear end on the thing. → Read More
Huzzah! iOS 4.3.1 (at least on the iPhone) is fully jailbroken and does not required tethered boots to maintain the magic. The process, which uses Redsn0w (Mac version/PC version) and a proper version of the firmware for your hardware, is unerringly simple and results in a fully jailbroken device. → Read More
Shortly after Apple releases new products into the market, they find their way onto eBay — at a premium, of course. According to data released by eBay, the iPad 2 has been one of eBay’s most popular items over the last few weeks; eBay sold 12,000 iPads in the first two weeks (65% to US customers and 35% to international customers). → Read More
If you’re not familiar with the famed iChair line then you’re in for a treat. The iChair is basically a case with a little chair stuck to it. When you’re ready to stand your iPhone or 1st gen iPad up on your desk you can be all like “BAM! CHAIR ACTIVATE!” (not really) and you’ve got an iPad or iPhone that’s standing the freak up by itself. → Read More
Yay for easily-confirmed Internet rumors! MacRumors just posted a photo claiming to come from a RadioShack internal memo, which states 500 retail locations will start selling the iPad 2 on March 29th. That’s tomorrow if you happen to be reading this the day I hit the publish button. This comes as a bit of a surprise as a RadioShack has yet to officially announce iPad 2 plans even though they’re apparently going on sale tomorrow. However, a quick call to two of my local RadioShacks revealed that the memo is real (one lady read me the memo) but these associates were unable to tell if their particular stores were receiving any inventory by tomorrow’s launch. → Read More
Hell hath no fury like an Apple fanboy scorned. Verizon is just now starting to feel the rage previously directed at just AT&T. That’s what happens when iPad 2 orders fail to ship on time. Fanboys take to the forums and unleash the beast.
There’s a large thread of complaints over on Verizon’s official forum that details most of the transgressions. It seems that more than a few customers where promised their iPad 2 would ship either immediately or within 2-3 days upon ordering. That’s not the case. It’s more like 2-3 weeks for some but according to two separate trusted Verizon retail sources, that was the same estimated shipping window given on day 1. → Read More
Much has been made of the iPad’s role as a laptop replacement, but for me that war is over. The phone is increasingly a remote controller for the larger screen — I use its Personal Hotspot tethering to broker FaceTime calls on the move, and push notification as pointers into Twitter and the Web document store. Chatter provides a corporate firewalled collaboration space, and I spend the rest of my time discovering workarounds for current limitations that require my Mac Book Pro. They are as vanishingly few as times I can’t get through to Scoble or weekends where I can get my column in on time. → Read More
Ever since the iPad 2 launched, getting your hands on one hasn’t been easy — some resorted to paying outrageous prices on eBay. After huge sales during launch weekend, Apple began to push back estimated shipping dates to 2-3 weeks before finally leveling out at 4-5 weeks. Now, Apple has moved up the shipping dates one week to 3-4 weeks. [via Mobileburn] → Read More
Kids, this is a really bad idea. I’m hoping these guys at least wore goggles, but considering they decided to break the glass with their bare hands, I don’t think safety was the #1 priority. → Read More
When you get an expensive, beautiful device like an iPad 2, you want to spoil it. A cheapo case feels wrong on it, and personally, I think Apple’s Smart Cover (while cool) is a little… synthetic and gadget-y. You know what I mean? I like the more organic stuff. Fortunately, the Dutch have come to the rescue!
This beautiful wood cover works just like a Smart Cover — but it’s wood. → Read More
Mildred: What can I plug into my iPad 2 , Johnny?
Johnny: Whaddya got?
Mildred: Well, I’ve got an SD card, a MicroSD car, an AV cable, a USB keyboard, a regular mini USB port, and a digital camera. → Read More
Although the back and forth in this post is a bit off, it’s clear that the iPhone Dev Team is close to a jailbreak for the iPad 2 , thereby allowing owners of Cupertino’s latest access to their command lines. → Read More
JULIET
O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I’ll no longer be a Capulet. → Read More
A serious breakdown of the iPad 2′s screen has been done by Displaymate, and the conclusions are… not too surprising. It’s an excellent IPS-LCD screen, not a cut-rate one picked to save money, and its performance is, resolution aside, about the same as an iPhone 4′s. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
