Apple’s iPad Mini is here: Everything you need to know

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After months of rumors and speculation, Apple has finally taken the wraps off its long-rumored gadget, the iPad mini. It’s two-thirds smaller than its very popular 10-inch iPad and is lighter and thinner than its competitor, Google Nexus 7.

The new iPad mini “isn’t just a shrunken-down iPad, it’s an entirely new design,” that’s how Phil Schiller unveiled this device at the special event in San Jose. Let’s see if the long-rumored device has managed to fulfill the expectations of the Apple fans or not.

Features & Specs

The new iPad mini comes with a small 7.9-inch screen like its name suggests with 4:3 aspect ratio unlike the other 7-inch tablets out there. It’s two third smaller than the current iPad but offers the same resolution as the iPad 2, 1,024×768. The best part of this resolution is, you can enjoy all the apps ready for the iPad and iPad 2 right away and the developers don’t have to modify their apps. However, there were rumors about no retina display in the rumored iPad mini and it turned out to be true. If you are a retina display fan, you may not be satisfied with just 163 pixels per inch (ppi).

The new device sports an A5 chip, the same one used in the iPad 2 and the latest iPod Touch. It has a front-facing FaceTime camera that supports HD FaceTime calls and a 5-megapixel rear camera that comes with the same iSight technology we saw in iPhone 5. The latest iPad mini also includes the recently unveiled Lightning connector that we saw on the iPhone 5. Apple claims it to be “Every inch and iPad”. Other attractive features include Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, iOS 6, Siri and 10-hour battery life to enjoy all the other features.

Availability and Pricing

Customers can order for their new iPad mini from this Friday and it will be available on the market from November 2. The iPad mini starts at $329 for the Wi-Fi only 16GB version which is only $30 more than the current iPod Touch. I was expecting to see a price tag of $250-$300 to compete with the likes of Kindle Fire HD and Google Nexus 7 so I was really disappointed to see a $329 price tag. Apple used their old pricing strategy here. This is the only thing that disappointed the analysts. Erik Gordon, professor of University of Michigan told Bloomberg News, “At $329, it won’t draw people from Kindles and Nooks”.

Some analysts believe it was a chance for Apple to step on “the throat of Amazon and Google” but the company decided to follow its old pricing strategy. This is the same strategy they applied 10 years ago when they tried to compete with the cheap MP3 players with the original iPod.

The iPad mini is about $100 more expensive than the current leader of the 7-inch tablet arena, the Nexus 7. The iPad 2 also costs around $399 which means it could be the end for the iPad 2. Apple also unveiled the 4th generation iPad in the special event in San Jose.

iPad Mini Rumor Roundup: What We Know So Far

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Apple is expected to unveil the much-anticipated iPad Mini this month at a press event. The company is trying to keep things secret and nothing is officially announced yet. However, there were no shortage of rumors before the release of iPhone 5 and things are looking quite similar this time before the launch event of iPad Mini. So, if it’s getting difficult for you to keep track of all the latest iPad Mini rumors, we have gathered almost all the rumors right here for you.

Expected & Rumored Specs

The rumored iPad Mini is expected to feature a 7.85-inch screen and is expected to be just a smaller version of the current iPad. People are calling it a 7-inch iPad like the Nexus 7 but it will be actually an almost 8-inch tablet. Like the new iPhone 5, iPad mini will come with the new Lightning dock connector and re-positioned headphone jack. However, if you are expecting to enjoy the Retina graphics on iPad Mini, you will be disappointed to know that the smaller version will have the higher resolution graphics like the iPad 2, not Retina display.

According to other rumors, the smaller iPad is expected to sport an indium gallium zinc oxide display by Sharp. This new display made by sharp, IGZO technology is believed to be more power efficient for showing shiny display on LCDs. Nowhere Else, a French website posted some images last month that shows a iPhone 5 like iPad mockup. There is a possibility that the iPad Mini will look just like the mockup you are seeing in the image posted below.

The latest iPad Mini specs rumor from the LA Times suggests that there won’t be any 3G or 4G version of the iPad Mini. The small iPad will be Wi-Fi only and will also feature a similar price tag like the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7 to compete in the 7-inch tablet market. However, the Guardian reported recently that Apple is planning to release two versions of the device, a Wi-Fi only and a 4G version. Other specs are expected to be similar like the iPad 2, 512MB of RAM, A5 processor, iOS 6 and two cameras.

Price & Release Date

We don’t have much about the price and release date of iPad Mini yet but we are expecting to see a price tag of $249 as the starting price point. If Apple wants to get dominance in the 7-inch tablet market, the company has to offer the iPad Mini for less than $250. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the company to compete with the likes of Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD.

If the leaks and rumors are accurate like the iPhone 5 rumor mill, you already know what to expect at the event. However, we don’t know much about its internal specs and price yet. Apple didn’t announce any media event on Oct. 10 so we are expecting to hear something next week. The company has already ordered 10 million units of the iPad Mini, according to the Wall Street Journal so we can expect to see the device available in the market this holiday season.

5 Reasons Why Apple Maps Sucks Big Time

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Apple announced its plan to remove Google Maps and YouTube in its latest iOS 6 back in June. Google has already managed to replace the native YouTube app with its own YouTube app but Apple decided to replace Google Maps with its own Maps app. So far, Apple Maps has proved to be a disaster and the company is now desperately trying to make things right by luring away Google Maps employees. Let’s take a closer look at Apple’s new Maps app to see what makes this app a complete failure.

Inaccurate Search Results

The first thing we noticed when using this new Apple Maps is inaccurate search results. If you search for Manchester United Football Club’s location, you will be redirected to Sale United Football Club. Zach Epstein of FoxNews.com also wrote in a post recently how a search performed in Apple Maps for a restaurant he was standing no more than 100 feet away showed results in Kansas. People are getting faulty address search results and incorrect business listings when using Apple Maps.

Misplaced Towns

The second thing we noticed when using this new Maps app is misplaced towns and missing local places. Another funny thing is, we found a museum located in a river. CNET also published where all the major Maps errors are highlighted – wrong directions and misnamed venues. Walt Disney Family Museum is actually located seven miles away from its original location and the map is missing Statue of Liberty, need we say more?

Redirects to Google Maps on Desktop, Android and non-iOS 6 phones

Apple’s plan was to replace Google Maps with its own Maps app but looks like the company is actually sending users to Google Maps. When we share a location using Apple Maps, users get redirected to Google Maps when clicking from a desktop, Android or other non-iOS 6 phones. This is not really a big problem if you compare it with the other two problems mentioned above. However, if Apple is trying to grab the attention of Google Maps users, this is surely not the way to do so.

Cloudy Satellite Images

If you are from Scotland, the new Apple Maps app is surely not for you as most of the Satellite images of Scotland in the map are obscured by cloud. As you can see in the image, a part of Scotland is covered with clouds and is of no use to users. Blurry and low-quality satellite images are also noticed in some places. The Hoover Dam looks like a ski-slope of death in 3D images.

Not good with abbreviations

Apple Maps is not good with abbreviations and is not ready to handle abbreviated search yet. Recently, a user reported that when he was looking for Rua General Urquiza in Rio de Janeiro, he got wrong search results as the word “General” is commonly abbreviated “Gal” in Brazil. We really don’t expect this type of mistake from Apple.

These are the issues we have faced so far when using Apple’s new Maps app. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is “extremely sorry” and is now suggesting to “try alternatives like Bing, MapQuest and Waze” after receiving tons of complaints from users. However, if you are willing to go back to Google Maps, you don’t have to wait for long as Google Maps will be coming to Safari’s iOS browser soon.

Apple Breaks Record In iPhone 5 Pre-Order, Samsung Breaks Ethics

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When a “Job-less” Apple launched iPhone 5 few days back, many speculated it as the biggest fail from Apple ever. To an extent Apple event was missing the charm and spark of its late founder Steve Jobs but several observer in the industry went to the extent of defining it as the start of decline of Apple. Too high user (read observers because not everyone uses iPhone) expectations from iPhone 5 did disappoint lots of tech-lovers all over the world and also put a smirk on Samsung lovers which resulted in a number of iPhone 5 jokes on Facebook and Twitter. Truly, despite of so many new features, iPhone 5 is just another smart phone in the market.

But these negative reviews have never demoralized a true Apple fanboy. Apple products are like sex, you want it even if you oppose it. No matter what the world says, Apple has a cult following and its products are status symbol, pride possessions for many. And the pre-record sales of iPhone 5 has once again showed the world who is the boss. In the latest press release, Apple claimed to have sold more than 2 millions iPhone 5 within 24 hours of opening the pre-orders. Going by these stats, it is predicted that the sale will cross 10 million mark by the end of month.

The crazy fan-boys, the die-hard technology lovers, the wanna be cool teenagers, who doesn’t want an “apple pie”? No doubt that this craziness drives the Chinese teenager to sell their kidney or virginity. A screenshot of ebay India shows that people are willing to buy iPhone 5 for even double of its price.

EBay-India-Iphone 5
Image Courtesy: CompTalks

Samsung, the biggest competitor to iPhone with its Galaxy series is not just standing as a mute spectator. Just 3 days after the launch of iPhone 5, it has spread the . Apart form that it has also started, kind of, smear advertisement campaign comparing its flagship Galaxy S3 with iPhone 5. Why Samsung is mentioning its software to compare the features with iPhone is beyond fathom.

Apple iPhone 5 Vs Samsung Galaxy S3 Advertisement

It will be interesting to see if launch of Galaxy S4, to be available worldwide by March’13, will be able to refrain users from buying iPhone 5. But if you thought that negative reviews will hurt Apple and iPhone 5 could be a big flop, you just got an egg on your face. By the way, do you remember when was the last time an Apple product failed?

The battle of developers: When Apple and Adobe went head to head

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Apple Vs Adobe Fight BattleWhat happened when Apples CEO, the late Steve Jobs went head to head with Adobe and replaced them with what he considered a more stable development platform in the form of HTML 5? In an open letter to Adobe posted online, the Apple CEO claimed that Adobe had consistently failed to provide a stable and secure supported Flash player that could host mobile games. Mobile casino games were suddenly gaining in popularity and the failure by the Flash player to render these games successfully on an iPhone or iPad casino platform was leaving Apple red faced.

Apple, the titans of technology did not want to concede defeat and let Android users overtake them in the mobile casino stakes and realising the need for games that were iPad casino compatible there needed to be a solution that would maintain the high standard of state of the art products Apple had established themselves as delivering. Apple made the switch to HTML 5 for a wide variety of reasons, all made public by Jobs at the time of their announcement. HTML 5 was determined to be the way of the future and mobile casino games have never looked as good. The iPad casino is the perfect platform for these games and unlike the outdated Flash games the HTML 5 games are integrated with features such as the touch screen. Creating a casino on iPad probably was not what Jobs had in mind when he canned Adobe Flash, but the decision has had far reaching effects on the mobile casino industry.

HTML 5 won the battle over Adobe for several reasons, all of them based on technology issues. Adobe said Flash was an open system and they were closed, but the opposite was true. This meant that everything Flash related was controlled in its entirety by Adobe and support was not forthcoming. HTML 5 is completely open and has set standards governed by a committee, making it the ideal platform to develop mobile casino games. iPad casino games can be developed by any developer using HTML 5 provided that the standards are adhered to, making the market open and a greater range of games available. Safety, security and reliability were all overriding concerns for Apple and the final outcome of the matter was that Adobe actually conceded defeat and moved their focus away from developing mobile compatible Flash programs to focusing on their Adobe Air technology for mobile and adapting their programs to HTML 5 code for the internet.

Author Info: Craig Hallett is mobile enthusiast and keeps an eye on the latest in mobile games development.

5 Reasons why iPhone 5 is just another smart phone?

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iPhone 5 first lookApple Inc’s new iPhone pre-order starts from today featuring a larger, taller 4-inch screen and LTE connectivity. It is not difficult to say that there will be lines outside of the Apple store to get this smart phone. However, the device is clearly missing the ‘wow factor’ that could have kept the company ahead of all other rival companies. The iPhone 5 looks like just another upgrade to the popular iPhone lineup, like they released the iPhone 4S as an upgraded version of the iPhone 4 last year.

The phone Apple unveiled on Wednesday was the same phone that appeared online a long time ago in plenty of leaked images. Some of the features like LTE connectivity and 4-inch screen were nice, but nothing was actually surprising. We just saw in the event how the rumors eventually turned out to be true on the event. Tim Cook, Apple CEO did say earlier that they will “double down” on secrecy to prevent leaks but he clearly failed. Now let’s take a look at the features that Apple highlighted in their event and check why these features are missing the ‘wow factor’.

The new 4-inch screen Retina display

The iPhone is now taller and larger with a 4-inch screen. It’s surely a nice thing if you think of it as an iOS device. But when you compare it with Android phones, most of the Android phones out there have got 4-inch screens and some of them show 720p resolution whereas iPhone is only showing 1136×640 resolution. The phone is now wider and Apple claims that this new shape is designed to fit in the hand perfectly. This is clearly not the best explanation we expected from Apple as all the big Android phones out there including Samsung Galaxy S3 with 4.8-inch iPhone 5 Camera side view earphone headset ear budscreen and HTC One X with 4.7-inch are currently ruling the smart phone market. Moreover, all the docks and stands designed for the old iPhones are not going to work with this one as the Lightning technology won’t make your docks and stands bigger and taller.

The 8-megapixel iSight Camera

The iSight camera is a little bit better than the old 8-megapixel camera we saw in iPhone 4S, but it still is nothing rare if you think about Nokia’s PureView technology and Nokia Lumia 800 with 41-megapixel camera that they revealed a long time ago. All the other smart phone makers are now thinking about releasing smartphones with 12-megapixel camera like the Sony Xperia Sand Nokia N8 so releasing an 8-megapixel camera is really nothing attractive.

 The all-new A6 chip

The new A6 chip introduced in the iPhone 5 will perform faster than the old one. The new chip promises up to twice the CPU and graphics performance than the iPhone 4S but the other vendors are already working on faster quad-core chips and phones like Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 5 Horizontal View A6HTC One X already available with quad-core chips. The smart phone is thinner than the old one and also 20 percent lighter than the 4S with the new A6 chip. However, these are nothing new or innovative that we usually expect from Apple.

LTE

The LTE connectivity is another feature the company highlighted yesterday. The latest iPhone supports ultrafast wireless standards including DC-HSDPA and LTE. However, this was only a feature we wanted to see in iPhone as other phones already have this feature for a year or more.

No NFC

We were looking forward to see the near field communication technology (NFC) which is also a common thing in other latest phones nowadays but it’s also missing. Some experts believe it was a wise decision by Apple because of the slow adoption of NFC in U.S. When AllThingsD asked Apple Senior vice president Phil Schiller why the iPhone 5 does not include NFC, he said “Passbook does the kinds of things customers need today.”

These are the reasons that make iPhone 5 just another smart phone. The new iPhone is larger, taller, looks really cool, offers longer battery life and a good camera. It is certainly true that the iPhone 5 is better than the previous iPhones. However, it’s not good enough to be the ruler of the smart phone market as there are plenty of Android phones out there with similar and even better products. Popular companies like Samsung, HTC and Motorola now has the chance to easily attract Apple customers with devices like Galaxy Note 2 and HTC One X+ as Apple has failed to be innovative this time. If you also feel the same or have something different to say, don’t forget to share it with us.

Apple reveals the iPhone 5. Check the features!

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Apple iPhone 5 First Look

In a special event in San Francisco, Apple unveiled the long awaited, iPhone 5 today. Apple tried to keep all the iPhone 5 features a secret and said the company was “doubling down” on secrecy but the general rumor mill still managed to find out some key features like the larger taller screen, 4G network, small dock connector and better camera. Let’s see if the rumors were true or not.

Bigger Screen, Lighter Weight

The first rumor that we heard about the iPhone 5 was its larger, taller, 4-inch screen, and looks like we weren’t wrong! The new iPhone 5 indeed sports a bigger 4-inches display with 1136×640 pixels. The bigger screen is also capable of adding 5 rows of icons. But that’s not all, the iPhone is now 18% thinner than the iPhone 4S and is only 7.6mm thick. Apple claims it to be the world’s thinnest smartphone but we are not really sure about that. However, it’s really the thinnest and lightest iPhone and is 112 grams in weight.

More Processing Power

The new iPhone also features a new A6 CPU which also matches with the rumors. This new CPU is 2 times faster than the CPU used in the iPhone 4S. Another rumored feature was LTE connectivity and the new iPhone 5 indeed comes with this feature with a single chip and single radio to offer ultrafast wireless. The smartphone will support all the major carriers including Verizon, AT&T and Sprint in the US.

Finally, Better Camera

There were rumors about the next generation iPhone to feature the same 8-megapixel camera with new technology and this rumor also turned out to be true. The new iSight camera is packed with features like backside illumination, Hybrid IR filter, f/2.4 aperture and five-element lens. The new camera is 25% smaller than the iPhone 4S is capable of 1080p video recording and face detection. Another attractive feature of the new camera is the Panorama mode that supports capturing 28-megapixel images. The FaceTime camera is now HD and FaceTime calls can be done using the cellular network.

iOS 6

Phill Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president also revealed the iOS 6. Users will find some new apps optimized for the iPhone 5 and the latest operating system includes some new features iCloud tabs feature for iCloud, new Maps app and improved Siri. All the old apps will appear in the same size and the blank space will be covered with black borders. The latest iOS will be released and iPhone 4S, 4, 3GS, new iPad, iPad 2, iPod Touch 4G users will be able to upgrade to iOS 6 from September 19 for free.

Any surprises?

The new iPhone 5 will be available for $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB) and 64GB for $399 with two-year contract. Apple discontinued the 3GS and presented their new iPhone lineup with iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPhone 5. The new iPhone will be available for pre-order on September 14. Looks like all the rumors we heard about the new iPhone were true and there was almost nothing surprising revealed on the event. Apple also announced an updated version of iTunes, the iPod Nano 7G, iPod Touch 5G and new EarPods on the event and demoed two new games, Real Racing 3 and Clumsy Ninja. Visit Computer And You soon to find out more about the new iPods and EarPod. Till then enjoy this official iPhone 5 commercial:

The battle of tech giants Apple and Samsung on Patent; who won, Nokia or Microsoft?

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The two titans of tech world Apple and Samsung have been battling in courts worldwide over the violation of Apple’s patent and that Samsung has used the technology or ideas of Apple in various devices illegally.

Who won the battle and what are the consequences: 

  1. One of the Tokyo courts dismissed the Apple Inc’s claim on Samsung of its Patent infringement.

    Nokia phone with windows OS
  2. The world’s largest maker of phones, Samsung Electronics Co. Of South Korea, welcomed the decision of Tokyo District court.
  3. The fine of $1 billion was echoed in the court room of USA against Samsung. Following this was a rumor which went viral on social sites that Samsung tried to pay $1 billion fine to Apple by sending 30 trucks of 5-cent coins and that Samsung said it is how they are going to pay the fine! That’s funny but it was really not true. The court in USA questioned the company about the innovation or labelled Samsung to be an imitator!
  4. Apple’s win over Samsung brain teased Google and there might be problems for Google’s Android. Samsung uses Android OS for Galaxy series of smart phones. Also, Samsung failed to prove its point that Apple infringed on some of its essential patents which could in turn be cause for worry to Google! Does this mean Windows 8 would be the preferred OS for upcoming handsets over Android which is a kind of mimic of IOS?
  5. Since the launch of Galaxy S3 handsets in May 2012, more than 10 million sales have been reported. Apple has added this Samsung’s best selling device along with 21 other gadgets to the list saying they infringe Apple’s patents and seeks ban on sales of these devices.
  6. Samsung hit back at Apple in South Korea with 10 patent infringements. Samsung won over two patents in home turf, Seoul court, South Korea. But Samsung was also hit as it lost on one of design patent resulting in various gadgets of both the companies being banned from selling in the country.

Who might be getting the advantage of this battle?

The share market started seeing some ups and downs. Samsung’s and Google’s shares fluctuated where as Nokia’s, Apple’s stock and Microsoft’s shares are reasonably doing well after the USA court verdict.

Advantage Microsoft and Nokia! Apple revealed in a court case that it has licensed some of its technologies to Microsoft. Apple’s lawyers also showed pictures of Nokia Lumia as an example of how a phone is distinct which runs on Windows 7. Apple is also trying its hands against two other Android based mobile companies Motorola owned by Google (another problem for Google) and HTC. The verdict in USA in favor of Apple Inc can empower them to file more such lawsuits against Samsung thereby making a proxy war against Android (Google). Microsoft would be hugely benefited and Windows 8 would be able to see a new high on success.

After Nokia won the lawsuit against Apple Inc on patent infringement years back, Apple had to pay an undisclosed lump sum and royalties to Nokia. Nokia clearly emerged as winner as every Apple device sold would in turn benefit Nokia.

The best example of winning device is Nokia Lumia where Nokia mobile technology and Windows OS come together for user satisfaction.

What do you think? Nokia was hugely benefited or Windows will be taking the advantage in future!

Apple Confirms “Rumored” iPhone 5 Launch Event on September 12

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Apple-iPhone5-Invitation-Launch

An iPhone 5 launch event on September 12 has been rumored for quite some time now and Apple has finally confirmed it. The rumors of the iPhone 5 are expected to come to an end next week as Apple has already started to send invitations for the event where it will unveil the next iPhone at 10AM on September 12 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

The invitation says “It’s Almost Here” and doesn’t reveal much of what we can expect to see at the mysterious event except the “5” appearing in the shadows of 12. The number “5” is the hint which confirms the arrival of the next iPhone and it will be actually titled as “iPhone 5”.

All the latest iPhone 5 rumors suggest that we can expect to see the next iPhone with a taller, larger 4-inch screen, 4G LTE support, new smaller dock connector and “nano” SIM standard. Apple is also expected to give redesigned earphones with the new iPhone 5 if the recently leaked pictures are real.

Most of Apple’s fall event includes more than one product so we can also expect to see updated iPod Nano, new Apple TV, 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display or an updated iTunes in the event. The new rumors suggest that we can expect to see a new line of iPods at the event.

A smaller version of the iPad called the “iPad Mini” was also expected to make an appearance at the event but the recent rumors suggest that Apple is planning to hold a separate event for the “iPad Mini” in October before the holiday season. We can also expect to see the new iPod Touch soon.  Don’t forget to check Computer And You on September 12 if you don’t want to miss the announcements from the event.