iPad 2 Rumor Roundup
Lot of stuff out there on what might be in the upcoming iPad 2 so here is a quick rundown of rumors regarding the tablet. DigiTimes is reporting Apple has added 2 new touchscreen suppliers for the iPad. The article goes on to say that Apple is expecting to ship 6 million iPad 2’s per month. The Unofficial Apple Weblog explains that DigiTimes is hit and miss on rumors so only time will tell. Another source, a Japanese Mac blog named Mac Otakara states that it will sport a larger “wide-ranged-speaker” and a flatter backing to it similar to the new iPod touch. They have an image of the reported speaker as well. Again this is speculation and rumors, but here is the photo of what they claim is the new speaker.
Course the at this point it is a safe bet that the iPad 2 will sport both a front and back facing camera. Not sure if it will sport a Retina Display like the iPhone 4 does, but it would be nice if it did. But that is a run down of the latest iPad 2 rumors. Sounds like we could see it ship around February.
Apple TV News and Notes
Apple announced that this week it expects to sale its one millionth new AppleTV. For those that don’t have one, I can assure you it is worth the $99! We have enjoyed watching Netflix on it, renting movies from the iTunes store that are not available on Netflix yet (Inception and A-Team), and with AirPlay now out, I can stream Pandora from my iPhone and iPad to my stereo system. It also works with apps like iheartradio and TuneIn Radio as well. As long as you have an HDTV already and a broadband connection, then you are good to go with one. In addition, it has also been a boom to Roku sales as well. If you don’t have an HDTV but have RCA connections, then Roku is the way to go although it doesn’t have access to iTunes movie rentals and lacks AirPlay support, but it does have Hulu and MLB as apps among others. Another bit of AppleTV news is this story on how using Google’s public DNS address for your internet can hinder the AppleTV’s performance on iTunes movie rentals. Now this could be just a fluke, but if Google is doing this then isn’t Google breaking their own “Don’t be Evil” policy? Oh, maybe not. Then again maybe it is just sour grapes over the failure that is GoogleTV. Another interesting note is according to a DirecTV survey, they may soon offer their popular and exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket to AppleTV users. This would be huge if it were to happen!
Apple removes Unofficial WikiLeaks app from Store
This week Apple chose to remove the Unofficial WikiLeaks app. I agree with this decision, Apple is choosing to be a responsible party here in removing an application that supports a service that could cause severe harm to our troops overseas. If you still want the app I’m sure you can get it on the Android market next to the porn section which Apple also does not allow thankfully.
Verizon sees iPhone as “Essential to Future Success”
Continuing the long rumors of the iPhone to Verizon stories, comes this article on how Verizon which apparently has seen its Android unit sales decline, very much sees the iPhone as vital to sales and market share. This story kind of surprised me as I thought Android was going to take over the world according to what its proponents have been stating. Apparently the numbers just don’t add up in Verizon’s case anyway. Full disclosure, before I upgraded my 3GS to an iPhone 4 at Radio Shack, I did research the Android phones and was just not impressed in how it would relate to my Mac hardware such as syncing my iTunes music library and such. Plus their battery and network icons at the top of the screen just look tacky and not as smooth as the iPhone icons. Ok, I have said enough, I’m sure I am going to hear from the Android fanboys and girls out there now.
Sam’s Club selling iPhone 4 for $147
Well, if your reading this on Thursday or Friday and missed out on the Radio Shack deal, Sam’s Club is selling the iPhone 4 16GB model for $147 and the 8GB 3GS for $47. No word on the price of the 32GB model though. Hurry!
iWork ’11 to arrive in Early January?
Based on limited retail copies of iWork ’09 and the launching of the Mac App Store on January 6th, there appears to be growing speculation that iWork ’11 will make its debut as part of the App Store. This would certainly entice people to come check out the Mac App Store on launch day and maybe even buy some apps for their Mac. Sure makes sense to me.
Skyfire coming to the iPad
Yes, it is finally coming soon, Skyfire which allows you to view Flash content on the iPhone using its browser, will soon have a counterpart on the iPad. Should arrive any day now and sell for about $5. It will also have social network quick view for Facebook and Twitter updates.
iOS App Reviews
CNN iPad app (FREE) - CNN has launched an iPad only app. Of course it already offers an app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The view on the iPad app is very nice as you scroll down to view photos of stories with captions over them. Selecting on the photo opens the story up, it is like reading Flipboard almost in terms of how it displays.
MobileNavigator ($44.99 North America) - MobileNavigator recently updated their app to include some new goodies, among them is an iPad version, also Active Lane Assistant which gives a more accurate view of the road you are on in terms of lanes on the road. Also offers Travel and Restaurant guides via in-app purchases, and sharing favorites between iOS devices via email, and MyReport which allows you to leave feedback on a route that is no longer accurate on MobileNavigator which will allow it to be more responsive with map updates.
Flipboard (FREE) - Speaking of Flipboard, it has been updated to support Google Reader and Flickr. If you have never tried Flipboard then you really should. It is like reading your social media in a magazine form. Please note, this is an iPad only app though.
Voices 2 (99 Cents) - If you have ever tried Talking Tom Cat, then you will love this app. It gives you the ability to record your voice and then add about 26 different effects to your voice. My favorite is Max which basically makes you sound like Max Headroom.
Emoji (FREE) - This is a nice free app that allows you to add emoticons to your text messages. It was one of the first apps I added to my wife’s iPhone so she could insert the smileys she had on her old flip phone. It is very cool and for a free version, it includes a lot of icons to use.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of AppleTalk Thursday, A lot of news this week but you got 2 weeks to digest it all before another edition of AppleTalk Thursday on January 6th which will be the same date the Mac App Store launches. So now doubt we will have a bit more news then over the course of 2 weeks. See you then and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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