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Apple’s Fall Surprise- iPad 3 is going to be the iPad Mini?!

GBT Admins — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:32:13 +0000

Between John Gruber’s little slip and TechCrunch’s article, the tubes of the interweb are alive with news about the rumored iPad 3 that could be coming out this Fall. It sounds crazy with the iPad 2 not even announced yet, but it kind of makes sense. With all these new tablet devices being announced and released in 2011, and the iPad 2′s rumored disappointing features, Apple may be upping the ante in time for this year’s holiday season. They just announced that they are putting together a “big Fall surprise” that is going to knock our socks off.

But what is the surprise going to be? Could it be an iPad 3? If so, what will it look like?? What other announcement will be made? Read on for our predictions…

1. The iPad 3 will actually be the iPad Mini!

You heard it here first. Rumors of the 7″ iPad mini just refuse to die. Even after a direct denunciation by the Steve Jobs himself, we keep hearing rumors that an iPad mini is still a very real possibility. We think that the iPad 3 announcement that could be coming this Fall is indeed going to be this iPad mini we have all heard so much about.

2. iPad 3 will have an OLED Retina Display

Since the iPad mini will have a smaller screen, an OLED retina display is a much better possibility. Up until now, supplies of 7″ OLED screens have been tight, and were expected to ease up in the second half of 2011… just in time for an iPad 3 to be announced… hmmm… Coincidence? I THINK NOT!

3. iPad 3 will be able to compete with the Sony NGP

Who isn’t drooling over the specs of the soon-to-be-released Sony NGP? The power of a PS3 in the palm of your hands is almost too cool for school. Since games are by far the biggest money makers on the app store, it makes sense that Apple will want to keep pushing the envelope and keeping their devices on the top. We are predicting that the new iPad Mini will have enough power to compete on that level, as will the iPhone 5 or 6 soon thereafter.

4. Apple TV will get it’s own app store and enter the console gaming market

This isn’t exactly a revolutionary idea, we have all been calling for it ever since the Apple TV came out. With it’s incredibly low price point, compact size, and already MASSIVE store full of Apps, it makes sense that Apple would want to continue to press its advantage and bring the app store into as many houses as possible. Possibly games will be streaming just like Steam and make use of their new data center that is currently under construction.

So those are our predictions for this Fall’s “big surprise.” What do you think?

Oh, and for an additional little treat, here’s a video of everybody’s favorite tyrant before he found his “Turtleneck of Confidence +3″ terrified to be on camera and about to toss his cookies:

iPad 2 Enters Production, New Features Revealed…

GBT Admins — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 23:58:23 +0000

The iPad 2 has reportedly entered production as we predicted, and possibly will be announced Feb 14th along with iOS 4.3 and released later in March. The Wall Street Journal states that their sources “who are familiar with the matter” have said:

The new device will be thinner, lighter and will come with a faster processor, more memory and a more powerful graphics processor, said the people familiar with the matter. It will have a front-facing camera for the first time for features like video-conferencing, but the resolution of the new iPad’s display will be similar to the first iPad, they said.

More after the jump…

Though Apple of course declined to comment, the iPad 2 will reportedly be available through AT&T and Verizon just like the iPhone 4. If the iPad 2 screen is going to have a resolution that is similar to the original, why were people able to find assets that were double their original size? Possibly this is a bit of misinformation, or Apple was unable to secure higher resolution screens at a competitive price. There have been many reports stating that the amount of power required to run a higher resolution screen and the price tag would both be through the roof.

Also of note was that a rear camera was lacking on the iPad. Most, if not all, of the competing tablets that were announced at CES had rear facing cameras. Whether this will be a big deal or not remains to be seen. With 5MP cameras in our iPhones, I don’t see a need to have one in my tablet. But that’s just me.

No matter what, after the incredibly disappointing unveiling of the Motorola Xoom that has a $799 price tag and no wi fi support enabled unless you purchase a 1 month 3G package, the iPad 2 is just looking better and better.

Ditch Your Old iPad While There’s Still Time!

Now is the time to start ditching your old iPad if you want to get your monies worth if you plan on upgrading. Currently a used iPad with a box (you DID save your box right?) is selling for 85-90% of their original value on eBay! As soon as the new iPad 2 gets announced however, you can count on your current “antiquated” tablet to drop in value. Check out these auctions to see just how much a used iPad is selling for:

As you can see, now is the time to put your iPad up for sale on eBay or Craigslist! Or at least wait one more month before you buy the original iPad as the price will drop substantially!

iPad 2 to start production in Febuary! iPhone 5 in May!

admin — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:11:24 +0000

“Apple iPad is expected to begin in February began a small pilot, 2nd quarter shipments will be significantly enlarged, and may even go beyond a single monthly shipments iPad shipped 1st generation peak in 2010 when the 4th quarter the performance of the Tablet PC shipments in the first half can be said to outshine others by Apple; in mobile phones, rumors iPhone5 also expected to begin volume production in May.” - China’s Commercial Times. http://bit.ly/dTsjvA

The article reports that the iPad 2 production will start at a “small ramp” which means that the production is expected to increase in the second half of the year. Shipments are also expected to be larger than the first generation iPad which should prevent the stock shortage from last year.

The report also adds that both Foxconn and Pegatron are also part of the process of the production.

According to the source, the iPhone 5 will be handed out by production partners in May, which would then follow the annual June release of Apple iPhones.

Motorola to debut tablet at CES – Named the Xoom?

admin — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 23:32:07 +0000

A few days ago, Motorola posted a teaser trailer on YouTube (see the video above), hinting towards a tablet release. What will it look like? How much? Which version of Android?We’ll find out in a few weeks, but earlier today, rumor has it that the name of the tablet will be the “Xoom”. The name came up through some patents that Motorola seems to be filing.

In the video, you’ll notice that Motorola says the Galaxy Tab has the Android OS, but for a phone. This should indicate that the version of Android that Motorola will be using will be 3.0 (Gingerbread).

That’s all we really know for now, but stay tuned in a few weeks once CES 2011 kicks off. We’ll be bringing you as much coverage as possible from the halls of the LVCC (and other places, for that matter) January 4th – 9th. This includes blog posts (with pictures!), live blogging, and videos. We hope you come by to check it out! You can follow our Twitter account to check out our posts as they happen.

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iPad 2 – What it needs, and will probably have

admin — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:29:15 +0000

An early case for the next-gen iPad 2. Does it accurately represent the next iPad? Only time will tell.

Everybody knows that the iPad 2 will be released in a few months, right? Some of you are probably saying “big deal”, but this is going to be the next top gadget for 2011. What’s going to make it so popular? The momentum from the first iPad.

The iPad has really been taking off. A few weeks ago, it was said that the iPad drove Apple first place for North America mobile PC sales, and third worldwide [source]. This is only going to get better for them, because even large corporations, who are planning on purchasing a tablet computer during the first quarter of 2011, will be purchasing an iPad [source].

So what’s going to make the second generation iPad so popular? Well, nobody (in the general public) knows exactly what it’s going to have, but some of the more obvious features should be coming to it.

First, it’ll be getting a camera, or maybe even two. It’s guaranteed that there will be a front-facing camera for FaceTime calls and more. There may also be one on the back of the iPad, which will allow for avid photography. While a lot of people don’t see a rear-facing camera to be practical, it would be nice to have one, and I think that Apple will definitely put two cameras on there.

Next up, speed. The iPad was the first iDevice to use Apple’s A4 1GHz SoC (system-on-a-chip), which combines the ARM Cortex-A8 processor and the PowerVR graphics processor. The iPhone 4, iPod Touch 4G, and the Apple TV 2 were next to use this chip. While it’s nice and fast, a lot of recent applications could use a faster piece of hardware (such as recent games, albeit they have decent frame rates and look great). One could only imagine how much smoother recent games would play, and how much snappier things would be. Because of this, I believe Apple will be using some sort of dual-core processor (possibly clocked at 1.5GHz per core or higher) and a much more powerful GPU.

How about the 9.7″ display? Anything smaller than that just doesn’t seem very practical, so the screen size will most likely be staying the same, but how about its resolution? The iPhone 4 introduced the Retina Display, which was (and still is) the highest resolution display for its size (960×640). You can’t even see the pixels on the screen, where on every other mobile device, you can. This produces very crisp and clear images. The iPod Touch 4G was the next device to take this display. The iPad’s 9.7″ display has a resolution of 1024×768. The iPad’s screen is nearly 3x larger than the iPhone 4′s, yet its resolution is only a little bit larger. So, Apple will most likely be introducing a much higher resolution display, possibly at 1280×960 or 1400×1050 (and will stay at its 4:3 aspect ratio).

Design wise, nothing will really change. It’ll probably be a little thinner and a little lighter (like Apple usually does with revisions of all of their products).

And finally, ports. The iPad 2 is rumored to have a built-in SD card slot for offloading photos and videos from a camera directly onto the iPad. Some of the leaked iPad 2 accessories suggest that there will be an SD card slot at the bottom of the device, which would be really useful for a number of reasons. Click here to go to a website that has a number of iPad 2 cases, ranging from silicone and hard-plastic cases to a leather folio.

The next iPad isn’t going to a huge revision, but there will be enough changes that would probably make a lot of current iPad users make the upgrade. Personally, I’ll be sticking with my first generation iPad, as it suits my needs just fine, and I could live without the cameras (already have an iPhone 4 with me everywhere).

I’d love to hear your comments. Think this is a decent list? What do you think will be on it? Leave your feedback down below.

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Exolife iPhone 4 battery case by Exogear

admin — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:00:45 +0000

We can all use a little more battery life every now and then, especially for a phone that will barely get through the day. In situations like this, the Exogear Exolife iPhone 4 battery case comes to save the day. Available in both black or white color choices and priced at $89.95, this case will nearly double the battery life of an iPhone 4 while adding very little bulk to your phone. This is the world’s “thinnest & lightest” battery case, and it packs a 1500mAh battery. Check out our full review!

A lot of people think design is more important than the actual function of things, so we’ll start there first. The back portion of the case is made of a shiny but smooth plastic, which will attract quite a bit of fingerprints. Exogear’s logo is proudly displayed in the middle of the case. Near the bottom of the back is “exolife”, as well as a 4-way blue LED indicator for viewing battery capacity. There’s also a huge cutout for the camera and flash.

On the bottom of the case is a mini-USB port for charging (AND SYNCING!!!). There’s also a button for turning the device on, turning the device off, and checking the battery capacity. On this button is a little green light (which is on whenever the case is on).

The front of the case is rather simple. There are some slits for the microphone and speaker. There’s also a 30-pin dock connector, which you will put your iPhone 4 into. There’s a little plastic “bumper” that sits around the case, and this is what actually keeps your iPhone 4 into the case. You can easily take the bumper off, slide your iPhone 4 into the case, and then put the bumper back on. There are cutouts for the power button, headset/noise cancellation microphone, the silent switch, and the volume buttons. The bumper snaps into place, and you won’t have to worry about your iPhone 4 ever falling out of the case (that is unless you drop the case onto the floor, where you might have a bit to worry about). You can purchase additional bumpers (in various colors) for $14.99 a piece on Exogear’s website (which is honestly very pricey).

Included in the packing is the case, a mini-USB cable (in white, and it also has Exogear’s logo on it), a secondary bumper, and a few user manuals.

Lt’s talk about how to use the Exolife. At first, it wasn’t obvious to turn on (which is why we should all read the freaking manual ). To turn the Exolife on, you have to hold the power button for exactly 3 seconds (or until the blue LED indicators on the back will start to flash). The blue LED indicators on the back of the case will start to turn on (one-by-one, 4 total). Once they are all on (this process takes about 5 seconds), they will all turn off, and then your iPhone 4 will begin to charge. To check the battery capacity, you have to hold the power button down for 1.5-2 seconds. The blue LED indicators will then turn on. Each indicator represents 25% battery capacity, so if one indicator is on, then you have between 0% and 25% left, and if there are three indicators, you have between 50% and 75% left. Once you figure out how to turn it on, you’ll begin wondering why this process couldn’t have been a little bit easier. Rather than holding down a button for 3 seconds, and waiting another 5-7 seconds for it to turn on, a simple switch would’ve been much practical. BUT, it’s not how to turn the device on, it’s how well it performs.

Exogear claims that the integrated 1500mAh battery will add up to an additional:

300 hours standy
7 hours talk
6 hours web surfing
10 hours video playback
40 hours audio playback

Because the iPhone 4 has a 1420mAh battery, this case will theoretically double the battery life of your iPhone 4, so this is ideal for those who are out and about most of the day and don’t have access to any way of charging their iPhone 4.

Charge times aren’t too shabby. It took 1hr28min to go from 61% to 100%, and 1hr44min to go from 47% to 100%. The differences between those two times may sound weird, but the iPhone 4′s battery seems to charge faster after the initial 50%. The Exolife had between 50% and 75% capacity left after charging.

Overall, the Exolife is a very pretty product that does its job, and it does its job very well. Being the lightest and thinnest iPhone 4 battery case, this will add very little bulk to the actual iPhone 4. It let’s you use all the functions of your iPhone 4 while doubling the battery life of it. It is a bit pricey, though. It’s priced at $89.95, and there are actually some other iPhone 4 battery cases that are a little cheaper and have the same battery capacity (or more). But, when it comes down to design, the Exolife is the best there is. It functions the way it should, and comes in really handy in a number of occasions. This would be a great buy for anyone with an iPhone 4 who is a little hesitant when it comes to their device’s battery life. Pick it up today!

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Photo Gallery

Video

What really happened to geohot

admin — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 15:34:48 +0000

Update… As most of you probably know, geohot has released his limera1n jailbreak, which works. This post is irrelevant and stupid .

So here’s the deal. A few months ago, I was told by someone (lets just say that he isn’t very liked anymore and could have lied when he told this to us) that geohot has left the scene to go work for Apple to patch as many exploits as possible. Is this true? I don’t know, but it’s always plausible. Geohot left the scene on July 13th, 2010. Four and a half months earlier, he created limera1n.com (at least according to its WhoIs results).

Yesterday, Friday the 8th, @p0sixninja “confirmed” that geohot is making a return.

Anyway, what has geohot been doing since he left? He could possibly have been at Apple, looking at various pieces of source code, and trying to patch all of the possible exploits.

It’s currently rumored (or confirmed?) that geohot will be releasing his “limera1n” jailbreak on Monday, one day after the expected release of the “greenpois0n” jailbreak. What will geohots supposed “jailbreak” do? Nobody knows just yet (or at least anyone in the general public doesn’t, but maybe someone internally knows exactly what’s going on).

What could it possibly do?

Geohot could be releasing limera1n so that it permanently prevents your device from being jailbroken. As he might know how all of the exploits work, he himself can probably get them all patched. This could possibly “jailbrick” your device.

Keep in mind that this is all speculation, and since nobody knows exactly what will be happening, this could all potentially by possible. It’s certainly possible, as there’s nothing really from keeping this from being true. We’ll just have to wait and see.

The best thing to do, should limera1n really be released, is to stay away from it until the iPhone Dev Team has had some testing with it. Twitter: 1 | 2

Please leave your comments below. I’m curious to see what people will think about this.

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Here’s the thumbnail pic that we made just in case somebody wants it:

The next generation iPhone revealed?

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:27:46 +0000

We can’t believe it either- this pic has been in the public domain for a while, and nobodys picked it up until fairly recently.

It looks like they got rid of the chrome trim. Also… is that a tiny camera near the speaker?

What are your thoughts?

images courtesy of Neowin.net, Appleinsider.com and Engadget.com

Poll #008 – What will Apple’s tablet be called?

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:12:09 +0000

With Apple’s media event being less than 44 hours away, what do you think this tablet device will be called? Vote now!

[poll 8]

Poll #007 – What do you expect to see from Apple on the 27th?

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:21:56 +0000

For our seventh poll, we’re asking what you think that Apple will be announcing this Wednesday, January 27th. You can select more than one answer. If you’ve selected “Something Else”, please post what you think in this post in the comments below.

[poll 7]

iPhone OS 4.0 – Multitasking, New Interface?

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:40:58 +0000

BoyGenius report has received some information regarding the next major iPhone OS (4.0). The screenshot that you see above is what was posted on the actual page from BGR, but we’re personally hoping that it isn’t real (interface looks the same).

There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)

“A few new ways” to run applications in the background — multitasking.

Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.

The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”

The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.

While all that sounds good, we won’t know whether or not any of that information will come true. The number one thing that we personally want to see in iPhone OS 4.0 is a completely new interface. Everything has been the same for nearly 3 years. Give us something different! Jailbreaking is nice, but it shouldn’t have to even be done if the OS itself were more open.

Apple Event (January 27, 2010) Confirmed: “Come See Our Latest Creation”

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:01:42 +0000

Apple today has started to issue invitations to their long rumored January 27th event. The event is to be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10AM PST on Wednesday the 27th of January.

The Apple tablet has been rumored for quite some time now. With “Come see our latest creation” as the slogan for this event, Engadget believes that the event will focus on “art, music, and movie-making”. Apple may also unveil some news on iPhone OS 4.0, and possibly the next iPhone.

Core i5 MacBook Pro Coming Soon?

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 04:08:07 +0000

Even if the above image was a huge mistake, the next series of MacBook Pro’s will most likely have the new Intel Core i5 quad-core CPU. That is all .

Apple iSlate Specs Leaked?

admin — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:58:08 +0000

Image sources: PhoneArena

PhoneArena received what could be the actual specifications of Apple’s rumored iSlate tablet computer. Apple is expected to announce something bit on January 26, which could possibly be their tablet. It still isn’t 100% confirmed that Apple is even working on such a device, but all the rumors are pointing out for that to be true.

The actual hardware specifications of the iSlate is that of a normal computer (7.1″ screen, 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 RAM, 120GB HDD, 2 USB 2.0 ports, webcam, gigabit Ethernet, wireless-N, bluetooth). Something that hasn’t really been rumored at all is the supposed built-in projector, which should be able to project the iSlate’s display (mirror or extended?) onto something (such as a wall).

What’s also interesting is the operating system. It’s running Mac OS X ‘Clouded’ Leopard v10.7. It includes the basic applications that you see in normal version of Leopard (iTunes, Mail, iChat, etc). It will be able to “Browse & download apps from the App Store”.

There isn’t really any word of there being 3G built-in to the device, but everyone is hoping for that. Only time will tell if any of this is the real deal!

Wii 2 – Blu-Ray?

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 02:30:38 +0000

There have been some rumors floating around lately about the Nintendo Wii 2.

First, it’s rumored to have Blu-Ray built-in. This will provide 1080p gaming as well as high-definition media. It’ll also help stop-piracy, since there are currently no Blu-Ray games anywhere online (since they’re huge in size).

The Wiimote will also have some sort of motion sensing capabilities to maybe compete with Microsoft’s Project Natal.

It’s expected to be released worldwide at the same exact time. Nintendo will also maybe have a trade-in program for current Nintendo Wii owners.

Apple Unveils new iMac, MacBook, Mac Mini, and all new Multi-Touch ‘Magic Mouse’

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:49:24 +0000

Apple today has unveiled new iMacs, MacBooks, Mac Minis, and a all new multi-touch Magic Mouse. Quick rundown:

New and faster iMac with a bigger display, starting at $1,199.
All new MacBook with slightly better specs and a all new design, starting at $999.
New and faster Mac Mini with a Mac Mini Server Edition, starting at $599.
World’s first multi-touch “Magic Mouse”, shipping with all new iMac’s or by itself for $69.

Full details below!

First, with the new iMac. It has been redesigned and features a new LED backlit display. It now comes in two sizes: 21.5″, and 27″. They both come with a new wireless Apple Keyboard and the new Multi-Touch Magic Mouse. The 21.5″ starts at $1,199. A rundown of all the new iMac features:

21.5″ (1920 x 1080) – 3.06GHz OR 3.33GHz Core 2 Duo.
27″ (2560 x 1440) – 3.06GHz OR 3.33GHz Core 2 Duo OR 2.66GHz Core i5 (up to 3.2GHz), OR 2.8GHz Core i7 (up to 3.46GHz) – Can also be attached to a wall with a VESA-compliant mount.
4GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM, up to 16GB.
21.5″ get either the 9400M with 256MB shared DDR3, OR the 4670 with 256MB GDDR3 dedicated.
27″ with a Core 2 Duo get either the 4670 with 256MB GDDR3 dedicated, OR 4850 with 512MB GDDR3 dedicated.
27″ with a Core i5 or Core i7 get either the 4850 512MB GDDR3 dedicated.
27″ has a DisplayPort INPUT, AND OUTPUT.
1 FireWire 800
4 USB 2.0
SD Card Slot
21.5″ get 500GB or 1TB HDD, and an optional 2TB HDD.
27″ get 1TB HDD, and an optional 2TB HDD.

Next, the new MacBook. The line of MacBook Pro’s are the same. The new MacBook starts at $999. It has a unibody enclosure, 7 hour battery, and a multi-touch trackpad. Rundown:

13.3″ – 1280 x 800
2.26GHz Core 2 Duo
2GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM, up to 4GB.
9400M 256MB DDR3 SDRAM GPU
2 USB 2.0
250GB HDD, optional 320GB or 500GB HDD
4.7 pounds.

The new Mac Mini starts at $599. There is also a special version with Snow Leopard Server. Rundown:

2.26GHz Core 2 Duo, OR 2.53GHz, OR 2.66GHz.
2GB DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM, up to 4GB.
1 FireWire 800
5 USB 2.0
160GB HDD, OR 320GB HDD, OR 500GB HDD.
New Mac Mini Server Edition.

Apple has unveiled the world’s first multi-touch mouse. This new Magic Mouse comes with all new iMac’s and is available by itself for $69. The whole surface is a big button, similar to the Mighty Mouse.

1 finger click – Click or double click anywhere on the surface.
2 finger right-click – Use 2 fingers to right-click.
360 degree scrolling – Scroll in any direction.
2 finger swiping – Forward/backward commands.

So there you have it! All new Apple products. We’re really looking forward to the Magic Mouse. The $69 price tag isn’t too bad, either.

Barnes & Noble E-Reader Coming Tomorrow

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:10:36 +0000

Barnes & Noble is expected to release their very own E-Reader tomorrow, called the “Nook”, to be a direct competitor of Amazon’s ‘Kindle’.

It’s said to feature a full color screen, wifi, 8GB internal memory, SD card slot, and a lot more. It will be $259.

BlackBerry Watch?

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:13:42 +0000

Research in Motion is definitely working on some sort of watch that is also a phone. Some possible features of this device:

A big OLED screen.
Bluetooth
Media Player
Wifi
Apps?

This device is rumored to be called the “inPulse”. Only time will tell if any of this is true!