Has Your iOS Device Been Hacked By The CIA?

Let me start this out by stating that we, in no way, can confirm any particular reasoning, whether it be beneficial or malicious, as to the CIA's attacks on Apple's devices and software. That being said, if you own any type of Apple device that has come out since the release of the first iPhone, there are some recent developments that you should definitely be aware of.

While we don't know everything for sure, we do know that the CIA and the NSA have been making attempts to hack into Apple's security networks. This has come as a shock to just about every consumer that has found out about it. Of course when asked about it, the CIA had no comment on the story.

So what exactly has even been happening, you may wonder. Since the first generation iPhone was in development, The CIA have been have been both sponsoring and attending an event call "Jamboree". This event was designed to figure out the latest and best tactics at cracking Apple's security codes and developer tools. One Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, has come out and shown some of the slides that were presented at one of the previous Jamboree events. The slides explain multiple efforts to weaken and break through Apple's security within their multiple devices. One of the slide's even talks about creating and infected version of Apple's Xcode.

Xcode is the development code used to design applications on both iOS and OS X devices. The "dummy" code would allow access to all of the applications utilizing a backdoor implanted within the code itself. This particular "whacked" code would be targeted at budding developers who might be unfamiliar with the original, unaltered Xcode. Should these newer developers end up using the tampered Xcode, they would be allowing a backdoor to be created within the program, unknowingly of course. Needless to say, this type of tampering and targeting towards newer developers is violating more than a few laws.

As far as we know, there have not been any successful attempts at cracking into Apple's security encryptions. That being said, this doesn't mean that we as consumers and the developers are safe from the prying CIA. They are still very capable of weakening the security of Apple devices, as well compromising any app developed by the developers that fall prey to the CIA and their infected code.

What type of data was the CIA even planning to take from us? Well apparently they've been looking to ascertain the GID keys used by our devices. A GID key would be used to track a single user on one device. The GID key, however, would be used to gain access to an entire product line as they likely use the same application processor. If the CIA were to get their hands on these GID keys, they'd be able to create their own type of firmware to install on an entire product line that shares the same app processor, thus allowing for mass surveillance.

Again, there is no confirmation as to the reasoning that the CIA has for these malicious attacks on Apple's product security. That being said, this is disturbing to say the least.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Apple is Present in More Than Half of American Households

Apple products can be seen almost anywhere these days. With iPhones, iPads, iPods and MacBooks, Apple is definitely finding its way into the American household. According to a survey that was conducted by CNBC, more than half of all American households own one or more Apple product.

That means that more than 55 million U.S. homes own some kind of Apple product, and CNBC says that this number will only be going up. Of those polled, a quarter of the individuals said that they would be buying an Apple device sometime within the next year.

“It's a fantastic business model — the more of our products you own, the more likely you are to buy more,” says Jay Campbell, the vice president of Hart Research Associates, which helped to conduct the CNBC survey. “Planned obsolescence has always been a part of the technology industries sales model, but Apple has taken it to a whole new level.”

The survey found that the majority of Apple consumers are younger, college-educated males. It also showed that, not surprisingly, the more money that an individual made, the more Apple products that they tended to have. Seventy-seven percent of individuals making $75,000 or more owned at least one Apple device, and on average, owned three devices; while only 28 percent of individuals that made $30,000 or less owned at least one Apple device, and on average, they owned 0.6 devices.

It’s crazy to think how many devices Apple has sold. When the third-generation iPad was released, more than 3 million devices were sold on the first weekend. According to the CNBC survey, it really looks like in the future it’s only going to get better for Apple.

Sources: CNBC - Apples Are Growing in American Homes and PCMag - Half of American Homes Own at Least One Apple Product

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iPad Users Can Now Display PowerPoint Presentations

Brainshark, a company that creates software for online and mobile video presentations, has created a great new app for iPad users. The app, SlideShark, gives iPad users the ability to professionally display PowerPoint presentations from their tablets, and the best part is that it is free!

There have been some issues associated with users importing and viewing PowerPoint presentations on their iPads. Mostly, there have been problems keeping the original formatting of the presentation. Well, with SlideShark, all of those issues are eliminated.

Users are now able to upload their PowerPoint presentations to their online accounts on SlideShark’s website. There the presentation is converted to an iPad viewing format, and then, using the SlideShark app, users are able to download and view the file on their iPad.

"The iPad is supporting business mobility like never before," said Brainshark CEO Joe Gustafson. "At the same time, and as the mobile workforce continues to grow, the need to present PowerPoints on the iPad is becoming more critical. We're pleased to offer the SlideShark app to resolve this issue—allowing mobile sales, marketing and training professionals to present their business content both reliably and effectively, and helping companies maximize productivity."

The best thing about SlideShark is that it preserves all of the original fonts, graphics, colors and formats of the PowerPoint presentation. Users with an iPad 2 are then able to connect their tablets to a TV or VGA projector in order to project the presentation. SlideShark also has the ability to support gesture. This means that users are able to swipe or tap the screen of their iPad to control the presentation being projected.

"As more and more companies make tablet investments, it's important they do so strategically—with a game plan for how they'll use the devices," said Scott Nelson, managing vice president, Gartner Research. "It often comes as an unpleasant surprise—particularly for salespeople and others in the field—that there's not a simple way to convert some collateral material that they rely on. Addressing this market need will help companies maximize their technology investments and enable business professionals to be even more agile and effective when presenting on-the-go."

Source: PCMag - Slideshark Brings PowerPoint to iPad

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Critical to Download Apple's iOS Security Patch

Recently, there has been news flying around about some issues with Apple’s mobile operating system. At first it didn’t seem like a huge deal, but according to Chester Wisniewski, a senior security advisor at Sophos, it is much more critical than was first believed that iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users download Apple’s recent security patch for iOS.

“It is clearly critical that all users update as soon as possible, unless they only use their device for telephone calls,” Wisniewski wrote Wednesday, July 27 on Sophos’ NakedSecurity blog. He wrote that the Apple operating system is vulnerable to an updated version of a tool that is called sslsniff. It "allows users to easily perform man-in-the-middle attacks against SSL/TLS connections," he said.

He said that the new version of sslsniff can "identify vulnerable Apple devices and allows anyone to snoop on secure communications."

"This patch should be applied immediately if you log in to any service on your device, especially things like your bank or PayPal," Wisniewski writes. "Users are particularly vulnerable to this attack if they frequently use public/open WiFi."

According to Wisniewski, iOS versions 4.3.4, 4.2.9, 5.0b and earlier are vulnerable. He also said that there is no fix, even for devices that are only a couple of generations old.

"If you are using an iPod Touch generation one or two or an iPhone older than the 3GS, you will be perpetually vulnerable," he writes. "Owners of these devices should not use them for any purpose for which security or privacy is required."

"Oddly the flaw in iOS was a widespread flaw in WebKit and Microsoft's CryptoAPI nine years ago," Wisniewski writes. "It allows any valid certificate purchased from a Certificate Authority to sign any other certificate, which the client device will then consider valid.”

"This allows anyone who can capture traffic from your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch with man-in-the-middle techniques to intercept and read any and all encrypted SSL traffic silently and without notification to the user."

If you haven’t fixed this issue yet, it is definitely something that you need to get on. You do not want to put your private information at risk.

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iPad Sales Slipping

Surprisingly and certainly unexpectedly, Apple’s iPad sales are slipping. They’re slipping enough that iSuppli has gone ahead and readjusted the predicted numbers of iPads that it believed Apple would sell in 2011. That’s a pretty quick decision. Is it really that bad?

At an earnings call on Wednesday, April 20 Apple reported that it had sold 4.69 million iPads in the first quarter. That seems like a ton, doesn’t it? Well, in the fourth quarter of 2010, Apple sold more than 7.33 million iPads, although you have to consider that this number includes the holiday sales.

Originally, iSuppli was predicting that Apple would sell 43.7 million iPad units in 2011, but due to the decline, AppleInsider is saying that they have dropped that forecast to 39.7 million. Before the earnings call, there were a variety of different iPad sale predictions ranging from 45 to 60 million, but I think that those numbers will be dropping very soon.

So why is it that the sales aren't meeting the expectations? One of the biggest issues seems to be that Apple simply cannot keep up with the incredible demand for the device. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief operating officer, said that Apple is dealing with “the mother of all backlogs.”

"I wish that we could have made a lot more iPad 2s because there were a lot of people waiting for them," Cook added.

The new and improved version of the device was released on March 11 in the United States, and it has been incredibly popular. It was reported that Apple sold almost a half a million iPad 2s during the first week that it was in stores, although there was a five week wait period for the device. Reports also stated that they sold out overseas just as quickly.

iSuppli said that some of the slowdown surrounding the iPad 2 was due to the quality of the touch screen LCD panels and the production shortages of the advanced speakers that went into the device. It simply was more difficult to crank out these higher quality parts. There are also rumors that Apple ran into a few manufacturing glitches that slowed down the process as well.

“When we looked at the manufacturing numbers, they must have run into some manufacturing issues, some quality issues in terms of turning those products around, because we didn't see the volume manufactured that we expected to see in the first quarter," said Rhoda Alexander, the director of monitor research at iSuppli.

Some might question whether or not the 8.9-magnitude earthquake that devastated Japan could have caused some production delays as well, but Apple claims that this had no effect on the manufacturing of the device. It was rumored that Apple was being forced to pay extra to ensure smooth shipping of the iPad 2 parts that they received from their Japanese suppliers, but Cook claimed that the disastrous event did not have any kind of impact on supply or cost for Apple.

Although iSuppli has decreased its prediction of sales in 2011, the 2012 predictions have gone up. Previously, it was forecasting that 61.6 million units would be sold in 2012, but they have now increased that number to 62.6 million.

It’s interesting that although there has been a decline in iPad sales, Apple is reporting record earnings. They recently reported profits of $5.99 billion, which is a 95 percent increase over the same time period last year.

It doesn't matter if iPad sales do continue to slip; I think that it is safe to say that Apple will somehow make it through.

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Is the iPad a Necessary Business Tool?

What do you think? Is the iPad a bad business tool? According to Dell and HP, it is. This week, both of these technology giants criticized Apple’s enterprise strategy. "Apple is great if you've got a lot of money and live on an island. It's not so great if you have to exist in a diverse, open, connected enterprise; simple things become quite complex," said Dell’s global marketing chief Andy Lark. In an interview with CRN Stephen DeWitt, senior vice president of HP Americas Solution Partners Organization, said "Apple's relationship with partners is transactional, completely. Apple doesn't have an inclusive philosophy of partner capabilities, and that's just absurd."

On Thursday, March 31 there was a sort of rebuttal against these criticisms when SmithBucklin, a global company that deals with managing anything from the basic logistics to event promotion of trade shows, took on the role as the first company to place an entire order for iPad 2s. So, why did SmithBucklin choose the iPad 2?

They say that one of the main reasons for choosing the iPad 2 over a tablet like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom, etc. was because they wanted to boost the use of social media among their employees. "We wanted to make sure our employees were actually walking the walk and not just talking the talk," Mike Nikolich, SmithBucklin's chief marketing officer, said. "We advise our clients all the time on managing blogs, commenting, updating Facebook pages, etc.” "Ultimately we see the iPad 2 as a productivity tool. It's a lot easier to bring the tablet on the train or out of town for work, and lots of people here already use them during meetings."

Nikolich went on to say that most of the 600 employees at SmithBucklin will receive an iPad 2. He also said that almost half of the office already owns an original iPad, but when given the opportunity to have the new iPad 2, 95 percent of the employees chose the upgraded tablet. "It's so new, there's still the 'wow' factor," he said. He also said that his company’s interaction with Apple was minimal because there was very little integration work needed. "Honestly, direct contact with Apple did not have an impact in our decision."

So again I pose the question…what do you think? Do you feel that the iPad 2 is a useful business tool? It’s a very expensive tool. I know that for sure. I think that it can definitely be useful tool, but there are many other things that can do the same job. Yes, it’s convenient access to social media outlets, but can’t laptops and computers and even smartphones do the same thing? If your business has plenty of money to spend on things like iPads, then by all means, go for it, but I don’t think that the average corporation is going to be sending Apple orders for iPads for all of their employees. Maybe someday in the future, when iPads are cheaper, this could be a possibility, but for now, I think most companies will be waiting.

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The Original iPad Just Got Cheaper

If you haven’t purchased a tablet yet but are really looking into getting one, you may have a very hard decision ahead of you if you’re looking into an iPad. You have been faced with the decision of buying the less expensive original iPad or splurging and going for the slightly more expensive iPad 2.

As if that decision wasn’t hard enough, Apple made it even harder for you to decide when it discounted the original iPad models by $100 after the announcement of the iPad 2. This provided even more incentive to just go ahead and buy Apple’s incredibly popular original iPad because it just seemed like such a great deal.

Well, guess what? The deal just got even harder to resist. AT&T has decided to not be outshined by Apple’s discounts on the original iPad. The company has recently announced that customers who are looking to purchase the first generation iPad from AT&T will now enjoy an extra $100 off their purchase, on top of the $100 that Apple has already knocked off.

The final price of the original iPad has now been reduced by $200 at AT&T stores. The 16GB and 32GB versions will now be available for $429 and $529 respectively. In addition to these savings, AT&T has also slashed the price of the 64GB iPad to $529, a $300 savings. This incredible savings can be found at AT&T’s website.

So, you may be sitting there saying, that’s great, but what’s the catch? Well, one of the disadvantages is that AT&T does not sell Wi-Fi only devices, so you are stuck purchasing the more expensive 3G versions. Also, if you are looking to take advantage of the online discount, AT&T requires that you subscribe to their DataConnect Personal Data Plan. The cheapest DataConnect plan gives you up to 250MB of data for $14.99 per month.

Right now, AT&T has a promotional deal that allows users to get the first month of their DataConnect plan completely free. If you decide to be crafty and get around the data plan requirements with AT&T, what you could do is sign up for a plan, like the website requires you to do, and then after the first 30 days, simply cancel your plan. This is a practice that has been used by some of AT&T’s smartphone customers. This is a great way to snatch up a super-discounted iPad from AT&T and really not have any strings attached.

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Thinking of Trading in Your Original iPad?

Are you thinking about getting the new iPad 2 and don’t know what to do with your original iPad? Well, now there is an option. Best Buy and Target are both offering an iPad buyback program that allows iPad owners to trade in their original iPads for in-store credit or a check.

Target is only offering an in-store credit for trade-ins. Owners will receive the maximum amount of credit for fully functional iPads that are turned in with their original boxes. You can either go to Target’s Mobile Stand (there are currently 850 in 1,490 Target stores nationwide) or Target’s trade-in e-store if you want to trade in your old iPad.

Target also mentioned that their REDCard 5 percent discount program will apply to the iPad 2.

Listed below are the maximum values that Target is offering as an in-store credit which you can receive when you trade in your old iPad:

iPad WiFi 16GB (original price: $499) – $194
iPad WiFi 32GB ($599) -- $229
iPad WiFi 64GB ($629) -- $257
iPad WiFi + 3G 16GB ($699) -- 229
iPad WiFi + 3G 32GB ($729) -- $264
iPad WiFi + 3G 64GB ($829) -- $303

Best Buy's longstanding trade-in program offers the choice of either an in-store credit or a mailed check. Listed below are the maximum values that Best Buy is offering for your iPad without the box:

iPad WiFi 16GB -- gift card: $230; check: $150
iPad WiFi 32GB -- gift card: $275; check: $179
iPad WiFi 64GB -- gift card: $311; check: $202
iPad WiFi + 3G 16GB -- gift card: $275; check: $179
iPad WiFi + 3G 32GB -- gift card: $320; check:$ 208
iPad WiFi + 3G 64GB -- gift card: $370; check: $240

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Record Sales for Tablets and eReaders in Fourth Quarter 2010

2010 was a big year for technology and. according to the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Media Tablet and eReader Tracker, it was also a good year for tablets and eReaders. According to the IDC, 10.1 million media tablets were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2010 alone which was more than double the 4.5 million shipped in the third quarter. Apple saw a decrease in shares from 93% to 73% but still remained on top. The Galaxy Tab from Samsung was the main contender against the iPad, beating other players to market and grabbing more than 17% share of the market.

The Tracker also showed that the market for eReaders increased significantly in the fourth quarter. Amazon's Kindle saw strong sales and other contributers, like Pandigital, Barnes & Noble, Hanvon and Sony, contributed to the market growth.

The eReader market more than doubled in volume in the fourth quarter from the third quarter with over 6 million units shipped for the fourth quarter. This brought the total of eReaders shipped for the year to 12.8 million units. eReader shipments also increased over 325% from 2009 when there were only around 3 million units shipped. This type of growth reflects a strong growth of competition in the market and an increasing interest in the category.

According to Loren Loverde, Vice President of Consumer Device Trackers, "Strong holiday sales of media tablets were in line with IDC projections and strong consumer interest in the category while device vendors scrambled to offer products competitive with Apple's iPad and now iPad2. Media Tablets are on pace to reach shipments of roughly 50 million units in 2011."

According to the IDC, the United States, Western Europe and Asia/Pacific (not counting Japan) accounted for 89% of all media tablet shipments in the fourth quarter. Even though the United States was the largest country market, Western Europe and Asia/Pacific increased almost twice as fast from the third quarter to the fourth quarter with Western Europe seeing a slightly larger jump in shipments in the fourth quarter.

Retailers were the highest channel of shipments in the fourth quarter of 2010 followed by direct sales and telco shares. Telco operators, which is a new channel for media tablets, accounted for nearly 14% of all shipments in the 2010 fourth quarter following the only 1% share seen in the third quarter.

Source: Engadget - IDC: 18 million tablets, 12 million e-readers shipped in 2010

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$100 Refund for Recent Purchases of the Original iPad

So you did it. You have had enough of working on the go and lugging your laptop around with you, so you broke down and finally bought an iPad. The bad news? The iPad 2 was literally just released and the original iPad got a pretty price cut. I bet in your mind you are spouting some pretty obscene curse words but alas, I have some very very good news for you. If you recently purchased a first generation iPad, then you may qualify for a $100 refund.

That's right, Apple is offering a $100 refund to customers who purchased the iPad at its former price according to a customer service representative from Apple. The refund, which will be applied directly to your credit card, applies to each and every single version of the first generation iPad.

But like most good news in the world, there is a catch. According to the customer service representative, who recently spoke with CNET, Apple is only offering the $100 refund to anybody who purchased a first generation iPad within 14 days of the March 2nd announcement of the iPad 2. There was no official date given by the customer service representative but if you do your math right, that cut-off date would seemingly be February 16th.

The iPad 2, which comes with some serious updates including two cameras, a dual-core processor and either a black or white finish, is scheduled to hit store shelves on March 11th for a base price of $499. Apple also released a statement yesterday that it has started selling first generation iPad models for $100 less than their previous price tags, which is where the $100 refund comes in.

If you purchased your iPad online, then you need to call Apple customer service to process the refund according to the customer service representative. Customers who purchased iPads from a store must bring their receipt with them to the store they purchased it from in order to receive their refunds.

Source: cnet News - Apple giving $100 refund on recent iPad purchases

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Early Results of the eReader Project

It appears that a decent amount of students at the University of Notre Dame have decided to throw textbooks to the wind and have instead chosen to adopt the iPad as an e-reader replacement. Seven weeks into the study, students said that they learned more and were able to enjoy their classes more.

There is currently a yearlong study being conducted called the eReader project. Forty percent of a school’s management students (mostly undergraduates) are given an iPad as a loan for the study. Other schools besides Notre Dame are doing similar studies, but Notre Dame is the first school to release some early results concerning the study.

According to the eReader project, students said that the iPad really helped encourage them to further explore additional course topics, increase their knowledge, and keep their interest in the course. They also loved the portability of the iPad.

Dr. Corey M. Angst, the professor who taught the management class, noted that one advantage to the iPad was that it didn’t have the annoying and distracting clicking sound that a laptop has.

The students who enrolled in Angst’s class were not aware that they would be offered an iPad free of charge when they signed up for the class. It’s not a surprise that not one single student out of the forty offered an iPad rejected the offer.

Once the students were given the devices, there were a few rules that were laid down about what they could and could not do on their iPads. "We did this because we wanted to understand how or if the iPad changed the way students read, studied, participated, took notes, etc. We also anticipated that students would 'invent' ways of using the iPad to improve their course engagement," the authors wrote in their report.

This is a very interesting way to conduct the study because it allows users the freedom to figure things out on their own.

The success that Notre Dame is reporting from the study could possibly cause some two-year colleges' wheels to turn. The Obama administration just recently outlined funding that would provide eligible two-year colleges with new technology. The grant program plans to provide $2 billion in funding to support online learning strategies. This funding includes providing new ways of delivering core material to students.

Although most of the comments from the students were positives, the one negative comment was that it was frustrating using the highlighting and note-taking tools.
College is not the only place that iPads are popping up though. The New York Times reported that New York public schools went ahead and ordered more than 2,000 iPads for $1.3 million. In Chicago there were 200 public schools that applied for iPad grants totaling $450,000. In California there are six middle schools that are only teaching algebra courses via the iPad.

"It allows us to extend the classroom beyond these four walls," Larry Reiff, an English teacher at Roslyn High School in Long Island, which has 47 iPads, told the Times.

Scott Wolfe, the principal of a New Jersey elementary school, said that the iPad could quite possibly be the best new technology that has come to the school “since the overhead projector.”

Technology coordinator at the Bronx Green Middle School Michael Little wrote a blog discussing the integration of iPads into the school system. "For the students who don't remember the old math and can’t quite grasp the new, they can shut down in class or act out because of the frustration. The MathBoard app helps with the basic skills, but oftentimes I pull up a math game through the game center app and let those students focus on that while working with the rest of the class."

Not everyone is so excited about the devices though. "There is very little evidence that kids learn more, faster or better by using these machines," Larry Cuban, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University, told the Times. "iPads are marvelous tools to engage kids, but then the novelty wears off and you get into hard-core issues of teaching and learning."

I’m not exactly sure where I stand on whether or not the iPad is a helpful device within the classroom. I feel like it could easily become a distraction instead of a help. It will be very interesting to see the final results of the eReader project when the year is over and whether or not the iPad really made much of a difference with the college students at Notre Dame.

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Top iPad 2 Rumors

The rumors about Apple’s iPad 2 have been swirling around everywhere. Everyone seems to have their own speculations about the highly anticipated tablet. Even industry analysts can’t help but make some predictions of their own. Analysts like iSuppli are already predicting that Apple will ship close to 40 billion iPad 2s by next year and will far surpass the estimated 12.9 million original iPads that they shipped in 2010.

So, there are plenty of rumors, but here are the most prevalent rumors currently floating around about the iPad 2.

1. There will be three different versions: Wi-Fi, CDMA, and GSM.

The original iPad comes in two different versions: Wi-Fi only and GSM (3G). Supposedly, upstream component makers told DigiTimes on Wednesday, December 29, that there would be three versions of the iPad 2. They even claimed that Apple will begin shipping these devices out sometime in January which, according to the iPad’s supply-chain schedule, would allow the iPad 2 to hit stores by April 2011.

2. Certain functions will be very much like the iPhone 4.

Various reports, including Reuters, are claiming that the iPad 2 will feature things like two cameras (a front-facing VGA camera and a back-facing 5-megapixel one), a three-axel gyroscope that is useful to gamers, and retina display technology.

3. It will be the very first Apple mobile device with a USB port.

This would be an awesome addition to the iPad 2. Reports have said that this would be an attempt by Apple to bridge the gap between phone and computer. According to Digitimes, the iPad 2 should come complete with two micro USB ports. This would open up so many more connectivity options for iPad users.

4. There will be a smaller version of the iPad 2.

The Japanese blog Kantedian cited an unknown Chinese source when they claimed that they had “found” the specific dimensions of the iPad 2. They said that the iPad 2 would measure in at 9.41 inches by 7.32 inches. This is smaller than the original iPad, which measured in at 9.56 inches by 7.47 inches.

In August an unknown source told Digitimes that the iPad 2’s screen would be 7 inches; however, in October Steve Jobs shot this down when he said, “The 7-inch tablets are tweeners.” What he meant was that a 7-inch tablet was too big to compete with a phone and too small to compete with a 10-inch tablet.

5. Apple has ordered 65 million units.

Digitimes has also been spreading around that Apple was ordering 65 million screens from their Asian suppliers. They said, “"Market players noted that the 65 million unit shipment goal indicates that Apple is very optimistic about the tablet PC market in 2011, and it may also mean that Apple is overbooking panel capacity."

6. The iPad 2 will feature an anti-smudge, anti-reflective screen.

The Kindle is known for its anti-reflective screen and is doing quite well.
DigiTimes claims that Apple is “also working on strengthening the iPad 2's anti-smudge and anti-reflective treatments in order to compete against Kindle and attract more consumers" only makes sense.

7. The back will have wide-range speakers.

Mac Otakara, a blogger for Japan’s May-The-Force-Be-With-You, cited leaked photos from a source in China claiming they showed “a hole in the lower right of the rear panel is neither a USB connector nor a SD card slot. It is a large, wide-ranged speaker unit covered with metal mesh."

8. The new device from Apple will have an SD card.

New York analyst at Rodman and Renshaw Ashok Kumar said, “Apple is on track to refresh the iPad by March and iPhone by late summer. A key component upgrade across these platforms will be a dual-core processor featuring a pair of 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores."

Other analysts agree, claiming that the rear slot that was seen on the early iPad 2 cases was made for SD cards. It would be a great addition to the tablet.

9. It will feature a dual-core processor.

As Kumar said, the iPad 2 will feature a dual-core processor. This could definitely satisfy the Apple haters who criticize the iPad and are awaiting the dual-core RIM PlayBook and the Motorola Android tablet.

10. Cases already exist for the iPad 2.

Pictures popped up on the trading site Alibaba showing cases for the iPad 2. Unfortunately, an unnamed company contacted the site and asked them to take down the pictures. John Spelich, a spokesman for Alibaba, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, “We do not know whether these products are what they say they are, but we have received a legitimate takedown request and are removing the listings.”

Despite this, it definitely looks like there are iPad 2 cases already made and ready for the device.

Now, of course, all of these claims are only rumors, but there are some very interesting claims to consider. No matter what, it looks like the iPad 2 will definitely be leaps and bounds ahead of the original iPad. Hopefully, Apple will soon release some information so we can stop all of the speculations about the fascinating new device.

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iPad 2 Speculations from Digitimes

There have been a ton of rumors swirling around about the possibilities surrounding the iPad 2. Not a lot of details are known about it besides the fact that it will definitely be an upgrade from the original iPad, and it will address some of the issues that the iPad has been criticized for.

According to a report from Digitimes on Tuesday, December 7th, Apple’s manufacturer Foxconn Electronics will begin to ship out the iPad 2 by the end of February 2011. Now that doesn’t mean that Apple will be making the iPad 2 available to the public yet. It only means that the devices are being shipped to Apple to be readied for release.

The Foxconn Electronics plant, located in Shenzen, China, is rumored to initially supply anywhere between 400,000 and 600,000 units over the course of the next 100 days. Digitimes reported that the hardware that will be featured on the device is still being tested. Digitimes also said that eventually Foxconn will supply Apple with their products from a plant located in Chengdu, but as of right now, those devices are still in production.

Recently, an analyst from Gleacher & Company suggested that the iPad 2 should be on sale in the United States by April, but right now Apple hasn’t said anything about a release date. Earlier reports said that Apple would continue with its typical update cycle and offer the newest version of the iPad for the holiday season, but obviously that isn’t happening.

Although everyone is calling the new version of the iPad the iPad 2, that is not its official name. Apple has not publicized the new name yet. As mentioned above, the new version will take care of many of the issues that people had with the original iPad. It will feature a dual-camera setup, support of Facetime video chat, and much more. Some gamers are hoping that the iPad 2 will also feature a gyroscopic setup for motion control. Reports say that the 30-pin dock connector that is found on the original iPad could easily be replaced with a mini-USB port, a Cortex A9 CPU, and additional memory which could make the new iPad much more powerful.

Since the launch of the original iPad in April, the sales of the device have been incredibly strong. In the third quarter alone, Apple sold 4.19 million iPads. The sales for this quarter seem as though they will not be as high as expected. They will most likely come in somewhere around five million.

Digitimes said that Apple should most likely begin clearing out their inventory so they have room for the new version of the iPad. They continued saying that last quarter Foxconn shipped out around six million iPads, which leaves about 1.8 million devices that have not been sold yet. Apple should order around 1.6 to 1.8 million iPads at the beginning of the year, but after that order, they should start reducing the number of iPads that they ship in so that they have room for the iPad 2.

It is really exciting to see possible release dates for the iPad 2. The original iPad is incredible in itself so it will be even more amazing to see a new and improved version of the device. Hopefully, Apple will soon release some official reports about dates, prices, features, etc., but until then, it is all left up to speculation.

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So, What Do the Masses Think About the Samsung Galaxy Tab vs. Apple’s iPad?

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab is the highly anticipated, extremely hyped-up tablet that was released worldwide about two months ago. In mid-November the device was made available at all four of the major wireless U.S. carriers, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile, which is sure to help boost the Galaxy Tab's sales numbers.

So, how has it done so far you might ask? Well, just recently, Samsung reported that they had sold over 1 million devices. But how does this compare to Apple’s iPad when it was first released? The larger 9.7 inch screen Apple iPad went on sale this past April and hit the 1 million devices sold mark in about a month, meaning that comparatively the Galaxy Tab is definitely behind numbers-wise. You must consider though that the iPad was a novelty that drew people in with its exclusive uniqueness. It had no real competition when it was released. When taking this into consideration, it shows that realistically Samsung is doing quite well with their Android-based 7-inch screen Galaxy Tab.

The Thanksgiving weekend is sure to have spurred the Galaxy Tab sales, although Samsung has not yet released those sales figures. Individual carriers have said that they are very encouraged by the sales of the Galaxy Tab, but they also have not revealed any of those numbers.

As of right now, despite Samsung’s best efforts to market their new product, it seems as though the iPad will be the dominant tablet this holiday season. In a survey conducted by Piper Jaffray, a hearty 85 percent of respondents said that they preferred the iPad over the Galaxy Tab.

Senior research analyst Gene Munster wrote, "Although we expect both platforms to find success in the market in [2011], we believe iPad is taking an early lead over competing Android-based tablets like the Samsung Galaxy Tab."

Now it is important to note that the survey was only taken by 65 people, and the Galaxy Tab really hasn’t been out very long, while the iPad has had close to eight months to make its impression. Piper Jaffray chose people at random to participate in their survey. They asked individuals on their way in or out of a large national retail chain store to spend some time with both the Galaxy Tab and the iPad, and they then asked them which device they preferred.

The survey also asked people about their perceived value of both the devices. Respondents said that they felt the iPad (3G + Wi-Fi) was worth $417 (34 percent below its actual price) and that the Galaxy Tab was worth $283 (53 percent below its actual price). People seemed to think that the iPad seemed fancier than the Galaxy Tab. It is interesting to consider what people really felt the value of the devices was. "While the iPad is priced $30 higher than the Galaxy Tab, the perceived value of the iPad was $134 higher," said Munster.

Although right now it seems that the iPad is the preferred device, Piper Jaffray said that they believe both tablets will be successful.

"While we expect both the iPad and Android tablet platforms to find success in the market, we believe iPad is taking an early lead over competing tablets," the report said. "We are modeling for Apple to sell 13 million iPads in [2010], an estimated 89 percent market share with very limited competition; however, we estimate this share will drop to 53 percent next year, with Android-based tablets attracting 33 percent of the market. "

In Apple’s fourth quarter which ended October 31st, they reported that more than 4 million iPads had been sold, and analysts estimated that prior to the Thanksgiving weekend about 8 million iPads have been sold overall since its release. Despite this, Samsung is a fantastic company that is respected by many. The Galaxy Tab also features some things that the iPad cannot offer. I believe that the device will most definitely be a success. It just needs a little time to catch up with the iPad.

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The Samsung Galaxy Tab is Coming Soon

Just recently Verizon Wireless announced that they would be offering customers the Apple iPad in over 2,000 of their stores as of October 28th. Now they have said that they will also be selling the Samsung Galaxy Tab in stores on November 11th for $599.99.

There have been many rumors and speculations circulating about the 7-inch Android tablet from Samsung. Although the tablet will most definitely be made available in Verizon stores, Samsung has said that it will be available from all four of the major U.S. carriers. Unlike Verizon, the other carriers have not come up with a concrete date or price for the tablet.

When Samsung announced that they would be releasing the Galaxy Tab in the U.K. on November 1st, more rumors began to swirl surrounding the tablet. Boy Genius said that the device would be released from Sprint for $400 sometime around November 14th if you signed up for a contract. Without a contract they claimed that the tablet would cost $600. There were also speculations that T-Mobile would offer the device for $400 with a two-year contract and a $50 rebate or $650 without a contract.

The $600 price that Verizon is selling the Galaxy Tab for is without a contract. The carrier will be offering customers a $20 per month plan that will give them up to 1GB of data each month. They are also offering data plans with the iPad that include a 3GB, $35 per month plan and a 5GB, $500 per month plan. As of October 28th, Verizon will also have a 16GB iPad bundle that includes MiFi Mobile hotspot for $629 that can allow you to connect up to five mobile devices.

I have been extremely excited about Samsung’s Galaxy Tab. As amazing as iPads may be, I have a feeling that until the iPad is updated, the Galaxy Tab is going to be even more amazing. The Galaxy Tab can do so many of the things that the iPad unfortunately cannot. It is much closer to functioning like a laptop. It does have a smaller screen than the iPad, but it features things that cannot be found on the iPad like two cameras, phone capabilities with Bluetooth, and flash video support. I think Samsung definitely added some great features to the Galaxy Tab that have been missing from the tablet industry. If I was looking for a tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab would definitely be the first I would consider. Check out more details to see if the Galaxy Tab is right for you.

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A Tablet Coming From Motorola

Everyone wants to go head to head with the iPad and put a little competition into the game, and Motorola is not about to be left behind. Unfortunately, it is going to be awhile before we see a glimpse of this tablet from Motorola.

The co-chief executive of Motorola, Sanjay Jha, told individuals at Motorola’s investment conference, “We want to make sure that any tablet that we deliver is competitive in the marketplace, and I think all of us will make sure that we will only deliver that when that occurs.”

I think that it is definitely a good idea that Motorola spends the time perfecting a tablet so that they can be competitive, but I also feel that they should be careful not to take too much time because they do not want the tablet hype to wear off at all.

Some are hopeful that the tablet will be released by early next year, but there are still some issues that need to be worked through. The latest build of Google’s Android is one of these concerns. Froyo, Android 2.2, Google’s mobile operating system, is not exactly one hundred percent ready for a full-on tablet. Jha stated that they simply will wait until the Google, Android software can accommodate a tablet. This is certainly disappointing but understandable.

Motorola has been supporting Google’s mobile operating system a lot lately. They have recently released several Android-based phones including the Cliq, Devour, Charm, Backflip, Droid, Droid 2, and Droid X.

Looking for a tablet now or in the near future? Check out the Kindle 3G, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, or Facetime-Compatible iPad.

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Facetime-Compatible iPad from Apple?

According to sources, Apple is already hard at work updating the iPad. There are a variety of new features that the iPad will include, but one of the most exciting features is Apple’s Facetime video chat capabilities.

Apple will have to build a user-facing camera into the iPad. It will most likely be very similar to the built-in camera on the iPhone 4 or the newest version of the iPod Touch. Apple Insider sources are saying that this revamped version of the iPad is already in the testing phase and should be released no later than the first quarter of 2011. Apple really hopes to be able to release their new iPad before the 2010 holiday season.

The iPad has taken the world by storm. I think that these new upgrades will only cause sales to go up even more. In July Apple had sold over 3.27 million iPads. The demand for iPads was incredible when they were first released. Apple’s shipping process was disrupted for months. They were forced to delay the shipping of U.S. and international orders of the device due to the unbelievable popularity and sales of the iPad. Starting in late August, Apple finally has been able to get a handle on their iPad sales. Orders that are placed now are shipped within 24 hours.

Facetime has become one of Apple’s newest technological advances that they are incorporating in their devices. It only makes sense to include it with the iPad. Facetime is something that people want in their devices. It’s a novelty that deserves to be a part of an elegant device like the iPad. If Apple can have the newest version of the iPad with Facetime available before the holiday season, I have a feeling that lots of lucky people will be finding iPads in their stockings. I guess we’ll just have to see if Apple can get it all together by then.

Not sure if you're convinced the iPad is the tablet for you? Check out Samsung's Galaxy Tab or the Kindle 3G.

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Rent Your Textbooks with Your iPhone

Summer is coming to an end, and school is getting ready to start back up. If you’re looking for a way to save some money this school year, Chegg.com is there to help you. Books can be extremely expensive, but with the new app from Chegg.com, you can search for books, compare book prices, and actually rent the books right from your portable device.

This is a free app that is available for your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. It gives you the exact same experience as the Web site does. Students can search for books by title, author, or ISBN. You can also scan the barcodes on books, compare rental and retail prices, rent books, extend or purchase your rentals, track shipping, or find the nearest UPS location.

This app is so convenient. The moment you get your class syllabus you can start renting all the books that you need. It’s just one more thing that can help make the school year run a little bit smoother.

Right now you can use the coupon code MOBILE when you check out to get 10 percent off of all your rentals and purchases in August. To download the app, check out chegg.com/mobile.

Looking for more great apps? Check out the top 10 free apps for iPhone.

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HelvetiNote App for iPad: Best Note Taking App Available

The iPad is a fabulous piece of equipment that is useful for many things including: checking your e-mail from the comfort of your bed, watching a movie on a long flight, or simply entertaining yourself on the subway. You are most likely fascinated with vast amount of state of the art applications this sleek little device provides. You may also find yourself quite disappointed in the performance of the note taking app that comes standard with the purchase of your iPad in comparison to the other apps your iPad provides. That is why Apple has been working to bring you their newest note taking app, HelvetiNote.

The Standard note taking app that comes with the iPad is somewhat useful, but it seriously lacks in note taking features. HelvetiNote is much more efficient. It is set up to get the thoughts out of your head and onto your iPad. The app is simple in its functionality and is aimed to replace the Notes app on your iPad with its smart, elegant, Helvetica-font-oriented interface.

HelvetiNote is an incredibly simple app to use. To begin creating a note you simply tap the screen and type away. The process is both quick and straightforward, and the app works in both landscape and portrait mode. Portrait mode allows you to view more of your note as you jot down your thoughts. However, if you like having more room to type, you would certainly opt for the landscape view. It offers a nice roomy keyboard and still allows you a view of your note that’s just not quite as generous as portrait mode.

While you are typing out your note, you can choose to have the toolbar open on the screen or hidden away. The toolbar includes a search field, an option to add new notes, and a button to hide the toolbar. The toolbar also displays all of your created notes, cataloged in chronological order. When the toolbar is hidden, the note itself takes over the whole display. The background takes on the appearance of a lined piece of notebook paper and places the title that you have chosen for the note at the top.

One of the most attention-grabbing features of HelvetiNote is its sketch mode. Located in the upper right hand corner of the display screen are two little buttons that permit you to toggle between text input and sketch. While in text mode you can type away your thoughts, then at a touch of a button you can flip over to sketch mode and draw out a diagram within your note. Sketching is quite simple you just use your figure and you can sketch anywhere in your note. If you make a mistake, no need to worry you simply tap the eraser or press a button that will remove the entire sketch without causing any harm to your text.

One of the biggest disappointments about HelvetiNote is that the text doesn’t recognize a sketch and will type right over top of a drawing. Likewise, you can sketch over text. It would have been nice if Apple could have made it so text was aware of the sketch and could avoid it on its own, but overall it is a small inconvenience.

Another let-down about HelvetiNote is that it doesn’t sync apps with your desktop or any other service. This didn’t really bother me but some people did find it disappointing. However there is a button in the lower right hand corner to e-mail your notes.

Overall HelvetiNote is an excellent note-taking app. It’s well designed, easy to use, and has lots of great features that make it very enjoyable to work with. It’s perfect for taking notes in meetings and classes or just jotting down your thoughts when inspiration hits. Also, it’s an excellent value from the Apple store at only $2.99.

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Never Be Late Again with the iHome+Sleep App

Do you find yourself getting to work late or missing important deadlines? What about when you're on the road? Does that hotel wake-up call really wake you up? If you're looking for a new alarm clock with lots of other neat features, iHome+Sleep is the app for you!

Made by iHome, a popular iPod and iPhone accessory brand, iHome+Sleep has a lot to offer. You can create multiple bedtime and wake-up settings with alarms, wake and sleep music, social networking updates, personal reminders, and more. Basically, you can create your own sleep profiles. In addition, the app can be used with some of iHome's hardware or "App-Enhanced" products.

You can also choose music to wake up to from your iPod library, get the weather with the weather widget from The Weather Channel, check up on your sleep stats, and even use it with Facebook and Twitter.

But according to iHome, the app is not yet finished. In the weeks and months ahead, the company will be adding even more features. These will include the ability to sleep and wake-up to internet radio stations, background alarms with multi-task support, improved alarm settings, an improved menu, separate wake and sleep volume/fade settings, and iPhone landscape mode, among others.

You can currently get the free app for your iPod or iPhone, but in the future, iHome plans to make it available for the iPad, as well. For more information, visit iHomeAudio.com.

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