iPaddicts.Net

How to Outfit The iPad 2 to Make Typing Easier

2011-08-18T03:57:00.000-07:00

Although it's a smash hit, Apple's iPad isn't winning the hearts of users who find it difficult to type on its onscreen keyboard. And even for many who love their iPads for other things and can type shorter items on the screen, the lack of a physical keyboard has meant they still must turn to their laptops for intensive typing tasks.

One solution to this dilemma has been to carry a separate wireless keyboard. But that means carrying two things. So a number of companies offer protective cases for the iPad 2 with low-profile, but real, keyboards built right into their inner surfaces. These keyboards appear when you open the cases, which act as stands for the tablet while you type. >> Find out the details and watch the video here

Skype brings per-minute Wi-Fi to iPad and iPhone

2011-08-18T03:54:00.000-07:00

iPhone and iPad users can now be charged by the minute for Wi-Fi access, thanks to the expanded Skype Access service which now includes fondle-slabs and Jesus mobes as well as computers.

Skype already offers per-minute access to various Wi-Fi networks around the world, with prices starting at three pence a minute, but that has been limited to Windows and Mac users. Now there's an iOS app allowing everyone to share in the world of per-minute billing.

The service needs iOS 4.1, with multitasking – got to have a background task counting the minutes – and knocks the pennies from the user's Skype credit account at a rate dependent on where in the world the user is (and on whose Wi-Fi network the user is camped).

You won't know the rate until you connect, unless you've a good memory for numbers. Skype will tell you the prevailing rate for each hotspot operator, but those vary widely. In the UK the Skype user will pay 11 pence a minute on a BT Openzone point, but only 8 pence for Fon and the rate drops to 3 pence if you can pick up one of the nine Tomizone hotspots in capital.

Skype reckons that paying by the minute makes more sense when you just want to check email or download the news, and the company makes great play around the lack of data cap. We've not paid by time for mobile data use since the very early days of the mobile internet when dial-up was the model being copied, but if you're already using Skype and need some quick access then perhaps its time to start thinking that way again. ®

HTC Bids to Block Imports of IPhone, IPad

2011-08-18T03:51:00.000-07:00

HTC Corp. (2498), Asia’s second-biggest maker of smartphones, filed a patent-related complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission that seeks to block imports of Apple Inc.’s iPhone, iPad and Mac computers.

The complaint filed yesterday in Washington claims Apple is infringing three patents related to wireless technology and follows a case lodged last year at the ITC that made similar claims. Taoyuan, Taiwan-based HTC also sued Apple this week in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware, over the three patents.

“Apple needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its products,” HTC General Counsel Grace Lei said in a statement. “We are taking this action against Apple to protect our intellectual property, our industry partners, and most importantly our customers that use HTC phones.”

The two companies are part of a larger battle among smartphone makers looking to fight copycats and thwart competition in a market that’s projected to reach $206.6 billion this year by researcher IHS Inc. Apple, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, has filed patent cases against handset makers using Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system, including Samsung Electronics Co., Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. and HTC.

>>Read More from Source

Apple To Build 26 Million iPhone 5 (or whatever it’s called) In The Second Half Of 2011

2011-08-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

source: techcrunch

Apple is gearing up for a big second half of 2011. The computer company is reportedly ramping up iPhone production lines by 12 to 13 percent, which includes orders for the next-gen iPhone, iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4.

Per a supply chain source, industry watchdog DigiTimes is reporting some staggering production numbers. Apparently Apple’s 2H2011 iPhone order is now more than 56 million units, up from 50 million units and 26 just iPhone 5s. Interestingly enough, the time frame for iPhone 5 orders shifted slightly, with the Q3 order decreasing from 7 million units to 5.5 million units while the Q4 order increased from 14 million units to 20 million units. That’s 20 million iPhone 5s. If those are sold at retail, that would eclipses Apple’s blockbuster 2Q2011 sales record when it sold a total of 18.65 million iPhone units.

The massive uptick puts Apple on track to come in just below the 100 million mark for 2011. The company sold 34 million iPhones in the first half of the year and those were technically older models even though the Verizon iPhone did give a little boost. Cloud iPhone or not, Apple is expecting the next iPhone to sell like Betty White’s hotcakes.

iPad 3? Not By Christmas Time

2011-08-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

source: informationweek.

Over the weekend I realized that the battery in my first-generation iPad is starting to fatigue. That's a bad thing, because as batteries go, the decay isn't linear, so in a month or so, what used to last 10 hours, will probably only last two or three. More on the battery issue later, but it ties into why I may not wait for the iPad 3.

When the iPad 2 came out, I figured I'd pass and wait for the next generation. While I suppose it would be nice to have a camera pointing toward and away from me, and a faster processor is always welcome, the combined value wasn't enough to get me to toss my original iPad after just a year. What follows here is my semi-informed guess at when the iPad 3 will be available, along with some semi-informed thoughts on the overall tablet and smartphone businesses.

Cut Right To The Chase

A good starting point is to look at the processor and, more specifically, at who's manufacturing it. Samsung makes both the A4 processor, which powers my original iPad, and the A5, which powers the iPad 2. In the world of custom silicon, it's pretty rare for a company to go with just one manufacturer for a part. Having a second source tends to keep costs down and mitigate the risk of unforeseen events, like the tsunami that crippled manufacturing in Japan. CPUs are exception to that rule, as getting each manufacturer's operation fully validated is an expensive proposition

Supply Line Troubles To Delay iPad 3 Launch?

2011-08-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

source: techcrunch

Analysts and pundits have been predicting an iPad 3 with a late 2011 launch for some time now, but if accounts from suppliers in Asia are to be believed, there just is no way that’s going to happen — if the rumors of the high-DPI screen are correct in the first place (and we think they are).

A 9.7″ display sporting 2048×1536 pixels, four times more than the current iPad and three times more than the HD displays on many Android tablets, is quite simply at the very limit of LCD panel manufacturing capability. Apple previously had hoped to have at least five or six million units by the end of the year and placed orders to that effect, but Digitimes is reporting that those orders have disappeared.

The chatter around the display industry water cooler is that Sharp is the only company capable of making these panels with any kind of real reliability; Samsung and LG apparently can’t reach a good yield. If these companies wanted to throw away money, they could invest despite poor yields, as Microsoft did in order to bring the Xbox 360 to market early, but we all know how that turned out. Samsung has actually demonstrated an alternative type of high-resolution display, but it’s unlikely Apple would use it even if it were ready for market.

These screens would be among the highest performing in the world, yet must be manufactured by the millions for relatively low cost. Apple doesn’t make its own displays (among other things), so it’s at the mercy of OEMs like Sharp. And if Sharp says “if anybody could do it, we could — but we can’t,” then Apple has no choice but to take that hit and delay the product.

Meanwhile, the same sources estimate as many as 30 million iPad 2s will be shipped in 2Q11; with no “rare” parts, they can be made as fast as the millions of hands in vast factory towns can put them together.

Of course it has to be said that a product that is not announced can’t, strictly speaking, be delayed. And I’m sure Apple was prepared for this eventuality, likely being informed while collaborating with Sharp that yields might just not hit targets in time. So: a revised launch schedule. January, anyone?

Yellow Tinge In iPad 2 Displays: Probably Not A Big Deal

2011-08-02T02:03:00.000-07:00

Some iPad 2 owners are noting in the MacRumors forums that there some units have a yellowish tinge in a corner or two. Oh no! Oh wait. Didn’t this happen last year?

Yes, when the iPhone 4 came out, the devices were so hot and fresh that the glue holding the screen together had not fully dried (among other issues). Apple’s pushing out iPad 2s as fast as they can, so it’s no surprise that it should have similar issues.

Some users are saying it’s not glue, but as the iFixit teardown showed, there is indeed adhesive holding together parts of the display here, though it’s not the same as the iPhone 4′s construction. I suspect the color will go away after a day or two; just use the device normally and if it doesn’t disappear, well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Chances are it’s a temporary issue like the last one.

Note: the image is of a iPhone 4, not an iPad 2. It’s just for illustration.

Update: Tony writes in with a video of the phenomenon, which appears to be different than how I expected it: it’s more of a light-leakage with a yellow color to it. So it’s not the same problem as the iPhone 4, but I get the feeling the yellow is not a coincidence. Perhaps the glue under the bezel has not completely hardened, leaving a gap for light to escape?