iPad 3… Coming Soon?

I have it on good authority that there will be an iPad 3 announcement on March 7.
(Read as: A website has reported about another website and someone has ‘heard from a friend’ so I’ll post that too!)

iPad

There have been the usual trickle of photos from within Apple’s supply chain of various parts and pieces. Some have even gone as far as playing Lego with the pieces and fitting together to try to see what it will look like… It will look the same.

Apparantly a millimetre thicker to add a slither of battery life but essentially, it will look the same as the iPad 2. The suggested A6 processor could stay as a dual-core but rumours suggest this could be increased (along with some added RAM) to a quad-core BEAST!

That is what will turn me. Nevermind the possibility of a ‘Retina Display’ with a Higher-than-High-Def resolution. Who knows? Well, Tim Cook probably does… As will the rest of the world within three weeks!

Mar 21 2011

The Man from Apple Says…

Just read a funny story that I really hope is true and so I thought I’d share it with you.

Over the weekend, Apple have been keeping a close eye on all of the iPad 2 returns they’re receiving in. Most are the usual ‘change of mind’ but Apple want to keep an eye out for any patterns or manufacturing faults so they can quash them before they get worse.

One iPad was returned with a simple post-it on the box clearly stating the reason for return…

Wife says no. I think that speaks volumes and I reckon a lot of iPad’s were returned for the very same reason!

The tale was passed around Apple internally, all as a bit of a joke and a chuckle. However, it escalated a little higher than originally thought and when two of Apple’s VP’s caught wind of this. They swiftly moved into action.

They sent the guy an iPad 2 with a post-it attached…

The man from Apple, he most certainly say yes.

Feb 21 2011

Apple, Rumours Galore!

So there are a LOT of Apple rumours flying around the interwebs at the moment and just in case you’re getting bored or you’re lost in the sea of various rumours, patents and rumblings. Here’s a round up of what you need to know.

MacBook Pro

A MacBook Pro refresh is imminent and I know of at least one person who’ll be gutted if the rumours are true and we see an updated product line being released next Thursday. I for one think it will happen but it will be a simple hardware refresh. Nothing too new or different, I think new processors and various bumps to make the machines that little bit quicker and better.

Apple have also been working on new batteries and more importantly new ways to hold charge and to improve battery life. Apple have been jumping forwards in leaps and bounds when it comes to laptop batteries and the more they tweak their own design, the more life we get out of our portable gadgets!

iPad 2

Yada, yada, retina display, new ports and smaller screens. All the rumours for iPad 2/3 are the same ol’ same ol’ and really. Even if a new model comes out soon, I don’t think we’ll be seeing too much of a re-design. One new patent Apple have been granted has piqued my interest though.

A ‘Smart Bezel’ could mean the first tablet without any buttons. An iPad without a home button? What gives… Well Apple have designed a way to use the bezel surrounding the screen to include touch sensors, light emitters, pressure sensors and accelerometers. So you can control apps, and navigate your way to the homescreen by touching or squeezing the iPad’s frame.

The jury is out, so let’s see if anything comes of it.

iPhone 4.5 / 5

Everyone is expecting a new iPhone to be released later this year but what have we got instore for the iPhone 5?

Well first, let’s talk about the most recent rumours. The iPhone Nano.

Some rumours say that it will be physically smaller (literally like an iPhone Nano) but I think everyone is reading it wrong… Think more of a virtually smaller device. Similar to the New Apple TV, minimal storage and easy to use. I don’t know if this will come out in the interim before we get a whole new iPhone but it may be something released alongside the iPhone 5.

An iPhone 4 design handset, however with only 8GB of storage. Apple will start to push users towards cloud storage and streaming capabilities. The iPhone ‘Nano’ (let’s just call it that just because it’s easy!) will be aimed towards those who are tempted with the iPhone but still consider it too expensive or complicated.

Then in addition to this ‘lite’ version, a full blown iPhone 5 will be released. Again, there are rumours of a larger screen size or iPhones which include an RFID chip and various other new tech which Apple would introduce to it’s userbase.

So lots of rumours, but that’s all they are. Rumours. So enjoy what you’ve got and look forward to what’s new!

Jun 7 2010

MacBook Woes

The day I got my iPad, I rushed home to get playing. First thing’s first though, I needed to sync it. So I setup my MacBook with the iPad Dock and started to sync.

I started to notice the screen flickering, it was changing brightness just like when you start to charge the battery. The LED on the Mag-Safe connector was flickering too. Green, amber then green again just like it was trying to charge but failing every time.

It was a race to sync my iPad! The battery was draining as iTunes chucked everything it could onto the iPad and it didn’t help that the iPad was trying to charge from my MacBook! It can’t, so I don’t know why it tried but it certainly made a difference to the battery comsumption. After just over an hour the sync had finished, although I had to forego all my photos as they were taking way too long.

I ran the usual diagnostics, resetting the PRAM, NVRAM and the SMC with all not making any difference whatsoever. I took the battery out for a while and left the MacBook shut down (well I had no choice!) and after 30 minutes, I gave it a try. It was charging!

Not for long though, day in day out the adapter was being temperamental. I couldn’t figure out if it was the battery or if it was the adapter. There was only one thing for it, I had to make an appointment to see a Genius.

In typical computer fashion, the fault didn’t re-occur at the Genius Bar. I opened every app on my dock, started syncing with my iPhone and the iTunes store was downloading some podcasts and the adapter was charging the battery without a problem! Until the Genius started playing with the wiring and BOOM! It started to flicker again.

£49 and a new MagSafe adapter later, my MacBook charges fine! I like the new design too. It feels a lot more secure when charging now. Phew! After spending so much on my iPad, I couldn’t handle my MacBook dying… I guess that shows that the iPad isn’t here to replace a Mac anytime soon.