Author Archive for dag

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iPad Travel Express from WaterField Designs – Accessory Review

By dag | March 30, 2011 | 2 comments

If you happen to use your first generation iPad or iPad 2 a lot while traveling, and often need to carry a wireless keyboard, cables, a power brick and other accessories, WaterField Designs designed the iPad Travel Express just for you. The iPad Travel Express is a stylish, compact iPad travel case large enough to fit your iPad, a slew of accessories, and then some.

As usual with WaterField Designs, the case screams quality all over. The Travel Express features scratch free, padded internal pockets designed to keep your iPad and accessories separate, as well as inserts designed to protect the iPad screen and shell from accidental bumps.

By dag | March 29, 2011 | No comment yet

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Apple ran out of tickets for its yearly WWDC in a matter of hours, and if for whatever reason you couldn’t grab yours quickly enough, several sellers are already offering tickets for sale on eBay. Be prepared to pay an overinflated price, as tickets sell for as much as $4,500.

By dag | March 29, 2011 | 1 comment

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Apple just announced that it will hold its second fiscal quarter of 2011 earnings call on April 20, 2011.

Apple’s conference call webcast discussing Q2 – 2011 financial results will begin at 2:00pm PT/5:00pm ET on Wednesday, April 20, 2011. Please note that comments made during this call may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements.

By dag | March 28, 2011 | 8 comments

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Since the launch of iOS 4.3 on March 10, the only tools able to jailbreak iOS-powered devices have been PwnageTool (for Mac) and sn0wbreeze (for Windows). While these tools will do the trick, they’re tethered, and require users to plug their devices to their computers every time they need to be restarted, or simply when they run out of battery.

While full, untethered jailbreak methods are not available just yet, recent findings seem to indicate that they are finally close to being released.

By dag | March 28, 2011 | 1 comment

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Earlier today, Apple announced that it will hold its annual WorldWide Developers Conference (WWDC) from June 6 to June 10, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The event will be focused on “the future of iOS and OS X,” and will feature more than than 100 sessions, to help iOS and Mac developers enhance their coding techniques, and exchange coding tips.

Several sessions will be focused on the new features offered by OS X Lion, as well as iOS. While the press release published by Apple earlier today does not mention it explicitly, the event could also be used by Apple to offer a glimpse of what iOS 5 will offer, once released during fall 2o11.

By dag | March 27, 2011 | 14 comments

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Last week, we reported on camera issues experienced by several iPad 2 owners, while using FaceTime. Earlier today, CultOfMac uncovered more camera-related issues, and even manage to capture the problem while it was occurring.

At this stage, the issue seems fairly random, and is difficult to reproduce, as it is not limited to FaceTime only. The problem could be directly related to the cameras coming with the iPad 2, or the software layer used to manage them. A hardware problem would be quite a challenge for Apple, as fixing it might never be possible, while a software bug would be much easier to squash.

By dag | March 25, 2011 | 1 comment

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Earlier today, Apple released iOS 4.3.1 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and also released a new version of Xcode, Apple’s toolset for building Mac, iPhone, and iPad applications.

Slated Xcode 4.0.1, the new version squashes several bugs, and is compatible with the new version of iOS released today.

Bug fixes:

Improved Assistant editor logic when switching among different file types
Fixed a bug in “Install Xcode.app” that hangs at 99% complete, never finishing
Fixed a bug that prevented indexing of some projects
Fixed a bug related to nil settings in the Core Data model editor
Fixed a bug that prevented automatic download of iOS documentation
Fixed a bug in LLVM GCC 4.2 and LLVM compiler 2.0 for iOS projects
Additional bug fixes and stability improvements

Xcode 4.0.1 is available on the Mac App Store for $4.99 – free if you already have Xcode 4.0.

Apple Working on New Maps App for iPhone and iPad

By dag | March 25, 2011 | No comment yet

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Apple has been using the Google-powered Maps app in all iOS-powered devices, since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007. Back then, Apple and Google were very close partners, but since then, the companies grew apart, and eventually turned out to be ‘frenemies.’

Since then, Google launched Android, and built a great maps app for the operating system, featuring unique capabilities such as 3D maps, and most importantly, turn-by-turn navigation. Meanwhile, the Maps app that ships with iPhone and iPad never really evolved, and as of today, it still doesn’t offer much more than aerial maps and traffic information.

By dag | March 24, 2011 | No comment yet

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How Strong is the iPad 2 glass panel? Much stronger than the one Apple used on the first generation iPad, apparently.

The guys at ifixyouri took an iPad 2 apart, to check how strong the glass panel was. After countless torture tests, the glass proved to be remarkably strong, as it was able to withstand incredible amounts of abuse without breaking.

Video After the Break »

First Generation iPad Deal – $200 off at Verizon Retail Stores

By dag | March 24, 2011 | 3 comments

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According to numerous reports, first generation iPads are currently on sale at all Verizon retail stores, with discounts of up to $200.

The 16GB WiFi-only model goes for $299.99, the 32 GB model will cost you $399.99, while the 64 GB model sells for $399.99. None of these models supports 3G, but Verizon also sells MiFi access points to allow you to use your iPad on its 3G network – the device comes free, if you agree to sign up for a 2-year contract.

By dag | March 23, 2011 | 3 comments

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We love our iPad 2s here at PadGadget, but the device is not perfect, and sometimes feels a bit rushed. From screen problems, to the simple fact that the device is extremely hard to find, some fans are starting to get angry.

Last issue to date: FaceTime. According to a report from AppleInsider, FaceTime on the iPad 2 is not as stable as expected, and is plagued by random crashes, and freezes. In some cases, the issue requires the user to restart his/her device, or even perform a full system restore.

By dag | March 23, 2011 | No comment yet

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As we’ve mentioned earlier this year, 2011 will be a big year for Airplay devices. After speakers, receivers, and even docks specially designed to support wireless streaming from your iOS devices and computers, HDTVs are next.

According to report from Bloomberg, AirPlay might make its way into HDTVs, as Apple is allegedly in talks with major HDTV makers, to allow them to use the technology, and allow users to stream movies and TV shows directly to their TVs.

By dag | March 22, 2011 | 12 comments

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If you’re in the market for an iPad 2, you must have noticed that the device is extremely difficult to find. Between an overwhelming demand, gray market channels, and a higher than expected return rate, finding a store that actually has the device in stock is a real challenge.

But there’s some hope: until Apple manages to build enough iPad 2s to meet the current demand, savvy buyers have been using alternate retailers to get their device, such as Target and Best Buy. Buying an iPad from these stores may not be as glamorous as buying it from an Apple Store, but unlike Apple, these two retailers offer online inventory systems.

Links After the Break »

Canadian Buyers to Get iPad 2 as Early as 10 AM on Friday

By dag | March 21, 2011 | 1 comment

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While the iPad 2 is supposed to launch in 25 countries across the world on Friday, at 5 PM local time, it would appear that Canadian Buyers will be allowed to buy the iPad 2 as early as 10 AM.

According to a report from 9to5mac, Canadian Best Buy stores will start selling the device earlier than expected, based on an internal Best Buy ticket system.

By dag | March 21, 2011 | No comment yet

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According to Boy Genius Report, Apple is about to roll-out a new version of iOS within the next two weeks, dubbed iOS 4.3.1. The update should not bring any new functionality, and is instead focused on fixing bugs left in iOS 4.3, released a almost two weeks ago.

The changes brought by the update are expected to be as follows:

Baseband updates for the 3GS and iPad (original)
Fixed memory hang that results in memory corruption when reading large files from USIM filesystem
Fixed problem with NTLM authentication in apps and on websites
Fixed issue with the Springboard and 3rd party apps not recognizing the gyroscope on the iPad 2
Fixed iPad 2 jailbreak vulnerability