Writer of all things app related, traveler of the space-time continuum, baker of really great cookies. Follow me @appaholik
If you wish for something hard enough, it may come true. However, anyone who has heard the story of The Monkey’s Paw will know that you have to be careful what you wish for because it may not turn out exactly the way you want it to. Maybe one Georgia resident wished for a new iPad and it came true, but with a caveat. It flew into her car.
When Microsoft first announced that it would be entering the hardware market with its own brand of tablet, the tech world wondered if it would be the ultimate “iPad killer,” a nomenclature that was proposed, but failed to live up to, many tablets before it. The Surface RT and Surface Pro both launched to minimal fanfare and have since slipped into tablet obscurity as Apple continues to maintain its dominance in the market.
Last month, AppleInsider discovered minor tweaks to Windows 8 software that lead some to believe that Microsoft was planning on building a smaller sized tablet in order to compete with the more-popular 7-inch tablet market. Today, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the software giant is pushing forward with a new line of Surface tablets, including a 7-inch model.
Apple has been getting into hot water lately with various patent infringement judges. In February, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh told Apple and Samsung to streamline their claims to 25 total. She called the overwhelming list of claims presented to the court “cruel and unusual punishment.” Now, a Florida court judge is accusing Apple and Google of misusing the court system to sue each other as a business strategy “that appears to have no end.”
According to Bloomberg, U.S. District Judge Robert Scola gave the parties involved four months to narrow their claims against each other. If they are unable to comply, he said he will put the case on hold.
Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty recently met with Apple management and left the meeting with some interesting news that is sure to create a buzz in the tech world. According to Huberty, Apple is planning on launching an Internet service, possible a music or mobile payment service, later this year. Additionally, Apple is expected to announce the new service at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June.
According to AppleInsider, Huberty told investors to expect a big announcement at this year’s WWDC regarding either a new streaming music service, or mobile payment system. She also told investors that Apple Internet Software and Service chief Eddy Cue is spearheading improvement efforts for iCloud and Maps.
Welcome back to Sound Stage. Every week, we look for interesting and unique apps and accessories for musicians and fans of music. Last week, we told you about Amazon’s AutoRip feature for the company’s Cloud Player. Did you check your Amazon account to see what vinyl you purchased over the past 15 years? I was disappointed to discover that I had not bought any vinyl records from the online retailer. In my defense, I spend a whole lot of money at my local record shops on a regular basis.
Today, we are going to talk about Concert Vault for iPad. This music discovery app offers thousands of hours of live concert footage dating back to the late 1950s.
Welcome back to another edition of our do-it-yourself project spotlight. We celebrate all things handmade, homemade, and self-made. Last week, we told you about the DIY iPad teleprompter that can be made for about $5. That is a pretty good discount from the hundreds of dollars you’d spend on a professional teleprompter for your iPad.
This week, we have a pretty and sweet DIY iPad case that is similar to Practically Functional’s DIY iPad Case, but has a slight variation, just in case you don’t have any old three-ring binders sitting around the house.
News that Apple is veering away from Samsung with regards to its “A” series processor chips is old. For nearly two years, we’ve been hearing rumors that Apple doesn’t want to play nice with its “Frienemy” any more.
Just last week, Taiwan’s Economic Daily News reported that Apple is planning on having Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) manufacture the next generation of processor chip. Today, Korea Times is supporting that report with more information claiming that Apple has already turned its back on Samsung for good.
French tech blog NoWhereElse stays out of the spotlight for the most part. However, when it comes to leaked images of rumored upcoming Apple products, they are always one of the first to hit the airwaves. They were the first to leak images of the Lightning connectors, the finished iPad mini, and early photos of internal parts for the mini. All of the rumors that NoWhereElse reported later proved to be true, so the new leaked images from the tech site can be eyed with relative truth.
According to CNBC, JC Penney’s Chief Executive Officer was asked to step down from his position on Monday. Why is this important to Apple news followers? If you don’t remember the name Ron Johnson, he used to be the head of retail at Apple and was the man in charge of spearheading the retail store creation, an endeavor that has proven to be lucrative for the iPad maker.
His old position at Apple has been vacant for more than half a year now and it is possible that Apple wants him back.
Rumors of the, yet to be announced, fifth-generation iPad are reaching a fevered pitch as more and more suppliers are claiming that production of a new model Apple tablet is about to get underway. A few weeks ago, we heard that Apple would be holding a special event on June 29 and just last week, Best Buy and Walmart drastically reduced the price of their iPad devices, making us think they may be making room on store shelves for a new model.
Today, DigiTimes is reporting that suppliers are gearing up for mass production of the fifth-generation iPad starting in July, which is right on track for a fall launch.