Tag: iPad

Categories
News

iPhone and iPad Expand in Enterprise Market

What’s better then beating the Android phones? Apple certainly has dominated the Smartphone industry and crushed their opponent’s. Apple’s name itself can beat any other company, but the iPhone’s haven’t had the best reviews written about them in a while. Many critics give harsh  reviews about the iPhone, but when it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter about the critics. The critics don’t sell the phone itself and there are millions of more customers then a couple of reviewers. Apple knows how to market the iPhone better then the Android people do, that’s the bottom line. You think I’m lying? Take a look at these charts:


Apple has certainly dominated the industry with the variety f the iPhone’s and iPad’s. One of the main reasons that Apple continues to dominate is that it continues to make many different forms of the iPhone and iPad. The iPad 2 just came out; it took less then a year for a new iPad to come out. That is a remarkable feat by Apple. Another good reason is that AT&T dropped the iPhone 3GS to just $49. That is pretty cheap for an iPhone that still has many capabilities. The iPhone will continue to grow rapidly and honestly, I’m not sure there is a competitor that can beat the iPhone out right. I see Apple having a long time success with the iPhone’s. What do you think? Drop a comment below and let us know. 

 

Categories
Opinion

On the Fence About Lion


Okay, so I know OS X 10.7 Lion won’t be out for another month or so, but I’m already wondering if I’ll buy it or not.

What’s to like about Lion? Well, aside from the obvious fact that it will antiquate Leopard and make Snow Leopard look like yesterday’s news, the main attraction seems to be giving your Mac an iPad-like feel. Apps are all full screen, multi-touch gestures will be more robust, and Resume will save your work as you go. Now mind you, I haven’t played with any of the developer releases. If I got my hands on it, this article might be a different story.

At the moment, the main detractor is going to be price. If it’s more than $100 I think I’ll pass. Leopard was $129 when it came out, but it offered 300+ more features than Tiger, its predecessor. Upgrading from Leopard to Snow Leopard only cost $30 (the price was the same for upgrading from Tiger to Snow Leopard, but shhh). Considering that Lion is a full step up from Snow Leopard, rather than a half-step, it will most likely sell for over $129 or higher.

Then the question becomes is this update more about form or function? AirDrop is pretty cool, though DropCopy, a third-party app, can do the same thing. Some of the other features, such as the Mac App Store and FaceTime are already available in Snow Leopard. From near as I can tell, the main difference between Lion and Snow Leopard is mimicking the feel of the iPad (ie. form).

Getting a new OS mostly comes with getting a new computer. If I were to buy a Mac this summer, then yeah, I’d love Lion. Having to buy an upgrade for my current MacBook Pro? Again, price will be the main determination. I think I’d also like to see how well it tests with the first adopters. If I see whizz-bang-drooling-over-how-cool-Lion-is reports, then I might jump on sooner. On an side-note, it will be interesting to see how Lion is rolled out. Do you just download it from the Mac App Store like the developers have? Will it be a USB drive like the one for the MacBook Air?

No matter what, I’m sure Lion will prove to be the king of Mac OS X. But I guess I’ll let everyone else decide that for me before buying it.

You can read a previous in-depth article about Lion’s features here.

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Categories
Reviews

Time to Change That Wallpaper

“Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.” -Oscar Wilde

Customization goes hand-in-hand with the iPad. One of the easiest changes to make is your wallpaper. The iPad ships with 30 wallpaper images. Your photo library can also act as a wallpaper library, but unless your library is full of abstract art or fancy nature photos, your pictures wouldn’t come close to the packaged wallpapers.

Lucky for you that there are a host of websites available for downloading iPad wallpaper. For free. Even luckier for you, I took a gander at five of them to help you find that perfect wallpaper.

1. iPad Wallpapers HD By far this site has the largest selection. They have a huge bank of Apple logo images, illustrations, and photography. They also have a large selection of “women wallpapers.” You can register with the site if you want to give your own hand at making wallpapers.

2. iPad Wallpapers This site has a good selection of pictures to choose from, though the  page looks cluttered with its wallpaper selection jumbled in with ads. They even have a link to some apps, though none of them have anything to do with wallpaper, nor do they look interesting. Make sure to click the link on the left menu for the wallpapers, and not on the top (more ads).

2. iPad Wallpaper.org The categories here range from 3D to Sports. The site has some Apple logo wallpapers, as well as some cool nature pictures.

4. noupe This site had a blog entry that included the “55 Beautiful Apple iPad Wallpapers.” Certainly a tall claim, but they seem to live up to it. They have awesome pics of Iron Man and Thor.

5. Designrfix You thought the best 55 wallpapers was great? How about the top 70+? Kind of makes you wonder why they can’t just do the top 100, but meh. Anyways, the majority of the graphics will blow your eyes away.

Once you’ve downloaded that perfect picture to your iPad, setting it as your wallpaper is simple:

  1. Click on the Settings app, and select Brightness and Wallpaper.
  2. Select Wallpaper and then choose Saved Photos.
  3. Once you choose your picture, it will show as a full screen preview.
  4. Finally, select whether you would like the wallpaper to be for the Lock Screen, the Home Screen, or both.

Whether you want to pay homage to Apple with a cool logo design, admire a picturesque nature scene, or stare at a bikini model, there are many options out there for you.

Of course, if you’re as much a fanboy as I am, you’ll most likely drift back to the packaged wallpapers once the novelty wears off.

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Categories
Opinion

iFad?

There seems to be some questioning about whether or not tablets (not just the iPad1) are here to stay. Katherine Noyes compains that they don’t offer enough functionality, and pans the iPad directly2. Even Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak didn’t seem too impressed with the future of tablets by remarking that they were only for “normal people” (whatever that means).

And certainly with the waxing and waning of the netbook still fresh in our minds, it’s easy to see that the latest gadgets aren’t necessarily the greatest3.

However, I think the reason for the netbook’s demise (other than the iPad) was that it didn’t represent a paradigm shift. Sure, it was kind of cool to see them out in public for the first time (“That’s your computer? How is it so small?”), but in the end it didn’t have anything new to offer. I think the poor economy was the main reason for its popularity.

Now tablets do come to the table with something new. Instead of install disks there are app stores, they are all solid state, and no mouse is required. Paradigm shift.

So what does this all mean for the future? Moore’s Law states that technology gets faster and smaller4. I think in the end, it will shrink to the point of not even being physical anymore. Movies, such as Iron Man 2, Minority Report, and Final Fantasy: Spirits Within5 depict computing as manipulating holograms, which is the way I too imagine computers going. But in the interim, that means that people will demand smaller technology. And that means tablets.

With Motorolla Xoom sales not even topping 100,000 units sold and different tablet projects getting killed before they even hit the streets, that means it’s the iPad for now. You can also read a previous article, comparing the iPad to the Galaxy Tab.

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1Please don’t read into this article that I’m trying to say iPads are the coolest ever, and they’ll always dominate. In fact, I hope the purported “iPad killer” does come along. Competition between developers leads to choices for the customer. It’s not like Apple has exactly gotten lazy about developing the iPad, but just imagine what could happen if push came to shove.

2Of course, in the same breath, she says smartphones have more functionality than the iPad.

3I would love to see a VH1 “Behind the Music” for the netbook

4Try comparing ENIAC to the iPad 2.

5Yeah, I went there. Sorry.

Categories
News

Rumor Roundup: iPhone 5

There are many people who are looking forward to the new iPhone 5. With a new Apple product on the look out, rumors are spreading like wildfire. One of the first rumors is that the new iPhone 5 will be made of metal, instead of the aluminosilicate glass used in the iPhone 4. Using metal for the back of the iPhone 5, added to the stainless steel band on the iPhone 4 would make the iPhone 5 completely metal based. Making the new iPhone 5 have a metal back would be much better than using the aluminosilicate glass for the back. The metal is more durable then the glass and wouldn’t shatter. The glass back would also add more weight to the phone and had stress-fracture issue due to sliding cases for the iPhone 4. With a metal back, the new iPhone 5 will be more durable and resilient. It would be similar to how Apple makes its Mac computers with a metal unibody. The metal would be thinner than the glass, so you can have a lighter feel to it. The iPhone 5 is most likely to follow the iPhone 4’s design and continue to have a flat back. There have been some iPhone 5 cases that were leaked to confirm this design.

There have also been some rumors that the screen will be 4 inches instead of 3.5 inches. The camera may also improve from a 5-megapixel to an 8-megapixel. Some other rumors are that the iPhone 5 will most likely be available in white, which is highly probably. The iPad 2 has dual-core A5 chips, so the iPhone 5 should also have it. One rumor that is very interesting is that the iPhone 5 will have NFC Technology, or near field communication technology. The iPhone 5 will use NFC to make your iPhone 5 act like a credit card. With all these rumors going around, you have to wonder, which rumors are true and which are false. You have to wait until the iPhone 5 launches to find out, which is rumored to be near June — September.

Feel free to leave questions or comments.

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