No iPhone 5 until 2012?

That's right! You heard it here first! Reports are coming in that there will be no iPhone 5 until early in 2012. Why is that you ask? And where do these rumors come from? Well they are based on several pieces on information that have bed coming down the pipe the last couple of days.

JustStickIt. We've got Your back!

While the SmartCover is a really neat and minimalistic approach to protecting the iPad 2, it leaves the back completely vulnerable to scratches and dings. I was looking for something to protect the iPad 2 from daily use. I carry mine around everywhere I go. As such, I often set it down on various surfaces and one thing I learned from my Original iPad, is they scratch fairly easy. I wanted something to protect the edge, when I have it propped up with the smart cover, something that would protect the back from scratches and not interfere with the SmartCover. I found lots of options, most of them are all similar. Usually they are laser or die cut from 3M Di-Noc Vinyl. So with that in mind, I looked for the best value and a vinyl look I wanted. That led me to JustStickIt, on Ebay.

Wife Says No, But Apple Says YES!!

Apple has been paying extra close attention to any iPad 2's that happen to get returned. What are they looking for? Well, they are checking for any possible manufacturing issues that may or may not exist. For example, the light leakage that some users are experiencing. This way Apple can address these issues as/if they are discovered.There is a rumor of an event at Apple, that is really just too good not to share. I do not know if this is true or not, but....

Apparently Apple came across an iPad 2 that had been returned. When they went to inspect the unit for flaws, they found a yellow Post-It Note that said, "Wife Says No!" Well apparently it was escalated as something funny and a couple of executives heard about it. They decided to send him a free one back, with a note that says...
"Apple Says Yes!"

Buying the iPad 2? What to do with your iPad 1?

So you bought the new iPad 2, but now you are not sure what to do with your Original iPad? Well, there happens to be a GREAT Cause that can use your old iPads. The HollyRod foundation is accepting donations of iPads, to give out to Families in need, with Autistic children. This is a wonderful program, with the ability to affect so many lives in a positive manner. I do not generally promote charities, but this one touches close to home for me and I feel it is a very worthy cause.

iPhone 4 + iPad 2 + iMovie = Breaking News Footage

In what can only be seen as 100% proof that the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2 are nothing short of amazing... Robert Stephens, who happens to be the Co-founder of Geek Squad, saw a massive fireball on his way to work. Robert, being a quick thinker and a lover of his iDevices, whipped out his iPhone 4 and began to record the fireball as he drover closer to the site, to see if anyone had called 911.

Stephens then drove to a parking lot nearby, used the Camera connection kit, to transfer the videos from his iPhone 4, to his iPad 2. Once he had the videos on his iPad 2, he opened them up in iMovie, cut and spliced them together, added a voice over, subtitles and even a map of the location!! This is the Video below...

Push for Google Mail Accounts?

If you are like me, then you have a Gmail account. Heck, if you are REALLY like me, then you have several! I use Gmail and Google apps, for several of my email accounts and domains. I have the more important of these on my iPad and my iPhone. It has often been annoying to me that I could not set my Gmail accounts to push. Instead the best I could do was to have it check every 15 minutes. Especially since a lot of my emails are time sensitive. A good example would be a power supply failure alert on a rack mount server across town. But now there is a way to solve this! And no, it does not require any money or Apps.

Apple and How They Helped Locally in the Earthquake

This most recent series of disasters in Japan has all of us reeling, wondering what will happen next. First the country of Japan is rocked by a Magnitude 9.0 Earthquake. The Earthquake was so massive that it literally moved the coastline of Japan some 8 feet! Some of the out laying islands have been moved as much as 60 feet! All of this resulted in the Earth tilting 4 more inches on her axis. As if the Earthquake was not enough, a tsunami nearly 30 feet tall, washed over several coastal towns of Japan, utterly devastating them.

Comex Does it again! Jail Breaks iPad 2 in 2 Days!

That right folks!!! We knew this would happen, but never expected it so soon! Comex tweeted just an hour ago this picture, of Cydia running on an nice new white iPad 2!!

The jail break has not been packaged for the public yet. It also still has to be tested out. But you can expect it VERY soon!!!! It will be nice to have all my lovely little Cydia tweaks back in place!

iPad 2, the First 12 Hours

So I have had the opportunity to spend a little time with the new iPad 2 and these are my thoughts on Apple's newest incarnation of the market dominating, iPad.

First of all, the device itself. The new iPad 2, as you likely know is thinner and lighter. The shape of it now, is more akin to a MacBook Air. It's edges are smooth and curved like the Air, not Flat sided or capsule shaped like the original iPad. It is also notably lighter than the original. The touch interface and screen have not changed, which to me is a nice bonus. I love the current iPad screen.

The iPad 2 also has two cameras on it now. A rear facing one and a front facing one. Both can be used in FaceTime and various other apps for video chat. The rear facing camera will also take HD video. Neither camera is as good as the camera on the iPhone 4, which is a little bit of a let down, but you can't win them all.

The heart of the beast has been increased drastically, viaApple's new dual core A5 CPU and a boost in RAM to 512 MB. Surfing the web, or any other media on the new iPad 2, is considerably faster than on the original. Web pages load in 2-5 seconds most of the time, from my experience. Netflix is up a hair faster, but loads the movie a lot quicker. Switching from task to task is smoother and the entire experience just feels snappier. Even typing on the new iPad 2 seems to be more responsive.

Battery life does seem to be just as good as it was, even with all the new speed it has. I very much look forward to some iPad 2 specific apps that will take advantage of the iPad2's new features and speed. And as always, I will be sure to keep you informed of my findings!

Enjoy and if you haven't already, go buy yourself an IPad 2!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad 2

My first entry on the iPad 2

Hello out there in Apple Land! I am coming to you using the Blogger app on my brand new iPad 2! I have only just sync'd it and got my accounts setup. So I cannot tell you much about them yet, but I can tell you it is a lot faster than the first model!

It feels more responsive, even when typing. I am not 100% sold on the "smart covers" though. I bought the Orange Polycarbonate model. I felt I needed something for starters, but did not want to spend too much.. As I will be buying something else when the aftermarket stuff starts to drop. The cover apple sells, only covers the screen and leaves the back of your precious iPad vulnerable to dings and scratches.

I was going to buy an invisible shield for it, but they do not yet have one out for the back of the new iPad 2. So for the meantime, I will just have to be extra careful with it!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad 2

Quick Post from the line at Best Buy

I got to Best Buy to get my iPad at 3 pm, looks like I am tenth in line! We have no idea how many iPad 2's that this store has gotten, they are not allowed to say. All we know is they have all 18 models and will come get us at 5.

iPads Pave the Way for Autism Breakthroughs

Autism affects 1 in every 110 children that are born today. With such increasingly high numbers of cases, it is more and more important that we find ways to assist those affected with Autism to be able to better communicate with the world. And that is exactly what Doctors and Teachers have done with the iPad!

In today's every increasing technological world, the iPad is standing out as a hero to some parents of Autistic children. Teachers and Doctors have found that Autistic children are naturally drawn to the iPad. They believe it is the familiarity on knowing exactly what to expect when they touch and click on the iPad. While they are generally frustrated by their lack of ability to anticipate human reactions, they know exactly what to expect when they slide a finger across the iPad's 10 inch screen. Even the act of drawing on the iPad is less frustrating, as they are able to handle the iPad a lot easier than they can a crayon or pencil.

Samsung VP Calls Their Galaxy Tablet Inadequate

According to Yonhap news agency, Lee Don-joo, Executive Vice President of Samsung's mobile division, has been quoted as saying that their Galaxy tablet is "inadequate" in the wake of the newly announced iPad 2. He wants the company to make the Galaxy thinner and better for the same price as the iPad.

Currently, a Galaxy 7 inch tablet will cost you $900 without a two year contract. Whereas Apple's most expensive iPad is $829 and 10 inches. Samsung has yet to announce pricing for their 10.1 inch Galaxy.. But it is safe to assume it will cost more than the 7 inch model. Samsung has a long way to go if they plan to be on comparable price scale with the iPads, which start out at $399 for first generation iPads and $499 for second generation models.

Best Buy to Give Employees iPads??

That's right folks! Word from Forbes is that one of the major U.S. retailers, which is presumed to be Best Buy, is planning to supply it's "Connected World" sales staff with iPads! The hopes of management, is that this move will help sell both the employees and the customers, on their "Connected World" concept.

The iPad 2 is Here!!

On Wednesday, Apple unveiled it's second generation tablet, the "iPad 2"! The new model is thinner, faster, more innovative and has two cameras just as we had suspected. And it ships on March 11th!

The iPad 2 comes packed with a dual core A5 processor running at 1 Ghz. It weighs 1.3 pounds, compared to the original iPad that weighs 1.5 pounds. The new iPad w is also thinner. It is just 8.8mm think, which is even thinner than the iPhone 4! It has front and rear cameras, both capable of taking pictures or movies.