Dispatch from the iPad 2 front lines.... by Steven Sande

11:45 AM (Steve Sande): I'm here at the Aspen Grove Apple Store in Littleton, Colorado, and fortunately it's warm and clear. I'm at about the 20th person in line, and my cohort in crime Erica Sadun just showed up.

It's a congenial group in line this morning. Apparently, the first person in line showed up at 11:30 AM yesterday. Most people in the line so far are optimistic that they'll get one, and the store manager is talking up people in the line to see how they're doing. There's even a "line host" passing out bottles of water, and we've heard that they'll be handing out sunscreen wipes soon.

The store will be closing between 3 and 5 PM, then re-opening at 5 PM to start sales. During that time, I'm sure that the iPads on display will be replaced with iPad 2s wearing Smart Covers, that a handful of iPad 2 cases will be hung from the wall display, and probably even a new window display will go up. We'll be doing some live video this afternoon, so keep tuned to TUAW.

1:30 PM (Victor Agreda): Victor's in line at the temporary Apple Store that was put up in Austin, Texas to handle the hordes of SXSW attendees who need their iPad 2 fixes. The first guy in line was there at 6:30 AM - much smarter than the fool who got to the Aspen Grove store at 11:30 yesterday!

iMovie for iPhone and iPad Now Available

iMovie helps you turn the HD video you shoot on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch into a masterpiece worthy of the red carpet (or just the one in your living room). This fun, fast, feature-rich app is designed especially for Multi-Touch.








Shoot video on your device and it automatically appears in iMovie, ready for you to edit just the way you want. Simply tap to add video and photos, drag to trim clips, and slide to preview your project — you’ll have a four-star short film to share in no time at all.







Let your fingers do the fine-tuning. If you’re using iMovie on iPad, just pinch open any transition to reveal the Precision Editor — right in the timeline. It’s easy to see where one clip ends and another begins, so you can tap and drag to make advanced edits with pinpoint accuracy.

iPad 2

The IPad 2
Posted on Thursday Mar 10, 2011 7:10 AM by Jason Snell
A year ago, nobody had an iPad. Then Apple sold 15 million of them in just nine months, creating a whole new category of technology product. The iPad may have become, in the words of Steve Jobs, "the most successful consumer product ever launched."

It turns out that a lot of people saw the iPad's appeal: it's a supremely portable device that's well suited for checking your e-mail, surfing the Web, playing games, reading books and other stuff you get off the Internet, and even for getting work done. Kids and the elderly have embraced it.

It's awfully hard to follow such a massive success, but that's the task set out for Apple's new iPad 2, which goes on sale Friday. At least the iPad 2 has this going for it: the original model caught the technology industry so flat-footed that only now are true competitors beginning to appear.

Those competitors will now face a new iteration of the iPad, one that's faster, smaller, and lighter than the model introduced a year ago-all while retaining the $499 entry price that has proven all but impossible for Apple's competitors to match. It's almost unfair.

A game of inches (and ounces)

Call it Jobs's Law if you like: The latest version of any Apple product is likely to be thinner and lighter than its predecessor. And so it is with the iPad 2. The size difference between the original iPad and the iPad 2 may seem slight, but that's only because we're dealing with such small products to begin with. But for products this small, every ounce and fraction of an inch counts.

The iPad 2 measures 7.31 by 9.5 by 0.34 inches, and weighs in at 1.33 pounds (in the case of the Wi-Fi-only version, that is-the AT&T and Verizon 3G versions are .01 and .02 pound heavier). That means Apple shaved .17 pound off the Wi-Fi version and .26 to .27 pound off the 3G version. The iPad 2 is also .16 inch narrower, .06 inch shorter, and .16 inch thinner than the original iPad.

A matter of small degrees, to be sure, until you consider the percentage change: the iPad 2 is roughly two-thirds the thickness of the original iPad, and 88 percent of its weight (83 percent when comparing 3G models). Pick up an iPad 2 after handling an original iPad, and you'll notice the difference right away. This is a lighter, thinner device.

In order to shave off that .16 inch of thickness, Apple has transformed the anodized aluminum back panel of the iPad. The original model's back panel was a frame with four flat edges and a gently curved back surface. The iPad 2 eschews the frame, opting for a single surface that much more rapidly transitions from curve to flat. (This has the effect of making the iPad 2 much less wobbly than the original when laid on a flat surface.)

Without those edges, the iPad 2's ports and buttons are now positioned on a curving portion of the back panel, rather than on its side. The feel is quite different, a bit like reverting the flat surfaces of the iPhone 4 to the curved back of an iPhone 3G. A few times I found myself struggling to insert cables into the iPad 2's dock connector at the proper angle because I was confused by the curve of the back panel.

The end result of all this slimming down is that the iPad 2 is easier to handle than the original model. In my review of the original iPad, I said it was "heavy enough and slippery enough that I found it difficult to hold in one hand." In fact, the original iPad turned out to be a product that really demanded a case of some sort, just to make it easier to handle.

The iPad 2 is easier to carry with one hand, and the decreased weight makes it easier to hold for longer periods of time. But if you're planning on using the iPad 2 to read a lot, you'll still find yourself propping it against your chest or setting it on a table-the tablet is still not light enough to hold in one hand for extended periods of time. (For that, you'll need something more on the scale of the Amazon Kindle 3, which is less than half the weight of the iPad 2.)

Eighteen variations on a theme

The original iPad came in six different variations-Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi/3G versions, each available with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of storage. The product was such a hit that Apple apparently decided that even more variations would be better-as a result, there are 18 different versions of the iPad 2. It's a little crazy.

The storage variation remains: every model is available in 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB capacities. You can also choose an iPad with either a traditional black bezel or a new white bezel-which Apple insists will be available on day one, despite the company's failure in ever shipping the promised white version of the iPhone 4. That's six variations right there. Now multiply them by three, since the iPad 2 comes in a Wi-Fi-only version as well as two separate Wi-Fi/3G versions: one compatible with AT&T's GSM-based cellular network, and a different one compatible with Verizon's CDMA-based network. (Apple seems to be differentiating between the two by referring to the AT&T model as "3G with Micro-SIM card.")

The good news is that the iPad 2 costs just what the original iPad did. The base-model Wi-Fi editions cost $499 (16GB), $599 (32GB), and $699 (64GB). Both sets of Wi-Fi/3G models cost $130 more than their Wi-Fi counterparts. There's no price difference for white or black models.

What hasn't changed

Though it's thinner and lighter, the iPad 2, at a glance, looks very much like the original iPad. Its front is a sheet of glass over a bright 1024-by-768-pixel display surrounded by a bezel (again, now available in black or white) that's going to be necessary so long as humans grasp with opposable thumbs. The aluminum frame around the outside of the bezel of the original iPad has been reduced to a thin edge, almost entirely invisible, in the iPad 2.

The position of the iPad 2's buttons and ports are, likewise, more or less undisturbed. There's a sleep/wake button at the top right edge, a standard headphone jack at top left, a volume rocker and a sliding switch (configurable to lock screen orientation or mute alert sounds via the Settings app) at the top of the right side, a 30-pin dock connector port at the bottom, and a home button at the bottom of the front face. The iPad 2's built-in microphone is dead center at the top edge of the device-it was next to the headphone jack on the original iPad. Both 3G models feature a black plastic cutout along the top rear face in order to improve cellular reception; the AT&T 3G model also has a micro-SIM card slot along the top left edge.

Dual-core speed

The iPad 2 uses a new Apple-designed processor called the A5, which is making its first appearance on the scene. Apple is generally cagey about tech specs for products like the iPhone and iPad, but by all accounts, the A5 is a dual-core version of the 1GHz A4 chip that powers the iPhone 4 and the original iPad. The iPad 2 also has 512MB of RAM-twice that of the original iPad-and a 200MHz bus speed, likewise twice that of the original.

Because the A5 is a dual-core processor, Apple claims the iPad 2 can run at speeds up to double that of the original iPad. As with any dual-core processor, the key about "up to double" is that software must be optimized to take advantage of multiple processor cores, or that speed goes to waste. This is the first dual-core processor to appear on an iOS device, and it'll be interesting to see under what circumstances the A5 is noticeably faster than the A4, and when it's not.

But processor speed isn't the only part of the system that determines how it performs. Graphics performance has become a major component in determining how fast a computing device feels. And Apple says that the graphics performance on the iPad 2 is as much as nine times faster than on the original iPad.

So does the iPad 2 measure up to Apple's claims? Absolutely, though it's hard to determine whether the dual-core processor or the improved graphics performance deserve the credit. (Maybe the question is moot.) From the moment I started using the iPad 2 with familiar apps from my original iPad, I could tell that the system was faster. I thought scrolling through tweets in Twitterrific on my iPad was smooth as can be … until I scrolled through the tweet list on the iPad 2. Everything felt smoother, and items loaded faster.

Part of the speed boost, especially when I started to test performance in Safari, probably needs to be credited to iOS 4.3, which ships with the iPad 2 and includes a dramatic improvement to Safari's JavaScript engine. When I installed the golden master version of iOS 4.3 on an original iPad, performance improved as well. But even when both devices were running iOS 4.3, the iPad 2 was 1.6 times as fast as the original in running the SunSpider JavaScript test, and 1.9 times as fast as an iPhone 4 running the iOS 4.3 golden master.

In short, the iPad 2 is the fastest iOS device ever made, by a long shot. And it's not just an academic distinction: you can sense the speed when you use it, because everything's faster and smoother than it was on the original iPad.

Despite the boosts in processing power, Apple claims that the iPad 2 has the same ten-hour battery life as the original model. In nearly a week of use, I never saw a reason to disbelieve the claims. The iPad's all-day battery life, perhaps its killer feature, remains intact.

Cameras and FaceTime

The original iPad debuted just before Apple embraced video chat with its FaceTime software and added a front-facing camera to the iPhone. (It subsequently added both front- and rear-facing cameras to the iPod touch.) With the iPad 2, the company has brought two cameras to all of its mobile iOS devices.

The cameras in the iPad 2 are essentially the same as those in the fourth-generation iPod touch: it's nice that they're there, but they're not particularly impressive in terms of quality. The front-facing camera is the same one used in the iPhone 4 and the iPod touch, offering only VGA resolution (640 by 480 pixels). It's grainy in low-light settings, but is perfectly serviceable for its intended purpose, which is video chat.

FaceTime works on the iPad 2 much like it works on the iPod touch; in the Settings app you log in with an Apple ID and set an e-mail address to use as your FaceTime "number," so people can call you. From the FaceTime app, you can call people in your contacts list and set favorites. (FaceTime on the iPad is, like FaceTime on the iPhone 4, supported only over Wi-Fi connections.)

Once you've connected, the iPad's larger screen definitely exposes the low quality of FaceTime video (whether it's caused by the low-quality camera or the intense bandwidth required by a live video chat, or both, is debatable). Still, the video is good enough to be usable. The iPad's size, however, makes it a bit ungainly as a FaceTime device. It's hard to have a long conversation while holding the iPad in your hand. Propping the tablet on a tabletop or in your lap works better; propping it up with Apple's Smart Cover in typing position gave my interlocutor a nice view of my ceiling fan, while putting it in the Smart Cover's movie-viewing position made me hunch down in order to get in the frame.

The rear camera on the iPad 2 appears to be identical to the one found on the iPod touch. (It's positioned just beneath the sleep button on the back side of the device, creating a challenge for iPad casemakers everywhere.) Apple touts this camera as being "for video," and there's a reason: as a still camera it's about seven-tenths of a megapixel, with poor performance in low-light conditions. But it's capable of shooting 720p HD video and, in well-lit environments, the quality is decent.

I'm not sure I'm ever going to hold up the iPad 2 and use it as a video camera, but it does work-and most important, you can use that camera from within FaceTime, so you can shoot video of your kids crazily running around and send it all back to grandma.

Pick your 3G network

Apple's relationship with Verizon Wireless in the United States continues to deepen. The first sign of an alliance was when Verizon began selling iPads in its stores, bundled with a MiFi wireless router. Then came the Verizon iPhone 4.

Now, at last, there's an iPad that can use Verizon's cellular data network without needing to tote around some other piece of tech. This means that iPad 2 owners can choose between AT&T's (generally faster) 3G network and Verizon's (generally more reliable) 3G network. That's the good news. The bad news is, iPad 2 buyers will need to decide up front which network they want to use-there are separate models for each network, so once you've bought a Verizon iPad 2, there's no way to switch it to use AT&T's network (or vice versa).

The iPad 2's connection to AT&T's network has been upgraded from the original iPad models. Like the iPhone 4, the iPad 2 supports AT&T's HSUPA/HSDPA system, which will result in faster 3G transfer in areas where that protocol is available. I managed a 2.2-mbps upload rate and a 1.1-mbps download rate from my house, comparable to the speeds I saw from the iPhone 4 on AT&T's network. (Apple didn't provide us with a Verizon-compatible version of the iPad 2 for review, but its transfer rates will likely be similar to those on the Verizon-compatible iPhone 4-generally slower than AT&T's.)

If you live in a place where both carriers offer good coverage, then deciding which model to buy will prove to be an interesting challenge. The data plans offered by the two companies differ, though they're generally competitive with one another. If you don't use much data, AT&T has an advantage with its $15-a-month plan for 250MB of data. If you use more than 3GB per month, Verizon becomes the better deal. In between, it's a toss-up. (AT&T also offers a post-paid plan that can be added to your phone bill and offers better overage rates.)

If you travel internationally, the AT&T iPad is a better deal, since it uses the GSM standard that's more widely in use internationally. And since the iPad is an unlocked cellular device, you can buy a foreign micro-SIM card and save a bunch on data rates by not paying AT&T's expensive roaming charges.

Then there's the question of whether you need to buy an iPad 2 with 3G at all. Many smartphones-including the iPhone 4-have a Wi-Fi-based hotspot feature that lets them share their Internet connections with other devices. Verizon and AT&T charge $20 a month for the feature, which comes with 2GB of data. (AT&T's plan requires a user to also be on the $25 a month Data Pro plan.) Two gigabytes for $20 is a pretty good deal when compared to the iPad 3G plans (other than AT&T's ultracheap 250MB plan). So if you, your iPad, and your iPhone (or other smartphone with a personal-hotspot feature) are seldom parted, you might be better off saving the $130 and buying a Wi-Fi-only model.

There are a lot of variables here, clearly. But once you've chosen your iPad 2, you're locked in, so it's wise to consider your options before you buy. The good news is, if you spend $130 for a 3G model, there's no contract to sign and you're not required to buy a data plan-so the extra cost of the 3G-equipped iPad might not be too much to spend if you aren't sure and want to keep your options open. You'll still have to pick between Verizon and AT&T, however.

One final wrinkle to the 3G buying decision: Only 3G iPad models come with GPS capabilities. There's a good reason for this-iOS devices use something called assisted GPS to dramatically decrease the amount of time it takes for the devices to determine their location. (Despite the name, this is not some sort of phony GPS-the assisted just means that the devices look for nearby cellular towers to get a general fix on their location, which prevents a minutes-long GPS scan that would be required on a GPS device without the cellular assist.) In any event, if you dream of using your iPad as a jumbo GPS navigation console, you'll absolutely need a 3G model.

Smart accessories abound

With the release of the iPad 2, Apple is also releasing several accessories related to the iPad 2.

Most notable is the Smart Cover, available in either leather ($69) or polyurethane ($39). A Smart Cover magnetically adheres to the side of the iPad 2 and protects the front, locking and unlocking the iPad when you open and close the cover. It's pretty nifty, and it sets the bar pretty high for all future iPad 2 accessories. To read a whole lot more about it, be sure to read my iPad 2 Smart Cover review.

But there are other accessories: the $39 Apple Digital AV adapter finally lets capable iOS devices display HD video on HDTVs, and even lets the iPad 2 mirror its own screen on an external display. (Read on for details, or see our full review.)

There's also a new $29 iPad 2 Dock, which I wasn't able to test. Like the original iPad Dock, it allows you to set your iPad upright in portrait orientation and charge, sync, or even play audio- or video-out. Now the bad news: The iPad 2 and the original iPad's dock connector are different enough that accessories that tightly fit to the hardware won't be compatible with the new model, so you probably won't be able to reuse many of your iPad accessories if you buy an iPad 2. Apple also seems to have discontinued the iPad Keyboard Dock entirely. (No great loss, in my opinion-you'd be better off with a dock or a case and the excellent $69 Apple Wireless Keyboard, a combination that allows you type in either portrait or landscape orientation, rather than the forced portrait orientation of the Keyboard Dock.)

A video breakthrough

One of the most pleasantly surprising features of the iPad 2 is its improved support for HDTVs and HD video. A combination of iPad 2 hardware upgrades, a new adapter from Apple, and updates to the iOS share the credit, but the end result is great news for both entertainment and education.

On the entertainment side, the new Apple Digital AV Adapter lets the iPad 2 spread its wings. With this adapter, the iPad 2 can output high-definition video at resolutions up to 1080p, as well as Dolby Digital surround sound, all served via a standard HDMI cable that the owner of any HDTV will be familiar with.

I played back several HD video files on several different HDTVs via the iPad 2 and the HDMI adapter, and the video quality was excellent. The inability to output HD video has been a sore spot on the iOS since the release of the original iPad, but now that it's here, it looks (and sounds) great.

Exclusive to the iPad 2 that will be hailed by educators, presenters, and anyone else who has ever wanted to show off their iPad's screen to a large crowd: video mirroring. When connected to the HDMI adapter, the iPad 2 will display a duplicate version of the contents of its screen on an external monitor. Want to demo an education app via a projector or HDTV for a classroom full of kids? The iPad 2 makes it possible.

In mirroring mode, the iPad's interface is crystal clear. It looks great. Because the iPad's video interface is a 4:3 aspect ratio, you'll find black bars on the sides of the TV when in mirroring mode. The bars grow even wider if you put the iPad in portrait orientation, but the image of an iPad 2 in portrait mode still looks good-albeit smaller-on an HDTV.

On a few TVs I tried, however, I needed to adjust the video settings in order to display the entire picture. It depends on how your TV set frames HD content; my advice is to fiddle with the video settings until you get a picture that pleases you.

For the record, the iPad 2's mirroring mode and its video-out mode don't fight with each other. If an app supports direct video output to an external display, the iPad stops mirroring and switches to that mode. In addition to the Video app, there are lots of other examples: Keynote uses the external display as a presentation screen, for instance.

The software story

The iPad 2 arrives with a new version of the operating system that powers the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. This version, iOS 4.3, is hardly earth-shattering, but does offers a few nice new features.

Third-party apps can now take advantage of streaming video via AirPlay, the system that lets iOS devices stream audio and video to various devices, most notably the second-generation Apple TV. The Videos and iPod apps can now connect to Macs or PCs running iTunes via the Home Sharing system, meaning-at long last!-you can stream music or videos from any Mac or PC in your house to your iOS device, elsewhere on your local network.

In iOS 4.3, the slide switch on the iPad can be put to use in one of two ways: It can either function as an orientation-lock switch, as it did when the iPad was first released; or it can function as a mute switch for alert sounds, as it did upon the release of iOS 4.2. In iOS 4.3, users can choose either behavior via the Settings app. Now can't we all just get along?

There are a bunch of other additions to iOS 4.3; stay tuned to Macworld.com for our full report on iOS 4.3, which is forthcoming.

Along with the new version of the operating system, Apple is introducing two apps as a part of the iPad 2 launch. One, iMovie, is an update to the existing version of iMovie that runs on the iPhone 4 and iPod touch. The other, GarageBand, is an all-new app for the iPad. Both apps are excellent, showing off the power of the iPad, the iOS, and, specifically, the iPad 2.

It's interesting that for the original iPad launch, Apple showcased three $10 iWork apps: Keynote, Numbers, and Pages. It sent a message that the iPad could be used for productivity, not just for consumption. And in the intervening 11 months, we've seen all sorts of interesting productivity applications released for the iPad. (Along with lots of games.) The iPad app ecosystem launched strong and has continued to grow, making it one of the iPad's biggest advantages over competing tablets.

This time out, Apple has launched its new iPad with a pair of $5 creativity apps. What's the message? In the case of iMovie, it's clearly tied to the existence of the iPad's cameras. Now you can shoot video with the iPad (ideally the HD-capable rear-facing one) and then edit it right within iMovie. Apple's also enabled a video workflow that starts with video shot on an iPhone 4, and then ends up being transferred to an iPad 2 for editing. For more of my impressions after spending a few days with iMovie, check out my hands-on with iMovie for iPad.

GarageBand for iPad is an almost breathtaking achievement. At times it feels more responsive than GarageBand running on the late-model iMac on my desk at work. Strumming its "smart guitars" made me almost feel musical, and I was able to create a (terrible) cover version of Fountains of Wayne's "Hey Julie" in about 30 minutes, complete with vocals, guitar, bass, drums, and organ. My nine-year-old daughter was entranced with the app as well.

GarageBand for iPad isn't as full-featured as the Mac version, but neither does it feel like a toy version. It's a real app with a lot of real power, and I'd imagine that it will become madly popular in schools and garages everywhere. For more information, check out my first look at GarageBand for iPad.

Both apps do suffer from one of the great failings of the iOS: difficulty in getting files in and out and moving them around. To move an iMovie project from the iPhone to the iPad, for example, you've got to (1) export the file on the iPhone, (2) connect it to a Mac, (3) go to iTunes, (4) click the Apps tab, (5) scroll down, (6) click on iMovie, (7) click on your project, (8) click Save to put it on your hard drive; and then you have to (9) detach your iPhone, (10) attach your iPad, (11) click on it in iTunes, (12) click on the Apps tab, (13) scroll down, (14) click on iMovie, and then (15) drag your project back into iTunes.

Apple, there's got to be a better way. Maybe in iOS 5?

Should you upgrade?

Let's say you are one of those 15 million people who bought an iPad last year. Now there's a new iPad. Should you dump your old one and get a new one?

Though the iPad 2 is an improvement on the original iPad in numerous ways, it's still an evolutionary product, not a revolutionary one. If you're happy with your current iPad, there's no reason to dump it just because there's a shinier, newer one. (This is not to say that millions of people won't do just that. I mean: shiny!) If you've invested in iPad accessories such as a dock or case, keep in mind that you probably won't be able to use them with the new iPad.

Of course, if there's someone in your family who has been clamoring for an iPad, now might be the time to buy an iPad 2 and hand down the old model to them-or, if you're really nice, give them the new iPad while you soldier on with the classic model.

If you've become a major user of FaceTime or other video-chat apps on your iPhone or iPod touch, upgrading to an iPad 2 makes more sense, thanks to the integrated cameras. People who want to bestow an iPad on an older friend or relative who is a bit reluctant to use technology can now add video chat to the mix of features that make the iPad a compelling device for the older set.

Anyone who gives demonstrations of iPad apps-in seminars, classrooms, or boardrooms-will want to get an iPad 2 immediately just for the video-mirroring feature. If you're an iPad-toting presenter, it'll be worth the investment.

Finally, if you live somewhere with great Verizon reception and you're stuck with an AT&T iPad, trading up the Verizon model is worth considering … but you might want to also consider adding a tethering plan to a Verizon smartphone and deactivating your existing iPad's monthly service.

Macworld's buying advice



The iPad was a huge hit, vastly surpassing anyone's expectations for it. (In my review last year, I set a ceiling for success at 10 million, meaning my most optimistic estimate was still five million iPads short.)

It's hard to bet against Apple these days. The company is on a roll, not only in terms of sales but in terms of product design. Less than a year on from the original iPad, the iPad 2 is an improvement that doesn't divert any of the iPad's powerful momentum. It's the original iPad, only more so-even smaller, even thinner, even faster than before.

If you're one of those people who practices remarkable feats of self-discipline when it comes to buying first-generation hardware products, it's time to celebrate: the second iPad is here, and you can finally slake your thirst. By waiting, you'll end up with a faster, lighter product with the same great price and battery life-and with two video cameras and video-mirroring capabilities, to boot.

For Apple's competitors in the tablet-device market, the iPad 2 is a bucket of water to the face. After more than a year of struggling to catch up to the original iPad, here's a new model that addresses many of the iPad's deficiencies, dramatically improves its speed, and doesn't cede any ground on price, features, or battery life. The iPad 2 raises the bar Apple set a year ago-and it's time for the rest of the industry to scramble again to catch up.

For everyone else, the iPad 2 is a triumph, an iPad that's even more iPad than the original. And the original one was really good. The first iPad was a bolt from the blue, a device that defined an entire category, and a tough act to follow. The iPad 2 follows it with aplomb.

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iOS 4.3 spotlight: Message alerts options

Aside from major features like Personal Hotspot and iTunes Home Sharing, iOS 4.3 also brings some subtle changes to the way message alerts work. The settings for the Messages app now allow you to have alert tones repeat up to ten times at two minute intervals, which will come in handy if you're away from your iPhone for awhile and miss a text.
Most of the 17 new (iPhone 4-only) text tones introduced in iOS 4.2have been retooled. These new tones were quite lengthy before iOS 4.3, with some of them seeming more suited to a ringtone than a text message alert. 11 of the tones have been dramatically shortened and/or sped up -- including Noir, which I thought was short enough to begin with -- while six tones remain at roughly the same length they were before iOS 4.3.
Most tones are now less than a second long, and they sound much less overdriven, too; several of the new tones were so loud in iOS 4.2 that they sounded distorted through the iPhone 4's speaker. That's no longer an issue now as far as I can tell.
Another subtle change that you might not even notice at first: vibration alerts for messages have been changed up. Before, new messages had the same, brief vibration as the new mail alert. As of iOS 4.3, new text messages will instead give two sharp and quite noticeable vibratory pulses.
We're unsure if the new tones have made it to the iPhone 3GS as of iOS 4.3; they weren't available on the older iPhone in iOS 4.2, so chances are they're still iPhone 4-only.

iOS 4.3 spotlight: Message alerts options originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New MobileMe Calendar. Now Available to All Members.

The new MobileMe Calendar is now out of beta and available to all members. We'd like to thank everyone who took part in the beta for helping to make this the best MobileMe Calendar yet.

To start using the new calendar (see system requirements below), sign in tome.com/calendar, click "Upgrade now" in the lower left corner of the Calendar web application, and follow the instructions. If you have already been using the Calendar beta, you don't need to do anything.

Here are the highlights of the new MobileMe Calendar:

The best calendar service for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch
The new MobileMe Calendar works great with the built-in calendar app on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch by always keeping it in sync with your Mac or PC. New events or changes are automatically pushed to your iOS 4 devices so your calendar stays up to date. If you schedule a meeting on your device, that's pushed everywhere too.

Share calendars with family and friends
You can easily share your calendars with one or more MobileMe members to keep everyone on the same page. For example, create a shared calendar called "Family" for weekend activities. You can allow the person you're sharing a calendar with to edit events, and you can set up email notifications to tell you when they make a change.

Publish a calendar for a group or team
The new MobileMe Calendar lets you share a read-only public calendar, perfect for publishing an events calendar such as a soccer team schedule. After setting it up, you can send the team members a link to view the calendar on their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC.

Event invitations with RSVPs
You can also invite guests to an event from MobileMe Calendar. Just add their email address to the event (they don't have to be a MobileMe member) and your guests will get an invitation email they can respond to directly by clicking a link. Your event then automatically updates, making it easy to track RSVPs right in your calendar.

New web application
MobileMe Calendar includes a new web application at me.com with great-looking calendar views. You'll find redesigned day, week, and month views, as well as a new list view to make scanning your events easier. The new web application works best with Safari 5, Firefox 3.6, and Internet Explorer 8.

Please note these system requirements for the new MobileMe Calendar:
iPhone or iPod touch: iOS 4.1
iPad: iOS 3.2; iOS 4.2 (coming in November) required for push calendar updates
Mac: Mac OS X Snow Leopard version 10.6.4
PC: MobileMe Control Panel version 1.6.3 and Outlook 2007 or 2010

If you meet these system requirements, sign in to me.com/calendar to upgrade. For more information about the new MobileMe Calendar, please read this FAQ. For assistance setting up Calendar, please check MobileMe Help or visitwww.apple.com/support/mobileme for online chat support.

iPad 2 vs. Xoom vs. Optimus Pad vs. Galaxy Tab 10 vs TouchPad vs BlackBerry Playbook

Make your choice....

Video Apple Doesn't Want You To See...

iPad 2 Smart Covers inspired by Japanese bath tub lids?

veryone following the iPad 2 announcement is aware of the new Smart Covers for the iPad 2. These flap-like covers attach to the iPad using a magnet and have an accordion-style look. The covers, amusingly enough, also resemble a style of Japanese bath tub lids!

The resemblance is so uncanny that the unveiling of these new cases caused a flurry of bath tub lid comments among Japanese Apple fans (our Rick Martin points to Asiajin's note that the caption above translates as 'Completely Identical,' a common Japanese web meme similar to the English 'Separated at Birth'). Makes you wonder how many unsuspecting Westerners will be the target of quiet snickering when they whip out their Smart Cover-adorned iPad 2 the next time they are in Tokyo.

via: www.tuaw.com

It's Finally Here... #iPad2

http://www.apple.com/ipad/






All New Design...

iPad is now 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter. You’ll feel the difference when you pick it up. And when you just can’t put it down.





Superfast graphics.
Go, gamers, go.

With up to nine times the graphics performance, gameplay on iPad is even smoother and more realistic. And faster graphics help apps perform better — especially those with video. You’ll see it when you’re scrolling through your photo library, editing video with iMovie, and viewing animations in Keynote.




2 Cameras

Share big laughs with friends and family over FaceTime. Film your life in HD. And put a twist on your snapshots with Photo Booth.

MobileNotifier is a great start to what iOS notifications should be

It amazes me at what you can do with a Jailbroken iDevice these days. Peter Hajas and Kyle Adams have created another brilliant reason to jailbreak your iDevice.

If you've ever felt frustrated with the way your iDevice displays notifications to you of messages and alerts, then this jailbreak tweak will have you jumping for joy. MobileNotifier beta v3 is a free open-source, complete rewrite of the iOS notification system.

MobileNotifier moves any notifications to the top of the screen rather than completely over your app, also granting you the ability to ignore these pop-ups without keeping you locked out of your current activity. If you want, you can even store them away for later, all of which can be viewed by double tapping your home bar (Task Switcher). These pending messages are displayed in the area above the task switcher, and even on the main lockscreen. Pretty smart if you ask me :)

Haven't jailbroken your iDevice yet? Now might be the time.

The app will be available in Cydia for FREE! Yes I said FREE. Kyle says it will be "free forever". :)

While still in Beta, it should be near completion soon! Stay Tuned!

For those eager to jump right in, here is the Beta repo: http://phajas.xen.prgmr.com/repo

Check out Peter's blog for more information. peterhajas(dot)com - blog

via: ModMyi

March 2nd 2011 mark your calendars...

Is this it?? iPad 2

What do you guys think???

Apple iPad 2 to debut March 2 in San Francisco, report says

Apple's next-generation iPad -- unofficially known as iPad 2 -- will be unveiled March 2 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, according to a report.
The Cupertino-based tech giant has sent out no invites as of yet, but the News Corp. website AllThingsD reported Tuesday morning that it had confirmed the date and location.





The first iPad was revealed at a media event, also at the Yerba Buena Center, by Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Jan. 27, 2010, and hit stores last April. So far, Apple has sold more than 15 million iPads.
The report offered no word on whether or not Jobs will attend the unveiling of the next iPad.
In January, Jobs announced he was taking an indefinite leave of absence to deal with health issues. Jobs remains CEO, but has handed most of his day-to-day duties to Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook.
Jobs did attend a dinner with President Obama last week, along with a handful of other California tech leaders.
The iPad 2 is widely expected to be thinner and lighter than the current version and add new features such as a front-facing camera for video chatting using Apple's FaceTime software, as well as a possible SD-card slot and camera on the back for shooting video and photos.
Officials at Apple and the Yerba Buena Center were unavailable for comment Tuesday.
Whenever it arrives, the iPad 2 will face a much more competitive market than when the first iPad hit retail outlets.
Google is rolling out its first version of its Android operating system designed for tablets -- called Honeycomb -- Thursday on the Motorola Xoom. By the end of the year, Honeycomb is likely to be on dozens of tablets.
Hewlett-Packard also showed off its HP TouchPad recently, running on its HP WebOS software, and Research In Motion is prepping to release the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet soon as well.

Via: http://www.latimes.com/

iPad 2 March 2nd??

Not much news today..

Happy Valentines day and to all a good night!!

Verizon iPhone is now available online #Retweet

The Verizon iPhone is now available for online orders, both atApple's site and Verizon's. Pre-orders were available last week to existing customers, some of whom have received their iPhones already, but online orders are now open to everyone.

If you'd rather buy a Verizon iPhone 4 at a brick-and-mortar store, it'll be available on February 10. My guess is there'll be some pretty long lines (and limited quantities) at your local Apple and Verizon stores, so buy online if at all possible and stay warm.

Carrier choice for the iPhone is nothing new in my part of the world, but I'm still pleased it's finally come to my old stomping grounds in the US. If you're just now joining the Cult of iPhone (one of us, one of ussss...) here's an introduction to the iPhone ecosystem; we also have aniPhone 101 series tailored to beginners.

Greenpois0n Jailbreak now works for Windows Users

We announced the greenpois0n jailbreak for iOS 4.2.1 over the weekend. At the time, the jailbreak tool only worked on Mac. It didn't take long for the Chronic Dev Team to update the tool to now support Windows. This means you can jailbreak your Verizon iPhone using either a Mac or Windows.

As always, make sure you know what you're getting into when you jailbreak your iPhone. You should definitely read the documentation included with greenpois0n before you alter the way your iPhone works. The instructions for executing the jailbreak are pretty straightforward and you shouldn't have much trouble, even if you're new to the jailbreak world.

New Google Translate app for iPhone #Retweet

Google has released Google Translate for iPhone, a native iOS app that allows you to “speak to translate” in 15 different languages, with output support for up to 50 languages. Simply speak into your iPhone and the app will translate your speech into a number of different languages, even reading the text aloud for you:

• Translate text between 57 languages
• Translate by speaking the text instead of typing it (15 languages)
• Listen to your translations spoken aloud (23 languages)
• Display translations in full screen mode to make it easier for others nearby to read
• Star your favorite translations for quick access even when you’re offline
• Access your translation history even when you’re offline
• Spell out the translation of non-Latin script languages (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, etc..) in Latin characters to read it phonetically (e.g. Pinyin, Romaji)
• View additional dictionary results for single words or short phrases

Google Translate was previously available for iPhone but only through a webapp interface. With Google switching to a fully native version this lets users access a few additional features not available in the HTML5 version. It’s pretty fun to use and it would make a great sidekick if you’re traveling to a foreign country where you aren’t familiar with the native language.

Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Louis Vuitton Launches iPhone App #Retweet

We've posted about Louis Vuitton's iPhone and iPad cases before -- they're the ones that are needlessly expensive, and often overly gaudy. But the luxury accessory company has a new initiative around Apple products: it's launching an iPhone app for travelers called Amble. The app makes use of the company's City Guides information to provide guidance to any number of locations of interest in whatever covered city you happen to be in. There's a social element as well, allowing you to share or browse locations sent across through social networks or from friends. And in-app purchases (from $10 to $15) allow for access to the actual City Guides information for cities like Paris or New York. The app itself is free (making it the cheapest thing Louis Vuitton has ever produced), and available on the App Store right now. Of course, unless you really need these specific guides for some reason, there are probably other iPhone apps that will do the same thing (I like and use the Yelp app a lot for finding information about places while traveling). But if you can't afford that $1000 iPhone case, you can at least wrap your iPhone in something made by LV.

WWDC 2011, iPhone 5? iOS 5? to be announced June 5-9? #Retweet

Moscone Center has a “Corporate Meeting” scheduled for June 5 – June 9, 2011 which looks to be the only period long enough to fit in Apple’s annual WWDC(World Wide Developers Conference) event where iPhone 5 and the final version ofiOS 5 would likely be announced. Of course there’s always the possibility of misdirection or last-minute shuffling so until Apple opens up registration we won’t know for sure. Still, it’s something.

Given the typical keynote structure, we’d then be looking for Steve Jobs (or an assortment of Apple execs including Tim Cook, Phil Schiller, Scott Forstall, etc.) to take the stage on Monday, June 6, a year and a day following the iPhone 4 announcement in 2010.

Yeah, the Verizon iPhone has barely started launching, we haven’t even gotten aniPad 2 announcement or iOS 5 beta preview yet, so it’s a little early to be dreaming about iPhone 5 but still…