Posts Tagged ‘9to5mac’

Second Gen iPad Going Strong

For those skeptics of the iPad’s longevity, information leaked from Apple’s supply sources is further indication that the iPad is not a fad.

According to a report from DigiTimes, five million touch sensors will be shipped in July.

“Shipments in June were also five million, with TPK Holding and Wintek supplying 1.4-1.6 million units each and the remaining by Cando, Sintek Photronic and Chimei Innolux (CMI),” the sources indicated.

This information, coupled with the fact that, as DigiTimes also reported, Apple purportedly shipped 12 million iPad 2s in the second quarter is evidence that the iPad is gaining momentum and may surpass earlier estimates of sales for 2011. 9to5Mac added that this is on top of rumors that Apple has started ordering parts for an iPad 3, the much anticipated iPhone 5, and has commissioned Pegatron to increase manufacturing of the upcoming fifth gen phone.

Although these are all just rumors and hearsay, it is hard not to put it together that, contrary to some companies early predictions for a fast fading of Apple’s tablet’s success, we will be seeing a whole lot more of the iPad in the future.

» Related posts:

• Apple’s Suppliers Potentially Preparing For Fall Launch of iPhone 5 and iPad 3
• Rumor of Upcoming 7-inch iPad Still Going Strong
• 2.5 Million iPad 2s Shipped Last Month, Production Output to Reach 4 Million Units per Month

Kinect / iPad Hack Brings Augmented 3D Reality To iPad

What do you get when you combine an iPad 2, Xbox Kinect and String Augmented Reality SDK for iOS? If you happen to be as clever as the folks at Laan Labs, you get an amazing hack that takes 3D video from the Kinect, transfers it to the iPad 2 wirelessly, then renders it as (awesomely) augmented reality via String.

Check out video of the hack in action after the break.

As we see in the video, the applications for this hack vary from the adorable (sending your grandparents a 3D birthday card) to the classically nerdy (recreate Princess Leia’s famous holographic Star Wars monologue), but whatever users dream up with this high tech combo will be undeniably fun.

How would you like to use this hack? Let us know in the comments.

[via Endgadget, 9to5mac]

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Apple Working on New Maps App for iPhone and iPad

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.

As a result, Apple is allegedly working on its own maps and navigation service, to replace the Google-powered app once and for all. According to 9to5mac, Apple posted a new job opening on its corporate website, to hire a new developer tasked to “radically improve how people interact with maps and location-based services.”

The Maps team is looking for an exceptional developer to join us in our mission to radically improve how people interact with maps and location-based services.

Apple has been rumored to be working on its own maps service for a while. The company already hired several developers late last year to help with the development of “navigation software on a massive scale.” The new service could be tied to the upcoming new version of MobileMe, and could be powered by Apple’s new data center in North Carolina.

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• Google And Verizon Working On An “iPad Killer”
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A White iPad 2 for this Wednesday?

Will Apple unveil a white iPad 2 this coming Wednesday? New pictures keep popping up all over the net. We’ve heard about the new body design, several case deigns, and rumors about a “Light Peak” high-speed connector.

Now a new image of an alleged white iPad 2 part has surfaced, and some believe that Apple will announce a white version of the next generation iPad this week.

The folks at 9to5Mac have released some photos of a digitizer layer with a white bezel that is supposed to be for the next iPad. According to 9to5Mac, the part comes from Shenzhen City via the iFixYouri iPhone repair shop.

The photos also reinforced the rumors about iPad 2 including a front-facing camera. You can see the smaller hole and what could be considered a smaller overall footprint that seems to be using a slightly thinner bezel.

Many of us are expecting to see the new iPad with both front and rear cameras, several internal hardware improvements and 3G versions for both GSM and CDMA carriers. However, these new pictures are surprising given that Apple has been trying to launch a white iPhone 4 for quite sometime.

Will we see a white iPad 2 announced this Wednesday? Will you buy one? What do you think?

[Photo credit: 9to5Mac]

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iPad 2 Screen Protector Reveals Front-facing Camera – Ready to Video Chat?

We’ve covered numerous reports regarding the front-facing camera, newly discovered camera apps, and a FaceTime app for the next-generation iPad (iPad 2).

Now, a mysterious screen-protector has surfaced, and seems to confirm that iPad 2 will indeed have a front-facing camera like the iPhone 4. Are you ready to video chat?

The folks at 9to5Mac have gotten their hands on some photographs of what seems to be a screen protector for the iPad 2.

Up until now, we weren’t sure where the front-facing camera would be positioned. The 9to5Mac pictures show the screen protector with what seems to be a camera hole at the very top of the glass. These pictures coincide with what some folks witnessed during the launch of The Daily a few weeks ago. Back then, Reuters reported that one of their staff members saw a new iPad 2 at the launch event in New York city.

Another picture suggests the new iPad 2 could be a little bit taller and narrower than our current iPad.

Stay tuned. The launch of the next generation iPad is getting closer!

[Photos credit: 9to5Mac]

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Alleged iPad 2 Screen Spotted on the Web

The folks at 9to5mac and ifixyouri somehow managed to obtain an alleged iPad 2 screen – we’re not sure how, but the pictures look legitimate.

The screen was obtained from a Chinese supplier, and shows significant differences when compared to its first generation iPad counterpart.

According to 9to5mac, the overall quality clearly improved, and as mentioned by PadGadget earlier (see here and here), the screen is lighter and thinner, with a smaller surrounding frame, to allow Apple engineers to offer a lighter and thinner next-generation iPad.

The first generation iPad display was labeled LP097X02-SLA3, while the new part is labeled LP097X02-SLN1, which seems to imply that the screen

• was made by LG Phillips (like the first-gen iPad)
• offers a diagonal of 9.7-inch (like the first-gen iPad)
• offers an XGA resolution of 1024×768 (like the first-gen iPad)
• is built using an H-IPS technology

As expected, the screen does not offer a retina-grade resolution, but instead offers the same resolution as the first generation iPad.

Also note that other alleged improvements such as an improved anti-reflective coating have not been confirmed by 9to5mac just yet – unless the new screen is pin-compatible with the first generation iPad and the site manages to hook it up to an actual iPad, without an actual iPad 2 motherboard, it will likely be difficul to actually perform any meaningful performance tests. Wait and see.

[Photos credit: 9to5mac / ifixyouri]

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Leaked iPad 2 Cases Pictures Removed

According to MacRumors and The Wall Street Journal reports, the leaked iPad 2 case pictures published by sites such as 9to5mac and Alibaba have been pulled, as both sites received takedown requests from an unidentified source.

According to Alibaba spokesman John Spelich, “someone doesn’t seem to appreciate all the attention: Alibaba.com was asked to remove the listings. We do not know whether these products are what they say they are, but we have received a legitimate takedown request and are removing the listings.”

The same goes for 9to5Mac, as the website was asked “not so nicely” to remove the drawings it published earlier this week. According to the website owners, the design were taken down “because they are the property of someone else.”

According a Hong-Kong-based company remotely involved with Apple’s supply chain, the takedown request was motivated by the fact that the design was “extremely accurate.” In the process, the company indirectly confirmed some iPad 2 rumors about form factor and external features.

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