iPad 3 with Superfast 4G?

 

The next iPad could be the first Apple product to run on faster 4G cellular networks. In the past, people have bought 3G-capable iPads for backup in case Wi-Fi wasn't available. But if the 4G rumors are true, pricier iPads could become the norm. News of a possible 4G iPad available through Verizon and AT&T was released by the Wall Street Journal this week. 

Faster is always better in the world of tech gadgets. While speed depends on many factors, 4G can be faster than most public Wi-Fi networks and some home connections. Because video streaming and game-playing often benefit from faster connections, 4G's perceived speed advantage could move a cellular-connected iPad from nice-to-have to really-want-to-have.

 

But 4G data will cost extra. Unlike smartphones that usually require two-year data contracts, Verizon and AT&T offer monthly plans for iPads. You can buy data in a pinch, but if you don't cancel at the end of the 30-day period, you'll be billed every month until you do. Already, potential iPad 3 buyers have been salivating over rumored features, such as higher resolution displays and Siri, the voice-controlled virtual personal assistant that debuted on the iPhone 4S.

iPad 3 To Launch At March Apple Event?

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc plans to introduce its latest iPad tablet at an event in the first week in March, the website AllThingsD reported, citing unnamed sources. The event will be held in San Francisco, likely at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, which is Apple's preferred site for product launches, the website said. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment. Apple has typically introduced the latest versions of its iPad in the first few months of the year. The current iPad 2 was introduced on March 2, 2011. The original iPad was introduced at the end of January 2010.

Apple's iPad dominates the nascent market for tablets even though deep-pocketed rivals are taking aim at the lucrative segment. Amazon.com Inc's Kindle Fire, which sells at half the cost of an iPad, has chipped away at the lower end of the tablet market. Apple iPad tablet sales doubled in the December quarter to 15.43 million units from a year earlier.

Apple Founder Steve Jobs Dies

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, the mastermind behind Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes, has died, Apple said. Jobs was 56. Jobs co-founded Apple Computer in 1976 and, with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak, marketed what was considered the world's first personal computer, the Apple II. Industry watchers called him a master innovator -- perhaps on a par with Thomas Edison -- changing the worlds of computing, recorded music and communications. In 2004, he beat back an unusual form of pancreatic cancer, and in 2009 he was forced to get a liver transplant. After several years of failing health, Jobs announced on Aug. 24, 2011 that he was stepping down as Apple's chief executive.

Ipod

The highlights of Jobs's career trajectory are well-known: a prodigy who dropped out of Reed College in Oregon and, at 21, started Apple with Wozniak in his parents' garage. He was a multimillionaire by 25, appeared on the cover of Time magazine at 26, and was ousted at Apple at age 30, in 1984. In the years that followed, he went into other businesses, founding NeXT computers and, in 1986, buying the computer graphics arm of Lucasfilm, Ltd., which became Pixar Animation Studios. He was described as an exacting and sometimes fearsome leader, ordering up and rejecting multiple versions of new products until the final version was just right. He said the design and aesthetics of a device were as important as the hardware and software inside. 

In 1996, Apple, which had struggled without Jobs, brought him back by buying NeXT. He became CEO in 1997 and put the company on a remarkable upward path. By 2001 the commercial music industry was on its knees because digital recordings, copied and shared online for free, made it unnecessary for millions of people to buy compact discs. Jobs took advantage with the iPod -- essentially a pocket-sized computer hard drive with elegantly simple controls and a set of white earbuds so that one could listen to the hours of music one saved on it. He set up the iTunes online music store, and persuaded major recording labels to sell songs for 99 cents each. No longer did people have to go out and buy a CD if they liked one song from it. They bought a digital file and stored it in their iPod.

Iphone

In 2007, he transformed the cell phone. Apple's iPhone, with its iconic touch screen, was a handheld computer, music player, messaging device, digital wallet and -- almost incidentally -- cell phone. Major competitors, such as BlackBerry, Nokia and Motorola, struggled after it appeared. By 2010, Apple's new iPad began to cannibalize its original business, the personal computer. The iPad was a sleek tablet computer with a touch screen and almost no physical buttons. It could be used for almost anything software designers could conceive, from watching movies to taking pictures to leafing through a virtual book. 

Ipad

He was listed in March as 109th on the Forbes list of the world's billionaires, with a net worth of about $8.3 billion. After selling Pixar animation studios to The Walt Disney Company in 2006, he became a Disney board member and the company's largest shareholder. Disney is the parent company of ABC News. MadOne

Apple has more cash than the federal government

Steve Jobs

Who's ready for iAmerica? As the BBC has reported, the software company Apple has more cash on hand than the United States federal government, according to the company's financial records.


Apple's quarterly financial report shows that the company responsible for the iPad, iPod and the iPhone now has $76.4 billion in reserve cash, while the Treasury Department is sitting on just $73.7 billion. The feds could probably learn a thing or two from Apple's success. Congress remains embroiled in a debate over spending and whether the federal government, which currently owes trillions in debt, should be allowed to borrow even more. International credit rating agencies have threatened to downgrade the national debt for the first time in the nation's history if Washington doesn't come up with a solution to lift the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling while implementing a concrete plan to get the nation's financial house in order.


Meanwhile, Apple's financial report shows that the company's profits, even through the last recession, are booming.

Security holes discovered in iPhones, iPads

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A new security hole has opened up in Apple Inc.'s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices, raising alarms about the susceptibility of some of the world's hottest tech gadgets to hacker attacks. Flaws in the software running those devices came to light after a German security agency warned that criminals could use them to steal confidential data off the devices. Apple, the world's largest technology company by market value, said Thursday that it is working on a fix that will be distributed in an upcoming software upgrade.

With the security hole, an attacker can get malicious software onto a device by tricking its owner into clicking an infected PDF file. Germany's Federal Office for Information Security called the flaws "critical weaknesses" in Apple's iOS operating system.

Internet-connected mobile devices are still subject to fewer attacks than personal computer, but they could eventually prove a juicy target for hackers because they are warehouses of confidential banking, e-mail, calendar, contact and other data. Software vulnerabilities are discovered all the time. What makes the latest discovery alarming is that the weaknesses are already being actively exploited — albeit in a consensual way. 

Apple Inc. spokeswoman Bethan Lloyd said Thursday the company is "aware of this reported issue and developing a fix." She would not say when the update will be available.

iPhone Will Track You Even After Location Services Are Disabled

Even when location services are not enabled, your iPhone will still collect and store location data, according to a test run by the Wall Street Journal.

The recent revelation that iPhones were collecting precise location data, and storing that data for up to a year in an unencrypted file, has sparked concern among users, as well as from Senator Al Franken and Representative Ed Markey, who have demanded Steve Jobs explain what the data is used for. 

The Wall Street Journal's test showed that the iPhone used cellphone towers and Wi-Fi access to find this location data, though it did not appear to be transmitted back to Apple. The test observed the data recorded by the phone as it moved from place to place, and found that these moves were recorded, using coordinates and time stamps. Google performs a similar operation regarding users' location data on phones using its Android software.Wallstreet Journal

Apple Unveils iPad 2: Faster, Thinner, Same Price

Apple unveiled its anticipated follow up to the popular iPad. Steve Jobs came back from medical leave to show off the new iPad that's thinner, lighter, faster and still the same price as the original. While other manufacturers struggle to release tablets at the same price point as the iPad, Apple seems to have struck gold with its tablet. The original iPad sold 15 million units, and Apple has managed to pack in many new features for the same price.

There are two more small additions on front and back, which are cameras that can be used to shoot pictures and video as well as video chat over FaceTime. The iPad 2 can FaceTime chat with iPhone and Mac users as well as other iPad 2 users. Inside, the iPad has gone through a few changes as well. The new dual-core A5 processor has significantly boosted the tablet's speed and graphics performance. Even more exciting, the pricing scheme has stayed exactly the same: $499 for 16GB Wi-Fi-only all the way up to $829 for 64GB 3G-capable. 

The iPad 2 is set for a March 11 launch date in the U.S., with releases in 26 more countries on March 25. Even though the white iPhone still hasn't appeared, there will be a white iPad 2 available at launch. Both the white and black versions will also be available on AT&T and Verizon. Technews Daily

Report: Apple to unveil iPad 2 on March 2

Kara Swisher over at All Things Digital says she has "multiple" sources who claim that Apple will hold a media event in San Francisco on March 2. Apple has yet to officially confirm an event next week, but according to Swisher, the company "seems poised" to take the wraps off the long-anticipated iPad 2, with the event "likely" to take place at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

The story comes just hours after a flurry of rumors that the next-generation iPad had been delayed, with major news outlets eventually backtracking on the claim Monday. While Apple hasn't said a peep about the new iPad yet, rumors peg it to be both thinner and lighter than the 1.5-pound, 0.52-inch original, with at least one camera for video chat, a souped-up processor, and more RAM. There had also been talk that the iPad 2 would arrive with an improved screen similar to the "retina" display on the current iPhone 4, but a recent report in the Wall Street Journal shot down those rumors, noting that the new display may "disappoint customers" hoping for a "significant improvement" in resolution. Yahoo

Wesley Snipes Heads Up New Game

 

Incarcerated Hollywood star Wesley Snipes is lending his hand to an all-new game that's coming to the iPhone and iPad this June before rolling out to Xbox LIVE, PlayStation Network and Android at an unspecified date.

Dubbed Julius Styles: The International, the game combines action with puzzle elements and "was inspired by my desire to bring my Art of War, Murder at 1600 and Passenger 57 characters into the game world," said Snipes. "Julius Styles will offer something for both the mind game strategist and the kick-ass special ops warrior lover."

"I love games that challenge my mind and reflexes," the Blade star continued. "Julius Styles pits your street knowledge survival skills with your academic intellect and spiritual intuition." 

Lapland Studio, which has previously dabbled in WiiWare, will be on development duties and will be backed up by film outfits Red 27 and Elstree Studio Productions.

Snipes, who is currently serving a sentence for tax issues, will be making a film of Julius Styles soon after his projected prison release in 2013. Ign.com

'Roll Your Own' Joint-Making App Approved By Apple

 

Here's an app we weren't expecting to see in Apple's App Store, given the company's stringent (albeit unpredictable) policies regarding the apps that it approves: "Roll Your Own," a free app that offers videos and over 70 photos to help you "master the art" of rolling, packing, and "crutches."

Roll Your Own promises to teach you not only the basics, but also more advanced rolling techniques such as the Crowd Pleaser ("Almost twice as long as the Classic & guaranteed to please the crowds!") or the Tulip ("A Dutch specialty that is sure to bring smiles!"). Based on 40 reviews, the app has four star rating. Due to "frequent/intense alcohol, tobacco, or drug use or references," the app is only available for download by users over 17 years of age.


Apple has been far less tolerant of sexually suggestive apps--Apple CEO Steve Jobs reportedly said in an email that the iPhone and iPod offered users "freedom from porn"--and Apple removed thousands of R-rated apps from its Apple Store in a significant purge that occurred last year.

Will Apple Buy Netflix, Facebook?

Other Apple buyout targets could be Sony, Adobe, Electronic Arts.

Microsoft  may not be acquiring software developer Adobe after all. The New York Times, Apple strategy may be to itself acquire its long-time software rival Adobe Systems.

CEO Steve Jobs openly admitted that Apple was pooling its cash resources in anticipation of “strategic opportunities,” indicating to those analysts listening in that Apple would be making at least one high-profile corporate acquisition in the near future.

Apple’s increasing interest in both video and gaming, Netflix and Electronic Arts  are likely targets of a multi-billion acquisition by Apple. Netflix would give Apple the same penetration with video onto competing platforms like Google  Android smartphones, set top boxes like Logitech’s Google TV boxes, and gaming consoles like Nintendo’s Wii. It would also make Apple an automatic leader in the streaming, on-demand video market that is gaining on broadcast and cable service.

Electronic Arts, meanwhile, would be desirable not just for its major gaming franchises like The Sims and Madden NFL, but its prominent social and mobile gaming divisions as well. EA’s products perform well on Apple’s mobile devices.

Sony is another possible acquisition for Apple, which would give it not just control of one of the three major video game hardware manufacturers in the world, but direct control over a competitor in numerous branches of Apple’s business, including laptop computers, smartphones, music distribution and more.

Facebook is another possibility, one that may ultimately prove the most profitable for Apple. “(As) crazy as it sounds, it would be a game-changer,” Wu told the The New York Times. Apple’s interest in the social network has been demonstrated by the prolonged and reportedly tense integration of Mark Zuckerberg’s infamous social network with Apple’s new iTunes-based network, Ping. Zuckerberg and Jobs also recently met for dinner at Jobs’ house according to the Los Angeles Times, though what they discussed is still unknown.

Ipad Has a New Carrier