Latest Gadgets, Tablets and Smartphones
Evernote has updated the Evernote app for iOS devices. The universal app update covers the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch versions.
New features include snippets, an updated PDF engine, more formatting options, Evernote Business integration and the usual various bug fixes.
Although no official announcement has been made about the existance of an iPad mini, it still hasn’t stopped a ton of rumours about it as well as supposed part leaks. The latest I saw today was a mockup of what the iPad mini might look like. To be honest, it’s pretty much what I expected it to be with thinner bezels around the sides and larger bezels on the top and bottom.
ZAGG has announced at IFA that it is launching a couple of new iPad keyboards. The new keyboards are called the ZAGGkeys PRO and there is also a PRO Plus model launching. The PRO Plus with backlit keyboard is pictured below.
Well, I can’t say I expected to see something written about the build costs of the un-announced and only rumoured iPad mini… but today, I see that someone has added together the cost of all the leaked parts and estimated that it will cost Apple $189.32 to built each iPad mini.
The iPad mini has been rumoured to cost $299 when launched… and I will add “if launched” to that as it has been rumoured each year since 2010 without being launched yet.
Here in Europe, premium Apple resellers have been asked to provide more display space for the iPad. The request mentions that this work should be complete by September 12. Apple Insider hint that this could mean that the iPad mini will be announced on September 12 and have displays ready for it the same day. Although I’m a little sceptical of an iPad mini launch in September, I can see why Apple would want more space dedicated for a new device.
More rumours about the iPad mini continue to surface. The latest is that the side bezels (when held in portrait) will be thinner, similar to the iPhone and iPod touch. This will make the device look more like a large iPod touch than an iPad although we believe it will still be classed as an iPad mini.
Rumours about a smaller iPad are still continuing ahead of a supposed launch. Over the weekend some shots of the casing for the iPad mini were uploaded on to the internet. The image below shows the rear casing and what we might expect if the rumours of an iPad mini are true.
Apple has changed the name of the 4G version of the iPad to iPad WiFi + Cellular. The ‘Cellular’ has been added and replaced the 4G. Nothing has actually changed in the iPad and this is merely to keep a number of countries happy who were complaining that they were buying a 4G device in a country where 4G wasn’t available… ie, they couldn’t get the full benefit of it.
I’m not too convinced with this just yet, but a rumour is going around now indicating that a 7 (or so) inch iPad will be launching in October with a price tag in the region of $200 to $250. The tablet will be aggressively priced which will allow it to compete with the likes of the Amazon Kindle Fire.
pod2g has managed to jailbreak a 3rd gen iPad running iOS 5.1. The jailbreak is still rough around the edges and isn’t ready for launch, but from what we understand, it will be capable of jaialbreaking any iOS 5.1 device which includes the iPhone 4S.
The new iPad runs a little warmer than previous generation models. This has caused some concern for users who are saying that their own iPads are getting far too hot. Apple was contacted about this and has responded with the following:
“The new iPad delivers a stunning Retina display, A5X chip, support for 4G LTE plus 10 hours of battery life, all while operating well within our thermal specifications. If customers have any concerns they should contact AppleCare.”
Google has announced that Google Earth Mobile for iOS and Android has received an update. The update brings a much wanted feature to mobile devices in the way of KML file support. What that means is that users who download version 6.2 can now open up KML files to view custom maps while on the go.
