Pogue on the New iPad

post from Daring Fireball on 15 March 2012 08:04:18 PM. © Daring Fireball

David Pogue:

Weirdly, though, speech-to-text is the only piece of Siri, Apple?ssmart voice-control software, that the new iPad inherits from theiPhone 4S. You don?t get the rest of Siri?s features: the abilityto set alarms, send text messages, look up calendar appointmentsand snag facts from the Web just by asking out loud. That the fullSiri isn?t available smacks more of a marketing departmentholdback than technical limitations.

I understand the theory that Apple has kept Siri exclusive to the iPhone 4S as a marketing carrot to spur existing iPhone users to upgrade to the latest model. But what marketing advantage would Apple gain by withholding Siri from a new product like the iPad (3)? Maybe it is technical: not a technical issue on the device itself, which has a faster processor than the iPhone 4S, but rather on Siri’s cloud-based back end. If Apple’s Siri servers are struggling to keep up with usage demand today, with Siri limited to the 4S, they’d do even worse after a soon-to-be-avalanche of iPad (3) users jump on board.

The new iPad doesn?t introduce anything that we haven?t seenbefore, either in the iPhone or in rival tablets. There?s no SteveJobs ?one more thing? moment here; Apple just took its white-hotiPad and added the latest screen, battery and cellulartechnologies.

This strikes me as overly cynical. We’ve seen an IPS retina display in a consumer product before, but only at 3.5 inches. What product have we seen with a 9.7-inch IPS retina display? What product have we seen that gets 8 hours of battery life surfing the web on LTE?

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/technology/personaltech/the-new-ipad-is-much-th
e-same-only-better.html?pagewanted=all

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Last Man in the iOS Should Support Flash Player
Room, Turn Out the Lights

post from Daring Fireball on 15 March 2012 08:04:18 PM. © Daring Fireball

Ed Baig, listing the pros and cons of the iPad (3) in his review for USA Today:

Pro. Stunning screen, 4G speeds (on certain models), decentdictation and improved camera optics. Strong battery. Appsgalore.
Con. Shooting with camera can be awkward. No Adobe Flash. Nocamera flash. No expanded storage.

You know it’s bad when you’re behind Adobe — Adobe! — regarding Flash Player for post-PC devices.

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http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/story/2012-03-14/apple-new-ipad
-review/53535790/1

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Dalrymple on the New iPad

post from Daring Fireball on 15 March 2012 08:04:18 PM. © Daring Fireball

Jim Dalrymple:

I struggled after the event to put the right words togetherto describe the display and a week later I?m still lost for theproper analogy. The only thing I can think of that comes close iscomparing it to the first time you ever saw an HDTV. Remember howstartling it was to go from one of those giant standard definitionprojector TVs to an HDTV? That?s what this is like.

Good analogy.

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http://www.loopinsight.com/2012/03/14/review-ipad-third-generation/

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Share Your iPad With Family and Friends Thanks To
Skyfire HotSwap

post from prMac on 15 March 2012 07:10:00 PM. © prMac

Tired of sharing your iPad and finding your Facebook, twitter, Gmail, and other accounts logged out? Today Skyfire, creator of the blockbuster mobile browser with over 13 million downloads to date, is introducing a solution that will ease your tablet sharing pain. Skyfire HotSwap is a new breed of mobile browser that allows for up to four users to save and preset their browsing preferences for seamless profile swapping across the full web.

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http://prmac.com/release-id-39770.htm

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iPad vs. iPad: Which 4G tablet should you choose

post from Apple on 15 March 2012 07:03:00 PM. © Apple

3G and 4G tablets haven?t exactly been hot sellers since their introduction two years ago. Driven by the big markup for the extra radios as well as the cost of the mobile data plans, customers are gravitating to Wi-Fi-only iPads and Android tablets. Still, some of you may find the combination of LTE and iOS irresistible ? and have the pocketbook to afford it — but which iPad to buy, Verizon?s or AT&T?s? Here?s a quick primer on the differences between the two.

Speed: A tie, unless you live in Chicago or LA

In most cities, Verizon and AT&T?s network will be able to match each other megabit per megabit ? and AT&T may have a slight advantage given that its LTE networks are still relatively free of customers. But in some markets AT&T?s 4G networks are a bit undersized, as it is limited to only 10 MHz of frequency bandwidth, while in other AT&T cities — and all of Verizon?s ? the networks pack a full 20 MHz.

Speed tests from a Verizon LTE phone in NYC

GigaOm contributor and spectrum policy wonk Andrew Shepherd crunched some license data and found that AT&T only has 10 MHz in Chicago; Los Angeles; Oklahoma City; Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, and Chapel Hill, N.C.; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Simply put, in those markets Verizon?s networks will be twice as fast.

That said, even AT&T?s pint-sized LTE networks are impressive. In a recent drive test in Chicago, AT&T was averaging 10 Mbps down and 6 Mbps up even on the highway and peaking at 20 Mbps while stationary, which should be more than enough to support any application on the iPad. But speed freaks take note: GigaOM readers have recorded Verizon 4G connections well over 60 Mbps in New York.

As for fallback networks AT&T has the Verizon beat, though don?t let the iPad?s shiny 21 Mbps and 42 Mbps HSPA+ specs fool you — AT&T?s HSPA service maxes out at 14.4 Mbps. That?s still more than four time?s faster than Verizon?s EV-DO, but then again, with Verizon?s network you won?t be falling back on 3G that often.

Coverage: Point goes to Verizon

When the iPad goes on sale Friday it will have LTE covering more than 200 million people in every single major market and many of the smaller ones as well. By year end, Verizon plans to cover 260 million people, leaving it only 30 million short of its covering its entire footprint.

AT&T's LTE markets are marked by the orange dots

AT&T was late out of the gate, and as of its last estimates, it had 74 million people covered in 28 cities, though it is adding a bunch more in the coming months. Its end-of-year target is a footprint covering about half of the U.S. population.

It?s also important to note that while AT&T left some pretty big coverage gaps in its cities at launch, it appears to be rapidly filling them in. For instance much of Chicago?s south side was without LTE when it first came online last year, but big chunks of it are now covered. The same goes for the Bay Area. Still, it?s a good idea to take a close look at both operators? market-by-market coverage maps before you buy. You can find Verizon?s here, and AT&T?s here.

Price: Point goes to AT&T

While both carriers are selling the new iPads for about $130 more than Wi-Fi only equivalents, they have different monthly data plan rates, and those costs can add up over the length of a year. AT&T?s mid-tier plan gives you 3 GB for $30, compared to Verizon?s 2 GB for the same price. For most smartphone users, that extra gig is extraneous, but in the world of tablet computing, it can go a long way.

For the heavy volume user, Verizon has a 10 GB plan for $80, while buying the equivalent amount of data from AT&T would cost $100. For the more conservative user, AT&T?s plans scale down to $15 a month, but that hardly seems worth it given you only get a measly 250 MB. If you go over your monthly allotment, both operators charge $10 per gigabyte.

As for complete mobile broadband freedom, neither one of these operators is going to let you make the wheels rip on your new iPad, unless you’re willing to pay dearly for it. While LTE connectivity is going to be a nice perk for those who buy it, its faster speeds mean consumers will be eating through their plans at rapid clips. So count on spending a lot of time on Wi-Fi with your new 4G iPad.

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Apple labor protestors to target new iPad sale
Friday

post from Apple on 15 March 2012 06:03:15 PM. © Apple

Hoping to attract the attention of Apple fans more interested in how their iPad is made than whether the Retina display in the new iPad is worth the upgrade or not, another coordinated, multi-store protest against working conditions in Apple’s third-party manufacturers’ factories is planned for Friday.

At 8 a.m. local time, the exact time Apple is planning to open the doors of its stores to sell the first of its third-generation iPads to hordes of customers — with plenty of news cameras on hand — Change.org will hold another demonstration, this time asking Apple to create “an ethical iPad.” They are petitioning Apple to create “a worker protection strategy” to prevent worker abuse and injury. Change.org so far has a little over 251,000 signatures on the petition.

The demonstrations are planned for Apple stores in Washington, D.C., New York City and San Francisco.

This follows a series of protests asking for “an ethical iPhone” last month at six Apple stores. Those attracted some media attention, but none were coordinated around an event like a new product sale. Apple typically has long lines of customers ready to buy new products at its stores the first day they’re available, so Change.org will definitely have a bigger audience and potentially better media coverage for Friday’s protest.

Apple has taken steps to assure its customers that it is trying to improve the conditions at its partners’ factories. Last month the company sent representatives of the Fair Labor Association, a trade group Apple joined in January, to inspect contract manufacturer Foxconn?s factory in Shenzhen, China. Audits are also scheduled for Foxconn?s Chengdu facility, and the factories of suppliers Quanta and Pegatron.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has acknowledged the outcry from concerned customers and investors, saying, “We believe that every worker has the right to a fair and safe work environment, free of discrimination, where they can earn competitive wages and they can voice their concerns freely. And Apple suppliers must live up to this to do business with Apple.”

The leader of this ongoing protest, Mark Shields, said he appreciates the steps Apple is taking, but wants to draw more attention to new products like the iPad.

“It’s great to see Apple taking important steps like the factory audit this month, and pay raises for the factory workers,” said Shields in a statement. “But Apple hasn’t crossed the finish line yet. New product releases, like the iPad 3 this week, have typically been the most dangerous for workers because of the incredible pressure they are under to meet release production deadlines.”

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Walmart selling new iPad before Apple: Friday
12:01 a.m.

post from Apple on 15 March 2012 05:03:50 PM. © Apple

If you can’t wait until 8 a.m. to get your hands on the new iPad, Walmart has some good news for you: the retailer says that its stores will open at 12:01 am local time to sell the new iPad Friday morning, March 16.

Walmart is cautioning that it’s “a limited supply” of Apple’s third-generation iPad that will be for sale at each store. It looks like only the 16GB WiFi model (in black or white) will be available, as well as the iPad 2.

Apple stores in nine countries will be selling the new iPad beginning at 8 a.m. local time Friday morning. In the U.S., AT&T, Verizon, Best Buy, Sam’s Club and RadioShack will also be selling the new iPad.

Of course, if you’d rather not jostle with other iPad seekers standing in line, you can always order one online.

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No 4G chip magic in the iPad, just a big battery

post from Apple on 15 March 2012 05:03:50 PM. © Apple

We already knew from Apple’s iPad product page that the new tablet has a much higher battery capacity over the prior iPad. A tear-down by iFixit confirmed this on Thursday and it shouldn’t surprise: To light up more than 3 million pixels and use LTE networks, the iPad needs some serious juice to maintain 9 or more hours of battery life.

The iFixit teardown confirms something else I suspected. There’s no special chip magic helping to boost the battery life for the 4G tablet. Most LTE devices to date have struggled to offer more than 4 to 5 hours of battery life while using LTE networks, save the Motorola Droid Maxx. And it does so the same way as Apple’s iPad; with a higher capacity battery.

How do I know there’s no magic pixie dust on the chips in Apple’s LTE tablet to help increase the run-time? Apple is using Qualcomm’s MDM9600 3G and 4G baseband chip, which has been used in Verizon’s LTE MiFi since April of last year, not to mention a number of other LTE devices since then.

Ultimately, iPad owners don’t care how Apple solved the LTE power consumption challenge, but now you know it’s all battery, which explains the increased thickness and weight. Maybe the next iPad will have that magic pixie dust!

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Lingibli Update Offers Free Additional Functions
to Language Lovers

Lingibli launched its first update for the iPhone and Android App, providing language learners and travelers with new free functionalities to start learning a new language and have fun sharing the experience with their Facebook friends. Every hit of the 'I like' button will be rewarded with the unlocking of the Emotion category within the App. One can unlock these phrases with pronunciations by liking the Lingibli fanpage on Facebook via the app. The updated version supports Slovak language.

Read The Full Article:
http://prmac.com/release-id-39727.htm

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Sail through the point of sale with iOS-based
software

You can start a "tab" with individual Square merchants via the Card Case app.

With the recent release of Square’s Register point-of-sale (POS) software, small business owners now have another way to turn iPads and iPhones into cash registers. In addition to Square’s Register, Ambur and Lavu leverage existing iOS equipment along with software for a complete POS solution.

I’m an active and enthusiastic Square merchant, and I love the system for my mobile business. I decided to compare notes with several other business owners who use iOS devices to ring up sales and manage their businesses.

Square Register (used at Sump Coffee, St. Louis, Mo.)

For businesses on a budget, Square?s Register software is the place to start. Sump Coffee in St. Louis, Mo., uses Square on an iPad. Square comes with a card reader for credit card swipes. The service also provides business owners with analytics, such as data on their top-selling products, busy times and overall sales trends. When I spoke with Sump’s owner Scott Carey, he said that the ?simplicity and elegance? of Square fits with his business model. The software is free and he only pays the standard

Square fees for credit card processing (2.75 percent of each swipe).

Due to the limits of the iPad screen and because you have to manually choose individual items for sale, Square?s Register software doesn?t scale well for companies with large inventories. But it was a natural fit for Carey’s artisanal coffee shop. Plus, he can easily stash the iPad underneath the counter when he?s demonstratin
At businesses that use Register, customers can pay with Square?s Card Case app on their iPhone (and leave a tip if they like). To use the app, you first authorize Square to use Card Case at a supported business. The app then uses iOS built-in GPS and location services to connect you with businesses that support Card Case payments. When you walk into supported businesses, your Card Case app automatically opens a tab, and you can tell the vendor to charge it to your name. Carey likes that the app allows him to serve the coffee and charge the customer later, an important advantage when he’s busy trying to time the perfect brew.g brew methods. This portability “minimizes the barrier” between him and the customer, says Carey.

The notification you get when a Square merchant has closed your "tab."

From a customer perspective, Card Case is not perfect. When I tried to use it at Pi Pizzeria in St. Louis, my tab opened up when I walked into the pizzeria, but I couldn?t pay. The manager explained that they can?t use Square?s system at their brick-and-mortar shop because it doesn?t integrate with their legacy POS, which they use for both payment and order management. (On the plus side, he discounted our pizza as an apology.)

Ambur (used at Snow and Company, Kansas City, Mo.)

Server takes an order with an iPhone at Snow and Company.

On the other side of Missouri, in Kansas City, the specialty cocktail bar Snow and Company runs a completely Apple-based operation. Gerland Nevins, CEO and Head of Strategery [sic] and Customer Happiness, explained that he preferred Ambur‘s iOS-based POS over other solutions, because it had a one-time fee rather than ongoing costs. Although he considers himself non-technical, he set up the software and printers on his own. Nevins says Ambur?s support team is very responsive and the software provides him with data ? including information on the performance of each server, peak times for the business and hot-selling products ? that he needs to manage operations. Snow and Company’s food and drink menu changes often, and Nevins hasn’t had any problems updating and revising the menu items. Anyone who has used a traditional POS knows programming changes can be a real pain.

Snow and Company uses a Mac monitor for their menu board, and orders are taken on an iPod Touch. When I first visited the bar, I thought my server was playing with her iPod instead of taking our orders. Once I figured out that my server was working and not playing Angry Birds, I thought the system was very cool and completely transparent. The mobile ordering system fits with Snow and Company’s fun and social aesthetic too — since servers don?t have to run back to a terminal to enter orders, they can stay out on the floor and interact with customers.

Lavu (used by Flying Monkey, Topeka, Kan.)

The Flying Monkey cafe uses the Lavu system to ring up orders and take payments on an iPad. Lavu also includes such traditional POS elements as printers, cash drawers and other equipment options. Unlike Ambur or Square, Lavu has an initial setup fee and monthly hosting fees. Printers, cash registers and other hardware are extra.

According to Holly Bastin, spokesperson for Flying Monkey, they chose this particular iOS-based POS because it’s customizable. ?It’s nice to have a system that integrates well with our smartphones and allows us to make changes or check in on the go,” Bastin said. “It offers the option of turning an iPhone into a terminal if need be, which has come in handy on occasion.”

From a customer perspective, it?s very similar to other cash registers, sans the bulk. Customers might not notice anything is different until they’re asked to use their finger to sign on the iPad screen (similar to Square) for a credit card purchase.

The bottom line

Which iOS-based POS system is best for your business? If you are currently using a stand-alone ?dumb? register to ring up customers, Square is a logical choice. It’s cheap and easy and free to start off with. For more sophisticated operations, Lavu and Ambur are great choices. They can provide more sophisticated reporting, ring up sales with multiple servers and print tickets to a kitchen or bar.

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