The first update to the iPad mini will likely come right before the Fall school season begins, this lodging the tablet directly into the minds of those prospective users looking to maximize the excellence of their backpack setup. This machine falls in line with users hoping to own their own piece of Apple equipment without going full-sized with the standard iPad. The main line iPad will have reached its 5th generation, more than likely, by the end of this year.

NOTE: This analysis suggests that the report from April 29th from KGI Securities was only referring to the 3rd-generation iPad mini. We shall see!

The iPad mini will be seeing a push to a new display technology, it’s also said, including a possible inclusion of LTPS, the same technology used in the iPhone 5. LPTS is also known as low-temperature polysilicon, and it’ll be sharpening up the iPad mini significantly. The first run of iPad mini units used the same number of pixels as the original iPad, allowing it to be a bit more dense than that first-gen tablet, but still falling well below the current-gen iPad with so-called “retina” display.

This set of predictions has the iPad mini with Retina display and higher-powered processor set for the first quarter of 2014 while the end of summer will be a likely plant-point for the iPad mini with just a bit of a display boost on its own. Meanwhile it’s expected that a new low-cost iPhone may be appearing before the end of the year alongside a specifications-boosted iPhone 5S. Of course this is all speculation as Apple keeps its real plans under notoriously tight wraps.

[via CNET]

Though the iPhone family currently on the market allows for several price points based basically on the amount of time a product has been on the market, a new release with a brand new name may be required to hit the market Apple has yet to touch. According to J.P. Morgan, Apple already has a relatively large iCloud userbase (300 million users strong), but risks losing ground as Android’s ecosystem grows.

“Apple usually creates new demand when it steps into a price band — for example, the $300-$400 price range for tablets did not have much demand (most of the growth had been at the $499+ or $199 range) before the launch of the iPad mini. However, after the launch of Pad mini, this segment has become one of the largest parts of the market, even convincing many suers to upgrade from cheaper tablets to the iPad mini.” – Mark Moskowitz and Gokul Hariharan

The Google Nexus 4 has seen significant success on the market as a relatively low-cost device in the off-contract segment. While most high-end smartphones cost upwards of $500 USD without carrier subsidies, the Nexus 4 rings in at a cool $299, completely unlocked and without contractual obligations. The least expensive off-contract Apple smartphone, the iPhone 4, costs $450 USD off-contract.

The duo of J.P. Morgan analysts suggest that a release of a low-cost iPhone will “come at the expense of margins in the short term” – so-called “cannibalism” of iPhone sales – but Apple will benefit in the long run from “non-product revenue streams.” A very similar suggestion was made back in 2011 in SlashGear’s column Why the iPhone 4S will be Free.

[via Apple Insider]

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the Retina iPad mini won’t enter production until the fall, and since it takes a few months for the production to build up enough inventory to begin selling to consumers, it seems that the 2nd-generation mini tablet won’t launch until 2014 — possibly not until Apple’s next update cycle in the spring of next year.

Apple is rumored to refresh a handful of its iOS devices this fall, but the iPad mini may be one device that gets left out of the bunch. Kuo cites the difficulty of producing the smaller Retina displays as the reason behind the production timeline of October. However, Kuo says that a cheaper iPad mini could be made instead, to compete with the Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire series.

Kuo also noted that the 5th-generation iPad will come with a design much like the iPad mini, which we’re not surprised to hear since we’ve heard this on multiple occasions in the past. We’ve seen leaks recently of rear shells that are claimed to be the rear casing of the 5th-generation iPad, which resemble the iPad mini down to the finest detail.

[via iCreate]

With this version of the iPad we’ll once again be seeing the Lightning connector on the bottom of the tablet, a microphone hole up top on the back, and speaker holes on the bottom too. This model has the same display lock, same location for a headphone jack, and same placement of a volume button. It’s as if this version of the iPad hasn’t change at all for the basics. Even the camera appears to be the same size.

The big differences come in the thinness of the body and the wideness and tallness of the overall tablet design. This leaked mold suggests that Apple might be taking the same approach Sony has taken with their updated design of the Xperia Z with the Xperia XL. Tossing out everything that’s not absolutely essential in the design, here we’ve got a display that will appear much closer to an edge-to-edge situation than in previous tablets.

Have a peek at a couple of shots of cases courtesy of Engadget and let us know if you feel Apple should be cutting down on the bezel for the next-generation hero iPad design. Have a peek at our reviews of the iPad 4 and the iPad mini as well and see what you think – will you be picking up an iPad in the near future if they change the body?

Now a newly, updated Office action has been discovered by MacRumors that shows that the USPTO has decided to rescind its earlier objections. The two original objections that the examiner had an issue with have seemed to be resolved. They were the “merely descriptive” aspect of the “mini” trademark as well as Apple using the iPad mini’s product webpage as the image in its proposal. The new office action states:

This Office action supersedes any previous Office action issued in connection with this application.

Upon further review of the application, the examining attorney has determined that the following refusals issued in the initial Office action should be withdrawn. The examining attorney apologizes for any inconvenience caused.

REFUSALS WITHDRAWN:

The Trademark Act Section 2(e)(1) descriptiveness refusal and the Sections 1 and 45 specimen refusal are both withdrawn.

However, this doesn’t mean that Apple is guaranteed its iPad mini trademark. The USPTO states that it still needs to double-check to see if any other companies have filed for the “mini” trademark with their own products. It also wants Apple to amend its application to include a disclaimer that states that the “mini” trademark can only be applied when used in conjunction with the “iPad mini”.

The disclaimer is to protect any companies who want to use the “mini” for their future products. An example being Samsung and its Samsung Galaxy S III Mini, or its rumored Samsung GALAXY S 4 Mini. We’ll keep you posted if there are any new updates to this trademark issue. Until then, be sure to check out our review of Apple’s iPad mini, as well as our timeline below for more Apple related news.

[via MacRumors]

One of the more amazing takes on this situation comes from AppAdvice where they’ve falsified a couple of quotes from Apple, saying they’ll be moving forward with the name “iNewton” instead of iPad mini from this point forward. Sound like a reasonable action to you? This situation is odd for more than its subsequent jokes, mind you – while generally Apple has been granted trademarks such as these without fail here in the USA.

As noted by Patently Apple, the original submission of this patent application and the time between then and now, when the documents have been made public, is a real oddity. Also odd is the time between the denial, made on March 27th, and the time it was made public – several days later. That said, it’s certainly not the end of the iPad mini as we know it – Apple has the opportunity to re-submit its application to the USPTO without penalty.

Without a successful application by Apple to the USPTO, they’ll continue to only have a trademark on the name “iPad.” As the USPTO notes, the letter “i” before the name does successfully indicate that Apple is showing the device to work with the internet in their own unique way, much like the iPhone. Their current denial comes in the form of the “mini” which they say only says that the original iPad is being shown in a smaller size – effectively suggesting that Apple’s name isn’t something they can claim as their own naming convention.

The rejection letter was sent to Apple back in January 24th. The reviewer stated that the term Mini just described “something that is distinctively smaller than other members of its type or class.” The reviewer referred to other products with the term Mini slapped onto their descriptions as well, and stated that the word is so common, and that Apple’s use of it only describes “a small sized handheld tablet computer.

Apple needs to find a better way to distinguish the iPad Mini from the regular iPad in order to obtain the trademark. Alongside these grounds for refusal, the reviewer also stated that Apple is not allowed to submit images from its product webpages in its trademark applications. Something strange about that refusal is that it’s actually common for Apple to use images from its product webpages, and that this is the first time that USPTO has had a problem with it.

Apple has until July 24th to appeal its trademark application with the appropriate amendments, but Apple should already be well on its way to solving the issue. Apple’s iPad Mini has gained a lot of popularity in the past 6 months, with consumer interest in the device almost doubling from what it was before. You can check out our iPad Mini review in order to see if its a tablet you should get.

[via Apple Insider]

The folks over at Electronista say they have received information from “well-placed sources familiar with the matter” that the Department of Defense has a pending order for over half a million Apple devices, which will go through after the sequester ends. This follows reports that Blackberry’s BB 10 handsets were given the kibosh in an effort to reduce costs.

The sources went on to break down the numbers, stating that the order will be comprised of 200,000 iPod Touches, 100,000 iPad minis, and 120,000 iPads. For those doing the math, this leaves another 200,000+ empty slots that will be filled with “various iPhones,” meaning some government workers won’t be lucky enough to score the iPhone 5. Still, this order is being placed, the sources say, to satisfy “needs that can’t wait.”

Reportedly, the majority of these Apple devices will be sent to those on the “battlefield [and] afloat,” as well as to support commands related to both. The devices left over from that will almost exclusively stay with Pentagon personnel, and whatever remains will find homes in various other locations. The blow for Blackberry comes from another source, which stated that these Apple devices will replace almost all Blackberry devices in use that aren’t BB 10 compatible.

[via Electronista]

What Apple should do, on the other hand, is tap two markets that it’s been avoiding since the dawn of the iPhone. The first of these is the customizing developer/hacker community that so ravenously devours each new Android phone. The second is the vast group of people rather rapidly accepting the ultra-large (but not quite tablet-sized) smartphone screen.

With the amount of attention each post about Jailbreaking gets here on SlashGear compared to the chatter that comes up each time iOS is updated, an instant conclusion can be drawn: it’s much more interesting (to those that reach tech blogs) to see the iPhone broken into than it is to see Apple bring on updates and upgrades. Where it gets really interesting is when Apple’s updates appear to be the direct result of Jailbreaking – hacks take a turn, Apple takes a turn, and so on and so forth.

So what if Apple created a Developer Edition iPhone?

Would it be so very anti-Apple to release a device that they encouraged the very real – and rather giant – developer community to customize?

Or would it be releasing their hardware to those that would change the software as they saw fit that made the iPhone into a device that’s not all that different from phones made by the Android-toting competition?

Then there’s the more obvious next step for the iPhone – a larger display size. Now that Apple has cracked the illusion that the iPhone 4′s screen size was the only one that – because of the massive amount of time that went into perfecting it – was ever going to be perfect, they can move on. Apple should and will create an iPhone that’s larger that the iPhone 5′s 4-inch display size limit.

But before they do that, they’ll have the ability to make this handheld machine bring on innovations we’ve not yet seen implemented on smartphones. If the rest of the smartphone universe is the Borg, they’ve already assimilated vast amounts of the “cool” that has pushed the iPhone to the top spot and kept it there for so many years. "The iPhone and Apple do not need help surviving"

The iPhone and Apple do not need help surviving – this is no call to action for Apple – they’ve still got one massively successul smartphone line on their hands. Instead consider this a call-to-action on the part of you lovers of game-changing innovation: Apple creates products people love. If everyone on the planet made it clear to Apple that they loved iOS better on the iPad mini than they do on the iPhone 5, you’d see a smartphone right between the two rather quick.

The same goes for you Jailbreaking-loving developers out there – continue to spread the love that is community evolution in software and you might – not any time soon – see an iPhone Developer Edition in your holiday stocking. Some day!

The great thing about Apple refurbished products is they come with the same one-year warranty as their brand new products, and all refurbished models come with a brand new battery and new outer shell, making them almost brand new and hardly distinguishable from the brand new variants, but scoring a $50 discount in the meantime.

You can get the entry-level model of the 4th-gen iPad for $449, which is $50 less than if you were to buy it brand new. As for the iPad mini, Apple doesn’t have the entry-level model in stock, but as with all of their refurbished products, different models come and go quickly, so if you see the model that you want, you better act fast.

The cheapest refurbished iPad mini is selling for $429, which will land you the 16GB LTE version, but it should only be a matter of time before we see the entry-level model show up, which we’re guessing will sell for $299. The refurbished iPad minis that are currently offered will net you a discount of around $30-$40.

The iPad version comes mixed in with the iPhone version, so there aren’t two separate apps here. This means that the iPad version can do the same things that iPhone users have been enjoying for a couple months now, including the ability to edit your videos right after shooting them, and then uploading their videos to social networks.

After filming a video, you can add different effects and edit your video by adding color correction, auto stabilization, trimming, and even music. You also have the choice of uploading your video as a private video or make it public. Plus, you can post it to Google+, Facebook, and Twitter all at once, cutting out many of the monotonous steps in the process.

The app recently updated to support 1080p recording, which is excellent, but if you’re connected to WiFi, be aware that uploading a 1080p video may be slow, and it could eat up your data plan if you’re not on an unlimited subscription. YouTube Capture is a free download, and the update is available now from the App Store.

Furthermore, as for what respondents wanted to see most on the next-generation iPad mini, 87% said they wanted to see longer battery life, and 85% said they wanted to see a faster processor. A Retina display was also at the top of the wish list, with 77% saying they wanted a more pixel-dense display, and 76% want a USB port, although we don’t see that happening anytime soon, if ever.

This comes a day after the IDC increased its 2013 forecast for Android tablet shipments from 172 million to almost 191 million, as low cost tablets are expected to be a big hit this year, and the low cost of the slates are believed to be the main reason behind the success of Android tablets. While the iPad mini is priced above most budget Android tablets, the smaller Apple slate is fairly cheaper than a full-size iPad.

Apple launched the iPad mini back in October, and the company is rumored to launch the second-generation iPad mini sometime during the spring, along with a new iPhone, although a new generation for the iPad mini and iPhone seems a bit early at this point, but a spring event could be Apple’s main event in 2013, while it was a September event last year when Apple announced most of their new products that year.

[via TabTimes]

The MacUser folks stated that the concept was inspired by the Smart Cover accessory for iPads. They stated that creating an iWatch could be as easy as combining an iPad Nano device onto a leather band. The leather would give the device a classic and conventional feel. MacUser stated, “We came to the conclusion that Apple’s most likely play would be to keep its watch as conventional as possible, with the feel of something classic rather than excitably innovative.

Analysts believe that Apple could take 10% of the global watch market with the iWatch. That would mean that it could make $6 billion off the device. The watch is rumored to be able to survive 5-6 days on a single charge, and there are currently 100 engineers working on the project. Many have said that if Apple could pull of the iWatch (if any company could do it, it’d be Apple), it can kill all of those rumors that say the company is not innovative without Steve Jobs.

Many sources are saying that Apple is prepping to launch the new mobile accessory this year around early Q4. The company may be accelerating the launch of the device because its investors are feeling uneasy about its deteriorating stock price. Tim Cook has been saying over and over that Apple has some “great products” that will help bring the company’s stock price back up. Do you think the iWatch will be the device to do that?

[via Tapscape]

Facebook speaks up on the changes

What you’ll want to see first is Facebook’s designers speaking up about the changes they’ve made themselves. They’re always good at making the case for a positive forward movement, and today’s video is no exception. They’ll speak up here about each of the three main points this change is pushing before we go through them one by one.

Rich Stories

Design choices throughout this new iteration of the News Feed on Facebook show the company to be coming to terms with the idea that images are king. If you post a photo, you’ll find that you’ve got the largest preview showing in your News Feed that Facebook has ever shown before – along with Like, Comment, and Share buttons right below in newly smoothed-out sections. If two people become friends, you’ll see one of them in a tiny icon and the other represented by not just their icon, but their header image as well.

When you see a link being shared, you’ll also see a short list of icons associated with the people who have shared it on Facebook as well. Hovering over one of these icons expands the rest – this element is in place to have people finding new friends with similar interest, of course. Along those same lines you’ll find Upcoming Events appearing next to single dates – Fridays, for example, will be of particular interest.

Finally you’ll see newly revamped posts from pages – this will be great for pages such as SlashGear (http://www.facebook.com/SlashGear) for appearing in your News Feed in a newly sleek setup. As with the rest of the feature updates, this redesign is much more simplistic than it’s been in the past.

Choice of Feeds

With a new pull-down menu that reads “News Feed” until you switch it, you’ll be able to select from any of the following to syphon your feed down to just the items you want: Most Recent, All Friends, Photos, Music, Following, Games, or Groups. This filter will be working in both the desktop (web browser) and mobile user interfaces soon – simple and smooth.

This filter will not be the first time you’ll be seeing a page that only shows photos and videos, but it is the first time we’re seeing Facebook push the “Following” aspect in a completely separate way. You can follow people on Facebook without friending them – this is good for “famous” users and the like – with this filter you’ll be able to see things that they share with the public and nothing else. This is much closer to what we see on Twitter on the daily – not so much the personal friendliness of Facebook.

Mobile Consistency

Both the desktop and the mobile editions of this change-over are going to be pushed almost at the same time. The desktop version will be coming first – with a limited roll-out starting today, the day of the update’s announcement. The mobile version – for iOS and Android at once, mind you – will be out in coming weeks.

The “Mobile Consistency” title refers also to the idea that the design for both user interfaces are now much more close to one another than they’ve ever been before. The biggest addition to the desktop end of things is the left-hand sidebar – get anywhere you need to from any Facebook nook or cranny, no more need to go all the way back to the News Feed every time!

According to the Tablet Repairability Guide, the Dell XPS 10 is the best option for those who plan to crack their tablet open and do some tinkering, with it being rated as easy to open, with labeled cables, color-coded screw, and an easy-to-remove battery. The only complaint listed was the fact that the LCD is fused to the display glass.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire comes in second, also being easy to open with standard Philips-head screws and no proprietary fasteners to deal with. Dell makes the upper list again at number three with its Dell Streak tablet, which is simply listed as being easy to open with an easy-to-replace battery, but marred by the same LCD-fused-to-glass issue. The Kindle Fire’s negative mark is that its glass is fused to the device’s frame.

Dropping to the bottom of the list, we find a lot of Apple and Microsoft products, with the Surface Pro coming in dead last. While the battery is not soldered to the motherboard, that is the only positive aspect that is listed, with it’s negative marks being comprised of “tons” of adhesive to keep the components in place, as well as DIYers risking severing the wires when opening the device. Next up, in order, is Apple’s iPad Mini, iPad 4, iPad 3, iPad 2, and then Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet. A consistent problem with the iPads is the risk of cracking the glass while taking it apart, as well as too much adhesive. The Surface RT is said to be hard to open with a fused LCD.

[via iFixit]

A member of Chinese site WeiPhone has posted photos of the rear shell in a forum thread, which shows all angles of the piece of aluminum that is said to be a part of the second-gen iPad mini. Of course, the shell looks very similar to the current iPad mini, but it does look a tad bit thicker. That could just be the angles of the photos giving us that effect, but a thicker iPad mini wouldn’t be unheard of.

For instance, the full-size iPad gained a bit of thickness after the iPad 2. Granted, it’s only a bit thicker, but the thinnest iPad that we’ve seen came out over two years ago. Apple may be stuffing a Retina display in the iPad mini, as well as some faster hardware, which would understandably make the device just a tad thicker than before.

The photos also show a bright blue Apple logo, as well as the word “iPad” towards the bottom. We’re guessing this just a part of the manufacturing process, or it could mean that Apple is planning to offer colored logos with this next-gen device, although that seems highly unlikely. Obviously, we don’t know much about this leak, so we’re keeping a good amount of salt nearby until we hear something a bit more official.

[via MacRumors]

The Blue Peter gold badge is a pin, or a button, if you like, that’s given by the program to people of particular influence on the design community. As it was given to Ive, so too did he reciprocate with a custom-made large version of the token back to the program. This extra-large Blue Peter badge was made of pure Aluminum – or Aluminium if you’re from that side of the sea.

Apple’s Chief Designer spoke up about how influential the Blue Peter program was on him as a child as well. He made it clear that he was particularly struck by the way the program took everyday objects and turned them into new, more useful inventions each time they appeared. Re-using objects otherwise seen as throwaway was also mentioned as being especially memorable by Ive.

You’ll also notice in the video that the host and Ive are using two iPad minis to work through the segment. It’s with these that they watch video presentations of the designs the children have made and make a point to tap through throughout the program. The whole Ive segment, too, takes place inside Apple’s own campus in Cupertino – fun stuff!

BONUS – extended edition!

The supply constraints were due to a conflict with the production of panels used in the iPad Mini. Not only that, the production company that provided the backlight module for the iPad Mini also reported that it had shortages. With these shortages, Apple wasn’t able to meet its shipment estimate in Q4 2012, and the effect had carried on over to 2013.

It’s better late than never for Apple to get its shipments of iPad Minis in order. Hey, at least it wasn’t as bad as the whole Nexus 4 debacle between LG and Google. The iPad Mini features a 7.9-inch 1024 x 768 resolution IPS LCD display, 1GHz dual-core A5 processor, 512 MB of RAM, 5MP rear-facing camera, 1.2MP front-facing camera, and iOS 6. It’s not the best tablet around, but it should please many Apple product lovers who want prefer smaller tablets.

With the iPad Mini, you’ll have access to the 300,000 apps that are optimized for the iPad. It’s also been speculated that Apple may have an announcement in the coming months that should be centered around the upcoming iPads. If you’re willing to wait a little while longer before getting your iPad, it’s something worth checking out.

The price will be around 699 leva in Bulgaria, which comes to around 358 euros, or $478.93. That’s the price for the 16GB Wi-Fi version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0, the cheapest model. The 3G + Wi-Fi version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 will be around 869 leva, so about 445 euros, or $595.32. It can also be assumed that the pricing for the tablet should be the same throughout the other European countries as well.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 is rumored to have an 8-inch 1280 x 800 TFT (Super Clear LCD) display, 1.6GHz Exynos 4412 quad-core processor, 16 or 32GB built-in storage with a microSD card slot, 2GB of RAM, 5MP rear-facing camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera, 4,600 mAh battery, and Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Samsung will officially announce the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 next week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. So with the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 heading to Europe around the end of March, we should be looking at U.S. release date sometime in April. It’ll be nice to see how well the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 will compare against the iPad Mini.

[via Unwired View]

By analyzing the previous launch events held by Apple, Gene Munster believes that the Apple always holds a launch event in the Spring time. Combing through the 11 major product launch events held by Apple since the launch of the iPhone 3GS, Munster believes that the Spring event always centers around iPad updates, and that with it being the first Apple event of the year, it is going to feature something major. The ‘something major’ is speculated to be a complete redesign of the full-sized iPad that resembles the design of the iPad Mini. He also believes that the next iPad mini could be introduced at the event, and this time it will carry a Retina display.

Munster goes deeper into the details, and found that the average time between Apple’s launch events is 123 days, or about 4 months. He also analyzes that the longest time between events was about 216 days, or 7 months, and that was the gap between the iPad 2 launch in March 2011 and the iPhone 4S launch in October 2011. By taking those times into consideration, and also considering that every other company will be holding major launch events around that time, he believes that the event will be held in between March and April.

Apple TV is also due for an update sometime within the next 6 months, and Munster believes it will be updated to ‘prime the pump for the ultimate television’. Considering that Apple has just launched the iPad Mini and 4th gen iPad in October, there could be a change in the schedules of its launch events. We all remember how upset iPad 3 owners were when the 4th gen iPad was release just 7 months after they bought their devices.

[via AppleInsider]

While it’s odd to see no price different between the two cables with different lengths, it provides users another option if they’re seeking out less cable clutter. This shorter cable is half the length of the regular Lightning cable that ships with newer iOS devices. Of course, while a shorter cable could be handy in some situations, we personally don’t see the problem with just wrapping up your normal Lightning cable in order to make it shorter.

Nevertheless, if you’re after a shorter cable, similar to the Thunderbolt offerings, Apple has you set. Furthermore, the company also updated its in-ear headphones with a redesigned mic switch to make it match the design Apple’s recently-released EarPods. The in-ear headphones will still cost you $79, and there doesn’t seem to be any changes to the headphones themselves.

While Apple is known for holding special events when announcing updates to their product line, it’s also not rare for them to quietly make changes and update their products without telling anyone for the most part. Case in point: the company recently updated its MacBook Pro and Air lineup yesterday, stuffing in faster components and cutting the price down a bit.

[via MacRumors]

The question asked of Tim Cook was about market share – about what the trade-off is for working to keep a product like the iPad the hero of the market. Cook made it clear – Apple is here to win. Cook noted that “the truth is the first time I got asked about cannibalization was when Apple came out with the iBook. Portables went on to be three quarters or more percentage of the Mac and Mac did an all-time record last year.” Cook made clear that information like the analysis reported last month that the iPad was 1 out of every 6 PCs sold in the fourth quarter of 2012 is particularly striking.

Cook continued, speaking about the iPad: “If you look at when we came out with iPad, what did people worry about: they worried, oh my god you’re going to kill the Mac. The cannibalization question raises its head a lot. The truth is, we really don’t think about it that much. Our basic belief is, if we don’t cannibalize, someone else will.” Continuing to speak on the market working with PCs and computing power in general, Cook spoke: “In the case of iPad particularly, I would argue that the Windows PC market is huge and there’s a lot more there to cannibalize then there is of Mac, or of iPad.”

Note also that the iPad mini has been projected to both cannibalize AND drive iPad sales through 2013 – doesn’t seem possible, does it?

Then came the big hit – a gouge at future companies looking to swallow up the industry by following alone: “I think if a company ever begins to use cannibalization as a primary or even a major factor of what products to go to, it’s the beginning of the end.” Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on what Tim Cook spoke about at the conference and be sure to hit up our massive Apple portal for more iPhone, iPad, and Mac than you can handle!

Another fabulous game that’s free for a very limited time is Megamassive. This game is normally just a buck, but here you’ll be rolling out for free with ultra-simplistic graphics and a bit of strategy in a physics-based set of environments. Here you’ll be working with liquids, solids, and gasses galore in a game that may just teach you a thing or two while you freak out over how disturbingly realistic it is. Sometimes rendered animations can speak volumes – with much wonderful fun to be had!

Then there’s one masterful pixel-filled massacre of a game by the name of Random Heroes. This game is generally going to cost you a single dollar, but here you’re running for free for a limited time with the full show: every one of your favorite off-brand pop culture heroes ready to take on the evil forces of evil from start to finish. This game has a style that’s rather like a side-scrolling pistol-holding version of Super Crate Box – another pixel-happy gun-wielding beat-down game from a completely different set of developers.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see more recent high-powered iOS app reviews from SlashGear to see what you’re going to want to grab next. And don’t be shy about telling SlashGear about your recently published games of choice, not to mention apps that you feel change the way you go about business on the daily!

With a fourth quarter worldwide sales mark of 134 million units for PCs, it was Apple who came out on top in several ways. Apple keeps the number 1 spot in this market analysis with 27 million units and kicking back a 20% share overall – that’s the most it’s ever had, mind you. In second place was HP with 15 million PC units shipped and Lenovo with just 200k unit sales difference – both vendors work now with an 11% share of the total worldwide PC sales market.

For the first time in the top five in the history of the time Canalys has been analyzing such things, Samsung has broken into the top 5 for PC sales worldwide, edging out Dell with a 9% share – that’s 11.7 million PCs. It’s worth noting that Canalys has seen neither the launch of Windows 8 or holiday sales (in Europe and/or the USA) have a real effect on worldwide shipments of PCs.

On the other hand, Canalys notes that the “pad” segment (tablets, that is), grew 75% this Q4 2012 up to 46.2 million units. This jump combined with the rest of the year sales put the pad segment at 114.6 million units over the past four quarters. Apple specifically saw continued growth driven here in the pad category with their new iPad mini. Canalys notes that in addition to appearing to swallow up a bit of their own potential full-sized iPad sales, Apple has been cannibalizing PC sales on the whole with the iPad mini. That’s one beastly little “pad”.

[via Canalys]

The keyboard case measures in at just 7mm thick, which is thinner than the iPad mini itself. Belkin included its TruType keyboard technology, which offers tactile feedback when keys are pressed. The case is also made out of anodized aircraft-grade aluminium, which is probably why it doesn’t weigh a whole lot.

The FastFit connects to the iPad mini through Bluetooth and is able to deliver 155 hours of “active use” for all those typing demons out there. Also, just like Apple’s Smart Cover for the iPad, the FastFit has a magic magnetic sensor so that it can automatically lock and wake up your iPad mini when it’s opened and closed.

Belkin is charging $79 for its FastFit keyboard case at, which is right on par with Logitech’s offering. Belkin says that pre-orders for the keyboard case will begin soon, but no specific date was given. We have to say that we really like the look of the FastFit, and thanks to the efforts of both Logitech and Belkin, both black iPad mini owners, as well as silver owners can get matching-colored keyboards.

Developer pod2g posted up some traffic statistics of evasi0n.com, the website hosting the iOS 6 jailbreak, and the numbers are staggering. As of earlier today, the website has seen almost three million unique visitors, with page views exceeding 17.3 million. These figures don’t even include yesterday’s or today’s statistics, which we guarantee are even more staggering.

Of course, after jailbreaking, users pretty much had no where to go since Cydia was slowing down due to the surge of users downloading various tweaks. Many users would get errors in the app and weren’t able to browse or download tweaks. Jay Freeman, the man behind Cydia, says that he saw a peak of 14,000 hits per second, which is definitely unfathomable.

However, it’ll only be a matter of time before order comes to chaos, so if you’re still trying to get into the Cydia store, you’ll have to be patient. Of course, no one knows exactly when things will start to settle down, but we’re guessing that within the next few days when the initial rush dies down, you’ll be able to dive in finally.

The tablet has a familiar QWERTY layout along with a number of keys to control media and other functions on the tablet. The shortcut keys built into the keyboard are for common tasks such as copy, paste, and others. The keys are large considering the keyboard size and have a chicklet design.

The keyboard is also designed to hold your iPad mini screen up at an angle for comfortable typing. Logitech also integrates powerful magnets into the top edge of the keyboard allowing it to attach securely to the iPad mini for transportation. The keyboard also has rubber feet around the edges to prevent the keys from scratching the screen of your tablet.

The keyboard is designed to automatically wake the iPad mini open the cover, and to automatically put the tablet into sleep mode when you close the cover. The keyboard connects to the tablet using Bluetooth and promises a battery life of up to three months. The keyboard is available in black, white, and red. The red version is only available in select countries.

[via Logitech]

There’s a few things you’ll need before you get started. You obviously should have done most of the pre-jailbreak work already, but if not, be sure to read our guide on how to prepare for the jailbreak. You’ll need a computer running at least Windows XP, OS X 10.5, or Linux x86/x86_64. Luckily, the jailbreak will work with both iOS 6.0 and iOS 6.1, so no need to upgrade to iOS 6.1 if you haven’t already.

You’ll also want to disable your passcode lock if you have one, as the dev team has warned that can interfere with the jailbreaking process. Once you’re ready, head on over the Evasi0n website to download the necessary files that you need. The website does a good job directing you to all the files that you need.

Make sure to be patient while the jailbreak process is running. The dev team says it should only take about five minutes, but they insist that you don’t open up iTunes or Xcode while the process is running. The best thing to do is to just not touch your computer at all until the end of the jailbreaking process.

Of course, there isn’t that much of a difference between 1-3 business days and 3-5 business days, but the important takeaway here is that it seems the stock issues Apple has been facing are getting better. Apple has been struggling to meet the demand for the iPad mini, but Tim Cook seemed hopeful that these stock issues could be resolved quickly when the company delivered its financial results for Q1 2013.

With those quarterly earnings, Apple reported record iPhone and iPad sales, but there were some things about the report investors didn’t like. It wasn’t long after the quarterly earnings report landed that Apple’s stock was taking a tumble, and though its price has been fluctuating since then, it hasn’t come close to making up the ground it lost. Perhaps Apple’s stock will get a boost if these improved shipping times do indeed mean an end to the supply constraints?

In any case, the iPad mini seems to be selling well, even though we don’t have hard numbers. We imagine it was responsible for quite a few iPad sales in Apple’s record-setting quarter, and Apple said that it moved 3 million units in its first weekend. Are you going to pick one up now that shipping times have improved?

[via AppleInsider]

While the resolution here isn’t as sharp as the iPhone 5 (or 4 or 4S), you’ll find that it’s quite a bit sharper than the iPad mini and the original iPad (and iPad 2). The original iPad worked with a 132 PPI resolution, the iPad mini has 163 PPI to its name, and the iPhone 5 (and 4/4S) work with 326 PPI. It would therefor make sense that the iPhone Math would represent the same seemingly odd move that the iPad mini made with its resolution less of that of the iPad 3 (and 4), the current iPad coming out to 264 PPI across its own highest-end display.

The image you see first in this post shows what Arment notes is the iPhone 5, iPhone Plus, iPad mini, and iPad 4. This device would, mind you, have a larger display than the Samsung Galaxy S III (taller, but thinner), and would still come in smaller than the current hero Galaxy Note (that being the Samsung Galaxy Note II). Another bit of logic Arment offered this week was the math that John Gruber inflicted on the public back before the iPad mini was released, essentially predicting that because displays are made on a large sheet and cut down to size.

Because of that fact, the iPad mini was predicted to use the same sheet the iPhone 3GS used, this allowing the same amount of pixels to fit on the display of a full-sized iPad display on a smaller sheet cut to size for the iPad mini. The iPhone 3GS was 3.5-inchs and 480 × 320 pixels, while the iPad mini did end up being 7.9-inches and 1024 × 768 pixels (a .05 difference in inches from what was predicted.) The math still works if you take the sheet of display used for the Retina iPad models (3 and 4) and kept the iPhone 5 display size ratio, sizing it up to 640 × 1136 pixel resolution, this across 4.94-inches of display.

With this device you’ll once again have a display size that allows developers to not have to re-size their apps as its the same aspect ratio as the iPhone 5, made with the same sheet of display technology the iPad uses now, this keeping costs down and production swift. Sound like a deal to you? Now we’ve just got to reconcile the fact that the original iPhone display which was “perfect” for the human hand and one-handed use will be dashed once more – the humanity of it all!

Per the official website, a Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux version of the jailbreak will be available. Mac OS X must be at least version 10.5, while Windows need to be at least XP. It will be compatible with all iPad/iPad mini, iPod Touch, and iPhone models that are running iOS 6.0 to iOS 6.1. The entire jailbreaking process is said to take about 5 minutes, and the only requirement – aside from the OS – is a USB data cable.

Once the GUI is completed, the next step will be moving the jailbreaking software into a private beta, where it will be tested for issues. This is the result of the collective evad3rs, which is composed of hackers known by the handles pod2g, pimskeks, planetbeing, and musclenerd. They have a Twitter account up now under @evad3rs.

Others who have worked on the project or otherwise have had involvement includes @chronicdevteam and @iphone_dev, which are thanked on the website for providing support, @Surenix who created designs for both evasi0n and evad3rs, and @phoenixdev for providing research. Little else is known at the moment. We’ll be keeping an eye on this and will let you know when it goes live.

[via iDownload Blog]

With the iPad mini out on the market now taking names and serving up the competition for lunch, a show of power from Apple comes in an upgraded iPad 4. This most massive of iPads is the same model we saw in late 2012 with the launch of the iPad mini, this model coming with the same Lightning connector as the iPad mini and the iPhone 5 (and several iPods, mind you), complete with the same Retina display as the iPad 3. And a new processor, to boot.

This iPad 5 model being shown by 9to5Mac is one which we’ve got little reason to doubt will take on an appearance much closer to that of the iPad mini than to the original iPad. Here with slightly rounder corners and a flattened color back (black in this case), we’re seeing Apple change while it stays the same. The version you’re seeing here appears to be the mobile-connected (4G LTE more than likely) iteration complete with the same tone as the iPad mini model depicted right next to it.

This version of the iPad has been tipped to be thinner than past iterations, perhaps thinner than the thinnest model, that being the iPad 2 (fun fact!) All the greatest hits are still here in the screen lock/mute, volume buttons, back-facing camera (still without a flash), microphone hole up in the center back of the device (paired with another under the speakers near the bottom almost certainly) and an overall sleek look.

Sound like a winner to you? Have a peek at the timeline below to see other recent iPad news and see if you can track this model all the way to the bank – the bank being October of 2013 – just you wait!

The iOS 6.1 software upgrade includes a new button that will allow you to reset your Advertising Identifier and includes a set of bug fixes as well. This update will be coming straight to your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad today (or rather soon) and will be available at the touch of a button. Once you see your upgrade alert, you’ll have only to download the required software (107 MB in all) then hit install. A real simple process is what this is all about.

This software upgrade will be necessary for future apps, though as it has been in the past, it’ll likely be quite a while before any developer requires you use this ultra-newest upgrade to run them with ease. This upgrade is being pushed starting today, January 28th, 2013, and is wholly different from the iOS 6.0.1 update that came across back on the first of November, 2012.

Let us know if you’ve found anything wild and crazy happening when you’ve installed iOS 6.1 to your Apple mobile device once you’ve done it, and head to our massive Apple hub for more information on all your favorite Apple products through the future. Also note that this software update will not be working with device that were not able to work with iOS 6.0, and we’ve not heard any word on trouble with anyone using a device that already had iOS 6.0 onboard thus far. Load it up!

The find was attached to a file that included several System Partitions with 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128GB on the list – gotta catch em all! This wouldn’t be too much of an explosive find if it weren’t in iOS 6 and inside OS X instead, but there it is – never before has there been an iOS-toting Apple machine with that much storage in its guts. According to 9to5mac, this version of the iPad may just be coming out in a variety of non-market releases.

In this case, that insight points toward an internal release for high-up Apple employees alone, government agencies, and other oddities. While such a massive amount of internal storage would be fantastic to have as the average consumer, the price point Apple would have to place it as would be too restrictive for sales to be worth production. The three storage size model tags out at the moment are “GOOD”, “BETTER”, and “BEST”, this largest version is appearing as “ULTIMATE” – ultimately less than realistic for you and I.

Meanwhile we’re getting pumped up for the iPad 5, whatever that’ll end up being at it’s reveal and release later this year. Rumors have only just begun to flow around the iPad 5 and its innards, with the release date being the first thing we’re aiming to nail down – and it looks like Autumn at the moment. Have a peek at the timeline below for more iPad 4/5 action than you can handle and check the massive Apple hub through the future!

[via CNET]

Apple made it clear that, as Tim Cook put it, “We’re thrilled with record revenue of over $54 billion and sales of over 75 million iOS devices in a single quarter.” As the margins continue to push iOS in as the dominant product Apple offers up, the results are plain to see: mobile is driving Apple’s growth right here and now. Apple’s record results today include both their highest quarterly revenue and their highest net income ever reported.

Apple showed iPhone sales to be bursting forth with 47.8 million iPhones sold in this one single quarter – that’s a record for one quarter, mind you. Compared to last year’s 37 million sold in Q1, Apple’s release of the iPhone 5 is being shown as a guiding light. Apple also showed a new record amount of iPads sold in a quarter with 22.9 million units sold – this is also busting out compared to last year’s Q1 with 15.4 million units sold.

Interestingly it seems that both the Mac and the iPod‘s units sold are going downward rather than up, this showing off how mobile is taking hold with connected devices – we want to be online and we want to have our connections made easy, it would seem. Apple’s Mac sales this quarter added up to 4.1 million compared to 5.2 million one year ago this quarter, while iPod sales added up to 12.7 compared to last year’s Q1 total at 15.4 million.

Stockholders are being rewarded this quarter once again with a cash dividend of $2.65 per share of Apple’s own common stock. With $23 billion dollars in cash flow from operations built up over the quarter as well as cash from short and long term investments adding up to $137.1 billion (up $16 billion from the quarter before this one), Apple still appears to be swimming in money.

Apple announced that they’d be changing their approach to guidance, as well. In this case changing guidance means for Apple that while they, in the past, have been reporting “conservative” point estimates, they’ll be more on-point through the future. With plans for estimates reflecting what Apple “believes they can achieve” rather than what they had “reasonable confidence” in achieving, we may be seeing slightly more perfectly adjusted predictions from them in the future, starting with what they’ve suggested today. Apple is projecting between $41 and $43 billion in revenue for Q2 of 2013 as well as a gross margin between 37.5 and 38.5%.

We’ll be seeing Apple continue to take massive chunks of the market through the future, but with something so simple as a projection for a quarter that’s less spectacular than the one we’re in now, we’ll see the company’s stock slide ever so slightly – even if it’s just today. At the moment we’re seeing Apple stock falling around 10.47% in after-hours trading. Expect this to leap up again tomorrow morning once the dust has settled.

Stay tuned to our massive Apple hub through the future and check the timeline below this paragraph to see all the Apple results from this afternoon!

“It’s good to question the accuracy of any kind of rumour about those [order cut] plans” Cook argued. “And even if a particular data point was factual, it would be impossible to interpret what it means for our overall business. The supply chain is very complex … there’s an inordinate long list of things which would make a single data point not telling for what’s going on.”

Talk of modified iPad component orders re-surfaced earlier this month, with claims that Sharp – among others – had cut its 9.7-inch panel production and switched to 7.9-inch panels thanks to increasing demand for the iPad mini. That led to suggestions that Apple’s bigger, more expensive iPad had been cannibalized by the new, smaller model.

Cook, though, appears reluctant to accept such A-to-B conclusions. Although, he said during the call, Apple couldn’t make enough iPad mini to meet demand, it was too simplistic to assume that would necessarily require a cut in full-sized iPad production. “We ended the quarter with significant [order] backlog” CFO Peter Oppenheimer added, saying that Apple expected to be able to meet demand in the next quarter.

Apple sold 22.9m iPads in the last quarter, though has not broken down what proportion was iPads and what was iPad mini.

This call included notes that Apple opened up 4 new stores in Greater China as well as 14 stores being moved and expanded because of outgrowing their original space. With 396 stores open today with $16.3 million in revenue coming in per store, business is obviously quite good. Apple has also made it clear that the amount of visitors heading to the stores is jumping upward as well, with 121 million visitors coming in this quarter compared to 110 visitors coming in this quarter one year ago.

When you have a look at the number of stores that are open over the sea and the amount of sales that are also outside the USA, they seem to correlate, but not precisely. With 61 percent of sales sitting outside the USA here in Q1 2013 according to Apple, it would seem that more than 150 of the total nearly 400 stores would be outside the states. Instead we’re seeing the smaller number selling more – or simply the internet taking on a bulk of these sales.

Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on this set of results and the rest of Apple’s Q1 2013 reports in segments. Note that the iPhone sold a massive, beastly amount of units with the iPhone 5 being fully ready for action this quarter, while the iPad has seen the iPad mini appearing amongst its ranks as well. Watch our Apple hub as well for more through the week!

Those gains aren’t anything to stick your nose up at, and we imagine that increase will be something that makes investors smile. Earlier today, Apple’s shares were up in anticipation of this financial report, and with sales looking good to excellent almost across the board, those numbers might increase further. At the very least, that huge gain over the same quarter a year ago will definitely look great when it comes time for Apple to face investors.

Apple announced the iPad mini at a special event on October 23, 2012. Following the success of the iPhone 5, Apple used the event to unveil not only the iPad mini, but also the fourth-generation iPad. Pre-orders for the iPad mini came shortly after the event, with stock diminishing quickly. While we don’t know yet just how much of those 22.9 million sales the iPad mini can claim for itself, we wouldn’t be surprised at all to hear that it’s a significant amount.

With a good Q1 2013 on the books, we now look forward to the rest of 2013, which is rumored to be a pretty big year for Apple. We’ll likely see the introduction of a new iPad this year, with the company rumored to be launching at least a couple new iPhone models. Be sure to read through our reviews of the iPad mini and the fourth-generation iPad for more details on Apple’s newest slates!

[via Apple]

This analysis from Evercore Partners suggests that Apple’s report will include 24 million units sold in tablets alone. This number is the total between each different kind of iPad, while Cihra suggests that the iPad mini will be 10 million units strong – that’s 42% of the total tablets sold by Apple, mind you. If that’s true, considering the percentage growth it represents compared to past quarters, non-mini iPad sales are growing at a rate that suggests iPad mini sales are indeed leaping off of iPad sales while the full group grows by leaps and bounds.

If you look back at Apple’s financial Q4 in 2012, you’ll see that they reported selling 16 million iPads – that’s before the iPad mini was launched. Here in this quarter if indeed sales have moved up 71 percent to 24 million tablets (12 million of them being iPads alone). While the iPad’s sales go down from 16 million to 12 million, the iPad mini is launched with 10 million – and again, that’s all projected.

Considering a 35 percent growth in iPad sales overall in this projection, would you, the reader, say that Apple made the right decision in creating the iPad mini? What do you think iPad sales would be like if they’d stuck with the larger size display alone? Do you think Cihra’s projections will be accurate? We’ll see on the 23rd – next week!

[via Apple Insider]

This game takes on the greatest bits of the original Temple Run for mobile and increases its vitality with a whole new adventure with the same never-ending escape flavor. You’ve got the choice of several different characters with which you’ll be able to run, a variety of power-ups and bonuses you can earn or purchase with real cash, and of course a whole new set of levels to run through. The “monkey” that chases you here is more of an ape, crushing the little beasts from the original game with one foul swoop.

You’ll be utilizing left and right swipes across your screen to turn, up and down to jump or duck (and slide), and a bit of the ol’ tilting of your entire device to make sure you’re on the right side of the path (or lack thereof). The graphics on this game are noticeably more complex, everything is just a bit more beautiful, and it’s all ready for whatever iOS device you’ve got on hand, too, optimized for each screen and everything.

There’s an iPhone version (made for your iPod touch as well) and an iPad version, separate downloads, so make sure you get the right one when you hit the market. The only difference is the optimization for screen size – some ever-so-slight re-adjustments for user interface based on your display’s physical proportions. This app is free to play with a collection of in-game purchases you can choose to make or completely disregard – it’s up to you!

Make sure you hit the official Imangi Studios LLC link here to assure yourself you’re getting the right game in the end. The popularity of Temple Run (and now it’s second iteration) are plagued with their own popularity, with fakers coming in from all sides to send up false versions of their app to trick you and yours – stay safe!

ALSO NOTE: The Android version of this app will be released next week – Imangi studios has confirmed this with SlashGear and we must assume it to be true!