GeekwithEnvy

iPad

Should Apple Allow You To Exchange Your iPad?

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With the recent release of the new 4th generation iPad just 7 months after the last release, many 3rd generation iPad owners are a little angry. 7 months is pretty fast, even by today’s standards.iPad4

I would imagine that the biggest complaint among iPad users is that if they had known about a 4th generation iPad they would have most likely waited before making a purchase. This brings forth a good question, should the 3rd generation iPad have been released at all?

Yes, the retina display is amazing but overall the 3rd generation iPad doesn’t seem to cut it as a major improvement over the iPad 2. Perhaps if Apple had waited and included the new A6X processor in the 3rd generation then maybe we would feel a little better about our purchase.

It would seem that Apple wanted to update the iPad with it’s new Lightning connector in order to allow the iPad to fit in with the rest of the line up and decided that something else needs to be added in order to allow it to be considered as an actual upgrade, hence the A6X. After all, it would kind of stand out when it came time to pick out accessories and a significant performance boost will definitely be appealing. Also, we should consider the timing of this update. Apple seems to have moved from a “scattered” release of products to a single, multi-product release that lines up just before the holidays.

The question that comes to mind here is should Apple allow you to exchange your iPad 3 for a 4th generation version? Now, I am not talking about those of us who bought one 6 months ago but rather those who purchased an iPad within the last month. The good news is that if you feel frustrated by this unexpected release of the iPad 4, you’re not alone. There is significant buzz going around about the possibility of Apple having some stores exchange your iPad 3 for an iPad 4 of you have recently purchased and iPad, which would be a very cool move on Apple’s part. However, just because we think that Apple should do the exchange doesn’t mean they have to though and I’m not so sure about how this would affect consumer opinion of the company over an update of one product in a large line up.

The bottom line here is that when we decide to shop for technology, we should always assume it’s already out of date. I go through this every time I buy a new electronic device. I always have that thought in the back of my head that says, “They are going to release a new version of this next month, I just know it!”. Even if Apple doesn’t offer up an exchange or if you bought yours too long ago, you can always sell it. There is a huge demand for iPads and iPhones out there and those people don’t care if it’s not the latest or greatest, they just want a good deal on a solid product.

 

Apple Introduces New iPad Mini and Refreshes Lineup

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Today Apple has introduced their new iPad mini along with updating the iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, and iPad. Here’s a quick rundown of what was announced.

iPad Mini

The much anticipated iPad mini has been unveiled and it looks great. Consumers who were looking for an Apple device to better compete with devices like the Google Nexus 7 can now rejoice as Apple has done just that.iPad_mini

The new iPad mini features a 7.9 inch display which is slightly larger than the Nexus 7 which features a 7 inch display. Apple chose to describe the size difference in square inches rather than on the diagonal when comparing it to a 7 inch tablet, which works out to be 21.9 square inches (7″) and  29.6 square inches (7.9). Schiller went on to explain how much better your web browsing experience is with their 7.9″ design over their competition and then he compared apps on iPad mini vs other tablets and discussed how they offer a richer experience on the iPad mini.

The iPad mini will also feature the new Lighting connector along with new accessories like Lighting to HDMI. The body of the iPad mini -no surprise here- is made of an all aluminum unibody. Apple has also brought its iSight camera to the iPad mini and the all mighty A5 chip. If you’re planing on using the iPad mini on a cellular network, you will have the ability to take advantage of LTE.

iPad

Even though it has only been about half a year since the release of the iPad 3rd generation with retina display, Apple has just introduced the new 4th generation iPad that features a new A6X chip that’s 2x as fast as the previous generation iPad. The 4th generation iPad also has the latest in Wi-Fi technology and will be able to pick up both 2.4GHz and 5GHz (dual-band). Also, the new Lightning connector is now a part of the 4th generation iPad.

 

iMac

The iMac was one of my favorite unveilings that Apple had to offer. The new iMac looks great with it’s brand new slim design that has a screen edge of only 5mm. The back of the display is a much wider than the edge but it is done in a way that’s easy on the eyes.newiMac

Speaking of easy on the eyes, you will be dealing with 75% less reflection. The new iMac uses 50% less power than previous generations and has been equipped with the latest (ivy bridge) processors from Intel including both i5 and i7 chips. Graphics get a bump up to the latest Keplar architecture with the option to get the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680MX on the 27″ model.

Fusion Drive

The fusion drive is a combination of flash storage and traditional HDD storage. The flash storage will hold 128GB and the traditional HDD can be 1 or 3 TB. The Fusion Drive isn’t just a mix of both technologies it actually implements some really cool software that moves your applications from one drive to the other depending on it’s performance needs. The OS and pre-installed software will be placed on the flash storage for best performance and initially all of the apps you install will be stored on the HDD. OSX will then recognize which programs you use the most and which programs require the most performance and then move them to the much faster flash drive accordingly. Pretty cool idea considering most of us are already doing this manually with our computers.

 

Mac Pro

Apple continues to push their most popular laptops forward and the Mac Pro 13″ has now been updated with a retina display, a new thinner design and an all flash architecture.MBP13Retina

Mac Mini

The Mac mini remains basically the same except it gets up bump up in processing power by now featuring the new Ivy Bridge Intel chips. It should be said that the Mac mini really didn’t need much else, the Mac mini is affordable and can be a real workhorse considering it’s small size, cool little box.

For complete details on these new products you can head over to Apple.

 

Apple to Hold a Special Event

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Apple has set the date, on October 23rd they will hold a special event for making some major announcements.

Apple Logo

Many of us are expecting to see a mini version of the iPad (iPad mini) which should better align Apple to compete with Amazon and Google. It would make sense to see Apple offer a broad array of tablet solutions to bombard the market with different price points,sizes and features to try and grab prospective tablet owners who may be currently on-the-fence about which tablet to buy.

At this point no one really knows for sure exactly what else Apple has up it’s sleeve. Although it will be nice to confirm, we are hoping to see more than just an iPad mini.

I personally would like to see some updates for Mac desktop solutions like the Mac Mini which could use a bit more love. For now we can only speculate and we will just have to wait and see what comes out of the event, which will be held in San Jose, Calif. on October 23rd.

 

 

iOS 6 Rundown

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So, we got the update but.. what changed? I notice a few different icons on the screen but what else has happened? Well, we round up some key features of iOS 6 here so you don’t have to. Apple Logo

Facebook

Facebook is now fully integrated into the OS it self, which is really nice for Facebook users out there as it allows you to connect with Facebook without you having stop what your doing and switch apps. Facebook events are tied directly into Calendar and sharing links is super easy. ‘Likes’ are now part of iTunes and the Apps store.  It almost feels as if Facebook was meant to be a part of iOS from the start.

Maps

Well, no more Google Maps as Apple has decided it’s time to do the map business all by itself. The new map application looks really good and it would seem that, at least initially, Google Maps users should’t miss much. The new maps are quite detailed and look really slick even standard mode. I test drove the the 3D view by flying around Los Angeles and everything seemed to work really well. Turn-By-Turn navigation also makes an appearance with this map update, which has been long overdue.

Siri
Our old friend Siri gets some improvements as well, including movie reviews,facts and trailers from Rotten Tomatoes. Siri can also help you find something to eat by listing restaurants by price and rating. Need to know any sports scores? Siri covers that for you too, simply ask what the score is of a specific team and you’re good to go. You can also open applications by simply asking Siri what to launch.  Siri has seen quite a few improvements with this update and I can see Siri becoming more and more useful in the future, especially if Siri is to be integrated into new automobiles.

 

Safari

Safari gets iCloud Tabs which will allow you to view any open tabs form one iOS device on any other connected iOS device. Safari now features full screen landscape browsing, which looks great. Safari will also save entire webpages so you can view them offline later.

 

Facetime

Facetime will now work over a cellular network. Simple enough but I have yet to see it in action, I am wondering how the overall quality will be.

Phone

Well with everything the iPhone can do I think we tend to forget that it actually makes phone calls. Apple has added some features for the phone including being able to instantly send a text message to a recently declined phone call. You can also set call reminders when you decline a call or use a do-not-disturb mode to completely block all calls or only allow calls from high priority contacts.

 

Mac will also see the integration of Facebook into OSX Mountain Lion along with a few other updates in the new version 10.8.2. These are just a few of the new features on iOS 6, if your interested in everything head to Apple’s official site.