Afraid you might have missed some important news this week in the world of iOS? No problem. Here are some of the more popular stories we covered during the past week. Enjoy!
What's in a name? A lot when you are Apple and you are about to launch a new product. Two years after the Cupertino, California-based company launched the game-changing iPad,
the iPanel could soon arrive in millions of homes. Yes, "iPanel" is rumored to be the name for Apple's real television, which will include a display, gaming center, media hub, computer, home automator and much more.
The iPanel could launch as early as the fourth quarter, with production beginning in May or June. The suggested retail price: $1,250.
We at AppAdvice absolutely love the new iPad. But, we'd be even happier if the list of issues (real and perceived) with Apple's newest tablet weren't increasing. After discussing iPad battery and heat issues in recent weeks, this week's topic was
connection issues many are facing with the Wi-Fi only iPad. Still, at least Apple is recognizing (internally at least) that some folks are having problems with their tablets.
These issues can include connection drops, slow and download and upload speeds, and the device’s inability to pickup local Wi-Fi networks. Luckily, Apple seems willing to replace the affected tablets, free of charge, of course.
Hey, at least we haven't had any reports the new iPad is
catching fire!
Just days after
OMGPOP agreed to a $200 million buyout from Zynga, CEO
Dan Porter publicly ranted against a former employee. You see, developer Shay Pierce
didn't want his privately-developed Connectrode app to fall into the wrong hands. Zynga, he famously proclaimed, is “evil.” This didn't sit well with Porter who took to Twitter to bash Pierce and his decision to not join him at Zynga.
The tweets between the two, now deleted, sparked a
firestorm of criticism, with Porter spending much time dealing with the public backlash of his outbursts. Still, he didn’t refrain from fanning the flames, comparing the success of his company's
Draw Something app to cultural phenomena like AOL and Facebook.
In 2007, Apple stuck it to RIM when it launched the iPhone, thereby helping initiate the long slide to death for BlackBerry. Now, Nintendo looks like the next company Apple hopes to conquer in its quest for world domination.
Word this week suggests the company will soon release an “
iController” for gamers on the iPhone/iPod touch, iPad and Mac. Our own A.T. Faust III suggests the reasons this news could spell doom for
Nintendo and other game console makers.
Will Apple actually release a smaller version of the iPad? Yes, says the influential
John Gruber, who says Cupertino is already testing the soon-to-be-unveiled handset.
On his weekly 5by5 podcast with Dan Benjamin (
The Talk Show, episode 86: “Well-Intentioned Scumbags”),
Daring Fireball‘s Gruber said.
“What I do know is that they have one in the lab, a 7.85″ iPad that runs at 1024 x 768. And it’s just like the 9.7-inch iPad shrunk down a little bit. The apps wouldn’t need to be redesigned or recompiled to work on it — it’s just the iPad smaller.”
To clarify, he goes on to say that he’s heard from “numerous people that it’s one of the ideas that [Apple] is noodling with.” But he has no idea when, or if, Apple plans on shipping it.
If true, show me where the line to buy the new iPad mini starts!
A
recent rumor suggests Apple is poised to release the company’s next iPhone in June, which could be bad news for iPhone 4S customers who only purchased their handset six months ago.
While we suggested the company would be wise to delay the release of the company's sixth iPhone until October, most of our readers felt otherwise. Most said forget about the iPhone 4S buyers, who probably won't be able to upgrade without a penalty, as they want their “iPhone 5” this summer.
Finally, Amazon has figured out something Apple and Google have known for some time: Consumers are enamored with
in-app purchases. The Kindle Fire maker is taking steps to join a market that could see sales of $5.6 billion in 2015.
Recommended reading
Finally, Happy Holidays!
AppAdvice celebrated both
Passover and
Easter this week with two new lists of apps for the entire family to enjoy. From our family to yours, happy holidays!
