Ever since Apple first brought the iPhone and iPod touch to market five years ago, we've seen a very quick shift in how we go about gaming on the move. Throughout the early 2000's, the battle between the likes of the Nintendo's DS and the PlayStation Portable (PSP) was as fierce as those devices which had preceded it, but the smartphone and tablet revolution has rendered such standalone gaming machines largely redundant. A GPU performance test carried out by AnandTech indicates just how much the face of the market has changed, with the portable gaming's most powerful offering - the PS Vita - now out-gunned by Apple's iPad 4 in terms of graphics power.
Having new-found responsibility at one of the world's largest companies thanks to the departure of iOS SVP Scott Forstall, you might forgive Eddy Cue for cooling off a little on other business interests as he copes with his new role within the Cupertino ranks. But Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services has instead taken the decision to join Ferrari's board of directors, and the Italian supercar manufacturer is thrilled to have such a high-ranking Apple executive on board.
The Apple vs. Samsung saga doesn't appear to be dying down any time soon, with both companies prepared, it would seem, to play the long game in a case which won't be going on trial until 2014. Apple has said it would like to see both the Galaxy Note 10.1 and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean added to the California lawsuit versus its bitter Korean rival, insisting both products infringe upon its own intellectual property.
Thinking about the late Steve Jobs generally conjures up images of him parading around the stage of Moscone Center wearing his blue trademark jeans and black turtle neck jumper ensemble while showing off the latest Apple creation with his infectious enthusiasm. While a large portion of his professional life was entirely dedicated to finding Apple and then ultimately spearheading the company's resurgence from Silicon Valley obscurity, Pixar is attempting to ensure that his other career successes aren't forgotten by renaming their main building in honor of him.
Apple's recently released iPad mini is already reported to be a good seller for the company, with three million units of the iPad mini and iPad 4 claimed to have been shipped in just three days of sales. Despite so-called experts deriding the lack of a Retina display, we didn't really expect anything different, did we?
The general availability of the iPhone 5 is the United States has certainly improved over the past couple of weeks. The initial rush saw the Cupertino company's flagship device sell out rather quickly, but the waiting period of the much-sought device seems to be lessening as time has gone on. The on-contract iPhone 5 has sold in the tens of millions already, but those who've wanted the freedom of a factory-unlocked device have had to wait it out. However, a report over at AppleInsider suggests that wait might soon be over, and a search carried out this weekend for "iPhone 5 factory unlocked" on the US Apple site revealed the prices for the different configurations.
The iPad mini has had to deal with a fair amount of criticism since its launch, and similarly, there have been quite a few outcries regarding Apple's decision to throw out a new iPad just seven months after releasing its predecessor. The lingering wave of skepticism clearly doesn't seem to have affected sales adversely though, and Apple has just announced the sale of three million new iPad units, which is double previous weekend record of 1.5 million set by the launch of the iPad 3 in March.
The iPad mini had only been officially in the wild for 24 hours before we were treated to a picture of the failbreak jailbreak running on the tablet. Although it has been jailbroken using the developer only method that we have been hearing about in the last month or so, it shows that progress is being made behind the scenes. In addition to the iPad mini jailbreak and iPhone 5 jailbreak, Grant Paul - a.k.a. chpwn - has now taken the opportunity to show off Cydia running on the gorgeous Retina display of the new fourth-generation iPad.
Although the Apple TV is still officially classed as hobby project for Apple that takes its place behind the likes of the iPhone and iPad, it is a piece of kit that is growing in popularity and prominence with more units shipping each quarter. Apple have showed recent signs of taking the Apple TV more seriously with the addition of streaming content such as the iTunes Festival and their own media event keynotes but until they add some powerful extensions and features, it may continue to live as the company's hobby creation. Thankfully, the jailbreak world loves to pay attention to unloved iOS devices and it now seems possible to control the Apple TV using basic voice commands.
Apple's Lightning to Micro USB Adapter can now be purchased by those residing in the United States. Hitherto, only Europe has seen the connector, which, as the name quite overtly suggests, allows one to connect an iPhone, iPad, or iPod with Lightning connector to a micro USB cable, for purpose of syncing with a computer or simply charging.
