In what can only be considered one of the most bizarre Apple product launches of this year, the Cupertino company has officially released their newest miniature tablet: the iPad mini 2 with Retina Display for everyone to consume. If you're unaware, the new iPad was announced alongside it's bigger brother, the iPad Air. This is where the launch similarities end though, as Apple were particularly coy about when, or where, it was going to be available. In a sudden frenzy - as opposed to their standard organized launches - Apple let loose that the iPad mini with Retina Display could be reserved for pickup in store, or purchased directly though Apple's online store.
It emerged earlier on today that the launch of the iPad mini 2 with Retina display had begun, shortly after news began to spread, it became apparent that the device was, at least in the United States, only available for Personal Pickup. Now, a press release from the Cupertino company has confirmed this to be the case, and with such short supply of the second-gen iPad mini, it's likely to be a while before this begins to change.
The Retina iPad mini 2 was announced alongside the iPad Air at Apple’s special media event in October. But at that time, Apple vaguely announced that the device will be available ‘later in November’, and no proper calendar date was given. And today, out of nowhere, the device has made its way to Apple’s Online Store.
Things seem to be on the upside for BitTorrent Sync. The service that allows users to synchronize files without the use of Dropbox or other cloud based storage alternatives has just announced that it has hit a milestone that must have initially seemed out of reach. It's also been announced that the BitTorrent Sync offering will be greatly improved for the end users with the addition of third-party developer access as well as extending the current mobile distribution to appeal to a greater number of iOS users.
While the new iPad has borrowed many of its traits from the the iPhone 5s, the much talked-about Gold and White color configuration remains a treat reserved - at least for the time being - for the Cupertino's flagship smartphone. Many have even surprised themselves with how taken they are with the new Gold iPhone 5s, but as we continue to hope that Apple will oblige with a gold iPad at some point in the near future, you can already have yourself one from Goldgenie. It will, however, cost an arm and a leg, with prices starting at $1,871 for a 16GB iPad Air. Still undeterred? Read on for more information.
A significantly increasing number of us are beginning to use, trust and interact with mobile technology in a way we never imagined would be possible at the turn of the century. As that technology becomes more ingrained in our everyday existence, it seems that the knock-on effect is a willingness for different industries to stand up and invest precious resources into seeing how they can take advantage of the latest tech. One of the latest examples of that investment has recently been shown by Toyota who has sponsored an innovation competition that promotes the use of technology alongside the art of customizing motor vehicles.
It's commonplace for tech companies to mock competitors in ad campaigns, although in the mobile industry, it's usually between arch-rivals Samsung and Apple. The Cupertino company has today bore the brunt of some ribbing from a different source, though, with Amazon's new Kindle Paperwhite ad taking a not-so-subtle pop at Apple's iPad. Since, as we learned just yesterday, the Kindle Fire HDX can more than hold its own against the new iPad Air (read: display is far superior), perhaps Amazon has a little lee-way to sound off, and although this compares the Paperwhite's readability versus the iPad, it does seem as though Amazon is emerging as a real force in tablet circles.
Apple's 9.7-inch iPad continues to hold onto its place at the top of the popularity charts in the market, which essentially means that there is a whole heap of iPad users out there. Those users will undoubtedly value the iPad that they shelled out their hard-earned cash for and will be looking for some way of protecting it from damage. Twelve South has extended their excellent line of accessories by launching this unique vintage leather carrying case designed specifically for Apple’s famed tablet, called the BookBook Travel Journal for iPad.
The iPad Air is the hottest topic in the mobile world right now, and since its predecessor, the iPad 4, was rather far from overwhelming, the prospect of a thinner, lighter and altogether more stylish model has certainly been a long time in coming. The tablet has been cost analyzed by none other than IHS Suppli, which has released its estimated component cost of the new and improved iPad Air. In short, it is reckoned that the total component cost is somewhere in the region of $274 for the bare-bones model, which works out at about 13% cheaper than the iPad 3.
Apple's iPad Air is currently being lauded as the best thing since sliced bread, but as DisplayMate's Dr. Raymond Soneira points out, numerous aspects of the just-released slate fall short when compared to Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX. There's no doubt that a new iPad was always going to make a little more noise upon announcement and subsequent release than the retail giant's latest export, but as Soneira's in-depth comparison shows, the Retina panel is noticeably outperformed by that of the new Amazon slate.
