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.
Apple has shown an increased desire over the last 12 months to highlight the fact that a lot more of their design and manufacturing processes is taking place in the United States. The company's "Designed by Apple in California" slogan is playing an increasingly important role during media events, with Tim Cook and his executive team keen to drill home that products like the new Mac Pro will be manufactured in the US. If today's reports regarding the future of the iPhone and iPad processors turn out to be true then it could mean that upstate New York could be the production home of Apple's chips in the very near future.
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.
Facebook’s millions of mobile users, and more specifically those with iOS devices, have been somewhat placated by the company over the last six months thanks to dramatic improvements to the stability of the native iOS app. After enjoying a period of calm it seems Facebook's mobile team have been placed back in the firing line and now have to deal with an app which users either can't update or find themselves getting stuck in a crash loop.
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.
Star Wars: Tiny Death Star first made its debut a couple of weeks ago in Australia, and after some delay, has now gotten its release for iOS and Android in the United States. The title, which does get the LucasArts stamp of official approval, has been created as a collaborative effort between Disney Mobile and Nimblebit, and if you're a fan of Star Wars and would like to enjoy an 8-bit epic based upon the legendary sci-fi franchise, then look no further than Star Wars: Tiny Death Star.
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.
It's hard to believe that it's been a year since the previous installment of Call of Duty was thrusted into our lives. For the sake of wiping away any worry that you may have, we are happy to report that Activision hasn’t just been sitting on the profits from previous iterations of the title, but instead have been hard at work alongside Infinity Ward to produce the latest in the series. Incase you managed to miss the announcement, Call of Duty: Ghosts officially became available today and has been released alongside a companion mobile app that is available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone 8 devices.
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.
Google is constantly updating, improving and expanding upon its range of apps, and today, the official Google Search app for iOS has been given a rather generous update. Naturally, since the Mountain View-based company tends to prioritize its own Android mobile OS, nearly all of the enhancements can already be found on the corresponding version over at the Play Store, but nevertheless, Google Search v. 3.1.0 for iOS is one of the most significant we've seen in quite a long time. We'll run through all of the key improvements, as well as provide the all-important download link, right after the fold.

