Some of the largest players in the game are all holding scheduled press events over the course of the next seven days in an attempt to get their products and services noticed by the tech hungry public. Apple will be taking to the stage first on October 23rd to introduce us to the new miniature iPad, followed closely by Microsoft on October 25th to refresh our memories on Windows 8 and the Surface tablet. To end the month, Google will be holding their own Android event in New York that looks likely to bring some very interesting announcements, on the same day, Microsoft is holding a Windows Phone 8 launch event too.
The TwelveSouth BookBook range of cases have proven themselves to be some of the most popular iOS and OS X accessories available on the market. Uniquely imagined and beautifully styled, the BookBook case is basically a rather gorgeous looking wallet and iPhone case combo that is manufactured to look like a vintage book on the outside. The quality of the product speaks for itself but with current versions only being compatible with the iPhone 4 and 4S, TwelveSouth have found themselves issuing a statement about the imminent availability of a BookBook case made specifically for the iPhone 5.
Windows 8 is just five days away from being publicly released, but those of you with access to MSDN or TechNet, like me, are probably already running the final “RTM” build of the new OS from the Redmond-based software company.
Experienced and hardcore gamers on the Windows platform will more than likely have used, or at least be familiar with, tools that integrate with the system to provide a visual outlet showing how many frames-per-second the running software is achieving. To a lot of people, and the average user in general, the information is irrelevant, but to developers and those who take things a little more seriously; it is extremely useful to see the real-world performance levels that are being reached. The FPS Meter app on the Play Store now mimics that functionality on Android devices.
The Nexus 7 has been fairly successful for Google and their manufacturing partners, with Android lovers and tablet aficionados loving the premium experience that the product provides with the budget price-tag which Google has slapped on it. The 8GB and 16GB variants have been in the marketplace since the original launch in June of this year, and although Google has obviously been trying to keep it under wraps, it looks like the 32GB Nexus 7 tablet will be available to purchase sooner rather than later.
The iPhone 5 may have been out for a number of weeks now, but accessories and peripherals for the new device - at least from Apple - have been at something of a premium. As has been documented numerous times, there's no official dock for the new Lightning-connected device as yet, and perhaps surprisingly, no iPhone 5 cases retailing in any of Apple's Stores. While there's not likely to be a Lightning dock anytime soon, the Cupertino company's official retail stores have begun stocking cases for the brand new smartphone.
According to a report from the generally-reliable 9to5Mac, the entry-level model of the upcoming iPad Mini will cost $329. Given the purported specification of the device, the price point was always going to be dramatically lower than that of the main iPad, and although it's not as cheap as the Nexus 7, it's still, one suspects, cheap enough to potentially command huge sales.
Next week, Apple will be holding a special media event in San Jose, with the main spectacle widely presumed to be the iPad Mini. That's not all we're going to be seeing, though, and as well as a purported refresh of the Mac mini and iMac desktops, it looks as though iBooks will also be getting a significant update as previously speculated upon, driving the version number up to 3.0.
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard of the Apple media event set for October 23rd, invites for which were sent out four days ago. Although there is nothing in the invite image that suggests this (like it did with new iPad and iPhone 5), it is widely expected to be the event where Apple announces their entry to the small and economical tablet market that is currently dominated by the likes of Amazon’s Kindle Fire (HD) and Google’s Nexus 7.
If you thought your part of the world was the only area that seemed to get gripped by fruit-based fever whenever a new physical Apple Store opened up, then think again. The new Wangfujing store in Beijing has officially been opened for business and immediately became the largest Apple Store in Asia, much to the delight of the sizeable crowd that turned out for the occasion.
