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.
It isn't exactly a well-hidden fact that the Apple iPad is the most popular tablet available on the market today. With over 100 million iPads shipped since the original launch in 2010, and that total being added to daily as consumers grab the fourth-generation iPad and iPad mini, Apple are streets ahead of the competition in the tablet market. If additional proof was needed that the iPad will continue to dominate the industry then the fact that Westminster City Council are preparing to make significant investment in iPad controlled street lighting throughout London should go some way to provide it.
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.
One of the biggest Apple-related news items last week - other than the launch of the iPad 4 and iPad mini - was the announcement from CEO Tim Cook that Senior Vice President (VP) of iOS Software, Scott Forstall and Head of Retail John Browett would be leaving the company in 2013.
The “Apple products are cool” saga only reached a conclusion last week when the fruit company made its apology, and today, Apple’s UK website has now clarified the original issue, along with ads in several UK newspapers.
Along with the release of any new hardware from Apple, we start to see an influx of TV ads soon after. The iPad mini is proving itself to be yet another blockbuster from the Cupertino company, and staying true to their previous trend, Apple has released the first ever TV ad for the miniature iPad.
The iPad 3 has had the shortest shelf life of any Apple tablet in existence. Having arrived only in March in a blaze of glory, it's quickly been replaced by the fourth-generation iPad, and although the aesthetic changes are negligible (the Lightning cable has replaced the 30-pin job), internally, the newer of the two is said to be "twice as fast."
In line with the Steve Jobs vision, many of us hold our smartphones and tablets in the same regard as our cars, and as some of us have specially adapted our automobiles for compatibility with our iPhones, some companies have already been installing the iPad mini into the dashboards of cars.
Skeuomorphism within the design of iOS is something Apple's designers have squabbled over for a good while. The fake glass dock, plastic background of the calculator, beech wood effect of the Newsstand - these are all examples of ornamental elements throughout Apple's mobile OS, and although former SVP of iOS Software, Scott Forstall, was quite a big fan of the look, he has now surrendered his post. Jony Ive will be one of the Apple execs said to be overseeing tasks formerly manned by Forstall, and is reportedly planning to rid both iOS and OS X of the tacky designs.
