The thinner bezel has been described as being 3mm thinner with the device also said to still have a 9.7 inch display just like the current model. This makes the iPad a little smaller in dimensions and brings it to 239x186mm down from 242.8 x 189.7.
The larger speaker appears to cover the bottom edge of the device and also cuts slightly in the the back panel of the device. This would fall in line with the larger speaker cut out we saw on those "leaked" iPad 2 cases a month or so ago. One thing to note here is that the above picture is a render and not the real thing.
Finally, the iPad 2 is rumored to have a flat back, just like the iPhone 4 has. This would allow it to comfortably sit on a desk rather than wobbling around like the current model.
The source of the rumors is new in terms of leaking rumors, so for now, we need to take this with a pinch of salt.
Things that we expect to see in the iPad 2 is a higher resolution screen. We are not sure at this point if it will have the Retina display with that pixel density, but making pixels smaller is where Apple is currently heading at the moment. Cameras are also expected, especially to enable FaceTime integration as the iPad would make a fantastic device for making video calls to and from. Other than that we expect a small bump in available RAM, and possibly a faster CPU as well as Gyro etc...
Next year will certainly be interesting in terms of tablets. We expect Android tablets to be pushed out right at the beginning of the year to compete with Apple.
So
when I was recently given the chance to not only check out an Apple
iPad, but also the new Samsung Galaxy Tab, I was in gadget heaven.
Unless
you’ve been living under a rock , you’ve heard of the iPad thanks to
the mighty juggernaut that is Apple’s public relations department. The
Galaxy? What’s that? And I must confess that I immediately went into the
comparison of the two gadgets assuming that the iPad would be superior
in every way.
But,
surprisingly, the Galaxy gives Apple a bit of competition in the tablet
computer wars, and after playing with both of them for a week, I have
to say both offer some mighty cool and useful features.
The
iPad did it all first, so the Galaxy comes off initially as just an
iPad clone, and since the Galaxy is about two-thirds the size of the
iPad, you might be tempted to call this clone a “Mini-Me” … or in this
case a “Mini-i.”
In
the end, it was really hard for me to decide which device I liked
better because both have so many similarities. The Galaxy runs on the
Android operating system, so being a Droid phone user, that had quite a
bit of appeal for me. It was tough to say which tablet was ultimately
superior, so I’m going to run down some of the pros and cons for each
device and let you — and Santa — decide.
SIZE MATTERS — OR DOES IT?
comes down to a matter of preference. The iPad has a 9.7-inch screen
while the Galaxy’s screen is only 7 inches. But the resolution on both
are so close that it might actually come down to pure psychology. Both
screens are so crisp, that only the weakest eyes would have a problem
with the Galaxy’s smaller display. The iPad also weighs about half a
pound more than the Galaxy as well. But it’s bigger, so you’d expect
that.
WI-FI
If
you’re wanting to surf the Web when there’s no Wi-Fi around, then you
will be out of luck with the iPad. The Galaxy has an integrated Mi-Fi
which turns the tablet into a mobile hotspot. Verizon offers a separate
Mi-Fi with the iPad, but who wants to lug around yet another device? The
caveat with mobile hotspots is, of course, data usage. And that can run
your bill up quickly. You can opt out of the Mi-Fi altogether if you
want. Both tablets are pretty speedy when picking up a standard Wi-Fi
connection.
CAMERAS
Sorry,
no camera for you, iPad. But the Galaxy offers a 3 megapixel camera in
the back as well as a 1.3 megapixel camera in the front for video
conferencing using Skype. This is an obviously absent feature on the
iPad that left everyone scratching their heads when it debuted. My guess
is this won’t be a minus for Apple for long, but why it was left off to
begin with will always be a mystery to me.
MEMORY
The
iPad comes in three standard memory sizes: 16 gigabytes ($499), 32 GB
($599) and 64 GB ($699). The Galaxy comes standard with 2 GB of internal
memory and a 16 GB of external. Unfortunately, you can’t add more
memory to the iPad, but you can add more to the Galaxy with an SD card.
Of course, more memory comes with a bigger price tag, and if you add the
external 3G Mi-Fi to the iPad, the 64 GB model will run you $829. The
Galaxy is $599. Unfortunately, the external capacity for the Galaxy
maxes out at 32 GB.
The
pricing for me is the only deal breaker in the comparison wars. With
the Galaxy being so much smaller, I would expect the price to be at
least $100 below the iPad’s lowest price option.
You
can get the Galaxy for as low as $400, but that involves a two-year
contract that would probably include data usage for the 3G network.
APPS
Apps
for the iPad are as abundant as they are for the iPhone. But since the
Galaxy uses the Android operating system, the ever-expanding app store
for that tablet is growing exponentially.
So,
it all boils down to a matter of taste and preference. If you think
Steve Jobs hung the moon, then it’s doubtful that your eyes will ever
lose sight of the iPad. But the Galaxy has a lot of things going for it,
too. My advice is: Before you buy, give both of them a test drive. No
doubt you may come away from the experience as much of a fence-sitter as
I am.
Time Magazine has the iPad at Number 1 in their listing of Gagdets of the Year for 2010.
No great shocker here, as I expect the iPad to haul in lots of end-of year awards like this, but Time is a big name and it’s good to see the iPad recognized in their list. Here’s their blurb on why it is their choice for gadget of the year:
It’s not the first touchscreen tablet in the history of computing, but it’s easily the most successful so far. With 3 million iPads sold in their first month alone and a market for interactive magazines and newspapers created almost overnight, Apple finally managed to make tablet computing cool.
With more cities being blanketed in the warm glow of WiMax every month, 3G speeds are going to start seeming primitive, fast. Clear's iSpot hotspot lets iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches get a taste of the delicious 4G future.
). For more details, we observe there are good references are the steps to do it through a forum that I meant earlier.Electronics sellers in China are pushing wireless modems as a solution for Apple iPad users who can only get online when close to a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Apple has yet to announce a release date for the iPad in China, but some estimate that as many as thousands of early adopters in China have already purchased the iPad. Consumers can get iPads with both Wi-Fi and high speed 3G capabilities, but 3G iPads cost more and the SIM cards used to go online, which can be purchased from Chinese carrier China Unicom, must be cut in half to fit the slot in the iPad.
A growing selection of wireless modems now offer a cheaper way to connect iPads to the Internet anywhere, and also include the option of connecting multiple devices simultaneously — and according to vendors, people in China are snapping them up. Huawei’s E5 modem, which can connect to China Unicom’s 3G network, is particularly popular. The modem creates a Wi-Fi hotspot, allowing up to five devices to connect wirelessly to the 3G service, similar to devices currently being sold in the U.S. like the Novatel MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot from Verizon Wireless and Sprint.
The devices and services are far cheaper in China, making them a more worthwhile proposition than pairing a Wi-Fi-only iPad with similar devices in the U.S. An E5 device and one year of service, including a monthly data allowance of one gigabyte from China Unicom, costs less than $300. In the U.S., a MiFi 2200 with one year of service from Verizon Wireless, including a monthly data allowance of 250 megabytes, costs $650 excluding taxes and fees. In effect, purchasing a Wi-Fi iPad in China with an E5 modem and 3G service costs less and has more capabilities than purchasing a pricier 3G iPad with 3G service for only the iPad.
A Huawei spokeswoman said the company had sold 1.5 million E5 wireless modems as of the end of the first quarter, since the third quarter last year, but declined to say how many were sold in China, where the device was released in the first quarter of the year. She added that the E5 is also available in other regions including Europe and the Middle East, and will be released in North America later this year (though service plans vary by operator).
– Loretta Chao, with contributions from Bai Lin
Unlimited, all-you-can-eat wireless data was a beautiful thing for Apple devices on AT&T, delivering streams of Pandora, YouTube videos, a million tweets, and hundreds of webpages without worry. And now it's dead.
AT&T's new, completely restructured mobile data plans for both iPhones and iPads have officially launched the era of pay-per-byte data, which we've known was coming. We just hoped it would take a little longer. It's the anti-Christmas.
AT&T is likely just the first, since carriers rarely do anything alone (like when everybody launched unlimited voice calling in lockstep), and Verizon's CTO has rumbled that plans with "as much data as you can consume is the big issue that has to change." And so it is.
If you look at the costs per megabyte, you can see how, despite the fact AT&T is pitching the availability of lower priced plans as a value move, you actually are paying more for less. (Update: Corrected chart, moved a decimal place.)
Under AT&T's old iPhone and smartphone plans, $30/month bought you truly unlimited data. With their new plans for smartphones, arriving June 7 (not coincidentally, the day of Steve Jobs' WWDC keynote) the confusingly named DataPlus offers 200MB of data for $15 a month, while DataPro gives you 2GB for $25. With DataPlus, if you run over 200MB you get another 200MB for $15. But, AT&T tells us that if you're running over the 200MB limit, you can actually switch to the beefier 2GB DataPro completely pain-free (no ETFs or any of that business), and then switch back to the skinnier plan "over time." With DataPro, if you run over 2GB, you get another 1GB of data for $10, ad infinitum. So, if you use 5GB of data, you're looking at a $55 bill for data.
Tethering for the iPhone is here, finally! Hurray! Right? Wrong. First, consider that the old, non-iPhone tethering option offered you 5GB of tethering data for an extra $30 a month. The new plan charges you $20 extra to use the same 2GB pool of data for tethering. You are not buying extra data. You are simply paying extra to use it for tethering.
Let me repeat that: AT&T is charging you an additional twenty dollars a month based purely on how you use your data. This is bullshit, plain and simple.
Why does it matter how you use that 2GB? Why does it cost extra to use it in a slightly different manner, if you're paying for it all the same?
It's asburdity—especially when you consider the basic math. Under the old plan, you paid $60 a month for unlimited data, plus 5GB worth of tethering. Under the new plan, you will pay $45 for 2GB of data, total.
When you break out the dollar-per-byte value, showing just how much data you get per dollar, it becomes clear how outrageous the new pricing schemes are, whatever AT&T murmurs about how much data 98 percent of users actually consume.
The new plans apply to the iPad as well. Meaning the no-contract $30 unlimited data plan, the plan both Apple and AT&T pitched so hard, assuring us that we would never have to worry about data or contracts, is no more. If that $30-whenever-you-want-it unlimited data was a part of your calculus in buying the 3G iPad—it was part of mine—you've effectively been baited-and-switched. They promised one thing, and in just two months, it's gone. I suppose that's the downside of not having a contract with a multi-billion dollar corporation—you're free to ditch them, but they're free to screw you in return.
There is a way out, though it's really more like a way in, since it requires you to dive more securely into the vice grip of AT&T. If you already have an unlimited smartphone data plan and you renew your contract after June 7, as long as you don't change your plan, you can keep on keepin' on with your unlimited plan. In other words, you can get a new smartphone, but keep the same plan—then you're grandfathered in with unlimited data. Same deal with the iPad: If you start an unlimited data plan before June 7, and let it keep automatically renewing, you'll keep unlimited data.
If you add the $20 tethering option after June 7, though, you move to the new plans (which obviously screws iPhone owners interested in tethering). If you don't already have an unlimited smartphone data plan, and buy one after June 7, you'll get one of the new plans. If you come to AT&T after June 7, you'll get one of the new plans. If you start a new iPad 3G data plan after June 7, you'll get one of the new plans. (Here's a bit more on various scenarios and what'll happen with different configurations.)
So, what'll be? Tie yourself up more tightly with AT&T to preserve your data privileges, or join this brave new world, where you pay for every byte you eat? Any hopes you could've possibly had for unlimited 4G, you might as well shred them now. It's true, for most people (98 percent of users, says AT&T), 2GB a month might be fine—I've only used 1GB on my iPad 3G, even after streaming a ton of movies with the intent of killing my battery. And I'm not opposed to metered internet, per se. But I am opposed to higher costs per megabyte, BS charges for tethering, and broken iPad promises. And there's a principle at stake here, dammit. [AT&T]
MyWi, an app available for hacked (i.e., jailbroken) iPhones, turns the handset into a wireless 3G modem that can be tethered to an iPad. That means you can skip paying the extra $130 on a 3G-only model, along with the $15 or $30 fee for data, and get internet access for free from your iPhone’s unlimited data plan, instead.
The process of turning your iPhone into a wireless modem for the iPad looks quite simple. According to AppAdvice, which originally reported on MyWi, all you have to is launch the app and flip the “WiFi Tethering” option to “On.” Then, your iPhone will create a Wi-Fi network that you can choose with your iPad.
There is a drawback, of course: Jailbreaking comes with risks. Apple recently issued a support bulletin stating that hacking your iPhone can result in application instability, unreliable voice and data service and other issues. And of course, turning your iPhone into a modem drains its battery pretty fast.
Nonetheless, the jailbreak community has come a long way. The MyWi app looks less cumbersome to set up than an official tethering app we reported on in 2008 called NetShare, which actually made it into the App Store briefly — it was almost immediately pulled and banned by Apple.
The MyWi app can be downloaded through the Rock app store available for jailbroken iPhones. It costs $10, and it comes with a free 10-day trial. For information on jailbreaking an iPhone, visit the Dev-Team Blog.
We've shown you how to turn a regular SIM into a Micro SIM, but what if you want to do things the other way around? Here's how to turn a Micro SIM into a regular-sized SIM card.
You'll simply take a regular SIM card and trace it onto an old gift card, credit card, or other piece of hard plastic. After you cut out the shape, you'll need to figure out where your Micro SIM would have to sit inside that in order for its contacts to be in the same spot on those of the regular SIM.
Then you'll cut and trace a hole, slip in your Micro SIM, slap some tape onto the back so that it doesn't fall out, and tada! You've made yourself a Micro-SIM-to-SIM adapter.
If you want to use this adapter in order to turn your iPhone 3G or iPhone 3GS into a data-only device by using your iPad 3G's Micro SIM, you'll have to change some carrier settings, but that'll only take you a few taps. [Hijinks Inc—Thanks, Aaron!]
The iPad 3G may require a micro SIM—a lilliputian SIM card incompatible with anything else you own—but AT&T will be selling each bundled with a full SIM card adapter—meaning you could potentially use your data plan elsewhere. UPDATE:
UPDATE: Actually, a better look from BGR shows us that this seems to be a punch out scenario in which you can't reuse the larger SIM casing once you choose to break away the Micro SIM. It's probably just going to make stocking at AT&T easier. Luckily, given that SIM and Micro SIM have the same contacts, adapters (even homemade ones) are likely to be available soon. [BGR and Engadget]
Presented without comment: Sprint's 4G Case for iPad, with room for its WiMax Overdrive box. [Sprint via iLounge]
