O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: 2

  • Meijer’s $70 iPad 2 price reduction, other discounts hint at upcoming iPad 3 launch

    It’s the discounts that sometimes provide the best hints as to a product released.

    Per AppleInsider, U.S. big-box retailer Meijer, has slashed the in-store price of the 16GB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi by US$70, even as Apple’s third-generation tablet is expected to hit the market within weeks.

    The chain announced the sale in its weekly ad for the week of February 12 – 18, noting that it runs only while supplies last and does not include rain checks or substitutions. A separate listing on the company’s website lists the US$429 price as lasting until Feb. 25 and notes that the iPad 2 deal is only available in stores.

    The Smart Cover iPad 2 accessory is also on sale for US$35, US$5 off Apple’s price. In addition, Meijer is offering a free US$15 iTunes gift card with the purchase of an 8GB iPod touch for US$195 this week.

    Meijer is a Michigan-based supermarket chain that has been credited with popularizing the “supercenter” retail concept. The bulk of the company’s stores are in Michigan, though it also has locations in several other surrounding states.

    The US$70 off sale is one of the steepest discounts for the iPad 2 since the device was released last March. For instance, Best Buy offered US$45 off all iPad 2 models last year ahead of the Black Friday retail frenzy. Apple itself offered between US$41 and US$61 off during its own Black Friday promotion.

    Given that recent reports have pegged the first week in March as the likely time frame for the launch of the third-generation iPad, Meijer’s deal could be viewed as an effort to clear out inventory before the new devices arrive.

    Apple’s next tablet is widely expected to have a high-resolution Retina Display with double the pixel density as the current model, as well as a significantly faster A6 processor. Some reports have also suggested that Apple could make the jump to 4G with the release of an LTE-capable iPad next month.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • Apple revises iOS Developer Program requirements, begins asking for Retina Display-compatible screenshots across the board

    It looks like the Retina Display might be arriving for additional advices.

    Which wouldn’t be a bad thing.

    Per AppleInsider, Apple on Tuesday notified members of its iOS Developer Program that they will be required to provide high-resolution, Retina Display compatible screenshots when initially submitting or updating an app through iTunes Connect.

    The note sent out to third-party software developers says that any future updates will not be approved by Apple unless 960×640 pixel screenshot is included, a change from the company’s earlier policy which supported Retina Display screenshots but did not require them.

    Previously, non-Retina Display images and apps were scaled up from their native 480×320 pixel resolution on devices that sport the high-resolution display, and many apps in the App Store have yet to support to the higher pixel count.

    Currently, the only Apple products to boast the Retina Display are the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and the fourth generation iPod touch, however speculations that the much-rumored next-generation iPad will include its own high-resolution display have been cropping up since early last year.

    The iPhone 4 was the first device to use the 960×640 pixel screen, with the display being introduced to the current iteration of the iPod touch in 2010.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • iBooks 2 images linked to 2x image files, hint towards iPad 3 with Retina Display

    It’s the hints that make things interesting.

    Per AppleInsider, a source has pointed out that the continued presence of iPad-specific double-resolution images within Apple’s newly updated iBooks 2 app could indicate that the company will soon release an iPad with an improved display that approaches Retina Display-like quality.

    Higher-quality iPad images were first discovered in the iBooks app alongside @2x images for the iPhone last January. The discovery of the images was taken as evidence that Apple was planning for its iPad the same resolution jump that it did with the iPhone. Apple released the iPhone 4 with a “Retina Display” that featured twice the resolution and four times the pixels of its predecessor, the iPhone 3GS.

    High-resolution images also appeared in an iOS 5 beta last summer. The alleged files had a resolution of 2048×1536 and were found inside the Twitter framework.

    A double-resolution iPad would feature a pixel density of 264 ppi. That would fall short of the 300 ppi “sweet spot” that Apple referred to for its “Retina” calculations and the 326 ppi of the iPhone 4, though it would, of course, represent a significant improvement over the current model. By comparison, the iPad and iPad 2 share a resolution of 1024×768 and a pixel density of 132 ppi.

    Numerous reports have suggested that the Cupertino, Calif., company is due to release a high-definition iPad this spring, though there has been some disagreement on whether it would arrive as a high-end model. Most recently, Bloomberg claimed that the third-generation tablet has entered mass production ahead of a March launch and will feature a double-resolution display, 4G LTE and a quad-core processor.

    iBooks 2 was unveiled as part of Apple’s education event in New York City on Thursday. The company also announced several other education and ebook initiatives, including a new iTunes U app, partnerships with textbook publishers and iBooks Author, a Mac OS X application for designing digital textbooks for the iBookstore.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

  • Apple releases iTunes 10.5.3 update, adds iBooks 2 textbook syncing support

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    On Thursday, Apple released iTunes 10.5.3, the latest version of its multimedia/jukebox application for Mac OS X. The new version, a 102 megabyte download, offers the following fixes and changes:

    – Allows you to sync interactive iBooks textbooks to your iPad. These Multi-Touch textbooks are available for purchase from the iTunes Store on your Mac or from the iBookstore included with iBooks 2 on your iPad.

    – iBooks textbooks are created with iBooks Author.

    iTunes 10.5.3 requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later to install and run.

    If you’ve tried the new version and have any feedback, let us know in the comments.

  • iOS 5.1 beta 3 points towards additional Facebook, Twitter integration

    What might you expect out of iOS 5.1? More Facebook.

    Per iMore, evidence has been found indicating that Apple could add deep Facebook integration into a future operating system update. In one screenshot shown for the iOS Contacts application, there is an option to enter a person’s Facebook user name right below their Twitter account.

    System-wide Twitter integration was one of the most-touted features of iOS 5, which was publicly released last October. After its release, signups for Twitter grew by 25 percent.

    Deep integration with the social networking service allows users to quickly post Web links from Safari or pictures saved in the iPhoto application to Twitter. Presumably, future iOS integration with Facebook would offer similar functionality, making it easier for users to share information with their friends on the popular website.

    The pre-release build of iOS 5.1 also reportedly includes references to new iPad models named “J1AP” and “J2AP.” The references corroborate with rumored code-names of “J1” and “J2” that were first reported last November, when it was said Apple was secretly working on two new iPad models.

    The third beta of iOS 5.1 was provided to developers last week. It is compatible with the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad, and fourth- and third-generation iPod touch.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.