Other Sites
HyperDrive iPad Expansion Hard Drive
iFixit Tears Down The 4th Generation iPod Shuffle
The iPad And The Benefits Of A Blank Slate
Is The iPad Driving Down Chip Prices?
100 Days With the iPad: Part 2
The iPad, Five Months Later
iOS 4.1: What You Need to Know
Why Apple Owns The Consumer Electronics Market
iPad Hurting Consumer PC Sales
Writing on the iPad: A Story of Love, Heartache & Infuriating Bugs
Why Android Will Dominate The iPhone And Grab Half The Smartphone Market
Samsung Announces Dual-core Mobile Processor
Apple A4 Chip Perfect For Low Power Servers Say Analysts
MyNature Tree Guide 1.1 Released For iPhone and iTouch
HyperDrive iPad Expansion Hard Drive
One of the most frequently cited criticisms of the iPad is its mediocre data storage capacity, even on the pricy 64 GB model. Those little SSDs are speedy, but their capacity is yesterday's news.
HyperDrive for the iPad to the rescue, claimed to be the world's first and only iPad compatible USB hard drive. It isn't cheap, but it could mark the tipping point between the iPad being a diverting toy and consumption device and a useful work tool.
The HyperDrive iPad Expansion Hard Drive lets you:
- Carry up to 750GB of HD 720p video and photo data with you
- Back up and view memory cards without computers or external power
Features:
• From memory cards to HyperDrive to the iPad
- Directly backup memory cards on to the HyperDrive at speeds up to 2GB per minute without using a computer
• Or if you wish, you can connect HyperDrive as a USB hard drive to the computer to transfer files
• Transfer HD movies, photos and other supported media to the iPad at 1GB/minute speed.
High Resolution 3.2" Color LCD
• Display full screen image, thumbnails or slide shows.
• Built-in fast real RAW image decoder.
• Supports JPEG and all types of RAW including those from medium format cameras.
• New RAW format support can be added via firmware update.
Advanced File Manager
• Explore contents of internal hard drive or any memory card.
• Preview images in the background without entering folders.
Computer-Like File Operations
• Perform advanced file and folder operations like copy, cut, paste, delete, rename, create new folder, sort file directory by name/date/type, format hard drive, erase card etc.
• Selectively copy single or multiple files/folders between memory card and internal hard drive.
Visual Information
• Histogram (individual R/G/B/L channel) overlay display.
• Rotate and zoom image in stages up to 100% pixel level to confirm image focus and fine detail.
• Detailed EXIF data displays more information about your photo.
High Capacity Drive
• Supports any 2.5" SATA hard drive (120~750GB & beyond).
• No capacity limit.
• S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) monitors internal hard drive for potential problems.
• Multiple hard drive partition format support.
Other Advanced Tools
• Hard drive and memory card speed benchmark tools.
• Memory card data recovery.
User Replaceable Drive & Battery
• Generic 18650 li-ion battery commonly used to power notebook computers.
• Extremely long battery life.
• Backup 250GB of data on a single charge.
• Easy access design.
• Deep CF slot.
The HyperDrive is available now at the following capacities and MSRP price points:
• 120GB ($299)
• 160GB ($349)
• 250GB ($399)
• 320GB ($449)
• 500GB ($499)
• 640GB ($549)
• 750GB ($599)
• Or as a bring-your-own-drive empty case at: $249.00
For more information, visit:
http://bit.ly/aDvVgS
iFixit Tears Down The 4th Generation iPod Shuffle
iFixIt's Kyle Weins says:
Apple sent a clear message with the updated iPod Shuffle: "We were wrong." They changed course, admitted that people actually like buttons, and brought them back for this generation. Pshhh! Those of us with 3rd Gen Shuffles just printed out this convenient chart and carried it around for reference: http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/Ir6r5xH31eIwAcOm.large
Having confessed that their lack of buttons was a problem, we wanted to see if Apple improved the repairability of the device. The 3rd Generation had a press-fit back cover and a battery soldered to the logic board, making replacement quite difficult. Unfortunately, the 4th Gen is even harder to open, thanks to the generous application of glue in addition to the press-fit back cover.
The 4th Generation Shuffle the first of three iPod teardowns this week! We'll be taking apart the new iPod Touch and iPod Nano the moment we get our hands on them.
The teardown:
http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPod-Shuffle-4th-Generation-Teardown/3559/1
Highlights:
(*) iPod Shuffle 4th Generation Repairability: 2 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)
(*) Good: The click wheel is attached to the logic board via a connector, allowing it to be easily separated.
(*) Good: The lack of a screen eliminates a large weak point of other devices, making the Shuffle more resilient to falls. Just don't flush it down the toilet.
(*) Bad: You essentially have to break it to open it.
(*) Bad: The battery is soldered to the logic board, making replacement that much more difficult.
(*) Bad: Apple keeps shrinking connectors. These super-small cable connectors are increasingly difficult to open without breaking them.
(*) The device was extremely difficult to open. Apple press-fit and glued the back cover onto the body, so it took us quite a while to pop the cover off the unit. We definitely had a harder time accessing the internals than in the previous generation Shuffle.
(*) Even the seemingly simple task of disconnecting the button pad ribbon cable turns out to be quite a chore when the connector is 1/8" wide.
(*) We have a feeling that as technology advances, we'll need smaller and smaller tools to take devices apart. You won't be able to see our hands in pictures, just little pointy tweezers.
(*) Apple once again chose to solder the battery to the logic board. This adds another layer of difficulty to replace it (aside from breaking the back cover to open it) if it dies on you in the future.
(*) Unsurprisingly, the date codes on the main Apple chip indicate die manufacture dates in late June (1025) and early August 2010 (1031).
More Saucy Images:
Taking off the back cover:
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/EGelSlfSFlHh6CPD.huge
Unscrewing the sole logic board screw:
http://guide-images.ifixit.net/igi/TuoDL3nUBXFvdCDA.huge
Cheers,
Kyle Wiens
iFixit CEO
The iPad And The Benefits Of A Blank Slate
Harvard Business Review's Adam Richardson says:
When it first launched, I couldn't figure out how Apple was positioning the iPad. Was it meant to be a laptop replacement or a complementary device? It was meant for more casual usage, but then why make iWork (Apple's Office semi-equivalent) one of the initial apps? Others complained about its lack of a camera and various other features that are de rigueur on conventional computers. But the sales figures speak for themselves: Despite the ambiguity, there is clearly enough core value to the product that people will pay for its benefits.
The iPad shows the value of launching a product that is a blank slate. It's physically a blank slate, but also conceptually it's open to interpretation....
To read more, click here:
http://bit.ly/awXJfC
Is The iPad Driving Down Chip Prices?
Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports that Samsung is warning of a memory glut from weakening PC sales as consumers turn to tablets, and that DRAM prices may fall in the next two quarters due to weakening demand for notebook and desktop computers, attributed at least partly to the popularity of the iPad and soon other tablet computers including Samsung's own GALAXY Tab.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/cFDeqd
100 Days With the iPad: Part 2
PC Magazine's Tim Bajarin has posted the second installment of his 100-day iPad report, this time discussing the impressions that two of his female staff members had spending time with Apple's tablet, one of whom was a major skeptic going in but now says she never wants to go back to life without an iPad.
You can check it out at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20100907/tc_zd/254265
The iPad, Five Months Later
The Globe and Mail's Wayne MacPhail says it's been five months since Apple launched the iPad, and in that time the tablet has ushered in a new age of mobile computing with more than 3 million of the devices sold and competitors ramping up production of a slew of new tablets for the holidays.
MacPhail, an emerging media consultant who teaches online journalism at Western and Ryerson universities, reflects on how the device has changed his own computing habits, noting that the iPad is making his MacBook Pro jealous, and that the laptop now almost never leaves his office, observing that "it is impossible, unless you own one, to appreciate how engaging, immersive and addictive it can be," but says he needs to go spend some quality time with with laptop.
You can check it out at:
http://bit.ly/aNfQU1
iOS 4.1: What You Need to Know
The Mac Observer's Jeff Gamet says:
iOS 4.1 for the iPhone and iPod touch is set to be released sometime this week, and for some the update will bring welcome fixes along with new features. Deciding whether or not you should install the update, however, depends on how you use your iPhone or iPod touch, and exactly which model you have....
To read more, click here.
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/ios_4.1_what_you_need_to_know/
Why Apple Owns The Consumer Electronics Market
wallstreetstocks.net says:
Apple is one of the leading electronics providers on the market. Apple products give consumers a variety of quality electronics devices that offer a level of uniqueness that no other electronics creator can compete with. Apple created their own operating system that has since allowed them to stand alone on the market. People love products like Apple iPods and macbooks because they give consumers a new and improved sense of modernity and excellence....
For the full commentary visit here:
http://bit.ly/axlfx8
iPad Hurting Consumer PC Sales
Forbes' Brian Caulfield reports:
Sales of low-end notebook computers aimed at consumers appears to have been hurt by the
arrival of Apple's iPad earlier this year, with analysts ratcheting down forecasts for sales of cheap consumer PCs, and the components that go into them, even as they remain bullish on the prospects for Apple's $499 tablet computer.....
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/cCqc6R
Writing on the iPad: A Story of Love, Heartache & Infuriating Bugs
binarybonsai.com says:
Even when I close any notifiers and twitter-/chat clients, I'm just too easily distracted to get
writing done in proper on my Mac. I blame Command–TAB, however I guess I'll have to take full responsibility myself…
Then I bought a keyboard dock for the iPad, because it hit me: The iPad is single-tasking (in terms of its interface-regime). It doesn't have menubar items. It doesn't have Command+TAB or a dock (in the traditional sense). In fact, one of the things I love the most about it is exactly the fact that it becomes the very app you have open at any given time, to the exclusion of almost everything else.....
However, this article is mainly a detailed discussion of the iPad's many shortcomings as a writing device.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://binarybonsai.com/2010/09/07/ipad-writing/
Why Android Will Dominate The iPhone And Grab Half The Smartphone Market
Computerworld's Preston Gralla reports:
The remarkable growth of Android in the past year is no mere temporary surge, and will accelerate, giving Android half of the smartphone market, leaving the iPhone in the dust. So concludes a Piper Jaffray report, which says that the iPhone will be left with from 20% to 30% of the market versus more than 50% for Android.
You can check it out at:
http://bit.ly/aMZ5CI
Samsung Announces Dual-core Mobile Processor
IDG News Service's Mikael Ricknäs reports:
Samsung has announced a dual-core application processor for tablets PCs, netbooks and smartphones that will be able to handle 1080p video playback and recording, the company said on Tuesday.
The Orion processor contains a pair of 1GHz ARM Cortex A9 cores, and its capabilities give a hint at what we can expect from mobile products in 2011.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/bD71N7
Apple A4 Chip Perfect For Low Power Servers Say Analysts
TechWorld's Agam Shah says:
Apple's internally developed A4 chip could be implemented in new devices such as low power servers, TVs or even communications or entertainment boxes, if the company tries to expand the chip's footprint, analysts said.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/9qUG8U
MyNature Tree Guide 1.1 Released For iPhone and iTouch
[Press Release]
MyNature Inc. today releases MyNature Tree Guide 1.1 for iOS. With its newest version, MyNature hopes to build upon its success of the MyNature Tree Guide 1.0.
MyNature Tree Guide makes an educational experience fun in new way. Using a series of 15 questions the user answers as many as possible. The app will match the answers against its database for the tree that most closely resembles the answered questions. You can also use the questions themselves as a broader search by searching for leaf shape, fruit shape, number of needles as well as many other combinations of searchable features a tree may have. Once identified, the user can see photos and range maps or read more to learn about the tree and its growth cycle.
The app can also alert users to which trees they may find in any area in North America. Just enter the state or province initials into the app and hit submit, all the trees featured for that state will be listed. MyNature Trees also includes a place for making notes, which is particularly useful for those who enjoy recording their outdoor discoveries.
Some of the MyNature Tree Guide Features are:
(*) Searchable database containing over 200 trees found in North America
(*) Clearly illustrated leaf drawings showing the prominent features of each trees leaf
(*) Digital images of an actual leaf, some with their Autumn colors
(*) Range maps to reference a trees presence in your location
(*) Full color digital images of a trees fruit or cone
(*) Digital images of a trees bark as well as its profile
(*) Handy ruler to measure and aid in leaf identification
(*) MyNature journal, where you can personally record the trees you've found along with the location, weather conditions or just your own personal thoughts about your day in the field
(*) State Tree quiz
(*) Interesting and fun facts about trees
(*) Scientific names and their meanings and much more
Currently, MyNature Trees features over 200 trees found in North America. MyNature Trees is a fully-loaded, one of a kind app that's great for kids and adults alike. It is the most fun a nature loving person can have while learning. Version 1.0 had reached the Top 10 grossing reference apps in July 2010. Version 1.0 remained in the Top 25 grossing reference apps for 4 weeks and in the Top 50 for over 6 weeks since its release. The MyNature, Inc. Version 1.1 updates and corrects technical issues found with the iPhone 4.
Device Requirements:
(*) iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad
(*) Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later
(*) 129 MB
MyNature Tree Guide 1.1 is $6.99 USD (or equivalent amount in other currencies) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Reference category.
MyNature Tree Guide 1.1:
http://www.mynaturesite.com/2010/06/mynature-tree-guide-2/
Purchase and Download:
http://snurl.com/120zuc
Screenshot:
http://snurl.com/12101n
Tags: News ď Tech-Industry ď iPhone ď iPhone News ď
