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News, Reviews, & Opinion
iPad Dominates While Kindle Fire Fizzles
The media tablet market shipped 18.2 million devices in 1Q/2012,
which represents a 185% year-over-year (YoY) gain and a -33% sequential
loss in shipments. According to Allied Business Intelligence, Inc. ABI
Research's Media Tablet Market Share Tracker, Apple's 11.8 million iPad
shipments were spurred by the launch of a third-generation lineup and
price reduction on iPad 2 models, while Samsung's 1.1 million
shipments returned the vendor to the number two spot after Amazon's
Kindle Fire shipments fizzled entering 2012.
"A pattern similar to smartphones is also occurring in tablets,"
says Jeff Orr, ABI group director, consumer research. "Apple and
Samsung have demonstrated staying power while other tablet vendors ebb
and flow like the tide. Only two leading branded tablet OEMs RIM (233%)
and Lenovo (107%) bucked the downward first quarter shipment trends,
while Taiwan's ASUS remained flat sequentially from 4Q2011. Several
vendors, including Dell, HP, and LG are currently retooling tablet
portfolios for midyear launches of Android 4.0 along with the much
anticipated Windows 8 slates debuting later in 2012."
"Apple continued to lead the market with nearly 65% of worldwide
units and surpassed 67 million cumulative shipments in its first eight
quarters of availability. iPad can't claim the highest mobile broadband
(3G/4G) attach rate for media tablets, though Apple retains its title
of shipping the most 3G-enabled tablets by outpacing the number two
competitor by a factor of eight. The majority of iPad buyers continue
to be satisfied with WiFi wireless coverage," adds Orr. "The leading
model shipments and the ongoing challenges mobile operators face in
convincing iPad owners to even try the mobile broadband connectivity
once are expected to continue for the foreseeable future."
ABI Research's Media Tablet Market Share Tracker provides quarterly
and annual historical vendor market share, mobile broadband embedded
modem module attach rate by vendor, and Apple iPad model configuration
trends and is part of ABI Research's Tablets, Netbooks & Mobile CE
Research Service.
Link: iPad Remains Dominant
While Kindle Fire Fizzles
How to Replace Your Laptop with an iPad
Laptop mag Staff Writer Davey Alba asks:
"Have you ever wanted to jet off on a business trip or head home for
the weekend with just your iPad? Now you can. When it first emerged,
Apple's tablet wasn't meant to be a PC replacement. But a slew of new
apps and accessories for the device make it possible to accomplish
everything from editing documents and tweaking photos to blogging and
creating movies. Here's what you need in your arsenal to leave that
notebook behind."
Link: How to Replace
Your Laptop with an iPad
iPad Worshipers Shouldn't Write the Laptop's
Epitaph Just Yet
Mike Feibus, principal analyst at market research firm TechKnowledge
Strategies, writes on BetaNews that it's hard to believe its only been
two years since Apple sold the first iPad, and that while many have
been busy chiseling the epitaph onto the face of the laptop's
tombstone, they want to put the funeral plans on hold, because the PC
is about to get interesting again. (Editor's note: For some of us it
hadn't become uninteresting. cm)
In its favor, Feibus concedes that tablets address the laptop
deficiency of relatively short battery life, which in his estimation is
that main reason the tablet elbowed its way in alongside the laptop in
our briefcases, as well as being a more recline-friendly form factor,
and functionally easier and quicker to engage and access.
However, most serious productivity computer users still opt for a
laptop for our more creation-centric tasks although the tablet tends to
get the nod for anything that can be done equally well on either
device.
Feibus notes that the Computex trade show in Taiwan is shaping up to
be a coming-out party of sorts for dozens of new laptop models;
sleeker, sexier, more responsive, and boasting better battery life -
some of them convertible clamshells that double as touchscreen tablets
for reading, gaming, and watching video.
He suggests that if you already have a tablet and a laptop, these
new hybrids probably won't convince you to go back to one device, but
for those on the fence as to whether to buy a first tablet or replace
their current laptop system, he thinks that these new laptops will have
strong appeal.
Link: Say, iPad
Idolaters, Don't Write the Laptop's Epitaph Just Yet
Apple Posts Paper on iOS Security
An iOS Security paper posted by Apple that can be downloaded in PDF
format says:
"AppleDesigned the iOS platform with security at its core. Keeping
information secure on mobile devices is critical for any user, whether
they're accessing corporate and customer information or storing
personal photos, banking information, and addresses. Because every
users information is important, iOS devices are built to maintain a
high level of security without compromising the user experience.
"iOS devices provide stringent security technology and features, and
yet also are easy to use. The devices are designed to make security as
transparent as possible. Many security features are enabled by default,
so IT departments don't need to perform extensive configurations. And
some key features, like device encryption, are not configurable, so
users cannot disable them by mistake.
"For organizations considering the security of iOS devices, it is
helpful to understand how the built-in security features work together
to provide a secure mobile computing platform."
Link: iOS Security
(PDF)
Corning Willow Glass Will Help Enable New, Thinner
Devices and Could Revolutionize Display Manufacturing
PR: Corning Incorporated has announced the launch of Corning
Willow Glass, an ultra-slim flexible glass that could revolutionize the
shape and form of next-generation consumer electronic technologies. The
company made the announcement Monday at the Society for Information
Display's Display Week, an industry trade show in Boston.
Corning says its Willow Glass will help enable thin, light, and
cost-efficient applications including today's slim displays and the
smart surfaces of the future. The thinness, strength, and flexibility
of the glass has the potential to enable displays to be wrapped around
a device or structure. As well, Corning Willow Glass can be processed
at temperatures up to 500° C. High temperature processing
capability is essential for today's high-end displays and is a
processing condition that cannot be supported with polymer films.
Corning claims Willow Glass will enable the industry to pursue
high-temperature, continuous roll-to-roll processes similar to how
newsprint is produced that have been impossible until now.
The technology will support thinner backplanes and color filters for
both organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and liquid crystal displays
(LCD) in high-performance, portable devices such as smartphones,
tablets, and notebook computers. This new, ultra-slim flexible glass
will also help develop conformable (curved) displays for immersive
viewing or mounting on non-flat surfaces.
Corning says Willow Glass is formulated to perform exceptionally
well for electronic components such as touch sensors, as well as
leveraging glass' natural hermetic properties as a seal for OLED
displays and other moisture and oxygen-sensitive technologies.
"Displays become more pervasive each day and manufacturers
strive to make both portable devices and larger displays thinner.
Corning Willow Glass provides the substrate performance to maintain
device quality in a thin and light form factor," says Dr. Dipak
Chowdhury, division vice president and Willow Glass program director.
"Currently manufacturing in a sheet-to-sheet process, we expect Corning
Willow Glass to eventually allow customers to switch to
high-throughput, efficient roll-to-roll processing, a long-awaited
industry milestone."
Like Corning's other leading-edge glass substrates, including EAGLE
XG Slim and Corning Lotus Glass, Corning Willow Glass is produced using
the company's proprietary fusion process. The company says advances in
fusion forming have made it possible to produce glass that is 100
microns thick about the thickness of a sheet of copy paper. Even at
that thickness, it provides hermetic sealing to sensitive components,
while also providing excellent optical, thermal, and surface
properties.
Corning is currently shipping samples of its Willow Glass to
customers developing new display and touch applications. The company is
also collaborating with research institutions, customers, and equipment
makers to develop an ecosystem of compatible process equipment,
including optimized process design.
Although initially being launched as an advanced display substrate,
Corning is actively working on other potential applications for its
Willow Glass, including use in lighting and flexible solar cells.
Corning will continue to develop and improve innovative glass
products to enable the high-performance, game-changing displays that
will drive tomorrow's increasingly diverse electronics markets,
Chowdhury said.
Link: Corning
Willow Glass
Accessories
My New iPad, 3rd Edition
PR: It can be tricky to learn the ins and outs of any
new piece of technology, especially from dry manuals or tedious
lessons. No Starch Press has announced a new edition of Wallace Wang's
best-selling, task-based, My New iPad, 3rd Edition, a book that
promises to demystify Apple's iconic tablet computer.
Most people don't buy an iPad because they want to use it to do
work. They want to play and they don't want a lot of fuss. In My New
iPad (No Starch Press, June 2012, 312 pp., $24.95, ISBN
9781593274290), author Wallace Wang offers new iPad owners hands-on,
straightforward instructions for getting organized with the Notes,
Reminders, Calendar, and Contacts apps; set up email; browse the web;
set parental controls (there's a lot of bad stuff out there); use a
secret passcode; and encrypt backups.
"This is a get things done and don't feel dumb with your iPad book,"
says No Starch Press founder Bill Pollock. "For everyone struggling
with their first tablet, this book promises to make things a lot
easier."
In My New iPad, readers will learn how to:
- Find their way using the Maps app and the iPad's compass
- Use dictation and keyboard shortcuts to save time typing
- Listen to music, read ebooks and magazines, and take photos and
videos
- Use FaceTime to talk face-to-face with distant friends and
relatives
- Shop iTunes and the App Store for the best new music, apps, movies,
games, magazines, and books
- Each chapter presents a new project, making it easy to pick and
choose the most interesting ones. New iPad owners will find that help
is close at hand with My New iPad.
Wallace Wang is author of several best-selling computer books,
including My New Mac, My New iPhone, and Steal This Computer
Book (all No Starch Press). A successful standup comic who has
appeared on A&E's "Evening at the Improv," Wang appears regularly
at the Riviera Comedy Club in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- My New iPad, 3rd Edition
- Publisher: No Starch Press
- By Wallace Wang
- ISBN: 9781593274290,
- $24.95
- June 2012, 312 pp.
- order@oreilly.com
- 1-800-998-9938
- 1-707-827-7000
See Charles W. Moore's review of the previous edition, My New iPad 2: A User's Guide.
Link: My New iPad,
3rd Edition ($13.61
at Amazon.com)
DODOcase and Charity: Water Launch Special-Edition
for Clean, Safe Water
PR: DODOcase, makers of the original bookbound iPad case,
have announced that they've teamed up with Charity: Water to
create a special-edition iPad case design
available now. $40 from each Charity: Water DODOcase will go to support
the leading non-profit's staff and operations, helping ensure that
Charity: Water can continue to use 100% of public donations to directly
fund water projects.
Charity: Water is a nonprofit organization bringing clean, safe
drinking water to people in developing nations. Right now 800 million
people do not have access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation,
which contributes to more deaths every year than all forms of violence
combined. Charity: Water aims to change this, and DODOcase supports
these efforts with this collaborative case.
"Great design is imperative to our work," says Viktoria Harrison,
Creative Director of Charity: Water. "We've admired the DODOcase brand
for a while, so we're really excited to work with them to bring
awareness to the water issue."
The Charity: Water DODOcase offers the
original award-winning design in the classic DODOcase style, with
special customizations made to highlight the organization's cause. The
exterior combines a black cloth body with Charity: Waters signature
yellow on the spine and a foil stamped logo featuring the iconic Jerry
can. The interior, made of the same yellow cloth found on the spine,
includes the phrase water changes everything foil stamped within the
bamboo tray and beneath where the iPad sits, serving as a hidden but
poignant reminder.
"Working with Charity: Water to create this special-edition DODOcase
not only gave us another opportunity to continue our preservation of
bookbinding, but it allows us to help support a great cause," says
Craig Dalton, cofounder and President of DODOcase. "In our day to day
operations we actively support building local, and with collaborations
such as this, we can also have an impact on larger global issues that
are sometimes easy to take for granted, such as access to clean
water."
Made from bookbinding cloth and constructed using traditional
bookbinding techniques, the cover of the Charity: Water DODOcase for
the iPad 3/iPad 2 is designed to fold back to be used as a stand
for typing or watching videos. 
Offering a core bamboo four-piece tray design, the DODOcase
perfectly matches the curvature of your iPad while providing access to
all buttons and ports. The Charity: Water DODOcase is available for
$94.95 and can be purchased now.
The DODOcase philosophy is simple, manufacture things locally and
help keep the art of bookbinding alive, and off the extinction list
where the namesake Dodo bird resides, by adapting it to a world of
e-readers and tablets. DODOcase quickly rose to popularity following
their launch alongside the iPad in April 2010. Overwhelming consumer
response led to notable critical acclaim and the eventual expansion of
their San Francisco operation to include an in house Bookbindery and
woodshop. Hand crafted in San Francisco using traditional bookbinding
techniques, DODOcase have steadily expanded their product portfolio to
include a case for the Kindle 3, Kindle Fire, a collaboration with
local San Francisco artist Rex Ray, as well as Jenny Beorkrem of Ork
Posters notoriety, and Curtis Kulig, noted NY artist. DODOcase also has
an ongoing collaboration in partnership with J.Crew.
Most recently DODOcase announced their original, award-winning
design is now available for Apple's newest iPad and available in the
classic DODOcase style, with a choice of four color-linings, as well as
two entirely new collections both inspired by the California landscape
that DODOcase calls home. DODOcase also makes the BOOKback which offers
a familiar, book-like skin for the iPhone 4 or iPad 2 and 3,
the latter of which is compatible with the Apple SmartCase.
Charity: Water is a nonprofit organization bringing clean, safe
drinking water to people in developing nations. We use 100% of public
donations to directly fund sustainable water solutions in areas of
greatest need. Right now, 800 million people on the planet don't have
access clean and safe drinking water. That's one in nine of us. Unsafe
water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of diseases and kill more
people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Children
are especially vulnerable, as their bodies aren't strong enough to
fight diarrhea, dysentery and other illnesses. Just $20 can give one
person access to clean water.
Link: DODOcase
Link: Charity: Water
Luvvitt Introduces New Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard
Case for iPad
PR: Luvvitt has introduced a new aluminum Bluetooth wireless
keyboard case for iPad, joining Luvvitt's line of durable and
sophisticated iPad cases and covers.
Founder Eli Altaras says the Luvvitt
keyboard case for iPad is a stylish accessory to add to any iPad that
makes typing more comfortable and convenient, adding that the Luvvitt
wireless keyboard case for iPad really is remarkable because it fuses
iPad protection and a sense of flair with its ultrathin, precision-cut
silhouette that offers protection and style.
The wireless keyboard comes in black or white and supports the new
iPad 3. At 11 mm thickness the Luvvitt aluminum Bluetooth keyboard case
is also claimed to be the world's thinnest wireless keyboard case for
iPad. Made of aircraft grade, Japanese aluminum alloy, the keyboard
case is super light, weighing just 9.5 ounces. It features a
type-and-go connection with convenient USB charging with no battery
hassles and a 60 day standby time. It's lined with a high-density
padding to help cushion and protect the tablet. The Luvvitt Bluetooth
wireless keyboard case for iPad also allows for viewing in both
portrait and landscape modes while offering full screen protection.
Link: Luvvitt
Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard Case for iPad, Black Keyboard, $69.95 at
Amazon.com
Link: Luvvitt
Aluminum Bluetooth Keyboard Case for iPad, White Keyboard, $69.95 at
Amazon.com
IPEVO PV-01 Rotating Folio Case for New iPad and
iPad 2 Features Unique 360° Rotating Pivot
PR: IPEVO has released its newest product, the PV-01 360
Degree Rotating Folio Case. Designed for the new iPad (also known as
iPad 3) as well as iPad 2, PV-01 is now available through
IPEVO's online store and Amazon.com at a price of $45.
PV-01 is a high-end folio case crafted from a combination
of genuine leather and premium felt. It is composed of two sections: an
outside folio and an interior case. These sections are connected with a
circular pivot which allows full rotation of the case relative to the
folio. As a result, the user can easily rotate the case 360° for
both landscape and portrait orientations. In either orientation, the
case can rest inside one of three grooves on the folio's inside cover,
providing three viewing angles when used as a built-in stand.
The PV-01 360 Degree Rotating Folio Case accommodates both the new
iPad and iPad 2. The device is slid inside the case and secured with a
Velcro™ tab. All ports and controls, including the front and rear
camera lenses, are accessible while the device is equipped in the
case.
For users desiring additional portability and a sleeker profile, the
case can be separated from the folio at the pivot point with a gentle
tug, and the case can be used and carried separately from the folio
section. The folio includes sleep/wake magnets so that the iPad goes
into sleep mode when the folio is closed for smarter power management.
And a nylon strap on the inside spine of the folio provides convenient
storage for a stylus.
"The PV-01 Folio Case is a continuation of IPEVO's
commitment to help iPad users do more with their devices," says Royce
Hong, CEO and Big Head of Design of IPEVO. "PV-01's circular pivot
makes orienting your iPad extremely easy and straightforward, and the
pull-apart design gives users a sleeker option when PV-01 is not being
used as a stand. Smart features, coupled with IPEVO's signature
craftsmanship, make PV-01 a compelling choice for owners of the new
iPad and iPad 2."
IPEVO's PV-01 360 Degree Rotating Folio Case is available in four
colors: Red, Black, Gray Canvas and Charcoal Denim. It is available now
through IPEVO's online store and Amazon.com.
Link: IPEVO PV-01 360 Degree Rotating Folio Case in
Red,
Black,
Gray
Canvas, and Charcoal
Denim, $45 with free Super Saver shipping from Amazon.com
ZAGG Awarded Patent for ZAGGmate Keyboard Case
PR: ZAGG Inc. has announced that ZAGG Intellectual Property
Holding Co., Inc. has been awarded patent number D659,139 by the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office, issued on May 8, 2012. The patent covers
design elements of ZAGG's ZAGGmate case and keyboard accessory for
tablets.
The
ZAGGmate is a protective and functional accessory for tablets that
accentuates the utility and convenience of handheld devices with a very
thin and sleek design. The ZAGGmate features a simple and innovative
stand system for use in both portrait and landscape mode. In addition,
a built-in wireless Bluetooth keyboard allows for more comfortable,
responsive typing and interaction with the tablet's features. The
ZAGGmate is available for all versions of Apple's iPad, including the
iPad 2 and third generation iPad, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.
"As a leader in bringing creative product solutions to this very
competitive market, ZAGG understands how critical it is to provide IP
brand protection for our customers and shareholders," says Robert G.
Pedersen II, CEO and chairman of ZAGG. "This increasing extension of
ZAGG's intellectual property protection adds value as we continue to
establish ZAGG as the preferred brand in mobile device accessories and
technology."
All versions of the ZAGGmate are available online at ZAGG.com and
through select retailers. For more information about other ZAGG product
offerings, visit ZAGG.com.
Link: ZAGGmate Keyboard
Case
