Apple Introduces The iPad Air

Three years ago, Apple unveiled the original iPad, boxy and thick and heavy by comparison. Four iPads later, we’re here, welcoming the fifth generation iPad into the world.
And boy is it a beauty!
You’ve been waiting long enough, through a summer of rumors, so let’s just get right down to business on the new Apple tablet.

New Design

For the first time since the iPad 2, we’re seeing a brand new design for the iPad (fifth generation).
The new iPad sports the same 9.7-inch display as all of its predecessors, but with an updated shape following the design language of the iPad mini. It weighs just one pound, making it the lightest full size tablet in the world. It’s .4 lbs lighter than previous generations. Also, the iPad Air only 7.5mm thick, which is 25 percent thinner than previous iPads.

The bezel is 43 percent thinner on the sides and the edges of the device are tapered the same way the iPad mini drastically curves along the sides, as opposed to the gradual slope of older iPads.

Processor

Apple has updated the new iPad’s processor to the A7, the same you’ll find in the iPhone 5s. It’s 8x faster than the first generation and graphics are 72 times faster than then the first generation iPad. Of course, it would be interesting to hear stats on fourth generation iPad comparison, but you can’t always get what you want from an Apple announcement.
The new processor is also accompanied by that M7 motion co-processor that was used in the iPhone 5s, which focuses on computing information generated from the sensors to make the device smarter all around.
The new A7 processor runs on a 64-bit architecture, like all the new Apple products, with more than 1 billion transistors. Apple also tossed in MIMO technology to help with reliable Wifi, and all that with 10 hours of battery life, according to Apple.

Camera

The camera technology on current iPad models is incredibly outdated, to the point where it’s laughable to see someone hold up their iPad like a camera.
That said, Apple has decided to pay a little more attention to the iPad camera this time around, with an updated 5-megapixel iSight camera, with 1080p FaceTime camera in the front and dual-mics for video chat.

Pricing and Availability

The iPad (fifth generation) will be available in black, white, silver, and space gray (no gold, for some reason), and will replace the current generation (fourth) iPad at a $499 starting price. Wifi + Cellular starts at $629.
Meanwhile, the iPad 2 will remain in the line up for $399.
New iPads will be available on November 1, just in time for the holidays

iTunes Latest Dev Build Offer Some Hints

Along with an early build of iOS 5.0.1, Apple has provided developers with an updated version of iTunes 10.5.1 that is compatible with its upcoming iTunes Match service.

When iOS 5 arrived last month, it included a slew of new cloud-based features, but the much-hyped iTunes Match cloud music storage service was missing. iTunes Match allows users to upload their non-iTunes purchases to the cloud for easy access on multiple computers and iOS devices. Apple told us that the feature would be live by the end of October, but as we enter November, iTunes Match is still unavailable to regular users. We’ve reached out to Apple for information regarding the delay.

The updated version of iTunes that is now available to developers adds some new refinements to the iTunes Match service, indicating that it might be close to release.

iTunes Match works on up to 10 devices, including five computers authorized with your Apple ID. You can also use iTunes Match with two different Apple TV 2 devices.

Once enabled, iTunes Match lets you access not just your tunes, but also your playlists, from other devices. You can download hard copies of music to your device, or you can stream the audio from the cloud.

The service isn’t demonstrably different than what Amazon offers with its Cloud Player or Google Music, with one big exception: Apple will query your music to see if it already has songs in its database. If it does, rather than uploading your existing files (which might be lower quality), it will provide access to high-quality 256kbps versions of the songs. That also prevents users from having to upload their entire library to the cloud.

Of course, iTunes purchases are instantly available. In fact, all users can now take advantage of iTunes in the Cloud, which gives users a chance to access past purchases from multiple devices and makes downloading purchases to multiple devices seamless.

We’re not sure why iTunes Match is delayed, but once the service arrives, we’re sure it will be a hit. It costs $24.99 for a year of service, but the benefits of having access to your entire music library anyway is worth the cost.

Dragon App turns your iOS Device into a Voice Recorder

Want to capture that sweet voice of your little girl humming her nursery poems? Or maybe you wish record an audio interview but without having to carry that digital voice recorder?

Nuance, developers of the popular Dragon Naturally Speech Recognition software, today released a new iOS app called Dragon Recorder that lets you quickly record voice notes on your iOS device with a single tap.

Launch the app and tap the screen to begin recording – tap again to pause or double tap to finish the recording. You can playback the audio on your iOS device itself or the audio files can be easily transferred to the computer over Wi-Fi.

One useful feature is that if you switch to a different app during a recording session, the Dragon Recorder app will continue recording. Thus the app can be used to record audio from other apps – for example, Skype calls.

Dragon Recorder is for the iPhone but can also be used to capture audio on the iPad.

How to Record Skype Calls on your iPad

Skype, the much loved app for making voice and video calls, is now available for the iPad as well – download a copy from your country’s iTunes store. The iPad app can be used on both Wi-Fi and 3G networks and, like the desktop version of Skype, you can also send text messages and place calls to landline and mobile numbers from the iPad.
The Skype app is compatible with the original iPad and the newer iPad 2 though you would need the latter model for making video calls. One big advantage of using Skype over the built-in FaceTime app is that it lets video chat even with friends who are outside the Apple iMac/iPhone/iPad ecosystem as Skype is available for all popular platforms including Windows, Linux, Android, Symbian and more.

How to Record Skype Calls on iPad (or iPhone)

While there are plenty of software tools around for recording Skype calls on a desktop, the process of recording Skype calls on an iPad or iPhone is a little bit different.
You initiate a call over Skype, switch to an audio recorder app and hit the record button. The technique works because even if you put the Skype app in the background, the call won’t disconnect. The other option is that you launch an audio recording app first and then switch to Skype so the recording happens in the background.
So which app do you use for recording Skype calls on the iPad.
My personal favorite is Quick Voice – this is a free voice recorder with a minimal interface and you can you record audio of unlimited duration. The only limitation is that you cannot run Quick Voice as a background app and second, if the audio file size exceeds 5 MB, you can’t transfer it out of your iPad.

If you want to have the Skype app running in the foreground during the recording – like when you are doing a video call – you may consider getting a copy of Voice Recorder or Audio Memos. These are inexpensive voice recording apps for the iPad that have no limits and support background recording.

Take Notes while Recording Skype Calls

If you would like to jot down notes during a Skype call on an iPad, the recommended apps are Evernote (in the free category), Audio Notes, Sound Note and Notes Plus. With Evernote you can only type notes using the built-in keyboard while the other apps will also let you both type and draw freehand on the screen during the recording.
Finally, one unlikely but great contender in this category of Skype recorders is ScreenChomp. This is a digital whiteboard app that also records audio with drawing and exports everything as one video file.
The workflow is pretty similar. You launch the Skype app, initiate a voice / video call, then switch to ScreenChomp, or any of the other note taking apps, and start recording. Simple but there are obviously certain limitations. 
One, you may only record voice calls using the above methods and if you are doing a video call on Skype, only the audio portion of the call will get recorded on your iPad.
Second, if you are using headphones during the Skype call, only your side of the conversation will get recorded since the built-in iPad microphone won’t hear the voice coming from the other side.

iPod Touch and Nano Receive Minor Updates, Price Drops

 





















Apple today updated the iPod touch and iPod nano with the iPod touch now available in black and white.

The new iPod nano is available today starting at just $129 and features a redesigned user interface, 16 new digital clock faces and improved built-in fitness features.

“iPod has revolutionized the way we listen to music and with over 320 million sold is the world’s most popular music player,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “iPod touch, now available in both black and white, is the best selling iPod ever, and with iOS 5 and iCloud it is better than ever.”

Apple has now settled its holiday lineup which includes the iPod shuffle for just £40; iPod nano with Multi-Touch starting at just £115; iPod touch available in black or white, including iOS 5 and iCloud, starting at just £169; and iPod classic in a 160GB model for £199.

Adobe Announces New Tablet Apps

Adobe has announced a new suite of apps for Android and iOS tablets designed to integrate with the company's desktop applications, and to allow for basic editing and sharing of different types of Adobe files on the go.
There are six apps that make up the package, each with a different function:

• Adobe Photoshop Touch is a standalone product that allows for basic image manipulation and sharing - it should be more capable than the current Photoshop Express, but less so than the desktop versions of the software.
• Adobe Debut allows users access to their Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator files on their tablets in a view-only mode to make it easier to show works-in-progress to people and get feedback.
• Adobe Proto helps you to build website and mobile app templates and mock-ups using a grid.
• Adobe Collage lets you create, um, "moodboards" from PDF, PSD, and AI files. The name is more self-explanatory: you can import files and assemble them into a collage.
• Adobe Ideas lets you create rough sketches on your tablet for importing and refining in the desktop versions of Photoshop.
• Adobe Kuler allows you to create and share "color themes" - color schemes imported from existing images.

All of the new apps will be available on Android for $9.99 apiece, and users can sign up to be notified when they (and the iOS versions, which are coming later) are available. Adobe Ideas is already available in the iOS App Store for $5.99.

The apps that connect with Photoshop CS5 will do so with the Mac and Windows versions of the software. Users can sign up to receive notifications about when Photoshop Touch and Carousel are released.

Source: Adobe