NewsDay iPad App Commercial Pulled After Apple Objects

A commercial promoting the iPad app of a newspaper, Newsday is reported to have been pulled after Apple reportedly threatened the publication with a cease and desist letter besides vowing to remove all of their apps from the App Store if their orders were not followed.

The commercial itself was a humorous take on digital news apps taking over print newspapers. However Apple’s objection appears to have been targeted at the cracked iPad screen that didn’t quite show the iPad in the light that Apple would have liked to. Here’s a quote from a person claiming to be a Newsday employee.

“Newsday got a cease and desist letter threatening all of our apps, if we did not remove the commercial immediately. They took exception to the fact that the (iPad) glass shattered into large jagged pieces … Your instincts are correct.”

Anyway, thanks to the fact that the ad got pretty viral, you can still find several copies of the commercial on YouTube. Check it out below while it lasts.

[via CultofMac]

Stream Netflix From iPad To TV Using AirPlay

The latest beta version of iOS 4.2 was released this week and it introduces users to the wireless streaming service now called AirPlay. Folks at 9to5Mac have now confirmed that the AirPlay service will not only help users to stream music, video and photos from the local iPad memory to other devices like AirPort Express and Apple TV, but can also stream online content, such as those from Netflix.

This could be pretty useful since the iPad, though it is a media consumption device, is not ideal for family viewing. By wirelessly connecting the iPad to an Apple TV using AirPlay, users can stream both video and audio in order to watch movies and television shows with their family and friends.

The new Apple TV was unveiled on September 1 this year and shall be available at a pretty low price of $99.

AirPrint Wireless Printing Video Demo

Apple recently unveiled its new wireless printing technology for iOS called AirPrint. The new technology will be made available as part of the new iOS 4.2 update that is to be released in November this year. What AirPrint does is basically detect printers in the neighborhood that are compatible with wireless networks and pass on text, image or other documents to the printer wirelessly for these files to be printed on paper.

At this point, AirPrint can interact wirelessly with the HP ePrint printers. Apart from this, you can also connect to any printer that is connected to a Mac or a PC. AirPrint is designed to work with a wide range of printers and so the device at your home or office should most definitely be included in the list of supported devices.

Check out this video walk-through of AirPrint in action. The demo was made by folks at WhenWillApple.com

Looking to Downgrade from iOS 4.2 On Your iPhone Or iPad [Windows]

The beta version of the new iOS 4.2 was released yesterday and like everyone, if you were excited about it and went about downloading it, you may have realized that a jailbreak for the new iOS version does not exist as yet and hence you may need to downgrade soon after.

If this situation sounds familiar, folks at RedmondPie have a neat guide to go ahead and perform a downgrade. Do remember that you will need to have a backup of the SHSH blobs for the older iOS firmware that you are downgrading to. If you do not have one, then it may not be possible to downgrade.

So how do you do it? First, download the respective ipsw firmware files from here. Once done, plug your iPhone or iPad to the computer and get it into the DFU mode. Now, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\ and launch the ‘hosts’ file. Here, add the following line of code

74.208.105.171 gs.apple.com

Now, on iTunes, click on the iPhone/iPad icon the left sidebar, and while holding the Shift button down, select “Restore“. You shall be prompted to select the downloaded firmware. Once this is done, iTunes will begin the restoration process. Wait for the process to complete. If you are stuck at the Recovery screen, use the TinyUmbrella application to kick out of the recovery process. The process is done.

Do remember to go back to the hosts file and remove the line of code mentioned earlier.

All credit to RedmondPie for the guide

Newspaper Subscription On iPad May Be Coming Soon

The Mercury News is reporting that Apple may have worked out a deal with media companies to launch a new newspaper subscription model for consumption over iPad. According to the report, Apple may get between 30% and 40% of all revenues generated using the subscription model. The launch will also offer media companies a much needed revenue alternative to the dwindling revenues from the traditional print medium.

The news is very much a rumor at this point especially considering the hefty revenue share that Apple stands to get from such an arrangement. A 40% revenue share is highly unlikely considering that users are not likely to pay more than the print subscription for consumption over the web and consequently, the revenues that media companies stand to make from the app model shall end up to be too low for sustainability.

What do you think?

iPhone/iPad App To Access Windows Desktop Applications Remotely

Want to work on the MS Excel document on your home computer while you are on the move with just your iPhone or iPad by your side? Parallels, the developers of Mac Desktop virtualization software have announced a new application that will make it possible. The software allows members to open any Windows-based applications like Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook to be accessed from the iPhone and iPad.

This is a pretty powerful solution to the various drawbacks that come with owning an iOS device – including the inability to run Flash. Since the Parallels window basically launches all kinds of Windows applications, any Flash application opened from inside the application will work seamlessly. Of course, playing Flash games is still going to be a problem in the absence of a mouse-based control. Nevertheless, the application is going to be pretty useful.

The iOS app itself is free, but do note that you will need a Mac computer running a Parallels Desktop for Mac software to in turn access the Windows computer. And that software does not come for cheap and is priced at close to $80. Nevertheless, if you are interested, check out the application at the App Store here.

iPad On Target Stores – Price And Launch Date Rumors

Apple is apparently looking at expanding the retail availability of the iPad ahead of launch of serious competition from the likes of Samsung and the rest in the US. According to reports on Engadget, Apple should be bringing the iPad to Target Stores starting October 3rd. Not surprisingly, the report states that the prices of the different models would stay the same and that the iPad would be grouped alongside devices like the Kindle and shall be available in the ‘Digital Audio’ section of the Target stores.

While it is possible that the expansion is keeping in line with Apple’s plans for the holiday shopping season, it is also possible that Apple is looking at clearing its volumes (or maximizing its sales) ahead of the launch of a new iPad during the peak of the holiday season. There were reports last week that Apple is launching the second generation model of the iPad – equipped with camera – by November this year. Looking from that perspective, this news makes absolute sense.

Anyway, I’m just wondering if Apple has any intention of making the first generation iPad available worldwide anytime. Not that I would want it, but there are lots of fanboys out there who are still intently waiting for one.

iPad 2G Launch Scheduled For Holiday Season

Looks like Apple may break its annual product release cycle for the iPad. According to a report on the Apple Insider, the company is working on a new model of the iPad that could make it to the stores during the holiday season this year. The sources have claimed that the testing of the new devices is already in advanced stages that should make such a launch quite likely.

One of the new features that is notable in the new launch should be the front-facing camera that will support the FaceTime video calling feature. Apple has been particularly aggressive in promoting its FaceTime feature in recent times. Not only does the recently announced iPod Touch support the feature, but we have also heard about Cupertino working on PC and Mac clients for the open standard video calling software. Nevertheless, I am still unconvinced about this latest rumor. Let’s have this with a grain of salt for the moment.

Jailbreak Your iPhone/iPad Permanently With New SHAtter Exploit

Getting tired of having to jailbreak your iDevice everytime a new iOS update comes about? A new bootrom exploit has been discovered that will help you keep your device jailbroken for life and will work on the iPhone, iPod Touch as well as the iPad – including the most recent versions. The reason is because this exploit is related to the hardware and hence Apple cannot fix the issue with their software updates.

The jailbreaking application is still not publicly available and the iPhone Dev team and Chronic Dev team are learned to be still working on using the exploit to develop a jailbreak tool. While this is definitely something to be excited about, do note that this jailbreak is tethered. This would imply, users will have to tether their iPhone or iPad to a computer while rebooting in order to keep the device jailbroken. Otherwise, it’s only the risks with warranty and performance that you have to be aware of, which I am sure, you may have already mulled over.

Why The Samsung Galaxy Tab Is Better Than The iPad

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is touted as an iPad rival. Many wonder whether this 7-inch tablet really has the potential to take on the iconic 9.7-inch Apple iPad. And now that the price of this Samsung tablet has been announced, many are unhappy that it is costlier than the Apple tablet. However, here are a few reasons why the Galaxy Tab is a better tablet than the iPad, and why its price is justified.

Multi-tasking

The Apple iPad, which runs the iOS, cannot truly multi-task. No applications can run in the background, when the user is at work on another application in the foreground. Even if the iPad gets an update to iOS 4, which supports multi-tasking, this will be limited to native apps only. Third party apps (like Facebook, Twitter, or music apps like Pandora) cannot run at the same time when another app is being run. On the other hand, the Galaxy Tab, which runs Android 2.2 or Froyo, is capable of multi-tasking. This includes running 3rd party apps in the background too.

Flash Support

The Apple tablet does not support Adobe Flash. Instead, it uses HTML 5, to play certain online videos. The Samsung tablet is compliant with both Flash (10.1) as well as HTML 5.

Camera

The iPad lacks a camera. In case the user requires camera functionality, then a separate camera dock has to be purchased, which allows connecting to an external camera. The Galaxy Tab, on the other hand, has 2 cameras. A 3MP one on the rear for capturing videos and photographs; and a 1.3MP one in the front, for video calls.

Making calls

The Apple gear cannot make calls. The Samsung gear allows making calls, both voice and video. For voice calls, the integrated loudspeaker or Bluetooth headsets can be used.

MicroSD card storage

The iPad is available in 3 internal storage configurations – 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. They do not have microSD card storage. Whereas, the Galaxy Tab, offers just 2 internal memory configurations – 16GB and 32GB. There is however a microSD card slot which can hold cards of up to 32GB capacity.

Portability

The Samsung tablet weighs just 380g, when compared to the 730g of the iPad. Plus, it is smaller in size, which makes it more travel friendly, than the iPad.

Ergonomics

Finally, coming to something that is not very obvious at first sight. When it comes to entertainment, the iPad definitely does a brilliant job. But, when it comes to doing work, it is quite uncomfortable. If the user needs to prepare documents, presentations, or work on spreadsheets and more on the iPad, he would find it quite inconvenient to use. Consider the following ways of holding and working on the iPad:-

• Putting the device on a desk, flat on its back – The user will not be able to rest his hands comfortably, as he will need to continually keep lifting them to work-with or touch something present on the top of the screen. So he’ll have to keep his wrist suspended in the air, in-order to use the entire screen. And this is not ergonomic when working for long hours. Another thing to be noted is that, the iPad has a curvature on its back. Hence, the user will have to hold it steady as well, when working on it.

• Holding the tablet in both hands, while resting them on the desk, and using the thumbs to work on it – In this case, the hands are more relaxed, but since the tablet is too large in size, the thumbs might not be able to cover the entire surface of the touchscreen.

• Keeping the tablet on the lap – This might seem comfortable, but only for a short duration. The user might not be able to rest his elbows comfortably when working in this manner.

On the other hand, the Samsung gadget, can be put on the desk, flat on its back, to work upon. It has a flat back, that can rest stably on the table. The screen is smaller in size, and hence, it will be more convenient to touch any point, without having to continually lift the hands. Plus, when it is held in both hands, while resting them on the desk, the thumbs can be used to operate it, more easily, than the rival.

The Galaxy Tab can do almost everything that the iPad can

• The Samsung tablet is suitable for entertainment. It can play 1080p videos. It is as well compatible with a large variety of music file formats.

• It can also double as an eBook reader, like the iPad. Samsung is developing a new eBook store for this tablet too.

• One can even play games on this device. There’s support for augmented reality.

• Speed-wise as well, the Galaxy Tab is expected to match the iPad, as it is driven by a 1GHz processor, just like the latter.

• Multi-touch ability is offered by the smaller tablet too.

• Apps and games can be downloaded from the Android Market. The Apple App Store is definitely much bigger in size, but the Android Market does have a great collection of apps and games too.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab price has been published in some online stores. It costs £620 approximately, which is lesser than the £699 of the WiFi+3G+64GB Apple iPad. This iPad configuration is the one that comes closest to offering all features that are available in the Galaxy Tab. Then again, with this Apple tablet, you’ll need to pay an extra £25 for the camera kit.

Considering that you get WiFi, 3G ability, Bluetooth 3.0, camera functionality, voice and video calling, multitasking, better ergonomics and more for £620, the deal seems worth it.

Image courtesy
Arvid from Flickr

About the author
This guest post has been contributed by Trinity Nick from the UK. Being a techno-freak, she enjoys reviewing mobile phones and laptops that are released in the UK market.