iOS Devices

We have been told that TJ Maxx in the UK, TK Maxx, has started selling iPads at a discounted price. The discount appears to be £100 on all models making the entry level 16 GB WiFi iPad £329.00 instead of £429.00. We’re not exactly sure which models are in store but readers have spotted both the 16 GB and 32 GB WiFi models. These discounted iPads at TK Maxx are of course not authorized by Apple and are in extremely limited quantities. Let us know if you spot them in your local UK store.

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COMPUTERWORLD: As per usual, Apple seems set to dominate CES once again next year, even though it won’t actually attend the show. And that’s despite a keynote speech from Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer. Here’s why Apple’s taking over.

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Research In Motion’s in the news today: not only is its iPad-killing PlayBook delayed until around the time iPad 2.0 is expected to ship, but Mac users with a BlackBerry can now download the latest desktop connection kit. Meanwhile the company’s financial results were alright but nothing supercalifragilistic.

By the numbers then:
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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sc74qIQN2Q&fs=1&hl=en_GB]

There’s never been a better time to stock up on the greatest iPhone games from Electronic Arts, where you’ll find a huge range of hot titles on sale now for just 99-cents a pop (59-p in the UK).

“Giving an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch as a Christmas present?,” reads the official launch statement.”Now is the time to load it up with the best games for less cash than ever before.”

“Already own an iPod touch, iPad or iPhone? Then bring some fun to holiday travel or gather the family for game time around the iPad while warming up by the fire.”
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In case you’ve any doubt left, you can forget the notion of AMOLED screens in the next-generation iPad, there simply aren’t enough components to go round — indeed, Apple competitors who made the leap to the tech are already facing steep component shortages.

There’s an inevitability about all this. Even as Apple competitors attempt to leapfrog iOS devices by fielding more advanced technologies in their gadgets, they forget the need to serve mass market products up in reliable quantity.
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The figures are in and they confirm that iTunes remains the biggest US digital music retailer, with Amazon failing to grab too much of Apple’s digital music heartland.

NPD tells us AAPL’s iTunes took 66.2% of the digital music market in the third quarter of this year – that’s up from 63.2% in Q3 2009.  Easy still beats free.
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Forget Flash, really, forget it. I don’t care how much more efficient it is at last becoming now it faces much-needed competition — I do however care that US iPad users can now download Vevo HD, a beautiful app offering you access to all 25,000 videos in Vevo’s huge catalog — no Flash required.

“The app has a few special features created especially for the iPad, including our favorite one, Music Maps, which gives you a window into what videos people are watching in your neighborhood and around the world,” the company says on its website.
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COMPUTERWORLD: Apple is making Macs more touch-friendly when touch makes sense. Magic Trackpad is the touch interface for desktops, but how long will it be until we see the Mac keyboard replaced by a touch-sensitive, intelligent device? What would it do?

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Good morning, while I apologize to our US readers as Spotify isn’t available in your area yet, for European 9to5Mac visitors news that Spotify has updated its applications for OS X, iPhone (and Windows) could be interesting.

The new version introduces the customary bug fixes, but also adds support for Mac media keys without interfering with iTunes. The new version also supports auto-play for all track links when clicked on from Twitter, Facebook, feed, etc. Existing users will see their install automatically updated in the coming days.

The big news is for iPhone users,
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We already know the iPad 2 will be shipping in the next 100 days and a new overseas report adds two new touch screen suppliers to the equation. Apple has reportedly inked two new touch screen suppliers for the next-generation iPad’s production plans in hopes of shipping an estimated two million more units a month than the current iPad. That’s 6 million per month versus 4 million. The new suppliers Chimei Innolux and Cando join Wintek and Apple’s goal, clearly, is to ship many more iPad 2s than the current iPad. If anyone still thought a 7 inch iPad was coming, even though Jobs said no, component suppliers have heard nothing about 7 inch iPad screens.

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Digitimes reports that Apple is set to unveil upgrades to both their MacBook Pro and iMac lines in the first half of 2011. The report claims that Apple has four new MacBook Pro models in store and they will feature slightly upgraded designs- a new chassis probably similar to the new MacBook Airs. The report estimates a 30%-40% notebook shipment growth for Apple after the new line of pro portables in launched.

Apple is also set to unveil a new iMac line, according to component makers, that features a new screen size and lower price points. What could this new screen size be? Is Apple going back to the 24 inch size? A 30 inch iMac? The rumored 22 incher with multitouch?! New iMacs at lower price points will probably help Apple bring back the desktop fad. This year was all about new portables (iPad and MacBook Air) and it already appears that next year will be the year of new desktop and pro offerings.

COMPUTERWORLD: Today we’ve learned internal politics have hindered Google in its cloud music plans while Apple isn’t yet ready to make us all go ‘lala’. Meanwhile, as most of us prepare for long drives to visit family and friends: here’s some great apps for drivers.

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As expected, Apple has updated its iBooks app to version 1.2. The new version has just made its quiet debut on the AAPL servers.

What’s new?

Yep, as we exclusively revealed hereand here: better organization and printing and emailing of PDF’s. And that’s only part of the mix.
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Google is about to change the music economy, preparing to hand over huge amounts of cash to win rights to offer the music locker service it has been trying to build for Google Music.  However, confused internal politics and music licensing complexity mean Google, just like Spotify and Apple, isn’t set to launch its service before the end of the year.
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Webout is an iOS browser that just hit the App Store and it allows you to stream HTML5 video to your second generation Apple TV. iOS Safari is currently not capable of streaming video to the Apple TV, only audio, so this app fills the gap. The app is universal for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and costs $0.99 on the App Store. Let us know how it works out for you.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVeKbsFL_tM&w=670&h=527]

While we wait for iTunes in the cloud, we may as well begin using an iTunes in the cloud service that isn’t from Apple, a free service for iPhones from mSpot, the app for which is now available via the iTunes App Store.

What’s it do? Essentially it is like a music locker service to which you upload your music in order to then enjoy streaming access to that music via your mSpot app.
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Some may recall Unilever to be one of the big brand names to first jump onto the iAds mobile ads bandwagone way back in June, now Europe’s about to see the first Unilever iAds make their appearance as Apple’s ad system hits Europes this month — and the ads will feature the “Lynx effect”.

Unilever is launching a new campaign for Lynx’s Excite range, with a major push through Apple’s iAds, as part of a £8.3m marketing spend. The “Falling Angels” campaign launches next week and will be supported by print, TV, digital and other activity.
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Digitimes reports that Toshiba has denied all rumors that Apple would be investing in their Toshiba Mobile Display subsidiary company. Rumors of Apple’s investment emerged yesterday when Reuters reported Apple and Toshiba would be working on display production together. The report even led to more rumors saying Apple would be adopting the AMOLED screen technology. Until then, AMOLED is still AMO-DEAD and the iPad won’t be getting a 7 inch Retina Display.

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Canada’s government today approved of Apple’s iBookstore and this means Canadian titles will soon be making their way to the store. Prior to today’s announcement the iBookstore was available for Canadian iOS device users sans Canadian works. For this to happen, Apple and Canada needed to strike up a deal and it seems to work out for everyone. Canada’s iBookstore now must be tailored effectively for Canadian users, Apple must offer assistance to Canadian publishers, more opportunities to Canadian-based writers, and of course the promotion of Canadian books.

Our Government is committed to strengthening Canada’s economy through all its sectors, especially arts and culture,” said Minister Moore. “Apple has demonstrated how iBookstore Canada represents new opportunities for Canadian authors and publishers, and I have determined that this investment will be of net benefit to Canada.

Full details after the break:

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At 4:12 ET today Apple updated its AppleTV firmware.  It should be hitting devices shortly or can be downloaded for fun below.  There is no update list as of yet.

Update: According to Apple’s release notes the update resolves an issue regarding 480p playback as well as a video re-downloading issue.

Feature	Summary
TV resolution fix	Addresses an issue that causes some high-definition TVs to incorrectly display at 480p.
Download fix	Addresses an issue that may cause a movie or TV show to be re-downloaded.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQg046aoV9Y&w=640&h=390]

For those of us who still use a Mac Mini (or other Mac) as a MediaCenter connected to our TVs, today’s hack from Erica Sadun is a blessing.  She created a Mac Application that can catch Airplay from iOS devices and output the video on the screen.  For all intents, AirPlayer lets your Mac do what an AppleTV does naturally.

You can download the Macintosh Application, called AirPlayer.app here.

The interesting question is: Does Apple want us doing this?  They make much more money selling Minis (and other Macs) than they do on AppleTV units.  However, it would seem easy enough for Apple to include this type of Application with Mac OSX.  So why does Sadun have to build it instead?  Are we in for another cat and mouse chase?

(update: it is a .01 release and we did have some trouble getting it to work with a YouTube video over wifi)
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