iPad (2021)

We already know about all of the excellent Black Friday deals popping up in our live price guide— like an 11” MacBook Air for $849.99, and this 13″ 2.4GHz MacBook Pro for $1050. In addition to all of the great hardware on sale, almost all of the biggest iOS app publishers are running Thanksgiving and Black Friday promotions too. There’s also some great Mac App Store apps on sale. We’ve compiled the best of the best…
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This brochure might look familiar but it is now out in the open.  Our leak earlier this week was obviously spot on.

Early visitors to the Apple Store noted that there was a lot of traffic but things were orderly and with the help of “EasySteal”, they were in and out in a matter of minutes and saved lots of money.  Hit up our Black Friday 2011 Price Guide to get the best deals on Apple hardware and accessories.

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It’s Black Friday and we’ve got the best deals from around the web on Apple products and accessories. Although most of the Apple Store prices (which we stumbled upon a few days ago) are moderate discounts, some are actually the lowest we could find, especially in iPads and accessories.  We’re updating all day long so come back early and often…and don’t forget to check 9to5toys.com.

Apple Store Refurbished items come with Apple’s one year warranty and are as good as new. AT&T has 64GB iPad 3G for $479. DailySteals has a 16GB iPad for $280 (refurb).  iPhone4 16GB Refurb is $49 with activation, Frys has $25 off of current iPhones

Software:

1. Microsoft Office for Mac is $70 at Amazon or $100 for the Family Pack
2. Parallels is $35 PLUS you get $40 off Windows when you buy Parallels, VMWare Fusion is $28
3. Adobe Photoshop Elements $48 at Amazon, Premiere Elements:  $50, Lightroom Student Teacher :$89 Full Version $100 CS5: $289
4. Quickbooks 2012 is $125
5. Toast 11 Pro $80

Misc:
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..

Prices are pretty on par with our leaked Apple Black Friday Ad leak from yesterday.

1. iPad 2 – Save A$ 45.00
2. iPod touch – Save A$ 21.00
3. iPod Nano – Save A$ 11.00
4. MacBook Air – Save A$ 121.00
5. MacBook Pro – Save A$ 121.00
6. iMac – Save A$ 121.00

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From 9to5toys.com:

Best Buy’s Black Friday deal on iPads is now live. Take $45 off all iPad 2s. That’s the lowest price we’ve seen across the board but we have a strong suspicion the 64GB iPad 2s will be cheaper tomorrow at the Apple Store.

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From 9to5Toys.com:

Best Buy gets the Black Friday started early with some pretty incredible deals this morning:

Buy an 8GB iPod Touch for $195, get a $50 Best Buy Gift Card sent to you.

iPad 2s are $45 off across the board.

iTunes Gift Cards are 20% off 

And the current Macbook Airs start at an impressive $849

More below:
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Bloomberg reports Apple has removed Big Fish Games‘ subscription based game from the App Store. Big Fish Games was reported last night to be the first to make available a game that offered a subscription model inside, a feature that was originally exclusive to news apps. After last night’s report that the game was able to receive this new subscription feature, there was much speculation that this app wasn’t actually offering subscription inside — as one of our readers explained. The game’s founder Paul Thelen says, however, that his team worked with Apple for several weeks to make sure it met requirements regarding in-app subscriptions, and that Apple even approved the press release announcing the game.

The way the app worked was a user could purchase a Big Fish Games subscription for $6.99 a month to play unlimited games that the publisher made available through the dedicated app. Games were then streamed to the user’s iPad from Big Fish’s data centers. Apple reportedly took 30% of the revenue, just like the company does with news apps.

Oddly enough, Thelen says Apple didn’t provide any information as to why the app was removed. We’ll let you know more as this story develops.

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A few months ago Analyst Peter Misek reported that iOS and OSX would become one in 2012.  That kind of flies in the face of Mac OS 10.8 that’s been hitting everyone’s Web logs. He’s also talked about Apple opening up super data centers all over the world for a confusing Netflix service that mostly already exists.

With that boulder of salt consumed, AllThingsD quotes Misek as saying that Apple has selected Sharp specifically to manufacture new TFT LCD panels for the upcoming iTV, an Apple-branded television set rumored to boast Siri as the flagship feature (here and here).

The analyst speculates the iTV could ship mid-2012:

Over at Jeffries, analyst Peter Misek suggests that Sharp is retooling a production line at its factory in Sakai specifically to manufacture modified amorphous TFT LCD panels that will be used in the so-called iTV. If all goes well, the line should be ready for commercial production by February of 2012, which means we could see Apple’s take on the TV by midyear.

The report also mentions some manufacturers of current televisions are becoming nervous of what exactly iTV might be (we know Sony is one of them) and hope to adapt quickly so they don’t suffer the same fate vendors in other  industries face, such as the smartphone folks. It should be noted that Misek has been wrong one too many times, so you’re cautioned to apply skepticism to his thinking. The iTV reportedly isn’t the only thing Sharp will be supplying displays for…

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Like everyone, we’re gearing up for Black Friday with the best online and offline deals on electronics products that our readers are after.  Always ongoing, 9to5Toys.com has the best deals on Apple products and accessories from around the web, including some cool new stuff you might not have seen elsewhere.  However, starting on Black Friday morning at Midnight, we’ll be promoting the best deals throughout the day on 9to5mac.com, making sure you have the lowest price options on all of your Apple products and accessories.

As always, we aren’t just going to barf out a list of prices from retailers.  We curate to only find exceptional deals.  For instance, we were the first to find the Apple Store Black Friday Ad which showcases the 11.6″ MacBook Air starting at $898.

Also, no one touches this Best Buy $200 off  13-inch MacBook Air we dug up earlier this week.  We’re seeing 1080P displays falling below $100 (here and here) at MacConnection already.  We’re finding iPods and iPads which will be at their lowest prices ever and often be bundled with free accesories and giftcards.  There is tons of Free Music at Amazon. The list goes on and on.

Make sure to stop by on Black Friday and as always 9to5Toys for the latest deals.
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A trusted tipster has provided us with the details on Apple’s Black Friday (November 25th) 2011 sale. The sale is very similar to Apple’s offerings in past years, but does give better discounts to higher capacities of the iPads and iPods. The deals on the Mac end cover the iMac, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro, while the iPod nano and iPod touch are the discounted iPod offerings. The Macs will be $101 less, the iPads will go from $41-$61 discounts depending on capacity (16GB, 32GB, 64GB), the iPod nano will shave off $11 for both 8GB and 16GB storage sizes, the iPod touch will follow the iPad’s lead of bigger discounts for bigger capacities, ranging from $21-$41 discounts.

The biggest break is the base level MacBook Air which will now start at $898, but both Best Buy and Amazon have it now for $849.

Apple will also (images after the break) discount accessories. On the Apple in-house accessory list is $11 off the iPad 2 Smart Cover (comes out to $28 for the polyurethane and $58 for the leather), $11 off ($58 in total for each) for the Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Magic Trackpad, $5 off ($45 total) for a $50 iTunes/App Store/iBookstore gift card, in addition to discounts on the AirPort Extreme, Time Capsule, and AirPort Express. Third-party accessories such as Western Digital hard drives, the mophie JuicePack Air, Speck CandyShell iPhone 4/4S case, Jawbone Up, a Griffin Universal Remote Control system for the iPod touch, the Jawbone Jambox, a Phillips clock radio, and more are also on sale. Check out the entire sale with the rest of the leaked pamphlet after the break:

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Update: There has been some doubt regarding Bloomberg’s initial report and whether or not this is a new App Store policy introduced by Apple. One 9to5Mac reader writes:

This App is not doing any thing special that other subscription services don’t already do on iOS. This is nothing more than a remote desktop app (like iswiffer or many others) that let you play flash games. This is just locked down to their own server and their own flash games optimized for touch. You must have internet access for this to work (like all other remote desktop apps). This is not some new business model for the app store.

Apple will now begin letting video game publishers offer their titles to iPad users via a subscription model, a revenue stream for publishers and purchasing option for users that was previously only available for digital publications. Bloomberg reports:

Big Fish Games, a Seattle-based game publisher, won approval from Apple to become the first to offer users access to dozens of titles for $6.99 a month. Until now, games have only been available one at a time, requiring users to download individual applications.

So essentially, a user who buys into a Big Fish Games subscription will be able to play unlimited games that the publisher makes available through a dedicated app. Games will be streamed to a users iPad from Big Fish’s data centers, and will initially require the user have Wi-Fi access to play. As always, Apple will still collect a 30% cut of revenues.

When it comes to the process of Big Fish convincing Apple of the model, the company’s founder Paul Thelen had this to say:
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6h5JSojJN3Y]

via TMO

Additional variations of the concept are available on Samsung’s YouTube channel. The version included right below challenges a notion that only iPhone has the best apps. A third clip is right after the break.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO5Il_rvZj8]

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PatentlyApple point us to a few recently obtained Apple patents published by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Perhaps the most interesting of all is a patent covering 3D object recognition technology that could potentially be implemented in future iPads. While unsophisticated facial recognition tech is already present in consumer mobile devices, Apple’s patent details a method of automated biometric identification to identify or verify an object or face based on a 3D representation compiled by analyzing the curves, points, contours, etc., of a 2D projection. In other words, a three-dimensional “statistical shape model” could be pulled from a 2D image, allowing more accurate detection and verification of 3D objects, such as a face or objects from “airport security X-ray images”, for example. The report explains:

The recovered 3D shape is the most probable shape consistent with the 2D projections, i.e. the images. The statistical model needs a bank of data, denoted training data, where the 3D positions of the image features are known, in order to learn the parameters of the model. Such data sampling could be done using e.g. binocular or multi-view stereo or range scanners. Once the model parameters are learned, the 3D shape can be computed using one or several images. The 3D shape is then used, by means of the presented invention together with the 2D image data, to identify or verify the object as a particular instance of the object class, e.g. the face belonging to a certain individual. A positive (or negative) identification initiate proper action by means of the presented innovation.

It’s unclear when exactly Apple obtained the patent, which lists Professor Kahl Fredrik as the main inventor and dates back to 2005. However, PatentlyApple points out Jan Eric Solem, who owned Polar Rose before they were acquired by Apple in 2010, is also listed as an inventor. Polar Rose technology is currently being used in facial recognition and detection features in the iOS 5 Camera app. The report speculates the next-gen PowerVR GPU from Imagination Technologies will play a role in providing Apple with the juice necessary for advanced 3D rendering, despite the company not yet being confirmed as a licensee:

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Mere hours after we verified the connection between DigiTimes display predictions and the J2 prototype found in iOS 5 code strings, DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim told CNET that production of a QXGA 10-inch 2048-by-1536 Retina Display for iPad 3 “has started”, as previously hinted:

It’s happening – QXGA, 2048×1536. Panel production has started [for the next-generation iPad]. There’s three suppliers. […] It takes a couple of weeks for the production to go to the ODMs (the manufacturers). Then the manufacturer puts them in the housing. Then, that goes off to shipment. We could start seeing finished devices produced in December. And then being ready to be shipped in January. With volumes gearing up in February and March

J1 and J2 are code-names DigiTimes outed as next-generation iPad models allegedly in the works for 2012. Acknowledging possible issues with volume manufacturing of such a high-resolution display, the analyst stressed Apple should be able to meet targets because it is sourcing parts from three display manufacturers: Samsung Electronic, LG Display and Sharp.

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[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NVyIslpS87Y”]

Dominos Pizza has launched a new marketing campaign using the iPad. The pizza giant has made a new app called Dominos Pizza Hero available on the App Store that lets customers make a pizza and then order it in real life. The app also has a game aspect to it, leaving you to compete against the clock and against each other on the leaderboards to create the best pizza.

Once you’ve created your pizza inside of the app, you can then use the “Make an Order” tab to order it through your closest Dominos store. A Dominos rep did say however there are limitations to what you can order — for instance you couldn’t order a pizza shaped like an Apple logo, even though that’d be really cool.

Dominos Pizza Hero is available for free on the App Store. This is certainly clever marketing by Dominos, but they aren’t the first to launch an iPad app for placing orders. Pizza Hut first launched an ordering app last May. Get ordering! (via Mashable)

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=djw6AJqHFOU]

Google has just released an update to their Google Search iOS app bringing with it a brand new design for iPad and full-screen mode for search results and pages on iPhone.

The new iPad interface is noticeably inspired by the design recently rolled out across the majority of Google’s web services. The main search page now has four grey icons as shortcuts to History, Applications, Voice Search, and Goggles, while a new side-by-side view allows you to browse webpages and search results simultaneously. Also included in the update in a full-screen browsing mode for images and a new visual UI for history allowing you to  thumb through results as pages. Instant Previews and Google Instant are now also baked into the iPad version.

As for the iPhone, the update only lists the usual minor bug fixes along with the full-screen mode mentioned above. As always, you can grab the updated Google Search app as a universal download now (iTunes link).  More screenshots below:

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ChangeWave Research in a new survey polled 3,043 consumers on consumer tablet demand for the holidays, including a close-up look at demand for the Amazon Kindle Fire vs. the Apple iPad. Overall, tablets are big this holidays as sales in the United States increase an estimated 130 percent.

Everybody wants a tablet, it seems. A total of 14 percent of respondents plan on buying a tablet in the next 90 days, an eight percentage points increase over an August ChangeWave survey and more than triple the level of a year ago. However, nowadays shoppers no longer have to pick between an iPad or an array of same-looking Android tablets because Amazon is now the second most-popular tablet brand (people clearly want an Amazon tablet).

According to ChangeWave:

The Amazon Kindle Fire is going to leapfrog the competition and become the number two product in the tablet market, as long as it can provide a quality user experience. But the Amazon surge may also contain a silver lining for Apple, by damaging the tablet market hopes of the remaining competitors in the field.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65 percent) plan on buying an iPad, or two out of three tablet buyers. People are loving their iPads and it shows in satisfaction ratings. A total of 74 percent of all iPad owners are Very Satisfied versus 49 percent for all other tablet manufacturers combined. More than one in five, or 22 percent, eye an Amazon tablet and just four percent plan on buying a Galaxy Tab from Samsung. Apple’s score is in line with iPad’s IDC-estimated 68 percent share of the tablet market. In addition, Canalys projected Apple will overtake Hewlett-Packard to become the #1 PC maker globally on the heels of iPad 3 release, although not everybody is down with counting iPad as a computer. More tidbits and charts after the break.

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Research firm Canalys on Monday said it expects Apple to overtake Hewlett-Packard to become the world’s leading PC maker before the second half of 2012. That is, if you count tablets as computers (many people don’t). The launch of iPad 3 early next year is predicted to boost Apple’s share of the global PC market. Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling:

Apple has seen its PC market share expand from 9 percent to 15 percent in just four quarters, though iPad shipments in its core market – the United States – are likely to come under pressure in Q4 due to the launch of the Fire and Nook at extremely competitive price points.

Charlie Wolf of Needham and Co last week said the Mac passed the magic five percent global market share. Canalys’ data includes computer and tablet sales. Earlier this month Canalys pegged Apple’s share of the global PC market at 15 percent, right behind the #1 HP with 16 percent share. CAnalys predicts that 2011 PC sales will grow 15 percent to hit 415 million units, of which 211 million should be notebook units where Apple absolutely dominates.

Ultrabooks? “For Ultrabooks to become widespread, prices have to drop considerably”, Canalys said. As for other tablets, DigiTimes expects high inventory levels of non-Apple tablets following the holiday season. This is partly due to the launch of the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet  which undercut other Android tablets, meaning “several waves of price cuts are expected in the new year”. Meanwhile, white box tablets, which dropped below $100, are not expected to affect iPad sales.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBQQEcfkHoE&feature=player_embedded]

Business Insider says they have a friend who knows some Apple employees who say that the iPad 3 will have a 3D display.

We’re definitely not convinced.

What we have heard however is that Apple is working on 3G gestures which they’ve patented and could be used in iOS devices – though those would be more for an Apple TV type device.

There was an app that used the iPad 2 camera to figure out where your head was and made 3D objects appear on the screen.

Perhaps the person making up the rumor got those confused.

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iLounge reports that their most reliable source has spilled some details on what’s to come – in terms of redesigns – in 2012 from Apple. First on the roadmap is the iPad 3. The report says the tablet will be slightly thicker in order to make room for a “higher-res” display (Retina Display?) and for that rumored dual-light bar display system. Although it’s possible that this new iPad will be introduced in January, it’s reportedly on track for a March launch (which makes sense).

Looking into the summer, iLounge says Apple’s working on a new iPhone for the summer – a launch timeframe we’ve heard whispers about, too – with a four-inch display and an aluminum casing. The new iPhone is said to not be that fabled teardrop design we saw several times this year, but is something entirely new. It is a bit longer than the iPhone 4S, just like the prototype teardrop design was.

iLounge is also sticking to their original rumor that we’ll be seeing a thinner MacBook Pro sometime in 2012 which seems all but certain at this point.

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According to a survey done by Nielsen, kids in the U.S. are Apple crazy for the holidays this year. Apple’s iPad tops the list as the most desired consumer electronic among kids between the ages of 6-12 with 44% of kids showing interest in the device. The iPod Touch and iPhone also come in right after as 2nd and 3rd most desired products. In 2010 the same survey was taken among this age group, and although all three of these products made it onto the list, only the iPad and iPod Touch got into the top 5.
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