To celebrate one million downloads of their SwiftKey keyboard app, TouchType is giving away a tablet each to THREE lucky winners! Which tablets? Whichever the winner chooses so long as they’re available for purchase for up to $800 where he or she lives. iPad 2, PlayBook, Xoom, Galaxy Tab are all on the table.
How do you enter? TouchType has put together a small survey which shouldn’t take more than five or ten minutes to complete. That’s it – well, that and a quick perusal of the official entry rules just to make sure you’re eligible (sorry minors and SPE employees). The contest is open to readers of Android Central, CrackBerry.com, TiPb, and WPCentral and ends at midnight Pacific on April 14th.
Not familiar with TouchType? You may have also seen that TouchType made a splash at this year’s CTIA with their tablet keyboard for Honeycomb – that’s coming soon, but SwiftKey is available now for Android devices.
So get cracking on the survey, folks – these tablets aren’t going to give themselves away.
Win a Tablet of your choice from TouchType! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
The iPad 2 is here! You’ve run down the specs – including the 2x as fast A5 processor, the lighter 1.33lb weight, and the crazy-thin .34 inch “thickness.” You’ve considered whether it’s worth it for iPad 2 owners to upgrade. You’ve taken a look at what’s new in iOS 4.3. Heck, you’ve even read up on how to transfer your data from your original iPad to the iPad 2. What’s left to do? Check out TiPb breathlessly unpacking and examining the real deal.
If you waited in line today and picked one up – congrats! If you are wondering what we think of Apple’s latest, here’s the short version: it’s a thinner, lighter, faster iPad with a couple of cameras. That may sound anti-climactic – but after using the iPad 2 for just a very short while we’re starting to suspect that it’s anti-climactic in the same way that “the iPad is just a big iPhone” was anti-climactic in 2010. In other words: it’s an experience that can’t quite be quantified but gets under your skin in the same way the original iPad did. There’s “nothing new” here to most people, but the execution of all the little details adds up to something pretty special.
As far as the hardware is concerned, we’re impressed. Looking at the spec differences between the iPad 1 and the iPad 2, you might be tempted to say that there’s not much improvement here. But .5″ vs .34″ only tells part of the story. The full story is that the tapered back of the iPad 2 makes it feel thinner than any device this size has a right to be. It’s kind of amazing. Unfortunately, we can’t quite say the same for the weight – while the iPad 2 is lighter, it’s still not something you’re going to happily hold at arm’s length unsupported for any appreciable length of time.
A full photo gallery is after the break and video is coming right quick – keep it locked to TiPb as we unpack our thoughts and impressions of the iPad 2 this weekend and, heck, for the months to come.
(Full disclosure: this white iPad 2 is for @CrackBerryKevin, who plans on putting the thing head-to-head with the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook when the time comes. He also opted for the “CrackBerry Orange” SmartCover. He’s a BlackBerry user at heart, but it’s hard to resist the iPad 2, innit?)
iPad 2 Hands On is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Apple has posted up a video touting the features of the iPad 2 – from it’s insane thinness and weight, the front-and-rear-facing cameras, the SmartCover accessory, to PhotoBooth, to HDMI video mirroring, to the powerful A5 chip, to the 9x faster graphics, to the fact that the battery life is still 10 hours after all that.
If you’re looking for a quick summary of what’s new in iPad 2, look no further. Check it out here at Apple.
Apple has also posted a video that explains better than words how the Smart Cover works. It’s a magnetic cover for the screen that can be folded back and around itself to turn into a stand to hold the iPad either in a typing position or in a video-watching position. Check it out here at Apple.
iPad 2 Videos: ‘A Blockbuster Post-PC Device” and Smart Cover is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
With GarageBand for iPad, Apple is showing that the iPad 2 isn’t just for consuming media, but also for creating it. They gave a rather long demo of the app today, showing off a slew of music creating and editing features that will make your old Four Track look like, well, an very old Four Track.
GarageBand projects can be recorded or played directly into the iPad 2 with up to 8 tracks, edited directly on the device, and then either emailed out or even saved so you can continue editing on the Mac. Apple is also including a suite of touch-based instruments including drums, drum machines, keyboard, and synthesizers. These instruments include clever features: they use the accelerometer to determine how hard you’re striking a key or drum and also allow you to swipe across keys and wiggle your finger to get vibrato. There are also “Smart Instruments,” which are simplified versions of instruments that will allow even the most tone-deaf to create music tracks. On the guitar, you can simply choose a chord and strum and even set it to autoplay.
A full-featured audio recorder, guitar amps, stompbox effects, and very good editing features round out GarageBand for iPad. It will be available on March 11th for $4.99 in the App Store.
GarageBand for iPad: $4.99 on March 11th is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Almost exactly two years after he took his first medical leave of absence, Apple CEO is taking another leave of absence to “focus on [his] health.” Apple COO Tim Cook will take over day-to-day operations while Jobs will remain as CEO. Here’s his email to all Apple employees:
Team,
At my request, the board of directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.
I have asked Tim Cook to be responsible for all of Apple’s day to day operations. I have great confidence that Tim and the rest of the executive management team will do a terrific job executing the exciting plans we have in place for 2011.
I love Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy.
Steve
via Engadget & Reuters
Steve Jobs takes medical leave of absence is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Wondering if we’re going to have another “Antennagate” with the Verizon iPhone 4? We obviously can’t say until the device is released on February 10th, but what we can say is that Apple has redesigned the Antenna. Before you go and assume that suggests Apple thinks the original design was flawed, remember that Verizon uses CDMA for 3G, which requires a completely different radio than AT&T’s GSM network and therefore requires a completely different Antenna. This also confirms that leak from last week, by the by.
In any case, if you take a close look at the image above you’ll see a couple new black dividers in the external Antenna on the Verizon iPhone 4. Apple also removed the divider next to the headphone jack. Whether, as Apple says, they are just changes necessary for the switch to CDMA or, as the conspiracy theorists will no doubt spin any second now, they are changes to prevent the “Death Grip” remains to be seen. All we know is that it won’t magically allow your to keep your data connection active when a call comes in. Tradeoffs, people.
Verizon iPhone 4 Antenna is Redesigned …for CDMA is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Between now and November 10th, we’re partnering with Waze to give away an iPad (or a Galaxy Tab if you’re feeling Android-y). Here’s how it works:
- Download and install Waze from the App Store
- Drive around with Waze and collect “Road Goodies” – which basically just means drive over the TiPb logos as you move about your city. As you can see above, they are everywhere.
- It’s a competition between iPhone users, Android users, and BlackBerry users – which is to say you’re up against the kids from Android Central and CrackBerry.com. Whichever site whose users collect the most Road Goodies will win and be able to give a tablet away to one of their users – selected randomly from amongst the top 25 collectors. Remember – you only get credit for driving over the iPhone icons.
- That’s it! Use Waze, collect Road Goodies, and stick it to those Android and BlackBerry users while automatically getting a chance to win an iPad or Tab
What’s Waze, then? It’s a free social mapping tool: you can get directions, find out where the traffic is, ping other users, and generally find your way around while helping other Waze users get better location and traffic information. Check out the full details on the Waze Blog.
Win an iPad from Waze and TiPb! is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.
TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
