Apple Launches Third Generation iPad

Apple has finally launched the third generation version of the iPad, though it is not named as iPad 3. After months of anticipation and speculation, the latest iteration of the iconic tablet does bring more new things to the table than its predecessor. To start with, it boasts of a quad-core graphics processor and features the much-awaited Retina Display for a crisper, high definition viewing experience. It has a new 5 MP iSight camera capable of 1080p HD video capture and will come with Wi-Fi + 4G connectivity options, although LTE is not available in India at present. The 10-hour battery life of previous version has been retained, so has the screen size, and dimensions (except that it is 0.6 mm thicker).

The new 9.7" oleophobic display sports pixel dimensions of 2048x1536; higher than most computer monitors we use, and pixel density of 264 ppi for sharp images. The new A5X SoC (system-on-a-chip) consists of a dual-core CPU with faster processing power and quad-core PowerVR SGX543MP4 GPU for better graphics. While the rear camera has been spruced up with back light illumination, face detection, and image stabilisation; the front camera remains at VGA resolution. It comes with the new iOS 5.1 and iCloud service integration. Additionally, this new version will feature iLife, which comprises iPhoto, GarageBand, and iMovie. iWorks with Pages, Keynote, and Numbers has also been included. The App Store offers over 2,00,000 native apps and over 5,85,000 apps in all, to make new tablet even more interesting.

The Wi-Fi versions of the new iPad are available at $499 (Rs 25,000) for the 16 GB, $599 (Rs 30,000) for the 32 GB, and $699 (Rs 35,000) for the 64 GB, while the Wi-Fi + 4G versions with similar capacities are priced at $629 (Rs 31,600), $729 (Rs 36,600), and $829 (Rs 41,600) respectively. Needless to say, the direct currency translation is never true for the pricing and you can expect the actual prices to be much higher when released in India. Although the new version is not yet available in our country, the iPad 2 has been made relatively affordable at Rs 24,500 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi model and Rs 32,900 for the 16 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model.

Nokia Flashes 808 PureView with 41 MP Camera At MWC 2012

Nokia has finally put the speculations regarding N8's successor to rest by announcing the 808 PureView at MWC 2012. I've double-checked the details regarding its camera module through multiple sources, and it's in fact a 41 MP sensor coupled with a Xenon flash.


The latest Symbian flagship has also received a performance upgrade to support 1080p video recording. Under the hood, is a 1.3 GHz CPU with 512 MB of RAM to keep it company. The handset's 4" AMOLED screen has pixel dimensions of 640x360. Additionally, the display features Nokia's ClearBack polarization treatment that delivers deeper blacks and better sunlight legibility. The internal memory is 16 GB with a microSD card slot to expand it. Then, there's long list of connectivity options including the HDMI port, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB OTG (On-the-Go), 3.5 mm jack that doubles up as a TV-out port, GPS, FM-transmitter, FM radio, GPS, and an NFC chip. According to the manufacturer, the handset tips the scale at 169 grammes and is 0.7" (18 mm) thick at the camera, because of the lumpy sensor.

No prizes for guessing that the 808's USP is its camera. How Nokia managed to squeeze in a 41 MP sensor in a mobile phone, is still an unanswered question. However, Nokia was more than happy to inform that it has achieved this feat with the help of Carl Zeiss optics and some internally developed algorithms. It has also been claimed that the phone's snapper offers up to 4X lossless zoom.



The 808 PureView is expected to hit the stores in May, with white, red, and black hues to choose from. However, there's no word official word on its pricing.

"Slide-to-Unlock" Belongs To Apple

Apple has won a patent dispute case against Motorola Mobility pertaining to its "slide-to-unlock" feature. This feature has been part of the iPhone since its first version, although the company was granted a patent for the same only in March 2010. Incidentally, this is the first victory for Apple over Motorola, and will have far-reaching implications for Android devices in general. Motorola, on the other hand, has brushed off suggestions that the judgment will impact its future supply or sales, as it plans to appeal against the verdict.

Patent expert Florian Mueller has stated that this ruling is "very significant", because it could help Apple with other patent disputes around the world. He elaborated, "Apple is already asserting the slide-to-unlock patent in different jurisdictions against all three leading Android device makers and might use it against even more of them going forward".

A Motorola spokeswoman commented, "Today's ruling in the patent litigation brought by Apple in Munich, Germany, concerns a software feature related to phone unlocking in select Motorola devices sold in Germany. Motorola has implemented a new design for the feature. Therefore, we expect no impact on current supply or future sales". Apple has declined to comment on the issue.

This particular patent EP1964022 relates to the process of unlocking a smartphone by swiping a finger across the screen. Apple is also fighting for rights to another patent related to scrolling through a photo gallery on the mobile devices, but the court has postponed the ruling.

Gmail, Yahoo! Will Be Asked To Route Mails Via Indian Servers...

After pacifying the country with statements about not censoring social networking content, the government has decided to divert its attention to email communication instead. Reports suggest that Department of Information Technology (DIT) will now ask email service providers such as Yahoo! and Gmail, along with others to route all emails accessed in India through servers based in the country, even if the said mail account is registered outside. The move comes after security agencies failed to get real-time access to some emails, because the accounts had been registered outside India.

In a high-level meeting held at the Union Home Secretary RK Singh's office, the Director General from CERT-in, India's cyber community noted that Yahoo! automatically relocates all email accounts registered in the country to its servers in India. However, this does not apply for emails from accounts registered outside the country. Earlier, security agencies were unable to access email accounts of suspected terrorists belonging to the terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen during investigations, because they had been registered in a European country. When the required permissions to view these mails in question were asked, the content provider said that a request would have to be made with the European nation where the server was situated.

While censoring tweets and status updates is absurd, this does seem like something that the defence requires, taking into account the gravity of the security situation. On the flip side though, how comfortable would you be, knowing that the government goes through all your email communication?

Apple iPad 2

A year ago, nobody had an iPad. Then Apple sold 15 million of them in just nine months, creating a whole new category of technology product. The iPad may have become, in the words of Steve Jobs, “the most successful consumer product ever launched.”

It turns out that a lot of people saw the iPad’s appeal: it’s a supremely portable device that’s well suited for checking your e-mail, surfing the Web, playing games, reading books and other stuff you get off the Internet, and even for getting work done. Kids and the elderly have embraced it.

It’s awfully hard to follow such a massive success, but that’s the task set out for Apple’s new iPad 2, which goes on sale Friday. At least the iPad 2 has this going for it: the original model caught the technology industry so flat-footed that only now are true competitors beginning to appear.

Those competitors will now face a new iteration of the iPad, one that’s faster, smaller, and lighter than the model introduced a year ago—all while retaining the $499 entry price that has proven all but impossible for Apple’s competitors to match. It’s almost unfair.

A game of inches (and ounces)
Call it Jobs’s Law if you like: The latest version of any Apple product is likely to be thinner and lighter than its predecessor. And so it is with the iPad 2. The size difference between the original iPad and the iPad 2 may seem slight, but that’s only because we’re dealing with such small products to begin with. But for products this small, every ounce and fraction of an inch counts.

The iPad 2 measures 7.31 by 9.5 by 0.34 inches, and weighs in at 1.33 pounds (in the case of the Wi-Fi-only version, that is—the AT&T and Verizon 3G versions are .01 and .02 pound heavier). That means Apple shaved .17 pound off the Wi-Fi version and .26 to .27 pound off the 3G version. The iPad 2 is also .16 inch narrower, .06 inch shorter, and .16 inch thinner than the original iPad.

A matter of small degrees, to be sure, until you consider the percentage change: the iPad 2 is roughly two-thirds the thickness of the original iPad, and 88 percent of its weight (83 percent when comparing 3G models). Pick up an iPad 2 after handling an original iPad, and you’ll notice the difference right away. This is a lighter, thinner device.

In order to shave off that .16 inch of thickness, Apple has transformed the anodized aluminum back panel of the iPad. The original model’s back panel was a frame with four flat edges and a gently curved back surface. The iPad 2 eschews the frame, opting for a single surface that much more rapidly transitions from curve to flat. (This has the effect of making the iPad 2 much less wobbly than the original when laid on a flat surface.)

Without those edges, the iPad 2’s ports and buttons are now positioned on a curving portion of the back panel, rather than on its side. The feel is quite different, a bit like reverting the flat surfaces of the iPhone 4 to the curved back of an iPhone 3G. A few times I found myself struggling to insert cables into the iPad 2’s dock connector at the proper angle because I was confused by the curve of the back panel.

The end result of all this slimming down is that the iPad 2 is easier to handle than the original model. In my review of the original iPad, I said it was “heavy enough and slippery enough that I found it difficult to hold in one hand.” In fact, the original iPad turned out to be a product that really demanded a case of some sort, just to make it easier to handle.

The iPad 2 is easier to carry with one hand, and the decreased weight makes it easier to hold for longer periods of time. But if you’re planning on using the iPad 2 to read a lot, you’ll still find yourself propping it against your chest or setting it on a table—the tablet is still not light enough to hold in one hand for extended periods of time. (For that, you’ll need something more on the scale of the Amazon Kindle 3, which is less than half the weight of the iPad 2.)

Eighteen variations on a theme
The original iPad came in six different variations—Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi/3G versions, each available with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of storage. The product was such a hit that Apple apparently decided that even more variations would be better—as a result, there are 18 different versions of the iPad 2. It’s a little crazy.

The storage variation remains: every model is available in 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB capacities. You can also choose an iPad with either a traditional black bezel or a new white bezel—which Apple insists will be available on day one, despite the company’s failure in ever shipping the promised white version of the iPhone 4. That’s six variations right there. Now multiply them by three, since the iPad 2 comes in a Wi-Fi-only version as well as two separate Wi-Fi/3G versions: one compatible with AT&T’s GSM-based cellular network, and a different one compatible with Verizon’s CDMA-based network. (Apple seems to be differentiating between the two by referring to the AT&T model as “3G with Micro-SIM card.”)

The good news is that the iPad 2 costs just what the original iPad did. The base-model Wi-Fi editions cost $499 (16GB), $599 (32GB), and $699 (64GB). Both sets of Wi-Fi/3G models cost $130 more than their Wi-Fi counterparts. There’s no price difference for white or black models.

What hasn’t changed
Though it’s thinner and lighter, the iPad 2, at a glance, looks very much like the original iPad. Its front is a sheet of glass over a bright 1024-by-768-pixel display surrounded by a bezel (again, now available in black or white) that’s going to be necessary so long as humans grasp with opposable thumbs. The aluminum frame around the outside of the bezel of the original iPad has been reduced to a thin edge, almost entirely invisible, in the iPad 2.
The position of the iPad 2’s buttons and ports are, likewise, more or less undisturbed. There’s a sleep/wake button at the top right edge, a standard headphone jack at top left, a volume rocker and a sliding switch (configurable to lock screen orientation or mute alert sounds via the Settings app) at the top of the right side, a 30-pin dock connector port at the bottom, and a home button at the bottom of the front face. The iPad 2’s built-in microphone is dead center at the top edge of the device—it was next to the headphone jack on the original iPad. Both 3G models feature a black plastic cutout along the top rear face in order to improve cellular reception; the AT&T 3G model also has a micro-SIM card slot along the top left edge.

Dual-core speed
The iPad 2 uses a new Apple-designed processor called the A5, which is making its first appearance on the scene. Apple is generally cagey about tech specs for products like the iPhone and iPad, but by all accounts, the A5 is a dual-core version of the 1GHz A4 chip that powers the iPhone 4 and the original iPad. The iPad 2 also has 512MB of RAM—twice that of the original iPad—and a 200MHz bus speed, likewise twice that of the original.

Because the A5 is a dual-core processor, Apple claims the iPad 2 can run at speeds up to double that of the original iPad. As with any dual-core processor, the key about “up to double” is that software must be optimized to take advantage of multiple processor cores, or that speed goes to waste. This is the first dual-core processor to appear on an iOS device, and it’ll be interesting to see under what circumstances the A5 is noticeably faster than the A4, and when it’s not.

But processor speed isn’t the only part of the system that determines how it performs. Graphics performance has become a major component in determining how fast a computing device feels. And Apple says that the graphics performance on the iPad 2 is as much as nine times faster than on the original iPad.

So does the iPad 2 measure up to Apple’s claims? Absolutely, though it’s hard to determine whether the dual-core processor or the improved graphics performance deserve the credit. (Maybe the question is moot.) From the moment I started using the iPad 2 with familiar apps from my original iPad, I could tell that the system was faster. I thought scrolling through tweets in Twitterrific on my iPad was smooth as can be … until I scrolled through the tweet list on the iPad 2. Everything felt smoother, and items loaded faster.

Part of the speed boost, especially when I started to test performance in Safari, probably needs to be credited to iOS 4.3, which ships with the iPad 2 and includes a dramatic improvement to Safari’s JavaScript engine. When I installed the golden master version of iOS 4.3 on an original iPad, performance improved as well. But even when both devices were running iOS 4.3, the iPad 2 was 1.6 times as fast as the original in running the SunSpider JavaScript test, and 1.9 times as fast as an iPhone 4 running the iOS 4.3 golden master.

In short, the iPad 2 is the fastest iOS device ever made, by a long shot. And it’s not just an academic distinction: you can sense the speed when you use it, because everything’s faster and smoother than it was on the original iPad.

Cameras and FaceTime
The original iPad debuted just before Apple embraced video chat with its FaceTime software and added a front-facing camera to the iPhone. (It subsequently added both front- and rear-facing cameras to the iPod touch.) With the iPad 2, the company has brought two cameras to all of its mobile iOS devices.

The cameras in the iPad 2 are essentially the same as those in the fourth-generation iPod touch: it’s nice that they’re there, but they’re not particularly impressive in terms of quality. The front-facing camera is the same one used in the iPhone 4 and the iPod touch, offering only VGA resolution (640 by 480 pixels). It’s grainy in low-light settings, but is perfectly serviceable for its intended purpose, which is video chat.

FaceTime works on the iPad 2 much like it works on the iPod touch; in the Settings app you log in with an Apple ID and set an e-mail address to use as your FaceTime “number,” so people can call you. From the FaceTime app, you can call people in your contacts list and set favorites. (FaceTime on the iPad is, like FaceTime on the iPhone 4, supported only over Wi-Fi connections.)

Once you’ve connected, the iPad’s larger screen definitely exposes the low quality of FaceTime video (whether it’s caused by the low-quality camera or the intense bandwidth required by a live video chat, or both, is debatable). Still, the video is good enough to be usable. The iPad’s size, however, makes it a bit ungainly as a FaceTime device. It’s hard to have a long conversation while holding the iPad in your hand. Propping the tablet on a tabletop or in your lap works better; propping it up with Apple’s Smart Cover in typing position gave my interlocutor a nice view of my ceiling fan, while putting it in the Smart Cover’s movie-viewing position made me hunch down in order to get in the frame.

The rear camera on the iPad 2 appears to be identical to the one found on the iPod touch. (It’s positioned just beneath the sleep button on the back side of the device, creating a challenge for iPad casemakers everywhere.) Apple touts this camera as being “for video,” and there’s a reason: as a still camera it’s about seven-tenths of a megapixel, with poor performance in low-light conditions. But it’s capable of shooting 720p HD video and, in well-lit environments, the quality is decent.

I’m not sure I’m ever going to hold up the iPad 2 and use it as a video camera, but it does work—and most important, you can use that camera from within FaceTime, so you can shoot video of your kids crazily running around and send it all back to grandma.

Apple iPhone 4S

The 4S isn't the iPhone 5 that everyone has been waiting for. However, it's still a significant upgrade over its predecessor. Additionally, going by the ads, Siri seems very impressive. Apple is known for charging a premium for its products, and this one is no exception. Let's find out whether this phone impresses enough to make you overlook its price.


Design And Build Quality
The retail package comes with the phone, USB cable, charger, earphones, and Apple stickers. The 4S looks exactly like the iPhone 4, and weighs the same as well. Despite the lack of innovation in design, it's still one of the best-looking phones in the market.

Although the exterior remains unchanged, the new phone has received some serious upgrades under the hood. What lies beneath is a powerful A5 chip, which houses a 1 GHz dual-core CPU and PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU. Other specs include 512 MB of RAM, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, an 8 MP camera, 3.5 mm jack, and a 1430 mAh battery.

The 3.5" display of the iPhone also hasn't changed a bit. It has pixel dimensions of 640x960, which is still brilliant. The glass is scratch-resistant, but at this price Apple should have thrown in Gorilla Glass.


Siri
This feature, which lets you control the phone through voice commands, made a lot of noise during the launch event. In Apple's ads, you can see it working perfectly, and that might even be true in the US. However, it's a different story altogether in India, with Siri unable to work well with our accent. For example, it often confuses the word "Cancel" with "Grandson". It also can't find places or pinpoint your location by saying "Where am I?". What's worse is that even basic commands such as "Send a message" or "Dial a number" don't work without an internet connection. Therefore, manually performing actions is still way faster than asking Siri to do them for you. On the bright side, the feature can be fun if you ask weird questions. In effect, consider Siri as a form of entertainment, rather than a killer app.


UI And Applications
Aesthetically, the iOS hasn't changed much in its fifth iteration. However, it's the most flexible and useful version of the platform yet. Other than Siri, the most notable addition is the Notification Centre, which is a blatant copy of Android's notification bar.

There's also an option to replace the usual pop-up alerts with banner-like notifications, as seen on the WP7 platform. This is a welcome change, as pop-ups appearing in the centre of the screen can get quite annoying.

The phone also has dictionary support implemented throughout the UI. This means you can select a word in any native app and choose to see its definition. Moreover, dictation support has also been integrated, and it does the typing for you - provided you speak slowly and clearly into the mic. Apple has also been generous enough to offer 5 GB of free storage in iCloud, a service that's somewhat similar to Dropbox.

In the web department, Safari still doesn't support Flash, and probably never will. On the bright side, the browser is blazing fast, and handles multiple tabs without any problems. The speed of Airtel's 3G connection for browsing and other internet applications was pretty decent, ranging between 50-60 KBps at its best. The 4S from Airtel is not locked to its network, giving you the freedom of choosing the best plan for you.


The Maps app still uses Google Maps for navigation. It's good enough for finding locations, but not fit for navigation. Since Google also has its own mobile platform, it has stopped showing love towards iOS by not updating its voice-guided navigation feature. Makes me wonder why Apple still hasn't revealed plans for its own sat-nav solution.

Thanks to the A5 chip, the iPhone can now challenge any Android when it comes to gaming. It ran Real Racing 2 without any lag or slowdowns. Those who love playing games will be delighted to see the huge number of high-end titles available in the App Store.

Multimedia
The music player has the good old Cover Flow interface, and as expected, the device's sound quality is great. On the flipside, Apple has continued with its tradition of shipping mediocre earphones. Another little annoyance is that the equaliser settings are located in Settings > Music > EQ, which is stupid.

Thanks to the dual-core CPU, the gadget can now play 1080p MP4 videos without any problem. Unfortunately, DivX and XviD clips are still a no-go. Once again, the dependability on iTunes and the lack of a mass storage mode continues to be a pain.


Telephony And Messaging
Unlike the iPhone 4, the latest iteration hasn't got any nasty surprises such as the infamous death grip. Apple seems to have worked pretty hard in repositioning the internal antennae, and the great signal reception is evident of that.

The messaging app now supports iMessage, which lets you send messages to other Apple devices over a Wi-Fi internet connection. Moreover, the dictation feature lets you reply to messages and emails without having to type. As usual, the portrait and landscape keyboards are well-designed and pretty accurate.


Battery And Verdict
Despite the CPU upgrade, the 1430 mAh battery's performance is extremely good. With a 1080p video playing on an indefinite loop, the battery managed to keep the device powered for 9 hours.

The 4S is ridiculously expensive, but still it's a great phone. Whether or not it's a good upgrade for current iPhone 4 users is a tricky question though. The device looks exactly like the previous generation, which is a turn-off. Siri is a broken promise, and the goodness of iOS 5 has also come to the iPhone 4. On the other hand, the new gizmo is blazing fast, and has a better camera.

This leads to the following conclusion: if you're using an iPhone 3GS or older models, the 4S is a great upgrade. However, if you already own an iPhone 4, buy it only if you fancy a great camera and also want to play the latest games.


Design And Build Quality: 4/5
Features: 4/5
Performance: 4.5/5
Value For Money: 3/5
Mojo: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4/5