iPad

Galaxy S4 vs. iPhone: Morning-after analyst take

Samsung made its latest play in the smartphone battle versus Apple with yesterday's launch of the Galaxy S4, and analysts are weighing in.

Samsung unveiled its newest device during an event in New York's Radio City Music Hall. The phone looks very similar to the Galaxy S3 but sports an improved screen, camera, and components, as well as oodles of quirky software features like language translation. As CNET noted yesterday, Samsung is making Apple's iPhone look like yesterday's hot smartphone.

Many Apple analysts today, though, remain confident that Apple will be able to maintain its strong … Read more

Refurbished iPad Mini, fourth-gen iPad now on sale

Customers looking to get a break on the price of an iPad or iPad Mini, this one's for you.

Apple has started selling refurbished iPad Minis and fourth-generation iPads in its online outlet store. Apple is selling a customer's choice of the black or white 16GB fourth-generation iPad with Wi-Fi-and-Celluar. The price represents a $50 cut compared with the full-price model.

The iPad Mini's price is $429 -- a $30 drop compared to the $459 new option. The only refurbished iPad Mini on sale is the 16GB option with Wi-Fi-and-Cellular.

Buying refurbished products isn't necessarily a … Read more

Apple faces delay in decision over sales ban of iPhone, iPad

Apple and Samsung both have to wait a couple more months for the U.S. International Trade Commission to decide whether iPhone and iPad sales should be banned due to patent violations.

One of countless legal disputes between the two companies, this particular case kicked off in August 2011.

Samsung had filed a complaint with the ITC accusing Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch of violating four of its key patents. As such, the Korean phone maker requested that the products be banned from being sold in the United States.

Last September, a judge for the ITC issued a … Read more

Apple eyes wireless charging via the iPad's Smart Cover

iPad owners may one day be able to wirelessly charge their tablets without the need for a separate charging station.

Published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple's patent application called "Integrated Inductive Charging In Protective Cover" describes a method of using the iPad's Smart Cover itself as the wireless charger.

The cover would be built with inductive power coils and possibly a battery, both of which could provide juice to the iPad. Charging the tablet this way would be a simple matter of closing the cover, which would then power the iPad … Read more

Google Reader is done; here are five alternatives

Editors' note: This post has been updated with new and better alternatives to fit your news-reading style.

Hear that? That's the sound of millions of news junkies on the Web scrambling to find an alternative to Google Reader.

As you may have heard, Google Reader will be no more starting July 1. Unfortunately for many of us, the search giant has announced that it will shutter its much-maligned -- though still widely used -- RSS reader, which will no doubt leave many users in a tizzy, searching for other ways to subscribe to their favorite feeds. Sure, Google Reader … Read more

The killer iOS 7 feature the iPad needs: Touch-pad support

It took using the Microsoft Surface Pro to make me remember an article I wrote a year ago, about productivity on an iPad.

I love using the iPad. I also love some of its keyboard accessories. As a product, it's superior to a Surface Pro. But that doesn't mean it's the perfect laptop replacement. And that's still, in my opinion, largely because of one little touch pad. Or, a lack of it.

The iPad never claimed it was a laptop replacement. It stands in its own, hard-to-define "post-PC" territory. Yet, accessories have sprung up … Read more

Apple delays iTV to next year, Jefferies says

Remember the Apple TV that supposedly was launching this year? Well, that's not happening, investment banking firm Jefferies said today.

Apple has been rumored to be developing a television set (or drastically updated set-top box), but it's unclear what the product will look like or when it will launch.

The iTV launch has been postponed again, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said today in a note to investors. He had expected an Apple TV event in March, followed by a launch in September or October. However, he now believes the launch will happen sometime next year as the company'… Read more

Tablet shipments now expected to hit 190 million this year

A predicted surge in sales of smaller, lower-cost tablets will bump up the number of shipments this year, according to a new report from IDC.

The research firm now expects global tablet shipments to rise to 190.9 million in 2012, up from its prior forecast of 172.4 million. IDC also sees an average rise in shipments of 11 percent from now through 2016, leading to more than 350 million tablets shipped by the end of 2017.

"One in every two tablets shipped this quarter was below 8 inches in screen size," IDC analyst Jitesh Ubrani said … Read more

Kate Spade to use iPads as retail signage

Taking a page from Apple's retail empire, fashion retailer Kate Spade will use iPads in some of its retail locations as in-store signage.

The retailer today said it would debut the tech in its Kate Spade Saturday stores beginning in Tokyo, before bringing it to other locations later this year.

Apple has used iPads as in-store signs since early 2011, putting the tablets in front of each and every product -- even its $49 iPod shuffle. The encased iPads display information about nearby products like prices and configurations to let customers compare and customize models. There's also the … Read more