iPad

Penguin reaches pact with EU to end e-book price-fixing probe

Penguin has vowed to change its pricing strategy for digital books, including terminating an e-book pricing pact with Apple, to resolve an antitrust probe by the European Union.

As part of the deal, Penguin has agreed to terminate existing agency agreements -- those pacts that allow a publisher, not a retailer, to set prices -- and will refrain from adopting "most favored nation" pricing clauses for five years. Those had prevented retailers such as Amazon from undercutting Apple's e-book prices.

If Penguin does enter into new agency agreements, retailers would be free to set the retail price … Read more

iPad 5 said to be 15 percent thinner, 25 percent lighter

Apple's next iPad will be both thinner and lighter than its predecessor, bringing back the company's old habit of iPad shrinkage.

That's according to KGI Securities analyst Mingchi Kuo, who in a note to investors last night said to expect a full-size iPad that's 15 percent thinner than the fourth-generation device and weighs 25 percent less.

The size reduction is due to a handful of tweaks, Kuo said. That includes a battery that's 25 percent to 30 percent smaller, and improvements on display panels and A-series chip technology, which now slurp up less juice. Apple … Read more

Apple and Wall Street religions are out of sync

After climbing to more than $700 eight months ago, Apple's shares continued their steep decline on Wednesday. After falling below $400 for the first time since 2011, the shares closed at $402.80, down $23.44, or 5.5 percent.

This has been a slow-motion stock rout as many Wall Streeters have soured on Apple, reducing forecasts for the company while adopting a decidedly negative opinion about its future prospects. The trigger for today's sell-off was Cirrus Logic, which supplies analog and audio chips to Apple. The company issued a disappointing quarterly forecast, which got interpreted as a … Read more

Forget the iPad 5 -- I'm waiting for the iPad Mini Retina

The iPad 5 is coming! The iPad 5 is coming!

Yes, if the rumors are to be believed, we're not too far away from seeing Apple unveil a fifth-generation iPad that it may or may not call the iPad 5. That new iPad is speculated to be trimmer and lighter than the iPad 4, which was unveiled last October, and features a design borrowed from the iPad Mini.

It will most likely offer the same or slightly speedier performance than the iPad 4, which runs on an A6X processor, deliver similar battery life despite its trimmer size, and cost … Read more

Rumor Has It: Is Apple set to 'invent' the hybrid laptop?

Apple can never keep its nose out of anything for too long.

A patent application filed recently describes a laptop hybrid that could be charged wirelessly. Could this be the game changer that nobody's been waiting for?

Windows' next iteration might make things easier for users with the touch of a button. And according to a recent report, Microsoft can't let everyone else have all the smartwatch fun. Unfortunately.

What do you think about an Apple laptop hybrid? Is it something you'd buy? Does wireless charging up the ante? Leave a comment and let us know your … Read more

Case builds for slimmer iPad 5

Purported iPad 5 cases spotted in Hong Kong and on speculative gadget accessory wonderland Alibaba.com suggest again that the next generation of Apple's slate will be slimmer than its forebears.

Engadget claims to have gotten its hands on one of the cases at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair. According to the site, the case suggests that the new iPad will have the same screen size, but thinner side bezels.

Dozens of iPad 5 cases already are listed on Alibaba, a direct connection to Chinese suppliers that crank out just about every iDevice accessory imaginable, often way ahead of … Read more

Apple wins patent for iOS app folders and 'jiggle mode'

Apple has finally won a patent for a system that lets iOS users more easily organize their apps.

Granted today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the patent dubbed "Device, method, and graphical user interface for managing folders" describes the method used by iOS to let users create folders in which to store apps and activate the "jiggle mode" to move or delete them. Introduced in iOS 4, the technology outlined in the patent is pretty much the way iOS users know it today.

Holding down the icon for an iOS app causes all … Read more

Google still wants Apple to use its maps, Eric Schmidt says

The Apple Maps fiasco may have died down, but Google still wants its mapping program to be default on iOS, said Google Chairman Eric Schmidt.

Schmidt, speaking today during an AllThingsD mobile conference, declined to say why Apple decided to go with its own mapping system rather than working with Google as it had in the past. But he said his company is still pushing Apple to use Google Maps as the primary navigation tool on iOS.

"We would still really like them to use our maps," Schmidt said. "It would be easy for them to take … Read more

Tablet sales will climb to $64B this year, ABI says

The tablet market should post strong growth this year, ABI Research said, as the traditional computing market slumps.

The tech research firm expects tablet sales to climb 28 percent this year to $64 billion. In terms of shipments, ABI projected a jump of 38 percent to 150 million in 2013.

"The convenience and mobility benefits afforded by tablet computers are showing no signs of slowing interest after record unit shipments and revenues were reported by device vendors in 2012," ABI said.

The tablet growth rate contrasts sharply with the traditional computing market, though PC shipments should still be … Read more