This is Apple’s iPad Pro
“Today we have the biggest news in iPad since the iPad,” says Apple CEO Tim Cook. That’s right: Apple has just announced the iPad Pro, and it’s definitely the biggest iPad yet. It has everything the iPad Air 2 offers, and a little extra on top. Rather than talking about their similarities, though, let’s look at the differences. Slideshow-318379
The iPad Pro has a giant 12.9-inch display with 2,732 x 2,048 pixels. To put that size into perspective, that means the screen is almost exactly the same width as the regular iPad’s is tall. It’s also, in case you didn’t run the math, got the same familiar 4:3 iPad aspect ratio and a functionally identical pixel density to the iPad Air. Apple says it’s so big the on-screen keyboard is “full-sized,” like on its laptops.
The larger panel, Apple hopes, will be ideal for the new multitasking additions to iOS 9, which let you run apps side-by-side, or in a split view and “pop-over” video. Of course, you can do that on an iPad Air 2, but thanks to the larger screen the apps will look more like they do on a regular iPad. It also frees up some extra space around the display, which Apple has decided use to include four speakers up front. Hopefully they sound good, and this’ll be a great high-def movie machine.
Powering the iPad Pro is Apple’s latest SoC (system on a chip), the A9X. As you’d expect, it’s an upgrade over the iPad Air 2’s A8X in every way, with double the memory bandwidth and graphics performance. Apple says it’s faster than 80 percent of “portable PCs” sold in the past year. One thing Apple isn’t saying how much RAM the Pro has, but chances are its silence on the matter means that it’s the same 2GB as the Air 2.
Despite the larger display and increased power, the new iPad will apparently run for 10 hours on a charge.
But wait, there’s more! There are also a number of new accessories. But before we get to that, a quote — one you’ll probably hear a lot on social media over the coming weeks:
“It’s like we said on the iPad, if you see a stylus, they blew it. In multitasking, if you see a task manager… they blew it.”
Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder
That’s right, Apple has announced a stylus, called Pencil. Okay, so it’s a little unfair to evoke that Jobs quote. He was clearly talking about a stylus as a primary interface tool, rather than an optional accessory, which is exactly what this is. But a writer can’t resist a good egg-on-face quote. Slideshow-318382
The new stylus, then — what does it do? It does lots of things. Unlike the capacitive third-party styli for previous iPads, the Pencil is truly pressure sensitive, behaving more like a Galaxy Note or a Wacom unit. It’s also got some sensors inside for detecting position, force and tilt. It’ll be great, Apple says, for drawing, annotating, and other stuff that most people do with pens. Apple was joined on stage by Microsoft (yup), which showed off how well the new accessory works with its Office suite.
Oh, and it charges from the iPad’s Lightning port. At least you’ll never lose the cable?
Developing…
Source:
Engadget Liveblog
Tags: apple, iphone2015
Apple unveils the speedy A9X processor
New iOS devices usually mean new processors, and sure enough, Apple has taken the wraps off of some fresh silicon. The A9X in the iPad Pro is a doozy, packing up to 80 percent better performance than the A8X from the iPad Air 2. It’s a champ beyond raw computational power, too, with twice the graphics and storage performance as well as double the memory bandwidth. Supposedly, the A9X is more powerful than 80 percent of portable PCs released in the past year — that’s a bold claim that we’ll want to verify for ourselves, but it’s certainly promising.
Developing…
Filed under:
Cellphones, Mobile, Apple
Tags: a9, a9x, apple, iphone2015, iphone6s, iphone6splus, mobilepostcross, processor
Apple reveals new Watch bands including a leather Hermes model
Apple is trying to put a bit more style and choice into it’s Watch, and has just announced a gaggle of new bands for its wearable. The company partnered with French luxury goods maker Hermes to create a new hand-stitched leather model (above) that might appeal to folks looking for something more classic than a plastic or metal band. To complete the effect, Hermes has also revealed a new Watch face. That might be a bit pricey (Apple didn’t say how much it would cost), but Cupertino also revealed several more affordable models.
On top of the new bands, there are new rose gold and anodized aluminum Sport Watches that will run the same price as the existing Sports models ($349). You can also get a special edition stainless steel “Product Red” Watch, with a portion of the sales proceeds going to fight AIDS. We don’t have prices yet for many of the stainless steel models, but as mentioned, the rose gold and anodized aluminum Sport Watches will cost the same as the existing aluminum Sports lineup. We’ll update as soon as we get the rest of the prices, so stay tuned.
Tags: apple, Hermes, iPhone2015, Watch
Apple’s iPad Pro accessories include a Smart Keyboard and Pencil stylus
Apple’s larger iPad Pro is aimed at suits and other creative professionals that want to get work done. Although its 12.9-inch display offers plenty of pixels for your fingers to poke at, the company is also offering a standalone keyboard and stylus accessories. The latter is called the Pencil — while you’re scribbling on the display, Apple says the panel will refresh twice as fast to record your input with the utmost accuracy. The stylus can also be used simultaneously with your finger, allowing for deft smudges in illustrative and note-taking apps. Pencil’s internal battery lasts for “hours of use,” Apple claims, and can be connected directly to the iPad Pro whenever you need to charge it back up again.
Slideshow-318382
The “Smart Keyboard,” meanwhile, attaches to the iPad Pro via a new connector on the side of the tablet. It’s called a Smart Connector, looks like three small buttons and just “slides in,” according to Apple. It contains a full QWERTY keyboard and each individual key has the same butterfly key technology found in the original 12-inch Macbook.
Developing…
Tags: apple, ipad, IpadPro, iphone2015, keyboard, stylus
10 best guitar tuner apps for Android
One of the oldest uses for smartphones was using the microphone to tune your guitar. Granted, it wasn’t all that great but it did work in a pinch. These days, guitar tuner apps are far better than they once were as are phone microphones. That has made the task much better. As any stringed instrument player can tell you, it’s always good to have a tuner on you. Here are the best guitar tuner apps for Android.
Chromatic Guitar Tuner
[Price: Free]
First up is Chromatic Guitar Tuner. This is a simple tuner with a good looking interface and decent functionality. Like most, it recognizes not just guitar, but other instruments including bass, banjo, ukulele, violin, and others. It also includes a digital tuning fork for additional tuning options if needed. It looks good, it’s super simple, and it’s totally free.
Cifra Club Tuner
[Price: Free]
Cifra Club Tuner is probably the most simple tuner on the list. It is totally free and, as such, is a tad bereft of features. However, if you just want to tune something very quickly, this is a good way to go. As most go, you can still use this for bass, banjo, ukulele, etc so it does still work for other instruments. Not much else to say about this one. It’s quick and simple.
Cleartune Chromatic Tuner
[Price: $3.99]
Cleartune is next and it’s another simple app that works well. The interesting part of this one is that it can boast star power including The Killers and Gorillaz which is nice bragging rights. It includes a dial-tuner interface so you can tune practically any stringed instrument you own. It boasts high precision, a needle dampening option, and automatic note selection if needed. It’s a solid option but it doesn’t work well on small-screened devices so if you’re under 4-inches in size, you may need to look elsewhere.
DaTuner
[Price: Free / $2.93]
DaTuner is an interesting mixture of complex and simple. It has some features to make things easy like auto-sensitivity and the screen turns green when the tuning is right as opposed to making you try to navigate a dial or needle tuner. Obviously pros will still want those features but this is nice and easy for beginners. If you get the pro version, you can get additional advanced features. It’s also worth noting that both the free and paid version is ad free!
gStrings Tuner
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
gStrings Tuner is an old-school option that’s been around for years. It has a dial-style tuner and plenty of options including microphone sensitivity and themes. Like the others, you’ll be able to tune just about any stringed instrument with this as long as you know what you’re doing. It’s another simple option without too many features but you can even tune a piano with this one which is kind of cool.
GuitarTuna
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
GuitarTuna is one of the more flashy options with plenty of features. It boasts “professional” quality tuning with a built-in metronome, a simple interface, and a host of features to help people learn how to play guitar or hone their already budding skills. This is definitely the app to try if you’re a beginner just learning and it’s still alright if you’ve been around for a while.
Pano Tuner
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Pano Tuner is a very simple application with a nice design and a dial-style tuner. The interface looks nice and there are a few under-the-hood features to help you get the tuning right. They include microphone sensitivity settings, adjusting the concert frequency, and support for non-standard tuning. Like others, this app covers pretty much any stringed instrument.
PitchLab Guitar Tuner
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
PitchLab Guitar Tuner is another one with a whole load of features. The interface is all digital with a dial-style tuning and includes multiple virtualization modes. The free version is quite nice but the really good stuff requires an upgrade to the premium version (maximum of $2.99). Those features includes a chord matrix, stage tuner, polyphonic tuner, pitch spectrogram, and many, many more. This is a heavy app with a lot of features for those who need something extra.
Pro Guitar Tuner
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Pro Guitar Tuner aims to be exactly what its name says it is: a tuner for the pros. This is from the makers of the online guitar tuner of the same name. It includes support for many different tuning options, samples of what a properly tuned instrument should sound like, and supports for many stringed instruments. It’s a good option that keeps it simple.
Smart Chords and Tools
[Price: Free with in-app purchases]
Smart Chords and Tools is another tuner app with a whole bunch of features. Along with a tuner that works with most stringed instruments, you’ll find a chord library with over 220 chords, 200 predefined tunings, and different settings based on your guitar playing experience. There is simply a lot of stuff in this application and it’ll take you forever to get through it all. This is great for pretty much anyone who wants something more than a tuner. It likens itself to a playground for musicians. We agree.
Wrap up
If we missed any great guitar tuner apps, let us know in the comments! Also, if you’re so inclined, you can subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get the latest on all Android apps and games!
To see our complete list of Android apps and games lists, click here!
30-second video advertisements are making their way to Instagram
Instagram has been going through a ton of major changes as of late, some positive, some negative. Most recently, the popular photo sharing application gained support for landscape and portrait photo sharing, which was a stark departure from Instagram’s square-only mindset ever since the service launched. Before this update, though, the Instagram team brought 1080 x 1080 photo sharing to the app, making everyone’s feeds look much more crisp and clear.
Today Instagram is getting yet another major update, this time pertaining to advertising. Ads in the app are now available in more than 30 countries – including Italy, Spain, Mexico, India and South Korea – and will launch in markets around the world on Wednesday, September 30th. Video ads have already been available in the app for some time, but with a limit of only 15 seconds. Now advertisements can be up to 30 seconds in length, allowing more businesses to deliver more content to users in a single ad.
There’s also a new premium product for advertisers called Marquee, which Instagram says will help “drive mass awareness and expanded reach in a short time-frame.” This feature will be mostly geared towards movie premieres and new product launches.
These new changes should be rolling out to both Android and iOS applications as we speak.
Samsung Galaxy S7 will be offered with two screen sizes, report says
Don’t look now, but the Samsung Galaxy S7 rumors are sneaking up right behind you. Indeed, we’re barely a few weeks beyond the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and Galaxy Note 5 announcements and already talking about next-gen stuff. Yes, it’s time to look to 2016 and the presumed Galaxy S7 models.
According to sources close to SamMobile, the Galaxy S7 will be offered in two display sizes. If accurate, the smaller model will have a 5.2-inch screen while the larger one offers up 5.8-inches of display. Reportedly, the Galaxy S7 could feature an UHD display at 4K resolution, but it’s not certain whether this would be for just the bigger one or both.
It makes sense that Samsung might want to follow the path set forth with the Galaxy S6. Specifically, giving customers the option between a standard size and a Plus model, too. This, conceivably, opens the door to Edge variants of both sizesas well.
Other details already tumbling about in the rumor mill for this device include two processor options: Samsung Exynos and Qualcomm Snapdragon.
As to when we’ll see the Galaxy S7 remains uncertain, but we’re guessing it’s some time in early spring. Historically, Samsung has launched its flagship device around Mobile World Congress and IFA; however it seems to be speeding up the pace a bit.
Given Samsung may have turned to using the Agile developmental system, it could cut the time by another 1-2 months. Either way, it’s still really early in the game and there’s plenty of time for things to change.
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Verizon’s XXL data tier offers 18GB shareable data
Limited time promotional rate runs $100 per month
Verizon has a new rate plan for customers who need to share a lot of data each month. By a lot, we mean 18GB of 4G LTE data.
Available starting today, and for a limited time only, Verizon’s new XXL plan lets customers share that much high speed internet access across multiple (up to 10) devices. Priced at $100 per month, it’s only $20 more than the XL plan yet offers twice the data.
Keep in mind that, in addition to the $100, you’ll still have to pay a monthly access fee per device. Smartphones run $20 per month; tablet and Jetpacks are $10 each, and smart watches run $5 per month.
As of now there are five rate plans to choose from:
- Small: $30/month for 1GB of shareable data
- Medium: $45/month for 3GB of shareable data
- Large: $60/month for 6GB of shareable data
- X-Large: $80/month for 12GB of shareable data
- XX-Large: $100/month for 18GB of sharable data
According to Verizon, the carrier will soon be changing its billing to a more simple structure. The aim is to provide customers an easier way of understanding charges.
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TextSecure: a privacy-oriented, text messaging client (App review)
There is a vast selection of text messengers on Google Play. However, not all of them are as privacy-oriented as the one for today’s review. TextSecure is able to encrypt messages, so long as each person involved in the conversation uses the client.
For those of you who already have a text messenger, switching to another one could be a tall order, I understand. That’s especially true when you and the other person need to use TextSecure in order to get the full benefits. For now, let’s examine the app and see if it is worth your consideration.
Setup
Setup is quick and simple. Head over to Google Play and download and install the app.
When you open TextSecure, it will ask for you for your phone number, so that it can be registered for an identity key. This will send an SMS to your device for confirmation.
Functions and Features
At first glance, TextSecure behaves like other text messengers.
You can start a new conversation by clicking the icon at the bottom right.
Speaking of conversations, you’ll easily know that your connection to another person is encrypted when a lock icon appears underneath both your messages.
Click the lock at the top right in order to view everyone’s identity keys or to end the secure session. The lock indicates you are messaging someone who is using the app, by the way.
From the main screen, use the search button at the top right to look up existing conversations of your contacts.
Located next to this is a menu icon. Within it, you can create a group chat, mark all conversations as read, import and export conversations, view your identity key, and go to settings.
There are settings for SMS and MMS, notifications, privacy, appearance, deleting old messages, and advanced settings.
Most of these are quite standard, like WiFi calling compatibility mode, a selection of visual and auditory notifications, and a light and a dark theme.
One of the most noteworthy features of TextSecure is the privacy settings.
You can create a password for messages, which can be changed at anytime. Set a time interval if you don’t want to enter in your password each time you bring the app to the foreground.
Interestingly, screenshots can be blocked in the app, as well.
Lastly, under advanced, you will find an option called “TextSecure messages.” Enabling this option allows for free private messaging to TextSecure and Signal (the iOS counterpart) users.
What we liked
- Simple, modern design
- The ability to change the accent color for contacts
- Using a passphrase to lock the app
- Optional, secure text sessions for TextSecure users
- Optional, private (group) IMs for TextSecure users
- Choice between a light theme and a dark theme
What we don’t like
- Nothing
Depending on what you want from a text messenger, TextSecure may not be the best. By that, I mean it does not have the most extensive customization, for example. You won’t be able to make an image the background of a thread or change the fonts of each individual thread. Although you can change the accent color of each conversation, I’d consider other options should you want customization.
On the other hand, TextSecure caters to a privacy-oriented niche, one which it does really well. Users who prefer this may also like the fact that it is open source. Sure, you and your friends and family will need to switch in order take advantage of its features, and for a lot of people, that’s not worth it. However, if you want an option to keep your texts encrypted, TextSecure is one of a few, great options at the moment.
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Verizon will begin testing its 5G network in 2016
Data speeds could be 50 times faster than today’s averages
Barely six years after launching its 4G LTE network, Verizon plans to start field-testing its next-generation high speed data service. Dubbed, for lack of a better term, 5G, it could deliver speeds of 30-50 times faster than what you’ll find today.
To put things into perspective, a movie download from Google Play might take around six minutes on a good connection today. On 5G, however, it could be delivered in a matter of seconds.
“We feel a tremendous sense of urgency to push forward on 5G and mobilize the ecosystem by collaborating with industry leaders and developers to usher in a new generation of innovation.“
This is not to suggest that 5G will only be used for movies, music, and TV; the medical field could benefit from a more real-time interaction for relay surgeries. Also, consider how much more efficient it would be to connect and interact with your smart devices. Tapping a button on your phone to turn off lights at home should be instantaneous, right?
Verizon is currently sandbox testing the new network in at least two locations: Waltham, Massachusetts, and San Francisco. Looking ahead to 2016, Big Red plans to expand things with help from partners such as Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung.
Up until now, the general consensus was that 5G networks might still be another five years away, perhaps even longer. Should Verizon pull this off quickly it could put pressure on the other carriers. Nobody wants to be using yesterday’s technology.
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AIVAnet 