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Engadget's tablet buyer's guide: winter 2014 edition
The tablet landscape is changing rapidly. It's now relatively trivial to find a cheap, full-featured Windows slate, and we've seen a number of smaller models that still manage to pack plenty of power. In light of those shifts, our tablet buyer's guide looks very different this winter. Dell and Nokia are on the list for the first time, and Windows tablets sit shoulder-to-shoulder with their mobile OS rivals. We've even brought back an older Nook that's received a new lease on life thanks to updated software and a significant price cut. Whether you're looking for a productivity machine or just something to watch movies on, we've got a tablet that should fit the bill.
Apple reports record iPhone and iPad sales with fiscal Q1 2014 results
Apple's earnings are in, and as expected the company got a nice boost in sales over the holidays. We're talking 51 million iPhones sold -- an all-time quarterly record -- up from 47.8 million during the same quarter last year. It's unclear just how the iPhone sales break down between the iPhone 5c and 5s models, as Apple didn't offer those numbers. iPad sales reached a record quarterly high as well, at 26 million up from 22.9 million during the same year-ago quarter. Profit, meanwhile, comes in at $13.1 billion, showing no change year-over-year. Mac sales are also up; with a jump to 4.8 million from 4.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Also record-setting was Cupertino's reported quarterly revenue of $57.6 billion. Apple's board of directors has also announced that shareholders will receive a $3.05 cash dividend per share early next month. If Apple took a huge hit anywhere, though, it's with iPods. Year-over-year sales are down a whopping 52 percent, with revenue down 55 percent. Those figures suggest that the more expensive iPod models took the hardest hit. That ugly stat aside, there are plenty of positive numbers this time around. As always, we'll be listening in on Apple's earnings conference call, so stay tuned.
IRL: the iPad Air
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. By now, we've written nearly everything there is to say about the iPad Air, but that doesn't mean we can't revisit it here in "IRL." In particular, our own Jon Fingas bought one to see if it was lighter and faster than his third-gen model. Surprise: it is.
Kensington KeyFolio Pro keyboard folio for iPad Air
Another keyboard folio has just appeared for the iPad Air, this time from longtime accessory manufacturer Kensington. The KeyFolio Pro keyboard folio for iPad Air (US$99.99) is perfect for the person who wants both protection and a keyboard for the iPad Air, as well as a budget price. We'll take a quick look in this review, and then a reader has the opportunity to win a KeyFolio Pro for iPad Air from TUAW and Kensington. Design My first reaction after picking up the box that the KeyFolio Pro is in was "wow, this thing is heavy." That's because Kensington has a bunch of different iPad Air keyboard folios in the mix -- there's the KeyCover Hard Shell and Hard Case Keyboards for iPad Air at the low end ($79.99 each), the KeyCover Hard Case Keyboard, the KeyFolio Executive Zipper Folio, and KeyFolio Pro at $99.99 each, the KeyFolio Executive Plus Zipper Folio and KeyFolio Pro Plus at $119.99 each, the KeyFolio Exact Thin at $129.99, and the KeyFolio Exact-Plus Thin at $149.99. Why the company has decided to inundate the market with nine different keyboard folios is totally confusing, and I think consumers will find it confusing as well. I'd rather see an entry level and "executive level" keyboard folio, not a perplexing range of subtly differentiated products. Well, enough of my griping about Kensington's propensity to flood the market -- let's look at the KeyFolio Pro. It's a rather nondescript black faux leather folio with a removable Bluetooth keyboard that's held into place with some strong magnets. The 1 lb., 4.5 oz. (581 grams) KeyFolio Pro is much heavier than Belkin's Ultimate Keyboard for iPad Air, which weights in at 14.6 oz. (413 grams) and even more weighty than Belkin's Slim Style Keyboard for iPad Air which resembles the KeyFolio Pro but is 3.5 oz. (99 grams) lighter. There's a magnetic closure that is supposed to keep the folio closed; in reality, the magnet is quite weak and flopped open easily. There are also a series of magnets that work with the iPad Air side of the folio to let it adjust to a number of varying angles, particularly when the keyboard is removed. The iPad Air is held in place by a slim bezel of the same faux leather, with cutouts for buttons, speakers, and ports. Functionality There are two things that recommend the Kensington KeyFolio Pro for iPad Air -- the keyboard itself and the adjustability of the display angle. The keyboard is, unlike the Belkin keyboards, a completely standard keyboard layout. That means that you can type quickly without fear of hitting the wrong keys, which was a constant battle with the Belkin layout. There's a top row of iPad "function" keys above the number keys, quite useful for controlling music playback, Siri, or bringing up the virtual keyboard on the screen. For charging, the KeyFolio Pro uses an included USB to micro-USB cable. For initial pairing of the device, Kensington uses the "old" method of pressing a pairing button, then having you type in a code displayed on the iPad Air screen onto the keyboard. This seems to indicate that the KeyFolio Pro is using an older version of Bluetooth and not the Bluetooth 4 LE standard used on many new keyboards. With those keyboards, pairing is much easier to accomplish. The feel of the keyboard is quite nice, and it's possible to really speed type on this thing without fingers going to misplaced keys. I also liked the ability to remove the keyboard from the folio and place it elsewhere on a table with the iPad Air further away. There is apparently a backlit version of this keyboard folio (yet another SKU?), so if you need to type in the dark you may wish to search for that version. As an incentive, Kensington is also offering 65 GB of Google Drive storage for one year when you purchase the KeyFolio Pro for iPad Air. Conclusion Kensington's KeyFolio Pro for iPad Air is the first of the confusingly large array of keyboard folios that the company has shipped. It's a rather plain-Jane keyboard folio, although the keyboard has a great feel and a standard layout that make typing a breeze. Pros Excellent removable keyboard with a standard layout Magnets allow the iPad Air to be adjusted to a range of viewing angles Relatively inexpensive at $100 Built-in stylus loop (stylus not included, only thin styluses will fit) Cons Heavier than competing keyboard folios Rather plain looking Magnetic closure doesn't work all that well Who is it for? Anyone who wants a keyboard folio that does one thing very well -- providing a fast and well-designed keyboard for an iPad Air Giveaway Have an iPad Air? Need a keyboard folio for it? We've got one for you, thanks to Kensington. Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before November 16, 2013 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time. You may enter only once. One winner will be selected and will receive a Kensington KeyFolio Pro for iPad Air valued at $99.99 Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
Target previews Black Friday promotion with great deals on iPads and iPhones
Target on Monday posted to its website a preview of the Black Friday promotions it'll be running from November 28 through November 30. If you scroll through to page five, you'll see a number of really incredible deals on a range of Apple products. Here's what holiday shoppers will have to look forward to. First, the base model iPad Air will retail for US$479, a respectable $20 discount from its usual retail price. But what's really cool is that any purchase of a full-sized iPad (sorry iPad Mini fans) will also come with a $100 Target gift card. That essentially works out to an iPad Air for just $379, an absolutely incredible deal. Second, 16 GB models of the iPhone 5s will also be discounted by $20 and will be available for $179. iPhone 5s buyers will receive a $30 Target gift card. Not too shabby. Third, the original iPad Mini will sell for $299 and will come with a pretty solid $75 Target gift card. Fourth, Apple's favorite hobby -- the Apple TV -- will be available for $89, a $10 discount off the typical retail price. The Apple TV will not come with any gift cards. Fifth, you might have forgotten that Apple still sells iPods. Well, they mostly sell the iPod touch, but that's an entirely different topic. Getting down to business, Apple's 16 GB fifth-gen iPod Touch will sell for $229. That's not a discounted price, but iPod touch buyers will receive a $50 Target gift card. And last but not least, Black Friday shoppers at Target will be able to pick up $60 worth of iTunes gift cards for just $50. Each deal notes that quantities are limited, so if any of the above deals are attractive enough to catch your attention, you might find yourself waiting in line come Thanksgiving night.
This week on gdgt: iPad Air, Sculpt Comfort Mouse and Everpix alternatives
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their most recent picks and discussions. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt's newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
TUAW TV Live: We love us some iPad Airs
Being the spoiled techno-brats that we are, Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd and I just had to go out last Friday and pick up new iPad Airs. Tweets we swapped over the weekend show that both of us are amazed with Apple's latest device, which not only boasts significant speed improvements and lighter weight, but also seems to have better battery life. On today's TUAW TV Live, we'll be talking about the new tablets and how much we love them, as well as go through our list of what we considered to be the essential apps to load onto the new devices. Our App Editor Kelly Hodgkins worked up a list of the first five apps she installed on her new iPad Air, and it should be enlightening -- if not just downright fun -- to see what Doc and I installed on our skinny little iPads. To join in to watch the live feed and participate in the chat, just click here. You'll join us on the AOL On Network. If you can't watch the entire show today, come back to this page within 24 hours to see the latest video below. Past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel.
iPad Air reportedly cheaper to build than previous models
The iPad Air debuted last week to glowing reviews. Thankfully, and in stark contrast to the iPhone 5s, iPad Air supply was reportedly plentiful throughout the weekend. With Apple's most recent and incredibly thin tablet now out in the wild, the research firm IHS decided to pry one open and take a closer look at the components that make up Apple's flagship iPad. AllThingsD was able to obtain a copy of IHS' report and relays that the iPad Air, on the whole, is comprised of cheaper components than the third-gen iPad (the most recent iPad model IHS conducted a teardown analysis on). Specifically, the bill of materials on the base-model iPad Air checks in at US$274, compared to $306 for the base-model third-gen iPad. All told, that's a $42 reduction in cost on the $499 device. That's not to say, however, that every component within the iPad Air is less expensive. IHS, for example, found that the display used on the iPad Air is a tad more costly than its predecessor. Andrew Rassweiler of IHS also relayed some device changes that aren't so apparent to the naked eye. For the touchscreen bit, there's a new type of sensor known as a cycle-olefin polymer(COP) sensor that sits underneath the outer layer of Gorilla Glass that users touch. What used to require two layers of glass, Rassweiler says, now requires only one. As a result, the whole assembly measures out to 1.8 millimeters thick, versus 2.23 millimeters on the third-generation model. Also of note is that the iPad Air employs fewer LED lights for backlighting purposes. Whereas the third-gen iPad employed 84 LED lights, the iPad Air only uses 36. If you'd like the full breakdown of the components used in the iPad Air, head on over to AllThingsD for the full rundown.
Target's trading $200 gift cards for any working iPad, even first generation tablets
Still kicking around a first generation iPad? Quit it. That tablet is bulky, old and four generations out of date. We know, new hardware is expensive - but Target is making it pretty hard not to upgrade. Until November 9th, the big box retailer is offering $200 in store credit for any iPad, regardless of generation. The trade needs to happen at a brick and mortar location, but the other caveats aren't too heavy: as long as the iPad works, powers on and isn't marred by a scratched or broken screen, you're good to go. A successful trade will still leave you $299 shy of Apple's new iPad Air, but it drops the non-retina iPad Mini's price tag down to a cool $99. If that doesn't appeal, the credit can be used on virtually any item in the store. After all, tablet computing isn't for everybody.
Daily Update for November 4, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
iPad Air manages 24 hours of battery life as LTE hotspot
One of the unsung uses of the iPad is as a personal LTE hotspot. It's rather easy to set up the device as a hotspot for a MacBook if you need to work away from WiFi, although you'll need to keep an eye on your data usage. Last year, Anand Lal Shimpi at Anandtech discovered that an LTE iPad 3 could work as a wireless hotspot for 25.28 hours, downloading data at 50 KB/s. Shimpi repeated his test with the new iPad Air and discovered that even despite having a much smaller battery, the iPad Air can run for 24.08 hours as a hotspot at twice the throughput rate (100 KB/s). The iPad Air battery is quite a bit smaller due to the slim profile of the device -- it's a 32.4 Wh battery compared with the 42.5 Wh battery built into the third-generation iPad. As Shimpi points out, both the A7 system-on-a-chip and the Qualcomm MDM9615M modem in the iPad Air use a 28nm LP process that sips power. Shimpi's test was to set the iPad Air up as a personal hotspot, using WiFi tethering to connect it to a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. He started the 100 KB/s transfer -- twice the data rate of the earlier test -- and turned the iPad Air's display off. After a day and 8 GB of data transfers, the iPad Air ran out of juice. As Shimpi notes, "you'll likely burn through your monthly data allotment before you run out of power."
Five apps for the iPad Air: the first apps I installed on Apple's latest tablet
Sales of the iPad Air kicked off this weekend and I, like many others, grabbed one of Apple's latest tablets. Coming from an iPad mini, I couldn't wait to try out the new A7 processor in the full-size tablet. As soon as I unwrapped the device, I picked five of my favorite apps and gave the processor a thorough workout. Unlike the iPad fourth generation, which got a little warm from my nonstop playing, the iPad Air cruised along without a hitch. Enough of the jabber, here are the first five apps I installed on the iPad Air. iMovie [iOS Universal; US$4.99 (free with new device purchase)] iMovie is included for free with all new iPads and there is a good reason why Apple bundled this software with the new Air -- its performance is perfectly smooth on the Air. Asphalt 8 [iOS Universal; $0.99] Asphalt 8 just sings on the iPad Air -- responsive performance, fast transitions between races and no hesitations. Infinity Blade 3 [iOS Universal; $6.99] I'm not much of an Infinity Blade fan, but I always check it out when I get a new device as I consider it to be the gold standard for game playing and graphics performance on iOS. Google Earth [iOS Universal; Free] Google Earth is one of those apps I always install as I enjoy browsing the 3D landscapes. As with the other apps, Google Earth was a great experience on the Air. Snapseed [iOS Universal; Free] Snapseed may not be the most taxing of apps, but it is one I use in my free time to spiffy up the photos I take with my iPhone.
iPad Air quite popular in first weekend of sales
During the debut of iOS 7, OS X Mavericks and the iPhone 5s and 5c, we regaled TUAW readers with facts and figures on the relative adoption rate of each new Apple product compared to previous products. The numbers came from two sources: Chitika Research and Fiksu. The latter company added an iPad Air tracker to the mix over the past weekend, and although the sales numbers are minuscule compared to overall iPad sales, the iPad Air appears to have an adoption rate almost five times that of the fourth-generation iPad. Fiksu's numbers, which are based on impressions on its ad network, show the three-day adoption rate for the iPad Air at 0.73 percent of the entire iPad installed base. By comparison, the iPad 4 was only at 0.15 percent of the installed base after the same amount of time. The iPad mini was a bit higher at launch, at about 0.21 percent of installed base after three days. Only time will tell if the numbers will continue to show higher adoption rates or if the initial surge was due to pent-up demand for a new device.
Talkcast tonight, 10pm ET/7pm PT: iPad Air Edition!
All-new dial-in experience! See below -- do not call into Talkshoe, we won't be there. Be sure to set up Fuze Meeting before the show if you want to join in live. It's Sunday once again, so we return to that long standing tradition, the TUAW talkcast! (Yeah yeah, it's an hour 'earlier' than last week. I know.) This week we have a look at the new iPad Air, as well as a preview of the coming week's events in TUAW land, the MacTech Conference, where you can meet Victor and Kelly, and even hear Kelly speak! Well. Granted it's not revolutionary to hear me speak, but I have a topic this time so you still might want to check it out. Reminder on new-style talkcasting: With some help from the fine folks at Fuze, we're using a new system to record the show. This should let everyone listen in live -- and, if you want, raise your hand as you would in the Talkshoe room to get unmuted and chime in. You can join the call in progress (meeting # is 20099010) at 10 pm ET from any computer via this link; if you download the Mac or Windows Fuze clients ahead of time, you'll get better audio and a slicker experience, but browser-only will work fine. Just click the phone icon to join the audio once you're in. Using an iPhone or iPad? Grab the native clients from the App Store and get busy. (Even Android users can join the party.) Still feel like using the conventional phone dial-in? Just call 775-996-3562 and enter the meeting number 20099010, then press #. While the Fuze web and native clients have a chat channel, we'd like to reserve that for host participants, requests to talk and other real-time alerts... so the full-on chat for the show will appear in this very post at 10 pm tonight. You'll need Twitter, Facebook or Chatroll credentials to participate in the chat. We'll remind everyone to check back in at that time. Your patience and forbearance with our new tech is appreciated in advance. For the time being, the podcast feed of the show will continue to originate from Talkshoe and should be there within 24-36 hours. See you tonight!
Apple-Tracker.com creates online tool for searching iPad Air availability
If you want to save yourself a trip to a nearby Apple Store only to be disappointed because they didn't have the exact model of iPad Air you wanted in stock, you'll want to point your favorite Web browser to Apple-Tracker.com's new iPad Air search tool. It's very easy to use: just select the color and carrier you desire, type in your zip code, and press the big blue button. Within seconds, you'll see with a glance if your local Apple Store has that specific model available, and in what storage capacities. A green box with white checkmark indicates that it's currently available, while a red box with a black X says that you'll need to wait a while. At this point, the tool seems to indicate that the 128 GB iPad Air models are in short supply at many Apple Stores across the USA. However, if you're willing to drive a bit to get to another nearby store you might just get that "loaded" iPad Air you're dreaming of.
Daily Roundup: Interview with Oculus Rift, G Pad 8.3 review, iPad Air teardown and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Update for November 1, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
iPad Air: Unboxing, first impressions and benchmarks
Today's the first day of availability for the new iPad Air, and after totally forgetting to order it online at 1 AM MT, I got onto the online Apple Store at around 7:30 AM to order one. After confirming that the model I wanted -- 32 GB, silver, AT&T -- was in stock at the Aspen Grove Apple Store in Littleton, CO, I pushed the button. I picked it up at around 11:30 AM, and was in and out of the store in about five minutes. I'm one of those sick individuals who tends to hold onto the old boxes for my Apple products, so I was able to do a quick size comparison with the 3rd-generation iPad and iPad mini. The box was the same height and thickness as that of the iPad, but not as wide. With that silliness out of the way, it was time to grab the scissors and actually open the box: I apologize for the video quality, but I get sooo excited with a new iPad. Some people like new cars, some people get excited about new clothes, I love new tech. It's when you first get your hands on the iPad Air that you realize just how good a job Apple did at trimming the weight. It weighs only about 6 ounces more than an iPad mini, as you'll see in the weigh-in pictures in the slideshow below. I found the display on the iPad Air to be slightly brighter than that of the 17-month-old 3rd-generation iPad at the same brightness setting, and it had a slightly warmer tint to it. There's a side-by-side image in the slideshow that demonstrates this. In terms of speed, the Air seems to be quite snappy. "Snappy" isn't a good quantitative unit of measure, so I installed Geekbench 3 on all three iPads to get a much better picture of exactly how fast they all are: Geekbench Score Comparison SIngle-Core Score Multi-Core Score iPad Air 1469 2675 iPad (3rd-Gen.) 262 494 iPad mini (1st-Gen.) 259 468 Yes, the iPad Air is FAST. All apps except Geekbench were shut down and the devices were restarted before running the benchmark. The device specs are as follows: Device Specifications Model iPad Air iPad (3rd-Gen.) iPad mini (1st-Gen.) OS Version 7.0.3 7.0.3 7.0.3 Processor A7 @ 1.39 GHz A5X @ 1.00 GHz A5 @ 1.00 GHz RAM 976 MB 988 MB 503 MB Storage 32 GB 32 GB 16 GB All in all, my initial impressions of the iPad Air are very favorable. I hope to do some additional tests in the near future for publication here on TUAW.
iPad Air upgrade comparison chart
Now that the iPad Air is available, current iPad owners may be looking at their iPad 2/3/4 and wondering if they should upgrade to Apple's latest tablet device. To help in this decision, Bryan Chaffin of The Mac Observer has put together a wonderful cheat sheet that lists the hardware specs for Apple's older iPad models as well as the iPad Air. If technical details are not enough, Mac Observer also adds their own commentary on the different models. This discussion part of the post focuses on key features like size, weight and so on. If you are struggling with an upgrade decision, you definitely should take some time to pore over The Mac Observer post before you make your final decision.
iPad trade-in numbers more than double since 2012
Today sales of the iPad Air began at Apple (and other) retail stores around the world. If trade-in numbers at Gazelle and Nextworth are any indication, many of those who are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new device will be happily trading in their older iPads to help pay for the new equipment. Anthony Scarsella, the "chief gadget officer" at Boston-based Gazelle told Computerworld that trade-in quotes for iPads were up 130 percent over October 2012. The numbers are almost identical at Billerica, Mass.-based NextWorth, where Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Trachsel reported that quote volume is up 127 percent. Both of the trade-in companies cited the redesign of the iPad Air for the increased interest in turning in older iPads for cash. The new device is 20 percent thinner and 29 percent lighter than the fourth-generation iPad, catching the eye of consumers who may have held onto first- and second-generation devices until now. What's the most popular device people are turning into cash? The third-generation iPad. Nextworth says those accounted for 35 percent of all iPad quotes in October, while Gazelle says they're about 31 percent of their total iPad quotes for last month. iPad mini quotes are relatively flat, primarily because users appear to be waiting for the device to ship later this month before deciding whether or not to make a trade-in. Are you trading in an old device this month to help pay for a new one? Let us know in the comments.
