MacRumors

Following yesterday's unboxing video of the new iPad in Vietnam, which has also resulted in benchmarks and sample photos and screenshots from the device surfacing, Hong Kong's PCM Online reports (via Engadget) that it too has gained early access to the new iPad.

ipad 3 ipad 2 still photo comparison
Still photo comparison from new iPad and iPad 2

PCM's device is a white 16 GB 4G model, and the report includes a number of photos and benchmarks of the device comparing it to an iPad 2, as well as a video highlighting a number of features of the device and containing a sample video shot with the new iPad at the end of the clip. The new iPad's video quality from the rear camera is obviously superior to that of the iPad 2, but still suffered from a bit of overexposure in PCM's sample clip.


Benchmarking the graphics performance of the new iPad also showed significant improvement over the iPad 2, with benchmarking tests boosting performance from 90 frames per second (fps) to 140 fps in the GLBenchmark 2.1.1 Egypt offscreen test and from 146 fps to 250 fps in the GLBenchmark 2.1.1 Pro offscreen test. Similar data had previously been uploaded to GLBenchmark's site, although its authenticity has not been confirmed.

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With just two days to go until the launch of the new iPad, third-party retailer partners are apparently beginning to receive their stocks of the device. Engadget shares a photo of what is claimed to be several boxes of the new iPad that have arrived at a Best Buy location in the United States.

ipad 3 best buy stockroom
Meanwhile, another report claims that at least one PC World location in the United Kingdom has received its shipment, with the boxes "stacked up ready to go". For those looking forward to an in-store purchase on launch day in the UK, Pocket-lint claims that PC World may be a solid option with rumors that at least some of the chain's locations will be opening ahead of Apple's official 8:00 AM launch time.

Update: We're also hearing of iPad shipments arriving at John Lewis in the UK and at Target in the United States.

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Last week, we took a look at the compression being employed by Apple with its new 1080p content on the iTunes Store, a feature that has allowed Apple to increase file sizes by only 15-25% compared to 720p even as the number of pixels have more than doubled. A number of commenters were interested in seeing how 1080p iTunes content compares to Blu-ray, and Ars Technica has now returned with a new analysis looking at the relative quality of those two sources.

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Comparison of color and detail in iTunes 1080p (left) and Blu-ray (right) formats

The report offers a number of blown-up comparison shots, finding that the iTunes Store content generally compares fairly well to Blu-ray content, although it does struggle a bit more with bright highlights, scenes with high detail and noise levels, and dark gradients.

I was surprised to see how close the iTunes 1080p download comes to Blu-ray, considering that it's only a fraction of the file size. And let's be honest: there are lots of Blu-ray titles that look much worse than this iTunes download. But despite an impressive effort by Apple, Blu-ray still reigns king when it comes to image quality. And unlike iTunes titles, BRDs can have uncompressed multi-channel audio, multiple audio language options, and special features.

itunes 1080p bluray dark
Comparison of dark gradient handling in iTunes 1080p (top) and Blu-ray (bottom)
(Brightness enhanced for clearer demonstration)

Apple's move to 1080p video content in the iTunes Store is part of a significant shift to higher-resolution offerings, pairing the new new content with movie support for iTunes in the Cloud and new 1080p hardware in the new iPad and Apple TV set to debut on Friday.

Electricpig reports that it has heard from a Mac accessory manufacturer that Apple is planning to launch a 15-inch MacBook Air as soon as April.

And what is coming? If you take our source’s word for it, a 15-inch MacBook Air with ports on both sides, no optical drive and no ethernet cable.

While our source wasn’t certain that this would completely destroy the Pro (he also stated that Apple might hold on to the 17-inch model, which would make sense for the sizeable audience of professional editors out there), he was fairly sure that the shakeup will happen in April. To that end, our source’s company’s got its manufacturers on standby to be able to make and ship a new product lineup inside of 90 days.

The source is reportedly involved in "MacBook docking solutions", and while Apple almost certainly hasn't shared any specific information with the source, he does obviously have a strong interest in acquiring such information and may even have access to sources who could provide estimates of Apple's plans. That said, the source may simply be reiterating a previous rumor that had claimed new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with thinner MacBook Air-like form factors would be launching in April.

macbook air open finger
One other question still remaining is chip availability from Intel. With delays in the launch of the chip manufacturer's new Ivy Bridge platform and uncertainty about whether these thinner MacBook Pro or larger MacBook Air products would run traditional mobile chips as found in the current MacBook Pro or ultra low voltage chips as found in the MacBook Air, it is not entirely clear when chips for the new machines will become available.

Reuters specifically refutes a Bloomberg report from yesterday which claimed Samsung is the sole supplier for the new iPad's Retina display after LG and Sharp failed to meet Apple's quality requirement. According to a Reuters source, LG is indeed providing displays for the device.

Flat screen maker LG Display Co Ltd is supplying touch-screen panels for Apple Inc's new iPad, a source close to the matter said on Wednesday. [...]

"LG is also in a panel supply deal with Samsung for the new iPad," the source said.

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Bloomberg's claim had generated significant interest given the tenuous relationship between Apple and Samsung. Apple relies on Samsung for billions of dollars' worth of components for its products even as it fights a legal battle over Samsung's Android-based hardware.

Update: Dow Jones Newswires offers more detail on the situation, describing Sharp's issues with display production and noting that LG did initially experience delays before meeting Apple's requirements.

When Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) new iPad tablet computers go on sale Friday, they won't be equipped with Sharp Corp.'s (6753.TO) liquid crystal display panels because there has been a delay in the Japanese electronics maker's delivery due to some difficulties in customizing its panels based on Apple's strict requirements, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Sharp, which makes screens for consumer electronics and its Aquos-based LCD TVs, hasn't yet started delivering the panels but it will likely do so as early as this month in an attempt to make the next batch of iPad shipments from Apple, the person, who declined to be named, said.

Sharp originally planned to start delivering the panels to Apple in late December, but it faced a series of difficulties in the process of customizing the panels according to the U.S. company's requirements for the new iPad, the person said.

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Apple today officially announced that the new iPad will launch at 8:00 AM local time on Friday in the United States and nine other countries. The first hints of an 8:00 AM launch surfaced earlier this week with the grand opening time of Apple's new Highland Village retail store in Houston, and the time was essentially confirmed yesterday with a leaked photo of Apple retail store signage announcing the launch time.

Apple today announced the new iPad, the third generation of its category defining mobile device, will arrive at Apple’s retail stores and the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com) on Friday, March 16 at 8:00 a.m. local time in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland and the UK; along with Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Apple also notes that customers purchasing the new iPad will receive free Personal Setup to get their new device up and running, while promoting Personal Pickup options available through the Apple Store app for iOS devices.

ipad 3 hand
Finally, the company confirms that the new iPad will be available from Best Buy, RadioShack, Sam’s Club, Target and Walmart in the United States. Carriers AT&T and Verizon have also announced that they will be offering 4G models of the new iPad beginning with Friday's launch date.

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macupdate bundleA few times a year, MacRumors partners with MacUpdate to promote their Mac application bundle deal.

Their latest bundle delivers at 11 Mac applications for $49.99 (a $377.79 value if all purchased separately). Notably, it includes VMWare Fusion 4 for the first time. Fusion is a popular virtualization tool that allows users to run Windows on their Mac.


The full bundle includes (retail value in parenthesis):

- VMware Fusion 4 ($49.99) - Run Windows on your Mac without rebooting
- Drive Genius 3 ($99.00) - Optimize, repair, test, resize and clean up your Mac
- PDFpen 5 ($59.95) - Edit and add text, images and signatures to PDFs
- ForkLift 2.5 ($29.95) - File manager and FTP client
- Typinator 5 ($33.00) - Text expansion solution
- DesktopShelves 2 ($14.99) - Display folders as desktop shelves
- Snapheal ($14.99) - Professional-quality image enhancement utility
- Boom ($10.99) - Boost audio output for your entire system
- Phone to Mac ($24.95) - Copy media from an iOS device to your Mac
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition ($29.99) - Action game in the Star Wars Universe
- Worms Special Edition ($9.99) - Classic turn-based strategy game

All apps together are being sold for $49.99 until March 28th.

MacRumors is a promotional partner with MacUpdate. Bundle sales through these links benefit MacRumors financially, and provide a way for readers to directly support this site.

Update: Bundle extended until but now without VMWare, includes Drive Genius 3 instead.

Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn has been spending some more time with the 3rd Generation iPad in their possession.

They took some screenshots of the native apps that come bundled with the new iPad that support its new Retina screen. This is a screenshot from iPhoto (click for full size):

IMG 0069
The sizes of these Retina-enabled apps appear to be about 2.5-3x the size of their original counterparts.

These applications are developed by Apple has been upgraded to support the Retina screen, for example with Keynote (iWork software sets), this application previously only 115MB capacity but its latest version is 327MB. Numbers from 109MB or 283MB up to, from 95MB to 269MB Pages, iMovie from 70MB to 404MB.

Existing iPad apps are automatically pixel-doubled to take up the full screen on the new iPad, but appear noticeably less sharp than native Retina graphics.

In a separate post, they took a number of sample photos using the new iPad's 5-megapixel camera. This represents a significant upgrade from the iPad 2's 1-megapixel camera. One sample shot is included here (click for full size):

6832536354 e806fe06cc o
The 3rd Generation iPad is officially launching on March 16th at retail stores. The bulk of the pre-orders should also be arriving in customers hands on that day.

f1logoFormula One's official timing apps have launched just ahead of the first race of the 2012 season, taking place this weekend in Australia.

The full-priced app, F1 2012 Timing App CP, written by Formula One partner Soft Pauer, offers live timing, tire data, race control messages, track positioning and more in real-time for the entire Grand Prix weekend, across Practice, Qualifying and the race itself.

The app is $28.99 in the US, £19.99 in the UK. It does not include any live audio or video race feeds.

f1screen
The free "lite" version skips the live timing and other real-time features in favor of news feeds from Formula One.com, session results, a race calendar, and event countdowns and notifications when a session or race begins.

The lite version of the F1 2012 Timing App is free on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]

The live timing-equipped F1 2012 Timing App CP is available for $28.99. [Direct Link]

googlelogoBloomberg reports that antitrust investigators with the Federal Trade Commission have issued a subpoena to Apple requesting information on the company's deal to make Google the default search engine on iOS. Google has been reported to have paid Apple $1 billion last year in the iOS search deal, and the subpoena is part of an ongoing antitrust investigation of Google over its actions to lock up search engine traffic.

The agency’s request for documents includes the agreements that made Google the preferred search engine on Apple’s mobile devices, said the people, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly and declined to be identified. Google rivals such as Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) have criticized these agreements as anticompetitive.

The subpoena indicates the FTC is intensifying its scrutiny of Google’s business practices. Details of the Apple-Google relationship may show whether Google is abusing its dominance of Internet search to boost revenue in the mobile phone advertising market, said Allen Grunes, an antitrust lawyer at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP in Washington.

The investigation is also looking more broadly at how Google's advertising rates and search results may be being manipulated to give Google an unfair advantage in the marketplace.

With Android and iOS now together holding the vast majority of smartphone market share, Google's search engine possesses a dominating position in the rapidly-growing mobile search space. With mobile search expected to pass desktop search within the next few years, Google's dominance and its tie-ins to its own advertising services are garnering significant attention from regulators.

nvidia logoFollowing reports from late last year indicating that Apple would be switching back to NVIDIA for graphics chips in its next MacBook Pro update, SemiAccurate now reports that NVIDIA's issues with GPU production are apparently leading Apple to rely more heavily on Intel's integrated graphics.

Apple has reportedly been ordering beefed-up integrated graphics from Intel on its Ivy Bridge platform, a development the report claims would be pointless if the chipsets were to be paired with discrete graphics chips from NVIDIA.

Apple upped their SKUs from parts bearing awful Intel GPUs to variants with more of those awful shaders. Since those Ivy Bridge CPUs are going in to laptops that have a GPU, upping the shader count from 6 to 16 should be a waste, they will never be turned on.

If they are going to be turned on, that would mean that the discrete GPU in those machines is either going to be much higher spec’d, or it won’t be there.

With NVIDIA struggling to produce even lower-end Kepler graphics chips, the report suggests that the latter option is more likely and expects that Apple may be bumping integrated-only graphics into the mid-range of its notebook lines. Integrated-only graphics have typically been reserved for Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pro form factor, which lacks the space necessary to also house a dedicated graphics chip.

Our analysis indicates that the lower end MacBooks will simply do without a GPU, the higher end parts will remain unchanged, and the middle ground will have some models with and some without a GPU instead of almost all with a discrete Nvidia GPU. Those without will make a much larger portion of the mix than they would have at this time last month, if there were any at all.

One other factor that may also be at play is rumors of a significant redesign of the MacBook Pro to yield a form factor more in line with that of the popular MacBook Air. A slimming down of the chassis may see Apple seeking to reduce size and power consumption in certain areas, requirements that may result in the company bringing lower-powered CPU and graphics options to its mid-range machines than might have otherwise been seen.

Cabinet Ministers in the United Arab Emirates have been issued iPads as part of an e-briefcase initiative to streamline cabinet communications and operations. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, prime minister of the UAE, tweeted this photograph of three ministers using iPads at a cabinet meeting.

uaeministers560

We also launched the “Minister e-briefcase” for cabinet members. We want to automate all cabinet processes and operations. The goal is to achieve speed and flexibility in decision making. Ministers were given iPad devices. I received one too.

The iPads should allow ministers to maintain better communication with their federal ministries, and reduce the amount of paper they must carry.

Via Obama Pacman

camerapluslogoCamera+, the top-selling non-game app for the iPhone, has received a major update adding a number of new features.

The app, which has sold more than 7 million copies, is a full-featured replacement for the standard Camera app that comes with the iPhone. It includes a plethora of options for editing and sharing pictures, as well as a variety of different shooting modes. Amongst the new features:

- Dramatically improved sharing

There are two main improvements here… The first is that you can now share to multiple services, or even multiple accounts on the same service, all at the same time. The second big thing that you’ll notice with sharing is the increase in speed. It’s now faster than ever to share your photos online.

- Workflows

Sometimes you want to shoot a bunch of pics in a row without having to think about things like editing and sharing. And sometimes you want to do just the opposite and edit and share each pic you take, right after you take it. Workflows easily provide you with the flexibility to do it either way.

- Focus & exposure locks

Now you can lock the focus and exposure of the camera, independently of each other. Photographers looking for the utmost flexibility in shooting will love this new feature because it enables all kinds of creative ways of taking awesome shots.

- APIs

We’ve created a few comprehensive APIs for Camera+. These APIs enable people to integrate Camera+ into other apps and to create web services that make use of the many, many photos that have been shared by Camera+ users.

Several prominent developers have already integrated Camera+ into their apps via these new APIs. Check-out the WordPress, Tweetbot, Twitterrific, Foodspotting, and Twittelator Neue apps in the App Store to see these APIs in action.

And to get all the details on how the APIs work, visit api.camerapl.us

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The update is free for current Camera+ owners or it is currently on sale for $0.99. [Direct Link]

In a report from The Korea Times (via SlashGear), an anonymous Samsung executive reveals that Apple has committed to purchase at least $9.7 billion worth of components from the company this year, with Apple's expenditures potentially reaching $11 billion depending on demand. According to the executive, growth will be driven in part by the new iPad, as well as more MacBook Air units utilizing Samsung solid-state drives and a smaller iPad.

''The contract is expected to rise to $11 billion by the end of this year as Apple is planning to release a smaller iPad, probably with a 7.85-inch screen, and to sell more of its MacBook Air PCs using Samsung's faster solid state drive (SSD) storage,'' the official said.

Apple CEO Tim Cook agreed with Samsung Electronics Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lee Jay-yong to use the Korean firm's components until the end of 2014 during Lee's visit to his office in Cupertino, Calif., late last year.

Apple reportedly contracted for $7.8 billion in components from Samsung in 2011, with the numbers for this year revealing yet another substantial increase as Apple's device shipments continue to rise.


The report also quotes a source who claims that Samsung will be providing new PLS-based LCDs for the smaller iPad, while Apple has also expressed interest in OLED technology. The source claims that Apple would like to use OLED and that Samsung is committed to bringing the technology to iOS devices, but that Apple does not currently see a way for Samsung to produce the required screens at necessary levels.

Reports of a 7.85-inch "iPad mini" have been circulating for some time, and it seems reasonable to conclude that Apple has at least been toying with the concept. There has yet to be any firm evidence, however, that the company is seeking to move forward toward a public release.

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Bloomberg reports on comments from IHS iSuppli analyst Vinita Jakhanwal claiming that Samsung is currently serving as the sole supplier of the ultra-high resolution Retina display in the new iPad. Previous reports had indicated the Sharp and LG would also be supplying displays for the device.

Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) will supply the touch screen for Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s new iPad after LG Display Co. (034220) and Sharp Corp. (6753) didn’t meet the U.S. company’s quality requirements, according to an analyst with iSuppli.

Samsung, the world’s top flat-panel maker, currently is the sole vendor of the display for the 9.7-inch device, said Vinita Jakhanwal, a senior manager at iSuppli, a unit of Englewood, Colorado-based IHS Inc.

Sharp's role in the new Retina iPad display has been particularly murky, with some sources claiming that the company was responsible for a new design intended for the display and that it would be a key manufacturing partner for Apple. Rumors of Sharp failing to meet Apple's quality control standards surfaced in January, although a photo of a leaked display from Sharp surfaced a few weeks later. Another report from last month similarly suggested that Sharp was not a part of Apple's supply chain for the new iPad display, despite having designed the component.

apple samsung logos
Apple and Samsung have a complicated relationship given the fact that Samsung provides a substantial number of components for Apple's iOS devices even as it competes with Apple through its own Android-based hardware. Apple has reportedly been seeking to reduce its reliance on Samsung in light of the competition between the two companies, but market forces and technical considerations clearly trump that desire, and Apple is continuing to use Samsung when it is Apple's best option for a particular component.

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ipad 3 boxResearch firm IDC today released its data on tablet shipments for the fourth quarter of 2011, pegging Apple at 54.7% of the market. Apple's share is down from 61.5% in the previous quarter, with the decline due in large part to a relatively strong debut for Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire tablet, which garnered 16.8% of the market.

"Amazon's widely-reported entry into the media tablet market with a $199, 7-inch product seemed to raise consumers' awareness of the category worldwide despite the fact that the Fire shipped almost exclusively in the U.S. in the fourth quarter," said Tom Mainelli, research director, Mobile Connected Devices. "As a result, products across the pricing spectrum sold well, including everything from Apple's premium-priced iPads (which start at $499) to Pandigital's line of Android-based, entry-level tablets (which start at $120). The success of market leader Apple was particularly noteworthy, as the company's shipment total for the quarter represents an increase of 110.5% from 4Q10."

On the strength of the Kindle Fire, Android has seen its share of the tablet market rise from 32.3% to 44.6%, giving iOS and Android 99.3% of the market. Research in Motion's BlackBerry operating system holds the remaining 0.7% of the market, while HP's webOS has disappeared from the market following the company's discontinuation of its TouchPad.

IDC predicts that Android as a whole will overtake iOS in market share by 2015, but Apple's single-vendor strategy will see the company maintain its dominance in revenue through the end of the 2016 forecast period and beyond.

IDC's data measures shipments into the sales channel and not sales to end users, meaning that its data includes units sitting on store shelves that are not being purchased by customers. Given that Apple has repeatedly noted that it is selling every iPad it can make and other vendors have had difficulty moving their products off of store shelves, Apple has generally been regarded as having a higher end-user market share than suggested by IDC's numbers. But with the apparent success of the Kindle Fire, that disparity in shipments versus sales may be shrinking somewhat.

Related Roundup: iPad
Tag: IDC
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With the launch of iPhoto for iOS last Wednesday, it was quickly noted that the app was not using Google Maps for much of its mapping data, and it was soon revealed that Apple was using data from OpenStreetMap and other sources in the application.

Google Maps has had a prominent presence on the iPhone since its initial launch in 2007, but strained relationships between Google and Apple have seen Apple expressing interest in developing its own mapping solutions. Toward that end, Apple has acquired several mapping companies in recent years in order to beef up its expertise in the area.

ipad retina side by side
Side-by-side comparisons of iPad displays using iBooks, iPhoto, and Mail

AppleInsider now points to an interesting omission on Apple's promotional pages for the new iPad, with a set of images comparing the device's Retina display with the display of the iPad 2 having specifically omitted a comparison of Google Maps even though the comparison images are posted on Apple's servers.

Viewing the file names of the "Retina Gallery" images shows that they are identified with numbers. AppleInsider reader Pierre-Arnaud pointed out on Tuesday that the iBooks images are labeled as "1" and screenshots of "Photos" are "2," but the images of the Mail application are saved with the "retina_gallery_4" filename.

That means the JPG files labeled "3" were originally planned as part of the imagery, but were eventually left out of the promotional material on the finalized website.

Those "3" files are present on Apple's servers and depict a Google Maps route in Paris.

ipad retina google maps
Google Maps photo present on Apple's servers but not used in side-by-side display comparison

Google Maps is not featured in any of Apple's promotional materials for the new iPad, suggesting that Apple is indeed trying to play down the role of Google Maps on the device. But whether this is indicative of a transition to Apple's own mapping services in the relatively near future remains unknown.

Update: As noted in the forum thread, the Google Maps comparison is present on Apple's promotional page in Hong Kong.

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Yesterday, we noted that Apple's grand opening of its new Highland Village retail store scheduled for 8:00 AM on Friday hinted that the company was likely to planning to launch the new iPad at that time rather than in a late afternoon launch as was seen with the iPad 2.

We received word soon after that visual merchandising staff at Apple's retail stores were scheduled for an overnight shift on Thursday night into Friday morning in order to prepare the store for a morning launch, and now 9to5Mac posts a photo from a retail store source showing some of the new signage going up this week confirming an 8:00 AM launch for the device on Friday.

ipad 3 launch 8am
Apple's product launches have historically been scheduled by local time, so customers in any of the iPad launch countries with Apple retail stores should expect those stores to open at 8:00 AM in their local time zones. With Apple having sold out of its initial batch of online pre-orders for Friday delivery, those still looking to secure an iPad on launch day will need to wait in line at an Apple retail store or other launch retailer in hopes of obtaining one.

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