MacRumors iPhone and iPad Blog: Apps, News, and Rumors

The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $9.36 million contract to purchase as many as 18,000 iPad 2s, according to Bloomberg. The plan is to replace bulky and heavy flight bags full of navigational charts and other materials with iPads in order to reduce the weight of pilots' bags and save fuel on flights. The Air Mobility Command, which is purchasing the iPads, provides transport and refueling...

Gizmodo is floating a rumor that the name for Apple's next tablet will be iPad HD, rather than iPad 3. They base this information on alleged part listings from Griffin and Belkin. Accessories manufacturers don't have a clue about Apple marketing plans until the very last minute. They usually get the physical specifications for new product versions in advance, so they can have products ready for...

A British sports book is offering odds on whether certain features will be included in the iPad 3 which is expected to be announced next week. The web is awash with rumours about the specifications of the new hardware and Sky Bet has chalked up odds on exactly which features it will and won’t have. Sky Bet’s Helen Jacob, said: “It would be foolish to bet on the specification of most...

Marvel has made more than 80 of its graphic novels available on the iBookstore [Direct Link]. Titles include novels from the Avengers, Captain America, Hulk, Spider-Man, X-Men, and more. "Marvel is taking the world of comics by storm and releasing a massive selection of our best and brightest graphic novels on the iBookstore," said Peter Phillips, Senior Vice President & General Manager,...

Apple's iPhones were the top three most popular smartphones in the United States for all of 2011, according to comScore's 2012 Mobile Future in Focus whitepaper. NPD reported similar results for the months of October and November, when the iPhone 4S was the most popular smartphone in the country after it was released. For the full year, the iPhone 4S was the country's third most popular...

Samsung has been taking on the iPhone -- and the perception of Apple's "fanboy" customer base -- with its advertising for several months now. In its latest ad, Samsung pits a user with the Samsung Galaxy Note -- the company's new 5.3" Android smartphone -- against an iPhone user, seeing which phone is better for a few tasks of questionable use. via Cult of Android...

Rovio is expanding the Angry Birds universe once more. Angry Birds Space is launching on March 22 and a teaser trailer went live this morning that combines official NASA footage with some "out of this world" gameplay. Kotaku: "Our focus is to delight our fans and we're excited to launch Angry Birds Space on multiple platforms," Rovio's North America general manager Andrew Stalbow said in an ...

The Charlotte Observer reports that a total of 25 iPhones valued at over $16,000 have been reported stolen from Apple's Northlake Mall retail store in Charlotte, North Carolina. While smash-and-grab robberies are not terribly unusual at Apple retail stores, this case has an unusual twist in that the suspect appears to have been an employee of the store.“The iPhones were stolen from the Genius...

German site iFun.de reports [Google translation] that has it has received information from a source "to be taken seriously" claiming that the iPad 3 will debut there on Friday, March 23. No other details on the claim are offered, although the report does conflict with an Asian report from earlier today claiming that the iPad 3 would begin appearing in Europe in April following a mid-March...

AFP reports that Proview Technology has expressed a willingness to work toward a settlement with Apple in the "iPad" trademark dispute in China, even as the company continues to press forward with current lawsuits and plans for new ones seeking as much as $2 billion in damages."We are now preparing for negotiations," Proview's lawyer, Xie Xianghui, told AFP. "The court cases will continue until...

As it has in previous years, the NCAA division I men's basketball tournament -- also known as March Madness -- will be streamed both online and to iPhones and iPads. Unlike previous years, iPad and iPhone users will need to pay a $3.99 to watch the Big Dance. CBS and Turner are sharing the NCAA broadcast duties across four television stations. Here's how it breaks down: Mac users will be able...

Asymco's Horace Dediu noticed a startling statistic: Apple sold 156 million iOS devices in 2011. That's 30 million more than the 122 million Macs that Apple has sold since the first one went on sale in 1984. To date, Apple has sold 316 million iOS devices total, across the three iOS product...

Apple has won what could be a fairly significant victory in its wide array of ongoing patent lawsuits. A German court has ruled that a number of Motorola Mobility products infringe on Apple's European slide-to-unlock patent, EP1964022. The ruling is a permanent -- but appealable -- injunction that Apple can enforce today if it is willing to post a large bond against Motorola's almost certain...

Realmac Software and Impending have just released Clear to the App Store. Clear is a simplified list making application that was announced at Macworld. The App's claim to fame is the extremely minimal interface that uses natural touch gestures for all functions. Some of these...

Electronista reports on a new article [Google translation] from Taiwan's Commercial Times claiming that Apple is planning for production of 65-70 million iPad 3 displays in 2012, paving the way for a significant boost to Apple's tablet sales.Shipments for the new LCD panel, believed designed by Sharp but being manufactured by LG Display and Samsung, were said by the Commercial Times to be...

ThinkGeek, the creators of the iCade iPad gaming cabinet have upped the ante with a new Bluetooth enabled controller called the iCade 8-Bitty. The controller is roughly the size and layout of a classic NES controller, with an extra pair of A/B buttons on the right side and two shoulder buttons. The 8-Bitty offers the same compatibility as the larger iCade cabinet, supporting all...

Analytics firm Chitika today released a report showing that by its metrics iOS has now surpassed OS X in overall web traffic share in the United States. Chitika's methodology involves an analysis of browser user agents for hundreds of millions of ad impressions across its expansive network.To quantify this study, Chitika Insights analyzed several data sets composed of a series of US traffic...

One of the most frequent reasons for an iPhone to go on a trip to the Apple Store's Genius Bar is because of water damage. Typically, a water damaged iPhone can be replaced for a flat $199 fee, though with the recently launched AppleCare+, that price can be reduced to $49. Most ultra-durable iPhone cases, like Otterbox's Defender or Case Mate's TANK, are merely water-resistant -- not actually...