mini

iPad Mini ship times improves to one week

Consumers looking for an iPad Mini now stand a better chance of grabbing one for the holidays.

The wait time for the 7-inch tablet through the Apple online store just dropped to one week from two weeks. The new estimate applies to all variations of the Mini, from the 16GB Wi-Fi-only edition to the 64GB Wi-Fi + Cellular version.

The shorter ship time comes amidst reports that production of the new tablet had been hampered by manufacturing challenges at panel supplier AU Optronics. Apple uses both AU and LG Display to make the Mini's display panels. A recent DigiTimes story … Read more

My post-iTunes life

iTunes 11 is finally here. I hear that it's a step in the right direction, correcting many of the missteps and redundancies that have crept into the bloated software over the years.

But I can't really give you a full opinion on iTunes 11 because I really haven't spent that much time with it on a personal level.

That's because I don't use my Mac for media.… Read more

iPad shipments could hit 26 million this quarter, says analyst

The iPad should ring up lots of holiday cheer for Apple, according to a forecast today from analyst Sameer Singh.

An analyst with mergers and acquisitions consulting group Finvista Advisors, Singh put together his projections for iPad shipments based on some historical cues.

The second and fourth quarters have traditionally been the strongest ones for the iPad, however, the fourth quarter has been the champ. That's not surprising because Apple has typically unveiled each year's new iPad in the second quarter. Holiday shoppers provide a jolt to the fourth quarter.

But this year the company launched two new … Read more

Election, iPhone 5 top Yahoo's list of 2012's popular searches

The iPhone 5 couldn't quite edge out the election to be No. 1 on Yahoo's list of most-searched terms for 2012. But it came pretty close.

Yahoo today released its data for the most-searched terms in 2012. The lists include information on "obsessions" (viral sensations), memes, gadgets, Olympians, sports teams, songs/music lyrics, TV comedies, "what is" searches, how-to searches, recipes, and several others.

At the top of the list of terms most searched overall, unsurprisingly, was "election," followed by iPhone 5. Rounding out the top five were Kim Kardashian, Kate Upton, … Read more

iPad 4 impresses in speed tests

What the iPad 4 loses in style, it gains in performance versus the Mini.

As I wrote last week, the Mini's style, size, and weight make it hard to put down. But after upgrading from the third-generation iPad 4G/LTE model to the fourth-generation iPad with 4G/LTE and after a week of pretty constant use, I found the 4's performance compelling.

It feels fast and benchmarks fast. In most -- but not all -- cases, Web pages pop, apps load, and graphics render faster than the Mini.

And the 4's performance is supported by my own … Read more

Apple re-posts 10.8.2 update for Mac Mini and MacBook users

Apple has re-issued its 10.8.2 update for specific Mac systems after having pulled it over a week ago.

OS X 10.8.2 has been available for Mac systems since mid-September, but in mid-November Apple pulled a specific version of the updater for the 2012 Mac Mini, iMac, and 13-inch MacBook Pro models, resulting in the inability for those with these systems to be updated to the latest version of OS X.

The reasons for the pulled update were not made public. When users attempted to install the Combo updater for OS X 10.8.2 on their … Read more

Ten days with the LTE iPad Mini

You might not think that adding cellular LTE onto an iPad Mini would be all that exciting. After all, the larger Retina Display iPad and iPhone 5 are both LTE devices. However, the Mini has something unique going for it in the world of Apple devices: it's the smallest contract-free iOS LTE gadget short of getting an unlocked iPhone.

I got the opportunity to try out a black Verizon LTE Mini and see how the experience differed from using the Wi-Fi only version. There really shouldn't be many surprises, right? Still, there are some use cases I realized were pretty compelling, and might even merit the idea that an LTE iPad Mini is more of an ideal purchase than the larger LTE iPad ever was.… Read more

China to get iPhone 5, iPad Mini in December

It's official: China will move into the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini era next month.

Apple announced this morning that the Wi-Fi versions of the iPad Mini and the fourth-generation iPad will be available in China on Friday, December 7, and the iPhone 5 on Friday, December 14.

Consumers in China will be able to get all three gadgets through the Apple Online Store, via select Apple resellers, and by reservation from Apple retail stores.

China is of huge significance for Apple, already accounting for about 15 percent ($23.8 billion) of the company's revenue for its fiscal … Read more

How to use the new 'Up Next' feature in iTunes 11

After delaying the release of iTunes 11 by a month, Apple has released the much-anticipated update for both Windows and Mac users. The new iTunes is redesigned from the ground up, with a completely new look and feel. Along with the new look comes some new features: deeper iCloud integration, a new MiniPlayer, and a feature called "Up Next."

Up Next is more or less a living playlist within iTunes. You're able to add, rearrange, edit, and delete songs from the Up Next queue at any time.

To get started with Up Next, update to iTunes 11 … Read more