‘Hollywood’ – Latest iPad TV Ad Aired During Academy Awards
Apple debuted their latest new TV ad for the iPad – ‘Hollywood’ – last night during the Academy Awards ceremony. This latest ad follows the new rapid-fire style of the ‘Alive’ and ‘Together’ iPad ads we saw released last week.
Hollywood features a fast scrolling set of keywords related to movies and highlights three of them with a selection of apps that show off the iPad’s ability to work with videos, images, and other things that go intio movie making: Lights, Camera, Action.
This is another typically stylish iPad ad, though I still don’t like this new series as much as the ‘old school’ iPad ads.
I also think that last night Samsung may have outdone Apple – this tablet ad starring Tim Burton is hilarious.
What do you all think? Loving the new iPad ads? What do you think of the Samsung ad?
PadGadget Daily App Deal – 11 iPad Apps on Sale
For today’s Daily Deal we’ve found 11 great apps to add to your iPad collection. We have 5 productivity / entertainment apps and 6 game apps in today’s bundle.
We used our PadGadget Apps Tracker to find these great deals and we’ll continue to look for the best app deals as they pop-up. Some of these apps are up to 67% off, several are even free, so be sure to check them out because they are on sale for a limited time.
Game Apps
- Donut Ninja – Tappi Bear () – This popular ninja game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
- Doodle Truck 2 () – This action game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
- Farming Simulator 2012 () – This farming game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $1.99 instead of $2.99.
- FLUP HD – This fun puzzle game has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
- Lili () – This very popular adventure game has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99. This app weighs in at 388 MB so please be sure that you have enough space on your iPad before downloading.
- Tin Man Can () – This cool adventure game from Chillingo has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
Productivity and Entertainment Apps
- Beauty Booth Pro () – This photo app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $1.99.
- BoothStache () – This wacky photo app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now available for Free instead of $0.99.
- Fast Camera () – This very popular photography app has a 4.5 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $1.99.
- iStopMotion for iPad – This stop motion photo app has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $4.99 instead of $9.99.
- Speech with Milo: Verbs () – This speech therapy tool has a 4 star App Store rating and is now on sale for $0.99 instead of $2.99.
Also be sure to check out yesterday’s Daily Deal to find more great savings.
= Indicates app is Universal and will run on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.
We use our PadGadget Apps Tracker to constantly monitor the App Store to find the biggest price changes on iPad apps. Our editorial team goes through the data, picks the best deals on the most interesting apps and then brings them to you on a regular basis. All app prices are checked at the time of posting but prices are subject to change without notice. When developers put their apps on sale it’s usually for a very limited time, often 24 hours or less, so be sure to check pricing on iTunes before making a purchase.
Munitio’s New SV Earphones: Precision Sound, Luxurious Style
“To hear a full frequency of a recording, you don’t even have to turn it up loud!”
-Kool Kojak, multi-platinum songwriter who produced Ke$ha, Nicki Minaj, Flo Rida, Katy Perry
Recently, I had the opportunity to connect with the team at Munitio, a precision sound brand specializing in lifestyle electronic accessories. Pronounced “Muni-she-yo,” as in the Latin word for fortification and defense, Munitio audio gear embodies strength, authenticity, and style. Before this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, I must admit, I wasn’t familiar with this small San Diego-based company. Now that I am, I am excited to tell you more about it and share my review of one of its flagship products, the new SV earphones.
The Munitio SV earphones are one of the most balanced pairs of earphones I’ve had the pleasure of trying out. To say I was very impressed with their exquisite, crystalline sound delivery would be an understatement. Listening to music through the SVs was a surreal experience. The complexity and clearly delineated layers of acoustics the SVs pumped out would impress even the most discerning audiophile.
The SVs captured my attention on so many levels. On the one hand, it was easy to get lost in the pristine sound quality of whatever I happened to be listening to; On the other hand, I found myself in auditory awe at all of the details and nuances I was able to hear using these precision earphones. In some instances, songs I’m very familiar with felt like I had never heard songs, which in actuality, I was very familiar with.
“More consumers are realizing it’s better to have headphones that sound good based on personal listening tastes, rather than just buying what everyone else has,” said MUNITIO co-founder Danny Massaro. “Appearance is obviously important too, so we’ve created headphones with unique style and sound identities that appeal to certain lifestyles and listening preferences and allow people to hear their music like never before.”
Their latest addition to an already stellar line up continues in the tradition of excellence! Regarding the SVs, MUNITIO co-founder, Danny Massaro had this to say, “Acoustically, each MUNITIO product is designed with its own unique sound identity that appeals to an individual’s personal listening preference. For instance, the SV is defined by an ultra-smooth frequency response curve through the mids and highs, exceptional vocal clarity and fast, accurate crossover transitions between instrumentals. Stylistically, MUNITIO products take their cues from a variety of different sources, but always with studio-grade performance, rugged industrial design and tactical functionality at the core. Some of the SVs design heritage comes from the world of high performance racing. You can see that reflected with the flat, tangle-free ribbon cable and the slotted bass port and curves of the aluminum housing earpiece.”
With so many great headphones and earphones out there to choose from, it can be a true challenge for any one company to break away from the pack and gain recognition. Add to that, that I am particularly critical of headphones and speakers and weigh my words carefully when offering my reviews of audio equipment, being raised the son of an audiophile myself. With the SVs, the detail-oriented team of professionals at Munitio have succeeded in not only impressing me, but also in taking high-end audio engineering to a whole new level.
Munitio Billets
The Munitio SVs may be some of the pricier earphones the company has to offer, but if $130.00 isn’t in your budget, do yourself a favor and check out their high quality Billets that will only cost you $70.00 and I’d say that even these lower priced models perform better than 75% of the earphones on the market today. On the other hand, if you are looking for some of the best earphones money can buy, be sure to take a gander at Munitio’s Nines ($170.00), which are their top of the line, premium sonic experience earphones.
Munitio Nines
Munitio Nines
Apple iPad Commercial 2010 in HD
HD Apple iPad Commercial of 2010 featuring the revolutionary and cutting edge technology from Apple’s long awaited tablet pc and ebook reader. Order your Apple iPad at http://www.800hightech.com The iPad is available for financing for military armed forces and civilian DOD employees regardless of bad credit history.
Video Rating: 3 / 5
150-foot wide asteroid to pass close by Earth today at 2:24pm EST/1924 GMT; communications satellites likely safe
“A newly discovered asteroid about half the size of a football field will pass nearer to Earth than any other known object of its size on Friday, giving scientists a rare opportunity for close-up observations without launching a probe,” Irene Klotz reports for Reuters. “At its closest approach, which will occur at 2:24 p.m. EST/1924 GMT, the asteroid will pass about 17,200 miles (27,520 km) above the planet traveling at 8 miles (13 km) per second, bringing it nearer than the networks of television and weather satellites that ring the planet.”
“Although Asteroid 2012 DA14 is the largest known object of its size to pass this close, scientists say there is no chance of an impact, this week or in the foreseeable future,” Klotz reports. “The non-profit Space Data Association, which tracks satellites for potential collisions, analyzed the asteroid’s projected path and determined no spacecraft would be in its way. ‘There is no reason to believe that this asteroid poses a threat to any satellites in Earth orbit,’ Space Data operations manager T.S. Kelso said in a statement.”
Klotz reports, “Even in areas that will be dark during DA14′s pass by Earth, the asteroid is too dim to be spotted without a telescope or binoculars. NASA plans a half-hour broadcast beginning at 2 p.m. EST/1900 GMT on NASA Television and on its website which will include near real-time views of the asteroid from observatories in Australia, weather permitting. The space camera, Slooh.com, will incorporate several live feeds, including views from the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, in a webcast beginning Friday at 9 p.m. EST/0200 GMT. “
Read more in the full article here.
The Associated Press reports, “Scientists at NASA’s Near-Earth Object program at California’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory estimate that an object of this size makes a close approach like this every 40 years. The likelihood of a strike is every 1,200 years. Asteroid 2012 DA14, as it’s called, is too small to see with the naked eye even at its closest approach around 1925 GMT, over the Indian Ocean near Sumatra.”
“The best viewing locations, with binoculars and telescopes, are in Asia, Australia and eastern Europe. Even there, all anyone can see is a pinpoint of light as the asteroid zooms by at 17,400 mph,” AP reports. “As asteroids go, DA14 is a shrimp. The one that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago was 6 miles across. But this rock could still do immense damage if it struck, releasing the energy equivalent of 2.4 million tons of TNT and wiping out 750 square miles.”
Read more in the full article here.
“Will the asteroid affect cell-phone service?” Elizabeth Landau asks for CNN.
“According to current modeling of the asteroid’s path, it will probably not affect the satellites,” Landau reports. “These satellites include those used by television networks, cell phone services and weather services. ‘Scientists have determined that it is very unlikely – but not impossible – that television signals, any other form of communication, or any weather data will be impacted by the asteroid,’ CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said.”
Landau reports, “As for global positioning satellites, which communicate with the GPS function on smartphones, the asteroid will pass about 5,000 miles above them and probably won’t interfere with navigational systems.”
Read more in the full article here.
Cool Things: iPad Finger-Painted Caricatures at Macworld/iWorld
What’s cooler than going to Macworld/iWorld and having a personal caricature done as a keepsake for the event? Having the caricature finger sketched on an iPad of course.
And that’s exactly what was on offer at this year’s event – courtesy of Zach Trenholm. Trenholm worked as a celebrity caricaturist for the press for many years and now specializes in sketching live at special events. How great must that be to have that kind of talent and have that as your day job.
Hit the break to check out a couple of these impressive caricatures and the people who sat for them …
Trenholm created these using the Procreate app on an iPad 3. If I had the budget I’d go to Macworld just to have one of these done and see it done live.
For more information on Trenholm or to check out how to get him involved with your event, visit his website: http://www.zachtrenholm.com/
ProCutX iPad App For Final Cut Pro X Launches
A new iPad application has been launched this week called ProCutX, which has been created to provide Final Cut Pro X users a new interface on their iPad to be able to edit and navigate around their Final Cut Pro X projects.
ProCutX has been designed to enable users to break free from menus and tabs, allowing users to have control over all of Final Cut Pro X’s editing tools directly from the iPad interface included with the ProCutX iPad App.
Should You Upgrade to Windows 8?
Q:
Would you recommend upgrading a desktop that currently operates on Vista to Windows 8?
A:
I don’t recommend upgrading a computer to Windows 8 that’s more than a year or two old, especially if you intend to keep your data files and programs. If this PC is still running Vista, which came out six years ago, it’s probably too old to assure a trouble-free, satisfying upgrade to Windows 8. You can check by downloading and running Microsoft’s free Upgrade Assistant, from tinyurl.com/atwewxe. I also recommend you search through the support section of your PC maker’s website to see if the company supports the upgrade.
Q:
My PC with XP just died. I just bought an iPad for portability so I don’t see why I need a laptop. I gave one away because I didn’t like the feel of it. But I still use Office — particularly Publisher. Should I buy a Windows 8 laptop with a touch monitor or a desktop?
A:
It sounds to me like you’re not a laptop fan, and don’t feel you need one for portability. So I suggest you consider one of the new Windows 8 all-in-one touchscreen desktop computers.
Q:
Is the capacity of the iPad infinite? I’ve had mine three years and regularly delete emails. Is there a capacity limit and if so, how should it be dealt with?
A:
The iPad has finite storage. For some of its functions, like email and the calendar, you can control how much data it stores by going into settings and specifying how many messages it should show from each account, or how far back in time its calendar should sync with the calendar service it uses.
Otherwise, if you begin to run up against the device’s capacity, you’ll have to delete some apps or media or other content. You can check how much capacity you have available by going to Settings, General and then clicking on About.
Email your technology questions to Walt at mossberg@wsj.com.
Gartner: By 2014, Apple will be as accepted by enterprise IT as Microsoft is today
With enterprises under extreme pressure from management and employees to develop and deploy mobile applications to accommodate mobile work styles and increase customer engagement, Gartner, Inc. predicts that more than 50 percent of mobile apps deployed by 2016 will be hybrid.
“Mobility has always been a separate topic for IT professionals, but it is now influencing mainstream strategies and tactics in the wider areas of technology enablement and enterprise architectures,” said Ken Dulaney, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, in a statement. “Increasingly, enterprises are finding that they need to support multiple platforms, especially as the [bring your own device] BYOD trend gains momentum.”
To address the need for mobile applications, enterprises are looking to leverage applications across multiple platforms. The advantages of the hybrid architecture, which combines the portability of HTML5 Web apps with a native container that facilitates access to native device features, will appeal to many enterprises.
The need for context awareness in mobile applications has increased with the capabilities of mobile devices, causing developers to consider both hybrid and native architectures. For applications to leverage location information, notification systems, mapping capabilities and even on-device hardware such as the camera, the applications need to be developed using either hybrid or native architectures. This has caused enterprise developers to consider alternatives to Web application development.
“Our advice would be to assume the enterprise will have to manage a large and diverse set of mobile applications that will span all major architectures,” said Van Baker, research vice president at Gartner, in the press release. “Enterprises should consider how applications can be enriched or improved by the addition of native device capabilities and evaluate development frameworks that offer the ability to develop native, hybrid and Web applications using the same code base. Where possible, development activities should be consolidated via cross-platform frameworks.”
Gartner outlined two additional key predictions around mobility and the enterprise:
By 2014, Apple will be as accepted by enterprise IT as Microsoft is today.
“Although Apple’s mobile iPhone and iPads are already as accepted by enterprise IT as is Microsoft, Apple’s Mac systems for laptops/notebooks and desktops remain not commonly accepted by IT,” said David Mitchell Smith, vice president and Gartner Fellow, in a statement. “Going forward, Apple will continue to benefit from consumerization and will continue to evolve Macs to take on more iOS characteristics, which will contribute to acceptance of Macs in the enterprise. As such, enterprise acceptance of Apple will continue to be driven by consumer demand.”
Microsoft’s mobile offerings – Windows Phone and Windows 8 – are new, but will continue to achieve some acceptance from enterprises, largely due to the relationship that Microsoft has built with them and the management capabilities they provide. However, unlike Apple, Microsoft’s offerings have not benefited from consumerization, which is driven first by consumer demand, and then by the demand of those consumers to bring that technology into the workplace. As a result of this shifting landscape, Gartner believes that enterprises should plan for continued consumerization and for the fact that Apple will continue to be a significant beneficiary.
By 2013, the first $50 smartphone will appear in emerging countries.
New entrants in the smartphone market, including Chinese brands and white-box handset makers, have served to drive down the cost curve. Differing use cases between consumers in the emerging market and those in developed countries have enabled the reduction or elimination of certain costly features while advances in chipset integration have enabled semiconductor companies to address the growing low-cost smartphone market.
“The combination of competitive pricing pressure, open-channel market growth and feature elimination/integration will very soon result in the $50 smartphone. Semiconductor vendors that serve the mobile handset market must have a product strategy to address the low-cost smartphone platform, with $50 as a target in 2013,” said Mark Hung, research director at Gartner. “Global, brand-name smartphone vendors must re-examine their product lineups to determine how their low-end offerings are differentiated from the competitive products offered by low-cost vendors. Otherwise, brand-name smartphone vendors may want to cede this market to the white-box vendors and focus on high-end devices.”
More detailed analysis is available in the report “Predicts 2013: Mobility Becomes a Broad-Based Ingredient for Change” The report is available on Gartner’s website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=2242915.
Source: Gartner, Inc.
MacDailyNews Take: Have a nice day, rapidly dwindling number of IT Doofuses!
Another Samsung Galaxy phone explodes; man being treated for second-degree burns
“Another Galaxy smartphone has exploded and injured its owner. Bupyeong Fire Station in Incheon on Sunday said a 55-year-old man reported the previous day that his smartphone battery blew up in the pocket of his pants,” The Chosun Ilbo reports.
“The man said he was carrying a Samsung Galaxy Note along with a spare battery in his pocket before they suddenly blew up,” The Chosun Ilbo reports. “He is being treated for second-degree burns to his right thigh.”
The Chosun Ilbo reports, “In March last year, a schoolboy in Gwangju suffered an injury when his Galaxy S2 smartphone exploded in his trouser pocket.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Derivative crap.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews readers too numerous to mention individually for the heads up.]
