A Facebook (iPad) Update Turns the App Into an Entertainment Hub

Over 70 percent of people who use Facebook for iPad played a Facebook-connected game in the past 90 days, so the company is helping them discover or re-engage with games through a new home page sidebar it starts testing today on its iPad app. It includes social notifications for native mobile and Facebook web games you already play, video trailers for games you don’t, plus Trending news articles and Trending videos popular with your demographic. The growth opportunities could entice more developers to integrate Facebook into their games, and Facebook plans to eventually sell ads for games in this space. By filling the extra screen space with what tablet users love, Facebook hopes its home on iPad can become a more essential part of people’s live…even if that means bouncing them into other apps or showing them YouTube videos.

Read the full story at TechCrunch.

L.A. Unified School District Wants iPads for All 640,000 Students

Back in June, the Los Angeles Unified School District awarded Apple a $30 million contract to provide its students with iPads. Under its terms, the company will supply about 31,000 iPads to 47 LAUSD schools, each preloaded with a bunch of educational software. But evidently that’s just the first phase of the program.

According to an LAUSD representative, the nation’s second-largest school district hopes to provide iPads to all 640,000 students by late 2014. Which means it’s going to buy a few hundred thousand more iPads over the next year – though it’s not yet sure how it’s going to do it. “We’re hoping that we will get a lot of private donors,” Mark Hovatter, chief facilities executive for LAUSD, told CITEworld.

That’s very good news for Apple. If LAUSD is able to pull together the money to realize this plan, it will be purchasing hundreds of thousands of additional iPads. Which potentially means another big iPad contract in the offing, and the chance to expose thousands of kids to the iOS ecosystem.

After Hacking Attack, Apple’s Dev Center Site Is Up and Running Again

Eight days after taking it down in response to a security breach, Apple has restored the website for its Developer Center.

Apple didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. But the entry page of the site was clearly visible this afternoon. Some sections, like forums, were still offline. Certificates, identifiers and profiles were back online.

An email circulated to Apple developers said, “Thank you for bearing with us while we bring these important systems back online. We will continue to update you with our progress.” It has also added a system status page so members can keep track of what’s back and working and what’s not.

Access to the site had been curtailed for several days as Apple investigated the circumstances of a security incident said to have occurred on July 18.

The company said in an email to its developer community (see below) three days after the incident took place that the site had been accessed by what it called “an intruder.”

Apple said in the original email disclosing the breach that it would be “completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database.” It hasn’t gone into any further detail about the nature of the attack.

The Apple developer site grants access to iOS 7, OS X Mavericks and other software development tools. When it first went down it was marked with a notice saying it was down for maintenance. A later notice apologized that maintenance was taking longer than expected. Developers were told that memberships that would have expired during the downtime had been automatically extended.

Since extended downtime of this sort is rare with Apple, people in the dev community naturally began to wonder what was up. Apple finally came clean about the attempted attack and said that “…we have not been able to rule out the possibility that some developers’ names, mailing addresses, and/or email addresses may have been accessed.” Still no word on that.

Here’s the full text of the email sent around to developers.

Developer Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles Now Available

We appreciate your patience as we work to bring our developer services back online. Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, software downloads, and other developer services are now available. If you would like to know the availability of a particular system, visit our status page.

If your program membership expired or is set to expire during this downtime. It will be extended and your app will remain on the App Store. If you have any other concerns about your account please contact us.

Thank you for bearing with us while we bring these important systems back online. We will continue to update you with our progress.

i-UniK American Forest series Apple iPad Air Slim Protection Case with built in Sleep/Awake Function – (Hickory)

• Wood imitation cover material (NOT REAL WOOD) that is inspired by our nation’s great forest
• All features and functions are accessible with the case on, including the microphone, speaker, headphone jack, cameras and connector port
• 2 folds design to support viewing in portrait or landscape mode and accommodates a natural typing angle
• Folio design, your iPad Air screen is protected with Built in Sleep Awake Funciton
• NOT COMPATIBLE with the previous generations of iPAD (1/2/3/4 Retina)
• Case offers handsome, durable storage
• Precision-cut camera holes provide access to your device’s ports and camera without removing the case.

Custom made for 2013 9.7 inch Apple iPad AIR model, DOES NOT FIT PREVIOUS IPAD

Apple iPad case VS MacAlly iPad Case (Bookstand)

Just a look at the two cases and where I find problems.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

When is it Time to Upgrade Your Mobile Tech?

I have an iPad 2. I don’t use it very much, but it’s there for me whenever a new game comes out … or whenever my Macbook is just out of reach.

The iPad 2 came out on March 11, 2011. In the grand scheme of things (and I’m not talking about the “cosmic calendar” from “Cosmos”), three years is nothing. But when it comes to consumer tech, my iPad is ANCIENT. If you count the two iPad mini models, five new iPads have launched since my iPad 2 first hit store shelves. Five! In three years!

Every time I look at my iPad, I think about how I want a new one. The new models are lighter, thinner and faster, and all have better screens. I haven’t upgraded from iOS 6 to 7 because I’ve heard it doesn’t play well on the iPad 2. But I’m not going to upgrade my iPad, because I don’t use it enough and it still works fine.

But that got me wondering: When is the right time to upgrade your mobile tech?

I like to buy a really good (but not usually top-tier) piece of tech, then run it into the ground before I upgrade. If you’re the type of person who needs to have the latest-and-greatest everything, this advice doesn’t really apply to you. But if you’re like the rest of us, and you just want to know when to pony up for a new gadget, read on.

Tablets

Let’s start with tablets, since that’s what got me into this whole mess.

iPad: For new iPads, Apple usually tosses in a slightly more powerful processor and makes the device a little thinner. Sure, there are bigger changes from time to time – like adding a Retina display – but those are more uncommon than you might think. Plus, iPads are incredibly expensive (relative to most other tablets), so upgrading is more of a financial commitment here than in other instances.

• Liberal Verdict: Every other generation. Got an iPad 2? Get a 4th-gen, then, too.
• Conservative Verdict: Every three or four generations, or when a bunch of apps no longer support your device.

Android Tablets: To be honest, I’m not too familiar with the Android tablet landscape. I know it’s dominated by the Nexus 7, but that’s a relative newcomer to the field, and it’s hard to gauge just how much innovation Google’s going to throw at that line each upgrade. Android tablets are relatively inexpensive (especially when compared to an iPad), so upgrading is less of an investment, but there aren’t too many massive upgrades from one generation to the next, so upgrading isn’t a necessity.

• Liberal Verdict: Every generation.
• Conservative Verdict: When your device isn’t eligible for the newest major Android OS.

Kindle Fire Tablets: Like the Nexus line, the Kindle Fires are also relative newcomers to the tech scene. But Amazon has impressed me with how much it has added to each release. When you compare it to the latest Kindle Fire, the first-gen Fire I bought in the fall of 2011 is like a weird second-cousin that you avoid at family gatherings. Amazon’s added a ton of new software features – like FreeTime and Mayday – and has also launched tablets with bigger screens, which is an (obvious) big difference. At some point, though, Amazon will slow down its massive updates; until then, new Fire tablets seem like a reasonable investment.

• Liberal Verdict: Every generation.
• Conservative Verdict: When your toddler drops it one-too-many times and it doesn’t work anymore.

Phones

I think it’s a big lie that you need to upgrade your phone every two years. Just because your carrier gives you a big time discount to get a new device doesn’t mean you need to take them up on their offer. They’re only giving you that discount to lock you into another two-year deal; if you don’t upgrade (or buy your phone outright), you can opt out at any point with no penalty.

Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile all recently introduced plans that let you upgrade your phone whenever the wind changes. But that program isn’t for us – that’s for the tech elite.

iPhones are like iPads – rarely does one generation to the next do much to wow me. The iPhone 6 will have a bigger screen, which is (arguably) the best improvement since Siri was added back with the 4S. But is it enough for me to upgrade just a year after I got my iPhone 5? Probably not.

Android devices can become obsolete much more quickly, especially if the manufacturer doesn’t get the latest version of Android to your device. Buying a Nexus will negate this problem, as will buying the top-tier devices, like the Galaxy S4 or HTC One M8. But if you’re buying mid-range, you might run into issues – and you’ll want to upgrade more quickly.

• Liberal Verdict: As soon as you’re eligible for an upgrade.
• Conservative Verdict: When your device won’t get the latest OS update, or when you drop it so many times that you can no longer read the screen.

Poetic KeyBook Bluetooth Keyboard and Leather Book Style Case for iPad 3 / iPad 2/ iPad 1 Brown- Support iPad 3 Auto Wake/Sleep Function

• Slim, durable high grain leather like cover that protects your iPad (designed for iPad 4th Gen, iPad 3rd Gen, iPad 2nd Gen and iPad 1st Gen, but not work for iPad mini) in style
• Adjustable stand securely holds your iPad in landscape mode
• Removable Bluetooth keyboard integrates seemlessly with your iPad and other Bluetooth enabled devices
• Provides full access to all iPad controls and support Auto Sleep/Wake Function
• Rubberized keys are spill-proof and also protect iPad screen from scratching when closed

Poetic, an Exact Design Inc Brand, warrants the Poetic Brand of Products against defects in material or workmanship for a period of?3 (three) Years?from the original date of purchase of the product by a consumer through an authorized Poetic dealer.? Poetic does not warrant, and is not responsible for, any smart phone, tablet or other device made by any manufacturer other than Poetic.? If a defect arises in the materials or workmanship warranted by Poetic, Poetic will replace that unit as long a

KingTime 3.5mm plug In-ear Stereo Zip Metal Earphones for iPhone iPod iPad Samsung Orange

• Plug:3.5mm gold-plated
• Cable:Zipper cord, portable reinforced textile cord
• Frequency Response: 20HZ-20000HZ
• Cord length:1.2m
• Sensitivity: 103db 3db SPL1KHZ

Ear bud: fashionable alloy metallic housing
Plug:3.5mm gold-plated
Cord length:1.2m
Cable:Zipper cord, portable reinforced textile cord
Frequency Response: 20HZ-20000HZ
Impedance:32
Sensitivity: 103db 3db SPL@1KHZ
Max input:5mW
12 months quality warranty
CE and RoHS certificated

Google Maps 2.0 Rolls out to iOS, Offers iPad Support and More

Poor Apple Maps. While we see very minor improvement from Apple’s year-old Maps application, Google continues to improve its world-class offering pretty rapidly. Why, Wednesday, in fact, Google launched an update to the Google Maps for iOS app, adding support for the iPad, indoor maps, and a slew of other features that were released with the recent Android Google Maps update. Google Maps 2.0 now fully supports the larger screen sizes of the iPad and iPad mini, as well as offering indoor maps with walking directions for transit stations, airports, malls and other large buildings. Past that, you’ll also notice that the Google Maps iOS app now offers better navigation with live traffic updates and incident reports. Meanwhile, Apple Maps still hasn’t figured out transit directions.

Read the full story at TechCrunch.

NBA still using iPads to help coaches and players review game day footage

A recent Wall Street Journal report claimed Samsung has signed a lucrative deal with the NBA that would bring its TVs and tablet devices court side. People interpreted this to mean the iPad had lost favor among the professional basketball league, but that may not necessarily be the case.

A followup report from Bloomberg suggests the NBA is partnering with Sportstec to improve instant replays technology. Sportstech has created an app that allows coaches and players to quickly edit and review basketball game footage on iOS devices. The turn around time on these edits is fast, allowing coaches to review plays from the game during the half-time break. Players can use it to review their game performance and make changes for upcoming games. The technology is being used by 28 of the 30 NBA teams, the only holdouts are the Pacers and the Mavericks, which are owned by Mark Cuban.

You can read more about the technology on Sportec’s website and watch this Bloomberg video for a quick overview.