iPad

There’s an old tradition with Apple products. As soon as a new one comes out, someone has to kill it, whether by smashing it, blending it, or even shooting at it. SquareTrade got into the iPad abuse fun today, only they had a practical purpose. They put the new iPad 3 through a drop test.

The new iPad was rumored to have Gorilla Glass on the screen, but it wasn’t mentioned at the launch event. But as you can see in the video, the new iPad uses the same screen protection as the iPad 2. You might want to get the insurance after all.

AT&T has put out a press release revealing that the company saw record iPad sales on Friday, the day the new iPad was released.

The release lacked details, but read: “On Friday, March 16, AT&T set a new single-day record for its iPad sales and activations, demonstrating robust demand for the new iPad on the nation’s largest 4G network, covering nearly 250 million people.”

It’s not just AT&T that is doing well with the new tablet. Apple is reportedly to be experiencing record sales across the board. The Wall Street Journal has more: “‘We had a record weekend and we’re thrilled with it,’ Apple said on a conference call with analysts. The company didn’t disclose specific results or reveal more details, instead opting to go in depth about the announced dividend and share repurchase plan.”

If you need another reason to justify getting the new iPad, Khan Academy can help.

This a non-profit group that is working to create free and open source eductional materials, and one thing they’ve done is post classroom lessons to Youtube. That’s a good thing, but those videos require a live internet connection. This new app enables users to download the videos (or entire playlists) and watch them while offline.

Users can log in with their Khan Academy account and track their progress. The app also supports subtitles, and jumping around inside the videos. The related exercises will be coming soon.

The only downside to this app is that the videos aren’t high enough resolution to really use the screen on the new iPad. On the other hand, that’s probably a good thing; a video shot at a resolution as high as the new iPad screen would fill several GB of storage, which would be impractical for a 16GB iPad.

iTunes

Here’s some good news for those of you lined up right now to get the new iPad.

Amazon has just pushed out another update for the Kindle iPad app. Few, if any, have the new tablet yet, but when they get it they’ll find that the Kindle app has been redesigned so it is optimized for the high-res display on the new iPad. Readers will find crisper fonts and a new library view where covers look brighter and crisper than ever.

So who is planning to get the new iPad? I thought about it, but I didn’t move fast enough.

The rumored 7.85″ iPad went from  rumor to  certainty this week. The Korea Times posted an interview of an unnamed Samsung official, and I think the fellow said more than he intended to.

The focus of the interview was the new Apple-Samsung deal. Over the next 12 months, Apple plans to buy over $11 billion worth of components from Samsung, which is a marked incrse from the $7+ billion deal last year.

But this article also included  few details that I’m sure Apple would rather have kept hidden. Here’s the part that has the blogosphere all abuzz:

“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.

Some of the rumors suggest that the iPadling is coming this fall. Will you buy one?

Apple’s latest tablet isn’t suppose to arrive on people’s doorsteps until Friday, but that hasn’t stopped a few lucky souls from getting their hands on it. This video as well as a bunch of photos popped up on a Vietnamese forum this morning. As you can see, the new iPad looks an awful lot like the iPad 2.

Apple launched the new iPad last week with no iPad Mini in sight, and that has sent the rumor mills working overtime. Digitimes reported this morning that their sources have told them some new gossip about the upcoming 7.85″ iPad.

The iPad Mini is rumored to have thinner bezels than most tablets, which would give it a more compact form factor. It’s said that Apple is making this design decision so the Mini could compete better against the Kindle Fire and other 7″ Android tablets. If this is true then the iPad Mini (I’m still not sure it exists) would look something like the concept video that Atmel Studios posted last week. That video featured a wishlist of iPad features, including an edge to edge screen.

The 7.85″ iPad is expected to be priced $249 to $299, but the rumor does not include any mention of a release date.

Digitimes

Apple has never been one to delay apps until after a new gadget, and the new iPad was no exception.

iBooks got an update yesterday, and it now supports the retina display found on the new iPad. The update also boasts a number of other improvements, including page numbers, improved highlighting, and a number of important stability and performance improvements.

iTunes

On a related note, Apple also updated iTunes U to support the new iPad.

Apple is going to launch some type of tablet thingie tomorrow, right? That might explain the following infographic.

TechBargains ran a survey last week, and a not too surprising 48% of respondents said that they plan to buy Apple’s next iPad. The survey also showed that the men were more likely to buy it than women (51% to 35%).

You can find the infographic after the break. Read more

Apple is expected to release a new device later this week, and we all know that it’s going to be about the same size and shape as the current iPad 2, only with higher res cameras and a retina screen. But that hasn’t stopped the speculation.

Aatma Studio released this concept video a few days ago. This brings together a number of ideas that already possible (like the edge to edge screen and the NFC) with some that are strictly scifi (like the 3D gaming).

I’d definitely buy this tablet (if it were on the market). So do you think this is what the iPad 4 will look like?