Hasta La Gadget!

Apple’s 5th Gen iPod touch has landed, and it marks quite a departure for the touchscreen media player. What once was described as a phoneless-iPhone has evolved into a device with a distinct focus of its own, building on the gaming prowess of its predecessor and adding in a capable digital camera to this latest generation. The first batch of new iPod touch units are winging their way to preorder customers, but one has already landed on the SlashGear test bench, so read on for some first impressions.

While the last iPod touch, though running at Retina resolution, had a less impressive display than its iPhone 4S counterpart, Apple hasn’t made the same mistake this time around. We’ll have to wait for the inevitable teardowns to be sure, but to our eyes the new iPod touch uses the same panel as the iPhone 5, and benefits from it hugely.

It’s dressed in a more distinctive case than before, at a casual glance directly related to the iPhone 5, but unlikely to be mistaken for it. The brushed anodized aluminum is tactile and sturdy, and that – combined with the length of the PMP – emphasizes the thinness: it’s now just 6.1mm thick and, at 88g, 11-percent lighter than the model it replaces. There’s some beveling to the bezel, but only on the front, which should cut down on the scuffs and scratches we saw on the iPhone 5.

Inside there’s Apple’s dualcore A5 chipset, with up to twice the processing power and up to seven times the graphical abilities. It’s certainly enough to keep iOS 6 moving slickly, though will show its particular worth when it comes to gaming and multimedia apps; we’ll be testing those out for our full review. You also get Siri, Apple Maps, the new Facebook integration, and AirPlay Mirroring.

The other big change to this generation is the camera, at 5-megapixels not quite up to the 8-megapixel sensor in the iPhone 5, but certainly the most ambitious of an iPod touch to-date. Already we can see point-and-shoots losing ground to this capable backside-illuminated sensor, benefiting from easy navigation with the touchscreen, the addition of face-detection, panorama mode, and native HDR capture. Apple doesn’t bundle iPhoto, but it’s an affordable $4.99 purchase.

Apple is keeping the 4th-gen iPod touch on sale alongside its new 5th-gen model (the older example will be cheaper, with 16GB and 32GB models, while the 5th-gen will be available in 32GB and 64GB versions) and so we’ll be seeing how they hold up against each other as well as how they compare to the rest of the portable music options out there. That will have to wait for the full SlashGear review, so until then, enjoy our hands-on gallery and video.

iPod touch unboxing & first-impressions (late 2012) is written by Vincent Nguyen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

With rumors abound of an iPad mini device appearing in the Apple lab this season it’s only appropriate that high-quality renderings of said device would begin to appear in droves. What we’re looking at here is a set of renderings done by designer Martin Hajek, a fellow who is also in the process of making some 3D models of the device for real-world use – for case-makers, of course. For now though it’s time to peek at some iterations, including brightly colored backside the same as the 5th generation iPod Touch models just introduced with the iPhone 5.

What we’re seeing here is a device based on the tipped or otherwise “leaked” specifications that have appeared with the iPad mini over the past few weeks and months. Apple has not confirmed or denied the existence of an iPad mini either way, but sources from several different arenas have made a convincing case for the smaller-sized iPad appearing soon for real. The images you’re seeing above and below are all 3D images created by Hajek.

The iPad mini has been tipped as having either a 7-inch, 7.5-inch, or 7.85 inch display with 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution. The display will likely have the same amount of pixels as the iPad 2 but spread across a smaller display, this allowing apps and games created for the previous generations to work right out of the box here on this next-generation device. The iPad mini has been tipped to be working with an anodized aluminum back plate as well, suggested here by Hajek to be coming in the same color varieties as the iPod Touch.

This device has been tipped to be coming with two cameras, one on the front for FaceTime and another on the back for slightly higher-resolution videos and photos. You’ll find a Lightning connection port at the bottom of this device along with speaker grilles, and the processor will likely have a processor not unlike the iPad 3, with a new generation iPad 3x being released with an A6 processor like the iPhone 5.

iPad mini visualized in bright color renderings is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Though Apple hasn’t confirmed (nor denied) the existence of the iPad mini, the flurry of excitement surrounding the release of such a device quite recently makes this a perfect time to discuss what features a small iPad could fix. It’s not as if the iPad (the 3rd generation, that is) has a whole lot wrong with it at the moment – it’s far and away the best selling tablet-form device on the market, not to mention the best-selling iPad in the history of the iPad line. But what we’ve got here is the idea of the iPad made more accessible by the masses – the public that, believe it or not, can’t quite figure out why they’d pay $500 USD for a device that they might accidentally drop when they’re getting up from the couch.

Three elements are at stake here – three features could be modified to a degree that would make everyone on the edge of buying an iPad pick one up in miniature form – then there’s the school factor as well. What about cost? What about the ability to do work? Let’s see what we can fiddle with here with a smaller form factor.

1. Weight

With a smaller iPad comes a lighter iPad. Again, not that the iPad as it exists now is entirely too heavy, but a tablet that wont bust through the screen of my MacBook Pro when I drop it from a foot above it on accident, that’d be better. Of course there’s always the human factor in play – most devices would smash through a display if thrown hard enough.

But here’s the clincher: if the iPad mini is significantly lighter and the size of a standard book, not a textbook, then the device would blast through the e-reader ranks. At that point it doesn’t matter if any or all e-readers have next-generation technology, perfect e-ink displays and amazing readability, they’re just not an iPad. The brand power of the Apple universe remains.

2. Cost

No matter how you spin it, there’s a giant cross-section of people out there that either cannot afford an iPad or can’t justify spending the amount of cash an iPad costs on a device that they don’t necessarily need. Apple needs to attack this massive pile of people. With an iPad mini that cuts costs in a major way would open a door in the same way that the iPod touch does for those unwilling to go the extra mile to pick up an iPhone.

If Apple releases an iPad mini that costs $249.99, I will literally stay up until midnight whatever night they want me to stay up just so I can buy one. I wouldn’t even necessarily keep it – I’m perfectly happy with my iPad 3 – but I know quite a few people in my life that wouldn’t mind getting one as a gift, and at that price it’s just not something I’m going to say no to.

Of course a much lower cost also opens the door for schools to grab hold of the tablet universe. We’ve spoken about low-cost tablets several times before, Android spearheading that movement because it’s free to implement – but with Apple having an opportunity like this, it may be time to jump back into the education business.

3. Free Data

This is my wish, for the most part – and it’s not like it’s going to happen, but here’s the case: it’s already been done. Tablets already exist out there with “free” 3G internet connectivity, that connectivity subsidized by advertisements. Apple would never do that. What they would do – what they could do, someday, is limit the internet connectivity to the iTunes store and App Store exclusively. I’m not sure how that would work, but it has to – it will.

Have a peek at the timeline below to see additional iPad mini bits and pieces and see if you can put the puzzle together before the big event – if and when it happens!

Three iPad mistakes the iPad mini needs to fix is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

We all know you have a secret Starbucks addiction that you just can’t seem to kick, but that’s okay — we’re right there with you. If you happen to have a new iPhone 5 or if you upgraded to iOS 6, you’ll be pleased to know that the Starbucks iOS app has added support for Passbooks, meaning you can pay for that Venti White Chocolate Mocha right through your phone.

You’ll have to get a Starbucks Card first if you don’t already have one, but once you get one, you can add your account to Passbook directly through the Starbucks app, which will then allow you to pay for food and beverages, check your card balances, reload your card with more cash, and add rewards to get free drinks. All of this can happen right on your iPhone.

For what it’s worth, though, Starbucks actually allowed customers to pay through their app long before Passbook came along, and it featured some of the same functions that its news Passbook integration features. However, the added Passbook functionality might just be a way for Starbucks to officially get in on a growing and popular payment system.

The Starbucks iOS app sadly doesn’t yet support the iPhone 5′s larger 4-inch screen, which means users are met with with black bars on top and bottom as the app is still in 4:3 format. However, now that Passbook support is in the Starbucks app, we’ll most likely see official iPhone 5 support follow shortly.

The Starbucks iOS app is a free download and the update is available now in the iTunes App Store.

Starbucks iOS app now supports Apple’s Passbook is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While the hubbub surrounding Apple Maps on iOS 6 has been somewhat sedated, some people who made the move to Google Maps’ web app had been further encouraged by word that it’d be getting Street View imagery soon. And what do you know, barely seven days into the estimated “in two weeks” and here it is. Search for a location (no long press yet), and you’ll spy the familiar icon bottom right. This appears in both Chrome and Safari. While perhaps still not quite as slick as the good old app of yore, a definite panacea for all those iOS toutin’ virtual tourists.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Google

Street View comes to Google Maps web app on iOS, just like they said it would originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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