Hasta La Gadget!

We’re not sure if it’s just a slow news day (since it’s Friday and all), but we’re hearing rumors of something that’s extremely likely to happen anyway, that it shouldn’t even be a rumor — that being a Retina display on the second-generation iPad mini. Apple didn’t stuff one in with this first iPad mini, which was disappointing to a lot of users, but it seems the company is finally ready this time around.

DigiTimes is reporting that market observers say it’s “highly likely” that the second-gen iPad mini will get a Retina display, which means that they’re not 100% sure if the new iPad mini will get the upgrade, but it’s pretty likely — about the same conclusion that you or I could come up with based on what we know about Apple.

Of course, we usually don’t put all of our trust into rumors from DigiTimes, but this is certainly one rumor that anyone can jot down in the “obvious” column. On top of the Retina display, though, we can also definitely expect some other spec bumps with the processor, RAM, and maybe even the two cameras for improved FaceTime quality and better photos.

The iPad mini was released earlier last month, and it was essentially Apple’s answer to the 7-inch tablet market, it has a slightly larger display with an even larger price tag. It uses Apple’s last-generation A5 processor with a surprisingly-low resolution of 1024×768. However, that certainly didn’t take away from our iOS experience. Take a look at our full review to learn more.

[via DigiTimes]

Next iPad mini rumored to get Retina display is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s less than a couple of months away from CES 2013 now and brands large and small have already begun war on the media with releases – today’s big news from Soundfreaq contains one heck of a rundown of future sound products. This rundown includes the first lightning speaker docks for the iPhone 5 and iPad mini as well as a set of Dual System Streaming products for futuristic audio action.

This party begins with the Sound Platform 2, continues on with the Sound Rise Lightning, and rolls forward with Sound Step / Sound Step Recharge Lightning. If those names weren’t long enough to get you riled up about the Apple device friendly show about to be brought on by Soundfreaq, perhaps you’d better get a look at the first basic specifications:

Sound Platform 2 takes what the first iteration was and brings on more enhanced bass, high-volume quality, large speaker drivers, Tone Control galore, and UQ3 spacial enhancement. This all comes with dual USB charging ports for whatever you’ve got that’s chargeable via USB, a Universal Device Tray, and connectivity to basically any mobile device you’ve got on hand. You’ve also got a rechargeable battery pack and Bluetooth integration for wireless music action – all of this coming on February 17th, 2013 for $149.99.

Sound Step, Sound Step Recharge, and Sound Rise are all products that’ve been out in the past, but are now going to be offered up with the new Apple lightning connectors for futuristic iPhone 5 / iPad 4 / iPad mini connectivity. Sound Rise is at its heart an alarm clock disguised as an iPhone dock, here with Bluetooth wireless connectivity and USB charging as well. You can also connect with any smart device – Android, Windows Phone 8, BlackBerry included – with the USB charging port and 3.5mm headphone jack – make it yours!

Sound Step Recharge (and the non-recharge Sound Step) are massive beasts of audio magic in a compact size, here now with lightning dock integration. It’s got a rechargeable battery, works with iOS devices as well as every other kind of smart device with USB charging and headphone jack integration, and makes the sound jump with UQ3 spacial sound enhancement!

We’ll see more on final pricing and release dates for these updated units as well as the rest of the Soundfreaq line at CES 2013 – join us in January and stay tuned to SlashGear until them for every single early release, rumor, and hands-on experience!

Soundfreaq brings lightning to CES 2013 in massive audio preview is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The tablet market went through some huge changes in 2012. Apple finally introduced a (somewhat) more affordable iPad. Microsoft released Windows 8 and launched its own hardware. And for the first time, every major player had a tablet that was actually, you know, good. More »

If you’ve got a Gmail account and you work with the iPhone or an iPad, you may have been jealous of all the extra fabulous features that your Android friends and family have had that you didn’t in a Gmail app – that era has ended. With Gmail 2.0 for iOS, you’ve got a perfectly simple interface that’s so stripped down, you might think something is missing. In reality you’ve got the best-tuned Gmail app experience yet offered on iOS – though that should be true every time there’s a release, it’s gotten particularly well improved over the past this time around.

This new version of Gmail has, first and foremost, easy access to multiple accounts. Perhaps you’ve got an account for work, another for personal business, and another you use to keep in contact with your granny. You don’t want those all mixed up, do you? Gmail 2.0 makes it perfectly simple to switch between them on the fly with a simple tug of the display – right up where your profile name is – check the new arrow and make your faces appear.

The 6 months since the team at Google announced they’d be creating a whole new Gmail experience for iOS have been spent not just adding usability features, but adding aesthetic cues and tweaks as well. You’ll find that this version of Gmail is flatter and smoother than ever before, even going so far as to update the color scheme of the icon for the app – white now takes over the previously dominant red – or does it emphasize it?

This version of Gmail allows you to see much more in-detail invitations to events via Google+ as well as the ability to give a +1 to Google+ posts without leaving the app. In short, this version of Gmail entices you to join Google+ more than ever, and we expect this trend to continue through the future as well. Access posts, RSVP, or jump on down to the mobile web if you absolutely must – but stay if you can!

You can download this version of Gmail from the iTunes app store right this minute for absolutely no cash at all – it’s free! You’ll need a Gmail account to work with Gmail, of course, but you can create a profile from the front screen of the app as well.

Gmail 2.0 for iOS Review is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

One of the takeaways from our iPad mini review was quite how travel-friendly the smaller tablet proved to be in comparison to the full-sized version. The 9.7-inch iPad has grown progressively slimmer across its generations, but the 7.9-inch form factor has bag-friendly advantages in its narrower width and shorter length. The fact that it’s so easily used one-handed makes it a more direct alternative to a Kindle or NOOK for ebook reading, too. While the WiFi-only model’s design begged to be included in your bag or purse, the 4G version finally has the flexibility to match.

We’ve thoroughly reviewed the iPad mini in its WiFi-only form, so we won’t re-tread old ground. Suffice to say, embedded cellular data makes far more sense on a smaller tablet; all too often the 10-inch-scale slates end up only being used around the home or office. Being able to get online, check email, use navigation apps, and stream media without worrying about if there’s a WiFi hotspot nearby really does step up the usefulness of the iPad mini.

The obvious omissions of the WiFi-only model remain, chief among them being the absence of a Retina display. That’s presumably down to component availability and price (though we’d be surprised if it wasn’t present on the iPad mini 2) but, while it’s clearly grainier when viewed side-by-side with the fourth-gen iPad with Retina, the fact remains that in running all of the existing iPad apps out of the box, the iPad mini hits the marketplace running.

One of the most useful elements of the iPad mini is the mobile hotspot functionality, allowing us to ditch a standalone data card. Convergence often comes with compromise; yes, most modern smartphones can be turned into mobile hotspots, but usually at the sacrifice of most of your day’s battery life. Surprisingly, the iPad mini far out-performs the average standalone mobile hotspot for runtime, especially if you leave the display off.

With realistic usage – a mixture of browsing, video playback, emailing, messaging, music playback (both streamed and local), ebook reading, and some FaceTime – on a combination of WiFi and LTE, the iPad mini reached an incredible 19.5 hours (of active usage; 3 days, 3 hours standby) with 35-percent still on the gage. With the display off and mobile hotspot mode in use, we exceeded twenty hours, far in excess of the roughly 3-4 hours a typical hotspot would give you.

If you’re a frequent traveller, then those numbers are probably looking very appealing. Quickly sharing your LTE connection with a laptop (or indeed another tablet; you can have up to five WiFi clients connected at any one time) can be a lifesaver when you’re on the move, and the knowledge that you’re doing so without sacrificing overall runtime is incredible. Throw in the fact that the cellular iPad mini also has true GPS (which the WiFi-only model does without) and – with the right combination of apps – it turns into a serviceable navigation device too.

There’s a not-inconsiderable premium to be paid for the cellular version: starting at $459, it’s $130 more than the comparable WiFi-only model. Then there’s data costs on top: AT&T offers 250MB for $14.99 per month, 3GB for $30, or 5GB for $50, while Verizon’s tiers come in at 1GB for $20, 2GB for $30, or 5GB for $50. Alternatively, both carriers allow the iPad mini to be added to their shared-data plans (“Mobile Share” on AT&T or “Share Everything” on Verizon), which allows the tablet and your smartphone to dip into the same data pool. AT&T also offers a two-year agreement option, with a $100 subsidy in return for the commitment.

More expensive, then, but with LTE the iPad mini feels like it’s how the tablet was meant to be used. Flexible and long lasting, there’s none of the compromise that usually comes with 4G (barring cost) and all of the features that we appreciated from the iPad mini WiFi. If you’re often on the move, it would be the iPad mini WiFi + Cellular that we recommended for your bag.

iPad mini 4G Review (Verizon) is written by Vincent Nguyen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.