Apple to Focus on Video Games

 

Thumbnail image for ipad 2 white flat game.jpgApple is shifting the iPad/iPhone focus to gaming. Ever since the devices came out, Apple has seen a huge increase in games played on those devices. However, gaming has been put on the back burner until now.

While Apple is switching the focus for now, some argue that this was Apple’s plans from the start. Many game developers have designed games for the iOS, which has help set Apple apart as a competitor to the big boys like Sony, and, Nintendo.

No word on what Apple will do next, but we can expect more games to come out. Apple has made it clear that the iPhone game is here to stay.

Via Business Insider

Apple beats estimates with Q2 earnings: $24.67 billion revenue, $5.99 billion profit

Apple just announced its earnings for the second quarter of the year, and it’s once again beat estimates, with it reporting earnings of $6.40 a share, a total of $24.67 billion in revenue, and a net profit of $5.99 billion. As for the sales breakdown everyone’s waiting for, Apple says it sold a whopping 18.6 million iPhones in the quarter (up 113 percent over the previous year, and ahead of estimates of 16 million), plus 4.69 million iPads (actually less than the expected 6.29 million, apparently due to supply issues), and 3.76 million Macs, which represents a 28 percent jump over the same quarter a year ago. Not surprisingly, iPods are the one area that continues to slow, with sales of 9.02 million representing a 17 percent decline over the previous year — the iPod touch accounted for more than half of those sales. One other big bright spot for the company is the Asia Pacific region, where it saw revenue grow a staggering 151 percent year-over-year.

Interestingly, Apple isn’t providing any specific sales numbers for the iPad 2 — it’s only saying that it sold every iPad 2 it could make in the quarter, and that it’s working hard to get it into the hands of customers as fast as it can. It didn’t add much more when pressed on the issue later during its earnings call either, with it only going as far as to say that the iPad has the “mother of all backlogs.”

Update: The company’s press release is after the break.

Continue reading Apple beats estimates with Q2 earnings: $24.67 billion revenue, $5.99 billion profit

Apple beats estimates with Q2 earnings: $24.67 billion revenue, $5.99 billion profit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ThinkGeek Now Accepting Pre-Orders for the iCade iPad Cabinet

ThinkGeek iCade

The iCade, originally an April Fool’s joke by ThinkGeek, is finally here – almost. The iPad arcade cabinet finally has a release date: May 11th. The device will start shipping on May 10th, and if you have to be first in line or get one shipped to your home on release day, you can pre-order it now for $99.99 retail price.  The iCade uses Bluetooth to connect to the iPad, and supports both the original iPad and the iPad 2.
If you do buy one, you’ll also want to pick up a copy of Atari’s Greatest Hits in the iTunes App Store – at the moment it’s the only game (although it’s actually a collection of over 100 classic Atari games) to fully support the iCade. ThinkGeek and Ion have partnered to build the arcade cabinet and to produce an API that app developers can use to make their games compatible.

Sign of the times: iPad 2 heads to Toys R Us

When we were younger, we lusted after the top-shelf electric train set. The pow-pow-Power Wheels jeep. The Virtual Boy. These days, that rich kid down the street will have a very different sort of toy. When ModMyi reported that Toys ‘R’ Us was training associates to sell the iPad 2 weeks ago, we thought it might be a leftover April Fools’, but sure enough, Geoffrey the Giraffe will begin pushing Apple’s tablet to children who don’t want to grow up as soon as tomorrow morning.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sign of the times: iPad 2 heads to Toys R Us originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 16 Apr 2011 20:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  sourceToys R Us, 9 to 5 Mac  | Email this | Comments

Still need an iPad 2? Head to Best Buy on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Well now, this is interesting. We’ve been hearing a lot of chatter about Best Buy and the iPad 2, rumors that the company was sitting on a giant pile of tablets ahead of some great event. Well, now we have an interesting tip that says the company will tap into that stock-pile ahead of a big Sunday launch. According to the above image, stores will, in general, have a minimum of three slates each — which in many cases isn’t going to be enough. Good, then, that the company has a guide on how to “minimize customer disappoints.” BBY has earlier said that it is fulfilling reservations first, so if you’re still holding your ticket but not a tablet this might be a good time to give your local big box a ring.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Still need an iPad 2? Head to Best Buy on Sunday, Sunday, Sunday originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Apr 2011 19:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BlackBerry PlayBook Review [Video]

No, it’s not bad, like you expected it to be. More »

Digitimes Squashes iPad 3 Rumors

ipad 3.JPG

A few months ago, right before the iPad 2 was due to be released, a flurry of rumors started that Apple may release another iPad model before the end of the year. One analyst explained their thoughts were that Apple would eventually want to move to a September release schedule for the iPad, which matches the timeframe we usually see new iPod models. Another source pointed to an unnamed Apple staff member who claimed “If you like the iPad 2, wait until you see the iPad 3!” 
Digitimes, for its part, put the kibosh on those rumors this week, claiming that it’s highly unlikely that Apple will cannibalize its current iPad2 sales to bring out an iPad 3. Digitimes says the original rumors hinged on the iPad 2 being some kind of bridge product between the original iPad and something drastically new, but the iPad 2 is doing just fine of its own accord. 
According to the same article however, Apple is asking its touchscreen manufacturers to investigate the feasibility of making touchscreens that are higher resolution than the current iPad 2’s display, which may lend some credence to the rumor that the iPad 3 will have a Retina Display, but according to the report that work is in the very early stages and not likely to yield a new product this year.

Head Tracking Software Provides the iPad 2 with Glasses-Free 3-D

Researchers transformed the iPad 2 into a 3-D display using its front-facing camera

Turns out you don’t need a special display to get 3-D images and effects on a tablet like Apple’s iPad 2.

Thanks to the new iPad’s front-facing camera, researchers at France’s Engineering Human-Computer Interaction Research Group have been able to deliver real-time glasses-free 3-D using some clever head-tracking software.

The system is named “Head-Coupled Perspective” and works by following your head movements to provide a 3-D image that extends into the screen rather than towards your face, somewhat like looking through a window. It could also be applied to other Apple devices that sport a front-facing camera, like the iPhone 4.

In the past, there have been applications that use the iPad as a tool for 3-D modeling, as well as iPhone apps and gaming accessories that provide 3-D effects, with varying degrees of success. Johnny Chung Lee also created a similar, albeit more hardware intensive head-tracking system that used a Wiimote and IR-outfitted safety glasses.

Head-Coupled Perspective exists only as a tech demo for now, but may get turned into a full-fledged iOS app at some point.

iPad 2 Gets Glasses-free 3D Display [TUAW]


Israeli parody details the rise and fall of Apple’s iBoy, humanity as a whole (video)

For those unaware, Eretz Nehederet is effectively the Israeli equivalent to The Onion, and on the 1st of April, they covered the hardest-hitting piece of Apple news to cross their news desk in quite some time. That news, friends, is the iBoy. Available in a variety of skin tones, religious beliefs and languages, this iPad-adorned human is both the best and worst thing to happen to mankind… well, ever. There’s no word on when it’ll be on sale, but it’s fairly clear that “divorce” and “alcohol” are about to take a backseat to this guy when studying factors that rip families to shreds. Click and weep as you see fit.

[Thanks, Lior G.]

Israeli parody details the rise and fall of Apple’s iBoy, humanity as a whole (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Apr 2011 21:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple investigating 3G issues on some Verizon iPad 2s, software fix expected soon

Having trouble hooking up your iPad 2 to Verizon’s 3G network? Turns out you’re not alone, and thankfully, Apple’s well aware of this. In a statement to All Things Digital, Cupertino said it’s investigating this CDMA connectivity issue as reported by “a small number of iPad 2 customers,” and word has it that a software patch will be available soon. Until then, personal hotspot is your friend, or you could just borrow some mobile WiFi from your actual friends — protip: a smile goes a long way.

Apple investigating 3G issues on some Verizon iPad 2s, software fix expected soon originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Apr 2011 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink CNET  |  sourceAll Things Digital  | Email this | Comments