Don't Listen to Them! iPad Sales Don't Disappoint!

MG Siegler is concise and right on. iPad sales this quarter was only disappointing to those who thought that Apple would sell more than 19 million units. Seriously though, think about it… Apple still sold 16 million iPads... in 3 months! The fact that this product category is only 4 years old and in total have sold over 210 million, that's quite a feat!

As a standalone business, just based on the last 12 months of revenue, the iPad would be in the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500. Think about that for a second. The iPad alone is bigger than almost all Fortune 500 companies.

For a full breakdown of sales, head over to 9to5mac.

Paper and now Pencil for iPads

Introducing the latest in writing technology, Pencil. An amazing tool for not only graphic artists but for those who already love Fifty Three's FREE app, Paper for iPad. I'm excited, are you? If you are, then I highly recommend you take advantage of the limited introductory pricing starting at $49.95 for the graphite brushed aluminum Pencil or $59.95 for walnut. If you're still not excited, watch the video down below. If you're worried about being able to convert your notes or drawings into real paper format, look no further as Moleskin and Fifty Three teamed up to print your books straight from the app!

With Erase, Blend, and adaptive Palm Rejection, Pencil puts creative possibility in your hands.

• Eraser tip - A unique sensor lets you flip Pencil to erase when connected to Paper, without switching tools.

• Bluetooth Smart - Pencil’s certified Bluetooth Smart wireless delivers a fast, stable connection with industry-leading power conservation.

• Seamless body - Each Pencil is milled from a single, solid piece of material. Graphite brushed aluminum and also available in Walnut.

• Lasting power - Pencil’s battery charges off any USB port in under 90 minutes and delivers power for up to a month of normal use on a single charge.

• Accurate sensing - Pencil’s tip and eraser sensors are plated in 14kt gold for lightning fast, accurate reaction.

• Tapered tip - Pencil’s durable tip has been carefully friction-tuned to feel great on a screen. Use the broad side of the tip to fill in larger sections. Extra tip and eraser included.

iPad Mini with Retina Display Doesn't Quite Pop

One deciding factor that may lead you to chose one iPad over another, besides weight and size, maybe also lie with the color gamut of the screen. Anand Lal Shimpi goes over the entire color spectrum pointing out that the mini's display isn't as precise as compared to other similar sized tablets.

photo by AnandTech

The iPad mini with Retina Display has the same color gamut as the standard iPad mini, which is narrower than the iPad Air and less than the sRGB coverage we normally look for. The biggest issue here is that there are other smaller tablets in this price range that do offer sRGB coverage (e.g. Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HDX 8.9).

Within its gamut coverage, the mini’s panel is fairly accurate. A look at our GMB checker test shows performance competitive with the Nexus 7 and not far off the 4th generation iPad. Grayscale reproduction is also quite good. The display looks really good otherwise, but you don’t get the same visual punch you do on the iPad Air.

With this conclusion, are you still a fan? Which size are you going with? I'm leaning towards the Air right now but that's just my two cents.

The Wirecutter on the other hand has declared Apple's new iPad mini with Retina Display its winner for best overall tablet. Of course, if you read PDFs, sheet music or comics, the iPad Air is still the better choice.

Image Retention Pops up once again on Various new iPad mini's

Marco Arment posted a follow-up article today in regards to his latest finding with his personal iPad mini. Over a year ago, image retention started popping up in multiple user experiences on the Retina MacBook Pros which led him to create a simple test image. This can "detect" whether or not you have a faulty LCD screen and once again it applies here to Apple's new iPad mini with Retina Display. It comes without mentioning that if you have a Retina MacBook Pro, you can look up your model ((The manufacturer that had the most hits for positive image retention came from LG while the Samsung variant produced far less instances.)) by running this simple command in the terminal window:

ioreg -lw0 | grep "EDID" | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6

credit: MacRumors user: kpdillon

With the new iPad minis selling out this week and other LTE versions shipping out next, you should give this test a shot immediately when taking delivery. And if you're able, exchange the product if you demonstrate image retention. As Marco also mentions, because of the short supply, the chances of an exchange can be hindered but if you plan on keeping your iPad mini for years to come, I'd highly recommend trying as best to squash the problem before it's too late.

On a good note, not all screens are presenting this issue as he also goes on the mention that the new iPhone 5s and iPad Air do NOT exhibit this symptom.

Here's his direct link to the screen test.

Minimally Minimal Goes with the iPad Air

Andrew Kim on the iPad Air.

Honestly, for most people, the biggest debate with tablets right now isn’t if you should get an iPad or a competing product. The debate is if you should get the iPad mini with Retina display or the iPad Air. You could argue that the iPad mini now offers the same functionality for a lower price in a more condensed package. However, I would argue that the iPad Air offers the benefits of a larger display without the weight/size disadvantages it once had.

photo by Andrew Kim

I'm receiving my iPad mini with Retina Display in a week or two and will post insights then. Only until I've come to grasp the productivity and consumption aspects within my daily life as a pilot will you see my post. Stay tuned.

Dalrymple Reviews Apple's iPad mini with Retina Display

Jim Dalrymple of The Loop on Apple's new iPad mini with Retina Display.

The iPad mini can easily be your only iPad. The fact is, it always could, but you can do so now without feeling like you’re giving something up in return for the size. The iPad mini is small, it has a Retina display and it’s the most powerful iPad to date. There is just nothing bad to say about the iPad mini.

I can't wait to get mine. I orders the Space Gray 32GB T-Mobile version. Ships in 5-10 days. I pulled the trigger at 6:25am EST.

Which iPad Am I Buying?

Both the new iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display are set to debut three weeks apart with the iPad Air going on sale this Friday, November 1st. Available for pre-order online and available for "in-store pickup", if you want it same day with no lines, reserve it online and pick it up. If you ask me, I'm doing just that. If I didn't make it clear already, I'm grabbing the 32GB LTE, T-Mobile option, leaning towards 51% space gray. You can't beat 200MB free of data and they'll have various one time plans available too. Just incase you go over 200MB, they'll just cut it off and reset it the following month so no overages! During this afternoon's Apple earnings call, CEO Tim Cook mentioned that he believes the iPad mini with Retina Display is going to be hard to come by this Christmas / Holiday season primarily due to manufacturing constraints. So yes, I too will be pre-ordering a mini and make my decision on which one to keep after I've handled both new iPads. While we're at it, if you must know, I'm also opting for the 32GB LTE, T-Mobile option in space gray… maybe. Or maybe white. Darn it!

"In terms of the retina or the iPad mini with Retina Display, we'll start shipping later in November. Uh…i t's unclear whether we will have enough for the quarter or not. We know how many we will have but we really don't know the demand until we start shipping, so we'll see how that goes. I think we'll do fairly well with with iPad as i'd mentioned before. we felt like its gonna be a great holiday season." - Tim Cook

Helping me with which size to pick, here's Jon Gruber's take on the iPad Air.

Calling the new full-size model the iPad Air says it all. In one year, the iPad Air has dropped 30 percent of its weight, narrowed considerably, and doubled in performance. A weight drop like that is significant for any product, but especially so for a device that is primarily used while being held in your hands. It’s startling when first you hold one.

I’m an iPad Mini convert. After just a few weeks last year, my Mini became my one and only iPad. My iPad usage is mostly for reading, and not much for typing. The smaller size and lighter weight just fit my usage better. I went into this year’s event assuming I’d walk out wanting to buy the new Mini. But the new Air is so much lighter, and thus so much more amenable to holding it in just one hand, that I walked out of the event completely unsure which one I want. In fact, the new Air (469 grams) is closer in weight to the new Mini (331 grams) than it is to the old iPad 3/4 (650 grams) that it replaces. (Those weights are all for the Wi-Fi-only models.)

The Verge posted their hands-on glimpse of the iPad Air last Tuesday during the Apple Event. In case you missed it:

http://youtu.be/6XunU-iXwyc

I'm excited, none the less, to once again have a full-sized iPad so that I can enjoy my comics, magazines and movies on my commute or while I sit in the pilot lounge during prolonged stays.

For further reading, iMore's Rene Ritchie offers his advice on which color to get and which model to get. I stand by it and agree with him. It didn't make it necessarily easier for me but I'm sure that you might be able to take something away.

Also if you want to read an edited transcript of Apple CEO Tim Cook Macworld has you covered. He also goes on record saying, "I think it’s going to be an iPad Christmas." If you ask me, exciting times ahead for Apple especially with the mention of new product categories.

I'll leave you with Apple's awesome pencil commercial. Take a peak. What do you think? Which one are you going to buy?

http://youtu.be/o9gLqh8tmPA

Apple's 2013 Fall Event in Review (and what I'm buying)

Recap After the introduction of the amazing and incredible iPad Air, the iPad mini with Retina Display, the Mac Pro, Haswell MacBook Pros, and finally OS X Mavericks, my biggest takeaway was the continued onslaught by Apple's talented programming team of providing productivity applications for one low cost; FREE.

The $19.99 operating system upgrade that we've been familiar the past few years has gone free (just like iOS), and all the iLife and iWork applications are now included with every new Mac and iOS device. That about quells any arguments that one could pose against converting over to an Apple computer. Think about it for a minute. You buy a computer and out of the box, the only applications you might need are… you tell me? Apple has always been about providing the best experience to the end user and BOOM, there it is!

If you need something a little more in line with "Pro" in photography, download Aperture (which received a modest .5 update to 3.5) and on the film side of the aisle, you still have the controversial Final Cut Pro X. Either than that, you're now free to collaborate offline or even online in real time with the new Numbers, Keynote and Pages also available on iCloud beta! One caveat to all this, Apple still hasn't given us users more cloud storage space unlike Yahoo's new free 1TB storage option or Google's unlimited photo storage.

The other big free news story of today happens to come from T-Mobile's introduction of 200MB a month of data for free! With both new iPads encompassing all 14 LTE bands in a single chipset for an additional $130 over the standard wifi version, it's a no brainer to elect a T-Mobile + WiFi version.

In-Depth

Since I never quite had the chance to use my iPad 3 let alone unbox and open it, nor had the chance to really use my iPad mini (it's my daughter's new Disney television), I've been eagerly waiting for the next 9.7" iPad and today, Apple gave us the iPad Air. From what I'm gathering, it's amazing. Smaller and more capable that its predecessor with the kicker being a device that's comfortable to hold with one hand. That's always been my falling in love moment with the iPad mini and I'm quite excited to try this out with the iPad Air. You can count on me to be in line the night prior to Nov 1st or eagerly waiting on my computer to buy and click Space Gray 64GB LTE+WiFI "In-Store Pickup".

When you hear about the upgraded dimensions of the iPad Air, you’re undoubtedly impressed. 28 percent lighter. 20 percent thinner. 1 pound. 1 freaking pound! But it’s not until you actually hold the device until what Apple has done here really registers. - MG Siegler

Over the course of the past year, I've advised many friends and acquaintances, and even family members to grab the iPad mini without hesitation. The weight, form factor and size was just perfect and didn't lead to wrist fatigue. None have returned it nor complained and it's always been praised. The one glaring omission from the first generation was a Retina Display and now we have it. The release date is set for late November and you can also bet that I'm going to pull the trigger on this device. I might keep both, but my aim is to classify the use of each iPad and optimally choose one device. I'll be keeping my 1st gen iPad mini too. On a side note, I also have a 2012 Nexus 7 tablet. Click and Buy Space Gray 32GB LTE+WiFi

If you've installed OS X Mavericks, Federico Viticci from Macstories.net has posted a very thorough roundup on tips, tricks and details here.

Now here's the bigger news on my personal front. Ever since I sold my 2008 MacBook Pro, I've been using my wife's late-2010 MacBook Air and taking it along with me on my overnights. I've been hogging it so much (yes I'm using it right now to type this post) that it's downright disgusting. As personal punishment, I've kept the bright purple Marc by Marc Jacobs slip cover and can be seen totting it around. NBD. It's come in quite handy as it's easily spotted.

So, with that, am I going to pull the trigger on the new 15" MacBook Pro w/ Retina Display with Crystalwell? As some of you may know, I've been putting on hold for just over a year. I really want to say yes and I'm still really close, but with Broadwell touting increased CPU figures over Haswell's battery and power management upgrades, I'm still up in the air. I need a laptop now so the scales are tipped more towards the just do it but I'll let you know. The one I would get would be the 15" with a dedicated GPU so that starts at $2599 and I'd up the CPU to the next step up for $200. Add Apple Care and you're above the $3k mark! It's pretty scary once you break that threshold but if it's going to last over 36 months, then $2.75 a day for an awesome machine is a figure that I can live with. my previous 2008 MBP cost me just $0.85 a day (Purchased for $1899 + $200 in upgrades two years later minus the selling price of $860 divided by 4 years)

Free Apps on iTunes Store today!

A bunch of apps on the iTunes store have gone free! Both The Verge and 9to5mac have listed them all but here are my favorites.  

Day One - a beautiful journaling app for iOS also available for $9.99 on Mac.  

Over - add text with a beautiful selection of fonts and artwork to your pictures then and only then do they become Facebook worthy =) 

Barefoot World Atlas - a great map with animations and world facts just like what we could have used in 7th grade geography joust! 

and of course the $19.99 app Traktor DJ either the iPhone or iPad for free!  

Playing Offense and Defense

Farhad Manjoo on the iPad mini.

Launching the iPad mini may be purely a reactive, defensive move for Apple. But when you’re as big as Apple is now, you can play offense and defense at the same time.

I whole heartedly believed that the 7" market was going to fail but with the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire's selling at $199, those devices captured an audience. Heck, I even bought the Nexus 7 but I'll admit, it'll be up for sale when my iPad mini comes in. Is the $129 premium worth the ecosystem of apps to you?