the iPadHole

LG Display’s CEO, Kwon Young-soo has indicated that while demand for its LCD TV screens is somewhat soft, it is having trouble with the smaller LEDs for the iPad.

“Demand (from Apple) keeps growing and we can’t meet it all,” he said. “Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand. We are considering increasing production lines for iPad products, but overall supply is likely to remain tight until early next year.”

The iPad has a 9.7-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen multitouch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology. It has 1024-by-768-pixel resolution, at 132 pixels per inch (ppi).

Apple has sold 3.47 million iPads since the device first launched in the U.S. in April. Apple has slowly been making the iPad available in more countries around the world, most recently in Hong Kong, Singapore, and New Zealand. Demand in Hong Kong has been hi

The iPad has been only available via gray market channels in Hong Kong so far. Independent vendors, such as Kurt Lo, have been importing them from the U.S. and other countries through friends and then re-selling them at a mark-up.

Now that it is officially available in Hong Kong, vendors like Lo will purchase them legitimately and then sell them via gray market channels to mainland China, where the iPad is not yet available. “Crazy — the iPad is crazy,” Lo said. “Makes me very crazy and very busy today.”

With today’s launches, the iPad is now available in a total of 19 countries.

Source: iPad News InformationWeek.com

OtterBox just announced that their first iPhone 4 case is now available, which will offer a ton of protection against impact as well as ward off the vile Death Grip. The Defender Series case is comprised of three layers: a scratch- and water-resistant screen, a hard plastic case, and a rubber skin on the outside. Access to all of the necessary keys are there, like volume and lock, as well as a hole for the camera and LED flash. There’s even space to show off the Apple logo, for those times when you feel the need to caress it lovingly.

The Defender Series is quite the set-up, just be prepared to lose a lot of slimness. On the one hand, it makes your iPhone 4 no longer the skinniest smartphone in the world, but on the other, you’ve got plenty of space to spare. I actually found when using the Defender with the BlackBerry Pearl, the added size made it feel better in the hand. For those wanting to keep their iPhone 4 slim, OtterBox will be offering their Impact Series (a simple silicone skin with extra protection around the corners) sometime soon. For something a little in between, the Commuter series includes a removable hard case, so you can swap between slim and pocketable or large and in charge modes as needed.

The OtterBox iPhone 4 Defender case runs a relatively steep $49.95, but it’s likely not on the list of free cases Apple is giving out, and I’d be hard-pressed to imagine any other case protecting a phone better.

Source: InToMobile.com

Apple will sell 12.9 million iPads before the end of this year, according to the market watchers at iSuppli, upping their earlier estimate of 7.1 million “magical and revolutionary” devices.

“The iPad is shaping up to be the ‘Tickle Me Elmo’ of the 2010 holiday season,” said iSuppli’s Rhoda Alexander in a statement, meaning that “product demand [is] expected to vastly exceed available supply.”

“iSuppli believes that the only limitation on iPad sales now is production — and not demand,” Alexander said. “Apple has taken a very controlled approach introducing this product to new markets, with manufacturing limitations likely being the major inhibitor on how quickly iPad sales expand.”

If Apple can continue to increase the output of it Asian production partners, according to Alexander, the iPad’s future looks bright indeed: shipments of the device will soar to 36.5 million in 2011 and 50.4 million in 2012.

Alexander also states that Apple will “undoubtedly” update the iPad in April 2011, with likely changes including a camera and the expansion of the line into different screen sizes.

Although Alexander sees some competition from Asus and Acer near the end of this year, Apple will pretty much own the field until HP and others join the market, most likely in 2011.

And competition won’t be hardware-based, she avers, but rather will center on the application ecosystem that each vendor can encourage. “Just like the iPhone,” says Alexander, “the rest of the market is feverishly playing catch-up to the iPad at this point.”

Source: iPad News TheRegister

Apple has pulled its iPhone 4 bumper cases from its online store. The colorful rubber and molded plastic cases have been priced at zero on Apple’s site and now carry the note, “iPhone 4 Bumpers are currently unavailable for sale.”

The bumper cases played a large role in Steve Jobs’s iPhone 4 press conference last week. Addressing the mounting concerns over the handset’s “death grip” reception problem, Apple’s CEO offered free bumpers or cases to iPhone 4 owners who have had issues with the phone’s antenna. The bumper, along with other cases, has been shown in lab tests to alleviate the antenna issues.

While Apple has yet to state why the bumpers are no longer unavailable on the site, Apple is most likely bracing for an inevitable in-flux of demand in the wake of last week’s announcement. At the press conference, Jobs said the company did not have enough bumpers for the 3 million customers who have purchased the iPhone 4 and would partner with third-party case makers to give users a choice between bumpers or cases.

Source: PCMag.com

NEW YORK (CBS) Whoopi Goldberg is not a happy iPhone 4 customer. Join the line, Whoop.

The comedian and commentator of ABC’s influential daytime talk show “The View” took to the program to express her outrage at what she says was the shoddy performance of her new iPhone 4. Dropped calls, thrown away e-mails – Goldberg’s patience wore thin.

“I just murdered my new iPhone,” she confessed to her tablemates.

This was far more than some antenna problem, she said. “It threw away e-mail that I got. It didn’t take stuff in,” she said of the newly released device.

Goldberg’s reaction to the gadget was not pretty. “I took that bad boy, I opened the car door,” she said. Then she mimed smashing it to the sidewalk.

Goldberg’s not necessarily anti-Apple. She says she “loves her iPad.” Both she and co-host Joy Behar have them and say they are fond of the product.

She’s not alone with being frustrated with Apple’s latest updates and “fixes.” The iPhone 4 has been riddled with problems since its June 24 release. Apple CEO Steve Jobs even held a special press conference Friday to address the growing chorus of customer complaints.

Source: CBSNews.com

Apple on Monday said that its iPad will be available in nine more countries on Friday, July 23.

Launched on April 3 in the U.S., the iPad was subsequently introduced in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK on May 28.

On Friday, customers in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore will be able to buy Apple’s iPad.

Apple did not disclose specific iPad price points in these markets.

In markets where the iPad is currently offered, the Wi-Fi models carry a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for 16GB, $599 (US) for 32GB, and $699 (US) for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models list for $629 (US) for 16GB, $729 (US) for 32GB and $829 (US) for 64GB.

Apple said it will introduce the iPad in additional countries later this year.

Last month, Apple said it had sold over 3 million iPads in 80 days. The company is expected to update iPad sales information on Tuesday, July 20 when it reports financial results for its FY 2010 third quarter.

In April, market research firm iSuppli said it expected Apple to sell over 7 million iPads this year.

iSuppli said earlier this month that it expects sales of touch screens for slate-type devices will rise nearly 5000% in 2010 due to sales of Apple’s iPad and competing products.

Hardware markers are planning to introduce a variety of netbooks and tablets based on Google’s Chrome OS and Android operating systems later this year. The Dell Streak, which runs Android, is expected to be released any day.

But at the moment, the iPad pretty much stands alone.

New iPad News

Source: InformationWeek.com

Multitasking Browser offers iPad users the ability to track a Twitter feed, update their Facebook status, or keep tabs on the weather all while browsing other Web sites on an iPad. The app from InnovPixels works reasonably well, although it has limitations, when compared to the mobile version of Safari that make it an unlikely choice as your everyday browser. What’s more, Multitasking Browser lacks other seemingly obvious features that it needs to be a truly great app.

The way Multitasking Browser works is similar to the way that Cruz works on your Mac. The app provides you with two browser windows, one that’s sized normally for your iPad and another smaller browser window that you use to view the mobile versions of Websites. In landscape mode these windows appear side-by-side, while in portrait mode, the mini-browser is accessible using a somewhat less useful, non-multitasking popover menu.

The app’s main browser window offers many of the standard amenities you’d expect of a good Web browser, but it lacks features that you may already be using in Safari on your iPad. So you can easily add new bookmarks or open those you’ve saved, view all your active Web pages, and double-tap on any article you’re viewing to zoom in for easier reading. But if you’re used to using Mobile Safari’s bookmark bar, you won’t find this feature in Multitasking Browser. Sites such as RadioParadise.com, which can stream music in the background on your iPad, don’t work–even to stream music in the foreground–using Multitasking Browser.

The mini-browser ships with 14 pre-defined bookmarks for popular mobile sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Meebo, Weather.com, and others. But what’s bizarre is that the app offers no way for you to bookmark your own favorite mobile sites in the mini-browser. So, if you want to use ESPN.com’s mobile site, you have to enter the address every time you use it. Furthermore, unlike the desktop-based Cruz, which lets you “trick” the sites you’re visiting into thinking that the mini-browser is an actual mobile browser, Multitasking Browser doesn’t change the mini-browser’s user agent to make the site you’re visiting think you’re using a mobile version of Safari. The end result is that sites like Macworld’s mobile site, which look at the browser you’re using and load the appropriate page, load the non-mobile Website instead. Also, when using the browser in landscape mode, there’s no way to hide the mini-browser.

If you’re interested in keeping tabs on social networking or other mobile sites while browsing the Web, Multitasking Browser offers some convenience that otherwise outweighs the app’s shortcomings. But in its present iteration, Multitasking Browser doesn’t offer the kind of upside necessary to tempt you away from Safari. In short, it’s a good idea that needs some more refinement to make it great.

Original Article in iPad News.

In the wake of Consumer Reports’ decision to un-recommend the iPhone 4, Apple’s summoned select members of the mainstream and tech press to its headquarters for a 10 a.m. news conference Friday.

Although the company hasn’t specifically said the discussion will center around the “Death Grip” antenna controversy, you can bet that’s where it will end up. Even if Apple really just wants to announce that white iPhone 4s are now available, or that the device soon will be sold by Verizon – neither of which I believe will be on the agenda – the talk inevitably will turn to the phone’s signal woes.

And that’s as it should be. Apple’s silence on the matter – other than its vague July 2 letter and CEO Steve Jobs’ seemingly cavalier e-mails – has been maddening. Apple’s a control-freak of a company, but this situation is now completely out of control. Let’s face it, when David Letterman mocks your product with a Top Ten list, you’ve got a serious PR problem on your hands.

Here’s what I think might happen Friday:

But in terms of what’s happening to it in the popular culture, any further Apple defensiveness would be a huge mistake.

Apple needs to do something to solve the problem, even if its executives believe in their hearts that there isn’t really a problem. The perception is growing that something’s amiss, and only stepping up and fixing this minor issue will keep it from becoming a major disaster.

Update: Bloomberg quotes a “person familiar with the matter” as saying an Apple engineer warned CEO Steve Jobs about the antenna issues before the iPhone 4 was released. Bloomberg also says one of Apple’s “carrier partners” raised a red flag before the phone went on sale as well.

The “death grip” problem is unfortunately real for the iPhone 4. When skin comes into contact with and bridges the two metal bands in the lower left corner of the iPhone, the displayed signal strength drops. This may or may not affect voice calls or data sessions on the iPhone. I’ve been able to replicate the signal drop, but haven’t experienced any actual performance problems. Others have reported dropped calls in areas with weak signal coverage when the antenna is obscured.

If the signal strength attenuates on your iPhone and you want to prevent this from happening, here are a handful of ways that do the trick:

1. Use a Bumper or iPhone 4 Case: This is the official solution for the issue provided by Apple. Apple recommends that iPhone 4 owners buy a $30 bumper or other case, which alleviates the problem. It does what Apple says it does, but why is it the owner’s responsibility to fix it?

2. Hold It Different: When first questioned about the signal reception issues, Apple CEO Steve Jobs famously responded in an email to a customer that he was holding it incorrectly. His words were, “Avoid holding it that way.” This works, too, but could leave lefties in a lurch.

3. Use Duct Tape: This one is my favorite. Consumer Reports, which this week said it can’t recommend the iPhone 4 to consumers due to the “death grip” issue, suggested that users slap some duct tape on the section of the phone in question. This prevents your skin from touching the antenna and solves the problem. If duct tape can’t fix it, nothing can! Of course, your iPhone will gain a new level of street toughness with its taped-together look.

4. Use Any Other Type of Tape: I actually tested this. You can solve the problem with masking tape, electrical tape (my personal favorite, plus, it’s black), scotch tape, and packing tape (clear or brown). These solutions are better than duct tape, in my opinion, because they leave less of a sticky residue when the tape is removed from the iPhone.

5. Wait for Apple’s Software “Fix”: Apple has promised a software update to “solve” the antenna problem — only changing the number of bars displayed on the iPhone’s signal meter doesn’t actually change the physics involved with the antenna itself. This might help to change the perceived performance problem, but won’t prevent the iPhone 4′s signal from degrading when the antenna is covered up.

Suggestions for Apple to make this all go away:

1. Give Away Free Bumpers: Apple clearly doesn’t want to admit there is a problem with the iPhone 4′s antenna. Apple needs to own up to it, and at the very least make the $30 bumpers a free option at the time of purchase so the antenna is covered properly. This alone wouldn’t solve the problem, but it would prevent the symptoms from occurring. That likely will be enough to make most people happy. Also, a $30 fix per iPhone (on a product that has to cost less than $1 to make) is probably the cheapest option Apple has.

2. Install Plastic Film On New iPhones: Most brand new phones are packaged and shipped with a clear plastic film covering them. This is to prevent damage and scratching before the phone is sold. Apple could easily add a piece of this clear plastic film to the left side of the iPhone during the manufacturing process. Problem solved.

3. Recall the iPhone 4: I don’t think this is going to happen, and I think it will be more of a pain to iPhone 4 owners, but it could help. First, however, Apple would need to redesign the iPhone 4′s antenna, adjust its manufacturing processes, package and the ship the millions of replacement iPhones. That will take months and will cost Apple dearly.

Source: InformationWeek.com