So April 3rd is the magic date for the iPad release. Pre-order now . . . if you want. That’s really the question now, who really wants it?

We want to hear what you think about the iPad: the Good, the bad, and the ugly?

• Overpriced?
• Under-resourced?
• Too little Freedom?
• HUGE?
• Gaming future?
• Big Brother Device for browsing?
• Kindle replacement?
• Only 1 application can be running at a time boys and girls, don’t get ahead of yourself – Steve
• WTF?
• I’m buying it on the third!!!

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• Since Apple’s negotiations with AT&T have been going smoothly for the iPad, why not include some 3G on the new MBP as well?
• Intel has almost promised the i5 to be used in Apple’s next models (although unlikely, the i7 would be absolutely awesome)
• Possible LED back-light.
• More space and cheaper Solid State Capacity (although probably still too expensive for most people).
• The new graphic card switching function I mentioned in a previous post. This would also make the battery more efficient.
• Possible nVidia Optimus Graphic card setup.
• Possible late March Release!

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MacBook Air – Only 11 days since the last update so “maybe”. I have not read much about any anticipated changes so my guess is as good as yours.

MacPro - it has been 336 days since the last update. With an average of 236 days between updates we can expect a release very soon. The biggest change is a suspected update to Intel 6-core Xeon Gulftown processors.

Because all these laptops are due for an update I can definitely see Apple revamping the whole lineup (excluding the new macbook of course). We’ll hopefully see very very soon.

iPhone - Long time here as well; its been almost 100 hundred days over the average. Expect a new iPhone to enter the market as well. Apple has patented some very interesting ideas lately that relate to the users swiping their finger over the camera to control music playback and such. . . interesting. Expect something cool!

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The Dev-team gives the details:

iPhone 3G and 3GS unlockers should always be very wary to update their firmware.  This is no exception.  If you make a mistake along the way you may find yourself updating to official 3.1.3 in which case you will lose your unlock, possibly forever.

iPhone 3GS users (regardless of unlock) should stay away from this and all 3.1.3 jailbreak tools unless you know you have your “SHSH hashes” backed up via Cydia.  That’s because if you make a mistake you may find yourself stuck at official 3.1.3 with no way to jailbreak or come back down to 3.1.2 to jailbreak.

If you really truly feel that you need to update, this version creates a custom 3.1.3 IPSW for you to restore to on your iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS with early bootrom, iPod touch 1G, and iPod touch 2G with early bootrom.  If you don’t know if you have an early bootrom or not, please avoid updating until you learn more.

Here is the torrent link and here are further instructions. . .

Have fun but be careful.

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iPod Touch Fans continues. . .

It also contains a new baseband that has not been hacked and so if you need to unlock your iPhone 3G you should avoid upgrading.

Blacksn0w has not been updated and does not work with 3.1.3 but the ever industrious Dev-Team have made a few tweaks to their recently released redsn0w 0.9 tool so that it will jailbreak OS 3.1.3 on iPod touch 1G, older models of the iPod touch 2G, iPhone 2G and contract (no unlock required) iPhone 3G.

If you’re a 3GS owner then you need to make sure you have backed up your ECID/SHSH signatures through Cydia or Rock to ensure that when Apple stop signing the 3.1.2 firmware you can restore or downgrade to 3.1.2 if required.

Sorry for the bad news, updates to come!

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Big, Ugly Bezel
Have you seen the bezel on this thing?! It’s huge! I know you don’t want to accidentally input a command when your thumb is holding it, but come on.

No Multitasking
This is a backbreaker. If this is supposed to be a replacement for netbooks, how can it possibly not have multitasking? Are you saying I can’t listen to Pandora while writing a document? I can’t have my Twitter app open at the same time as my browser? I can’t have AIM open at the same time as my email? Are you kidding me? This alone guarantees that I will not buy this product.

No Cameras
No front facing camera is one thing. But no back facing camera either? Why the hell not? I can’t imagine what the downside was for including at least one camera. Could this thing not handle video iChat?

Touch Keyboard
So much for Apple revolutionizing tablet inputs; this is the same big, ugly touchscreen keyboard we’ve seen on other tablets, and unless you’re lying on the couch with your knees propping it up, it’ll be awkward to use.

No HDMI Out
Want to watch those nice HD videos you downloaded from iTunes on your TV? Too damned bad! If you were truly loyal, you’d just buy an AppleTV already.

The Name iPad
Get ready for Maxi pad jokes, and lots of ‘em!

No Flash
No Flash is annoying but not a dealbreaker on the iPhone and iPod Touch. On something that’s supposed to be closer to a netbook or laptop? It will leave huge, gaping holes in websites. I hope you don’t care about streaming video! God knows not many casual internet users do. Oh wait, nevermind, they all do.

Adapters, Adapters, Adapters
So much for those smooth lines. If you want to plug anything into this, such as a digital camera, you need all sorts of ugly adapters. You need an adapter for USB for god’s sake.

It’s Not Widescreen

Widescreen movies look lousy on this thing thanks to its 4:3 screen, according to Blam, who checked out some of Star Trek on one. It’s like owning a 4:3 TV all over again!

Doesn’t Support T-Mobile 3G
Sure, it’s “unlocked.” But it won’t work on T-Mobile, and it uses microSIMs that literally no one else uses.

A Closed App Ecosystem
The iPad only runs apps from the App Store. The same App Store that is notorious for banning apps for no real reason, such as Google Voice. Sure, netbooks might not have touchscreens, but you can install whatever software you’d like on them. Want to run a different browser on your iPad? Too bad!

As I have mentioned before, I can’t wait for the Dev Team to start hacking!

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General
-9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
-0.5 inches thick
-1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
-Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
-Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously
-Storage: 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive
-Processor: 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip
-Accelerometer
-Ambient light sensor
- On screen keyboard. Can use iPad keyboard dock accessory
-Runs all existing iPhone apps
-iBooks (books purchasable from online store. More details forthcoming)

Two models:
Wi-Fi model
-Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
-Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Wi-Fi + 3G model
-UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
-GSM/EDGE (850, 900,1800, 1900 MHz)
-Data only
-Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
-Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Location
-Wi-Fi
-Digital compass
-Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
-Cellular (Wi-Fi + 3G model)

Battery and Power
-Built-in 25Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
-Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
-Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Input and Output
-Dock connector
-3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
-Built-in speakers
-Microphone
-SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model only)

Of course, we here at iPod Touch Hacks can’t wait for the possible dev hacks that will really open the iPad up for customizability!

But something was quitely changed by Apple today as well. . . .
Apple has removed the restrictions surrounding Voice Over Internet Protocol in the new iPhone OS SDK. This means that users may now use VoIP services over 3G networks. iCall, the first of a presumable plethora of VoIP apps to be released, is already available on the App store.

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Although Apple is not expected to release the MacPro, Macbook Pro, or new Desktop Monitor (all of who’s product cycles have come to an end) they are expected to release a the long awaited iPad, iPhone 4.0 software, and iLife 2010.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

… the screen is expected to be 10 to 11 inches and priced somewhere in the ballpark of $1000. . .

and

In short, it looks like this device is going to be a household appliance used by multiple people to consume media. The device may even have a built-in camera to identify the user.

But as you know, these are just rumors.

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- The tablet’s multi-touch gestures are “out of control.”
- It’s powered by an incredibly fast ARM CPU
- It runs on the iPhone kernel.
- The internal model number is K48AP.
- There hasn’t been an updated iPhone OS build because there’s too much tablet-related code/references in the OS and Apple obviously didn’t want that to leak. Oops.
- The tablet is basically an “iPhone on steroids.”

John Gruber states:

And, for what it’s worth, I’m hearing there is no camera, webcam or otherwise, on The Tablet.

New Macbook Pro
Although Apple is supposed to only release the much-anticipated Apple Tablet at the end of this month, it is also speculated that a new Macbook Pro will make its appearance. This new MBP will most likely have the new Intel Core i5 processor, an update that will vastly speed up the whole system. Unfortunately, the already great battery life is not expected to improve.

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Toshiba has announced its creation of 64GB chips. Since the iPhone only has one storage slot as opposed to the iPod Touch’s two slots, we will probably see 64GB iPhones and 128GB iPod Touches in the near future.

The World Wide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) is rumored to take place on either June 28th or July 2nd.

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