Gabe writing at Macdrifter

I honestly think AirPlay is a sleeper technology that Apple is slowly evolving to make a wireless iOS dock. AirPlay continually gets better and now Mountain Lion is scheduled to incorporate more AirPlay features. I think it’s only a matter of time before the AppleTV gets a new name and just becomes AirPlay Dock.

I couldn't agree more Gabe. I like to think of a future where any monitor connected to the Apple TV AirPlay Dock can act as a full fledged monitor for an iPad or even an iPhone. I think one problem Apple has to solve is input to this iOS computer. I tweeted on February 20th

@JNGold I would love apple to support a cursor when you are AirPlay mirroring. Then a keyboard/touchpad dock from apple.

— Jordan Patterson (@JordanPatterson) February 20, 2012

I think Gabe and myself have it right. Apple should support a simple white circle on the AirPlay mirrored screen to represent where your finger is just like they have used in keynote presentations in the past. I also think that if Apple implements this they could support the Magic Trackpad as an input device to the iPad truly opening up the possibilities of using your iPad as your only computer.

In this video I detail the process of downloading a Zip file of iPhone wallpapers, an image file from Google images, and an MP3 file from soundcloud all via the built in Apple provided Safari web browser. Once downloaded these files can be opened in many apps including Dropbox, GoodReader, or Camera+. Check out Camera , Dropbox, and GoodReader on the App Store.

Matthew Izatt via Google

With that in mind, we’ve created a new Gmail app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. We’ve combined your favorite features from the Gmail mobile web app and iOS into one app so you can be more productive on the go. It’s designed to be fast, efficient and take full advantage of the touchscreen and notification capabilities of your device. And it’s one more reason to switch to Gmail.

Cryptic error messages really feel fast and efficient.

In this video I detail iClouds documents in the cloud feature. I take
a look at the web interface, iPad, and iPhone iWork applications and
how document syncing works in these applications.

In this video I give a quick walkthrough of a few of the over 200 new features in iOS 5. iOS 5 is compatible with the 3rd and 4th gen iPod touch; iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S; and the iPad 1 and iPad 2. This is a free update available in iTunes

Vincent Nguyen via YouTube

Welcome to the future.

I came in second place in the iPhone Docked rumor contest but I wanted to take a closer look at what was announced at Apple's October 4th event and how I did at predicting it.

Read the rest of this post »

Stephen Hackett via 512 Pixels

I want to make it easier for tech writers, so I’ve created a list — a recipe, if you will — to help make this easier.

• The current version of Android lacks some polish, but the next version of Android will be the one to have, we promise. It’s going to rival iOS. Granted, this phone probably won’t ever get to run it.

Brilliant

There are tons of iPhone 5 rumors swirling about and I wanted to go on record with what I think will be announced some time in the next two weeks. Apple will release two new phones this fall as opposed to their normal one.

iPhone 4

The first of the two iPhones released will be an iPhone 4. It will be a new phone but most people outside the tech sector wont really notice. I believe that the new budget 100$ iPhone will be identical to the current model but will work on Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T from a single SKU. This allows Apple to spread the iPhone 4 to more users on Sprint with a lower cost option and simplify their manufacturing by making only one phone. I also think that this budget iPhone 4 will probably have a screen similar to what is on the current iPod touch. This screen is still a 3.5" display with retina resolution but will lack the clarity and viewing angle of the current iPhone 4.

iPhone 5

I have no idea what the new iPhone will be called but the 5th generation iPhone will be the big update that many rumors have indicated. I expect that this phone will look like a mini iPad 1 ditching the glass back of the iPhone 4 for a flat metal back with rounded edges. The phone will be thinner and contain an higher quality 8 MP camera with better optics. I don’t believe that Apple will increase the screen size. This caused some debate on the latest episode of the iPhone Docked Podcast, but I don’t believe that a small increases in screen size, 0.2" – 0.5" diagonally, would add any usability to the phone. The 10" form factor of the iPad gives it some key usability advantages over a 3.5" iPhone, but I don’t believe that a 3.7" or a 4" iPhone offers anything but programing headaches for app developers and the ability to match all the android phones in a spec sheet. Just like the revamped iPhone 4 the 5th generation iPhone will also be a single SKU that works on Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T 3G networks.

On the software side I think the rumored voice assistant and voice to text will make an appearance on the new 5th generation iPhone as well as airplay mirroring from the iPad 2.

iPod touch

I don’t believe that much will change for the iPod touch besides matched specs with the new iPhone. I do believe that the one major edition will be integrated 3G support just like the iPad. This feature will mainly be used to show how iTunes match can allow you to enjoy your entire iTunes library from anywhere you have a 3G connection.

Let me know in the comments below if you agree with my predictions and if you have any others of your own.

John Gruber via Daring Fireball

Our collective impatience, captured. Everything new in iOS 5 should have been here already.

I don’t agree. I think it’s easy to say after the fact that new features should have been there from the beginning. I always assume that any device I buy is fully baked and really don’t expect improvements. Notifications not withstanding, everything apple added in iOS 5 looks to really improve my experience on the device, but I wasn’t tapping my foot impatiently waiting for Apply to implement the features.