(Image courtesy of AppleInsider)

A lot of the excitement about the iPad after its unveiling at in late January had to do with its custom, Apple-designed A4 processor — but a new report says that the chip may in reality be nothing “to write home about.”

AppleInsider is reporting on the new findings by Jon Stokes of Ars Technica, who wrote over the weekend that Apple’s custom 1GHz system on a chip for the iPad is really just a single Cortex-A8 CPU with a PowerVR SGX GPU. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Cortex-A8 CPU is the same chip used in the current iPhone 3GS — although the handset is clocked at 600MHz, while the iPad’s Apple A4 is reportedly 1GHz.

… read the full post at Mac|Life

Wheels have been turning in the world of iTunes, subtle ones.

With Apples purchase of web streaming service LaLa, is iTunes preparing to move from your desktop to the web?

Its not a secret that parts of iTunes have already raised their heads on the web, already you can view music and apps with no reason why video content won’t appear soon.

Is this Apple beta testing the new environment? Its quite possible, many will remember the release of mobileme website a while ago and agree that the site was released way to early and damaged Apples reputation.

So with the prospect of an online version of Apple iTunes, what could be expect so see?

I’ve put together some ideas, all are possible, some are already implemented but will we see them in iTunes-X ?

• Web based iTunes, that sync’s to your desktop client.
• With your library sync’d online (purchased content only), you can manage/create your playlists online and have them pushed to your mobile device.
• Streaming already purchased content directly from iTunes-X online.
• Microsoft have been doing it for ages, sync’ing your mobile device wirelessly. Knows your home WIFI, and will sync with iTunes in the background.
• Content purchased from iTunes-X online can be streamed immediately and sync’d to client.
• Purchased content “backup up” on iTunes-X local library failure means it can be restored at any time.

Its all speculation but very possible, with the release of OS4.0 for the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad devices a new release of iTunes is guaranteed. The purchase of LaLa with the recent releases of music & app previews on the web suggest this is becoming more and more likely.

What do you think? Are there other services you’d like to see that I haven’t mentioned?

Let us know…

**UPDATE

Apple Wants To Store Your Video in The Cloud, Too

Speculation ran rampant after Apple’s acquisition of Lala.com that Cupertino was planning to store your music library in the cloud. But a recent report finds that they don’t plan to stop there, with Hollywood and video being the next targets.  …read more

Ok, we have heard a lot about the Apple iPad quite a lot over the past to month or so, but now the dust has settled a bit…

So I’ve decided to have a look at the product and all the murmurs from other publications in an attempt to speculate what Apple plans for this “new” device.

What?

From what we’ve seen it’s a “iPod/iPhone” like device with 9.7in display. The press have been quite harsh describing it as an “iPhone” without the phone and too big for the pocket.

We know for a fact that the inside the device very different, definitely not a device we are familiar with. The iPad utilises a new multi-processor called the A4. It’s a 1GHz processor developed my Apples recently purchased PA Semiconductor division. The chip not only looks after the maths but also the graphics processing amongst other things, which reduced the chip count and the power requirements pushing Apples power estimates to 10 hours of surfing or watching movies – there is no mention if this refers to the WIFI or 3G version though.

Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE 18th Dec 2009:

Today I picked up my brand new 27″ iMac with its i7 processor and 16GB of memory. I would like to personally thank the guys at the Apple Store in Kinston Upon Thames who worked this out for me; read the story below for the full details; but to offer an exchange for a computer over a month old for a brand new one without any questions was and amazing feat of customer service – something we rarely see in the commercial world now days.

I of course will have no problems singing the praise of Apple, their stores and especially their staff for going that little bit extra to to make this Christmas very special to me.

You may have seen my tweets that I had purchased my new iMac in late September, I was well chuffed with it, 24″ screen, aluminium chassis, 3.06GHz CPU and 8GB RAM – storming! It was a match made in heaven; but then on the 20th October my heart hit the floor, Apple announced their new iMac range including the new 27″ 16:9 quad core model - gutted! As you can imagine it wasn’t a great day.

Much love

I was in the Apple today, trying out all the new toys; no sign of the new “Magic Mouse” when I was approached by a friendly specialist – he asked if he could help and I mentioned that I was unhappy about the release of the new iMac so soon after the purchase of my current iMac. I expected an “Oh sorry, but there is nothing we can do about that…” but he said to my surprise; “I’ll see what I can do for you…”

He disappeared off and after a couple of minutes he took me over to see the “Returns Specialist”. He searched, and found my purchase in September from the Apple Store in Bluewater, and very much to my surprise he told me he could exchange the iMac for a new one if I wanted. At the time the new Quad Core iMac are not available; not a problem – he told me to give him a ring in a couple of weeks.

I would seem that Apple are a lot more understanding than other retailers I’ve had the misfortune to deal with.

Exchange Criteria

It would seem that there is a 1 month return/exchange policy on Apple goods, but there is additional criteria that you may not be aware of. I would suggest you visit a Apple store and discuss your plight with one of the guys there especially if your purchase falls within the points below;

• Price has changed on the item that you have purchased
• The specifications of the device you have purchased

I have to say, that you should talk with the specialists in the store – they really wanted to help.

So BIG THANKS to the Apple Store, they really made my weekend.

Its something in human nature, we like to browse – looking in windows at all the shinny stuff. Of course we all love a bargain and feel really pleased with ourselves when we get something cheap, but there its always something else nagging in the back of our minds; that little voice saying “but I want it now!”

But hey! we can help you out with at least one of those little voices; check out this great little iPhone app that will scrape the net for the best prices.

RedLaser; scanning the safe way

I was testing out a new application for the iPhone called “RedLaser” (£1.19 from the iTunes App Store).

The developer says “The RedLaser app lets you search for online prices using Google product search. You can also keep a list of products and send them to yourself or a friend (because sometimes you just need to check things out on a bigger screen.)”

With this little app you can scan a barcode for a album, DVD, camera or a book and moments later results from Amazon (in your country) and a Google search showing the best prices.

In HMV (a well known music store in the UK) I decided to perform some price checks using the new app. The first image shows the shop price, second the barcode snapped from the application, the third shows the results and in this case the fourth shows the cost of the album from iTunes. Check out the screen shots below; Read the rest of this entry »