Happy iPad mini Day! If you happen to be standing in line somewhere waiting to buy your new little tablet pal, we've got a way to make the time pass just a little bit faster with a handful of stories you might have missed on Thursday. And hey, if you're curious what the iPad mini looks like inside, you'll be pleased to know that's one of the very news items you're about to read...
Seems as if the court doesn't have a sense of humor when it comes to the notice Apple was ordered to post about Samsung on its U.K. website. Bloomberg reported Thursday that the U.K. Court of Appeal in London has ordered Cupertino to remove the statement from its website within 24 hours and replace it with one that acknowledges their "inaccurate comments." You may recall that after a U.K. court sided with Samsung in a recent patent design case there, Apple was required to post a notice acknowledging that Samsung's Galaxy tablets didn't copy the iPad. Apple complied, but with their own twist, by pointing out that even the judge thought Samsung's tablets were not as "cool" as the iPad. It seems as if the court was not amused, and Apple attorneys are scrambling to extend the removal order to 14 days -- a request that's already been rejected. “I’m at a loss that a company such as Apple would do this,” Judge Robin Jacob said. “That is a plain breach of the order.” But kind of an amusing one…
E-tailer Amazon had a busy Thursday, first debuting an Android-only Cloud Drive Photos app on its own Amazon Appstore as well as Google Play which allows Cloud Drive customers to upload their photos from any phone or tablet. It's a bit of a curious omission that they didn't offer up an iOS app at the same time, but maybe they decided to save that fanfare for something else, such as Air Patriots. Available for iPhone, iPad as well as Android and Kindle Fire devices, Air Patriots is the company's first-ever game for mobile devices and only the second effort from the company's fledgling Amazon Game Studios. The free universal defense game is available now on the App Store and promises "beautiful visuals, over 50 achievements, an awesome music score and endless hours of fun!"
What's this? Another iFixit teardown? Those crazy lads are at it again, this time hooking their spudgers and screwdrivers into Apple's new iPad mini, which finally hits retail stores today. The iPad mini made for a nice Halloween trick or treat present for the iFixit techs, who were already "all hopped up on sugar" from all the candy and ready to face another new challenge. We won't spoil any of the mystery or fun -- if you're embracing your own junior iPad on Friday, you'll want to hug it just a little bit closer when you see what happens to this one...
Not content to infuse its stunning photographs onto the iPad alone, the folks at National Geographic magazine have announced their Newsstand app is making the leap onto the smaller iPhone/iPod touch screen beginning with the November 2012 issue. Current print subscribers can access the iPhone edition using their same Apple ID, which will be just as chock full of rich media content (including new, photo-based jigsaw puzzles daily) as the iPad app continues to be.
Still looking for a home theatre media box that combines the best of over-the-air television with DVR and internet streaming providers? Then look no further than the Boxee TV, which is now shipping. Best of all, you won't have to go very far to find one -- the company has cut a deal with Walmart, who is now stocking the $99 media box in U.S. stores from coast to coast as well as Walmart.com. Boxee TV also comes with special offers for those who buy one, including three months of Netflix, three months of the company's No Limits DVR (12 months for existing Boxee Box owners), a $5.99 VUDU credit and a month of Spotify Premium (for new subscribers only). Now that's worth the purchase, right?
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