Crazy Apple rumor season is in full swing, with Taiwan’s DigiTimes proposing that Cupertino will unveil a pair of new iPads at next month’s Macworld/iWorld show in San Francisco. That’s… just… crazy! But hey, we’re happy to be proven wrong, especially if it puts a swanky new iPad in our hands that much earlier in the year. While we’re all waiting to see if this rumor comes to fruition, why not dig into the rest the tech news for this next to last news recap on Thursday, December 29, 2011?
Taiwan-based tech news site DigiTimes has a bit of a checkered history with Apple rumors, but their crazy train has completely gone off the rails with a new report claiming that not one but two next-generation iPads will debut in January in the unlikeliest of places: The Macworld/iWorld expo being held in San Francisco on January 26. As you may recall, Apple pulled out of the Macworld Expo after their January, 2009 keynote, claiming the event didn’t sync with their product release schedule and that they would be better served by hosting their own events throughout the year. DigiTimes cites sources at Apple’s supply chain partners to support its claims, who also reveal “the iPad 2 will be competing directly with Amazon’s Kindle Fire in the price-sensitive market segment, while the new models will focus on the mid-range and high-end segments respectively.” That last part doesn’t sound totally bonkers to us, but the Macworld/iWorld connection makes this report fishy overall.
Update: Jim Dalrymple over at The Loop has done some inquiring with his solid contacts at Apple, and he's gone on record as totally debunking the DigiTimes report and even going a step further by squashing any hopes of new iPads at CES as well.
Now here’s something that ought to unite iPhone and Android handset lovers alike: According to DroidLife, Verizon Wireless plans to start charging its customers $2 for every payment made online or via telephone as of January 15, 2012. Big Red is calling it a “convenience fee” that’s necessary for the carrier to “continue to support these bill payment options,” but it smells pretty rotten to us. For their part, Verizon is encouraging customers to pay by electronic check or via AutoPay to avoid this tax -- er, “convenience fee.” The question now is, how fast will other carriers jump on board with their own ludicrous fee…?
Amazon.com has announced that 2011 was the Kindle’s best holiday ever, with sales of one million devices per week throughout December. Needless to say, the $199 Kindle Fire ranks in first place, with the Kindle Touch second and the plain vanilla Kindle bringing up the rear in third place. Amazon calls the Kindle Fire “the number one best-selling, most gifted and most wished for product across the millions of items available on Amazon.com since its introduction 13 weeks ago.” Kindle e-books were also a hot item this holiday season, with gifting up 175 percent between Black Friday and Christmas Day when compared to the same period last year. Last but not least, Christmas Day racked up “the biggest day ever for Kindle book downloads,” topping off a very merry Christmas for the company indeed.
While Google is already touting the advantages of facial recognition with its new Android 4.0 “Ice Cream Sandwich” on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, AppleInsider is reporting that a new patent application entitled “Low Threshold Face Recognition” points to Apple incorporating something similar in the near future. The patent is described as “a low-computation solution for quickly and accurately recognizing a user,” offering “a simple way for multiple users to share a single device.” The patent is dated June, 2009 but if and when Apple might incorporate the technology is anyone’s guess.
The iPad is an amazing invention, but not so much for people with disabilities that prevent them from actually holding it in their hands. It was exactly such a dilemma that prompted Stand for Stuff founder and CEO Marty Springer to invent the SwingHolder, a $239 versatile floor stand that makes using an iPad a mostly hands-free experience. After jerry-rigging a prototype for his wife out of Plexiglas, a jigsaw and an old microphone stand, Springer decided to make the SwingHolder a business, and the results are now ready for ordering. The steel grey and black floor unit stands 58 inches at full height, but is adjustable all the way down to five inches off the ground. A 21-inch arm extends the iPad, which is tucked away in a rubberized grip case and can be rotated 360 degrees for most any use. SwingHolder is made from powder-coated steel tubing and 50 percent recycled ABS plastic and soft rubber, made exclusively in the United States. Orders for the SwingHolder are now being taken on the company’s website with free ground shipping in the lower 48 states and a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee for trouble-free returns if you’re not completely satisfied.
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