iPad

Just A Little Something to Make Your Hotel Stay Nicer: a Gold Plated iPad

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Gold Plated iPad

The heck with stealing the towels – at this hotel you’re going to want to leave the towels and sneak out with a gold-plated iPad.

As Business Insider recently reported, the Burj Al Arab hotel, touted as one of the world’s most luxurious hotels, is offering gold-plated iPads as a luxury amenity.

When guests check in, they’ll be given their own gold iPads, which will serve as a “virtual concierge” that offers information on everything from the hotel’s restaurant menus and spa treatments to housekeeping and butler services.

The iPads are given to the guests for the duration of their hotel stay. If they grow attached to them they can be bought in the hotel’s boutique. I couldn’t find the price for these gold-plated iPad 3 models at the hotel site or the manufacturer (Gold & Co)’ site. I guess that puts them firmly in the ‘If you have to ask…’ category.

I nearly always find myself saying this when I see these sort of ridiculous gold or jewel adorned iPads and iPhones, but I honestly find them extremely ugly.

Anyway, look out for these next time you’re spending a weekend at the Burj Al Arab – and when you do, let us know in the comments if the towels are gold too.

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Shocker: iPad Falls Behind Android in Make-Believe Market Share

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IDC Tablet Market Share Q1 2013

According to preliminary data from IDC’s latest report on worldwide tablet market share, their Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, Apple is easily the biggest single vendor but iPad has fallen behind Android in market share.

But that’s make-believe market share of course. Like Easter Bunny market share but with less colorful charts. The iPad market share of 39.6% is based on actual officially reported sales numbers of 19.5 million iPads last quarter. The market share numbers for Android are based on numbers of ‘shipments’ reported by various vendors.

The thing is, those shipment numbers include shipments to distribution channels, not actual sales. Here’s another way of looking at the numbers in the chart above:

Apple: actual sales numbers

Samsung: shipments – just like the million shipments they reported for their first Galaxy Tab tablet, that turned out to be around 800,000 more than they actually sold.

ASUS: number based largely on sales of the Google Nexus 7. No sales numbers have been reported for that device.

Amazon: Amazon has never reported *any* sales numbers for their tablet devices

Microsoft: Microsoft have never announced any sales numbers for their Surface tablets.

That’s one hell of a level playing field.

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The Easiest Print to Any Printer Solution for iPad: handyPrint (Mac only)

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handyPrint

handyPrint is a Mac app that lets you print wirelessly from the iPad (or iPhone) to just about any printer, even legacy printers that don’t support AirPrint.

If you’re tired of looking for which printers will work with Apple’s AirPrint and allow you to print wirelessly from the iPad, there’s a nifty little app that will let you print to just about any printer, even if they don’t support AirPrint: handyPrint by Netputing.

I’ve written before about this superb app, but it has recently been renamed, so I thought it’s worth a new post. This app used to be known as AirPrint Activator. It still does all the same things and is just as incredibly simple to use as ever under its new handyPrint name. It’s literally a one click solution.

Here are the details on the capabilities and requirements of handyPrint:

V3.1 of handyPrint™ run on your Mac to share local and network attached printers to an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch running iOS 4.2 or newer. handyPrint™ make all locally shared printers available via AirPrint. If it is shared by your Mac it will be advertised.

[click to continue reading…]

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Latest J.D. Power Report: iPad Repeats as Number 1 in Customer Satisfaction

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iPad Customer Satisfaction Aawrds

In the latest Tablet Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power and Associates, the iPad remains at the Number 1 position in the overall rankings.

In the survey of over 1,800 tablet users, the iPad got an 836 on a 1,000 point scale measuring customer satisfaction. It also was the clear leader, with a perfect 5 out of 5, on the J.D. Power Circle Ratings for Consumers – with 5 representing ‘among the best’. All its rivals were at 3 (About average) or below.

Screenshot_4_28_13_10_29_AM

Tablets were graded in five key areas in the study: Performance, which was weighted most heavily; ease of operation; styling and design; features; and cost.

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iPad + Extreme Case: 8 Story Drop, No Worries

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Holy Crazy Tough iPad case Batman. These guys at GizmoSlip dropped an iPad 3 in a G-Form Extreme case from the top of an 8 story building, screen down onto cement.

And the iPad still works. The screen is coming up just a little from the frame and there’s some multitouch ‘glitchiness’ – but it works.

I’d say if you’re after a durable iPad case you might want to give this one a look, even if you’re not planning for any drops from 8 story buildings.

 

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