iPad By Davis: “Happy New Year from iMore!” plus 9 more

Happy New Year from iMore!
iMore hall of fame: Apple and Mobile Safari
Speedy iPad mini Charging
How to add new mailboxes to your email account right from your iPhone and iPad
The biggest iPhone, iPad, and Apple editorials of 2012
Milestones: One Million Page Views
The biggest iPhone, iPad, and Apple news stories of 2012
iMore show 331: 2013 preview
China has insatiable appetite for iPad mini
Monday Brief: Mobile Nations 2013 Predictions

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 04:25 PM PST

It's been a hell of a year. In 2012, with your help and support, we changed our name to iMore and relaunched on a powerful new platform with fantastic new forums. We released the official iMore app and some forum apps to go with it. We broke a bunch of news and wrote a bunch of editorials and reviews, we loved a lot of apps, and you did to, and we began our hall of fame.

iMore hit almost 2 million readers and 10 million pageviews a month and, as a network, Mobile Nations hit over 12 million readers and 56 million pageviews.

We launched a couple new podcasts, including Debug, a companion show to Iterate, we like to think of as DVD extras for apps, and Ad hoc, where we bring together a bunch of nerds to talk about everything but mobile (like Star Wars and James Bond). Yours truly also joined the team at MacBreak Weekly, bringing you a couple extra hours of Apple talk a week.

It's been a hell of a year. Crazy as it sounds, we're still only just getting started.

Next week brings CES 2013, and next month, Macworld|iWorld 2013. We'll be covering both. There are going to be new and better features on the website -- you'll be seeing some of them soon on our sibling sites. We're working on hard on making the forums best in class. We've got the iMore app 2.0 well underway, with a lot of your most requested features, including commenting and push notifications. The forum apps are going somewhere really interesting as well.

We've got some amazing guests lined up for the next few podcasts as well. We've already posted the iMore show's 2013 preview, and tomorrow we'll be posting a special Iterate interview with Pacific Helm. All of them.

And that's just the stuff I can tease.

Once again, it's all thanks to you, our readers, listeners, and viewers. We appreciate each and every one of you, and what you allow us to do for you and with you.

You're why 2013 is going to be our biggest, best year ever.

Thank you, and Happy New Year!

iMore hall of fame: Apple and Mobile Safari

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 02:32 PM PST

When Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone on the Macworld stage in 2007, he teased it as a revolutionary phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough internet communicator. Back then, many people were excited about the idea of an Apple phone. In hindsight, the phone app turned out to be one of the least exciting things about the iPhone. Part of that is because we had mobile phones before. From flips to candybars to phone apps on Palm and BlackBerry devices, making phone calls from even a wide-screen, multitouch iPod was nice, beautiful even, but not really revolutionary.

Mobile Safari was, however, an absolute breakthrough.

At the time Palm had Blazer, BlackBerry had their browser, and Windows Mobile had Pocket IE, and all of them stank. They couldn't render HTML properly. They couldn't render CSS properly. And JavaScript? Forget about it. Third party browsers were better, sometimes via proxy, sometimes by trying to implement their own rendering engines. But they still stank.

Safari on the iPhone changed all that. It didn't support Sun's Java, Adobe's Flash, Microsoft's ActiveX or Silverlight, Real, or any plugin for that matter, but as history has proven, that was a smart choice. It enabled better performance, longer battery life, and greater stability and security for all the native web technology Safari did support. Apple also created a new way to interact with the web, part of the overall multitouch interface in general, that used gestures instead of key-presses, to scroll with a swipe, to zoom with a pinch, to link with a tap. Apple made the mobile web usable.

It was so usable, so good, that it allowed Steve Jobs to take the WWDC stage just a few months later and announce Mobile Safari as the first (and only at the time) development platform for the iPhone, and web 2.0 + AJAX apps as first (and only at the time) apps. It wasn't anywhere nearly as "sweet" a solution as Jobs and Apple hoped or promised -- jailbreak app development continued, and Apple ended up releasing a proper, native SDK -- but it was powerful and flexible. It enabled a lot of phenomenal developers to make a lot of phenomenal software, from todo lists to social networks, utilities to games.

Apple even maintained a directory on Apple.com, showcasing the many web apps available for the platform, all made possible by Mobile Safari. (Last updated in December of 2010.)

The arrival of native apps in June of 2008 obliterated the short-term future of web apps, though some media properties still flirt with them. Apple has kept up Mobile Safari's development, however. They added Web.app so we could put web apps our Home screens, UIWebView so we could embed web pages and browsers in our apps, the Nitro JavaScript Engine so that even complex sites would still load fast, iCloud integration so all our web stuff is available everywhere, and they brought it to the iPad as well. UIWebView in particular, is used in a wide range of popular and needful apps, for good and for ill.

Mobile Safari's impact was so large, in fact, when the time came for Google to make both the original Android browser and Chrome, they went with WebKit. When Palm reinvented Blazer for webOS, they went with WebKit. When BlackBerry bought a new browser, they bought the WebKit-based Torch. When Microsoft brought mobile Internet Explorer out of the dark ages... well, they stuck with Spyglass but they were forced to up their previously stagnant game to compete with WebKit.

In a very real way, it changed the face of both the web and mobile, two of the most important technologies of the last decade. For all of those reasons, and in thanks to the the WebKit team, Safari team, and the developers at Apple who made it such an outstanding experience on the iPhone, it's fitting that the first ever inductee into iMore's hall of fame is one of the first, and still one of the most important apps in the history of iOS, and one crafted by the company that created the platform -- Mobile Safari.

Speedy iPad mini Charging

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 11:34 AM PST

That innocuous looking little fella above is proving to be quite a handy companion for my iPad mini. It's an Apple 12W USB Power Adapter. I use it in tandem with the Lightning to USB cable that came with the iPad mini and I'm seeing very quick charge times with it. When I let the [...]

5. The future of Siri and Apple's services

Siri: The ultimate Guide

Now, Apple has started hiring people away from Amazon to help with the service and, in the wake of a management re-ogranization, Siri has been given to Apple's "fixer", senior vice-president Eddy Cue to help set, or reset, its course going forward.

Because Siri is only as useful as its weakest server and slowest response, and both those things are going to need some serious attention.

4. Best free iPhone apps

Best free apps for iPhone

We love paying for great apps, because it ensures we'll get more great apps, but when you don't know what you want, when you're new and just want to try stuff out, when you're looking for a fling instead of a relationship, nothing beats great free apps. Leanna put together an amazing collection of apps, and Simon of games, and you guys couldn't get enough of them.

3. The 16:9 iPhone

The 16:9 ratio iPhone

A few days ago rumors began to focus on the idea that Apple was moving to a 4-inch screen on the iPhone 5 (or whatever Apple ends up calling iPhone 5,1). I went through the mental exercise of mocking up, and breaking down, the various 4-inch iPhone options to try and figure out how Apple would get there.

Now, however, the rumors are coalesced around one specific option -- one I initially thought had fewer advantages, and was hence less likely -- a 16:9 aspect ratio, 1136 x 640 display.

2. Higher hanging fruit

Higher hanging fruit: Features and functionality from Android, BlackBerry, webOS, Windows Phone and more, still ripe for iOS 6 inspiration

Once all the low-hanging fruit has been picked, what do you go after next? We took a look at iOS 5 and what it lacked compared to competing operating system, and it proved remarkably popular. Given the direction Apple went with iOS 6, much of it still applies for iOS 7.

Interestingly, many of the newly rebooted operating systems lacked -- and some still lack -- all the features of their predecessors. And because they rebooted, Apple's iOS, once the new smartphone operating system on the block, is now one of the oldest.

That doesn't mean Apple can and should replicate each and every feature of their competitors. I'd argue many of the ones listed below shouldn't be copied, perhaps shouldn't even be re-imagined with an iOS twist. But they should be considered. Apple is famous for saying "no" more than they say "yes", but they're just as famous for the arduous design and prototyping process they go through to get there.

1. iOS 6 review

iOS 6 review: The definitive look at Apple's iOS 6 software features for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

Our biggest non-news story of the year was Apple's big mobile software release of the year. At almost 16,000 words, we dove deep, and you loved every bit of it. (And several of our other reviews as well.)

iOS 6 is a software update divided against itself. Apple claims over 200 new user-facing features, which is the same if not more than previous versions of iOS. Many of these are good and solid, reducing the friction and increasing the functionality of iOS, and delightfully so. But a lot of it them are also about Apple and the future of their platform.

Milestones: One Million Page Views

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 08:44 AM PST

iPad Insight hit a new milestone yesterday: one million page views for the month of December. That's a big number that I have to admit I hear in Dr. Evil's voice every time I think about it. The previous best months were in the 600,000 – 700, 000 range. The numbers have grown significantly since [...]

Comments

Wasn't going to respond to all of the positive energy being ... by Paul Vota

5. iPad 3 announcement March 7, quad-core, possible 4G LTE

iPad 3 announcement March 7, quad-core, possible 4G LTE

iMore nailed the date for Apple's iPad 3 event in March, though when we kept hearing quad-core we mistakenly reported it as the A6 chipset as a while, and not just the graphics processor that ended up being in the A5X.

According to sources who have been reliable in the past, Apple currently plans to hold their iPad 3 announcement on Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Along with the 2048x1536 Retina display, the iPad 3 will feature a quad-core Apple A6 system-on-a-chip, and possibly 4G LTE networking.

iPad 3 announcement March 7, quad-core, possible 4G LTE

4. Apple getting ready to ditch the traditional iPhone, iPad, and iPod dock connector

Apple could be getting ready to ditch the traditional dock connector

Way back in February, iMore brought you word that Apple would be replacing the traditional Dock connector. In September they did just that with the all-new Lightning connector.

iMore has learned that Apple is getting ready to ditch the dock connector as it's currently sized and implemented on iPods, iPhones, and iPads. The reason isn't anything political, like a desire to conform to the outdated micro USB standard, but typically Apple: to save space inside the iPhone 5 for what are now more important components.

Apple getting ready to ditch the traditional iPhone, iPad, and iPod dock connector

3. iPad mini won't be much smaller, but will be a lot narrower, thinner, and lighter

iPad mini won't be much smaller, but will be a lot narrower, thinner, and lighter

In one of the funnest moments last year, Seth Weintraub from 9to5Mac, John Gruber of Daring Fireball, and iMore all posted about the radically thin and light new iPad mini form factor at around the same time.

Looking at it, the iPad mini may not seem radically smaller than the 9.7-inch iPad. And that's the point. It's not supposed to be a major compromise in screen size or usability. It is, however, thinner and lighter enough to make a substantial difference. Holding it with one hand will be easier, and holding it for prolonged periods of time will be much easier.

iPad mini won't be much smaller, but will be a lot narrower, thinner, and lighter

2. Leaks accurate, this is what the new iPhone will look like

Never mind the iPad mini. When the next iPhone is also going to be a designed iPhone, already high levels of interest simply skyrocket.

iMore has learned that recent parts leaks and dummy phones are accurate representations of what the new iPhone (iPhone 5,1) will look like when Apple announces it on September 12, 2012. Almost identical in design to the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, the major visible differences will include a 4-inch display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, a metallic plate across most the back, a centered FaceTime camera on the front, and a miniaturized Dock connector and relocated 3.5mm headset jack along the bottom.

Leaks accurate, this is what the new iPhone will look like

1. Apple iPhone 5 and iPad mini event planned for September 12, iPhone 5 release date for September 21

In our most popular story of the year, iMore nailed the day for Apple's iPhone 5 and 2012 iPod event, though we incorrectly reported that new iPads would be along for the ride (they came a month later).

iMore has learned that Apple is planning to debut the new iPhone at a special event on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, with the release date to follow 9 days later on Friday, September 21. This information comes from sources who have proven accurate in the past.

Apple iPhone 5 and iPad mini event planned for September 12, iPhone 5 release date for September 21

Your favorite news story of 2012?

So those are them, the biggest iPhone, iPad, and Apple news stories of 2012 as voted on by your pageviews. But pageviews are only one metric. Did any other stories stand out to you as especially big and important? Apple's executive shuffle? Apple Maps fiasco? Retina coming to the Mac? 3 new iPad devices in one year? Apple updating almost their entire product lineup in the span of 3 months? What mattered the most to you?

iMore show 331: 2013 preview

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 07:43 AM PST

Rene and Georgia have taken a double-dose of Melange and wired up their precog hats to talk Apple in 2013, and preview everything from iWatches to iTVs, bigger screened iPhones to thinner iPads, Retina iPad minis to Retina Macs, and iOS 7 to Apple online services. This is the iMore show!

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Show notes

Hosts

Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)
Georgia (@georgiatipb)

Credits

You can reach all of us on Twitter @iMore, or you can email us at podcast@imore.com or just leave us a comment below.

For all our podcasts -- audio and video -- including the iMore show, ZEN and TECH, Iterate, Debug, Ad hoc, and more, see MobileNations.com/shows

China has insatiable appetite for iPad mini

Posted: 31 Dec 2012 07:23 AM PST

China has insatiable appetite for iPad mini

Looks like the iPad mini is proving as popular in Hong Kong and China as it'd been in western markets. Yup, despite the lack of a Retina display, and complaints that it's not as "cheap" as a deeply subsidized Google or Amazon tablet, Apple can't keep them on the shelves. John Paczkowski of AllThingsD cites retail checks by Topeka's Brian White, which show an "insatiable" demand:

Nearly all models of the diminutive iPad sold out in Hong Kong and China last week, with sources at Apple's three retail stores in Hong Kong and eight in China reporting stock-outs or significantly constrained supply.

Once again, this shows Apple prioritizing lightness and battery life over display technology was the right choice, and that the value proposition isn't a factor unless lowest-possible-price is the primary feature as customer is looking for. It also shows that greater China persists as a major, and likely still growing market for Apple.

Now the question becomes, how much will the iPad mini cannibalize full-sized iPad sales, the way full-sized iPad sales have cannibalized some Mac sales, and how much of that will be offset by this type of growth, and by cannibalization of non-Apple computing devices?

Source: AllThingsD