News tagged ‘Apple iPad 2’

iPad 2 antenna: GSM (top), CDMA (middle), and Wi-Fi (bottom)

iFixit announced that they completed the teardowns of the GSM and CDMA models of iPad 2. Wi-Fi version of the iPad 2 was torn down on launch day. The GSM model has the micro-SIM card slot along the upper left edge to provide the device with subscriber information. On the CDMA version such information stores directly on the WWAN board inside. The CDMA iPad offer slightly different antenna configurations, it has an additional antenna and an integrated GPS receiver. What’s really curious is that the 3G version of iPad 2 has the older Infineon 337Se833 baseband chip rather than a dual-mode Gobi chip found inside the CDMA iPad 2. Maybe it was a supply issue or an engineering decision designed to cut costs a bit.

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Comex, famous iPhone hacker, tweeted today that the kernel exploit for jailbreak he had found long ago was closed by Apple in recent iOS 4.3.1. This exploit could be used to jailbreak iPad 2.

As noticed by @0naj, my kernel exploit was fixed in 4.3.1.

I try not to be paranoid, but it is really hard to explain this as anything but a leak.

The funny thing is that my "new" kernel exploit is actually the kernel exploit used by JailbreakMe 2.0. It was never properly fixed.

It stayed there from 4.0.2 through 4.3, but was magically found in time for 4.3.1. well, go go @MuscleNerd and @i0n1c I guess

This is not good news. However we have recently seen working untethered jailbreak video. There are other vulnerabilities in iOS 4.3.1.

Recently Apple released the iOS 4.3.1. The iOS 4.3.1 is available for the GSM iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad, and the third- and fourth-generation iPod touch. The update doesn’t available for the CDMA iPhone for Verizon. The build has number 8G4 and contains the following improvements and bugs fixes:

• Fixes an occasional graphics glitch on iPod touch (4th generation);
• Resolves bugs related to activating and connecting to some cellular networks;
• Fixes image flicker when using Apple Digital AV Adapter with some TVs;
• Resolves an issue authenticating with some enterprise web services.

You can download iOS 4.3.1 here.

It turns out that the iPad 2 glass is stronger that iPad 1 generation. It is also a bit more flexible so it has more bending tolerances. This information is great, since the iPad 2 glass was about 27% thinner than iPad 1. Here is a proof video from iFixyouri:

Tomorrow is a great day for Apple fans - the start of worldwide Apple iPad 2. Here's a very nice comparison table with international prices for iPad 2. Best deals are in the USA and Australia. The highest prices are in Norway and Sweden. Take a look:

Digitimes claims that Apple is willing to pay more in order to have a constant flow of touch panel supply after Japanese earthquakes and tsunami that had bad impact on Japanese manufacturers of iPad 2 components. Apple may reconsider the amount of money for pre-production deals with companies in China and Taiwan. Recently appeared some report saying that Apple may be affected by the Japanese disaster and experiencing problems with tablet shipments from Asia manufactures. Apple is clearly looking ahead. Now company is taking 60% of the current touch panel market, and a deal to pay manufacturers more to ensure availability sound very reasonable.

BGR have got their hands on the next iOS release - iOS 4.3.1. This new firmware will contain mostly minor bug fixes. Here are the changes from iOS 4.3:

• Baseband updates for the 3GS and iPad (original)
• Fixed memory hang that results in memory corruption when reading large files from USIM filesystem
• Fixed problem with NTLM authentication in apps and on websites
• Fixed issue with the Springboard and 3rd party apps not recognizing the gyroscope on the iPad 2
• Fixed iPad 2 jailbreak vulnerability

This is not the final changelog, but still quite interesting. No information on whether or not it will be available for Verizon iPhone 4.

The new iOS 4.3.1 firmware is expected to be released in 1-2 weeks.

Today Apple confirmed that the iPad 2 will be launched in 25 countries on this Friday: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Online sales will start at 1:00 AM Friday in each country and in-store at 5:00 iPad 2 will be available in Apple Stores. Apple also announced today that the iPad 2 will launch in Hong Kong, Singapore and other countries in April.

MacRumors reports an interesting and rather amazing story concerning the new iPad 2. As far as we know, Apple keeps an eye on the iPad 2 returns to identify any problems with the new tablet in early production units, like light-bleeding we’ve been hearing about. Among such returns was one really unusual with Post-it note saying that "Wife says no." The customer’s wife wouldn’t let him to keep the device.

But a pair of the Apple’s Vice-presidents got wind of the story and decided to send him a replacement out of free iPad 2 with a new Post-it note on it: “Apple said yes”. Sounds like a great story, isn’t it?

Stuart Hughes has created the most expensive and exclusive iPad 2 in the world. The 3G iPad 2 encrusted with diamonds, gems, gold, a 75 million year old Ammolite rock and a 65 million year old dinosaur bone, costs a whopping £5,000,000.00.

Undoubtably the world’s most unique gadget is the Ipad 2 Gold History Edition. Encrusted with 12.5 cts of ‘I’F’ Flawless diamonds, a magnificent total of 53 individually set sparkling gems dwell beautifully in solid 24ct Apple logo with rear section formed again in 24ct gold weighing an immense 2,000 grams. The unrivalled imagination towards the craftmanship of the ipad is down to its main front frame which is made from the oldest rock the world has to offer in the form of Ammolite , sourced from Canada this stone is over 75 million years old. However to make this masterpiece even more individual, sections of a 65 million year old T-REX Dinosaur’s thigh bone was splintered and then shaved into the Ammolite , then finished off with ultimate jewel , as single cut 8.5ct flawless diamond inlaid in its own platinum surround with 12 outer flawless diamonds. A magnificent combination of top of the industry technology and unique thought were involved in creating this piece of History.

iPad 2 was expected to hit Europe on March 25th. However Czech Republic iPad website now shows that iPad 2 will be available April 25, so they might just got pushed back a month. (for those not in the know, Dubna=April).

iPad 2 microphones: 3G (top) vs. Wi-Fi (bottom)

iLounge found out that the microphones on Wi-Fi and 3G models of iPad 2 have differences in quality of sound.  The best sound quality was demonstrated by the Wi-Fi model.  It might be caused by the fact that the mic on the Wi-Fi model is on an aluminum surface while on 3G is on the black plastic. The differences are most noticeable when the iPad is held facing the user, for example, when using FaceTime or other video applications.

Perhaps due to this change in materials, the Wi-Fi model offers markedly cleaner audio than that of the 3G, which sounds slightly muffled and echo-prone as a result. Curiously, we found the GSM 3G model's audio to be slightly preferable to that of the CDMA model, which seemed to suffer the issues more severely.

In the previous model of iPad the microphone located next to the headphone jack on the top edge but in iPad 2 Apple decided to place it in the center. Though, it seems that such change does Apple more harm than good.

Traditional video from Blendtec. Now they try to blend Apple iPad 2. So will it blend? Let's watch to find out.

Well, they took aluminum case away.

Now, after release of the iPad 2, Apple is asking its US customers to donate their out-of-date fist-generation iPads to Teach For America. The company posted on its webpage a teaser that you may notice on the right visiting Apple’s official site. Apple says:

Your old iPad can help teach kids a thing or two. Donate your old iPad at an Apple Retail Store, and Teach For America will give it to a teacher in a low-income community.

Moreover, Teach For America is a corporation listed among those that provide tax deductions for direct donations. So if you’re interested in donating your old iPad for a good cause, you might, probably, receive a tax deduction in addition.

This time the second iPad’s A5 processor has became an object of teardown, revealing that the chip is indeed being manufactured by Samsung.  Some recent rumors claimed that Apple is shifting production from Samsung to TSMC. Apple is said to be interested in switching from Samsung because the company competes with both the iPhone and the iPad with its own devices - the Galaxy S smartphone and the Galaxy Tab tablet, respectively.

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