Turn your iPad into a mini-keyboard with ION’s Piano Apprentice
ION recently announced a new piano accessory for the iPad that will let you play and learn piano on a mini-keyboard.
While piano-playing apps on the iPad are fun, they are not useful for instruction as the 9.7-inch display of the iPad is too small for a reasonably sized keyboard.
ION solved that problem with its new Piano Apprentice, a dock for an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch that includes a 25-note lighted keyboard with touch-sensitive keys.
The keyboard dock includes an iOS app that teaches you how to play piano with the help of instructor Scott Houston. You can follow his hands on the screen while you play on the keyboard. The keys on the dock will even light up while you practice your tune.
The Piano Apprentice will arrive this fall for US$100.
Is This The Next-Generation “Low-End” iPhone Which We’ve Been Hearing About All Along? [PICTURES]
Several pictures were released in the wild today allegedly depicting a next-generation low-end iPhone, following many reports over the last few months that Apple could be planning to ship two iPhone models in the Fall.
In the pictures, we can see what looks like a cheaply-built white iPhone 4 running Cydia, interestingly enough, suggesting that the new device would already have been jailbroken.
Wait, a device jailbroken even before its release?, that’s highly unlikely to happen.
The phone’s back also just like the one found on the current iPhone 4, with no apparent change in the camera configuration or layout, unlike what was previously rumored.
The only difference between the white iPhone 4 and this alleged prototype is the material used to make the casing: while the white iPhone 4′s case is made of glass, this one seems to be comprised of two cheap plastic sheets.
The device is allegedly faster as well, according to the forum post.
PasswordPilot Automatically Inserts Your App Store Password When Downloading/Updating Apps [Jailbreak Tweak]
The jailbreak community has come up with an all-new very useful tweak today. It’s calledPasswordPilot and it lets you skip that awfully annoying password pop up when installing apps from the iOS App Store.
The discovery comes from our friends over at iDownloadBlog. PasswordPilot is a tweak developed byFilipo Biga, a well known developer from the jailbreak community.
From PasswordPilot’s page on Cydia:
PasswordPilot automatically inserts your AppStore app when downloading or updating apps from the AppStore. Set your password from the Settings.app (passwords are not stored in plain text to limit security risks).
Use it at your own risk. If anyone gets access to your device, he could purchase apps without your consent.
You can configure options from Settings.app.
The first thought that possibly comes to your mind is how this is just one big security risk.
We’re here to tell you it’s not, provided that your iOS device is for personal use and that you don’t have family members or friends using it; because if they do, and if you have PasswordPilot activated, it will let them install apps without your consent. However, if you haven’t got any credit card data stored on your App Store account, then it shouldn’t be much of a worry.
Nielsen: Apple is the leading manufacturer, iOS the #2 platform
The June Nielsen numbers are in for the US smartphone market and they uphold the trend we have been seeing for the past several months.
Android is the leading smartphone platform with a 39% marketshare, while iOS grabs 28% to claim second spot. RIM’s BlackBerry OS slides into third with a 20% marketshare.
When these numbers are broken down by manufacturer, Apple is the clear leader.
Though Android grabs a majority 39% of the overall US smartphone market, its share is spread among more than four manufacturers with leader HTC (14%) edging out Motorola (11%).
Apple is the sole manufacturer of iOS devices and doubles HTC’s 14% share with a 28% market grab.
Cheaper iPad Version To Drop This Fall [REPORT]
Despite Apple only bringing forth its second tablet – the iPad 2 – in March of this year, there have been many indications that Cupertino-based company is already well into the business end of a third iPad release.
As Digitimes reports, a whole host of Taiwan-based component manufacturers including Novatek Microelectronics, Richtek Technology, Capella Microsystems and Integrated Memory Logic have all been given contracts to supply integrated circuits for the next iPad.
A report last week by the Korea Times noted that two of the country’s major electronic manufacturers, LG and Samsung, had been quality testing superior HD screens for an upcoming iPad, which was thought to be getting a more upmarket feel aimed at the more professional consumer.
This notion seemed further ratified by Display CEO of Electronic giants LG, who said that the next iPad would come with Retina Display, which still looks to be on the cards.
It seems now, though, that rather than opting for a ‘Pro’ version, Apple will most probably be looking to offset the additional costs that a Retina Display would bring by opting for cheaper circuits, and possibly paving the way for a more competitive launch price. This would make sense in order to compete with a whole host of companies, such as Amazon and Sony who will be adding to what’s shaping up to be a very busy tablet market in the second half of this year.
While the iPad 2
