iPad 2: Everything you need to know

It comes in white. It comes in black.

It's made by Apple, looks as good as ever.

It's the iPad 2.

The original iPad was a fantastic device. Completely blew up the industry and tablet market. Never before had so many people been in such a rush to get hold of a tablet. Apple sold more iPads in year one than there ever have been tablet PCs sold.


Should such monstrous success be left continue, eventually dwindle, and finally be awed at in the history books - or be followed up by a sequel, risking the image and recognition built up for further success?


Apple are banking on the latter; read on for more info on exactly what their following up the biggest success of 2010 with.

Apple's AirPlay gets unofficial Linux support

First there were Apple products. Then there was XBMC. Third-party device manufacturers joined the party to, officially. A Windows hack was also created, to couple with the XBMC hack. And now, Linux. Good old Linux, without XBMC, has recieved the love, nice and simply, courtesy of a plug-in for Totem Media Player.

The plug-in will allow your Linux box to communicate with devices such as the iPad, iPhone, et al over Apple's 'AirPlay' protocol.

AirPlay now features some pretty nifty features - such as continuing video playback on your TV, once you arrive home and pick up WiFi. This kind of seamless integration is a rare treat, and one we're sure you iGuys will snap right up.

Video after the break.

App Store nears ten billion -

The Apple App Store is nearing it's major landmark, ten billion downloads, proving it's success, and we all knew it was coming. Especially with the major success of the iPad and of course the more recent, Mac App store...

Apple CEO Steve Jobs takes medical leave

Vibrant and beloved CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, has been awarded - on his own request - a medical leave of absence. In a memo to employees he expressed plainly that he would still be involved in all the big decisions for the company, however he is confident in Tim Cook to handle daily operations.

Christmas Present 101 - Teen, Budget

Okay, so not everyone can afford a band new Macbook Air for their teens.

So we've decided on the cheaper alternative to that, if you don't have £850 at your disposal then we've found something similar which will get you just as much love -
so how about a new Apple iPod touch ?


The new iPod Touch combines everything media like.
- They can sync all their music
- Sync Photos
- Download Movies
- And take it all everywhere they go..


And if your struggling for stocking fillers, then chuck in a couple of iTunes vouchers, available at most newsagents or the Apple store.


And with the App Store, they'll forget that it was their only present...


Get links after the Break ....

Apples Keynotes

Its a well Known fact that Apple refresh the iPod range every September, like fine, aluminium, overpriced Swiss watches might. And this September was a good'n. To the point, this year, Apple went crazy... radically redesigned Nano, Cross bread Shuffle and the crown jewels..... the iPod touch was upgraded massively! Apple even made an attempt at 'social networking for music' with the new iTunes 10 and 'Ping'.

iPad hands on!

Well, as I'm sure you're all aware, Apple's iPad launched this Friday, and yesterday I spent some time playing around with one.




The very first thing I did was stroke the back, and say: "I want one". It is without a doubt a beautiful device, even by Apple's high standards. The build quality is extremely good, with a full metal casing like an MBP. That's an important point to note, as you can see in the pictures too, it's not a shiny scratchable surface like the iPods.

UK pricing released for iPad

I was a bit slow off the mark with this one, but Apple have finally released UK pricing for the iPad and have set a new release date as well - the 28th of May, hopefully of this year! 


And the prices are here too, the WiFi models start with the 16gb at £429 and the most expensive being the 3G + WiFi 64gb at just off £700.

Considering that its the one of the first "next-gen" tablets to come to the market, the prices are fairly reasonable, but is still more expensive than I expected - although my predictions were using a mix between currency converters and what I thought apple could get away with. To see more information visit www.apple.com/uk/ipad/.