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DESIGNER OF EXPENSIVE GADGETS Apple is facing criticism from customers who bought the new Ipad only to find that its Wifi connectivity apparently is not up to scratch.

The company’s support forums are ablaze with angry Ipad owners who, having finally got their hands on its latest tablet, find that they cannot get a decent wireless internet connection.

Posting on Apple’s web site this week ‘stlsteve’ complained, “I am in a hotel with my laptop and new ipad3. The laptop wifi reception is as strong as it gets, but the iPad only registers a weak signal. Anyone else having similar problems? Any suggestions?”

On the same support thread ‘grubbii’ reported the same issue with Wifi connectivity, saying, “I am seeing this too. I am currently writing this from my Ipad 1 because my new ipad RIGHT BESIDE ME doesn’t pick up my Wifi signal.”

Another Ipad punter named ‘Sully2003′ added, “Same here! Will not hold Wifi for more than a few minutes. Two Macbooks and IPhone working fine from same router. Ready to return IPad!!!!!”

And a fanboi going by ‘It_caveman’ expressed similar frustration with the “subpar” 7 tablet after owning all previous versions of the Ipad, saying, “Settings are the same as the Ipad2. I am running a Iphone 4s and an i7 Macbook Air on the same routers. I have two year old Airport Extreme, one at work one at home and there are setup the same.

“All routers and devices have all updates installed. I even tried a dual band Netgear router and all my stuff has great connectivity and range expect the Ipad. If this is the trade off for the better display, it just not worth it and then new pad will be returned for refund. I’ll give it a few more days to see if Apple release any updates that might help but for the first time the hype of the new device just hasn’t stacked up.”

The list of complaints goes on and this thread alone has almost 300 postings at the moment.

It remains to be seen if this issue affects all new Ipads and what Apple is doing to resolve these complaints. We have asked Apple to comment. µ

APPLE HAS BEEN ORDERED by an Italian court to cough up a fine of €900,000 over the way it sells Applecare warranties.

The case began a year ago after an investigation into Apple’s warranty selling practices. The central issue was the way Apple sold its Applecare service cover package. Italian consumer law mandates that goods are automatically covered by manufacturers against defects for two years by default, so it was argued that buying a warranty on a new product was a waste of money.

In fact the minimum warranty for products sold anywhere in the European Union is two years. But Apple argued that its Applecare package offered additional benefits, over and above the cover offered under Italian law. However, the court ruled that the company was not making this point clearly enough and ordered it to change the wording of its Applecare offering to let buyers know what they are getting.

Repubblica.it reports that the court ruled that Apple had not made it sufficiently clear to consumers that they already had a two-year warranty.

“The issue at stake accurately inform users that they didn’t need to buy the AppleCare warranty unless they wanted its additional benefits, above and beyond the already mandatory two years of defect coverage,” according to The Next Web.

The ruling marks the latest stage in a long legal process. The case is not necessarily dead as the California company still has the option to appeal the court’s ruling.

An Apple spokesman said, “We believe our warranty policy in Italy complies with local requirements and respects consumer rights. Apple does not agree with the decision issued by the Italian Competition Authority and has filed an appeal.”

The spokesman added that the appeal of the Italian court decision is set to be heard on 9 May. µ

While Apple's new iPad won't be available until Friday, some users have gotten their hands on the new models and done some preliminary benchmarks. A Vietnamese site, tinhte.vn, posted a screenshot of GeekBench running on the new iPad (model iPad3,3) which showed a score of 756 and a 1.00GHz ARMv7 processor. For comparison, the GeekBench score of iPad 2 is 751, which confirms that the GeekBench reading of the frequency is indeed correct. 

Image courtesy of tinhte.vn

In a nutshell, the processor in A5X is largely the same as in A5: We are looking at two Cortex-A9 cores running at up to 1.0GHz. Some people were anticipating an increase in the clock speed as A5X is expected to be 32nm while A5 was based on older 45nm process node, but it appears that Apple used all the gains of a smaller process node for better graphics. 

The GeekBench screenshot also confirms 1GB of RAM, although that was fairly certain even before the release thanks to leaked screenshots.

The GPU, especially its frequency, is still a mystery but hopefully we will be able to get our hands on the new iPad as soon as possible and start testing. 

FLOGGER OF SHINY TOYS Apple has said its pre-order stock of the new Ipad has sold out, meaning those who order online will only be given an estimated delivery date.

Apple’s new Ipad was shown off to much fanfare last week with the only notable improvements being the 2048×1536 resolution and the claim that it has “quad-core graphics”, which has perplexed just about everyone. Impressive screen aside, you didn’t have to be Mystic Meg to work out that the third Ipad would be popular and now Apple has told The INQUIRER that all pre-order stock of the new Ipad has already sold out.

An Apple spokesperson told The INQUIRER, “Customer response to the new Ipad has been off the charts and the quantity available for pre-order has been purchased, customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date. Beginning Friday, 16 March the new Ipad will be available for purchase at Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers on a first come, first served basis.”

While Apple confirmed that its new Ipad had sold out online, the first come, first served store availability will ensure that the all important queues of fanbois will materialise outside Apple Stores on 16 March. Although those not under the spell of Apple might jest at the thin line of fanbois outside Apple Stores hours or even days before a launch, that has become common for the brand and, should a long queue not materialise, it will suggest that Apple’s popularity is on the wane.

But Apple need not worry. Through a combination of demand with its shrewd supply chain management and customer indoctrination, thousands of fanbois will wait patiently for the doors to part on Friday for the opportunity to spend hundreds of pounds on yet another shiny gadget. µ

AGGRESSIVE PATENTS LITIGATOR Apple has been slapped down in its latest attempt to take legal action against Kodak for alleged patent infringement.

As Kodak is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the US Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York has ruled that it would not be appropriate to allow Apple to kick the company while it is down. Presiding US Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper said yesterday that he will not allow the case to continue at this time due to Kodak’s Chapter 11 filing.

The judge also prevented Apple from sticking the boot in even further by rejecting its application to initiate a new patent infringement action against Kodak alleging that the camera maker played fast and loose with its printer and digital camera intellectual property.

Although he granted Kodak a respite, Gropper went on to say that the stayed complaints need to be sorted out in the near future. However, he stressed that the resolution must ensure that Kodak can sell its intellectual property portfolio, a key part of the company’s strategy to get out of bankcurpcy protection.

“I would request that the parties report to me on their efforts to come up with a procedure that truly works,” he told Reuters.

In February Apple had asked the court for permission to lift a stay freezing a patent lawsuit pending in a federal court in Kodak’s hometown of Rochester, New York. Apple had hoped to move the case to Manhattan for a jury trial.

Legal wrestling between Apple and Kodak has been convoluted and long running. In January the troubled camera maker sued Apple and HTC for allegedly infringing patents related to camera imaging. Kodak alleged infringement of four patents by both companies as well as a fifth by HTC. For good measure it also filed a related complaint against both companies with the US International Trade Commission (ITC).

Six months earlier, the ITC upheld a ruling that Kodak did not infringe Apple’s patents. Apple had filed a complaint with the ITC in May 2010, crying foul over alleged patent infringements.

At the time of writing Apple has not responded to a request for comment. µ

Yesterday Apple unveiled its third generation iPad, simply called the new iPad, at an event in San Francisco. The form factor remains mostly unchanged with a 9.7-inch display, however the new device is thicker at 9.4mm vs. 8.8mm for its predecessor. The added thickness was necessary to support the iPad's new 2048 x 1536 Retina Display.

Tablet Specification Comparison

 

ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity

Apple's new iPad (2012)

Apple iPad 2

Dimensions

263 x 180.8 x 8.5mm

241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4mm

241.2 x 185.7 x 8.8mm

Display

10.1-inch 1920 x 1200 Super IPS+

9.7-inch 2048 x 1536 IPS

9.7-inch 1024 x 768 IPS

Weight (WiFi)

586g

652g

601g

Weight (4G LTE)

586g

662g

601g

Processor (WiFi)

1.6GHz NVIDIA Tegra 3 T33 (4 x Cortex A9)

Apple A5X (2 x Cortex A9, PowerVR SGX 543MP4)

1GHz Apple A5 (2 x Cortex A9, PowerVR SGX543MP2)

Processor (4G LTE)

1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 (2 x Krait)

Apple A5X (2 x Cortex A9, PowerVR SGX 543MP4)

1GHz Apple A5 (2 x Cortex A9, PowerVR SGX543MP2)

Connectivity

WiFi , Optional 4G LTE

WiFi , Optional 4G LTE

WiFi , Optional 3G

Memory

1GB

1GB

512MB

Storage

16GB – 64GB

16GB – 64GB

16GB

Battery

25Whr

42.5Whr

25Whr

Pricing

9 – 9 est

9 – 9

9, 9

Driving the new display is Apple's A5X SoC. Apple hasn't been too specific about what's inside the A5X other than to say it features "quad-core graphics". Upon further prodding Apple did confirm that there are two CPU cores inside the SoC. It's safe to assume that there are still a pair of Cortex A9s in the A5X but now paired with a PowerVR SGX543MP4 instead of the 543MP2 used in the iPad 2.

Read on for our analysis of Apple's 3rd generation iPad.

Apple has delivered details on the next version of its iPad tablet device.

The company said that the new iPad would sport support for 4G LTE connectivity along with a number of key hardware updates.

Users can expect to see a significant upgrade in image quality from the introduction of the Retina display to the iPad line. First introduced in the iPhone line, the Retina displays offer ultra-high resolution reaching up to 1080p.

Additionally, the device will offer a 5 megapixel camera and will be powered by Apple’s new A5 processor.

Among the software updates to be delivered for the tablet by the iOS 5.1 update include the addition of voice dictation and updates to the Camera, iPhoto and iTunes applications.

The company said that the new iPad, set to launch on 16 March in the US and UK, will range in cost from 9 for a 16GB Wi-Fi only device to the 9 64GB 4G-equipped tablet.

Vinita Jakhanwal, senior manager for small and medium displays at analyst firm his noted that the company’s recent decision to partner with manufacturing firms could help to keep profit margins up in spite of an expected increase in hardware costs.

“Apple is likely to incur a significant price premium for using the higher-resolution display in the new iPad,” Jakhanwal noted.

“However, manufacturers are expected to grant discounts, especially because Apple, in all likelihood, has made investments in display makers like LG, Sharp and Toshiba Mobile Display.”

The release builds on what has thus far been a tablet market dominated by Apple. Gartner research vice president Carolina Milanesi said that the hardware updates, combined with Apple’s already strong software and service bundles, should allow the iPad to maintain its solid hold on the market.

“Other vendors will struggle to match price with similar features,” Milanesi explained.

“Consumers with first gen iPad will certainly have enough reasons to upgrade to and second gen owners with no income limitations will also upgrade and hand down their current device.”

While analysts were for the most part enthusiastic on the rollout, some industry pundits noted shortfalls in the new iPad.

Fred Huet, managing director of Greenwich Consulting, said that the company failed to address many of the challenges presented by competitors in the cloud service space.

“While the iCloud is a good offering, further functionality is needed in order to up Apple’s game against the likes of Google and Amazon,” Huet explained.

“The fact that iTunes in the cloud now supports movies is a step in the right direction.”

TOY MAKER FOR THE WELL HEELED Apple has started sending out invitations to the launch of its Ipad 3.

The invitations – ours must be coming as a hard copy and we have not had a delivery yet – show what looks like a very high resolution screen and the suggestion that someone out there has something that they want people to see and touch.

Fortunately the clue is in the picture, and from what we can see, it is a picture of a very shiny looking Ipad 3. So unless this is the launch of a brand of polish for Apple Ipad screens, we can only assume that it is the invitation to the release of the third tablet in the series.

We saw the invitation at The Verge, then we checked, but our postal delivery is still not here, and there we learned that the launch event is being held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10AM PST on Wednesday, 7 March. µ

FLOGGER OF SHINY TOYS Apple is dominating the mobile PC market and has just over a quarter of the market.

Numbers from research firm NPD Displaysearch give the firm’s mobile roster over 26 per cent of the market and shipments of around 62.8 million for the full year 2011.

Apple’s mobile PC sales increase chalks up to around 132 per cent year on year, according to the numbers presented in the analyst firm’s Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report, and almost 80 per cent of those were Ipads. Apple shipped 18.7 million Ipads in the fourth quarter of last year and 48.5 million over the full year.

Demand grew for mobile devices, which we take to be tablets, netbooks and notebooks, and in total sales in the category grew by 44 per cent over the course of the year. In the last quarter some 88 million devices were shipped.

The popularity of tablets perhaps shows how far netbooks and small notebooks have fallen from popularity. However, those are getting cheaper, so sales are relatively stable.

“Mobile PC brands read the writing on the wall in the fourth quarter,” said NPD Displaysearch senior analyst Richard Shim.

“Consumer demand for notebooks was expected to be weak following modest back-to-school results, especially with the expected launch of Windows 8 on the horizon, and increasing interest in tablet PCs. As a result, brands focused their typical holiday price cuts on tablets to boost demand.”

In second place, HP has a market share of 15.5 per cent and seems to make most of its bucks from the notebook market. Dell and Acer are tied in third place with just under 12 per cent.

The story is different when it is broken down into market segments though, and HP leads the notebook tables while Apple does not feature. The tablet rankings are much different though, and there Apple leads off against Amazon, which has its Kindle, while other firms like Samsung also make the list.

Apple and its Ipad dominate however, selling over 18 million units to Amazon’s 5.3 million. Samsung, Asus and Barnes & Noble, which offers the Nook reader, make up the rest of the top five, and between them they ship fewer units than Amazon. µ

CHINESE HARDWARE FIRM Shenzhen Proview Technology continues to harass Apple over the rights to the Ipad name and is persisting with its arguments that the fruit themed firm is at fault.

The debate is keeping lawyers in alligator shoes and sports cars and has claimed some Apple Ipads impromptu shelf clearances, and Proview shows no sign of letting up.

According to a report on the Associated Press the parties were in court in Shanghai yesterday and Proview’s lawyer Xie Xianghui said that any deal signed is invalid.

“Apple has no right to sell iPads under that name,” Xie said. “The agreement to sell the trademark is not valid under Chinese law,” he said.

Apple countered that if anyone had broken the agreement it was Proview, adding that Proview isn’t even using the Ipad name meaning that it can’t really claim it as a trademark. It also questioned whether Proview had the cash to see the argument through, something that its rival said that it could do.

Apple has appealed against previous rulings already, and stands firm in its insistence that Proview is wrong.

“We bought Proview’s worldwide rights to the Ipad trademark in 10 different countries several years ago,” begins the cappuccino company’s oft-repeated comment on the matter.

“Proview refuses to honour their agreement with Apple in China and a Hong Kong court has sided with Apple in this matter. Our case is still pending in mainland China.” µ