SPECIAL: iMac + The Works

If you’re like me, you are a happy, happy iPad 2 owner. With the iPad announcement on Wednesday, you might be wondering if you should trade up or just hang on to your beloved iPad. For now, I’m going to hang onto mine, but I might look at ways to really trick it out so I’m not feeling so bad when March 16th rolls around.

Here’s a bundle of stuff for your iPad 2:

First in the basket is a set of Chill Pill speakers. I mentioned these last week, that I love their compact design and great sound. But don’t just believe me–check out the “reviews.”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/71679/at_kb

Next, I’m going to toss in the “Leather Folio for the iPad 2”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/78191/at_kb so that I protect my sidekick in genuine leather (um, what other kind of leather would it be? Disingenuous?).

I’m going to throw a stylus into the mix, so I’ve chosen the “lanyard stylus”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/79313/hammerhead-lanyard-stylus-black so that I don’t lose it. I’m also going to find a way to hang my glasses on the lanyard, so I don’t lose those, too.

Throw in an Apple Wireless Keyboard and the Ethnic WINGStand, and you’ve got the entire bundle for *$70 off at $129,* exclusively for Kibbles & Bytes readers!

Waiting around for Apple to make their announcement on Wednesday, really made me miss attending Macworld EXPO. Back in the day, Don and I would make the trek to San Francisco (or NY or Boston) and there would be this great energy.

One year, we were treated by Ingram Micro, one of our distributors with VIP tickets to one of Steve’s Keynote addresses. Picture hundreds (if not a thousands) Mac fanatics hanging on every word Steve spoke. I think Don and I made a game of getting to other people to applaud by applauding at really weird things.

One vivid memory I have is standing on the steps in San Francisco looking over a sea of people with their MacBooks on their laps. This was the single, largest collection of like-minded geeks in one spot that I had ever witnessed. I miss the opportunity to mingle with other geeks. The closest that I come now to satisfying my need to socialize with other geeks is watching The Big Bang Theory on TV.

Each time I watch the show now, I fantasize about getting Sheldon to wear a Small Dog T-shirt. Now I just have to figure out how to get a shirt to him. Maybe readers will help?

Perhaps you’ll join me in a “Sheldon wear our shirt” campaign? “*Follow us on Twitter*”:http://twitter.com/hellosmalldog and spread the word!

__No copyright infringement intended–we just want Sheldon to wear our shirt…__

No…it’s not an iPad 3. Nor is it an iPad HD. But, the iPad announced at Wednesday’s Apple Media Event does have most of the amazing features everyone was hoping it does: Retina display, updated processor, 4G capability (and more). It’s so feature-rich, we don’t even care that it doesn’t have a fancy name and that everyone at Apple kept referring to it as the “new” iPad.

Here’s a breakdown of what’s new in Apple’s third-generation mobile device.

*Retina display*

* 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution with 3.1 million pixels for sharp text and fine image detail
* Over a million more pixels than a 1080p display at 1920 x 1080
* 44 percent better color saturation

*A5X processor*

* A5X chip with quad-core graphics
* iPad 2 features a dual-core A5 chip by comparison

*5-megapixel camera*

* iSight camera has advanced optics for photos
* 1080p HD video recording
* Front-facing FaceTime camera for video calling

*Dictation*

* Built-in microphone for writing email, sending texts, creating notes, and searching the web

*4G wireless*

* “Ultrafast” wireless speeds (up to 4G LTE) on 4G networks (where available)

The battery life is about 10 hours, and 9 using 4G. The new iPad is available at the same price points:
* $499/$599/$699 for Wi-Fi models
* $629/$729/$829 for 4G LTE models
* 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities for each

Plus, iPad 2 16GB W-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models are still available at new lower prices: $399 and $529, respectively.

*Available March 16!*

“*View everything here.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Apple/iPad/iPad_3rd_Gen/

Apple released OS 5.1 yesterday, which contains improvements and bug fixes.

An overview from Apple:

* Japanese language support for Siri (availability may be limited during initial rollout)
* Photos can now be deleted from Photo Stream
* Camera shortcut now always visible on Lock Screen for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone * 3GS and iPod touch (4th generation)
* Camera face detection now highlights all detected faces
* Redesigned Camera app for iPad
* Genius Mixes and Genius playlists for iTunes Match subscribers
* Audio for TV shows and movies on iPad optimized to sound louder and clearer
* Podcast controls for playback speed and a 30 second rewind for iPad
* Updated AT&T network indicator
* Addresses bugs affecting battery life
* Fixes an issue that occasionally caused audio to drop for outgoing calls

More information on the security content of this update can be found “*here.*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222

To read about how to update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, “*click here.*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4623

_Dear Friends,_

We are in the midst of a spring heat wave and a solar storm today, though the weather report calls for cloudy skies so we are unlikely to catch any Aurora Borealis caused by the massive solar flare. I think one of Vermont’s famous “shoulder” seasons–mud season–will be early this year.

Of course the big news this week was Apple’s Media Event, which brought the new iPad and Apple TV announcements. Kali and Dawn will review these announcements in detail, however, I do want to comment on how Apple has once again set the bar quite high for any competitor in the tablet market. As Apple continues to enhance the iPad, Tim Cook is right that we are entering a new era in computing appliances. The Retina display, faster processor, improved camera, and 4G LTE networking are all features that will make this new iPad a huge success. While I am a bit disappointed that Apple did not bring Siri to the iPad, the voice dictation feature is going to be a hit if it works as well as Siri on the iPhone 4s.

I was also very pleased to see that Apple has retained the iPad 2 in its base 16GB configuration at a new price of $399. That is great for entry-level users but also gives us plenty of time to sell our Hammerhead products for the iPad 2. Apple has changed the naming conventions for the iPad, just calling it the iPad rather than the speculation that had it named “iPad 2s” or “iPad 3” or “iPad HD.” This is consistent with how they have named iPods and makes a lot of sense. We will use the qualifier of 3rd Generation to distinguish this latest iPad version on our website and in stores.

This week also marks the first 1-hour radio show for Small Dog Electronics on WDEV, Radio Vermont or as station owner Ken Squire puts it, “Radio Flea Vermont.” Rebecca and Dawn will join me on the call-in show from 1-2 on Thursdays to discuss Macs, iPads, PCs, dogs, dog friends or just about anything that the listeners want to discuss. We are going to have some fun on the Apple products version of Car Talk. We haven’t officially named the show but it is going to be community radio at its best with an award-winning radio station that really understands the need for local programming rather than syndicated packages. “*Check out WDEV’s website here.*”:http://www.wdevradio.com/index-home.asp

I have a wicked case of spring fever. I’ve been getting into work earlier and earlier as the sun is up early. That will change this weekend as we enter Daylight Savings time by setting the clocks an hour ahead on Sunday. I saw a motorcycle out on the road yesterday, and if it wasn’t for the big snow bank by the garage down here at the office, I’d be out there, too.

Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Don, Kali & Dawn_