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iOS 5 Feature Roundup

As Apple announced last week just before the new iPhone 4S launch comes the release of iOS5 today. We're pretty amazed by all the new stuff in the next mobile OS from Apple. Seriously, there's a ton of new things in this release, making even our "old" iPhone 4 seem like an entirely new phone. Released today, and available right now, here's what iOS has in store for us all!

Hit the jump to see all of the great new features of iOS 5.

A couple of months ago we mentioned that Cave was working on an HD version of Espgaluda II for the iPad, but at the time they didn't disclose much else. We just knew that it was a thing. Well Cave has since chipped away at the ice a bit.

The "Guinness-recognized 'danmaku' shooter!" is indeed being refitted with high definition displays in mind, however it's looking like this HD release will be exclusive to the iPad 2. At least for the time being. In addition to the remastered visuals - although according to the press release, the backgrounds and "some other graphics" will retain their SD quality - the "iPhone Mode" is being re-dubbed "Smartphone Mode" and receiving a new soundtrack by Kenichi Fukui and “KAY.”

Of course, that's not all. Along with all this HD craziness, the current iPhone/iPod Touch version of Espgaluda II is getting a bit of a revision. For starters, the soon-to-be newly dubbed Smartphone Mode will also receive the new soundtrack. So there's no need for audiophile non-iPad users to feel left out. Secondly, the full version will also get two separate "split" versions: Arcade and Smartphone. Each one will contain the full content of its titular mode, but won't contain the other. Of course, the Full version will still be available, and contain everything. I'm guessing (keyword: guessing) this was done to allow more frugal App Store shoppers a way in, so to speak.

There's still no official release date or pricing, but Cave promises that it'll all be posted "soon" on their homepage. I'd strongly suggest iPad 2 owners with a love of bullet-hell keep an eye on it. Or here. We'll probably mention something here, too.

This case popped up recently and looked like it had a chance to be something unique. While it borrows heavily from the Zagg mate, it makes a few improvements and is a heck of a lot cheaper. Let's take a look at the Aluminum Keyboard Buddy case for it iPad 2.

This keyboard for the iPad 2 is sold as a case, but it's not truly a case. Rather, it is more of a smart-cover-enabled clam shell with a keyboard included. The iPad sets, face down, into the tray of the keyboard with the edges coming up to enclose the sides of the iPad. And here we see the first issue with this keyboard.

To place the iPad 2 into the case for storage, users need to wedge one wide side of the iPad under two tabs on the edge of the keyboard. Then, users close the iPad by easing it down over the keyboard. To get the iPad wedged under both of these tabs is not a super easy thing. And once the iPad is closed into the keyboard, it is not as secure as the iPad was in the Zagg keyboard. The friction seems a bit lacking - it easily works itself out when stored in a bag or carried in your hand. Perhaps a little forceful adjusting of the aluminum edge of the keyboard would help, but I'm not willing to risk breaking it to do so.

Using the actual keyboard is much better than expected. It's a similar Bluetooth design to most other non-folio type keyboards. The iPad 2 wedges into a groove on the front of the keyboard and leans back either in portrait or landscape orientation. The keyboard base then becomes the platform to hold the iPad 2 and use as a keyboard. This works quite well and is in my opinion the best method for typing. The solid base allows you to use this on a table or even in your lap, though using it in your lap with the iPad in portrait mode can feel a bit unbalanced. The one issue with this keyboard in particular is that the iPad bounces considerably when touching on the screen. The tabs holding the iPad in place are perhaps a bit soft for this or the overall design is a bit less rigid than it needs to be.

What about the keyboard? Well this is where this device really shines. While it has very small keys, they have great separation from the other keys. This really has given me unparalleled accuracy in typing on an iPad keyboard device. Add to that my preferred double-width backspace, inverted T arrow keys, and the usual compliment of iPad quick access keys, and this could be my favorite small iPad keyboard.

When closed up, the keyboard adds very little bulk in comparison to other keyboard cases. The whole package is just under double the thickness of the iPad alone. This keyboard also includes the special iPad 2 magnet in just the right place to automatically wake up your iPad when you pull it out of the case. Perhaps this could be an issue for battery drain if the iPad is popping out of the case in your bag, however.

Overall, the Buddy iPad 2 case is a good specialized keyboard. While half the price and not nearly as good as the Zagg mate, it is half the price. While for pure typing pleasure you can't beat the Apple Bluetooth keyboard, in a pinch this one will work and is considerably more portable. Add to that the rather cheap price at under $50, and it might be the perfect keyboard for some.

This iPad 2 keyboard shell is available for $49.90 from MIC Gadget in either white or black. Full specs from the manufacturer are below, or after the jump.

In one of the smaller announcements today, Apple announced that iOS 5 on the iPad 2 will support a feature called AirPlay mirroring. This feature is something that I've been telling people would eventually come to the iOS world and basically backdoor Apple into the console market.

If you aren't familiar with HDMI mirroring on the iPad, it's a feature that lets you plug in an cable into a special adapter on your iPad 2 and display your screen on an HDTV. This feature is great for use in classrooms and has even seen some play in games as well with Firemint using this feature to allow 1080p output on your TV from their Real Racing 2 HD via mirroring. But, you are tethered to the TV with a cable.

So, what's AirPlay mirroring then, you ask? According to Apple, "AirPlay® Mirroring to wirelessly display everything you do on your iPad 2 right on your HDTV through Apple TV®." To me, that means with an iPad 2, you'll be able to do that mirroring without a cable. That means anything you see on your iPad 2, you will be able to see on an Apple TV. Let that sink in and then think using that feature for games.

This means that any game you play on your iPad 2, you'll be able to play on your TV, wirelessly. Yes, wirelessly. You launch Angry Birds on your iPad 2 and the Angry Birds screen will show up on your TV. Boom, instant game console with $0.99 game downloads.

To control the game, you would use the iOS device as the controller. The Apple TV becomes the cheapest console out there at $99 with the largest game library at nearly 100,000 games. Your iPad 2 becomes your controller, albeit a very expensive one. We can assume that this feature will also be available in the next iPhone and iPod touch, once their processors and memory are upgraded and on parity with the iPad 2.

Let's wrap that all up together, and it means that you can consider the Apple TV to be firmly in the game console market now. This is huge! I can't stress enough how much of a game changer this is for the gaming world.

Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft should be worried. They have all been rather slow to adopt downloadable games, now Apple has gone and made it easy and cheap. If Apple does to the console market what they have done to the mobile software market, they should be very worried. The Apple TV, which started out as Steve Jobs hobby, could turn out to be the most popular home game and entertainment console around.

One of the big drawbacks about the iPad 2 is its camera; identical to the iPod touch 4th generation's camera, it only takes photos at a 960x720 resolution, paling in comparison to the resolution available from the iPhone 4's camera, if not all iPhone cameras period. This is such low resolution that it is actually smaller than the iPad 2's screen resolution of 1024x768. This means that users should not expect to be taking fantastic photographs with the iPad 2; and apparently very few people are.

According to Flickr's stats, there are an average of 36 users per day uploading photos to Flickr from their iPad. Compare this to the over 4000 that upload daily from the iPhone 4 (which is trending toward becoming the most-used camera on Flickr, period), over 3000 that still upload photos from the iPhone 3G, and just under 2000 that upload from the iPhone 3GS per day.  In comparison, the iPod touch 4G, which has an identical camera as the iPad 2, gets 455 users that upload to photos to the site per day, which is enough to make it the 5th most popular 'cameraphone' on Flickr; stats are not available for the original iPhone on Flickr.

Granted, there is a definite possibility that the numbers are being skewed by Flickr's userbase; it may skew more toward photography enthusiasts than the casual photo taker, and the iPad 2's camera is one that few if any serious photographers would actually use. The percentages may likely be higher on Facebook and Twitter photo services, where casual and convenient photos are more prominent than well-prepared shots, where a higher-quality camera would likely be used.

However, what is clear is that iOS users have definite options to upload photos from the phone to Flickr, as shown by iOS cameras being 4 of the top 5 cameraphones on Flickr. The iPod touch's inferior camera is still popular enough to make it notable among cameraphones on Flickr. The conclusion is that tablets just may not be devices that users consider as regular cameras. iPhones and iPod touches are devices designed to be carried around in users' pockets, and can be used to take photos when an opportunity arises. The iPad is usually carried around in a case or a bag, and may not be as immediately available for casual photo taking, and its inferior quality camera dissuades taking high-quality shots as well. Apple may have known this and only put a rear-facing camera in for posterity, rather than for actual usability, because no one is using the iPad 2 to take photos.

Source: PetaPixel

Fans of Epic's Unreal Engine have been long trumpeting its praises on the iOS.  However, while Infinity Blade has seen widespread acclaim, including a very promising review here on 148Apps, Dungeon Defenders, another game made using the Unreal Engine, hasn't seen near as much success.  One specific issue keyed on in our official review of Dungeon Defenders were the performance lags that occurred when there too many things happening on screen.

Luckily, the iPad 2 has come to our rescue and Dungeon Defenders developer Trendy Entertainment is happy to announce that lag is now a thing of the past.  Apparently a perk of developing using the Unreal Engine is that you are by default writing code that is compatible with dual core PCs.  This technology can now be applied to the dual cores found in the iPad 2, thereby kicking the prior slowdown to the curb, with minimal effort on their end.



Though I was initially skeptical about this news, as you can see in the video above and all remnants of stuttering have gone the way of the Dodo.  I guess this is just one more perk of using the Unreal Engine.  Here is to hoping that other developers are taking notes.

The iPad 2 is thinner (by 0.16”), lighter (by 130g) and smaller (by 0.03m H and 0.04m W) in comparison to its first generation counterpart. Along with that comes an all new, custom-designed Apple A5 dual-core processor churning out 1GHz of power, the inclusion of two cameras and a three-axis gyroscope. Screen and battery life remain identical. So when iFixit took on the challenge of tearing down the iPad 2, what else was there to be found? Let’s find out.

“Prior to starting the teardown, we guessed that the glass front panel was no longer held in place by tabs. We were correct. The new tapered edge on the iPad 2 prevents any kind of tabs from being used; instead, Apple engineers used generous helpings of adhesive to keep the front glass in place” writes Miroslav Djuric, Director of Technical Communication at iFixit. “Consequently,” he warns, “the front panel is very difficult to remove – it’s nearly impossible to open the iPad 2 without shattering the glass.” In terms of screen replacement, the iPad 1’s tab-equipped assembly made it a whole lot easier for a self-repair job. It looks like the same job on an iPad 2 is now a near impossibility.

Once the team were able to remove the glass, it was noted that both the LCD and glass thickness were smaller in comparison to iPad 1. Whilst this does provide a number of advantages, notably the reduced thickness and weight of the device, it may reduce its overall durability. “We’ll see in due time if the percentage of folks with broken iPad 2 front glass is dramatically different than that of the original iPad” writes Miroslav.

What wasn’t mentioned in the keynote address – or in the current technical specifications page of iPad 2 – is that the device contains 512MB of RAM, double the amount of iPad 1. This should do wonders when it comes to more powerful applications like iMovie and Garageband, the latter of which frequently leaves you waiting as it “optimizes performance” on iPad 1.

Overall, iPad 2 is as different underneath as it is on the surface: subtle differences, significant changes. Here’s a teardown video, along with select screenshots, for your enjoyment:

[gallery type=thumbnail]

130g lightness refers to iPad 1 3G (80g if referring to iPad 1 Wi-Fi). Dimensions and weight courtesy of Wikipedia.

The iPad 2 is here! And in celebration, some apps have been updated for the iPad 2 with it's increased processing power. And a whole bunch of apps and games have gone on sale.

First up, the newly optimized games. Infinity Blade has long been one of those games to turn to when you want to show off the power of the iPad. With it's latest release, Chair Entertainment has updated the app with even higher resolution graphics to fully utilize the power of the iPad 2.

In addition, we got word late last night that Real Racing 2 HD had been released. We were surprised with the launch after no mention of it's pending release was made at GDC last week. But here it is, in all it's glory, released with extra enhancements for the iPad 2 like full screen anti-aliasing.

Let's not forget the sales! EA have put their entire line of iPad titles on sale for up to 70% off for the weekend. Though most of the best games are about 30% off. Some highlights below:

[appsale: 396019894,6.99,Mar 14]
[appsale: 402604194,6.99,Mar 14]
[appsale: 408895052,6.99,Mar 14]
[appsale: 384462194,4.99,Mar 14]
[appsale: 363311002,2.99,Mar 14]

Bulkypix have also put many of their iPad games on sale. Here are a few of our favorites:

[appsale: 374500908,2.99,Mar 14]
[appsale: 416550055,0.99,Mar 14]
[appsale: 371993623,0.99,Mar 14]

Looking for more sale apps? Check out our iPad Price Drops page -- specifically made to show just the iPad price drops. We even have a specific page if you just want to see the newly free iPad apps and games.

Want even more? Looking for more great iPad apps to fill up the iPad 2? Check out our highest rated iPad apps and games page in our reviews section for the iPad apps and games that we think are the best of the best.

The iPad 2 itself is a faster, stronger, thinner, and lighter version of the iPad. It improves on most of the features of the iPad while not radically changing any of the originals features, making this release pretty much what we hoped for and expected. These updates do a lot to elevate the iPad 2 above any of the announced "iPad Killer" Android tablets like the Xoom or Samsung 10.1. The iPad 2 will be available in 16, 32, and 64GB wifi and 3G versions that work on AT&T or Verizon (not both), the same configurations and price points as the current iPad.

The main changes are in the speed of the iPad 2. The iPad 2 improves on the processor by now including an A5 dual core processor. In addition, the graphics processor has been improved, offering 9x the graphics processing power of the original iPad. Next up, the size of the iPad 2 is now considerably thinner, while remaining the same length and width wise. It now has a flat back and weighs a little bit less while retaining the same 10 hour battery life.

The only real new hardware feature of the iPad 2 is the dual cameras. There is now a front facing and rear camera. These can be used to take pictures, videos, and can be used in Facetime. A welcome addition, but not one that really changes the landscape.

The iPad 2 will be available this Friday. So far we've heard that it can be ordered online from Apple.com (no pre-orders though) as well as (starting at 5pm) from Apple, AT&T, Verizon, and Best Buy stores. Other stores will likely announce launch plans this week.

By far the greatest part of last weeks announcements were the new Apple developed iPad apps, iMovie and Garageband. Both look absolutely amazing. We'll be sure to have full reviews of both as soon as possible. Garageband in particular looks absolutely amazing. Both are priced at $4.99. iMovie apparently only works on the iPad 2 while Garageband will work on the original iPad as well.

You can view the full Apple announcement at Apple.com.

So the question for you, our readers, is the iPad 2 enough for you? Does it have the features you wanted? If you have an iPad, will you upgrade to the iPad 2? We can't wait to see your answers.

At its iPad 2 press event on Wednesday, Apple announced that it is releasing a universal version of its current iMovie app. Currently, the app only runs on iPhone and iPod Touch, but the renamed iMovie for iOS will run on the iPad as well.

In his introduction of the app, Apple's Steve Jobs said, "[the app] is not a toy; you can really edit a movie on this thing." Randy Ubilios, Apple's chief artichect for video applications, then went on to present iMovie for iOS.

The application functions more like a fully-loaded video editing program than it does a lightweight app. iMovie for iOS will offer many of the advanced features found in the Mac version of iMovie. Just some of its features include a precision editor, multitrack audio recording, waveform audio editing, full high-definition video support, AirPlay support, multitouch gestures, iPad microphone support and direct video import via your device. The app will even be able to publish directly to social networks, such as YouTube, FaceBook, Vimeo, CNN iReport and iTunes, giving users plenty of options for distributing their content.

There are also other little extras in the universl version to boot, such as three new themes, three background audio tracks and fifty sound effects.

From the looks of it, you will in fact be able to actually edit a full-length film on the iPad 2 using the software. What's more, the ease-of-use a touchscreen brings to the film-editing process is exciting for anyone who's dabbled in any film-editing software before. Oh – and imagine hooking your iPad 2 up to your HDTV via HDMI. I can't help but be excited about the idea of using the iPad to edit video.

iMovie for iOS will be available March 11 for $4.99 and will be supported by iPhone 4, the 4th-gen iPod Touch and iPad 2.