[From Stephen Trew] Is Google paying Apple to be default search engine? "Despite their continuing legal battles, new reports have suggested search giant Google is paying bitter rival Apple as much as $1 billion (£638.24 million) to be the default search browser on the company’s market dominating hardware ranges. Covering off the likes of the Mac as well as the smartphone scene leading Apple iPhone and tablet market dominating Apple iPad, industry analysts have suggested Apple’s choice of default search option comes with a hefty price tag for Google."
The New iPad Battery
[From Stephen Trew] This is big news that slipped under the radar. "Adrian Kingsley-Hughes: Between the release of the iPad 2 last year and the announcement of the new iPad yesterday, Apple has nearly doubled the capacity of the battery, taking it from 25Wh to a massive 42Wh. Measured in milliamps this boosts the battery from 6944 mAh to a monstrous 11,666 mAh. That’s a massive, massive jump in the same basic space (ever-so-slightly bigger)"
Win iPhone 4 and 4S Accessories with Best Mobile Contracts
UK mobile phone comparison website Best Mobile Contracts are very generously giving away over 20 prizes to iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S fans, wherever you may live.
These prizes include:
5 premium leather Master Series cases
5 Element Formula 4 cases with Carbon Fibre back
5 Skullcandy Smokin Buds with Mic
5 Groov-e GV9900MB Retro Headphones
To top it all off, one lucky person will win an Element Case Vapor Pro Spectra case worth over £120 (GBP). That means that just by entering once you could win one of 21 prizes. The prize will be posted to you wherever you may live!
To enter all you have to do is provide your email address and country of residence and then either like Best Mobile Contracts on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Easy!
This competition is open to everyone over the age of 18, and will close on March 31st
You can enter the competition here
Watching the Olympics on a mobile device!
[From Lyle Beidler] I’m very excited by the news that NBC has, first, abandoned Silverlight for YouTube, and second, will stream every event of the London Olympics live. I don’t have cable, so in the past I’ve not been able to watch all the events I wanted to, which were shown on NBC’s cable partners. I’m very excited that the abandoning Silverlight for YouTube means I should be able to watch on my iPod, or on my Ubuntu laptop!
BBC Plans iTunes Competitor
[From Stephen Trew] Interesting development form the BBC. "The BBC is developing a radical scheme under which UK viewers would pay to download new and old BBC TV shows from a service it hopes will compete with iTunes. paidContent has learned the BBC executive wants to make all its shows available as download-to-own (DTO) at prices including £1.89 per show, under a scheme called Project Barcelona."
New iPad 4G LTE incompatible with networks outside North America
[From Stephen Trew] This is why I was not expecting LTE in the new iPad, LTE is not quite mature yet. I'm surprised Apple made this move. It will mean multiple versions for the international market. Apple may have the logistics to do this, after all it's one part that needs to be different and they are already doing this for the US market. It will be interesting to see how the European versions compare to the N American ones.
A fresh new Dropbox on the web
[From Stephen Trew] Dropbox is simply one of the best apps ever across any (or all) platforms. You cannot live without it once it's installed. "One of our main goals was to slim down dropbox.com and focus on the star of the page: your stuff. We’ve put all the tools you need at your fingertips, but only when you need them. The new action bar at the top of the screen does it all. Think of it as a multi-tool that adjusts to your needs. You can use it to sort your files by name, date, size, and type. Or, if you select a file or folder, the bar will change to let you perform a variety of actions on your selection."
Only Apple
[From Stephen Trew] John Gruber on why only Apple could ship something as good as the iPad. "“Only Apple could deliver this kind of innovation, in such a beautiful, integrated, and easy-to-use way. It’s what we love to do. It’s what we stand for. And across the year, you’re going to see a lot more of this kind of innovation. We are just getting started.” That was Tim Cook, closing yesterday’s event introducing the new retina display iPad. Here’s the thing: he was right. To pretend otherwise you have to put your head in the sand (or some other hole). Cook’s remarks may be immodest, but they are not hyperbole. No other company could today produce something like this new iPad."
Why the New iPad is So Huge for Apple
[From Stephen Trew] A good editorial from ReadWriteWeb - there is simply no competition in a huge new market. "Maybe it didn't seem like it, but today's new iPad introduction was Apple's most important event of the year. Sure, the iPhone is still a bigger business for Apple, and probably will be for a while. But the iPhone is just Apple's small sliver of the giant phone market. The iPad, meanwhile, is a green field - a totally new market that Apple is building and defining. And so far, it has it almost to itself. It's the future of Apple and potentially the future of the personal computer. That's a rare and tremendous opportunity."