The idea here is actually brilliant in its simplicity. As you rock back and forth in the rocking chair, it generates power that is then sent to the iPad docked in the right side arm. The current design uses the 30-pin dock connector, but there’s no reason why this couldn’t be altered to support other devices or possibly even the new Lightning connector for the iPad Mini or iPad 4. They say that an hour of rocking will give back 35% battery capacity to a third-gen iPad.

But the power generated isn’t just for the iPad. Located in the headrest portion are a couple of stereo speakers that can also get the juice generated from your rocking motion. This creates an all-encompassing iExperience for watching movies or listening to music. The iRock is a high quality rocking chair too, handmade from Swedish oak with five layers of paint.

Of course, all this style and power doesn’t come cheap. Micasa Lab of Zurich says that the iRock Rocking Chair will retail for about 1,300 Euro ($1,685 US) when it ships in late 2013.

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Just a little over a half year after the release of the iPad 3rd generation model, we already have a successor. The 4th gen iPad doesn’t bring tons of changes to the mix but it does have a faster processor and graphics chip, alongside the new Lightning adapter. So you already bought an iPad 3, what do you do? For some of you, an exchange might be possible.

Normally Apple gives you two weeks as a grace period for returning or trading in devices. This isn’t officially changing at Apple but specific Apple Stores seem to be opening up the policy temporarily to cover 30 days. This is likely in response to the grumbling that is already hitting the net from customers than are more than a little agitated at Apple for such a quick device turn around.

While Apple has traditionally waited about a year for refreshes to its major products, the iPad 4th generation was certainly much less than this, with its predecessor only enjoying the limelight for about seven months.

Before bringing your 29 ½ day old iPad back to the store nearest you, it is probably better to call first. The extended return may or may not be in place at your store. If you complain enough to the Apple representatives at the store, it is also possible they might work with you just to shut you up.

For those that have a several month old 3rd-gen iPad? Unfortunately, your only real option for getting into the new one is to attempt to sell your iPad and pay the difference that it takes to move to the newest model.

Any iPad 3rd generation users out there? What do you think of this quick turn around?

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Apparently Tokepa analyst Brian White believes that the iPad Mini is not only on its way soon, but that it will outshine the 3^rd generation iPad.

The analyst says he built his assumptions based on a few things, including the possitive chatter coming out of Apple’s overseas supply chain. Apple isn’t cutting any corners with this one and is attempting to push quality while still coming out at a price point that will make it competitive against the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD.

What is a bit interesting is that he claims the Mini can outshine the Retina-display iPad 3 yet he provides no argument for why. Considering White has pretty strong information ties to the supply chain overseas, he is probably right that it is on its way and is going to be huge. Still, I can’t possible see why it would get even more attention than the bigger iPad.

The 7-inch market is hot right now, but that alone won’t make beat out the 10-inch iPad. It is merely meant to round out Apple’s offerings not outshine the regular iPad line. More than likely, if the Mini outshines anyone it will be its Android competition.

If Apple lands the device at a $250-$299 price point, Android devices will likely drop down even further, perhaps to $175. Apple can’t compete on pricing alone, especially considering they sell at a very high premium. The battle will likely boil down to marketing. Google’s marketing campaign with the Nexus 7 has been pretty strong, but Apple is a master at getting people to buy their products based primarily on marketing hype.

What do you think? Interested in a 7-inch iPad or not?

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This is good for a couple of reasons. The more obvious is that your viewing experience will no longer be obstructed by all your greasy fingerprints, so you don’t need to whip out that buffing cloth every few minutes. The second is that it might be good for touchscreen security passwords, especially when it comes to the “pattern” lockscreen on Android devices. It ain’t perfect, but it’s something.

To be fair, 3M isn’t saying that these screen protectors prevent fingerprint smudges completely. Instead, as the name implies, the fingerprints fade away on their own over time, so you may still see more a few smudges. In any case, the scratch-resistant screen protectors retail for $24.95 and should ship in a number of sizes.

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Can’t decide if you want to have an iPad or a MacBook Air? If you pick up the CruxSKUNK Keyboard Case from CruxCase, you can almost have the best of both worlds. This is a protective case for the iPad 2 and the “new” iPad, but what it really does is transform that tablet into a notebook. You get a complete Apple-style keyboard that very much mirrors what you get from the MacBook series, except you’re still being powered by iOS.

The CruxSKUNK goes even further by providing a 360-degree hinge. What this means is that when you don’t want to use the keyboard, the case can be rotated all the way through so that you can more easily use the touchscreen. The keyboard portion is just 6mm thin and the whole thing is made from aircraft-grade aluminum. The CruxSKUNK uses Bluetooth to connect to your iPad and the built-in 350mAh battery is said to last about a month.

CruxCase has even integrated Smart Cover technology, so just like the regular Smart Cover from Apple, your iPad will turn itself on and off when you open and close the CruxSKUNK. It’s currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, but with over $87,000 raised of the $90,000 goal with 36 days to go, I think they’re in good shape. Pledge a minimum of $135 to get your hands on one of the first CruxSKUNK cases, plus a bonus leather sleeve. Shipments are expected to commence in December.

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At first, I thought this iPad case would be the complete opposite of useful. It looked like it would block out about half of the touchscreen and then you would presumably load some sort of app to simulate the old Mac operating system. And then, I realized I was wrong. The “Mac” part of this Padintosh case is really for the back of the iPad and not the front. This way, when you decide to hold up your iPad to take a picture of Bill and Melinda Gates in London, they can stare right into the faux Mac screen that reads “hello.”

Go ahead and “party like it’s 1984″ with the Padintosh Case. It’s available now through Thinkgeek for a fairly reasonably $24.99. Since it’s only the back part of the case, you can still use your Smart Cover for the front. If only they made a 1984 style Smart Cover to match…

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Up until now, only older iDevices have had the ability to downgrade to previous firmware versions using the Limera1n exploit and SHSH blobs, but that ability has now been ported to newer A5-powered iDevices like the third-gen iPad and the iPhone 4S.

This news comes by way of the iPhone Dev-Team, stating that redsn0w version 0.9.11b1 directly supports the restoration of older firmware versions to your jailbroken iPhone or iPad. There is no need for a bootrom-level exploit and the new feature can be found under Extras -> Even More -> Restore.

Of course, you’ll need the personalized SHSH blobs to be able to downgrade to that firmware; these blobs can then be remote or local for the restoration process. It’s also important to note that the A5 downgrade will update to the latest firmware before reverting back to the older one. What this means is that Apple can eventually close the exploit with a newer firmware, but they haven’t yet.

As always, proceed at your own risk and discretion.

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A range of different issues have arisen concerning Wi-Fi on the third-generation iPad. Some users are saying that their connection drops out unexpectedly. Some say that they’re getting remarkably slow download and upload speeds. Others say that the device is unable to pickup on local WiFi networks altogether. On Apple’s online support forum, a thread has popped up with hundreds of people saying they’re having Wi-Fi problems. Interestingly, this only appears to affect WiFi-only models, as the 4G LTE versions are just fine. There’s an Apple solution for you: buy the more expensive one.

This is above and beyond the overheating issues that already plague the new iPad. For now, Apple support isn’t offering a definite fix, so they’ve been instructed to “capture” the affected iPads and replace them with new units for customers.

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After tons of rumors about an iPad 3, what we really got, as you know, was the new iPad. So then will the iPad 3 still arrive sometime in the future? Is it in the works at the moment in a super secret Apple lab? Well, it appears like a new tablet, a smaller iPad, is indeed being tested by the company and it might get released later this year (maybe as the iPad 3 or iPad mini).

That’s according to Apple pundit John Gruber who was talking on The Talk Show, a podcast with 5by5′s Dan Benjamin. Gruber revealed that Apple is currently thinking about a smaller version of its iPad and has a 7.85-inch 1024×768 resolution iPad in their lab. According to him, the prototype device is “just like the 9.7-inch iPad shrunk down a little bit” and “the apps wouldn’t need to be redesigned or recompiled to work on it”.

Gruber says that he “wouldn’t be surprised if it never ships”, but suggests that Apple might introduce a smaller iPad at the Worldwide Developers Conference, since the arrival of a new iPhone is very unlikely. That device could compete against Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet. But there’s also a possibility that they might simply be testing new designs, and the said device may never see the light of day.

Yet, the thought about another new iPad for this year will make all the iFans excited. But, of course, even if such a device is being perfected for future release, we can’t say for sure what it will be named. iPad 3? iPad Mini? Newer iPad? Or maybe ePad?

The post iPad 3 Will Be The 7.85-Inch Mini? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Remember that Apple has already sold three million units of the new iPad, even before hitting up these international markets. The hope is that the supply can still satisfy the demand, especially now that they’re tackling an even larger demographic. With the addition of these 25 countries, the new iPad is now available in 37 markets around the world.

The new countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Not surprisingly, the pricing will vary from market to market.

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