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TUAW TV Live: T-minus one week and counting

On today's episode of TUAW TV Live, we'll be talking about next week's announcement of the next-generation iPad, showing off some apps, and all-in-all just having some fun. Next week at this time, we'll hopefully have all the details -- but what's so fun about that? Speculation is much more exciting.

Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments.

If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat.

We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

TUAW TV Live: T-minus one week and counting originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW TV Live: T-minus one week and counting

On today's episode of TUAW TV Live, we'll be talking about next week's announcement of the next-generation iPad, showing off some apps, and all-in-all just having some fun. Next week at this time, we'll hopefully have all the details -- but what's so fun about that? Speculation is much more exciting.

Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments.

If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream App. It's a universal app and is wonderful on an iPad, both for viewing and participating in the chat.

We'll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you're seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you'll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

TUAW TV Live: T-minus one week and counting originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

You’re the Pundit: Will Apple ditch the iPad home button?

When it comes to forecasting the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is the iPad.

Apple's intriguing invite for next week's iPad event seems to be missing a home button.

As the biggest mechanical element on iOS devices, some have long felt that the button was a harsh intrusion of device engineering into an otherwise flawless touch-based system. Could Apple have re-engineered its button for better ergonomics, flipping the iPad to deliberately hide it? Or is the button gone for good?

You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your predictions.

View Poll

You're the Pundit: Will Apple ditch the iPad home button? originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

LookTel releases recognizer app for the visually disabled

LookTel, which came out with the Money Reader app last year that helps the visually impaired accurately count money, has come out with a new app using the same technology to help people with vision problems to identify common objects.

LookTel Recognizer allows users to magnify items and store them to a database for later reference. You can use this for groceries, credit cards, ID, medicine or anything you can think of. Snap a picture with an iPhone, add an audio message, then save it to the database. When someone who is visually impaired uses the app, they can point the iPhone at an object. If it's in the database, it'll be recognized, and the user is informed what the item is using the prerecorded audio message.

LookTel Recognizer is out now for $9.99, and you can see it in action in the video below.

LookTel releases recognizer app for the visually disabled originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Daily Update for February 29, 2012

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world.

You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

No Flash? Click here to listen.

Subscribe via RSS

Daily Update for February 29, 2012 originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AR.Drone 2 dated, coming in May with pre-order tomorrow

We got to see and play with the new Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 back at CES earlier this year, and now Parrot has announced that you're closer than ever to getting your hands on one yourself. The new version of the iOS-controlled quadricopter has gotten a release date: It'll be out for sale in May 2012. Brookstone is also exclusively hosting the pre-order for the new device, and pre-order sales will start up tomorrow, March 1.

In addition to the preorder information, Parrot's got more news. Since we last saw that prototype at CES, the company has added two big new features to the device. First off, as this very reported suggested to them in person at CES, they have added a "flip button" to the controller app, which means that with just a double-tap on the screen, the Drone will do a barrel roll while flying around. Very cool.

The other new feature is a USB port on the device itself, which will not only help for charging, but will apparently allow you to obtain pictures and video directly from the Drone, rather than recording them through the controller app (which we did see in action at CES). Both of those features add a nice bit of functionality onto what was already an excellent product, so get those credit cards ready for preorder if you're sold.

AR.Drone 2 dated, coming in May with pre-order tomorrow originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAW TV Live at 5 PM ET: One week until the iPad 3 launch

It's one week exactly until the world knows what the new iPad is all about. For many of us here at TUAW, that means getting prepared to do a lot of writing about the new features, putting our existing iPads up for sale, and eagerly anticipating what cool new things we'll be able to do with our new toys when they arrive. That means it's a great time to pump up the excitement today on TUAW TV Live.

If everything works correctly, this should also be our first truly HD show (720p). The issues with the HD webcam have been fixed thanks to the latest version of Wirecast Pro, and you'll get to see me and the demos in all their 720p glory. At least the demos will look good...

And speaking of looking good, many thanks to TUAW TV Live viewer Uri Kelman, who designed the new logo you see at the top of the page.

As usual, I'll be starting the show at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT / 10 PM BST) sharp, and we'll take a few minutes to chat before the demos start. To join in on the chat and watch the live streaming video, drop by TUAW about five minutes before the start time to get your instructions on how to participate. If you're unable to join us for the show, remember that you can always subscribe to the video podcast and watch the show at your leisure in iTunes or any other favorite podcatching app. The past shows are also available on the TUAW YouTube channel.

The chat is now available as well on IRC: join us on server chat1.ustream.tv, chat room #tuaw-tv.

TUAW TV Live at 5 PM ET: One week until the iPad 3 launch originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MLB At Bat 12 now available on the App Store

Another sign that baseball season is just around the corner -- MLB At Bat 12 is now available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

The app is free, but that only gives you access to scores. If you want all of the goodies that make MLB At Bat the powerhouse app that it is, you need to do a in-app purchase -- one month for US$2.99 or $14.99 for the entire season. That gives you MLB Gameday, live radio, stats, a live "Game of the Day," live look-ins of games in progress, and in-game highlights. Since the app is now universal, that $14.99 buy-in works for both devices -- no more paying $30 for the privilege of having full access on both your iPhone and iPad.

Want to get streaming video of every game? If you're a MLB.TV subscriber already, you get streaming video in the app for free. Now, if the wireless carriers could just make sure that fans could get decent coverage at ball games...

MLB At Bat 12 now available on the App Store originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

eBay sees its iPad listings increase ten-fold over last year

Apple set March 7 as the date for its big iPad announcement. Eager customers are looking to sell their older iPads in anticipation of buying the latest model. Instead of dealing with Craigslist spammers and deadbeat auction buyers, many people are turning to eBay's InstantSale program to get quick cash for their tablet.

Within hours of the iPad 3 event announcement, eBay told CNET it logged more than 125,000 trade-in offers, 97 percent of which were iPad models. This is a ten-fold increase in the number of offers made during the same month in 2011. InstantSale is a service that lets people trade in their devices for cash. It works similar to Gazelle, another well-known device recycling company.

eBay's most popular trade-in tablet is the first iPad, with both the 3G and WiFi version sitting in the number one and number two spot. This isn't surprising as many iPad 1 owners passed on the iPad 2, while they waited for the rumored retina display of the iPad 3. The original iPad is also getting older and owners may start to run into compatibility problems.

I have the 16 GB original iPad and, though it handles most apps with ease, there are an increasing number that require the faster hardware or camera of the newer iPad models. I'm planning on buying the iPad 3 and haven't sold my older iPad yet. I'm going to keep it and use it as educational tablet for my kids. If you have an older iPad, what are you going to do with it?

[Via CNET]

eBay sees its iPad listings increase ten-fold over last year originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Panotour Pro creates iBooks-embeddable digital tours

On the heels of iBooks Author's introduction last month, we're starting to see tools emerge that support the creation of specialized embeddable widgets. The video that follows showcases Panotour Pro's virtual 3D tours, which can be exported to widget form and then included into your iBooks project.

Although we haven't been able to try the technology out yet ourselves, we think interactive tour widgets will provide a great feature for many titles such as travel books, how-to presentations (think laying out a kitchen for a design book), and so forth. Panotour Pro costs 299 euros (357.60 euros with taxes).

Panotour Pro creates iBooks-embeddable digital tours originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.