Crave

Rumors coming from Apple Insider predict that Efun, a Taiwanese-based manufacturer of superthin substrates coated with indium tin oxide (ITO), may be supplying its ITO film to Apple.

Among its other properties and uses, ITO acts as an electromagnetic interference shield and helps reduce signal noise from radio frequencies, which in turn would enhance Web connectivity on devices like the still unconfirmed iPad Mini.

Apple Insider also predicts that Efun will provide its ITO coating to Apple for future standard-size iPads as well. There is no word as to whether the coating would be applied to iPhones or iPod Touches. … Read more

The report, filed by Rene Ritchie at iMore, states that Apple will begin its U.S. preorders on September 12 while international orders should begin the first week of October, likely October 5.

Shipments from preordered iPhones should reach customers about nine days later, according to the report. In years past, many customers who preorder their iPhones have received them a day or two earlier than the scheduled release date.

Ritchie writes that iMore's sources for this story have reported accurate information in the past, though no official word from Apple has been released.

Despite a plethora of rumors … Read more

The latest evidence that Apple is ready to abandon its iconic dock connector in favor of a smaller solution comes in the form of a reference to a 9-pin connector in the code for iOS 6 beta.

The code string was uncovered by 9to5Mac and directly conflicts with several other reports of the possible size of a smaller dock connector. Reports of the number of pins in the new dock connector have ranged from as few as 8 to as many as 19 (or simply retaining the 30 it currently sports).

Important to keep in mind is the fact that … Read more

I know e-books are convenient, but I just can't tear myself away from running my fingers down the spines of real books and listening for that crinkling sound of a fresh hardcover bending open. I like the way they look. I like the way they feel.

My iPad may finally get that same sort of love if Out of Print's new Kickstarter project meets its goal. Backers will have their choice of 10 different classic literature book covers to adorn their Kindle Fire or iPad 2 or 3.… Read more

As players line up across imaginary lines, eyeballing their opponents, wrapped in armor, capped by helmets, and ready to smash into each other with ferocious abandon, it becomes difficult to imagine that this heathen-esque sport, a staple of American athletic fandom, has been completely revolutionized by touch screens.

Specifically, it is Apple's iPad that has changed the way the NFL handles its mental component.

As Jeff Darlington explains on NFL.com, the process by which information is obtained by players and coaches will never be the same. … Read more

According to a report by the Financial Times, mobile operators in Europe are stockpiling nano-SIM chips in anticipation of Apple including the new technology in the next iteration of the iPhone.

Though actions like this would suggest an impending launch, no official word has come from Apple as to when we can expect to actually see the iPhone 5 (or the new iPhone?)

The nano-SIM design was approved by the mobile phone industry's standards group earlier this year and should allow Apple to save even more space in its tightly designed iPhone interior.… Read more

Here's a weird stop along the circle of life. Thanks to a Kickstarter project, the footsteps of a 14-year-old me and millions of others have found a new destiny: amplifying the volume of some stranger's iPad or iPhone.

The Sounder is an iPad/iPhone stand and amplifier with some real Americana credibility built in. In fact, it's 100 percent Americana. Each of the wooden stands is handmade (with an assist from some power tools) from old-growth lumber reclaimed from 19th century structures, including the Coney Island boardwalk. … Read more

To say that Facebook's iPhone app is slow could be considered generous. In truth, it makes the tortoise look like the hare.

It seems almost inconceivable (and yes, I do think that word means what I think it means) that a Web-focused, modern company could produce such a slow rendition of its product on the most popular mobile product on the planet.

But, not to fear, Facebook has heard the crowing (and has seen the one-star reviews) and plans to update its iPhone app, according to The New York Times.

The New York Times managed to get two unnamed engineers to reveal that the Facebook iOS app has been completely retooled and will feature the only thing that really matters in social-networking apps -- speed. … Read more

The purchase, reported by several local media outlets, is said to be one of the largest educational iPad rollouts in the U.S. K-12 market. The 26,000 iPads will be spread out in 340 classrooms starting this fall.

Apple's push to get iPads and digital textbooks in the classroom appears to be paying off. The SDUSD was able to draw on funding though Proposition S, a fund approved in 2008 by a 69 percent vote, dedicated to getting classrooms up-to-date technology.

The iPad is nothing if not up-to-date. And, despite some local head-scratching (read: "Why would we … Read more