generation

Apple's retail stores are ushering in iPad shoppers at 8 a.m. tomorrow in your time zone, but Wal-Mart says it can do eight hours better.

The retail giant is throwing open its doors to tablet shoppers at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, at 24-hour Wal-Mart stores. Of course, supplies are "limited." According to Wal-Mart spokesperson Sarah Spencer, the availability of iPads with a variety of storage capacities will vary by store.

For instance, Wal-Mart noted that it will sell the 16GB Wi-Fi model in black or white for $499, and the last-generation iPad 2 for $399.… Read more

Ahead of the release of the third-generation iPad on Friday, the first crop of reviews has arrived.

The overwhelming consensus is positive: most say that if you liked the iPad 2, you'll like the new iPad even more. Reviewers also heralded the new device's screen, improved camera, and performance with 4G networks.

After culling through all of them, here are five unsurprising conclusions to chew on ahead of making a purchasing decision.

1. The new screen looks good Joshua Topolsky over at The Verge called the new display "outrageous":

These are the times that try men's souls.

Never has a tablet purchase so vexed the collective nerd consciousness of this great nation. And Apple doesn't make it easy, does it? Its "new" tablet looks a hell of a lot like the old one, only heavier! It's like Apple is toying with us.

But have no fear. Using a bracing mixture of logic and cheapskate wisdom, I'll walk you though this paralyzing first-world dilemma.

For the first-timers If you've never owned a tablet and you're considering the new iPad for your first … Read more

Apple debuted its third-generation Apple iPad yesterday, and many CNET readers still have some unanswered questions about the device.

The new tablet is set to hit store shelves on March 16. Apple has already outlined the basic new specs of the device. But there is still some confusion around what some of these new features are and how they can be used.

In this FAQ, CNET answers some of these questions and provides a basic primer on what Apple is calling simply, the new iPad. If you've got more questions regarding the third-generation iPad, let us know and we will update the FAQ. … Read more

Getting ready to order an iPad 3? (Sorry, a "new iPad"?) For some, the answer is a resounding, "Hell, yes!" I'm fairly tempted myself, what with that lovely Retina display, blazing A5X processor, and sweet, sweet 4G LTE.

Of course, if history repeats itself, a year from now we'll all be getting ready to order an iPad 4 (or "Newer iPad," if Apple's nomenclature department is feeling lazy once again). And that means we'll be looking to unload our new--er, old--wait, huh?--iPads.

It may sound crazy today, but if you want to get the most bang for your resale buck, it's best to plan ahead--starting right now. Here's how to make sure you get top dollar when the time comes to list your new iPad on eBay--sometime around March 2013.… Read more

I've always been a 32GB iPad kind of person. It's done me well the last two generations, although I've come up against my storage limit pretty frequently. So, this time I'm going 64.

Am I mad? Maybe, but I asked the same question when the 64GB iPhone 4S made its debut. In that instance, I wondered whether the 5 megapixel camera and 1080p video recording capabilities would eat up valuable space on the iPhone. I was particularly concerned about videos, since their file sizes can get big fast and because they're not backed up or synced on iCloud, unlike photos.… Read more

Most hardware announcements Apple makes are usually accompanied by a piece of software. With the announcement of the new iPad and Apple TV today, Apple also announced the launch of iPhoto for iOS.

You can purchase iPhoto for iOS starting today in the App Store. It will set you back $4.99, and you will need to be running iOS 5.1 on your iOS device(s) for iPhoto to install. With the size of the app coming in at 106MB, you will need to be connected to Wi-Fi to download the app on your device.

Albums After … Read more

NEW YORK--Facebook is on a tear ahead of its IPO. Today here at fMC, its first-ever marketing conference, it announced a number of features to help brands better engage with their audiences.

The social network hopes to drive advertisers away from broadcasting static messages, instead encouraging them to build dynamic conversational marketing pieces. While conversational media isn't exactly a new concept (companies like Federated Media have been doing it for years), the scale and personality that Facebook adds is unprecedented.

The goal as planned is for brands to be perceived as people who engage in meaningful dialogs. While many … Read more

The C in "Generation C," not surprisingly, stands for connected. If you've ever been ignored by a twentysomething in an elevator who's too busy texting to hear your plea for a sixth-floor button push, you already know what Nielsen's getting at.

According to the 2011 U.S. Census, people in this newly labeled age group (formerly called Gen Y, or the Millennials, or Generation Next, or sometimes just "those kids with some college education who are largely unemployed but building iPhone apps in their spare time") make up just "23 percent of the U.S. population."

After crunching the numbers in its U.S. Digital Consumer Report for Q3-Q4 2011 (PDF), released today, Nielsen determined that this 23 percent "represent an outsized portion of consumers watching online video (27 percent), visiting social-networking/blog sites (27 percent), owning tablets (33 percent), and using a smartphone (39 percent)." (Smartphone and tablet owner information was taken from more than 300,000 surveyed volunteer participants.)

As a proud cable cutter who watches hours upon hours of streaming content; is on Twitter so much my boyfriend has tried (unsuccessfully) to ban it from the dinner table; owns an iPad "because I honestly need it for work and life"; and has a panic attack if my smartphone is farther than arm's length from my person, those stats sound about right. … Read more