New iPad Battery Life

The new iPad has the same battery life as the iPad 2. This may strike some as peculiar because the iPad 3 has a new more highly-powered battery. However, although the battery does carry more juice, this is offset by the new features of the iPad 3 which require more power, for example the high-definition Retina display and the 4G connectivity. That said, the new iPad battery life is still perfectly reasonable and is suitable both for casual at-home use [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/new-ipad-battery-life/

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Facebook app updated with free calling to U.S., Canada

Facebook app updated with free calling to U.S., Canada, more

Facebook for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad has been updated to version 5.5. New features include an improved button design, intended to make commenting, liking, and sharing easier on News Feed posts, and the inclusion of free VoIP calls for users in the U.S. and Canada, something previously introduced in the separate Facebook Messenger app.

VoIP requires Wi-Fi or cellular data. And, of course, reports of bugginess are already coming in... If you've tried out the latest Facebook update, let me know how it's working for you. If you haven't tried Facebook for iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad yet, grab it from the App Store via the link below.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/I90XWiRrRrs/story01.htm

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What iPrefs are and why they could make sense for Apple

What iPrefs are and why they could make sense for Apple

If you?ve been following the drama surrounding David Einhorn and his firm, Greenlight Capital, then this is all familiar stuff. If not, we?ve got the quick recap for you. A big hedge fund that owns Appel stock wants Apple to stop being so stingy with its cash and give some back to shareholders.

Yes, Apple pays a dividend on common shares, but Einhorn from Greenlight Capital argues that it isn?t enough. He?s probably right since Apple has way more cash than it needs. The business currently holds $137 billion in cash and is generating way more than it pays out in dividends these days. The cash pile is more than 30% of Apple?s market value, a higher ratio than Cisco, Microsoft, or Google (all cash-rich companies).

Einhorn feels that Apple shareholders aren?t seeing the value of all this cash. That?s because if a company holds tons of cash and isn?t paying out the cash (or using the cash), it tends to get discounted by the market. As evidence, he shows the ex-cash price to earnings multiples for several tech stocks. Apple trades at a lower valuation than Microsoft! The insanity of this seems obvious to me. It represents hidden value. Einhorn wants Apple to unlock this value.

One way to do this is just increase the dividend. But Einhorn has another fairly clever way to handle it. At first I didn?t really see the benefit, but I think I understand it better now and thought I?d share my simple explanation here.

Einhorn thinks Apple should consider issuing perpetual preferred stock to all shareholders. These perpetual prefs are something he has coined as being ?iPrefs?, which is just a clever name.

Normally preferred shares have a maturity date. At some point in the future the company would have to buy them back from the shareholder. So a perpetual pref is just a preferred share with no maturity date. It?s an equity instrument that pays a fixed dividend every quarter.

Why is this a neat idea? Because the way these perpetual prefs would be valued is similar to how a perpetuity is valued. It?s a series of cash flows (dividends) with no growth. The value of a perpetuity is equal to the annual cash flow divided by the discount rate. In a very low interest rate environment (like we have today), and with a very low risk of default (because Apple is mega rich), the iPrefs would trade at quite a high price per share relative to the dividend.

Importantly, they also preserve Apple?s cash balance. Because the prefs pay out dividends annually, they leave Apple with nearly all of its cash intact, while still being valued fully in the market. For example, if the iPrefs had a $2 annual dividend and traded at $50 per share (this implies a 4% discount rate), then shareholders would get the extra $50 up front but Apple keeps its cash too. It still pays out cash slowly.

If Apple issued one iPref to shareholders for each common share, it definitely could unlock a lot of value immediately. And by separating the dividend from the common shares, investors could choose for themselves whether to keep the iPrefs (and the income from them), or sell them in the open market and, for example, reinvest in more Apple stock.

Einhorn thinks Apple should start slowly, issuing one $50 iPref for each common share. His firm believes each iPref issued would unlock about $30 of value per share. Apple could eventually issue about 5 iPrefs per common share, unlocking $150 per share. This would be similar to doubling the current dividend, which his firm calculates would unlock only $65 per share (this assumes Apple stock would trade at a 4% yield, but I think it could easily trade at a lower dividend yield)

If Apple gave me this option I?d gladly sell the iPrefs and buy more AAPL common. No question. But I don?t really have a need for the extra dividend income at this point in my life.

It?s worth pointing out that if Apple traded at a lofty price to earnings multiple, people wouldn?t say the value of the company?s cash was being ignored. This idea is only a good idea because of the extremely low interest rate environment combined with the extremely low price to earnings multiple on Apple stock.

I say ?only? ... but that doesn?t take away from the fact that it is actually a good idea despite the ?silly sideshow? lawsuit (Tim Cook?s words) that Einhorn has initiated against Apple.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/ArivrrEqkgY/story01.htm

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Nokia Lumia 720 Hands On: Cheap Phones Can Have Good Cameras Too

In most ways, the Lumia 720 is exactly what you'd expect. It's a budget phone made like a Lumia. The surprise, though, is that the camera is actually pretty damn good—which is a miracle compared to what you find on most cheap phones. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/fxwtOljgT7I/nokia-lumia-720-hands-on-cheap-phones-can-have-good-cameras-too

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New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching

Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos
Later today, Firefox will undergo its biggest developmental upheaval ever. Mozilla-central, the source of nightly builds, will be renumbered to version 5 -- and at long last, after years of wallowing around version 1, Mozilla's rendering and layout engine, Gecko, will also have its version number updated to match Firefox.

Shortly thereafter, Firefox's new channel system will be implemented. Firefox 5a2 will be introduced as the first Aurora build, and we should also see a Firefox 6 Nightly build. While we we're not sure where they came from, one Sören Hentzschel seems to have unearthed the new Nightly and Aurora logos (see above), along with new About Firefox dialogs (after the break).

In other news, if you want to take a sneak peek at the new 'channel changing' technology that will be introduced in upcoming Firefox builds, head to about:config and create a new string called app.update.desiredChannel -- the value doesn't matter. Then open Help > About Firefox and you'll be able to switch channel, but it doesn't do anything just yet (image after the break). Here's hoping that Firefox channel switching is smoother than Chrome.

Continue reading New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching

New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/new-firefox-nightly-and-aurora-logos-unearthed-and-how-to-enabl/

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Debug 8: Grant Paul aka chpwn

Guy and Rene talk to Grant Paul, aka chpwn, about developing for jailbreak, hacking the Nintendo Wii, the architecture behind SpringBoard and Apple TV apps, Siri, the future of file systems, and taking things to 11.

type="audio/mpeg">

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Yell at us via the Twitter accounts above (or the same names on ADN). Loudly.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/lt_IhbWKPKw/story01.htm

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Meet the ZTE Open, The First Official Firefox OS Phone

There have been a few Firefox OS developer phones floating around but now, Mozilla has announced the first official Firefox OS handset at Mobile World Congress: The ZTE Open. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/2F01tMGT9go/meet-the-zte-open-first-official-firefox-os-phone

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Libra for Android helps you track your weight using The Hacker's Diet system

libra
I'm getting fat; that's what you see on the screenshot to the right -- my gradual move from chubby to portly. But never mind the numbers, look at the pretty graph!

If you've ever read The Hacker's Diet, this graph should be instantly recognizable. Each point shows the weight for a given day, while the trend line lets you see if you're gaining or losing weight.

When I use my "main" PC, I have a homebrew solution for creating and maintaining this graph. But I've had to find a temporary solution for Android, and Libra is it.

It's a beautifully simple app, very true to the spirit of The Hacker's Diet. You can create a shortcut on your homescreen that brings you right into the data entry screen, so you just tap the shortcut every morning, feed in your weight for the day and hit OK, and then you get to see your progress (or lack thereof) on the graph.

The app remembers the previous day's weigh-in, which makes it easy to enter today's weight (as they're usually not too different). The graph is zoomable and scrollable, and most importantly, you can export the data to CSV so you're not locked into the app.

If you ever need to track your weight using an Android device for any period of time, Libra is one excellent solution.

Libra for Android helps you track your weight using The Hacker's Diet system originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/libra-for-android-helps-you-track-your-weight-using-the-hackers/

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Live from Mobile World Congress with Huawei

Huawei MWC event

We're live from Barcelona, Spain with Huawei, which is holding its big press conference today ahead of MWC. Possible Android developments include the Ascend P2, a quad-core successor to last year's Ascend P1. The action starts at 3pm Barcelona time (9am ET), so stick around for all the day's announcements!

You'll find our liveblog after the break.

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/A96jeDvOE9E/story01.htm

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