The tablet arms race is in full force, so how does the newly released iPad 2 stand against the tablet competition? This chart compares the new iPad 2 specs with the Motorola Xoom, HP TouchPad, and BlackBerry Playbook.

Similar Hardware, OS & Apps Make the Difference
From a hardware standpoint, each tablet is pretty comparable, so what becomes the differentiator is the operating system and app market. In my view, this is where the iPad 2 and iOS clearly win out, the OS is minimalist and out of the way, and there are 65,000(!) iPad specific apps available on the iTunes App Store. The App Store alone is a huge uphill battle for competitors to catch up to, although admittedly some of the competing OS offerings are looking impressive.

Comparing Prices
What about pricing? The comparison chart doesn’t show price data, but here’s what we know:

• iPad 2: $499 to $829 depending on storage and 3G connectivity
• Xoom: $799
• TouchPad: $699? HP has been silent on pricing, but rumors say it starts high
• PlayBook: $499? BlackBerry is in the same situation as HP, only rumors tell us the cost

The fact that nobody yet knows what HP or BlackBerrys offerings are going to cost doesn’t really help to compare them against the iPad or Xoom, and witholding pricing data has led to speculation that their tablets will be on the expensive side. Some are saying Apple has already won the price war, but we don’t have enough information to know that yet.

iPad 1 vs iPad 2
While we’re comparing tablets, we might as well check out the iPad 2 vs the original iPad too:
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Apple didn’t livestream the iPad 2 keynote today, but you can watch Steve Jobs present iPad 2 and the entire media event directly from Apple.com. The keynote is about 70 minutes long and covers assorted Apple updates, iPad 2, iOS 4.3, and Garageband & iMovie for iPad.

If 70 minutes is too long for you, here is Apple’s official iPad 2 introduction video, it’s just 6 minutes long and is a great overview of the new device:
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iTunes 10.2 has been released, the update is required in order to install the upcoming iOS 4.3 and sync your Mac or PC with iPad 2. Release notes are brief in Software Update and pertain to iOS 4.3:

What’s new in iTunes 10.2

• Sync with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 4.3.

• Improved Home Sharing. Browse and play from your iTunes libraries with Home Sharing on any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 4.3.

Download iTunes 10.2

Users can the newest version of iTunes directly from Apple (just click Download, no email is required) or through iTunes. Mac users can download iTunes 10.2 directly from Software Update.

iPad 2 ships on March 11, so what exactly will you get? Here are the tech specs from Apple for us geeks that like this kind of stuff:

• 1GHz dual-core A5 CPU
• 512MB RAM
• 16GB, 32GB, 64GB storage options
• Front & Rear Cameras, front is VGA, rear is 720p
• 9.7″ LED display with 1024×768 screen resolution at 132ppi
• GPU said to be 9x faster
• Video output supports up to 1080p
• Runs iOS 4.3
• 10 hour battery life
• White & Black color options
• 3G models are AT&T and Verizon compatible
• 1.3 lbs
• Thinner build

Pricing is the same as previous models and starts at $499. I’ve already covered the big stuff, but you can see the full tech spec list from Apple.

Most of the features are what iPad 2 rumors expected, the only things I am surprised by are the addition of direct video output and no storage capacity increases.

Overwhelming? Underwhelming? I think it looks great, I look forward to getting my hands on one.

iPad 2 has been announced and it looks awesome, so when can you get your hands on the all new device? That depends on where you are, but here’s the dates we have so far:

iPad 2 Shipping Date for USA: March 11

iPad 2 International Shipping Date: March 25 – for Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Hungary, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK

And of course, more countries will get the new iPad in the coming weeks and months.

(image via Engadget livestream)

What medical leave? Apple CEO Steve Jobs has made an unexpected and pleasant surprise today, appearing full of energy and on stage presenting at the iPad 2 event!
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You can instantly print any Finder items full path and name into the Terminal by dragging and dropping an item from a Finder window and into a Terminal window. Once the Finder item has been dropped into the terminal, the entire path to the item is automatically typed out instantaneously, maintaining both proper capitalization as well as automatically filling in the appropriate \ before a space appears – two sources of error for many OS X users.

This is great for copying a file or folder path into the Terminal, which we’ve discussed before that part before, but it’s also incredibly useful for typing out a really long file name or application name into the Terminal without having to worry about casing and how to properly input things like special characters or spaces within file and folder names – the drag & drop trick covers all casing and the appropriate spacing code for you – and of course, it’s handy for moving around in the command line too.

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Remember when seeing a Windows desktop cluttered with icons was a bad thing? Well, don’t look at your iPhone or iPad, because we have icons all over our desktops now too.

Obviously this is a joke and there’s a huge difference in usability between the two, but there’s a funny element of truth to this picture as well. Besides, we pick on Apple’s competitors often enough over here, and sometimes it’s only fair to pick on Apple too.

Heads up to @joshuaschnell for finding this image.

Need to reveal hidden files and folders while opening or saving a file on the Mac? You can show them immediately with nothing but a quick keystroke.

To instantly show hidden files and directories in the Mac OS X “Open” and “Save” dialog boxes, all you need to do is hit Command+Shift+Period together and those hidden folder sand files will become visible in the active Open and Save windows.

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The kernel panic. You know the feeling when you get one, it’s that awful combination of dread and mortification knowing that you probably just lost whatever it is that you’re working on, and that your Mac might be in bad shape. You instantly start racking your brain with potential troubleshooting efforts to try and resolve what could be a worst case situation. It sucks.

If you’re feeling goofy and want to have a little fun with yourself or others, you could use this prank app on your Mac using and generate a fake kernel panic.
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Mac OS X Lion includes more iOS style notifications on apps Dock icons. In this screenshot you can see them on the iChat app, showing how many unread messages are available.

There are a lot of neat features appearing in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion (at least in the Developer Preview), and although some people are decrying the iOS-ification of OS X, there are some features that are undeniably useful regardless of the platform. I really like the iOS style notifications and they work really well in Mac OS X as evidenced by the enabling the options in the official Twitter for Mac client, so for me it’s great to see Apple adopt this with more apps.

Thanks to FB for the screenshot!

Remember all those iPhone Mini rumors that were later assumed to actually be about a cheaper iPhone? Apple’s COO Tim Cook has thrown some more fuel on the fire after a meeting with a research analyst about iPhone market share, as reported by Forbes. The most notable comment attributed to Apple’s COO is this:

Cook “appeared to reaffirm the notion that Apple is likely to develop lower priced offerings” to expand the market for the iPhone. Cook said the company is planning “clever things” to address the prepaid market, and that Apple did not want its products to be “just for the rich,” and that the company is “not ceding any market.”

A ‘lower priced offering’ would be in line with past reports by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times that have mentioned a cheaper iPhone/iPhone Mini.

Many possibilities and questions remain, including whether or not a low cost iPhone offering will be announced alongside an all new iPhone 5, or if a cheaper model is going to just be the current iPhone 4 sold at reduced prices, which some rumors seem to suggest.

The comment about the prepaid market is also interesting. Currently, the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS can be converted to a prepaid phone rather easily just by inserting an AT&T pay-as-you-go sim card to make phone calls, and enabling data is just slightly more difficult. Offering an iPhone that is specifically intended for the pay-go market would be a bold move away from their current contract offerings.

The iPhone 5 is expected to be released in June at WWDC 2011.

Mac OS X 10.7 features a revised Migration Assistant utility that is aimed at new Mac users coming from a Windows PC. The utility works by installing a client app on the Windows PC which allows the new Mac to transfer data and settings from that PC over a network.

It’s not yet clear what exactly is transferred from the Windows PC to the new Mac, but presumably it would include traditional sources of Windows user files and data from My Documents, My Pictures, iTunes libraries, browser bookmarks, and more.

Lion’s new Migration Assistant was discovered and reported by AppleInsider, where the above screenshot is from.

As with other new features of Mac OS X Lion, it’s important to remember that while these features appear in the Developer Preview, they may or may not be included in the final released version of the operating system.

Those with Mac developer accounts can download and install Lion now, otherwise users must wait until this Summer for the public release.

Want to play Call of Duty 4 on your Mac without paying the $49.99 App Store price?

The price of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for Mac on Amazon fluctuates, but it’s always cheaper than the $49.99 price from the Mac App Store. Today for example, it’s $24.95, that’s a 55% discount if you order the physical box and can wait a few days to play the game.

Are you patient enough for a good deal?

Using the command line in OS X, you can enable a hidden feature in Time Machine that allows you to backup your Mac to a non-native volume, including Networked Attached Storage devices, network volumes, or even a Windows PC. This is generally best for advanced Mac users, as it must be enabled through a defaults command string, let’s walk through it.

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Did you know that you can quickly quit out of an application from the Dock of Mac OS X? And did you know that you can also force quit out of an app in Mac OS X by using the Dock icon too?

Perhaps not well known, but the Dock of Mac OS can function as a task management tool of sorts by using a key modifier and icon trick, letting you quit and forcibly exit out of applications that are actively running.

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If you have an extra Bondi Blue, Flower Power, or any of the other candied iMac G3’s laying around, hey, why not turn it into a coffee table? Maybe you could put your iMac typewriter on it? Yup this is real, and yes of course you can buy one for £49.00 (not sure if they ship to the USA) from UK-based MacTechnology.

And while you’re at it, check out our other fun and quirky Mac stuff.

Mac OS X 10.7 Lion includes media and video encoding tools directly in the new Finder.

You can access the video encoder by right-clicking on a movie file and then selecting “Encode Selected Video Files” as seen in the screenshot below:
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