Seen any of those rumors over the years about Apple making a tablet/laptop combo for the masses? Well it seems at least part of the rumor has gone and gotten itself a patent for itself.

Calling it a "convertible MacBook-to-iPad-like device", Patently Apple reports that the patent could be for a MacBook-type device that would convert to something like an iPad in horizontal mode. As a laptop the screen would be propped open at an angle with a virtual keyboard below it; as a tablet, the screen would slide down on top of the keyboard, enabling Multi-Touch control directly on the screen itself.

I could see this being a really popular product among business users and the traveling sect specifically, as it would give them the ability to have both a tablet and a laptop all in one. I would buy one tomorrow if I could, as it would be great to have with me through all the traveling I will be doing over the holidays. Sure, iPad docks with built-in keyboards are a great accessory, but unfortunately they still can't do everything I need my MacBook for.

Dell and others have their own version of a hybrid tablet/laptop computer available right now. But Apple doesn't -- and I am sure they want in on that market. With reports about iOS 4.2 making the iPad a productivity rival for the MacBook Air and the possibility that the new MacBook Air could be eating into iPad sales, a combination of the two could be a home run for many customers.

Apple patent teases convertible laptop / tablet originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 30 Nov 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chair and Epic Games' extremely impressive Infinity Blade title has gotten a final release date and price: you'll be able to hack and slash your way around the medieval RPG on December 9th for a purchase price of $5.99. The app will be universal and will run on iPhone 3GS and above, up to and including the iPad and the latest iPhone and iPod touch. Players will be able to level up and gear up their characters as they fight through the world towards the game's big boss, a character called "the God-King."

According to Chair's release, multiplayer won't be enabled right away, but free updates will be coming to the app soon after elease, one of which will allow players to "battle online via Game Center." Sounds exciting. Epic Citadel, the Unreal Engine 3 demo, is of course available for free on the App Store right now, but Infinity Blade will be a full-featured RPG game using the same technology. We can't wait!

[via Joystiq]

Infinity Blade hits App Store December 9th for $5.99 originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ambrosia Software has released WireTap Anywhere 2.0, an upgrade to the company's professional audio routing and mixing software. Following up on the 2008 release of version 1.0, this upgrade claims that "hardwired is out; softwired is in" and allows users to capture, map, and independently adjust audio channels from any combo of applications or input devices and route it to the audio processor application of your choice.

Interested in recording your Skype conversations or sending some real-time QuickTime audio to a friend in iChat? WireTap Anywhere 2.0 can do that, allowing users the ability to mix and match any combinations into a single recording application. I have been a user of Audio Hijack Pro from Rogue Amoeba for years, and this looks like a solid competitor in the audio capture niche.

While you can try it out free for 30 days, WireTap Anywhere 2.0 for Mac OS X 10.5 or later is available to new users for US $129 or as a $69 upgrade for registered users of WireTap Anywhere 1.x.

Audio tool WireTap Anywhere hits v2.0 originally appeared on TUAW on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The holiday shopping season kicked off in America with Black Friday today, and Apple should finish out the rest of 2010 with a bang. ChangeWave, a firm that covers consumer trends, has told Apple 2.0/Fortune Tech that one of its surveys has consumers leaping for laptops, specifically those made by Apple.

10 percent of respondents told the firm they plan to buy a laptop in the next 90 days, and of those, 36 percent say they're looking for a Mac. That's an 11 point jump since the last time ChangeWave did this research, which one of its analysts says is "the highest level of planned laptop buying ever for Apple in a ChangeWave survey." In short, Apple is likely to sell a lot of laptops this holiday season.

That's not all -- NPD is saying that according to its research, 11 percent of consumers (that's all consumers) are planning to buy iPads from Apple by February of next year. That's pretty nuts -- the iPad's sales chart has been heading upward for a long time, and the end of the year will apparently be no different. NPD also shared that iPad use time seems to increase the longer that consumers own the device, starting with 15 hours a week or so near purchase, up to 18 hours or more after a few months of ownership.

Sounds like Apple's going to have a nice and profitable holiday season -- not surprising, given its growth already in this and past years.

Apple set to have a great holiday season, says Changewave originally appeared on TUAW on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just a couple of days ago I took a look at the Amazon Price Check app. It's a great way to compare prices against Amazon and other online retailers. Before you hit the stores this weekend, it's also a good idea to have the free app Shop Savvy tucked away on your iPhone.

It contains an accurate scanner like the Amazon app, but it also includes local prices and a map to get you to your store of choice. Even better, the app puts a little blue dot next to the stores that have your items in stock. The app has been around for a while, but it has been updated to include deals, complete with info about rebates, sales and special promotions. It also includes coupon codes. The app includes reviews, and you can add your own, as well as share the low prices you have found via email, Twitter and Facebook.

I took it on a jaunt to some local stores and it worked very well. The scanner locked in on the bar-code quite quickly, and was accurate. When you simply type in the name of a product, the app suggests what you might be looking for so it saves you a bunch of keystrokes.

The app does make local and online comparisons, and not surprisingly, the online prices are often cheaper, but not always. This is a pretty handy app if you're running around looking for gifts. I've given it a permanent place on my iPhone, and I think you'll find it both handy and money saving. If you've seen our survey of shopping apps, be sure to add this one to your list.

Shop Savvy for iPhone packs a punch for shopping season originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 25 Nov 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to the TUAW Holiday Gift Guide! We've sorted the treasure from the junk and are serving up suggestions to make your holiday gift-giving a little easier.

Giving someone a new hard drive can be one of the best gift choices ever. Whether the recipient uses it to store backups of their photos or movies, or wants to be able to boot an aging Mac a bit faster, the gift of storage is always appreciated.

In this edition of the TUAW Holiday Gift Guide, I'll give you some ideas for inexpensive drives that are a good gift for someone who might need some extra gigabytes in which to store some personal information, up to some expensive arrays that can store terabytes of data.

As usual, this is just a sampling of the many models and sizes of drives that are available from a variety of manufacturers. If you have a favorite drive that you think might be the perfect gift for that special someone, leave a comment below -- we'd love to hear about it.

Continue reading TUAW's Holiday Gift Guide: External drives for every Mac

TUAW's Holiday Gift Guide: External drives for every Mac originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My colleague Mike Rose has already taken a long look at video streaming via AirPlay and found it a rather mixed bag. Although it works well as far as it goes, it doesn't support non-Apple apps -- even video streaming ones such as Netflix -- and can't even manage to stream video footage shot on an iPhone from the iPhone to an Apple TV. Meanwhile, Victor Agreda wasn't at all impressed that AirPlay doesn't offer the ability to stream his iTunes library to an iOS device.

However, as someone who owns two Airport Express units and zero Apple TVs, I was more interested from the original announcement in September in audio streaming. So as soon as iOS 4.2.1 hit this was the feature I first turned to and tested out. Here are my findings of what it does, what works well, and what doesn't.

Continue reading Hands on: AirPlay for audio streaming in depth

Hands on: AirPlay for audio streaming in depth originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Although the print book has been out for more than a year, The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks by Jan and Mike Brerenstain (US$2.99) has just hit the App store in time for Thanksgiving. This is the tenth in the series of Bear books released by Oceanhouse Media, and it employs the same excellent engine used by all their books. Instead of having one picture per page, the engine allows for lots of panning and zooming, so one picture can be used for multiple pages. I consider this a good idea since kids like to swipe pages, and although there are only 35 pictures in the book, it will take 108 page swipes to get to the end. This cinematic approach is very appropriate for this type of book since it allows the virtual camera to uncover parts of larger graphics when they are appropriate, keeping the story and the reader's interest flowing.

The story is appropriately simple. Papa Bear bartered some furniture for a few cases of Farmer Ben's best Apple Blossom honey along with Squanto the Turkey, who will stay at the farm until fattened and ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Sister Bear becomes attached to Squanto and wants to keep him as a pet. Her wish is eventually granted via a bit of Thanksgiving magic.

Continue reading Just in time for Thanksgiving, The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks

Just in time for Thanksgiving, The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Contrary to some rumors, Apple users are pretty close to having the ability to print to anywhere via their iOS devices with Air Print. But if you happened to be in the market for an iPhone-specific printer dock today, you can stop looking. The Bolle BP-10, which can charge your iPhone (all versions) and print out 4X6" photos at the same time, uses the free Bolle Photo app to allow you to select photos from your albums and/or select individual pictures on your iPhone for printing. Users can also print multiple passport-style photos onto one sheet of A6 photo paper.

While the idea of wired printing is soon to be obsolete for most computer owners, I can actually see the use for and appeal of a dedicated printer like this -- at a cheaper price point. Sometimes you just don't want to fight with your wireless network to print out a 4x6 picture for your Mom. But at around US$192 from MobileFun it's a bit steep for my taste, regardless of its usefulness.

[via Gizmodo and Ubergizmo]

iPhone dock/photo printer combo may be too much, too late originally appeared on TUAW on Sun, 21 Nov 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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