Firstly, and probably the biggest selling point, Retina Display comes to iPad. The 2048 x 1536 display on the iPad means the screen has double the resolution of the previous generation and 40% better saturation for greater colours.

Apple iPad

To power this impressive display is the A5X CPU featuring quad core graphics 4x superior to Nvidias Tegra 3 chip.

Next up 5MP iSight camera featuring 1080p video recording with image stabilisation, auto focus, white balance and even face detection.

Apple iPad

4G comes to iPad to bring speeds of over 70mbps. Just a quick note in the UK however 4G isn’t available yet but should start rolling out next year.

iLife including iPhoto and iWork have all been updated to take full advantage of the iPads new resolution.

New Apple iPad

Dictation has also been added so you can now dictate to the iPad however Siri has been left out which some are rather unhappy about.

What do you think? will you be getting the “new iPad”?

What Devices will be announced?

It’s pretty much 100% guarantee a new iPad will be announced based on many rumours plus the Apple Official invite sent out. Likely names for the iPad are the obvious iPad 3 however recent rumours suggest this next iPad would be more of an iPad 2s but called iPad HD. Also it’s been highly suggested we would see a brand new Apple TV (possibly iTV). Unlike before though when the Apple TV has been a box you add on to the TV this time it could be a whole new TV Set with Siri built in to control volume, channel changing etc.

What sort of Spec will the new iPad have?

• Strong rumours indicate that the iPad will support a new much higher resolution display. Infact 4x the amount of pixels as before aka double the resolution of the current 1024×768 iPad. Likelihood - 90%
• CPU Speed boost: Rumours for a while suggest the new iPad would support a new A6 Quad Core CPU. However these rumours have recently died down since a photo showing an A5X CPU was showing suggesting the iPad will have instead a faster Dual Core CPU rather than a new Quad Core. Likelihood - 80%
  

  Leaked Photo of the A5X CPU

• Increased Ram: Its likely the iPad will see a Ram boost however there has been a lack of rumours regarding ram. 768mb? 1GB? Hopefully the iPad will feature at least 1GB but it’s Apple so who knows?
• Increased Capacity: Some Rumours suggested there would be an iPad larger than the current 16GB, 32Gb 64GB available. However others contradicted saying Apple will actually drop the 64GB iPad. With the increase in cost of flash memory due to the Thai floods it’s unlikely we will see and increase in size however I’m sure the iPad 64GB will remain.
• 8GB version or 8GB iPad 2: Some also suggested there may be a new smaller 8GB version aimed at academics for a lower cost. However with an increased resolution app sizes are going to grow, also iTunes U (education books) can be around 2GB in size meaning you couldn’t fit many on a small 8GB iPad. I doubt we would see an 8GB iPad. Likelihood - 10%
• 4G – Some suggest the new iPad could support 4G. For those who don’t know 4G is the next version after 3G. 4G supports a much higher increase in speed for browsing and downloading content from the web. However it has some downfalls mainly battery life. 3G sucks alot of juice and 4G uses even more so until batteries increase in capacity it could seriously hit the iPad’s battery life if it included 4G. Also for people here in the UK 4G isn’t going to be supported widely (i.e. across the UK) until 2015, so the benefits of 4G here would be limited.
• 8mp Camera – Rumours suggested the new iPad would have the same 8mp camera as found in the iPhone 4s however this is unlikely. Why? Because Apple doesn’t see many people using the iPad as a main camera, and would rather people get the iPhone for that. What is more likely is the camera will increase to support 1080p meaning it could acutally be around 2mp in size or more likely 3mp. This is a shame really as cameras are rather cheap now so including at least 5mp isn’t so crazy. Likelihood of 8mp camera – 10%

Overall:

I’ts going to be a good night!

Anyone else think that looks a High Res Display?

We will round up all the rumours shortly.

Lets call him "Boris" for now

That brings me on to what Sprinkle is all about. Basically you’re in control of a water cannon that goes up and down and will tilt in nearly 180 degree direction. You need to use the water cannon to put out all the fire as quickly as possible before you run out of water or a home of the “little monsters” gets destroyed. It’s not a simple case of pointing the cannon at the fire and clicking “squirt” either. The maps aren’t all simple and contain blocks you have to move and more physics elements too.

You can get the app from the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad or from the Android Market Place. Still undecided?

Why not check out our video review below:

Overall

Overall Sprinkle is a fantastic must buy app. Get it now before your friends and show them what they are missing out on! With lots of levels and addictive gameplay you will be putting out fires with Ouie (the firefighter) for hours! Therefore this app gets a very very rare 5 out of 5 clouds rating as it deserves every single one!

Thanks to Mediocre for allowing us to use visuals in this review, and thanks for the great app!

What are iBallz?

Well let me tell you. iBallz are 4 EVA Balls attached together with a cord. You place a ball on each of the 4 corners of your device, be it the iPad, Kindle, Motorola Zoom and others, then you pull the cord nice and tight and thats pretty much it!

Ok so now my Device has the Balls but what now?

If you have ever dropped your device you will know how about that sudden rush of fear you feel. Hopefully it was protected when you dropped it, well drop it with the iBallz on and you should be safe! The 4 soft shock-absorbing balls will absorb the impact of a drop of your device and their unique design means your device should never come in contact with the ground no matter how you drop it! Not only are they great for drops but also for spills. The amount of times I have knocked over a glass of Pepsi Max on my desk while, working, (gaming), is too many to count and every time I have to quickly rescue my gadgets. With iBallz there is no worry as they cleverly raise the device off the surface so any liquid spills will just be able to slide right underneath and never touch the device, clever eh?

Nice so drops sorted, spills sorted anything else?

Glad you asked! Remove one of the iBallz and put it in the centre of your device and you instantly get an angled device ideal for drawing on or typing using the virtual keyboard. Another great feature is with the cord you can actually hang your iBallz pretty much anywhere so if you want it hanging on a door, wall you can which is great for storage and gives a unique way of viewing the device. Finally when gaming they are great. Why? Well they give you a different and in my opinion a much better way of holding the device giving you greater comfort over longer periods and also additional control. In racing games you feel like your actually holding a wheel now!

I love it can I get one?

Of course you can our friends over a MobileFun sent us this and you can pick up your own along with lots of iPad 2 Accessories and other great stuff like this!

You Should be able to download the update form iTunes by connecting your device, Warning to jailbreakers i’d steer away from this for now!

Below is Apples complete list of new features/updates…

Personal Hotspot*
Share iPhone 4 cellular data connection with up to 5 devices (combination of up to 3 Wi-Fi, 3 Bluetooth, and 1 USB)

iTunes Home Sharing
Play music, movies and TV shows from a shared iTunes library on a Mac or PC (requires iTunes 10.2)

New AirPlay features**
Play videos from the Photos app including the Camera Roll album, iTunes previews, enabled third-party apps and websites on Apple TV
Play slideshows from Photos on Apple TV using transitions available on Apple TV

Faster Safari performance with Apple Nitro JavaScript engine

HD video out using the Apple Digital AV Adapter***
View 720p HD videos from Videos app, iPod app, Photos, YouTube, Safari, Keynote, and enabled third-party apps on an HDMI display

Ping features
Push notifications for comments and follow requests
Post and Like songs directly from the Now Playing screen
Parental controls

New Settings
Messages setting for number of times to repeat an alert
iPad side switch setting to lock screen rotation or mute audio notifications and sound effects
Single tap conference call dialing with a pause to send a passcode

Bug fixes

*Requires iPhone 4 with tethering data plan
**Requires Apple TV (2nd generation) running software version 4.2 or later
***iPhone 4, iPad, iPod touch (4th generation)

1. iPad Wifi Invisble Shield full body! This is worth around £30 and is great for protecting your iPad!  (UK only)
2. Clingo Universal Podium Stand provided by Mobile Fun. This is a great universal stand for all mobile devices! Check out our review! (UK only)
3. 1 £15 (or your currency) iTunes voucher! Anyone from around the globe can enter to win this!

How do enter?

Simply go to the giveaway youtube video and right a comment starting with the product you want to win so for example:

• iTunes – My comment (for the iTunes Voucher)
• Clingo – My Comment (for the Clingo Stand)
• Shield – My Comment (for the invisible Shield)

Also as a bonus for twitter users follow @CloudBite and re-tweet this blog post along with the hashtag #CloudBite for a bonus entry!

The competition ends in the 2nd week of January, and you must be subscribed to our YouTube channel to enter via YouTube and @CloudBite to enter via twitter!

Good Luck and Merry Christmas!

Promised back in September its been the longest couple of months for any iPad owner.

Features iOS 4.2 brings to the iPad

AirPrint

Print Mail, Photos, Web Pages directly to a printer.

AirPlay

Allowing you to Wirelessly stream content from the iPad to Apple TV, Airport Express and AirPlay Devices

Game Center

Just like on the iPhone Game Center brings social gaming to the iPad and auto matching multiplayer games.

Updated Mail

Unified Inbox Arrives on the iPad, those with multiple accounts will love it!

Multitasking

The biggest useful edition to the iPad, Multitasking. Making apps that bit more useful by having the ability to switch between them.

Along with all the above there are of course performance improvments and bug fixes, iPad welcome to 2010

Install

Check out our Video which shows you the install and gives you some great information about this screen protector.

In the video you see that there is an issue with a defect in the film. The problem was the box got crushed in the post which isn’t SGPs fault but when it costs £15-£20 it is rather annoying, this should of been chased up but I failed to do that. It doesn’t cause any problem when using the iPad and when the screen is on you can’t see the defect, just looks ugly when it is off.

Overall
I’m excluding the defect from this overall review.

Overall the SGP Screen protector is possibly one of the best I have used on any device. It actually manages to really reduce fingerprints when using the device, no more constantly wiping the device or embarrassment when showing your iPad to friends. The anti glare works great, using the iPad in direct sunlight works fine, and the film really defuses the light. The only slight issue is the film does make the screen a little darker so you need to bump up the brightness a bit, and the text looks a little more blurry but its hardly noticeable. Therefore the SGP Steinheil AF for Apple iPad Anti Fingerprint LCD Protection film gets a rating of 4.5 clouds.

Video Review

As always Cloud Bite has made a video review of the Tabi Hard Case. For those of you who just want to sit back and have a watch here it is.

The Tabi Hard Case was tested using a Apple iPad 1st Gen.

Design

The Tabi has got to be one of the best iPad sleeve cases we have seen, in-fact its on of the best cases of them all. Firstly it’s design is something very different from what we are used to. It features small half sphere shaped “bubble” on either side which not only gives it s funky look but aids it’s impact protection too. The “bubbles” were soft but not too soft and actually helped us to get a firm grip on the case. Along with this is a rough cotton outer shell designed to give you the best sort of grip on the sleeve when walking around with your iPad. It also gives the case a much more expensive feel and look by touching the carbon fibre look.

The inside of the case is, well bright green and we loved it. It was a shock when opening this plain black case to find the inside bright green, but it was a pleasant shock. Too many manufacturers seem to only bother with the other look of their cases but Tabi had thought about the inside just as much as the out!

Protection

Previously we mentioned the outer “bubbles”, not just for looks these are there to take the impact of a drop. Remember how you loved popping bubble wrap as a kid? All right we still love it too, well the Tabi case is just like that! It has a outer set of bubbles to absorb impacts if you drop the case, just these bubbles pop right back up unlike the bubble wrap! The dual zips give you quick and easy access but also keep the case very secure with their strong metal design. Metal! What about scratching the iPad? Give me chance, Tabi has thought of that! They have added an inner rim that keeps the case away from the edge of the tablet when zipping and unzipping, clever eh?

The inside, covered in very soft cloth. Unless you put a brick inside the case with your iPad it won’t get scratched due to the ultimate softness of the inside. Also there is extra cushioning from the small padded squares that sits directly on your screen in order to take more impact from a drop and give your screen the best chance of survival! Finally the corners in which the tablet sits are made from a rubber style foam to give the corners that bit extra protection from shocks plus they are moveable so can take a tablet from 10? or lower and this includes an iPad with a case on already (see photos or video).

Overall

Overall the Tabi Hard Case for the iPad and <10″ tablets is the best sleeve case we have come across. Not only does it give fantastic protection from dust, dirt and grime but it also gives you the best possible protection from shocks and drops, short of a bullet proof briefcase!

Pros:

Great Impact Protection with shock absorbing corners and 24 bumpers (bubbles) .
Unique styling.
Very soft interior and cushioned screen protection.

Cons:

Adds some extra width over some sleeves (but worth it for protection gained)

For its protection and fantastic design Cloud Bite Rates the Tabi Hard Case at 4.5 clouds only loosing points due to the impact bubbles add a little extra width than some sleeves, but you need to decide if your prefer space or protection, we prefer protection! The case is available from Tabi.uk.com, Amazon and Tabi Ebay Store on 20th October for £24.99!

Thanks to Tabi for sending us the case to review you have earned a Cloud Badge…