It's that time of year again. Apple's WWDC went by with no new iPad or iPad mini announcement, so the tech blogosphere goes wild. Because apparently they have nothing better to do with their time than report on iPad rumors (or second-gen Nexus 7 rumors or Nokia phablet rumors, or ... well you get the idea). I thought you might appreciate (or be amused by) a quick roundup, with commentary, on the rumors I've found. Earlier this year, at least one "inside source" reported that the next generation iPad would be released in March of this year. Oops. Scratch that one. How about...

The Ultimate Evernote Guide: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Welcome to Part 3 of our Evernote series! We've been sticking mostly to the desktop so far because it's the most full-featured. But there are advantages to using the mobile apps as well. For example, if you have content you want to save to Evernote from within another iPad app, it's useful to be able to load them directly into your Evernote notebooks. Let's say, for instance, that you are a Zinio user and you have an article you want to clip from one of your magazines. I...

LifeProof announced this past Tuesday that they're offering a Total Water Protection Program for the Apple iPhone and iPad to anyone who purchases a LifeProof case from their website. This optional program takes the protection of these devices to an entirely new level by offering a one-time repair or replacement of the device if it sustains accidental water damage while in one of their cases. LifeProof cases are advertised as being waterproof, submerged down to 6.6 feet deep, as well as being dirt proof, snow proof and shock proof. The Total Water Protection Program will offer consumers even greater peace of mind. Available as of Tuesday,...

It’s been awhile since we last heard a quasi-believable next-gen iPad story, but it shouldn’t be long now until we get something conclusive. That’s because several sources claim a new full-sized iPad is closing in on its release, with the official unveiling rumored to happen by the end of this month. But is that possible? We’d be inclined to say no, because, again, there have been far too few iPad 5 rumors lately and Apple is usually very skilled at building hype months before an actual release. Then again, with the third-gen iPad released in March 2012 and the fourth-generation back in...

When is the best time to purchase a new Apple device? Is there a best time? We’re fully aware of how sporadic and paltry the big Apple can be when it comes to offering customers discounts on their products. Usually feeling like you’ve earned a ‘deal’ from an Apple retail store or from their online store involves taking advantage of a promotion, which can result in spending extra money to receive reduced priced accessories or services (of which you may or may not actually need). But saving any amount on a fresh Macbook Pro or iPad straight from the source? Not likely. So...

The iPad mini looked like a bit of a gamble for Apple at first, but you don’t get to Cupertino’s dominant position over the tablet market without taking some risks, do you? And this one seems to have paid off rather nicely, as a second-gen 7.9-incher is allegedly in the works already. Meanwhile, if you’re one of those folks living in the shadows and scouring the Internet for the best deals on the most awesome gadgets, you should know that an assortment of refurbished iPad minis are again available via Apple’s U.S. Store. The tabs are not exactly dirt-cheap, but they offer...

I use several text editing and word processing apps on my iPad, but my writing tools of choice for composing and editing with the tablet are usually from the family of text processors from German developer Infovole. What’s a text processor? It’s a writing app that’s more than a basic text editor, with more tools and features, but doesn’t support full word processor abilities like text formatting, styles, footnotes, and page layout. For the vast majority of my text crunching needs, Textkraft hits the sweet spot. Textkraft normally sells for a reasonable $3.99 on the App Store, but before infovole begins a...

Have you ever run across a solution looking for a problem? Unfortunately, that's my reaction to Perdrix TXT, a new e-reading app for iPhone and iPad. The developer contacted me over the weekend and gave me a promo code for a free review copy, and I gave it a look. Here's what they say about the app on their site: Getting closer to the real book experience… Focused on book immersion, this app features innovative design such as book side views, life-like bookmark and a separate Search screen. Read free e-books and plain text files. At a quick glance that sounds good. The app...

There is no doubt in our minds that Apple’s fourth-generation 9.7-inch iPad is the most spectacular to date, and almost certainly the best-ever conceived tablet. The only catch is that it doesn’t exactly come cheap. At best, you can find one at $500 with 16 GB of on-board storage and Wi-Fi. If you also want 4G LTE speeds, you have to be ready to fork out roughly $120-$130 more. Then again, if you don’t need a new iPad, you can save a few bucks by choosing a refurbished model instead. Apple put a few of those up for grabs via its U.S. Store last week,...

Been wanting a 4th generation iPad or an iPad Mini but not ready to fork over that much money? Well, you’re in luck because Apple is now offering refurbished models of their latest releases at discounts of six to 10 percent. No, that’s not a huge savings, but with Apple products, a little is about the best you can expect. As with all refurbished options, you might not find exactly what you want available, but you’ve been patient until now, so you can probably afford to be patient and check back until your configuration is available. For example, when I checked a few...

When looking for a new tablet, it seems consumers have Apple on the brain. The Yankee Group recently disclosed the results of a December survey in which it asked, "What brand of tablet do you intend to buy [next]?" For Apple, it was good news as nearly half of the 506 questioned picked the iconic brand. Apple Insider contends this is bad news for the rest of the tablet market, as 47 percent of surveyed consumers mentioned their intention to purchase an iPad. That left 26 percent of respondents going for an Android-based tablet, and 23 percent saying they were unsure, or didn’t know. Just one percent...

If you're like me, you keep a close eye on your app updates on your iDevice. This morning, as I was leaving the house for an early morning meeting, I noticed an app update available. Good thing I always check what's new before updating. This was the first time I've ever seen this message: Note: There is a known issue with this update. If you are an existing Kindle for iOS user, we recommend you do not install this update at this time. Reports around the Web talk about people losing their books on their device, especially samples, because the app forces...