With the popularity of the Skype app on mobile phones, the absence of an official Skype app for the iPad has to go up on the “we-have-no-idea-why-there-isn’t-an-official-iPad-app-for-this-yet” list, along with Facebook. But because Skype is also up on the “you-absolutely-need-to-have-this-app-on-your-mobile-device” list (also along with Facebook), we’ve had to make do with the tiny iPhone version of the app stretched on our iPad 2’s screen for weeks now. Looks like we’re due for a solution any day now: Skype has revealed that the official iPad version of the app is ready for a release.
Playboy on the iPad? The same Playboy magazine that not only features awesome articles (which everyone reads, of course), but also photographs and content that Apple would list as “objectionable”? Yeah, it’s due out tomorrow. Awesome, right? It’s also surprising, considering Apple’s stance on this kind of content. There’s a loophole though: It won’t arrive as an app that you download through the App Store (where it’s also unlikely to pass through Apple’s strict approval process). It’s an iOS-friendly web app that you can visit by pointing your browser to http://i.playboy.com.
You saw the new iPad 2, thought the new Smart Cover accessory was pretty cool, but ultimately decided to stick with your old iPad until Apple manages to fit a Retina Display into a tablet. Problem is, you still think the whole Smart Cover thing is awesome, learned that it all worked with magnets embedded into the iPad 2 itself, and wished that there was some way to fit that thing onto your old iPad. Apparently, it’s possible, thanks to the magic of magnets. Specifically, block magnets that you can buy online. And super glue. It won’t magically give your old iPad the neat auto-sleep-and-wake feature, but at least you get a reasonably affordable folding screen protector that folds into a neat stand. Video after the break.
In case you haven’t had time to wonder about the old iPad thanks to all the hype surrounding the just-unveiled iPad 2, Apple will still be selling it. At least for the time being. But thanks to the awesome decision to price the iPad 2 exactly the same as the original iPad, something’s gotta give, right? So what are they offering to take all those old iPads off their shelves? A nice $100 discount on “old” (but still awesome) first-gen iPads. Updated prices after the break.
So here’s the real story for the day: News Corp and Apple has officially launched “The Daily,” which is basically a made-for-iPad virtual newspaper that ties in HD video and multimedia content with the news. So call it conventional news with a modern twist, adding a social media factor with Facebook, Twitter and Email sharing, plus the option of having the news read to you by an anchor TV-style, or like you would on a radio, or just have it old-school by, you know, just reading it like a newspaper.
