For the first time in fifteen years, Apple’s…

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If Apple is to announce a next-generation iPad…

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Apple has shown interest in building a new universal power adapter compatible with different DC voltage levels, allowing portable devices like a MacBook Pro, iPhone and iPad to be charged at the same time with just one wall plug.

The proposed invention was revealed this week in a new Apple patent application filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and discovered by AppleInsider. The filing, entitled “Multi-Output Power Supply,” notes that most commercially available adapters do not include multiple outputs for supplying different DC voltage levels.

“As such, users may often purchase a device-specific adapter for powering a device,” it states. “However, this requires that the user carry a separate adapter for each device, which can be cumbersome when a user is traveling, as many users forget to bring all of the associated adapters required for various devices.”

Those adapters can also be relatively bulky, Apple notes, making them less than ideal to carry while traveling. The company also said that it can be confusing to users when multiple adapters are at use in a stationary location, like a home or office.

Apple’s solution is a new universal power supply that would connect to multiple electronic devices. This would make it unnecessary for users to carry just one power adapter while traveling with multiple portable devices.

The filing describes a single power adapter that includes a DC-to-DC converter, allowing it to meet the different voltage requirements of unique devices. The adapter could also intelligently control power supplied through its outlets to ensure that the correct voltage is sent out to appropriate devices.

In addition to iPods, iPhones and iPads, the application specifically notes that such a system could also be compatible with Apple’s patented MagSafe technology, used to supply power to the company’s MacBook line of notebooks.

The charging cable could include a power “brick” similar to the ones currently used with a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. That brick would include the necessary voltage converter, and could allow another portable device like an iPhone to be plugged in to charge.

The proposed invention was first filed by Apple in May of 2010, and was made public this week. It is credited to Aleksandar Pance, Nicholas Alan Rundle, and John Douglas Field.

The latest application is not the first time Apple has shown interest in redesigning its power adapters to allow charging of multiple devices. In September, another filing showed the company is interested in building a universal charger that would allow portable devices to not only recharge their batteries, but also sync data while plugged in to the same adapter.

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An overabundance of iPad 2 components purchased by Apple last quarter has allowed the company to actually draw down its orders ahead of the holidays due to an excess of parts, which will allow it to build between 4 million and 5 million units.

Last quarter, Apple sold a record 11.2 million iPad units, representing a year over year sales increase of 166 percent. But the company actually placed orders for components that could build between 15 and 16 million iPad units, according to DigiTimes.

Apple now has a stockpile of between 4 million and 5 million iPad 2 units in its supply chain, which has put the company in a position to adjust its orders for the current holiday quarter. Specifically, panel shipments for Samsung, LG and Chimei Innolux are said to be affected in the quarter.

“Due to inventory adjustments at Apple, LG Display saw its shipments of 9.7-inch panels to Apple decline from three million units in September to 2.5 million units in October,” the report said. “Samsung managed to keep its shipments of 9.7-inch panels flat at two million units in October, while CMI slashed its shipments from 700,000 units to 350,000 units during the same month, said the sources.”

While Apple is allegedly drawing down inventory for its current-generation iPad 2, the company is already gearing up for its third-generation iPad, expected to debut in early 2012. The report said that both Samsung and Sharp are already shipping panels for the next-generation iPad, while TPK Holding and Wintek are expected to ship panels for the third-generation tablet in November and December.

Earlier this month, the same publication indicated that Apple is stockpiling about 2 million third-generation iPad units by the end of 2011. The device is expected to be thinner and have a higher-resolution screen than the current iPad 2.

As for the rumored drawdown in purchases of iPad 2 components, Taiwan’s Commercial Times claimed earlier this month that Apple had cut orders not only for the iPad 2, but also for the iPhone 4S, leading into the fourth quarter of calendar 2011. The report claimed that sales were not as high as Apple anticipated, and the company’s stock subsequently dropped off.

But analysts on Wall Street dismissed concerns about the iPhone 4S, as the newly launched handset has been consistently selling out at Apple retail stores, while new international launches have drawn huge crowds around the world.

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H Robot 99 Special Edition αποτελεί μία από τις πιο μοναδικές, διασκεδαστικές και στιλάτες θήκες που έχουμε δει για το iPad 2 και αποτελεί προϊόν συνεργασίας του καλλιτέχνη Fu και της Echoe Creative αποτελώντας φόρο τιμής στο ομώνυμο παιχνίδι του App Store Robot 99 [link].

H θήκη είναι της μορφής folio και περιέχει μαγνήτες για υιοθετώντας την λειτουργία των Smart Covers. H θήκη είναι αρκετά λεπτή και δεν προσθέτει πολύ επιπρόσθετο βάρος ή όγκο στην συσκευή ενώ και η ποιότητα κατασκευής είναι αρκετά υψηλή.

Μερικές ακόμα φωτογραφίες:

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Έρευνα που πραγματοποιήθηκε ανάμεσα σε 2,300 εργαζομένους σε εταιρείες ανά τον κόσμο έδειξε ότι το iPhone ξεπέρασε το κλασικό πλέον BlackBerry στις προτιμήσεις των επαγγελματιών χρηστών αφήνοντας πίσω και το Android.

Η ίδια έρευνα είχε διεξαχθεί και πέρσι και τότε το BlackBerry ήταν ελαφρώς μπροστά από το iPhone διατηρώντας σταθερά, όμως, το προβάδισμα.  Φέτος, όμως, τα πράγματα άλλαξαν και το iPhone κατέλαβε το 45% με το BlackBerry να πέφτει στο 32.1%. Οι υπόλοιπες πλατφόρμες σημειώσαν και αυτές μείωση που μπορείτε να δείτε στο παρακάτω γράφημα.

Στην ερώτηση για πρόθεση αγοράς το 18% δήλωσε ως πρώτη επιλογή το iPhone, 11.2% το Android, 3.6% τα Windows Phone και 2.3% το BlackBerry.

Σε άλλα στοιχεία της έρευνας έχουμε τα εξής αποτελέσματα:

• 95% των επαγγελματιών χρησιμοποιούν smartphones, μια αύξηση από το 85% πέρσι, και 91% χρησιμοποιούν smartphones για δουλειά.
• 42% σκοπεύουν να χρησιμοποιήσουν το προσωπικό τους τηλέφωνο για δουλειά ανοίγοντας το δρόμο και για το iPhone
• 44% χρησιμοποιούν tablets στο χώρο της εργασίας, μια αύξηση από το 33% πριν έξι μήνες

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