After being lucky enough to get my hands on a new iPad (aka the iPad 3) recently, I was equally as thrilled to get the chance to review one of the newly released limited edition Sonic the Hedgehog vinyl skins for the iPad 3, made by ZAGG.

Many people don’t ‘agree’ with using vinyls or any form of case on the back of the iPad. Even Apple themselves have said since the launch of the iPad 2 that only the front of the iPad needs to be covered/protected and that basically, the back of an iPad is too attractive to cover up. This is why Apple make their own ‘Smart Covers’ for the front of the iPad and for the front only. I have to concur that the iPad is a gadget of beauty however, I’m also of the mind that if something is to stay beautiful, something that costs quite a sum of cash to buy in the first place, it has to be protected in some way. Hence, as soon as I got the new iPad, I set off looking for a suitable case for it. There are a number of protective cases available to fit the back of the new iPad – hard cases, rubber cases, leather cases, portfolio cases and so on. Some are attractive and some just aren’t. Nothing really suited what I had in my mind. I wanted something protective but, not too bulky. Something that would cover the back of the iPad without actually feeling like it was covered. Something a bit like the screen protector that I’d already fitted. Then there was the ‘light-bulb moment’.

I’ve been covering my various consoles and gadgets with funky vinyl skins since the day I came across PlayStation 2 vinyls on eBay. How did it not occur to me that a vinyl skin could be absolutely what I needed for my new iPad? Usually I’ve fitted skins to simply change the appearance of a gadget, to funk it up a little but, of course good quality vinyls can be just as protective as they are attractive so off I went in search for one of these high quality vinyls that was made specifically for the iPad 3 and preferably something that also suited my ‘style’.

I searched for all of 20 minutes before I came across something rather special (to my geeky-gamer side) – iPad skins featuring Sonic the Hedgehog and other characters from the Sonic game series! Now, as an avid Sonic fan, this was like finding a pot of blue spiky gold at the end of a rainbow. My only problem now was that these skins were for the iPad 2. Unperturbed and determined to adorn my new iPad with Sonic, I contacted ZAGG International and found out that they would indeed be releasing the Sonic vinyl range for the iPad 3 and as soon as they had one made, I was getting one!

I chose the ‘Sonic Generations Running‘ skin. At first sight, I am extremely impressed with not only the vibrancy of the colours on the vinyl but, by the quality of the vinyl itself, it is clearly top grade vinyl. The ‘image’ itself is clear and as I said, vibrant – the colours are superb and the image is crisp. The packaging is pretty nice too for the record.

At their San Franciso press conference, Apple have officially unveiled the next generation iPad. Currently, it’s only known as the “new iPad”. We’re yet to learn if it will be the iPad 3, iPad 2S or iPad HD. Officially specifications have been announced though as well as availability and pricing. For selected countries, pre-orders start today.

New iPad specifications:
9.7″ Retina Display
2048×1536 resolution
265ppi
iSight: 5 megapixel camera with illuminated sensor, 5-element lens, IR filter, ISP, autofocus, 1080p video recording
A5X processor and quad core graphics chip
9.4mm thin
1.4lbs
4G LTE with Verizon, Rogers, Bell, Telus and AT&T
21Mbps HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA at 42Mbps, with LTE taking the cake at 73Mbps compared to 3.1Mbps and 7.2Mbps respectfully on the iPad 2
3G world ready which ever 4G model you choose, as it has the “most bands ever”
Hotspot for carriers who support it
10 hour battery life, 9 hours on 4G
Microphone button on the keyboard for voice dictation

Pricing is $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB and $699 for 64GB Wifi models, $629, $729 and $829 respectfully for 16GB, 32GB and 64GB 4G models, so no price change there. The new iPad will be available from March 16th in US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia and you’ll be able to place a pre-order today, while the rest of the world will see a March 23rd release.

iPhone 5 Live Stream Event:

With just few days left, Apple has sent tons and tons of invites to all the media people across the globe, which mainly includes considerable people from all walks of life, but journalists and media people are given top priority as they will be the catalyst to the branding of their iPhone 5 and 4s. Apple has put end to all the speculations and finally made an announcement earlier that they will be holding a press event at their Cupertino California campus about the release of most awaited iPhone 5, this will be beefed up with announcement of white 64 GB iPhone 4S, but in all honesty, this might just tint the hype of iPhone 5.

I personally believe they should have had released iPhone 4s some time ago and not just now and should have had made the event iPhone 5 exclusive. Any way, more power to Apple as we all wait eagerly to see what Apple has cooked in their lab, the media event will be executed on 4th October conference and iPhone 5 Conference Live Streaming will be available to those who want to see the first image shots or videos of phone. The event; which will be presided by none other than Tim Cook, who is current CEO of revolutionary company Apple, will describe the product in detail and list all features and specifications in detail.

The UK sees a bank holiday this weekend and in honor of this, Gameloft have reduced the price of their games for both Android and iOS. Until Midnight Monday, selected iOS games will be 59p for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. The games available for iOS as part of the offer are:

iPhone
Fast Five
Dungeon Hunter 2
Iron Man 2
Let’s Golf! 2
Shrek Kart

iPad
Fast Five HD
Assassin’s Creed HD
Sacred Odyssey: Rise of Ayden HD
Fishing Kings HD

Android games on the other hand are slightly more but, still a third of their usual price at £1. Games include Real Football 2011, N.O.V.A 2, Asphalt 6 and Starfront: Collision. Only the HD games are included as part of this offer. To get your games, head on over to Gameloft.com on your mobile device, or visit the Gameloft Web Store.

US retailer Walmart have announced that the Apple iPad will be available to purchase in it’s stores from this Friday, the 15th of October.

The iPad is available to purchase online at Walmart also however, only for in store pick up. Prices will be based on Apple’s own pricing system for all models. The retailer intends to roll out the Apple iPad line in a few hundred stores initially, with plans for over 2000 stores nationwide to be selling the iPad in a special ‘iPad section’ by the middle of November. Walmart will be offering all 6 models of the iPad to it’s customers, surely a good deal for Apple with the Samsung Galaxy tablet making it’s way across the US in hot competiton with the iPad.

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