An iPad for zilch on contract? Yessir… but only if you pack up and move to the Land of the Rising Sun. Softbank Mobile has just announced a new pricing plan that makes Apple’s 16GB iPad WiFi + 3G model totally free with a two-year data agreement in Japan, and for those who recall it being “free” before, this situation is a bit different. You see, there’s no built-in monthly surcharge for this one; rather than paying off your iPad over 24 months, you’re actually getting it for nothing as long as you’re kosher with forking out ¥4,725 ($56) per month for that 3G goodness. The deal starts on December 3rd, and we’ve got a strange, strange feeling that it’ll do quite well if marketed correctly. And by “correctly,” we mean “at all.”

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/29/softbank-makes-16gb-ipad-wifi-3g-free-with-two-year-contract/

If you own an iPhone, you’re probably using Facebook’s free client that’s still one of the most popular apps on the iPhone. The new version, out soon, brings a host of long overdue enhancements, but don’t hold your breath for push notifications yet.

“Facebook for iPhone 3.0 is coming very soon,” a Facebook developer who goes by the name Joe wrote in a post yesterday. “I can’t predict an exact date when I will submit to Apple, but I can say that I am about 98% done.”

Just don’t keep your fingers crossed for push notifications because that feature isn’t ready yet. Relax, the developer confirmed that push notifications are being implemented, they just won’t make it into the 3.0.

“You can expect it in a 3.1 update later this summer,” he wrote in the post.

Other than that, Facebook for iPhone 3.0 is a major new update that finally updates iPhone’s most-used app with a long-overdue set of features.

As you can see from screenshots, the application features a new home screen that pulls together popular Facebook sections, providing shortcuts to notifications, search and your content.

You will also be able to add your favorite profiles and pages to the home screen. Photo management and uploading has also been improved so your photo uploads from iPhone no longer appear only in the “Mobile Uploads” album on Facebook. News feed is overhauled not just visually, but enhanced with new features, like the ability to “like” people’s posts.

Here’s a full list of new features, as provided by the developer:

* The “new” News Feed
* Like
* Events (including the ability to RSVP)
* Notes
* Pages
* Create new photo albums
* Upload photos to any album
* Zoom into photos
* Easier photo tagging
* Profile Pictures albums
* A new home screen for easy access to all your stuff, search, and notifications
* Add your favorite profiles and pages to the home screen
* Better Notifications (they link to the comments so you can reply)
* Quickly call or text people right from the Friends page
* Messages you are typing will be restored if you quit or are interrupted by a phone call

Read more at Facebook

Christian’s Opinion
If Facebook is part of your daily routine, you will love this fantastic new update. However, I must point out that the development of this app has been crawling at a snail’s pace since day one. I find it rather strange that Facebook allocated just one guy to the Facebook for iPhone project. He also appears to be doing additional coding for the company beyond the app so he’s constantly behind schedule with the mobile Facebook app for the iPhone.

If you ask me, it’s simply unacceptable that the iPhone users must wait months before getting Facebook features in the iPhone app that have been rolled out in the web version many months before. Besides, I’m bewildered by the fact that other developers have been ignoring this market thus far. This means we, the users, have no choice but to stick with the official Facebook app, its perks, and development difficulties.

With over 10 million people running this app on their iPhones, the market obviously exists and it’s huge – the opportunity is clearly out there. Give me Better Facebook, or Facebook Ultimate, you get the idea – just don’t let me wait two freekin’ years just to be able to upload photos to Facebook albums other than Mobile Uploads. To add insult to injury, BlackBerries have this, and many other advanced Facebook features for that matter out-of-the-box, and I’m not even mentioning Pre and its Twitter and Facebook integration at the OS level.

Original Link

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