Some early benchmarks of the new iPad show that though there's been a bump in RAM up to 1 GB (from 512 MB in the iPad 2), the processor maintains the same 1 GHz clock speed.  These figures were pulled up from the Geek Bench app on a new iPad acquired a bit early by some folks in Vietnam. The tests also give us some idea of the power of the new Apple A5X quad-core graphics processor by assessing floating point performance and graphic streams. The memory managed about 300 MB/second read speeds, and 1 GB/second write.

While it's a little sad for gadget geeks that the new iPad won't be upgrading the CPU, it does have a lot more graphical horsepower for gamers, and the added RAM will help performance across the board. Specs aside, there's no doubt that Apple will be providing a smooth and enjoyable user experience on the new iPad; after all, it's not the size of your processor that matters, it's what you do with it.

Source: Tinh te

Apple has reportedly completed the previously rumored purchase of NAND flash memory maker Anobit.

Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, said today that the purchase had been made, while declining to elaborate. The statement confirmed a December report from in the Israeli newspaper Cacalist.

The deal should help Apple secure key components in the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch and once again cements Apple's position as the largest purchaser -- and now producer -- of this type of flash memory in the world.

With the acquisition of Anobit, Apple now has secure and unobstructed access to efficient solutions based on Anobit's proprietary MSP (Memory Signal Processing) technology, which aims to improve the speed, endurance and performance of the drives.

Source: Bloomberg

Have a rather large iTunes library and curious how to still get it all your apps, games, movies, music, TV shows, and podcasts onto your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? Fret not, w're going to show you a neat little trick to help cut down the size of your music and fit more of everything else... after the break!

Built right into iTunes is a feature that automatically converts your higher bit rate song (256kbps is the current standard) to 128kbps for optimized transfer to your iPhone and iPad. Music lovers might not want to risk any loss of quality but for most people the difference is not distinguishable and the storage savings are significant. Here's what to do:

• Plug your iPhone and iPad into iTunes
• Select "Convert Higher Bit Rate Songs to 128kbps AAC"
• Sync
• That's it!

Note: if you have a large iTunes library it might take a long time to do the initial conversion (my 495+ song took about an hour) but it only happens the first time and when it's done you'll have tons of space for videos, apps, or anything else (I saved about 3.4GB!)

Bonus tip: With iTunes 10, if you just select the "convert" box, the memory display bar will automatically adjust, so you can see how much space you'll be saving before hand and can decide if it's really worth it to you.

It's too bad they don't offer this for video! If you try it out, let us know how much space you saved and if you have any questions, leave them in comments!

Tips of the day will range from beginner-level 101 to advanced-level ninjary. If you already know this tip, keep the link handy as a quick way to help a friend. If you have a tip of your own you'd like to suggest, add them to the comments or send them in to dailytips@tipb.com. (If it's especially awesome and previously unknown to us, we'll even give ya a reward.)

According to AppleInsider, Apple is once again leading the way for a worldwide NAND Flash memory shortage... again:

"Taiwan-based memory module houses are moving to diversify their NAND flash suppliers to minimize procurement risk, according to industry sources," the report said. "NAND flash supply has reportedly become tighter as major chip producers Samsung Electronics, Toshiba, Micron and Hynix Semiconductor favor demand for Apple devices."

With the release of the iPhone 3GS, new iPod Nano/Touch, and the iTablet device rumored to be released sometime in the first half of 2010 - it's no wonder this current shortage exists. One thing is for sure, the chip producers bend over backwards to make sure Apple gets all of the memory they need -- even if it means less for other companies.

DigiTimes (via Engadget) is reporting that Apple is once again draining the world dry of NAND Flash memory chips ahead of an anticipated summer iPhone hardware refresh.

The iPhone 3G has one NAND Flash memory slot, currently maxing out at the 16GB density. So, if Apple is planning to take it to 32GB, higher density chips will of course be required. Will supply and pricing allow that by the summer? If it does, it also means the dual-slotted iPod touch could hit a whopping 64GB by its next refresh cycle in the fall.

Anyone out there itching to load that much data on a multi-touch device?

The headline says it all except the pricing and availability. Pricing: $399.00 US for the 8GB (same as it ever was) and $499.00 US for the 16GB model.

Wait? What? Wasn't there, like, this big conference not too long ago where you could make announcements about new iPhones? Oh yea, there was, I was there. Guess doubling the amount of available storage on an iPhone isn't worth Steve's precious keynote time, (but jiggly mode is?). Anyway, it's good news nonetheless.

...Since I'm currently rocking one of the classic 4GB models, that 16GB model is mighty tempting. The only question left: will they drop the price on me two weeks after I finally buy it?

(Oh, and the Touch now comes in 8, 16, and 32 gig varieties!)