Starting March 11, when iOS 4.3 launches, users will be able to stream content from third-party apps on the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to an Apple TV. But so far, the scope of support for the functionality is very much up in the air.

Music-video site Vevo is one of the few companies to acknowledge that it's ready to take advantage of the new AirPlay functionality. The company added support for the feature on Wednesday to its iPad and iPhone apps.

But unlike Vevo, Netflix doesn't see the benefit of adding support for Apple's new … Read more

Apple is reportedly in talks with music labels to give its customers unlimited downloads of music they've purchased.

Citing "people with knowledge of the plans," Bloomberg reported today that if an agreement is reached, people would have access to purchased music from all of the devices associated with their iTunes account. If the deal goes through, customers would basically be given access to an online backup of the music purchased through their iTunes membership.

Companies reportedly in talks with Apple include Universal Music, Sony, Warner Music, and EMI.

The report from Bloomberg echoes earlier ones that Apple … Read more

Apple's iPad 2 is thinner, lighter, and faster than the original, but is it different enough from last year's model to entice new customers?

That's the big question. Apple sold more than 15 million iPads in 2010. But this week, when Apple introduced the new iPad 2, some people are disappointed that latest version was still missing key features and isn't much different from its predecessor. The device goes on sale in the U.S. on March 11.

In this week's Ask Maggie, I help one reader decide if he should spend the extra cash … Read more

Steve Jobs would have you believe that the post-PC era is here. Market researcher Gartner seems to agree.

At the rollout of the iPad 2 yesterday, the Apple CEO's carefully calculated musings about the post-PC world were meant to sow just enough doubt in consumers' minds that they think twice when buying that second PC. (And he was also careful to couch this as the post-PC era, not the post-Mac era. You can have your cake and eat it too if you're Apple, apparently.)

Maybe Gartner sees this as a self-fulfilling prophesy. Whatever the case, the market research … Read more

Apple has given developers the Gold Master copy of iOS 4.3, which is slated to go out to users as a free download at the end of next week. The Gold Master is typically the same build users get when the software is released.

The software update was formally unveiled during yesterday's iPad 2 event. Developers had first gotten their hands on it in mid-January.

Among the new features that come with iOS 4.3 are support for Home Sharing (which lets you play your iTunes library from anywhere in the house), the capability to turn your iPhone … Read more

If you bought the iPad very recently, you may qualify for a $100 refund.

Apple is offering $100 back to customers who purchased the iPad at its former price, an Apple customer-service rep confirmed to CNET today. The refund, which will be applied to a person's credit card, applies to all versions of the first-generation iPad.

Of course, there is a catch. According to the customer-service rep, Apple is offering the $100 refund only to those who purchased the last-gen tablet within 14 days of yesterday's announcement of the iPad 2. The customer-service rep wouldn't nail down … Read more

AT&T customers can now choose postpaid data plans for their tablet PCs.

Starting today, AT&T said, customers can opt to pay $14.99 for 250MB of monthly data or $25 for 2GB of monthly data. The postpaid option will show up on the person's monthly wireless bill after the data is used. Prepaid plans, which feature the same price and data allotments, are charged on a person's credit card prior to their use.

Both the postpaid and prepaid plans are month-to-month, meaning that customers have no long-term contract.

The only difference, apparently, between the … Read more

Just how many subscribers have ditched AT&T since the carrier lost its exclusive hold on the iPhone to Verizon?

AT&T is mum on specific numbers, but a top executive has offered this hazy assessment: the company isn't surprised by the level of defections.

Speaking yesterday at a Morgan Stanley technology conference in San Francisco, Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, said his company hasn't seen any surprises in customer defections and that "everything is pretty much within our expectations," according to a Webcast of his … Read more

One of the questions I've been peppered with since the iPad 2 announcement was whether I was going to replace my first-generation iPad for the new one. The answer for me is yes, since it's part of my job to live with these gadgets so I can understand their strengths, weaknesses, and appeal. But for most original iPad owners, I'm guessing they'll be holding out for version 3.

Why's that? The real big change is less about the external redesign as much as what's inside. New are things like a snappier processor and built-in … Read more