iPad Live has merged Transformers-style with iPhone Live and our newer, better, badasser all news, all how-tos iPhone and iPad Live combined podcast can now be found on Wednesday nights at 9pm ET. But what to do with our traditional Sunday slot then? Why an all-new, all awesome podcast devoted to the latest and greatest apps and accessories! So join us tonight for the debut episode of Apps & Accessories Live!

(And yes, ZEN and TECH will still be following on at 10pm!)

Time: 9pm ET, 6pm PT, 2am GMT.

Place: http://www.imore.com/live

If you have any questions or topics you’d like us to discuss, just leave them in the comments then come be part of the show!

Want to watch via iPhone or iPad? Grab the Ustream app and search for “mobilenations”!

802.11ac, sometimes referred to as 5G or gigabit Wi-Fi, hasn’t been finalized and Apple seldom if ever speaks ahead of time about the incorporation of new technology into the iPhone, iPad, or Mac lines, but they were aggressive in adopting 802.11n while it was in the draft stages and 802.11ac appears to have even more to recommend it.

The new 802.11ac standard achieves much faster wireless networking speeds than the existing 802.11n specification (in use on the latest Mac, AirPort and iOS devices) by using 2 to 4 times the frequency bandwidth (from 80 to 160MHz), more efficient data transfers through sophisticated modulation, and more antennas (up to 8; existing standards support up to 4, while Apple’s Macs currently use up to 3).

With everything from AirPlay to iTunes Wi-Fi sync to the downloading of content from iTunes Netflix and other online repositories becoming increasingly front and center in iOS, better, faster Wi-Fi will be huge plus. (Especially if when we see the eventual move to 1080p content on the rumored Apple TV 3.

The link below says Apple’s working on 802.11ac, though the article doesn’t say where that assertion comes from. Still — I want it, and hopefully we’ll indeed get it sometime this year if not the next.

Source: AppleInsider

The Raspberry Pi budget computer main board can now handle AirPlay content from an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The Raspberry Pi, for those that do not know, is a tiny credit card sized computer that has an HDMI port to connect to your TV. It is a fully capable computer but also has the added bonus of being able to play back high definition video; thanks to its Videocore 4 GPU. The GPU is capable of BluRay quality playback, using H.264 at 40MBits/s.

The Raspberry Pi is currently in production and will soon be available internationally in two models, one with 10/100 Ethernet and one without. The most interesting part of the project is definitely the price. The basic model will cost just $25 with the model including Ethernet costing just $10 more.

The Raspberry Pi was originally aimed at computer hobbyists however now that AirPlay has been demonstrated as well as a port of XBMC, this little computer may have a big part to play in future home media center solutions too.

Source: Raspberry Pi via Electronista

Marc, Seth, and Rene iterate about the iPhone mute switch (sigh), Android interface guidelines, Windows Phone at CES 2012, and PNG compression redux, and interrogate Mike Rundle of Flyosity. Plus, we sneak a question to Joe Belfiore of Windows Phone. This is Iterate!

• Our podcast feed
• Download Directly
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• Google’s Android Design site… user interface guidelines for Android 4.0
  • Don’t make your apps look like iOS or Windows Phone 7 on Android
  • The Verge interview with Matias Duarte
  • Khoi Vinh on Android Design guidelines
  • Recap of the Windows Phone $100 “smoked” challenge at CES
• PNG compression and iOS apps

• Mike Rundle of Flyosity
• Joe Belfiore of Microsoft
  • Complete interview with Microsoft and Nokia at CES 2012

Hosts

• Marc Edwards (@marcedwards) of Bjango
• Seth Clifford (@sethclifford) of Nickelfish
• Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie) of TiPb.com

Feedback

• Email: podcast@iterate.tv
• Twitter: @iteratetv
• Facebook: Iterate page

If you’re one of the best-of-the-best-of-the-best in mobile design for Android, BlackBerry, iOS, webOS, or Windows Phone, we’d love to get you on the show, or if you’ve found a drop-dead gorgeous app on any platform and really want us to talk about it, contact us and let us know.

According to The New York Times, not the cost of labor, not the cost of components, but rather the speed and flexibility with which Chinese factories can respond to iPhone and iPad manufacturing demands is reportedly the reason Apple prefers them over their U.S. counterparts.

One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone's screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company's dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day.

This isn’t unique to Apple, of course, but Apple’s popularity and profile, fueled by their exceptional supply-chain management, gets their name in the headline.

For a complete run down of the realities of modern manufacturing, and examples including Steve Jobs’ response to U.S. President Obama, give the full article a read.

Source: New York Times

According to Nielsen, the amount of all smartphones running iOS — namely the iPhone — rose from 30% to 37% over the last 3 months, compared to the share of all smartphones running Android OS — namely 8 googlezillion at last official count — rose from 46.3% to 51.7%. The growth came largely at the expense of BlackBerry, which shrank from 14.9% to 6% over the same period.

Among recent smartphone purchasers, Apple jumped from 25.1% last quarter to 44.5% while Android slowed from 61.6% to 46.9% and BlackBerry slid from 7.7% to 4.5%.

Given the tremendous success of the iPhone 4S last quarter, which ended prior to the launch of the next-generation Android 4.0 devices, and saw RIM still stuck in the great desert of the QNX/BB10 platform transition, the numbers aren’t surprising. Once we get deeper into Apple’s typical year-long product cycle, and new Android 4.0 devices start hitting the market in earnest, the figure will almost certainly change again.

However, that Apple continues to have the most popular single phones on the market, and a phenomenally disproportionate profit share, should perhaps be an indicator that better, more nuanced, and more contextual analysis are needed from metrics companies.

Source: Nielsen via Android Central