Apple has just announced that they will be holding an early morning conference call tomorrow, Monday March 19, at 6am PDT, 9am EDT to discuss Apple’s cash balance.

Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, and Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO, will host a conference call to announce the outcome of the Company's discussions concerning its cash balance. Apple will not be providing an update on the current quarter nor will any topics be discussed other than cash.

Apple’s been racing towards $100 billion in cash recently, with no slowdown in sight. Some have called for a dividend for shareholders or a stock buy back, while others have hoped for larger scale purchases.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, has said he’s “not religious” about holding onto to money, and Apple has repeatedly said they’re patient and aren’t letting their enormous cash hoard burn a hold in their collective pockets.

iMore’s own Chris Umiastowski has been hoping for a cash return for a while::

I, for one, would love to see Apple return some of the cash to shareholders. When one quarter of your valuation is tied up in cash it doesn't maximize value. Apple earns some interest income on the cash, but interest rates are excessively low these days and if they paid out the cash it wouldn't put much of a dent in their earnings. So paying out the cash unlocks value, which is why shareholders are so interested in seeing something materialize. 2012 looks like the year when something will finally happen.

If anyone wants to get their best guesses in, do it now before the bell rings on the call tomorrow.

Con call link: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/call31912

The new iPad sports a 9.7-inch, 2048×1536, 264ppi Retina display, which is twice as dense as the iPad 2‘s equal sized, 1024×1536, 132ppi screen but packs four (4) times as many pixels into the same space. That’s exactly what it sounds like — the new iPad has 4 pixels in the same space the iPad 2 had a 1 pixel.

Theoretically, that means the pixels on the new iPad display are so small they’re difficult if not impossible to discern with the naked eye during general use. Hence the marketing name “Retina”. It’s roughly the same effect as when you compare cheap newspaper or old comic print next to a high end glossy magazine. The information becomes so densely packed that the mechanics disappear and only the content remains. Everything looks sharper, crisper, more solid, and more real. If you’re not a trained typographer, photographer, or designer, it’s still something your eyes and brains will appreciate even if you can’t articulate it.

The original iPad was amazing when it first launched. I called it the iPhone on IMAX and that’s exactly what it felt like. The iPhone’s then 480×320 screen just seemed small and cramped by comparison. But then Apple introduced the iPhone 4 and the 960×640 Retina display and everything changed. Suddenly small was sharp and cramped was clear, and while the iPad and even the iPad 2 was still bigger, the display wasn’t better. It was quantity but not quality. Seeing and reading and watching on the iPhone was harder but suddenly more relaxing and enjoyable.

Some people have used the metaphor of putting on glasses — of the Retina screen being so good it’s like they can focus for the first time. That’s not entirely it though. I have a feeling the Retina display goes deeper than that. It’s good enough your brain no longer has to work at filling in details anymore and it can just relax and enjoy. It can just see and read and watch.

Now the iPad has it as well. Once again it’s bigger and better. It’s not small but it is sharp, not cramped but it is clear.

For me, it will be hard if not uncomfortable to go back. It will be rough and bumpy and almost clumsy. And given how good the iPad 2 display is, that’s a hell of a thing to say. (I’m typing this on a MacBook Air, which has a fairly dense display in its own right, and now I find myself acutely and annoyingly aware of the sub-pixel anti-aliasing.)

The difference between the new iPad and the iPad 2′s display isn’t as much as an old Standard Definition (SD) TV and a 1080p High Definition (HD) display, because for most people that involved the simultaneously jump from CRT tubes to LCD or Plasma flat panels. But it’s more than the jump from 720p to 1080p display. It’s like going from iTunes SD movies to iTunes HD movies. Everything is smoother but more textured, cleaner but more detailed.

I remember watching Lord of the Rings in HD for the first time, amazed at how much more there was to see. That’s the same feeling I have with the new iPad, watching the Avengers trailer in 1080p (in a window, since 1920×1080 doesn’t even fill the new iPad display).

It’s not the Martix’s “welcome to the real world” or even Vader’s “with my own eyes”, but for anyone who cares about image quality, typography, iconography, art, or HD video, it’s very much in that geeky vein.

Since it’s harder to show the difference than it is to just write about it, I put a macro lens on my iPhone 4S and took some close up images to try an highlight just what that many pixels look like. Holding the new iPad at a distance, you don’t see the pixels, of course. You just see the content. That’s the whole point.

Apple has made the best panel I’ve ever seen, and while not everyone will appreciate it, or even care about it, that takes nothing away from the achievement.

I’ve jotted down some more thoughts in the new iPad forum, so jump in there and let me know what your experience has been with the Retina display.

The best damn iOS podcast on the net returns tonight with a special edition all about the new iPad — what it’s like to use, and is it worth getting?

Joining Rene and Georgia will be special guests Jim Dalrymple of the Loop and Matthew Panzarino of the Next Web.

Forget the Walking Dead. We’re going to review the Living Daylights out of the new iPad.

Be there.

Want to go full screen? Head to iMore.com/live. Want to watch via iPhone or iPad? Grab the Ustream app and search for “mobilenations”!

iMessage lets your new iPad send and receive SMS-like text messages, and MMS-style multimedia messages just like a phone. Instead of a phone number, however, it uses your email address, and it only works with other Apple devices, like other iPads, iPhones, iPod touches, and the recently released Messages for Mac beta.

Before you can start using messages, and sending texts, photos, videos, voice memos, locations, and contact cards, you need to set it up.

How to check and see if iMessage is already set up

If you set up your new iPad using iCloud, there’s a chance iMessage will have automatically been turned on and configured for you using your iCloud email address.

• Launch the Messages app

If it works, and you see the screen below, pick a Contact to message and you’re good to go.

How to set up iMessage

If iMessage isn’t set up already, or if you want to use a different Apple ID (for example, if you use a different Apple ID for home or work, or for family and personal, or for iPhone and iPad), you’ll need to set it up.

Note: You’ll need an Apple ID to use iMessage. This can be your iCloud ID or your iTunes ID if you have them. If you don’t have an Apple ID yet, you’ll need to create one first.

If you want all your devices to get the same iMessages at the same time — i.e. if you want your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and or Mac to all show you iMessages from the same account, make sure you login with the same Apple ID on all your devices. If you want to keep each device separate, so friends can choose to iMessage you on your iPhone or iPad, make sure you create and login with different Apple IDs on your different devices.

1. Launch Settings
2. Tap Messages in the sidebar on the left
3. Toggle iMessage to On (if it isn’t already)
4. Toggle Send Read Receipts to On (if you want people to be notified when you’ve actually seen, not just received their messages)
5. Tap Receive AT if you want to change the email address associated with your iMessage account, or add additional email address to your iMessage account (for example, work and home).
6. You’ll need to Login to the new address, if it’s an existing Apple ID. If not, Apple will ask you to register it with them as an Apple ID.
7. Toggle Show Subject Field to On if you want to add an email-style subject line to your iMessages.

How to activate iMessage

iMessage is a service run on Apple’s servers, and the first time it connects it needs to activate and register the Apple ID you’re using with the device you’re using. The way it does that is by having you login with your Apple ID. If the connection is ever lost for some reason, it may ask you to do it again.

If for some reason it looks like iMessage is stuck on the Activation screen, wait for a few minutes, then try the following, in the following order:

1. Turn iMessage off and then on again, wait a few minutes
2. Turn Airplane mode on and then off again, turn iMessage off and then on again, wait a few minutes
3. Make sure your iPad is on Wi-Fi, reboot your iPad, turn iMessage off and then on again, wait a few minutes
4. Wait and try again later — Apple’s servers can get overwhelmed or experience outages just like anyone else’s

If none of that works, jump into our iPad help forum and we’ll troubleshoot with you.

That’s it. Once iMessage activates you can send and receive texts and multimedia messages with other Apple users just like SMS and MMS.

Additional resources:

• The new iPad – everything you need to know
• iPad email help and discussion forum
• Even more iPad tips

Are you a musician? Have you ever wanted to be a musician? GarageBand for the iPad gives seasoned musicians and those with rock star dreams an opportunity to create music.

Apple gave GarageBand a substantial update after the release of iOS 5.1 – in preparation for the new iPad. The graphics have been bumped up in quality and the options for creating music have been enhanced by the inclusion of iCloud integration, multiple users over Bluetooth and new instruments.

The premise of GarageBand is just as the name implies – amateur musicians and musician wannabees can play, record and share music they create using instruments on the iPad.

Getting Started with GarageBand

From the startup page of GarageBand, touch the "+" icon in the top left corner. You are immediately presented with the option to start a New Song or copy a song from iTunes. For our purposes, we will select a New Song.

Choosing an Instrument

Selecting a New Song brings you to the instrument selection screen. Swipe through the various instrument choices to choose your first instrument to play.  The instruments are in two formats – Smart instruments and regular instruments. Smart instruments let you jump right in an hit one button to play an entire chord (as opposed to holding down all the notes individually. While Smart instruments seem to be the clear choice for people with little or no musical background, they are still very useful even to seasoned musicians.

The instruments included in GarageBand are both Smart   versions of:

1. Guitar
2. Keyboard
3. Bass
4. Strings – Brand new in GarageBand
5. Drums

There are then regular versions of:

1. Keyboard
2. Drums

Lastly, GarageBand also includes a Guitar Amp which allows you to plug in your guitar using a third party accessory to classic amps and stompboxes.

The options are actually pretty staggering. In this example, I chose Keyboard and then when I touched the Grand Piano icon I could choose from eight different Keyboards.

Options from Within each Instrument

The instruments in GarageBand are very true to life. For example, when I chose Electric Piano from the options in the Keyboard, I now had nobs for Decay, Bell, Tremolo and Chorus. With each adjustment, the tone and character of each note changes.

When I chose the Smart Guitar, I could then choose to play an Acoustic, Classic Clean, Hard Rock or Roots Rock guitar. Just like with the keyboards, each guitar comes with its own controls. I can play an entire chord by touching the name of the chord – for example, if I touch Em, I play an E minor chord. Or, I can play individual notes within a chord for "fingerpicking" just like a real guitar.

The options are so comprehensive that you can spend hours just tinkering with musical possibilities before you are even ready to record a song.

Recording a Song

GarabeBand allows you to not only play around with all these instruments, but to actually record a song and layer it with different instruments.  Once you pick your first instrument, touch the red Record button along the top bar of icons.

As soon as you touch record, the recording bar – divided into measures – appears at the top. Just keep playing your song and when you are ready, touch the Stop icon. You can then touch the Play icon to play back what you recorded. Your recording gets saved and is now available to "layer over" other instruments or edit.

Editing a Song

Next to the instrument icon along the top bar of icons is the Edit icon. When you switch to Edit mode, you see the timeline of the song at the top. To edit your song:

1. Double tap the song in the timeline.
2. Choose to Cut, Copy, Delete, Loop, Split or Edit the song.
3. In Edit mode, touch a note to Cut, Copy, Delete or change the Velocity
4. Touch in an empty part of the song to add a note.

I found the editing process a bit cumbersome and complicated and it in involved some trial and error to actual pin down a specific note and change its character or delete it entirely.

To add a pre-recorded instrumental accompaniment to your musical creation, just touch the Apple Loop icon along the top right hand bar of icons and choose an instrument to add to the time line. You can select the number of bars, the genre along with the instrument. Just hold and drag to the timeline. In this example, I dragged the 70s Electric Piano 08 right the position in the timeline where it was needed. Now, when I hit play, both instruments are playing simultaneously.

To Add a New Instrument to the Project

Touch the "+"icon in the lower left hand corner to get to the main instrument selection screen.  Choose your instrument as you did above and practice, practice and practice some more! When you are ready, touch the record button like you did earlier and start recording your new part to the song.

What is incredibly cool here is that everything you have recorded to this point is played along with the metronome to help you keep your beat. Just come into the song at the right time with the new instrument and it will be "layered" with the other instruments you record to make your song.

Touch the Edit icon again and you will now see the new layer of the song. You can edit out parts or add in notes just as you did above.

Adjusting the Settings from the Edit Screen

There are a few additional icons along the right hand side of the top bar. The icon next to the Apple Loops icon adjust individual settings in the instruments. Just highlight a section of one of the instrumental recordings and adjust  settings like Reverb and Echo, for example.  Next to that icon is a general Settings icon which allows you to adjust:

1. Metronome – turn it on or off.
2. Count-In – this gives you time to jump into the song.
3. Sound – of the Metronome
4. Tempo
5. Key
6. Time Signature
7. Fade Out
8. AirPlay.

To Save your project, tough the My Songs icon and you will return to the main screen after saving the new song.

Using the Guitar Amp

One of the very cool features of GarageBand is the ability to use built in guitar amps and then record yourself actually playing your guitar.  There are third party accessories like the Griffin Guitar Connect Cable and the Apogee JAM Guitar input which work well for electric guitars. You can also use the built in microphone of the iPad and an acoustic guitar.

I used my Martin acoustic and the iPad mike to record a few tracks. The first thing to do is to pick an amplifier.  The default is the Clean Combo amp, but just touch the Clean Combo name to see all the amps available. You can also just swipe left or right to choose an amp.

Each amp has true to life controls, so if you own an old American Tremolo, the controls will be just like those on your own amp. I recommend playing with the controls to get the right sound, practicing your song over and over and then get ready to record.

Prior to recording, you can add beat boxes by touching the icon just under the timeline. You can also add sections to your song – giving you additional bars of recording by touching the "+" icon at the end of the timeline. If you know that the section you want to record repeats over and over – just select the Duplicate function.

Tuning your Guitar

Touch the icon of the tuning fork to find a built in tuner for your guitar – which is very handy. Strum one note at a time and the tuner will show you how far off you are from the actual note. What you want is to get the note to show up Green – meaning that your string is in tune.

Recording From a Real Guitar

Once you are ready to record, touch the red Record button as you did above and just start playing.  When you are done, touch the Stop Recording button. You can then Undo the recording if you made some mistakes or touch the Edit button as you did above to get to the editing sections. From there, you can add Apple Loops of add some percussion or maybe a piano riff or two to your guitar recording to make a complete song. Touch the My Songs icon to save your composition and get to the main screen.

Starting a Jam Session

A good GarageBand has lots of folks jamming, and now you can do this with GarageBand as well. To start a Jam session:

1. Touch the Jam session icon next to the volume control in the top bar.
2. Turn on Bluetooth if it is not already turned on (the iPad will prompt you to do this)
3. Then, you can either Create a session or Join a session if someone with an iPad near you already started one.
4. Once the iPads are connected, the "host" controls the tempo and the recording.
5. Both parties (or, up to four) play their tracks and then all tracks will show up on the iPad that started the Jam Session for editing.

Deleting Songs

After you start playing with GarageBand, you might collect a few songs in your start up page that you want to delete. Deleting a song in GarageBand is very intuitive:

1. Touch the Edit button in the top right corner
2. The songs in your start up page begin to shake.
3. Touch and hold the song you want to delete and the top bar indicator will now read "1 Song Selected."
4. Touch the Trash Can icon and delete the song.

Using iCloud

New in GarageBand is the ability to use iCloud to share songs or store them for future retrieval.  To share a song that you create on GarageBand with your iCloud account just:

1. Touch the edit button in the top right hand corner
2. Touch and hold the song to select it.
3. Touch the iCloud icon (the icon furthest to the right along the title bar)
4. Touch on the Upload Song to iCloud prompt
5. You will then notice a small iCloud icon on top of the song.

All is not a bed of roses here. What I wanted to do was upload to iCloud and then just have it magically appear on my Mac. If I upload to iCloud, that works between iOS devices.  So if I use iCloud on my iPhone and my iPad, any project done in one appears on the other.

However, to get a song onto Garage band on my Mac, I have to:

1. Touch the Edit button.
2. Touch the Share as button.
3. Choose iTunes from the menu.
4. Then Choose either iTunes or GarageBand.
5. Choose GarageBand, and sync your iPad with the computer.
6. Click on the Apps tab in iTunes and then if your click on GarageBand – you will see your song.

You can also use the Share Song to icon to send your song to Facebook, YouTube, SoundCloud, iMovie or via email.

The good

• Same great iPad interface, now in Retina
• New jamming features makes for an incredibly fun, social experience
• Additional instruments broaden GarageBand’s range

The bad

• Editing process is still a bit cumbersome and not always intuitive
• iCloud still doesn’t work as it should with the Mac (and might not until OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion launches later this year.

The Conclusion

GarageBand for the iPad is an incredibly deep and powerful app to play around with. It was very easy to get lost in this app for hours and not really produce anything except a few hours of fun.

Once you master the feel of the app and learn how to record and edit, it really is possible to turn out some quality songs. Throw in the built in amplifiers and the ability to connect an electric guitar or just play an acoustic and use the built in mike and you have a great tool.

If you are a musician  – for real or just in your own mind – this app will provide hours of fun.

$4.99 – Download now

Are you a GarageBand user? Check out this forum thread and share your thoughts!

Once you have your new iPad all set up, you’re going to want to get your contacts sorted out so you can email, iMessage, FaceTime, Skype, and otherwise stay in touch with the people that matter the most to you.

How to sync your cloud contacts to your iPad

When you set up a cloud-based email account, be it iCloud, Gmail, Hotmail, Exchange, etc. all your contacts will be synced over as well. Everything that you have online and on your other devices, like your smartphone, or on the Web, will just show up, and will stay in sync no matter where you make changes.

• How to set up and send email on your new iPad

How to add a contact on your iPad

1. Open your Contacts app from your homescreen.

2. On the left page at the bottom right, you’ll see a “+” sign. Tap on it to add a contact.

3. From here you can start inputting info about your contact. Fill out all the fields necessary and then tap Done in the upper right hand corner.

How to edit or delete a contact on your iPad

1. Find the contact you’d like to delete and select it.

2. On the right hand page at the bottom you’ll see an Edit button. Tap it.
3. If you’re editing the contact, just make the changes you need to and tap Done in the upper right hand corner when you’re finished.

4. If you’re deleting someone entirely you can just scroll all the way down and you will see a Delete Contact button. Tap it and it will ask you to confirm that you’d like to delete that contact. Tap Delete again to confirm.

That’s all there is to it. Contacts will automatically integrate with Mail and other default apps so you don’t have to type in email addresses or phone numbers. Just type the contact name and it should pull just exactly the right information, as long as it’s in your contacts. And if you’re synced with iCloud, ActiveSync, or any other type of cloud service for contacts, your changes will also be reflected on any other iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch you have set up as well.

Additional resources:

• The new iPad – everything you need to know
• iPad email help and discussion forum
• Even more iPad tips

The new iPad has a built-in Camera app that not only lets you shoot 5 megapixel photos, but does a surprisingly good job at recording 1080p video as well. What’s more, the built-in Photos app lets you trim your videos right on the iPad. And if you need more powerful editing, complete with titles and transitions, there are a couple of great App Store apps for that!

How to record video

Recording video with your iPad is very simple.

1. Tap the Camera app on your iPad’s home screen
2. On the bottom right had corner you’ll find a toggle to switch between photo and video mode. Tap it to switch it to the right and under the video icon.
3. To the right of this switch, you’ll see the button that switches between the front, FaceTime camera, and the rear, iSight camera.
4. I recommend holding the iPad with the home button on the right so that your hand doesn’t obstruct the view of the camera.
5. In the middle of the right side of the screen (and right next to the home button) you’ll see the record button. Tap this to start recording. Tap it again to end recording.
6. To watch the video you just recorded, tap the thumbnail in the lower left corner. You can also find the video in your **Camera Roll* in the Photos app.

How to trim a video

Apple has included the basic editing ability of trimming your videos with the iPad. Any other editing will need to be done on a 3rd party app (see below).

1. Access your video from either your Camera Roll in the Photos app, or from the Camera app by tapping the thumbnail after recording a video.
2. If you don’t see the bar at the top of the screen, tap anywhere (except on the play button)
3. In the middle of the toolbar at the top of the screen, you’ll see a timeline for your video. The curser in the middle indicates which part of the video you’re watching (or will watch if you hit play).
4. Surrounding the timeline is a gray border with ends that have little handles. Tap one of these handles.
5. The border will turn yellow and you can drag the handles along your timeline.
6. Hold your finger down on one of the handles to zoom in to the timeline for more precision.
7. Once you’ve adjusted your endpoints as desired, tap the play button to the left of the timeline to preview your selection.
8. When it’s exactly how you want, tap Trim in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
9. You’ll then be prompted to select Trim Original or to Save as a New Clip. Tap your choice.

How to edit your videos

If you want to edit, add titles or transitions, or otherwise make your videos even more fantastic before uploading, you can do that right on your iPad with either Apple’s iMovie or Avid Studio.

• iMovie for iPad and iPhone review
• Avid Studio for iPad review

How to share you videos

Once you’re done and your videos are perfect, the iPad also makes it really easy to share them in a number of different ways.

1. If they’re in your Camera Roll, you can sync them with iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC, and from there, do anything you want with them.
2. If you have an Apple TV you can use AirPlay to wirelessly beam them to your big screen HDTV for full on home theater viewing experience.
3. If you have the Apple HDMI adapter, you can plug your iPad directly into any HDTV or display that has HDMI ports and get the same results.
4. If you want to share them with the internet world, you can upload your videos directly to YouTube or Facebook with just a few taps.

Additional resources:

• All new iPad tips and how-tos
• New iPad help and discussion forums