Apple applied for a couple of interesting patents at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. One of the technologies focuses on a tablet smart cover , which will feature both built-in battery and induction charging tech. The other patent application is for a camera offering optical zoom, but still small enough to fit inside a mobile device.

Apple launched iPad Smart Case – a classic folio tablet case designed to fit the Apple iPad 2 and the new iPad. The new official case is made from highly durable polyurethane material and offers an all-round protection for the tablet while remaining ultra-slim and lightweight. The new case is basically a combination of a back protector and a Smart Cover attached to it.

The simplicity of the Smart Cover is great: a foldable, typable, flexible accessory that looks thin and sleek on your Apple iPad. But aren’t you forgetting about something? Aren’t you neglecting the less glamorous parts of your tablet? Just because you love the Smart Cover doesn’t mean that you can’t have it all—protection and grip all around, something that Smart cover compatible cases offer.

This week Tablet Insight is singing a bit of a different tune. I want to take time out to review the massive, extensive, exhaustive work done by iLounge in their newest effort: a comprehensive buyer’s guide to everything Apple iPad related. At over 180 pages, I will take you through a whistle stop highlight tour of the guide—new info, new ideas, new numbers, and the Apple new iPad. Certainly no time for looking to the past!

The moment all Apple fans have been waiting for is here – Tim Cook announced the next generation iPad in front of a cheering crowd in San Francisco. The first surprise came right at the start of the event: the new device isn’t called the iPad 3, as many were expecting; nor the iPad HD, which also was a popular prediction. The new tablet is simply named “the iPad”. Apple CEO Tim Cook shared a bit of the strategy behind: “We are redefining the category that Apple created with the original iPad.”

With the announcement of its new iBooks Author app, Apple may be set to revolutionize how digital publishing goes forth in the 2010’s. This time, the company is targeting the student population by taking on textbooks. The results could be astounding—for both Apple and for learners.

Tablets are more and more an everyday feature on our lives, which is why some people out there are taking their tablet cases to the next level. Perhaps at first it was about protecting your Apple iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, but now style and fashion have begun to make its way into the tablet case world, pointing out that these tablets are not just gadgets, but are an integral part of lifestyles.

Another evening in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show—the biggest electronics trade fair in the world—has seen Research in Motion (RIM), maker of BlackBerry smartphones, scramble to catch up with the other tablet makers.

Every once in a while, a perfect storm of technology, innovation and creativity come together to change the course of how we use everyday items. Books have been printed in more or less the same manner for hundreds of years and now the combo of tablets and Internet are changing all of that.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is one of the biggest trade shows out there, acting as a central point for the growing global consumer electronics industry. Here, firms come to show off their new products and latest innovations.