Apple Seen Prepping Thinner iPad For 2011

Apple plans to launch early next year a second-generation iPad that's thinner and capable of running on cellular networks worldwide, according to media reports.

The next iPad will reportedly include a Qualcomm chip that makes it possible to run the 3G version of the tablet-style computer on CDMA and GSM cellular networks. Such a move would make it possible for the one device to run on the cellular networks of the four major U.S. wireless carriers -- AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless -- as well as on the networks of carriers in Europe and Asia.

"Recent checks suggest Apple is going to be ratcheting down production of the existing 3G iPad over the next two months in anticipation of ramping up a new World iPad that is powered by Qualcomm and will run on both GSM- and CDMA-based networks around the world," said Brian Blair, analyst for Wedge Partners, as cited Friday by The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital Web site.

Blair said that his recent Qualcomm channel checks also reveal that Apple is preparing to build about 48 million iPads next year and that the devices will be thinner than the current model. To reduce the thickness, Apple is making the new iPad out of a single piece of metal, essentially adopting a manufacturing process similar to what it uses for its unibody MacBooks.

Apple doesn’t comment on future products. However, Ezra Gottheil, analyst for Technology Business Research, told InformationWeekthat the report makes sense, given Apple's longtime strategy of avoiding the production of several versions of the iPhone to run on networks based on different standards. In the U.S., for example, the iPhone has only run on AT&T's network since its release in 2007, though a Verizon version is reportedly near completion.

"It certainly makes sense for Apple to produce a run-anywhere product," Gottheil says of the iPad report. "Apple always wants a definitive, single product."

Meanwhile, Taiwan-based DigiTimes quoted anonymous sources in reporting that Ibiden, Tripod Technology and TTM Technologies will be the initial manufacturers of the printed circuit boards for the new iPad, which the publication says Apple is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2011.

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Apple iPad 2 On Way, World Version Coming 2011? » Phone Reviews

Apparently mass production is to begin on the next generation Apple iPad, the iPad 2 in February of next year; however it appears that the iPad 2 isn’t the only iPad that may surface in 2011.

According to an article over on Slash Gear, DigiTimes has outed the iPad 2 suppliers which apparently suggests a Q1 release. But the big news here is that there may be another iPad making its debut in 2011 as well.

Apparently AllThingsD quotes Brain Blair and analyst for Wedge Partners as saying Apple has selected Qualcomm’s multi-mode GSM/CDMA modem for what is being called a “World iPad,” which could play nice on both the Verizon and AT&T networks.

Here’s what Blair said…“Recent checks … suggest Apple is going to be ratcheting down production of the existing 3G iPad over the next two months in anticipation of ramping up a new World iPad that is powered by Qualcomm and will run on both GSM and CDMA based networks around the world.”

And what would this new iPad look like? Blair reckons…“We … understand the new iPad is thinner than the existing model and is essentially made from one piece of metal with no pins needed. We understand it requires a new type of manufacturing process as a result, similar to the company’s unibody approach seen in MacBooks”

Now the thing is this, will people rush out and purchase the Apple iPad 2 if they know a newer World iPad will be coming along later in the year?

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Jailbreak iPad on iOS 4.2.1 GM with PwnageTool Bundle

PwnageTool Bundle to Jailbreak iOS 4.2.1 Gold Master on iPad with old Bootrom is released and available for download. The hacker has released patch for installing apps on your iPad after jailbreaking. PwnageTool helps to cook custom firmware .IPSW files which preserves the baseband so that device can be unlocked with the existing Ultrasn0w version as currently unlock for the latest baseband are  not available .  Earlier msft.guy has released the PwnageTool Bundle for iPad on iOS 4.2 GM and iPhone 3GS running iOS 4.2 GM version.

To Jailbreak your iPad running on iOS 4.2.1 GM you need to first download iOS 4.2.1 GM from here, iTunes 10.1 here, PwnageTool 4.1.2 and latest PwnageTool Bundle for iOS 4.2.1 GM from link here. Save all the downloaded files in a folder on desktop. Now you just need to follow the instructions below to jailbreak your iPad.

Download iOS 4.2.1 GM for iPad and iTunes 10.1 for Mac.Download PwnageTool 4.1.2 and place it on the desktop.Download the latest version of PwnageTool Bundle for iOS 4.2.1 GM from msft.guy here. Extract the downloaded bundle to your desktop.Now, right click on the downloaded PwnageTool and click on ‘Show Package Contents” from the drop down menu.Go to Contents/Resources/FirmwareBundles/ and paste iPad1,1_4.2.1_8C148.bundle file in this location and close this folder.Now start this patched version of PwnageTool and select iPad as your device and you will now notice that PwnageTool will automatically detect iOS 4.2.1 GM firmware file.Now you can follow steps from step 7 to step 11 from the guide here for PwnageTool for iOS 4.2 beta.

Now your iPad should be jailbroken successfully. As we know Cydia is broken on iOS 4.2.1 GM but msft.guy has also released a patch to run Cydia. Use Cydia binary from http://apt.telesphoreo.org/cydia/debs/cydia_1.0.3222-73_iphoneos-arm.deb, download this Cydia.patch file and place it in the Cydia.app directory on your device (SSH) and carry out following steps in sequence from command prompt.

Steps to patch Cydia:

cd /Applications/Cydia.app/mv Cydia_ Cydia.bakbspatch Cydia.bak Cydia_ Cydia.patchcopy to /Applications/Cydia.app/Cydia_chmod +x+s /Applications/Cydia.app/Cydia_

Cydia still crashes when trying to customize categories, but installing and updating packages seems to work OK.

iPad is now jailbroken on iOS4.2.1 GM with Cydia running so that you can install Cydia applications. iOS 4.2.1 final release is expected next week after final testing and soon after that we will get the unlock for the latest basebands and jailbreaks. To keep yourself updated just stay connected with us and join us on twitter or facebook for immediate and latest updates. You can check here more updates on Cydia and jailbreaks for iOS 4.2.1.

Tagged as: iOS 4.2.1 GM, ipad, Jailbreak, PwnageTool

linkwithin_text='You might also like to Read :'

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‘World iPad’ on tap for 2011?

An iPad with 3G support for carriers around the world, including both GSM and CDMA operators? That's the prediction of at least one analyst, who's also anticipating a front-facing camera and a slimmer design for the next-generation iPad.

Based on the usual "channel checks" with component makers, Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair believes the new iPad—which, mind you, hasn't even been announced yet—will come with a new "multimode" chip developer by Qualcomm that would be capable of connecting to both GSM networks (like AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA networks (like Sprint and—of course—Verizon Wireless), All Things Digital's John Paczkowski reports.

Such a "multimode" chip would allow Apple to build a single iPad 3G for the world—a "world iPad," as Blair puts it.

It would also grease the wheels for a new iPad 3G on Verizon Wireless, which recently started selling the current iPad—but just the Wi-Fi-only version, bundled with a MiFi mobile hotspot.

There's also been mounting speculation (bordering on certainty) that the iPhone will be coming to Verizon next year, with one of the initial thoughts being that Apple had a multimode iPhone up its sleeves. The current iPhone is based on GSM technology, perfect for AT&T but a no-go for Verizon.

So far, though, all signs point to Apple building a separate, CDMA-only version of the iPhone for Verizon.

Meanwhile, Wedge Partners analyst Blair also believe that one of the most often requested features on the iPad—namely, a front-facing camera—is coming to the so-called iPad 2, which could also see a thinner, unibody design, similar to Apple's slim-and-trim MacBooks.

Aren't all the predictions a little premature, though, given that Apple hasn't said a peep about a new iPad?

Well, perhaps, but keep in mind that it's almost been a year since Steve Jobs first unveiled the original iPad, and given Apple's typical one-year refresh cycle for its headliners, we're about due for some news about the virtually guaranteed iPad 2.0.

Earlier predictions from industry analysts have, like Blair, pointed to a lighter, slimmer design, at least one built-in camera, and perhaps even a mini USB port to go along with Apple's proprietary 30-pin iPod connector.

There had also been chatter of a smaller iPad—say, 7 inches, same as the just-released Samsung Galaxy Tab.

But Steve Jobs put the kibosh on that idea after he called 7-inch tablets like the Tab "dead on arrival" because "users cannot reliably tap, flick or pinch" elements on such a small screen, which (as Jobs pointed out) is only 45 percent as large as the current iPad's 9.7-inch display. (The utility of a small screen is a matter of opinion, of course.)

What features would you like to see in a new iPad? Or are you spurning Apple in favor of an Android-powered tablet, like Samsung's—or what about the BlackBerry PlayBook, for that matter?

Related:

— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

Follow me on Twitter!

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Oprah Magazine on iPad Gives More By Showing Fewer Ads | BNET

Hearst has finally brought O: The Oprah Magazine to the iPad. The twist is that the magazine only has two advertisers. It’s a risky move, but it could win big by bringing less clutter to the digital magazine and more readers to the publication.

The two advertisers are big dogs: Disney (DIS) and Lexus. Oprah Winfrey is a huge draw, as reflected in the fat O magazine, so Hearst could have packed the multimedia edition with tons of ads.

By limiting the ads, however, Hearst creates a special experience. First, it separates O from other iPad magazines by avoiding too many distracting ads. Unlike print pubs, iPad ads are flush with built-in YouTube videos, sliding panels, and other sometimes garish tricks. (Advertisers are always quick to take advantage of any new multimedia trick, like Flash-built websites a decade ago and moving gifs the decade before that.) It gives the digital O a hint of simple sophistication, as well as the subtle message that Hearst is not letting every advertiser with a budget through the door.

Second, it prevents the relatively older O audience from being intimidated by the technology. The average O magazine reader skews older than for, say, Wired, so he or she will probably be slower to adapt to the fancy and potentially overwhelming ads peppering competing digital publications.

O: The Oprah Magazine made a brave step by keeping the advertising limited. It is a practice other older-skewing, high-end publications should consider as well.

Photo courtesy of numberstumper // CC 2.0

Related:

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The iPad 2 is coming, rumored to run on various networks

Maybe this is why those insanely low iPad prices keep popping up for holiday shoppers – it’s time to make room for the next round. All Things Digital reports that analyst Brian Blair says Apple is busy developing the iPad 2, which could be on shelves early next year. According to AppleInsider, production on the current iPad will end in January to make way for the new model.

As can be expected, the new iPad will feature FaceTime and come equipped with a camera on each side, all in a slimmed down package. But these additions pale in comparison to the real upgrade: a GSM-CDMA radio chip. There’s reason to believe that the tablet will implement this device, enabling it to run on various networks – i.e., Verizon customers could use the iPad without carrying around the $30-a-month MiFi device. In fact, AT&T (obviously), Verizon, and Sprint customers would all be able to provide connectivity for the iPad 2 (word is still out on T-Mobile, since it uses a different frequency band for 3G than AT&T). Apple is apparently labeling this capability as making the new iPad a “world mode” device.

Blair claims that “Apple is preparing to build approximately 48 million iPads in calendar 2011.” And making the second-generation iPad globally available is a wise choice if Apple wants to onto hold its edge over tablet competition.

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Want To Download eBooks For iPad ? – Grab the Hottest Ebooks For <b>...</b>

Want To Download eBooks For iPad ? – Grab the Hottest Ebooks For iPad 24/7 Access

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If you are looking for ebooks and ibooks, you can easily find them on the myPadMedia official webpage. You can decide from the many unusual ebooks that are accessible, and also find the latest releases of the ebooks that you are looking for. There are a lot of great new iPad eebooks and iebooks available that you may be attracted in. you can also utilize the web site to comprehend the assessments that have been written by others who have used the downloads and read the iPad ebooks that are available.

Download ebooks for iPad

When you are looking for new-fangled downloads for your iPad, and you do not know where to find the ones that you want, you can use at the moment the iPad book downloading site to find everything that you need and also read what others have said about the products. There are a number of different types of iPad ebooks that are presented that you can use on the iPad and download effortlessly so you can immediately read. You can seek out through all of the available types of iPad ebooks downloads that are on the web site, and also find any other iPad apps that you are searching for.

You can also search and select for the title of the iPad ebooks that you want, or by the selections that are available. When you want to find the finest arrangement on all of the ebooks that you want to get for your iPad and any of the other iPad downloads that you may be fascinated in, you can now easily go online and become a member of mypadmedia to download the ipad ebooks and any other programs that you need. They are affordable to use, and they are easy to download to your iPad to be able to use when you want anytime and anywhere you want. It is a great way to get the ebooks that you want.

Download ebooks for iPad

Since its development, the iPad has excited consumers like few other products. The portability and versatility are all things that consumers are looking for. Another thing that you may not think about is the number of iPad downloads that are made for it. There is plenty of accessorizing you can do to go with your newest cool tool.

Article from articlesbase.com

Find More Ebooks On Ipad Articles

This book will teach you how to publish your book on the iPad using FastPencil. From idea through distribution and sales, you will learn every step of the writing and publishing process. When you have finished this book you will be able to confidentl

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iPad 2 has 'em sleuthing and guessing

Published: Nov. 19, 2010 at 3:42 PM

CUPERTINO, Calif., Nov. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. technology giant Apple's second generation iPad will likely include video chatting capability, two cameras and a mini USB port, industry analysts said.

It takes some sleuthing and some guesswork to figure out Apple's next move. The company is known for its tight-lipped policy regarding research and development.

But PCWorld reported Friday the sleuthing has been brisk.

Intuitive Hunch No. 1: As Apple put mobile video chat programming called FaceTime on the iPhone 4 and then on the iPad Touch in September, it was a good bet it would be included on the second generation iPad.

Intuitive Hunch No. 2: It would follow the next iPad has a front-facing camera.

Sleuthing Coup No. 1: Investment firm Detwiler Fenton, having researched Apple's supply chain, concluded the iPad 2 will also have a rear-facing camera.

Educated Guess No. 1: Goldman Sachs analysts have postulated the new device would be thinner than the first iPad and replace the 30-pin dock connector with a mini USB port.

Technical news service Digitimes, based in Taiwan, said Apple would start production of the iPad 2 in February, which reveals another reason for Apple's secrecy: The company doesn't want consumers to hold off on holiday purchases of the original iPad due to enticing features on the next generation, PCWorld said.

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Elgan: Are gadgets bad for kids?

Computerworld - I predicted back in March that Apple's iPad would become "the children's toy of the year." In that column, I pointed out why kids, parents and the "children's culture industry" would all love the iPad.

For their coverage of the 2010 holiday season, major news media are now reporting on the iPad-for-kids phenomenon, and several picked up my column, including USA Today. A lot of that coverage centers around whether gadgets in general, and iPads in particular, are good or bad for parents to give to children as gifts.

My column merely predicted that the iPad would be massively popular. I took no position on the wisdom of giving gadgets to kids. So I'll do that here: It's generally a bad idea.

We make a great number of distinctions between activities that are appropriate for children and those that are not.

PG-13 ratings for movies and E ratings for video games tell parents that content has been approved for kids. Stores can't legally sell cigarettes and porn to children. You have to be 21 years old to enter a bar. YouTube makes you "sign in" before viewing racy videos.

The purpose of such bans and restrictions is to protect children from harm.

Do computers and gadgets harm kids? If so, shouldn't they be banned too -- if not by law, then at least by parental decree?

I think gadgets do cause harm, in the following ways:

Addiction. Computers and gadgets are addictive. Games, texting and frivolous online videos are especially so. It's also likely that the earlier kids start, the stronger their lifelong addiction.

Distraction. Smartphones, PCs, iPads and other devices are always there, offering a universe of entertainment. This makes it difficult for kids to focus on other things. Homework, for example. Chores. Dinnertime conversations. Distraction mode quickly becomes a habit so strongly ingrained that some kids simply cannot break it.

Shortened attention spans. It used to be that kids didn't have the patience to watch long YouTube videos. Now they don't even have the patience to watch short ones. When they bring up a video of some horrible skateboard accident, for example, if the face-plant doesn't happen in the first three seconds, they quickly swipe to fast-forward. The moment the injury has occurred, they're off to the next video. Attention spans have been shortening steadily for many years, but in the past few they seem to have gone off a cliff thanks to electronic media.

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Verizon iPad With CDMA Coming In 2011? Analyst Reports That Next..

This story is kinda strange. Brain Blair, an analyst at Wedge Partners, is sharing some inside knowledge on the next iPad. Not the iPad 2, necessarily, but it could be a mid-cycle refresh for Apple. The headliner of new features for this “next iPad”, is that it will be a “World iPad” that will have both GSM and CDMA radios. Uh, does Mr. Blair know that CDMA bands are mostly an American oddity?

Since GSM is the global standard, the “Global” moniker is usually attached to Sprint and Verizon devices (both CDMA carriers) that carry a backup GSM radio with a SIM slot – for international travelers to pop in a SIM and use a local carrier. Since the iPad 3G already uses GSM bands, it makes NO sense that they’d add CDMA and then call it a “World iPad”.

Adding CDMA does make since though. Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg confirmed that the two companies are working together and this year we saw Verizon start selling the iPad with a MiFi hotspot device to get internet access on the go. Definitely a clunky solution (and very un-Apple, if we say so), so it’s possible that Apple could come out with a CDMA iPad in the future.

Blair goes on to report that the “new iPad” will be “thinner than the existing model and is essentially made from one piece of metal with no pins needed.” So, basically, Apple is going with  a new unibody construction like they’ve done with the MacBooks. Recent rumors have pinned the shell of the new iPad being made out of carbon fiber – not metal. Nobody said that a carbon fiber chassis can’t be built with unibody construction though (ask BMW).

What do you think about the odds of this “World iPad” being real?

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iPhone 4 and iPad merging of the telephone and the personal computer...

Playboy's photo of 29 year-old Steve Jobs.

Playboy republished 1985 interview with Apple CEO Steve Jobs on the internet.

I already read this interview, but I’m surprised to see this in the headlines.

According to Switch.com and Atlantic.com, Playboy publishes their interview with 29 year-old Steve Jobs 25 years ago via the magazine’s UK site.

The Playboy interview with Apple CEO Steve Jobs was published in the February 1985 issue of the magazine, one year after the début of the Macintosh.

Here are my two favorites. First, Playboy Magazine’s question about Mac, and the possibility of it being out of date. And, Steve Jobs talking about making portable products (like iPhone 4 and iPad, LOL):

Playboy: At the rate things are changing, won’t Mac itself be out of date within a few years?

“Jobs: Before Macintosh, there were two standards: Apple II and IBM PC. Those two standards are like rivers carved in the rock bed of a canyon. It’s taken years to carve them–seven years to carve the Apple II and four years to carve the IBM. What we have done with Macintosh is that in less than a year, through the momentum of the revolutionary aspects of the product and through every ounce of marketing that we have as a company, we have been able to blast a third channel through that rock and make a third river, a third standard. In my opinion, there are only two companies that can do that today, Apple and IBM. Maybe that’s too bad, but to do it right now is just a monumental effort, and I don’t think that Apple or IBM will do that in the next three or four years. Toward the end of the Eighties, we may be seeing some new things.

Playboy: And in the meantime?

Jobs: The developments will be in making the products more and more portable, networking them, getting out laser printers, getting out shared data bases, getting out more communications ability, maybe the merging of the telephone and the personal computer.

Playboy: You have a lot riding on this one. Some people have said that Macintosh will make or break Apple. After Lisa and Apple III, Apple stock plummeted and the industry speculated that Apple might not survive.

Jobs: Yeah, we felt the weight of the world on our shoulders. We knew that we had to pull the rabbit out of the hat with Macintosh, or else we’d never realize the dreams we had for either the products or the company.”

Epic. So, so.. epic.

Source 1, source 2

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Apple Readies iPad 2, Report Says

The iPad might be the hot tech gift this holiday season, but prospective iPad buyers may want to wait for January as rumblings about a new iPad are starting to surface.

Apple has sold 7.46 million iPads as of late September, and the company appears to be counting on a big holiday season for its popular tablet device. The iPad is already available through Apple as well as major retail partners such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart. We've also heard that discount department retailer TJ Maxx is carrying limited supplies of the iPad for the holiday season. So deals might be found if Apple wants to reduce inventory in anticipation of iPad 2.0.

We'll probably start hearing more about the next iPad from December to early January, but here's a look at what is being said now about the next-generation iPad.

FaceTime

It's pretty clear that the next iPad should have FaceTime, Apple's mobile video chat standard. FaceTime debuted with the iPhone 4, then it moved to the iPad Touch in September so the next logical move would be to put FaceTime on the iPad.

As early as February, reports surfaced that the current iPad's internal frame had a space for a camera. Then in September, an anonymous source with "knowledge of Apple's future product plans" told Apple Insider the iPad-maker was actively testing a version of FaceTime for the iPad.

The Camera Debate

If the next-generation iPad came with FaceTime, then the device would clearly need a front-facing camera. But it's being debated whether the iPad will come stacked with a rear-facing camera as well. Analysts at investment firm Detwiler Fenton said in late October that, based on research within Apple's supply chain, the next iPad will have a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, according to Barron's.

But does an iPad rear-facing camera make sense for the device? Samsung's recently launched 7-inch Galaxy Tab has a 3.2-megapixel camera; however, many reviews of the device said using the tablet computer as a digital camera was a little awkward. If snapping pictures with a 7-inch screen is awkward, imagine using a nearly 10-inch device to do the same thing.

Mini USB?

Goldman Sachs analysts in September floated the idea that the next iPad 2, aside from being thinner and lighter, would sport a mini USB port, according to Bloomberg. The mini USB would replace the 30-pin dock connector used in the current version of the iPad.

Apple is reportedly getting component manufacturers ready for the iPad 2 and will start ramping up production of the device in February, according to Taiwan-based Digitimes. Although most critics and analysts expect to see a revamped iPad in January, one year after the original iPad launched, very few rumors about the device have surfaced so far.

Apple has sold 7.46 million iPads as of late September, and the company appears to be counting on a big holiday season for its popular tablet device. The iPad is already available through Apple as well as major retail partners such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart. We've also heard that discount department retailer TJ Maxx is carrying limited supplies of the iPad for the holiday season.

Connect with Ian Paul (@ianpaul) and Today@PCWorld on Twitter for the latest tech news and analysis.

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Six iPad features laptops should copy

Sales of the Apple iPad are booming. The recipe for the tablet's success could contain some important lessons for laptop makers, says Jason Hiner.

In the second quarter of 2010, Apple sold 3.3 million iPads. In fact, it was the tablet device's first quarter on the market, yet it still outsold MacBook laptops by about 800,000 units. Sales of the two products together lifted Apple from seventh in the world notebook market to third.

At the same time, the other top five notebook vendors experienced slower sales growth, which suggests the iPad has cut into their market. Whether the iPad will be able to sustain these numbers will be one of the most interesting trends in the second half of the year.

Nevertheless, the iPad has already sold enough units to alarm laptop makers and nearly all of them are already working on competing tablets, in most cases powered by Google's Android operating system.

Laptop makers should also look at the factors behind the iPad's popularity and consider how some of those characteristics could be incorporated into notebooks.

1. Battery life
When Apple announced the iPad's technical specs and claimed 10 hours of battery life, I rolled my eyes. Published battery life numbers rarely stand up in the real world. But the iPad actually exceeded expectations. I've easily obtained 11 to 12 hours of battery life from my iPad, and others have reported the same thing.

That level of battery performance is important for professionals because it frees them from having to charge the device for an entire working day. Several business users I know say battery life was their primary reason for choosing the iPad.

2. Instant-on
You can click the iPad's power button and it is instantly ready to pull up a web page, calendar or email. Compare that experience with dragging your laptop into a conference room, waiting about 30 seconds to boot, logging in and then waiting again until the operating system is ready.

You may not want to fire up your laptop at the beginning of a meeting because you might appear inattentive or distracted. But if something comes up and you want to access information, you want it instantaneously without a break in the flow of the conversation or a delay that may make you look unprepared.

Some laptops can accomplish something similar by quickly leaving a sleep state when you open the lid, but this facility often causes problems with wireless networking and other basic functionality, and tends not to be as quick as the iPad.

3. Centralised software
The feature that made the iPad infinitely more useful and versatile is its massive choice of third-party applications. This software is available in a central repository, the Apple App Store, which also handles all updates for iPad apps.

That helpful arrangement contrasts with the complicated and confusing process of having to get software preloaded on your computer, buying it shrink-wrapped, or downloading it. Then nearly all the programs have their own...

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Trucks & Skulls For Your iPad !

Trucks & Skulls For Your iPad! | Comix 411 Welcome, GuestLoginRegisterBe sure to register or log in to earn points for interacting with our community!RSSSubscribe EmailNews Tips HomeTechGadgetsAppleiPhone AppsVideo GamesUnboxingHoliday Gift Guide EntertainmentCelebrity GossipMusicMoviesTelevisionComicsSportsPro SportsBasketballFootballBaseballHockey Lifestyle CuisineFashionWomenPoliticsEventsCESE3Mind CampPersonalitiesAndru EdwardsMonica EdwardsVideo ShowsThe Bleeding EdgeThe End Score ReportFilmCrunchUnboxing Live!ForumsGalleryAboutArchivesContact

On Gear Live: Video: Just how fast is the new MacBook Air?

STICKY POSTI'm done, close this Check out our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide and win some stuff!

Our 2010 Holiday Gift Guide is in full swing - we are adding recommendations daily, aimed at men, women, teens, families, techies, and more. If you need help figuring out what to get the people in your left, head on over to our Guide for some ideas. We’ll even be giving away some of the items featured this year!

Friday November 19, 2010 5:27 pmTrucks & Skulls For Your iPad!
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Posted by Tom MasonCategories:Editorials,Video Games

Do you like Monster Trucks and Laughing Skulls? And stuff that blows up real good?

Then you’ll want to play iPad’s Game of the Week: Trucks & Skulls!

It was created by the gang at Appy Entertainment, which is run by a couple of friends of mine (Chris Ulm and Paul O’Connor) who are both comic book industry veterans. Ulm is the guy who came up with the idea for the Ultraverse, and O’Connor wrote several dozen comics back in the go-go 1980s.

Now they make games for iPhones and iPads and their newest one looks like a hit. Here’s what App Advice says in a glowing review: “Trucks and Skulls is a great game right out of the gate with a hilarious and enjoyable theme coupled with excellent gameplay.”

And Apple, the company that puts the lower case “i” in front of anything that can be trademarked named Trucks & Skulls as their “iPad Game Of The Week.”

The premise behind Trucks & Skulls is simple: it’s a physics-based puzzler where you smash nitro-burning monster trucks into piles of laughing skulls. Can you find a better digital time killer than that and still be safe for work? I think not.

O’Connor calls Trucks & Skulls “Our silliest, loudest, and (we think) our best game to date.” That’s saying a lot since these guys also launched Zombie Pizza and FaceFighter.

Here’s a brief rundown of stuff in the game: monster trucks (with names like Insanerator, Thrust Monster and Triclops), laughing skulls, hot lava, chain reactions, missiles, unobtanium, indestructium, 120 levels, 3 different worlds and explosions...lots of explosions.

A version of Trucks & Skulls for the iPhone & iPod Touch are expected shortly. They've already been submitted to Apple for approval.

Now I’m off to download some stuff. See you when I get back!

[Artwork: Trucks & Skulls, © Appy Entertainment]

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iPad Tops Holiday Tech Wish List, No Surprise there!

A lot of people are wanting to buy electronic items for the holidays for others (or themselves, let’s face it).

And the number one item that tops this list, the iPad! Yeah, this is probably one of those “do I really need to report on this” articles. This is an interesting twist, though, as 3D HDTV units are at the bottom of this list.

It’s going to be a strange holiday. I would imagine that I’ll probably follow this article up with the actual number of iPads sold after the holiday. Doesn’t look like that iPad 2.0 will be here before then.

Source

Popularity: 1% [?]

http://www mobilewhack com/ipad-tops-holiday-tech-wish-list-no-surprise-there/

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Apple May Introduce Thinner IPad Tablet Early Next Year, Analysts Predict

Signage is displayed at an Apple retail store in Salt Lake City, Utah. Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg's Mike Firn reports from Tokyo on Japan's efforts to attract more overseas visitors. The number of Chinese travelers to Japan rose to a record 137,500 in September. Last month Japan and the U.S. signed an Open Skies treaty erasing limits on flights and setting the stage for greater collaboration between the nations’ airlines. (Source: Bloomberg)

Apple Inc. may introduce a thinner iPad in the first half of next year with features such as a camera for video-calling and chips made by Qualcomm Inc. that let it work on global wireless networks, analysts say.

Production may start as early as January, with an introduction to the public by February or March, said Mike Abramsky, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets in Toronto. The device will feature Qualcomm chips that allow a Web connection on both GSM and CDMA networks, the dominant radio standards used in mobile phones, said Brian Blair of Wedge Partners, who said he expects an April debut.

“They can sell it around the globe without having to worry if it works with one carrier’s network or another carrier’s network,” said Blair, who is based in New York.

Infineon Technologies AG, whose wireless business is being acquired by Intel Corp., now makes those radio chips for the iPad.

The announcement’s timing would put the iPad on an annual cycle of introductions similar to those of iPhones and iPods.

Paul Jacobs, chief executive officer of San Diego-based Qualcomm, declined to comment when asked in a Nov. 16 interview if his company’s chips will be part of new products by Apple. Apple declined to comment, said Natalie Harrison, a spokeswoman.

Suppliers of parts to the iPad have had fourth-quarter orders cut by about 10 percent, said Patrick Wang an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities in New York. The most likely explanation is that Apple wants to draw down inventory ahead of the new model’s launch in the first quarter of 2011, he said.

Bigger Than IPod

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, fell $1.70 to $306.73 at 4 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have risen 46 percent this year. Qualcomm, up 3.7 percent this year, advanced 24 cents to $47.96 in Nasdaq trading.

The iPad, which went on sale in April, accounted for about 13.7 percent of Apple’s revenue last quarter, more than the nine-year-old old iPod media player. The device helped establish a market for tablet computers that blend the capabilities of a smartphone and notebook computer, leading rivals such Samsung Electronics Co. and Research In Motion Ltd. to introduce their own models.

Apple may sell 48 million iPads next year, said Blair.

To contact the reporters on this story: Adam Satariano in San Francisco at asatariano1@bloomberg.net; Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net

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Apple Ramps Up iPad Production Even with iPad 2 Near

Heading into a holiday-season battle with a slew of new tablet computers, Apple is ramping up production of its iPad, according to one analyst. "Apple has made slight upward revisions to [the fourth quarter of calendar year 2010]," wrote Mike Abramsky of RBC Capital Markets in a research note for investors received by us on Friday.

He added that the increase "suggests Apple expects strong holiday sell-through, despite Android [tablet] competition and fears of MacBook Air cannibalization." Apple last month released its latest ultra-thin laptops, which CEO Steve Jobs said were designed to function like a combination Mac and iPad.

Looking Toward iPad 2

Abramsky also said there are signs in the supply chain that an upgraded iPad is in the works, and speculation has begun about the specs of the new device, which is all but certain to include a camera and Apple's FaceTime video-chat application. Some reports say the refresh may have a Qualcomm chip that would allow the same device to work with AT&T and T-Mobile's GSM networks or Verizon Wireless' CDMA.

Keeping sales of the first-generation iPad without camera strong as word of the new device spreads could be a challenge for Apple. But Current Analysis consumer-devices analyst Avi Greengart says that isn't likely to be a significant issue.

"The sales trend is strong going into the holiday season," he said. "They can barely make enough of these things." While price reductions have been used to push older models in the past, such as the original iPhone, Greengart said, "If they were going to do an across-the-board price cut, they would have done it before the week of Black Friday."

In addition to its own retail and online stores, Apple sells the iPad through Best Buy and Wal-Mart, and reports Friday said the retailer T.J.Maxx may soon begin selling the devices at a discount.

While Apple sets a minimum advertised price for its authorized resellers, retailers can find their way around it if they want to use Apple products as loss leaders, such as offering a store credit as a rebate.

Apple has found a relatively unchallenged tablet market since it launched the iPad in April, but now faces rivals from Dell, ARCHOS, Samsung and others, with Research In Motion's PlayBook due early next year.

Android Matchup

Greengart said Samsung's Android-powered Galaxy Tab is the strongest iPad alternative. "As far as the products I have personally tested, Samsung [Tab] is the strongest competitor, although the Android apps are not formatted for the screen size in all cases. It has a very fast processor and is very responsive. And Samsung has done a really good job with distribution on all the major carriers."

A ChangeWave survey of tablet users earlier this month found the iPad was far and away most popular among 3,108 consumers, 80 percent of whom said they were most likely to buy an iPad compared to eight percent for the PlayBook, three percent for the Galaxy Tab, two percent for the Hewlett-Packard Slate, and one percent each for the ARCHOS Tablet, Dell Streak and Sony Dash.

Abramsky wrote in his research note that Apple will make 40 million iPads in 2011, but noted the company lowered the number of CDMA-compatible iPhones it will make next year from 30 million to 20 million. That phone has been widely reported to be targeted for Verizon Wireless stores, although Apple and Verizon have declined to confirm or deny the reports.

The 20 million, said Abramsky, is still significantly above street expectations for a Verizon iPhone, implying a strong Verizon launch.

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Analyst: Apple working on thinner, carrier-neutral iPad for 2011..

A brand brand brand brand brand brand brand new gossip is popping up, usually in time for consumers to go do their legal legal holiday tech shopping: the single researcher believes Apple (AAPL) is operative upon the new, thinner iPad for 2011 which would work upon all of the Big Four U.S. mobile carriers’ networks.

Brian Blair of equity researcher organisation Wedge Partners, has checked the numbers for Apple as good as Qualcomm (QCOM), as good as thinks Apple is building the “World iPad” which uses the single of Qualcomm’s multimode CDMA-GSM chips, according to the inform from All Things Digital. Blair’s research states which the thinly slice would capacitate it to run upon both CDMA as good as GSM networks around the universe — basically, an iPad which could hoop any carrier. It would spell the finish of the AT&T/Apple exclusivity agreement.

Apple is promissory note heavily, it seems, upon iPad being the large strike this legal legal holiday season, as good as has sole something identical to 7.46 million units as of late September. It’s display up in all kinds of brand brand brand brand brand brand brand new places — Best Buy (BBY), Target (TGT), WalMart (WMT), Verizon (VZ) retailers, AT&T (T) retailers, Amazon.com (AMZN) as good as even more. But Blair believes prolongation of the iPad is already being corroborated down during Apple in sequence to have proceed for the World iPad, as good as the small pattern deals such as the reported $399 iPads during the small TJ Maxx stores (TJX) to collect up as Apple tries to revoke iPad register forward of the next-generation rollout.

Blair additionally states the iPad will be done from the single square of steel in the brand brand brand brand brand brand brand new production process, identical to the MacBook unibody approach, as good as which it’ll embody during slightest the front-facing camera. It’s probable even some-more improvements to have the iPad work some-more universally, identical to the small kind of USB functionality, competence uncover up in the pattern as well, as Apple prepares to go toe-to-toe with tablets from alternative companies, identical to Samsung’s (005930.KS) Galaxy Tab. Samsung’s inscription is rather cheaper, not as big as good as thinner than the iPad, as good as appears to be the strongest contender opposite Apple’s widespread mobile computing device.

A brand brand brand brand brand brand brand new carrier-neutral iPad raises the small questions, even as it answers the few. Recent moves by Apple indicate it’s scheming to go over AT&T as good as open up the inclination to alternative mobile carriers. We keep conference about the CDMA iPhone in the functions for Verizon, as good as final month Apple authorised Verizon to begin offered iPads in the sell stores; though even so, the iPads could usually bond to the Verizon network with the further of Verizon’s MiFi unstable Wi-Fi hotspot device. Carrier exclusivity for the iPad 3G stays with AT&T

So for one, the gossip begs the subject of what outcome rolling out the brand brand brand brand brand brand brand new neutral iPad will have upon the assumingly burgeoning Apple/Verizon relationship. It doesn’t appear identical to this was the intrigue all along, since the single would cruise Verizon business purchasing iPads as good as MiFis wouldn’t be as well happy if the new, improved as good as reduction technology-intensive iPad became accessible usually months after purchase.

There’s additionally the state of Apple as good as AT&T to consider, as even by all this conjecture as good as sell maneuvering upon Apple’s part, it hasn’t deviated from the AT&T-only agreement up to now. If shift was coming, it feels identical to it would have done some-more clarity to have it the small progressing this year, when Apple was slinging iPads onto the shelves of all kinds of opposite stores as good as even done it accessible in the rather singular genius to Verizon.

Regardless, someone drops an Apple conduit gossip about once the full moon, so but some-more information, it’s the difficult call to make. But the single indicator competence be the state of iPad inventories in sell stores, generally after this year. If it seems identical to stores have usually enough, or fewer than the single competence expect, it competence be the pointer which the shift is coming.

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iPad News, Reviews, Apps, Accessories, and Tips

By Roberto | November 19, 2010 | 1 comment

Over the last 8 months we’ve seen many iPad stands. We’ve covered many of them at PadGadget, and there are certainly great options for you.

A new stand available for your iPad brings an extremely lightweight body frame that is just about as thin as it gets. Even though it’s extremely thin, the iBendXL is a secure and very flexible option for your iPad.

The iBendXL has been designed to support your iPad both in portrait and landscape mode. Its design fits almost any iPad case. The manufacturer has brought us a very simple design, but one that is quite handy. All you have to do is pull the stand out its package and bend it, which will form two hooks at the front to grab the bottom edge of your iPad and an elegant curve at the back to hold securely your device.

This iPad stand brings a lot of flexibility to your lifestyle. You can use it on a plane, train, bus, in the kitchen, at a restaurant, at work, in your home office and many other places.

If you’re looking for a simple accessory for your iPad, but one that will save lots of space and can be easily carried around wherever you go, the iBendXL stand is a good choice. It will only set you back $10. And, if you happen to own an iPhone, you can also go for the iBend smaller stand, which costs $5. The iBendXL and iBend are available in black and white or in fancy printed designs.

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<b>iPad</b> 2 “hearts” Verizon iPhone 4? iOS 4.2 for <b>iPad</b> has additional <b>...</b>

iPad 2 after Verizon's iPhone 4 release? That's... so red.

Fans of Apple inc. can expect iPad 2 in April next year according to an analyst. Meanwhile, iOS 4.2 has some surprises for iPad users?

A Wall Street analyst revealed that fans of Steve Jobs and co. can expect  a second-generation iPad next year. According to CW, quoting Brian Marshall of Gleacher & Co., April 2011 is “the proper time-frame for an iPad 2.”

And why? Well, Marshall believes that Verizon’s iPhone 4 is related to iPad 2. He said: “Since I’m projecting that Apple will release a CDMA iPhone in March, both will help to equalize Apple’s seasonality.”

Clap, clap, clap. Apple has more secrets than Harry Potter’s Gryffindor.

Aside from Brian Marshall’s predictions, other tech sites and blogs think the iPad 2 will arrive earlier, like: February 2011. The basis of course is still the CDMA iPhone courtesy of Verizon Wireless.

And how about the folder, mutitasking and etc. functionalities for first gen iPad users? Well, CNET is reporting that iOS 4.2 for iPad “has plenty of features to offer.”

Aside from features that we’re already waiting for, CNET reveals that iOS 4.2 for iPad now “lets you search for local printers, search for instances of a word on Web pages, adjust brightness from the multitask screen, and much more.”

I think the “adjust brightness” function using the screen is perfect for users like grandpa and co. Reading an E-Book in iPad is one of the reasons why this tablet is an instant hit.

Source 1, source 2

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HootSuite social business tools come to iPad

Businesses and the enterprise are putting the iPad to work, and now those users can manage their social presence on Apple’s tablet, thanks to a major upgrade to HootSuite.

HootSuite is a social media dashboard designed primarily for businesses. You can manage multiple accounts across services like Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, LinkedIn, and even Foursquare. You can schedule posts for a later date, invite team members without sharing sensitive account passwords, view short URL analytics, and even get useful insight into the social reach of your followers.

The company has provided many of its best features in an iPhone app for some time, and now it’s added a native iPad interface. HootSuite 2.0 is a big universal upgrade that brings many of the service’s best features and clever interface tools to the more expansive display of Apple’s tablet.

Like HootSuite’s Website, the iPad app displays multiple columns at once and let you scroll horizontally between them, allowing you to get a bird’s-eye view of just about anything you want—Twitter replies, Facebook comments, and/or keywords searches to stay on top of the latest topics in your field.

HootSuite 2.0 is available now for free in the App Store, requiring an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running iOS 3.1 or later. HootSuite offers a variety of accounts; they start with a free ad-supported model that limits you to five social accounts, no team members, only 30 days of stats history, and just two RSS feeds that you can automatically syndicate to your accounts. Pro and Enterprise plans start at $5 per month, which bumps you up to unlimited social networks, RSS feeds, and stats history, as well as one free team member, Google Analytics integration, Facebook Insights, no ads, and more.

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Second-generation Apple iPad will likely be rolled out next April..

According to some new reports and Wall Street analysts' notes, a second-generation iPad from Apple is apparently on the cards for an April next year roll out.

The second iteration of the iPad will come a year after the original iPad's launch; and its chief addition will be a front-facing camera and support for both GSM as well as CDMA networks.

Noting that Apple will take a yearly refresh path for its popular tablet, similar to one for the iPhone, Gleacher & Co.'s Brian Marshall said: "I think April is the proper time-frame for an iPad 2. Since I'm projecting that Apple will release a CDMA iPhone in March, both will help to equalize Apple's seasonality."

Though Marshall is of the opinion that the second-generation iPad will basically be the same as the original tablet, some other analysts and bloggers have been speculating that iPad 2 may have a few notable enhancements like a thinner form factor and a higher-resolution display.

In a recent research note, analyst Brian Blair, of Wedge Partners, included some details of the next-iPad, saying that the device will be thinner than its predecessor, and is essentially made from one piece of metal, without the requirement of pins.

Blair - whose information reportedly came from "Qualcomm channel checks" - further added that the new iPad will be based on a new kind of manufacturing process, "similar to the company's unibody approach seen in MacBooks."

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Next generation iPad under development | Good E-Reader Blog - Electronic

Steve Jobs may have refuted all rumors of the making of a smaller sized iPad in the 7 inch and 5 inch categories though there are already indications of development work underway for the next generation iPad which is likely to go on sale sometime during the first half of next year. The above stems from the fact that many of the suppliers who have been entrusted with the development of several component that would find application in the second generation iPad are gearing up for production by next month.

As per reports coming in, its Ibiden, Tripod Technology and TTM Technologies that have been selected to supply the printed circuit boards or PCB of the new iPad. The companies will initially be producing the components in smaller numbers but will ramp up production towards February 2011 which is when the iPad is likely to be released. The choice of companies presents a diverse scenario as Ibiden is based in Japan, Tripod Technology operate out of Taiwan while TTM Technologies is a US based company. All three companies meet at a common point though, they all have production facilities in China which is where the components are most likely to be produced. There will be four more suppliers who will also join the second gen iPad party from February onwards though they are yet to be made public.

The expected timing of the new iPad ties in with what was being already rumored, that a new iPad will be launch in early 2011. This is also in line with the usual Apple tradition of bringing along the improved version withing one year of the release of the product. This is something that Apple has been following with the iPhone and the same should also apply to the iPad as both are based on the same operating system.

About the new iPad, while we know it will surely be an improvement over the current gen iPad, unfortunately, nothing is known of the new iPad’s feature list. However, what seems to be a surety is the inclusion of front and rear facing cameras which will allow one to engage in live chat via Apple’s FaceTime video chat service. Something that is already possible on most other Apple products. Processor speed is also likely to be enhanced along with system memory as most other tablets that have been released in recent times came with a 1 GHz processor.

Related posts:

New iPad for a 2011 Q1 launchApple doubles iPad productionNew iPad caught.. Or is it??iPad adapter to charge iPads via USB on PCsNext gen iPad to include USB port, cameraApple hiring metal experts to boost its Liquidmetal dreams

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iPad dominates soon-to-be crowded tablet computer landscape

This time last year, tablet computers were just remembrances of clunky laptops with articulating hinges that really failed to sell.

Best Buy employee Gabe Santos talks about the Apple iPad with Chandrima Deb of Dallas.

But as it has happened several times in the past, a genre of gadgets doesn't really take off until Apple is ready to jump in the market. Can you name a popular MP3 player before the iPod? Or a smart phone before the iPhone?

And jump into the tablet market Apple did in a grand fashion this spring with the announcement of the iPad, which sold 3 million units in the first 80 days.

To be fair, Apple had the tablet market to itself for most of 2010. We're just now beginning to see other companies release their own tablet computers to compete with the iPad.

So should you just walk like a zombie into your local Apple store and buy an iPad, or are the others in the field worth a look?

I've only had hands-on time with the iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab. So pay attention to release dates for the others, as they might not be available in time for this year's holiday wish lists. Lenovo Group Ltd., China's biggest personal-computer maker, recently announced that it will introduce a tablet called LePad next year.

Here's an overview of the soon-to-be crowded landscape:

If you're contemplating a tablet as a gift (to give or receive), you're probably already familiar with the iPad.

Apple's 9.7-inch touchscreen tablet that runs iOS is now available at Walmart, Target and Best Buy. By the time you're ready to buy, iOS 4.2 should be available, which adds multitasking and folders as well as Airplay to send your music and shows wirelessly from the iPad to an Apple TV.

The iPad's biggest draw has to be the convenience of more than 300,000 applications available in Apple's App Store inside iTunes.

Just in time for the holidays, Apple will engrave your iPad with a personal message for free.

The iPad is available in six configurations from $499 for a 16 gigabyte Wi-Fi version to $829 for a 64 gigabyte model with Wi-Fi and 3G.

The iPad 3G service is only available through AT&T and can be activated by the month as needed.

One of the newer players in the tablet field is Samsung, with its 7-inch Galaxy Tab.

The Galaxy runs Google's Android 2.2 operating system.

I got to sit down and play with the Galaxy for about 20 minutes the day I was writing this story and I came away impressed.

I've been a proponent of the 7-inch tablet and I'm now convinced that I'm much more interested in tablets of that size.

The Galaxy comes in a Wi-Fi-only model for $599 or with 3G Internet service from T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon and AT&T.

Sprint and T-Mobile are selling the Galaxy Tab for $399 when the buyer signs up for a two-year data plan.

The only downside to the smaller screen is in checking my Gmail account. I had hoped the Galaxy would automatically scale HTML e-mails to fit the screen. But when opening these messages, I had to scroll around to see the entire message.

The Android operating system also seems to have many layers and many settings. Apple's iOS is much simpler, with fewer choices to make.

That may or may not be a good thing, depending on how techie you consider yourself or the gift recipient.

All in all, the Galaxy is a fine tablet that does everything I could ask it to do. Plus it has front and rear cameras to shoot photos and video or for video chatting.

The Galaxy Tab can show Adobe Flash content as well as HTML5.

Blackberry's foray into tablet computing is aimed squarely at the corporate user with the new Playbook.

With a 7-inch touchscreen, the Playbook is expected to go on sale early in 2011 for "under $500," the only pricing information available to date.

The Playbook will initially ship as a Wi-Fi-only model. Models with cellular radios should follow.

The heart of the Playbook is QNX, an operating system that features multitasking.

The Playbook has a dual core processor and 1 gigabyte of RAM. It also supports Flash and HTML5 as well as Java.

It'll be available in 16, 32 and 64 gigabyte configurations. It also has a micro SD card slot for additional storage.

Blackberry handheld users can connect the Playbook to their phones via Bluetooth to access all the data such as push e-mail, calendars, tasks and documents.

The Playbook has front and rear cameras and can shoot and playback HD video through Micro HDMI.

Storage is on a micro USB card.

Firmly straddling the line between tablet and smart phone is the 5-inch Dell Streak.

First of all, the Streak is the only device in this comparison that's a full-blown 3G phone.

The Streak also runs the Android operating system and includes a GPS chip and compass to provide turn-by-turn navigation.

The Streak also treads into e-reader territory with full integration into the Amazon Kindle bookstore.

The Streak features a front-facing VGA camera and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera.

Street price is $549.99, but a two-year contract from AT&T drops the price to $299.99.

HP has entered the market with a Windows 7-powered tablet with an 8.9-inch touchscreen.

The Slate is also aimed at business users and is available from HP for $799.

Admittedly, the Slate is full featured. It runs a 1.86 GHz Intel Atom processor, 2 gigabytes of RAM, a 64 gigabyte solid state drive, and Broadcom's Crystal HD accelerator for playing 1080p video.

There's also an active digitizer (pen) that enables handwriting and drawing input.

This is a serious tablet for people who need the full Windows desktop experience.

Like most other tablets, it also has front and rear facing cameras.

Overall, the iPad still will be the best seller this holiday season.

But if you read the specs of the other tablets, you can easily see where the iPad falls short.

Adding a couple cameras and perhaps a user-addressable storage area would go a long way toward making the iPad irresistible. But then again, Apple is selling all it can make now.

Six models (three Wi-Fi only; three Wi-Fi & 3G), $499 to $829 $399 with two-year data contract (Sprint & T-Mobile); $599 without contract (Verizon); AT&T pricing expected in late November Not available until early 2011 $299.99 with two-year contract (AT&T); $549.99 without 2GB built in; bundled with 16GB micro SD card 16GB, 32GB or 64GB; also has a micro SD card slot 2GB built in; bundled with 16GB micro SD card 64GB; also has a micro SD card slot Playbook will have its own store in Blackberry App World Dell's Mobile App Store and Android Market Yes, with monthly fee on 3G-equipped models Wi-Fi-only at launch; 3G and 4G models in future

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HootSuite Releases iPad App for Social Media Management

HootSuite for iPad has arrived. With the release, the startup, which makes social media dashboards for web and mobile, has ported its business-targeted product for social media management across multiple services to the Apple device.

HootSuite for iPad includes support for multiple Twitter, Facebook (profiles and Pages) and Foursquare accounts, message scheduling, Twitter search, geo-location and click statistics. The application also offers a quick import option for existing HootSuite users looking to sync accounts.

The design of the application mirrors the column approach of other HootSuite products, and includes a stationary left-hand sidebar with a list of all streams being tracked.

HootSuite for iPad looks to be the perfect companion application for existing business users of the service who wish to manage their presence on a larger mobile screen. The multipurpose nature of the application might also help attract new users.

Just like the startup's other mobile applications, HootSuite for iPad is free with usage limitations governed by the company's previously introduced freemium business model.

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FiOS Football for iPad provides live gridiron action for some

Imagine an iPad app that let you see NFL player information, team stats, live scores, and even watch the NFL RedZone Channel stream as it airs, wherever you are.

Now keep imagining, because the new free FiOS Football app from Verizon is actually far more restrictive than that. You can indeed gain access to all those great gridiron goodies with the app, but only if (deep breath):

a) You are a FiOS customer using both FiOS Internet service and FiOS television service;

b) You are in your FiOS-connected home;

c) You are connected to the FiOS Home Router’s Wi-Fi connection;

d) And you already have a subscription to the NFL RedZone Channel.

Assuming you’re an avid enough football fan to pay for the NFL RedZone Channel in the first place, I’d wager that when football Sunday rolls around you’ve already parked your keister in your favorite chair by the television, probably with your laptop nearby. But when nature calls, rest assured that you can take your iPad into the loo with you if you don’t want to miss a second of live football updates.

FiOS Football is free and requires an iPad running iOS 3.2 or later. Pork rinds and beer are not included.

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Altec Lansing ships Octiv Stage docking speakers for iPad

Altec Lansing has announced its new Octiv Stage docking speaker system for the Apple iPad—although it can also accommodate iPhones and iPods through Apple’s 30-pin connector. The speaker system is specifically designed to enhance media playback on the iPad, handling the tablet device in both portrait and landscape orientation while simultaneously offering stereo speakers with an enhanced center channel to make dialog from movies and TV shows clearer—the Octiv Stage can tilt the iPad to a number of viewing angles.

“Users enjoy the iPad’s great versatility for business, entertainment, and sharing audio and video content. Now their experience will be significantly enhanced due to upgraded audio quality and sound distribution,” said Altec Lansing product manager Steve Schlangen, in a statement.

The Octiv Stage’s rotating connecting arm enables users to dock the iPad in either landscape or portrait orientation, enabling users to set up the device for media viewing, Internet surfing, or even (gasp!) getting work done by attaching a keyboard. The docking system charges the iPad while docks, and in a pinch can be used with iPhones and iPods too. The Octiv Stage has an auxiliary line input for non-Apple devices, and a full-features remote control for hands-free management of an iPad from a distance—for instance, kitchen iPad users could flip to the next page of their recipe without getting glop all over their tablet.

The Octiv Stage is available now from Apple Stores and from Altec Lansing for a suggested retail price of $149.95.

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"60 Minutes" iPad App Debuts

(CBS)  "60 Minutes," America's number-one news program, is now available on iPad - the first prime time news magazine to have its own stand-alone application for the hand-held device.

"60 Minutes" content from the television broadcast and its many online features will be offered on the new app, now available for $4.99 from the iTunes App Store.

"It is an exciting new way to watch our stories. I love everything about it - the way the app looks, the way the stories play, and the fact that viewers can watch them anytime they want," said 60 Minutes Executive Producer Jeff Fager.

"The 60 Minutes app takes full advantage of the generous screen size and unique features of the iPad, including high quality video," said Rob Gelick, Senior Vice President and General Manager, CBS Mobile. "The app allows fans to extend their engagement with 60 Minutes on a format that is easy to navigate and highly visual."

The 60 Minutes iPad app delivers high-quality video and text versions of "60 Minutes" program content, including weekly previews, segments, web extras and clips. It also features new original content from the 60 Minutes online series 60MinutesOvertime.com, where users can experience a behind-the-scenes look at the production of 60 Minutes stories and view archival segments directly related to the week's headlines.

See images of the new app.

iPad users of the app will also be able to search 60 Minutes' archive for stories from the present or past seasons and be able to browse segments by categories like Newsmakers, Politics, Health & Science, Business, Sports, and Entertainment. The content is also searchable by correspondent name.

CBS Mobile and Treemo Labs, partnered to develop the 60 Minutes app. The content is delivered over WiFi and 3G networks to ensure the optimal viewing experience, no matter how users are connected.

? MMX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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iPad Shows Age in Blackberry PlayBook Video

Research in Motion is taking shots at Apple with its new Blackberry PlayBook video, in which it shows how the PlayBook's web browser embarrasses the iPad's in speed tests.

The demonstrator loads several Websites side-by-side on the PlayBook and the iPad, with cache and cookies cleared. Websites UEFA.com and CBS.com are both rendered several seconds faster on the PlayBook than on the iPad. The demonstrator also points out how the Blackberry PlayBook can load Adobe Flash content.

In another example, the iPad and Playbook take the Acid3 web standards test. Although both tablets score 100 points, the iPad is left with a rendering artifact, which supposedly translates to lower fidelity on real-world Websites. A final test shows the tablets running JavaScript and HTML5 animations on the Pocket Full of Canvas website. The PlayBook runs the animation smoothly, while the iPad looks like it's running the animation at about two frames per second.

As plenty of YouTube commenters have noted, the video is a pretty cheap shot. It compares a six-month-old product with a device that won't be available until early next year. Given Apple's tendency to refresh iOS products on a yearly basis, there's a fairly good chance that a faster iPad will launch around the same time as RIM's PlayBook.

I, personally, would have liked to see more of the PlayBook browser in action: does it scroll smoothly through web pages the way the iPad does? Does it share the iPad's annoying tendency to only render part of a page at a time? Initial load times and animations only tell part of the story.

What RIM's video does demonstrate is that the Blackberry Playbook still looks promising. Even if it doesn't blow the next iPad out of the water, it'll hold its own--at least when it comes to loading Web pages.

And, for better or worse, it'll run Flash.

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BBP Bags DSLR Slinger With IPad Slot

BBP Bags' $100 DSLR Slinger with iPad Slot is a new take on the popular sling-style camera bag. What makes this bag unique is that it is targeted at photographers who include an iPad as part of their kit.

A sling bag is like a backpack, but instead of two shoulder straps there's one padded strap that goes across your body. This single-strap design allows you to quickly whip the bag from your back to your front, so you can pull your camera from the main camera compartment without removing the bag, and start shooting as fast as possible. It's great for a photographer who wants quick access to their gear the moment a picturesque moment presents itself.

The DSLR Slinger, which weighs 2.5 pounds when empty, also has an additional waist strap that can be used to keep the bag more secure while you're in motion. This strap better supports the load of a full bag, but it prevents you from doing the titular sling, so it's best used when in transit. (The strap can be wrapped up and kept out of the way when not needed.)

The DSLR Slinger's main camera compartment is located on the side of the bag, so it opens "on top" when you do the sling swing. This compartment can fit the body of a DSLR camera and a lens. The compartment's padded dividers are movable to accommodate whatever rig you're packing. On the front of the bag are two padded compartments that can fit a flash, a small lens, and other camera accessories. There are also smaller pockets on the bottom of the bag, and even on the strap, for other odds and ends such as memory cards and lens filters.

The DSLR Slinger is similar to other sling camera bags on the market--for example, it's similar in size and design to Lowepro's popular SlingShot 200 ($110). What the DSLR Slinger offers that others don't is a flat, padded compartment on the back of the bag for carrying your iPad. (There are also two straps for securely strapping a tripod to the front of the bag, and a hide-away rain cover for protecting the entire bag from precipitation.) The DSLR Slinger is also $20 less than the Lowepro.

For photographers who carry their iPads and the iPad Camera Connection Kit for previewing and backing up photos, the cushioned iPad pocket is a great feature, and the sling doesn't fit or sit uncomfortably with an iPad inside. Sadly, the iPad compartment is just a tad bit too small to fit an 11-inch MacBook Air. It will, however, fit a 10-inch netbook.

This is a sturdy bag, made out of ballistic nylon and from a company with a reputation for durable products. It's also very comfortable to wear, with smartly placed padding and mesh on the back, and a design that distributes the weight so that the single strap doesn't dig into your shoulder. If you've managed to make the iPad an integral part of your photography workflow, and you're looking for a sling bag that holds your device alongside your camera equipment, this unique bag is for you.

For more Macintosh computing news, visit Macworld. Story copyright © 2010 Mac Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

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The Economist Hits iPad, Targeting A Million Paying Digital Readers

{"s" : "nws","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "","j" : ""} Robert Andrews, On Thursday November 18, 2010, 11:20 am EST

The Economist has got around to releasing an iPad (and iPhone) edition (expected Friday). Built by TigerSpike, which also built The Times’ Eureka iPad app, it contains all the print magazine’s material, in a UI that, whilst reminscent of the dead tree edition, is customised for the tablet.

The model - included free for £102-a-year print-and-website subscribers and for £99-a-year web-only subscribers, or £3.49/$5.99/€4.99 per single copy. That’s cheaper than the print single-copy price. But the initial app download is free and includes five free articles.

Unlike other iPad mags, The Economist is eschewing interactive bells and whistles, sticking with its sobre writing - but articles, perhaps strangely, are accompanied by an audio version, for listening rather than reading.

And unlike some newspaper publishers like News Corp (NSDQ:NWS - News). The Economist is not seeing tablets as a future foil against shrinking print sales, because its print circulation is still rising and rising.

“We’re coming at this from a slightly different place from the news industry, which is facing much more violent challenges to print,” Economist digital editions managing director Oscar Grut tells paidContent:UK. “Our print product continues to be very popular and growing - I don’t see this as a defensive move at all.

“Despite a lot of turmoil in the publishing market, we have done well because we have this very convenient weekly bundle that has a start and a finish. That bundle has, until now, been very difficult - if not impossible - to replicate on digital. But now the rise of digital readers you can give that reading experience on a digital device and you can deliver the bundle. We see that as exciting and as a way to grow our circulation even more.

“In three years time, I’m targeting a million people who will be paying to read us mainly in digital” - across digital formats.

Grut says the “lean-forward, grazing experience” of the web has meant Economist.com’s strategy has been more heavy on discussion and debate and, therefore, hasn’t cannibalised the print edition. He says he wants the mag to hit Android in the near future.

“We had to introduce a whole new production flow to The Economist,” Grut added. “We were very keen to get this all right before we launched.”

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RIM’s Rival to IPad Wins Fans as Clients Seek Security

November 18, 2010, 4:35 PM EST By Hugo Miller

(Updates with closing shares in ninth paragraph.)

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry PlayBook, the tablet designed to compete with the iPad from Steve Jobs’s Apple Inc., is winning corporate customers months before its debut.

Insurer Sun Life Financial Inc. has agreed to buy as many as 1,000 PlayBooks, and the Canadian banking unit of ING Groep NV says it is also committed to purchasing the device. Companies including Manulife Financial Corp. are testing the product, set to go on sale next quarter.

RIM first found success selling its BlackBerry smartphone to companies and is counting on such endorsements as it tries to challenge Apple’s dominance of the booming tablet market. RIM, based in Waterloo, Ontario, is betting on the PlayBook’s security features, such as e-mail encryption, to win over companies used to working with the BlackBerry.

“The encryption was really the clincher in opting for the PlayBook,” said Tom Reid, a Sun Life senior vice president. Sun Life plans to buy 500 to 1,000 PlayBooks initially and may boost that number as it begins to use it more widely, he said.

Apple declined to comment, spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said. Last month, Apple said more than 65 percent of the Fortune 100 companies are deploying or piloting the iPad, including Procter & Gamble Co., Lowe’s Cos. and Hyatt Hotels Corp.

The Cupertino, California-based company sold 3 million iPads in the first 80 days after the product debuted in April, showing there’s demand for a device that straddles the gap between laptops and smartphones like the BlackBerry and iPhone. Apple had a 95 percent share of the tablet market last quarter, according to Strategy Analytics.

Carving Out a Niche

Apple’s dominance “is a concern and I don’t think it would be prudent to project massive sales volume” for the PlayBook, said Tero Kuittinen, an analyst at MKM Partners LP.

Still, RIM has a chance to carve out a niche, said Stamford, Connecticut-based Kuittinen, who has a “buy” rating on the stock. Selling 3 million PlayBooks in 2011 would boost RIM’s sales and earnings “meaningfully,” he said. “This doesn’t need to be a six-to-eight-million unit device for RIM.”

RIM rose $1.33, or 2.4 percent, to $57.25 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading at 4 p.m. New York time. Apple gained $7.93, or 2.6 percent, to $308.43. RIM has dropped 15 percent this year as Apple climbed 46 percent.

‘Security Policies’

Besides adding a revenue source, the PlayBook is a chance for RIM to regain some momentum from Apple, whose iPhone has stolen market share from the BlackBerry and is beginning to win some corporate customers. Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. are considering whether to let employees use the iPhone as an alternative to the BlackBerry, three people familiar with the plans said this month.

Toronto-based Sun Life, Canada’s third-largest insurer, plans to let new pension plan members register directly on the RIM tablet and has already built a PlayBook application, the world’s first, Reid said.

For Amsterdam-based ING’s Canadian unit, familiarity with the BlackBerry makes the PlayBook appealing, Chief Information Officer Charaka Kithulegoda said.

“The PlayBook fits very nicely into the current infrastructure, architecture, security policies, everything that we have in place,” said Kithulegoda. “At the end of the day it comes down to these things.”

BlackBerry Investment

He said ING aims to buy an undisclosed number of PlayBooks for employees and is also building a banking app for customers.

The tablet is expected to connect to ING’s BlackBerry server computer “out of the box,” meaning the company won’t have many of the security worries it would face with an unfamiliar device, Kithulegoda said.

The PlayBook will sell for “under” $500, RIM co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Balsillie said in an interview this month. The iPad starts at $499 for a model with 16 gigabytes of memory and the price climbs for versions with more storage. The initial PlayBook version will connect to the Internet through either a Wi-Fi connection or by tethering it to a user’s BlackBerry.

Manulife, North America’s third-largest insurer, is testing the PlayBook as part of RIM’s PlayBook early-developer program, said Tom Nunn, a spokesman for the Toronto-based company. Manulife plans to use the PlayBook “to leverage our past investment” in BlackBerrys, said Nunn.

War of Words

PlayBook features built to appeal to business users are its twin cameras that enable videoconferencing, and a 7-inch (18- centimeter) screen that makes the device more portable and easier to fit in a bag or jacket pocket than the iPad.

Apple CEO Jobs said last month devices like the PlayBook are “dead on arrival“ because they are too small to compete with the iPad, which has a 9.7-inch screen.

That prompted RIM to post a clip of the PlayBook’s performance on the Web, comparing it to the iPad in performing several tasks, including surfing the Web and playing video. Balsillie said the clip shows the PlayBook is three to four times faster than its Apple rival.

ING’s Kithulegoda is sold on the PlayBook’s features. He just wants it to come to market faster and said he’s in talks with RIM to get the PlayBook as soon as he can for a trial.

“Yesterday would have been better, but I’ll settle for next year,” he said.

--With assistance from Adam Satariano in San Francisco. Editors: Ville Heiskanen, Peter Elstrom

To contact the reporter on this story: Hugo Miller in Toronto at hugomiller@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net

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Things for iPad gets multitasking, notifications

Cultured Code's Things, a stylish project and task manager for the iPad, has gained a couple of key features ahead of Apple’s much-anticipated iOS 4.2 update.

Things 1.3 for iPad is ready for iOS 4.2 in two key ways. First, it supports multitasking on the iPad, probably the most requested feature of Apple’s tablet.

The second addition is support for Local Notifications, which Apple added to the iPhone and iPod touch last summer with iOS 4.0. Local Notifications finally arrive on the iPad in iOS 4.2, providing an alternative to Apple’s Push Notifications.

With Push Notifications—which Apple first rolled out in iOS 3.0—developers need to run (or sign up for) a server in order to push event alerts to a device. By extension, your device also needs to have an Internet connection in order to receive said alerts; no Internet, no alert.

Local Notifications allow apps to keep track of their own reminders and present them at the scheduled time, with no Internet connection or costly servers required.

Things 1.3 is available now for $20 in the App Store. It requires an iPad running iOS 3.2 or later.

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iPad sommelier is now on duty at Aura

Globe Staff

Apple Inc. is billing its iPad as the most versatile of tablet computers, and the Aura restaurant at Boston's Seaport Hotel is buying into the hype - its wine list has been formatted to the iPad.

Now when customers arrive, they are presented with a special iPad that gives them access to data dumps of information about possible wine choices.

Whether they crave an un-oaked Chardonnay or a frisky merlot, an iPad application called Wine Pass allows them to read details about all wines on Aura's list, view pictures of the bottles or their labels, and learn about various food and wine pairings, Aura said.

The photo with this post was provided by Aura.

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Apple Rejects iPad App So Steve Jobs Calls Developer » Phone Reviews

If you are an iOS app developer and submit your iPad app for approval to the App Store and Apple rejects said app it can be somewhat frustrating for the developer, but would you expect a personal call for the main man at Apple?

According to an article over on Apple Insider and by way of The Seattle Times, iOS developer Ram Arumugam’s iPad app was rejected for using a private API and so Arumugam emailed Steve Jobs and apparently 2 hours later Mr. Jobs called Arumugam.

After said tête-à-tête with the Apple iPhone guru, the iOS developer revised his app, resubmitted and the iPad app “Economy for iPad” was accepted into the App Store.

Aurmugam later posted to his blog…”The fact that he took the time to read my e-mail, think about the app and then personally call me was amazing.”

Sounds good of the boss of Apple to take the time to personally chat on the phone with a developer, so any other iOS developer ever had a personal call from the top man at Apple?

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Influence blog: iPad can revolutionize your enterprise

Hillman

You'd never know from iPad sales figures Apple released last month that the slate, or tablet, computing platform was actually marketed to the consumer market, not the enterprise.

Apple sold three million iPads in the first 80 days after release last spring — about triple iPhone's figures — and sold 4.2 million in the quarter ending last month.

It's amazing how many people are adapting it for business.

One of our Lansing-based clients, for example, is adapting its production system for iPads they're using on the shop floor. Supervisors are getting into the company's most important business apps right on the floor where the work's being done. They can monitor and report issues right then and there.

The iPad is easy to carry around, at 1.5 pounds, and has the same intuitive user interface that made the iPhone so popular. Connectivity-wise, many corporations already have wireless networks that will work with the iPad, so linking up is a snap.

Traveling salespeople can connect to a cellular wireless network. Health care caseworkers can use them on house calls to access health records and report instantly on the health and well being of their clients.

What iPad is not is a full-size computer. You'll still need a laptop or desktop to create large documents, PowerPoints and spreadsheets.

But the iPad represents easy-to-read, mobile access to that content and to the Web and your e-mail.

Naturally, all the other geeks out there are trying to catch up.

HP intends to release its “iPad killer,” the Slate 500. Microsoft is expected to make a major announcement this month. Android tablets abound.

There are downsides to the iPad, as with every Apple mobile device:

• You're limited to the 100,000 or so available Apple apps. They're well-integrated and intuitive but only sold by Apple. But many are free.

• You're out of luck if you have to use Adobe Flash technology. Apple decided long ago that you don't need it.

• You're limited to AT&T cell connectivity.

And existing iPads do lack a camera and a USB port.

But at a sales training session recently, one man asked me how I like my iPad. I told him I love it. I'm still old-school enough that I don't like typing in a class or meeting. The guy in front of me had a netbook, and he had a tough time keeping up with the discussion.

I, on the other hand, use a cool app that turns the screen into a legal pad, and I use a stylus to write on it. I never run out of paper or ink, and I don't have six legal pads going at the same time. I can share the pages as PDFs by e-mail.

I don't know about you, but that app, for me, is almost all the justification I need for a slate.

Paul Hillman is a partner at C/D/H, a 20-year-old technology consulting company based in Grand Rapids.

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