“Before you get stuck into our review, consider these questions: how many people do you know that are still confused by computers, and what do you think the majority of the population actually use a computer for?” Luke Peters asks for T3.

“Apple’s new 1GHz A4 processor allows apps, multimedia and screen transitions to fly. Playing back a HD episode of Doctor Who, downloaded from iTunes, motion is fast, without judder and free of lag or distortion when rotating the screen. With its superb, LED-backlit, richly coloured screen, it’s a slicker, quicker experience than the iPod Touch or iPhone,” Peters reports. “It feels like a computer, not a phone or PMP.”

“Reading books, papers and magazines on the iPad is an enjoyable experience. The brightness and colour of the screen can be adjusted to suit your preference, and it’s definitely easier on the eyes than we initially feared,” Peters reports. “Typing on the iPad is better than expected – in fact this entire review was written on it. Lie the device flat, rotate the screen to landscape and you’ll be able to rattle off text very quickly.”

Peters reports, “What most people use computers for is to communicate, browse the web and view photos, videos and literature. The iPad lets anyone – you, your kids, your mum and dad – do all that. Although there’s no news on UK pricing yet, it’s eminently affordable ($499 in the US for the 16GB version) incredibly easy to use and has a size, heft and quality that set it apart from the netbooks, smartphones and PMPs it superficially resembles. In our opinion, Apple hasn’t just created the first home tablet worth having. It’s actually redefined computing, boiling it down to essentials and making it accessible for everyone.”

Full review here.

Source: MacDailyNews

“The iPad, as Steve Jobs told us from his comfy leather chair at Macworld, represents a new computing form factor that falls squarely between the laptop and the smartphone,” Andy Greenberg reports for Forbes. “Which raises a curious problem for the Transportation Security Administration: Is the iPad a ‘laptop’ that must be taken out of a bag and put through a scanner separately? Or does it fall into some other, less bomb-like category of gadget that can slip through security hidden in your briefcase?”

“The answer, according to Altimeter Group technology analyst Charlene Li, seems to be another point in the iPad’s favor,” Greenberg reports. “As she wrote in her Twitter feed today, Li took a flight with her iPad in tow and discovered that she wasn’t required to pull it out of her bag in the security line.”

Greenberg reports, “The TSA seems to draw a fairly fuzzy line between what does and doesn’t qualify as a computer capable of hiding a bomb. Li says a Kindle doesn’t count, but a netbook does, and so does an XBOX… Given these shades of semantics, we’ve put in a call to the TSA for the whole story about the iPad’s airport security status.”

Full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews

Apple’s iPad. Will it blend? That is the question, here is the answer:

Direct link to the video via YouTube here.

Truphone, the global mobile operator, today announced the availability of its application that offers Apple iPad customers the ability to make voice calls. The company’s award-winning VoIP application turns the tablet-sized device into a mobile phone that offers free or low-cost international calls, as well as advanced Instant Messaging features that integrate a user’s contacts from across multiple IM networks.

The Truphone iPad application offers customers free calling to other Truphone and Google Talk users when connected over Wi-Fi, and international calling to mobile phones and landlines for as low as 5 cents a minute. Truphone also offers an unlimited calling plan and free voicemail.

The application also provides a combined Truphone and IM contacts list showing on-line status and presence, together with an innovative, multi-chat IM interface for AIM, Google Talk, and MSN users – allowing customers to easily stay on top of their contacts list without opening multiple windows.

“Analysts estimate that Apple pre-sold more than 150,000 iPads on its first day, with 2010 sales on track to hit 4 million,” said Geraldine Wilson, CEO of Truphone. “Every device includes Wi-Fi, and soon, 3G connectivity. That makes them a natural fit for Truphone, which has a long history of giving the iPod Touch and iPhone a broad range of new options for staying in touch. We’re excited by the opportunity to extend our suite of convenient, dependable, high-quality voice functionality and IM services to iPad owners.”

Source: Truphone

David F. Gallagher reports or The New York Times, “For the uninitiated, an ‘unboxing’ video documents the act of unboxing a new gadget, for the benefit of those who fetishize gadgets and their packaging. A wave of iPad unboxing videos is hitting YouTube, including one from a new iPad owner who shot it in his car.”

Direct link via YouTube here.

Full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews

Yesterday, “in Palo Alto, shortly past noon, shoppers got more than a new shiny object – Apple CEO Steve Jobs showed up and his presence gave everyone a giddy brush with Silicon Valley high tech fame,” John Boudreau reports for The San Jose Mercury News.

“Wearing a black hoodie and jeans, Jobs , who came with his wife and daughter, scanned the displays of tech goodies and watched Apple employees give ipad how-to demonstrations. And of course he drew amazed gazes from shoppers already expressing excitement overload – the equivalent of a sugar high for Apple fans,” Boudreau reports.
Continue reading “Analyst: 700K iPads sold on day one; Steve Jobs makes surprise appearance at Apple Store Palo Alto” »

“According to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty… Apple’s manufacturing partners now expect to ship 2.5 million iPads between Mar-May, considerably ahead of her previous estimate of 750,000 for the June quarter,” John Paczkowski reports for AllThigsD.

“What’s more, they’re now forecasting shipments of 8-10 million iPads in calendar 2010, considerably more than prior expectations of 5+ million,” Paczkowski reports.

Full article here.

Philip Elmer-DeWitt reports for Fortune, “Huberty is sticking with her sales estimate of 6+ million iPads in 2010. The Street’s consensus, she says, is closer to 3-4 million.”

“Each incremental one million iPads shipped, by her calculation, equates to earnings increases of roughly $0.25 EPS,” Elmer-DeWitt reports.

Full article here.

Source: MacDailyNews