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First, Let’s Talk About the iPhone’s Camera

The iPhone 3GS camera is a three-megapixel piece of hardware. It includes auto focus, the ability to choose where you want the camera to focus, and the ability to record video, edit it and then upload it to YouTube.

However, even with the quality improvement over the previous version of the phone and addition of video features, the iPhone 3GS still lacks many features. The camera cannot zoom, adjust color balance, add effects and it does not allow you to change picture quality. Furthermore, the camera’s lack of a flash is simply a death sentence. The exclusion of these features is not a minor detail — it’s a major flaw. Yes, there are apps for that, but who wants to exit the camera to download and then pull out another app just to make it work?

I never use my iPhone to take pictures. Half the time, the pictures are too dark, the quality too grainy and the 3G network has gone down way too many times while in the middle of uploading. The camera is still one of the iPhone’s biggest weak spots.

Nexus One’s More Advanced Camera

The Nexus One’s camera, on the other hand, is one of the best phone cameras I’ve ever played with. Pictures are taken with a five megapixel camera and every image auto focused as you take each shot. It comes with a very bright flash that doesn’t massively drain the battery.

It’s the additional features that set the Nexus One apart, though. Slide from left to right on the screen and a set of menu items appear that allow you to control flash mode, white balance, color effect, geolocation, picture size, picture quality and focus mode. By utilizing the color effects, flash, and white balance, I can take pictures like this one of my friends Matt and Ana (click for full image):

I even took this picture in the dark. You need apps to do this on the iPhone, and it won’t turn out as well.

The sharing options are also superior — not only can you share any picture via e-mail or MMS, but through bluetooth and any Android app that supports it, including Facebook, Picasa, and Twitter apps such as Seemic.

Perhaps the only thing that the camera doesn’t do better than the iPhone 3GS is video editing, and I expect Google to address this gap in the near future. No, the Nexus One camera isn’t perfect, but it’s well ahead of its smartphone competitors.

Google’s Multimedia Strategy

Google didn’t include a powerful camera just to make it more attractive to consumers. No, they have a strategy behind it, and it revolves around YouTube.

Two weeks ago, we reported that YouTube celebs were getting free Nexus One phones and partners were gifted with the expensive device. In fact, I can tell you for certain that some of the highest profile YouTube celebs received the Nexus One all the way back in December.

Google’s goal seems clear: It wants to spur YouTube celebs to record and upload more videos. Their pages are highly monetized, and more mobile videos translates into more advertising revenue. It’s so simple to upload a Nexus One video to YouTube that the free phones eventually pay for themselves, as long as YouTube partners are uploading videos from their phones. The camera’s quality is more than sufficient, even if it isn’t HD quality.

In the larger scheme of things, Google hopes Android becomes the mobile platform for anybody who likes to take photos or videos. In my tests, I’ve found that it’s a viable replacement for dragging a camera around. If that’s the trend, then Google’s in a far better position than Apple, especially since Apple’s iPad tablet has no camera at all.

Reviews: Android, Facebook, Google, Picasa, Twitter, YouTube

Tags: camera, gadgets, Google, google phone, nexus one, video

(Lire la suite) Ben Parr

What’s Missing from the Apple iPad? par Barb Dybwad Jeudi 28 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

Now that we know what the Apple iPad does do, and the lingering effects of the Steve Jobs Reality Distortion Field are starting to wear off a bit, let’s take a closer look at exactly what the iPad doesn’t do.

It does usher in a new computing form factor (or rather, revives it) — but it’s a space that will be awfully crowded in short order. Should you rush in to pick up the Apple-flavored tablet or are there reasons to consider waiting for the series of devices that are sure to follow? For now, a quick look at what’s missing in the iPad version 1.0 might help decide the balance of your bank account at the end of March.

No Multi-tasking

Running iPhone OS 3.2 means that, at least for now, the iPad is shaping up to be a “one trick at a time” kind of pony. Of course, it’s entirely possible if not probable that Apple will correct this down the line in a forthcoming version of the iPhone OS — maybe even before the tablet ships — but as it currently stands the lack of multi-tasking could be a dealbreaker for some.

No Drag and Drop File Management

Another carryover from the iPhone ecosystem — and not a favorable one, in my humble opinion — is the requirement of syncing your iPad with another computer as the primary content management system for the device. Assuming it works the same way as your iPod or iPhone do now, you’ll only be able to associate your iPad with a single other device — and that’s a dealbreaker for a growing number of households that have media strewn across several computers, hard drives, network attached storage units and beyond.

Image courtesy of GDGT

You’ll be downloading content from the web and through the iTunes content store directly from the device, of course, but what about that set of files you just brought home from work or that collection of videos I want to dredge out from an old backup drive? In order to get them over to the iPad, I’d have to first dump them into iTunes, then perform a sync operation — instead of being able to simply drag and drop them over Wi-Fi or simply hook them in via USB Mass Storage (a great standard that’s been around forever!). There are third-party iPhone apps that allow file transfer via Wi-Fi, but how many steps are we needlessly adding to a process that was uncomplicated by USB Mass Storage years ago?

No USB Port

The iPad will sync itself via USB — but only when plugged in via its proprietary dock connector. That means there will be no direct attachment of all umpteen USB peripherals you already own. It even means you won’t be able to plug in an external USB keyboard you already own without buying a separate USB adapter.

Yes, you’ll be able to pick up an us-yet-unpriced “iPad Camera Connection” kit that will give you the ability to pull photos off your USB-enabled camera. It remains to be seen, though, if the adapter-provided USB port will even allow you to hook in other peripherals (mouse? keyboard?) or attach external media in the form of USB hard drives or thumb drives.

No SD Slot

Speaking of storage: 16, 32, or 64GB is all you get — precisely because there’s neither a USB nor an SD card reader built directly into the iPad. That means you can’t stick a 16GB SD card in as a semi-permanent storage expansion option or pull files off an SD card without purchasing the aforementioned iPad Camera Connection Kit. Not only is that extra money out of your pocket, but it’s another proprietary dongle to cart around with you (and lose… repeatedly).

No Flash

The above shot taken from Apple’s presentation (hat tip: Engadget) demonstrates quite clearly another big omission from the iPad: support for Adobe Flash. It’s bad enough on the iPhone, but imagine loading up a nice video link on the iPad only to have it… simply not play.

We know Apple dislikes its lack of control over the whole Flash ecosystem, and that Flash is the leading cause of crashes on OS X. We can also prognosticate that Apple is hoping that HTML5 will take off quickly and start to disintermediate Flash as the primary technology powering video playback on the web.

Still, YouTube just announced their HTML5 player last week. It’s getting out there, but it’s the early days for widespread HTML5 support. It’s doubtful it will be in a position two short months from now to completely replace the Flash experience for web video, leaving a lot of ugly “plug-in missing” boxes to make an appearance on one’s expensive iPad tablet.

No HDMI Out

Speaking of video, there’s no handy, single-cable way to hook up an iPad to your TV set. Of course, this should have come as no surprise knowing Apple’s reluctance to support HDMI in any of its other products. Still, for a device that strongly hinted at being perfect for your living room, it would be nice to have the option to quickly hook it up for a big screen video experience.

Even to get video out at all, you’ll need a proprietary Dock to VGA adapter, which obviously limits you to VGA resolutions — there’s not even a DisplayPort out option, which Apple has been touting as a great alternative to HDMI. You’ll be able to pull up to 576p out with an (again, proprietary) Apple Composite A/V Cable — but this is composite video we’re talking here. Not HDMI, not component, not even S-video. The only upside to that is that, as the lowest common denominator just above a coaxial connection, your TV from the early ’90s will probably at least have this type of connector.

No 1080p Playback

And while we’re railing on the subject of video, it’s worth mentioning there will be no full HD playback (much less output) from the iPad. Given that 720p is pretty darn close enough (especially for a 9.7-inch screen), it’s more the annoying fact that if you have a growing library of 1080p video files you’ll most likely be unable to play them back without some sort of conversion step first (it’s possible certain formats and codecs could be natively downsampled, but it will remain to be seen how it will shake out in practical usage).

To be fair, it’s definitely a minor point considering the paucity of true 1080p content out there — but it definitely feels like an odd backwards step in a video trajectory that should be trending towards full HD, not away from it.

No Native Widescreen

Okay, just one more gripe about the display aspect of the iPad and then we’re done on this track, we promise.

The tablet’s resolution tops out at 1024 x 768, which falls into the 4:3 standard definition range and not the glorious, widescreen 16:9 high definition aspect ratio we’ve come to know and love. In fact, we’ve come to know and love it via Apple, who has been touting HD as the second coming for several years now. Remember when 2005 was “the Year of High Definition Video?” So then why, pray tell, is 2010 suddenly the Year of Composite Out?

No Camera

Really, no camera? Like, not even at all? Yep, there is no camera on the iPad. It was mystifying enough on the iPod touch, but to omit the camera here is a curious thing. That means no video iChat, no Skype video conferencing, no quickly snapping a pic of whatever and uploading it to Flickr/Facebook/Picasa/etc.

The iPad is clearly a device centered around media consumption, not creation.

No Full GPS

The Wi-Fi-only versions flat out have no GPS support whatsoever. The 3G versions have Assisted GPS, which makes use of the cellular connection to help pinpoint your location. The upside of Assisted GPS is it still tends to be fairly accurate — the downsides are there’s no absolute standard regarding what functions Assisted GPS will support to the end user, and you almost surely need an active cell connection to get your positioning information. That means if you stop paying for the mobile data service or are in a dead zone or other area of poor connectivity, your GPS is probably kaput as well.

No Open SDK

This one isn’t really a shocker either, considering Apple does it every time, but the brand spanking new Software Development Kit for iPhone OS 3.2 — which, despite the name, is the operating system the iPad runs on — requires developers to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before getting access.

That means programmers working on applications for the device can’t talk about the platform to outsiders who have not also signed the NDA. The nature of the Internets means that some information will undoubtedly leak out, but the veil of secrecy Apple wants to enforce surrounding the iPad developer platform runs counter to the open information sharing of ecosystems like Twitter, for example.

Conclusion

To be fair, it would have been almost impossible for the actual iPad device announced today to live up to the insanely hyped idea of an Apple Tablet that consumed the Internet’s attention in the weeks (if not months) leading up to today’s event. There are also many positives that are hard to deny about the iPad, not the least of which is its characteristically drop-dead gorgeous design aesthetic.

Nevertheless, before this thing wins your hard-earned dough, make sure you know what its limitations are. Let us know if we’ve missed any points here, and what your take on the Apple iPad is as a whole in the comments.

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[img credits: gdgt, Engadget]

Reviews: Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, Skype, Twitter

Tags: 1080p, apple, Apple Tablet, HDMI, ipad, NDA, SDK, tablets, usb

(Lire la suite) Barb Dybwad

The Anti-Hype: Why Apple’s iPad Disappoints par Samuel Axon Jeudi 28 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

The iPad is not the transformational device so many Apple enthusiasts were hoping for. It won’t turn all the content industries upside down, it won’t be your primary computing device, and it’s not even a bigger, better iPhone.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the iPad as a device to fill the gap between smartphones like the iPhone and high-end laptops like the MacBook and MacBook Pro. He said there needs to be a middle device, but it needs to be better than the alternatives at what it does. Netbooks currently fill the void, but according to Jobs, “netbooks aren’t better at anything.” He and his colleagues at Apple believe that the iPad is.

Apple’s website and promotional video call the iPad “magical.” We’re told the iPad is “the best way to experience the web, e-mail, photos, and videos. Hands down.” But it’s not — it’s not even close. It’s mighty cool, it’s super convenient and it’s very sexy, but it’s not even better than a netbook at some of those things.

This isn’t the middle device folks have been waiting for because — and I’m using Steve Jobs’s own criteria here — it’s not better at anything than any other device on the market. It’s a step in that direction, but the day hasn’t come yet. Here are just a few of the ways the iPad isn’t as magical as Apple claims.

It’s Not the Best Way to Browse the Web

Steve Jobs said it needs to be a better web device than the alternatives. The Apple website says it’s “the best way to experience the web.” Some variation of that phrase is repeated several times in the promotional video Apple has released. But it’s just not true.

It might be one of the best ways to browse the web on a mobile device, but laptop and desktop computers — even netbooks — are still better. Most current websites were designed to be experienced on those devices with a mouse and a keyboard. Maybe the mouse isn’t necessary, but you don’t have to pop up a software keyboard to type in URLs on a netbook or laptop. Even if you lug around the keyboard dock, it will be a tad awkward moving between the keys and the screen to interact. You’re sacrificing some usability for simplicity on the iPad.

Most importantly, the iPad’s browser does not support Adobe Flash, the foundation of rich media on the web today. Adobe is planning to make it possible for Flash developers to develop apps, but it won’t work on the web.

I’ll admit that the decision not to support Flash is a logical one if you start at the right premises; Flash is responsible for countless reported crashes on Macs, and Apple can’t control it to ensure quality of experience. Apple is banking on a transition to HTML5 and CSS 3 for rich web content. While that transition has already begun, it hasn’t fully happened yet. Until it does, it’s ridiculous to call this device the best way to experience the web when one of the most ubiquitous and essential web technologies is not supported.

It’s an Unprecedented Win for Closed Computing

Many of the software restrictions that drive people mad when they’re using the iPhone are going to be just as frustrating on the iPad. All the device’s content — apps, songs, TV shows, movies, books, you name it — can only be processed through Apple’s iTunes Store.

You won’t be able to drag and drop or share files with other computers like you can with your laptop on your home network. You won’t be able to download a program or music file from the web and play it on the spot. You won’t be able to use any application that doesn’t meet Apple’s strict approval guidelines. It’s closed computing at its most extreme.

Unfortunately we’ve come to expect that from our smartphones. For a larger device that’s supposed to replace your netbook as a complete portable computing solution, though, this is almost unprecedented — at least from a device that’s likely to have a great deal of influence on the market and on the design of future devices. That’s bad news no matter how you spin it.

It’s Not Really a Competitive eReader

The Kindle owns the eReader landscape right now, and the greatest expectation for the iPad was that it would bury the Kindle. While the iPad’s reader interface is indisputably sweet-looking and the list of participating publishers is promising, there are several ways it just won’t beat the Kindle.

The most important issue is the price. The Kindle costs $260; so do Barnes & Noble’s Nook and the comparable Sony Reader. The Kindle even comes bundled with free 3G network access, though it admittedly can’t do anywhere near as much with it as the iPad can.

But if you are considering the iPad primarily as a reader, that price difference is a big problem. Also a big problem: The lack of an e-ink display. E-ink doesn’t wash your face in eye-strain-inducing light like the displays on the iPhone, the iPad and laptop computers do. It’s meant to be a soft experience, just like reading a book. Without e-ink, you might not be able to tolerate spending four straight hours reading Stephen King’s latest on a regular display, cool IPS tech aside.

Finally, as impressive as 10 hours of battery life is for a multi-purpose device like the iPad, the Kindle can run in reading mode for a week without recharging — longer if Wi-Fi is disabled. Because it’s trying to do everything, the iPad isn’t the best at anything.

It’s Not Worth It If You Have a Smartphone and Laptop

If the iPad isn’t a good option as a middle device, it ought to at least be attractive to power users and enthusiasts who already have other devices. Unfortunately, it’s not.

It’s not significantly better at anything than either your iPhone or your MacBook. It can’t be used as your daily workhorse computer on the go, because just like the iPhone’s OS 3.1.2 the iPad’s OS 3.2 doesn’t multitask. And if you already have an iPhone, you can do basic information gathering, mapping, and so on while you’re on the go without spending an additional $29.99 per month for 3G service.

Furthermore, your laptop or netbook very likely has a web cam for video conferencing, and your cell phone probably has a camera (or even video camera) for capturing images. The iPad has neither.

Since the interface is graceful and satisfying, you might want to buy it as an extra device just for the experience, but at between $499 – $829, that’s not practical for most consumers.

The Anti-Hype

The iPad isn’t going to be a phenomenon with either netbook users or power users. It’s not better than existing devices at anything, and it’s too expensive for most people to use it as a secondary device. I might have said something different if the rumors that the iPad would be all about a new push in the content marketplace were true, but that didn’t happen. Instead, we got a cool toy.

[img credit: FSF, Yutaka Tsutano]

Reviews: Adobe Flash Player, iTunes

Tags: apple, Apple Tablet, ereader, ipad, Kindle, Opinion

(Lire la suite) Samuel Axon

Apple iPad: A Comprehensive Guide par Ben Parr Jeudi 28 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

Last updated: January 27th, 2010

After months of speculation and rumors, it’s official: The Apple iPad is real. The device, announced earlier today by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, is designed to fill the perceived gap between the smartphone and the laptop.

With literally thousands of articles and blog posts being written about Apple’s new device, it’s easy to experience information overload. That’s why we’ve created this comprehensive Apple iPad guide. It is our complete, constantly updated article on the iPad and its specs, features, pricing, availability and much more.

Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about the Apple iPad, and then some:

Apple iPad: The Overview

On multiple occasions, Steve Jobs spoke about creating a new category of devices that would fill the gap between the smartphone and the laptop markets. He slammed netbooks for “not being better than anything.” He wanted something that would be better than a laptop at browsing the web and that could play games, movies, YouTube videos and more.

The answer to that gap, at least for Apple, is the iPad. It’s essentially a giant iPod touch/iPhone with a 9.7-inch screen, 16 to 64 GB of memory, and the ability to run almost every iPhone app in the App Store. It can connect via USB to sync with your PC or Mac, play HD video, act an ebook reader and a lot more.

While there are a lot of functions, all of which we describe below, its killer feature is by far the price. While many predicted it would cost $1,000, the starting price of the iPad is just $499. For comparison, the Kindle DX, which also has a 9.7-inch screen, costs $489, only $10 less than the iPad.

Let’s get into the details of the iPad, shall we?

Apple iPad: The Specifications

Image courtesy of GDGT

Here’s what we know so far about the iPad’s specs. We’ll update this as more is revealed about the device:

- SCREEN: 9.7-inch IPS LCD screen. The LCD provides the backlighting, but most of the technology is IPS, or In-plane switching. This gives it a stronger viewing angle than most screens.
- RESOLUTION: 1024×768 pixels (132 pixels per inch)
- SIZE: 0.5 inches thin.
- DIMENSIONS: 9.5 inches x 7.5 inches x 0.5 inches
- WEIGHT: 1.5 pounds (1.6 pounds for 3G)
- CHIP: 1 GHz Apple A4 chip. They went in-house instead of going to Intel.
- MEMORY: Three models with 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB solid state hard drives.
- INCLUSIONS: Accelerometer, Microphone, 30-pin connector, Compass, full capacitive multi-touch, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11n Wi-Fi, 3G access on higher-end models
- BATTERY LIFE: 10 hours at full blast. On standby, it will last over a month.

Summary: It’s thin, it’s light and it’s fast.

Interface

The interface should be familiar to you; it looks a lot like the iPhone OS interface. In fact, it’s essentially a custom version of the iPhone 3.2 OS. Primary apps are housed at the bottom and you swipe left and right through your home screens to find apps. Steve Jobs even mentioned that it would be easy for people to pick up on the interface because so many people (7.5 million) have either an iPhone or an iPod touch.

There is a new SDK for developers to build apps specifically for the iPad, but all iPhone apps run in the iPad. iPhone apps can run either in their native resolutions or in a “double pixel mode” for full-screen use. Most of the apps we’ve seen run very well in double pixel mode. Developers will be able to modify their apps using the new SDK to optimize them for the iPad, though.

Most everything else is just like the iPhone, but larger. The keyboard is larger, although we have yet to see whether typing is more efficient via your thumbs or with all 10 digits.

Web, Email, and Maps

Just like the iPhone, it utilized Safari Mobile as its browser. It’s bigger, but not much else is different. And just like the iPhone, it does not support Adobe Flash, a plug-in that Apple simply doesn’t like.

In fact, most of the other standard web apps are the same between the iPhone and the iPad. Email, for example, utilizes a similar interface, but it does have more features such as email previews. Google Maps runs on the iPad just as it does on the iPhone.

One app that did get some new features though was the Photo app, which now sports an iPhoto-like interface and some new multi-touch inputs that allow you to easily view and manage multiple pictures.

Connectivity

Apple’s tablet comes in two models, based on their connectivity. Both versions have Wi-Fi connectivity, which is to be expected. However, the higher-end model also comes with 3G access — for $130 more, you can have a 3G-enabled tablet.

If you want the 3G model, you have to use it currently on AT&T: it’s the official launch partner of the iPad. Luckily though, you don’t have to sign a contract to use the 3G connection. Instead, you prepay for however many months of 3G access you desire. It costs $14.99 for 250 MB of data per month, while you’ll need to fork over $29.99 monthly for an unlimited plan. You can cancel any time without any termination fee.

The iPad utilizes microGSM, meaning that it’s not specifically bound to AT&T. Thus, you can expect it to work on international carriers sometime in June or July. That doesn’t mean you can just stick in a T-Mobile or Verizon card though: Verizon and Sprint use the incompatible CDMA 3G format, while the iPad’s 3G modem doesn’t support T-Mobile’s 3G frequency.

Ebooks and Publishing Features

Apple essentially drove a dagger straight into Amazon and the Kindle’s hearts with the iPad. Not only is the device comparable in price to the Kindle DX, but it has its own bookstore: iBooks.

iBooks, announced today at the iPad event, is a new native application for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad that allows you to browse, download and read e-books. At launch, five book publishers will have publications on iBooks: Penguin, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillian and Hachette. Left off the list is McGraw-Hill, whose CEO accidentally spilled the beans on the tablet a day too early. We think it’s possible that Apple handed retribution to McGraw-Hill for the leak, although you’ll likely see its books on the iPad at some point.

Here’s how Steve Jobs described iBooks:

“The iBooks app is a great, new way to read and buy books. Just download the app for free from the App Store, and you’ll be able to buy everything from classics to bestsellers from the built-in iBookstore. Once you’ve bought a book, it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. To read it, all you have to do is tap on it and it opens up. The high-resolution, LED-backlit screen displays everything in sharp, rich, color, so it’s very easy to read, even in low light.”

Time will tell whether the iPad is suitable for long-term reading, but Apple didn’t hold back any punches in its quest to wrest the ebook crown from Amazon.

TV, Movies and Video

The video display itself is crisp and sharp, and that was on clear display when Apple demoed several movies on the device. The video interface is just like the iPhone’s video interface, with options for bookmarking, fast-forwarding, rewinding, etc. Oh, and it plays video in HD.

It also has an iTunes store-like interface for browsing videos, movie chapters, and purchasing video content. On the left-hand side you’ll find your viewing options with screenshots, descriptions and video length. On the right-hand side are graphs, either from that movie or TV show.

Still, this device is NOT a widescreen device. There is a lot of black space on the top and bottom when watching a film in widescreen mode. We expect that Apple will address this in future versions with slightly longer iPads, but for now you’ll just have to deal with it.

Summary: It’s great for watching movies, but it’s nothing revolutionary.

Gaming

You really want to look out for the iPad as a gaming device, because EA and others are going to build some amazing games on this platform.

Several games were demonstrated for the iPad, including Need for Speed Shift and N.O.V.A. In Need for Speed, the driver moves the car by turning the tablet. Tapping on the device changes your perspective and zooms. You utilize the touchscreen to accelerate and change gears. Our estimation is that the game looks great — better than an iPhone game — but still doesn’t compare to the PC. In N.O.V.A., a first-person shooter, you can use thee fingers to open a door or slide two fingers to toss a grenade. There are more input possibilities with Apple’s tablet.

The same things that made the iPhone a popular gaming platform were apparent in these demos, however the iPad’s HD capabilities and its more advanced touch screen will make it a stronger gaming platform. And with all iPhone games running on the device, there’s already a big library in its collection.

Productivity and iWork

For productivity and business work on the iPad, Apple has introduced a new version of its iWork software specifically designed for the touchscreen device. It’s been in development for over a year, apparently.

A rundown of the key features and applications in iWork for the iPad:

- Keynote: Apple’s flagship presentation software has gotten an overhaul that allows you to easily view and add slides using the touchscreen interface. You can made edits, browse through slides and more.
- Pages: Word processing on the iPad goes through Pages, which allows you to type more effectively without a physical keyboard and provides touch-based formatting options. For example, dragging images on a page is easy since there’s auto-wrap.
- Numbers: Apple’s spreadsheet feature lets you design data cells and spreadsheets with the multi-touch interface.
- Cost: It costs $9.99 for each app in the app store.

It’s important to note that you can open Excel, Word and Powerpoint documents in iWork, meaning that you can work on your PC documents on your iPad.

Pricing

Pricing was the biggest shocker at this event. While we thought it would cost in the $800 range (some thought $1,000 was more accurate), the true price of the cheapest model is actually $499.

As you can see from the image above, it comes in two editions: Wi-Fi enabled or Wi-Fi + 3G capable. There are also three sizes: 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB. Thus, the cheapest (Wi-Fi, 16 GB) costs only $499, while the most expensive iPad, the 64 GB model with 3G, costs $829.

Here’s the rundown, in order of price:

- $499: 16 GB, Wi-Fi only
- $599: 32 GB, Wi-Fi only
- $629: 16 GB, Wi-Fi and 3G
- $699: 64 GB, Wi-Fi only
- $729: 32 GB, Wi-Fi and 3G
- $829: 64 GB, Wi-Fi and 3G

In addition, you have to take into account the cost of 3G services. The iPad has 3G through AT&T alone currently, but there is no contract, meaning you can prepay or cancel at any time. For 250 MB of data a month, it costs $14.99 per month, while unlimited data is $29.99. It’s quite a good deal in our estimation, especially since you can cancel your contract at any time and you get access to any AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot for free (e.g. Starbucks).

Availability

The iPad, while it doesn’t have an official launch day, should land in stores at the end of March, 60 days or so from today or so.

Only the Wi-Fi versions will be in stores at that time, though. If you want a 3G version, you have to wait until April.

We’ll update this section when we have hard launch dates for both device models.

Competitors

Above: The HP Slate

The iPad isn’t the only device to sit in this mid-level computing device realm. A slew of competitors were shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, and many more are slated to arrive in 2010.

While Apple may have the advantage of its brand and its loyal customers, watch out for some of these competitors, many of them running on the Google Android OS.

- HP Slate: A Windows 7-powered tablet
- Asus Eee Tablet: An upcoming tablet that may run on Google Android
- Notion Ink Tablet: Another Android-based tablet
- Google/HTC Tablet: Rumor has it that Google and HTC are developing a Google-branded tablet, much like what they did with the Nexus One. There is no confirmation of this, though.

If you want to dig deeper into iPad competitors, we have a more comprehensive overview of nine tablet challengers.

What the iPad Lacks

While in a lot of respects the iPad is a sleek, powerful device that will surely create massive lines on launch day, it is missing a lot of features we had hoped would be in it.

Here are just a few of the things that you won’t find on the Apple tablet:

- No camera: There is no front-facing camera for video conferencing, and there is no back-facing camera for taking photos. This is a major omit from the device. Hell, most netbooks and smartphones have a camera or two.
- No multitasking: You cannot run multiple apps at the same time. To make this a useful device, it needs to be able to do things like run Last.fm while tweeting. This is one we hope Apple will fix with a future iPhone OS update, but for now it can’t run multiple apps.
- No HDMI Output: You can’t plug your iPad into your TV.
- No USB port: You can’t plug in your favorite keyboard into the device…or anything else, really. It will plug into your computer via the same cord you charge iPhones and iPod touches with.

We’re disappointed at a lot of the things that were excluded from this device. Gizmodo has a great list of other things the iPad doesn’t include, but the point is this: It’s a first generation device, and it’s not going to include a lot of the things we want. With that said, make sure you know the drawbacks before buying.

Additional Reading

- Apple Introduces iPad Tablet Device
- Official Apple iPad Demo [VIDEO]
- Apple iPad Specs Revealed
- A First Look at the iPad for Publishers
- iBooks: Apple Answers the Kindle with a Digital Bookshelf Like No Other
- 4 Reasons the Kindle is Dead, 4 Reasons It’s Not

[img credits: GDGT, Apple, Inc.]

Reviews: App Store, Bluetooth, Google, Google Maps, Windows, YouTube, iPhone

Tags: apple, Apple iPad, Apple Tablet, ipad, iphone, iphone os, iSlate, Tablet, trending

(Lire la suite) Ben Parr

iPad Announcement Nets 177,000 Tweets in First Hour par Jennifer Van Grove Jeudi 28 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

Even with Twitter experiencing delays this morning, Apple’s iPad announcement generated 177,000 tweets in the first hour alone according to data from Trendrr.com.

It should come as no surprise that the Twittersphere was (and still is) all a-buzz about the iPad — the build-up to which has been months in the making — but the iPad averaging nearly 3,000 tweets per minute in the first hour is just plain remarkable. We haven’t seen anything like it in recent history. According to Trendrr, tweets did taper off a bit after that first hour, but are still coming at about 75,000 per hour, or 1,000 per minute.

As you can see from the chart below, there was an instantaneous and incredible spike of tweets mentioning the iPad as soon as the name was revealed earlier this morning. The second chart highlights the disparity between “iPad” and “Apple” tweets.

Tags: Apple iPad, Apple Tablet, ipad, Trendrr, twitter

(Lire la suite) Jennifer Van Grove

So, Have You Heard About This Apple iPad Thing? [CHART] par Adam Ostrow Jeudi 28 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

Unless you were under a rock, it was virtually impossible to miss today’s unveiling of the Apple iPad. Nonetheless, people wanted to make sure their friends knew about it too, and have been retweeting, sharing, and email forwarding stories about the new device in droves.

Clearspring, whose AddThis sharing widget is viewed more than 50 billion times per month, tells us that shares about Apple-related news are up more than 600% today. The massive volume spike is illustrated in the chart below:

It’s even more pronounced when you look at it on an hour-by-hour basis:

These numbers only represent shares that took place via the AddThis widget, which is common on blogs and news sites. For other types of sharing like retweets, Facebook shares, and Diggs that take place natively in social apps, I’d imagine the spike was even more pronounced. We should have some more stats on that later on.

Reviews: AddThis, Clearspring, Facebook

Tags: apple, Apple iPad, Apple Tablet, ipad, social media

(Lire la suite) Adam Ostrow

4 Reasons the Kindle is Dead, 4 Reasons It’s Not par Josh Catone Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

“Uh-oh,” is the reaction we can imagine Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had when watching today’s unveiling of the eagerly awaited Apple iPad tablet. The new Apple device looks, at least upon first glance, like it will completely eat Amazon’s lunch. In fact, Steve Jobs even eulogized the Kindle in his unveiling.

“Amazon’s done a great job of pioneering this functionality with the Kindle. We’re going to stand on their shoulders and go a little further,” he said while unveiling the iPad’s iBook e-reader software. But is the Kindle really dead? Amazon proudly proclaimed the Kindle as the number one selling product on Amazon.com, with a huge banner on their home page today. Can it really be all over so fast?

Here are four reasons why the Kindle is dead, and four more why it might still have some life left in it.

Why It’s Dead

1. iPad Starts at $499

Going into today’s announcement at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, most pundits predicted the Apple tablet would cost at least $600 and perhaps as much as $1,000. Steve Jobs dropped a major bombshell when he announced that the non-3G, 16GB base unit iPad would be priced at a very respectable $499.

In other words, just $10 more than the top end Kindle DX — a device with a comparatively measly 4GB storage capacity. A recent University of Georgia study (via RWW) found that cost was a major factor when choosing an e-reader. “Nearly all respondents balked at the Kindle DX’s $489 price tag for reading a newspaper,” according to the survey.

While $489 might be too much for just an e-book reader, $10 more for a device that does a whole lot more may be worth it to a lot of people.

2. Just Reads Books

Out of the box the iPad has 140,000 apps available to it by virtue of the fact that it runs the iPhone OS. That means the iPad can do a ton of things the Kindle can’t — like play games, access social networks, display photos and videos, etc. In fact, because the iPad can run any iPhone app with no modification, that means even the Kindle for iPhone app will run on the iPad, giving iPad users instant access to Amazon’s library of Kindle-formatted books.

The iPad also has a built in web browser powered by Safari, which means that it can access millions of pages of web content in addition to books. The Kindle is limited to only the books, newspapers, magazines, and blogs that you can download to the device. (The Kindle does have a very basic, text-only web browser, but the web experience is very limited.)

Then again, the Kindle will soon offer apps of its own, making potentially it more attractive to those wanting more than “just an e-reader.”

3. iBooks Looks Sweet

Apple took a direct shot at the Kindle by launching iBooks, a digital bookshelf app with a number of high profile publishing partners. The early impressions of the iBooks app during Apple’s iPad unveiling were mainly positive — the reading and book management experience looks slick and the app integrates with iTunes.

If anyone can do for books what Apple did for music earlier this decade with the iPod and iTunes, it’s Apple. And the iBooks/iPad combination looks like it has the potential to be another game changer.

4. Kindle Lacks Color and Video

Sure a color display and video are mostly unnecessary if all you’re planning to do is read text, but just reading text isn’t what most people want. As bandwidth gets cheaper by the day, media consumption is shifting toward the visual. Even the New York Times application demoed today at the Apple iPad event included embedded video and full-color photos within articles, and last month’s vision of publishing’s tabletized future from Time Inc. put a premium on video.

Indeed, as the media landscape becomes more animated, the lack of video could be a nail in the coffin for Amazon’s current generation Kindle.

Why It’s Not

1. E-Ink Display is Gorgeous

Though the tablet now actually exists, it won’t be on sale for another couple of months, and it remains to be seen what the backlit IPS LCD screen on the iPad really looks like (early reports are that it looks great — at least, indoors in Apple’s controlled lighting environment), and whether it will be ideal for reading in all situations and for extended periods of time. What we do know already, however, is that E-Ink screen on the Amazon Kindle is beautiful to read — everywhere.

One of the biggest advantages the Kindle may still have over the iPad is that its screen is ideal for reading, and not just for reading, but reading indoors or outside in the sun, and for long periods of time. If the iPad’s screen really is just like a giant iPhone, as some early reviews have said, then it may not be the best choice for a long, lazy day of reading at the beach.

2. Free 3G

The iPad starts at $499, but if you want data, the price starts going up rather quickly. 3G versions of the device come at a $130 premium (so the cheapest device with 3G is $629), and a data plan costs at least $14.99/month.

The Kindle, meanwhile, comes with free, worldwide 3G coverage baked in. It doesn’t do nearly as much as the iPad, but it will always be connected without requiring you to shell out a penny more. Because the smaller, 6″ version of the Kindle is priced at $259, and still comes with free, global 3G coverage, the Kindle definitely wins on price.

3. Huge Book Selection

Even though Apple announced an impressive list of launch partners, including Penguin, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillian and Hachette, it is unlikely that they’ll be able to match the Kindle’s selection right away. The Kindle currently offers 400,000 books, plus newspapers, magazines, and blogs, and recent moves to entice new publishers with higher royalties should attract even more titles.

Of course, the iPad can run Amazon’s Kindle iPhone app, meaning it technically does offer the same number of books. Bottom line: the jury is still out on this one, but for now, the Kindle has a better selection of books — sort of.

4. Crazy Battery Life

The iPad’s battery life, according to Steve Jobs, is an impressive 10 hours, and it has an even more impressive one month of standby time. Still, it’s likely that getting the full 10 hours means doing things that negatively affect the experience (like lowering screen brightness, turning off WiFi, not playing video, etc.). The Kindle, on the other hand, can give you a full week of reading time with wireless on, and two weeks with wireless off.

If all you’re interested in is reading a book, the Kindle might be the better choice, allowing you to take a week-long vacation without bringing the charger. Your iPad might be dead by the time to step off the plane — or even before that, if you’re on a long flight with a few layovers or delays.

What do you think? Is the Kindle dead in its current form or is there still a market for e-readers? Sounds off in the comments.

Reviews: Kindle for Iphone, Safari

Tags: amazon, analysis, apple, Apple Tablet, ipad, Kindle, List, Lists

(Lire la suite) Josh Catone

Google Brings Social Search to the Masses par Jennifer Van Grove Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

Google has kept Social Search pretty much hidden from the general public, choosing to make it an opt-in Google Labs feature. Today, however, Google is pushing the feature to beta status and turning it on for all signed-in English Googlers.

You may recall that Google Social Search is a standard search results page add-on that displays socially relevant content from people in your online social circle, as determined by your Google Profile.

With the beta release, Google’s also integrating social search into Google Image searches, which means you can scroll down to view pictures matching your query that contacts from your circle — friends and friends of friends — have shared online.

With the beta release Google is also introducing new UI elements to tie the social search experience together. So two additional links will appear next to the “Results from your social circle” heading, with “My social circle” and “My social content” taking you to pages that display your social circle in address book format and the content for your own results, respectively. The experience seems focused on information over design, so don’t expect any frills here.

We think the beta rollout to all English searchers is more significant than the initial labs feature, as it exposes the contextual search results to a mainstream search audience. While it’s officially a beta product today, the Google Social Search rollout will occur over the next few days. If you don’t have Social Search already, you can expect to start seeing the social results fairly soon.

For a demonstration of Google Social Search check out the video below:

Reviews: Google

Tags: Google, Search, social search

(Lire la suite) Jennifer Van Grove

MadTV’s NSFW 2006 Apple iPad Spoof Revisited [VIDEO] par Brenna Ehrlich Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

Although the Apple iPad was officially announced today, the name was actually coined nearly four years ago — by MadTV and a particularly raunchy sketch about bodily functions.

Back in 2006, TUAW posted this sketch and praised it for its use of satire: “The ‘iPad’ ad wins bonus points for coming complete with a spoof of the iPod silhouette ads and a mock voice-over of Bono.”

While these references seem rather retro now, the line, “Please don’t make us explain how it works,” rings particularly true for many tech bloggers at this point. Check out the not-so-dated spoof below. It’s totally NSFW, btw.

Tags: Apple Tablet, humor, ipad, viral video

(Lire la suite) Brenna Ehrlich

9 Upcoming Tablet Alternatives to the Apple iPad par Barb Dybwad Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

The Apple iPad cat is officially out of its bag, but it’s not going to be the only tablet game in town. There are a number of other devices out there in various stages from “barely announced” to “working prototype,” many of which were shown off at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.

Apple may have snagged first-mover advantage in this year’s tablet renaissance, and we have scant few details on things like pricing and release date for some of its upcoming competitors. Still, it’s worth a look at what other tablet contenders are going to be emerging with in the near near future. It might be worth reigning in that Steve Jobs-induced credit card trigger finger for a bit.

Let’s have a look at what alternatives to the iPad are likely literally just around the corner.

1. HP Slate

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed off this HP tablet prototype very briefly at CES this year. It wasn’t the Apple iPad thunder-stealing moment predicted by the media, but it is one of many indications that the tablet form-factor is about to become practically ubiquitous.

This particular HP slate will run Windows 7, setting it apart from the field of tablets running Android you’ll be seeing on the rest of this list. More details about the device were recently revealed by HP in the video below.

2. Dell Streak

During its CES 2010 keynote, Dell talked about working on multiple “upcoming slates,” including one prototype it showed off, which is currently called the Streak. This particular model is only 5-inches, though, which puts it less in the direct path of the iPad and makes it more akin to the existing line of mobile internet devices (MIDs) like the Archos series of Internet tablets. Not much else is known yet about the Streak, or what other kinds of tablets Dell might be cooking up, but Engadget did snag some hands-on photos of the device.

3. Asus Eee Tablet

Asus is the company responsible for kicking off the entire netbook craze. They were also showing off a prototype of a 9-inch tablet at CES this year. The device has four control buttons reminiscent of the favored layout for an Android-powered phone, leading to the logical speculation that the Asus tablet might well run Google’s mobile operating system.

JKK Mobile snagged a video of the prototype, embedded below.

4. Compal Tablet

This working prototype was shown off at CES 2010. Made by Compal, the 7-inch Android 2.0 tablet runs on the new, high-powered next-generation Tegra 2 processor NVIDIA announced at CES. With this chip, a device can support 1080p video playback, yet retain startlingly good battery life. NVIDIA says it already has several partners lined up to make Tegra 2-based tablets, so expect more of this type of device in the near near future.

5. Notion Ink Adam

Another tablet running Android and powered by the Tegra 2 chip is the Adam, a 10-inch tablet from Indian startup Notion Ink. It uses a screen technology from Pixel Qi that combines the best of a full color multi-touch LCD display with a low-power reflective mode that’s readable in direct sunlight.

Notion Ink says the Adam should come to market in the second quarter of this year, with a target price somewhere between $300 and $800. Slashgear got a lengthy video demo (embedded below) and oodles of pics of the device.

6. MSI

Wait for it: It’s another tablet prototype running Android and powered by the Tegra 2, this time from MSI. Engadget found it “a bit thicker and heavier than we’d like,” but on the plus side its 10-inch screen is “plenty responsive.”

7. Quanta

One last prototype running Android on the Tegra 2 chip: the Quanta tablet got some early dings in terms of usability. Still, it is only a prototype, so the Wi-Fi and 3G-enabled tablet device could still be a contender in the about-to-be-crowded tablet space.

8. ICD Vega

Seattle-based startup Innovative Converged Devices announced its Vega tablet back in November 2009, and now the device is officially headed to T-Mobile UK sometime before the end of 2010. Yet another tablet based on Android, the Vega will have a large amount of screen real-estate at 15.6-inches. Check out the full spec list and a hands-on demo video embedded below.

9. Google and HTC

[Mockup image courtesy of Gizmodo]

This one is sadly of the purely rumor variety, but it’s worth mentioning for its potentially game-changing effects. Like it did with the Nexus One, if Google were to take a direct hand in developing a tablet computing device with a trusted partner, it could be a serious contender in the newly emerging tablet wars.

The cited report says the Google Tablet has already been in development for the past 19 months. HTC is a plausible logical choice for the trusted partner as well, given its existing relationship with Google and the Android operating system. Still, with nothing yet official on the books, the Google Tablet is the most speculative entrant on this list for now.

[img credits: Engadget, Slashgear, Gizmodo]

Reviews: Android, Google, Windows

Tags: android, apple, Apple iPad, Apple Tablet, Asus, compal, dell, gadgets, Google, HP, htc, ICD, microsoft, MSi, notion ink, NVIDIA, tablets, Tegra 2, vega, Windows 7

(Lire la suite) Barb Dybwad

Controversial Church’s Next Picketing Project: Twitter HQ par Samuel Axon Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

Reverend Fred Phelps’s Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket Twitter’s San Francisco offices tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. PST. The Kansas-based church is picketing because it believes that “the people who run Twitter … don’t use their position & voice to warn a generation of rebels of the consequences of their rebellion.”

The church knows how to get attention. It has been hit with a tsunami of criticism for picketing military funerals and waving signs that say things like “God Hates Fags” while claiming that America deserves its military losses because of its sins. Westboro even runs a website at www.godhatesfags.com. Members will also be protesting several Jewish organizations — including the Anti-Defamation League — in the hours leading up to its visit to Twitter.

The church members will be tweeting about the Twitter HQ picketing rally as it happens. Don’t be too quick to point out the irony on that. The Westboro schedule says: “Now that should get interesting, WBC member(s) Tweeting as they picket outside Twitter, Inc. Won’t a black hole or something open in the space/time vortex?”

Remember: The church is neither protesting Twitter itself nor decrying it as a tool of human communication. Rather, it’s picketing the HQ because the bigwigs at the company aren’t using their places of power and influence to spread the word about the sins Westboro believes people commit and their expected consequences.

Presumably picketing Twitter will also get them some web and social media exposure. The old “all press is good press” idiom doesn’t apply in this case, though; the exposure they’re seeking will probably just draw more ire and lead to more marginalization.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

[img credit: harbor88]

Reviews: Twitter

Tags: protest, twitter, westboro baptist church

(Lire la suite) Samuel Axon

Will Apple’s iPad Change Mobile Gaming? par Samuel Axon Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

Apple made gaming a big part of its iPad tablet announcement today. That wasn’t a surprise; Apple has had its eye on the gaming market since it launched the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The company announced that iPhone and iPod touch games will be playable on the device, and it invited established iPhone game developers Gameloft and Electronic Arts on stage at its iPad unveiling event to show off two games in development for the device: N.O.V.A. and Need for Speed Shift.

Both demonstrations were put together in just a couple of weeks, but even this early they give us some sense of what we can expect from Apple iPad games. Here are our impressions.

N.O.V.A.

Gameloft has already released a version of N.O.V.A. for the iPhone; it’s a critically acclaimed hand-held first-person shooter in the style of games like Halo and Resistance: Fall of Man.

The basics of the control scheme are similar to those of the iPhone version. For example, an on-screen directional pad handles movement. But the tablet opens up some new multi-touch possibilities on its larger screen as well. In N.O.V.A. you can slide three fingers over a door to open it, slide two fingers across the screen to toss a grenade or draw a targeting box around an enemy.

Need for Speed Shift

Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed racing game series has appeared on just about every gaming platform under the sun. The touch controls make the iPad experience unique. You can tap the inside of the car to zoom out of a chase view and into a first-person driver’s seat view. From there, you can actually use your finger to switch gears on the stick shift.

Graphics in this game look better than iPhone graphics, but they aren’t as good as what you see on high-end PCs, the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3. They look comparable in detail to Nintendo Wii games, but the screen resolution is 1024 x 768, so we’re assuming that many of the games are going to be high definition.

Will the iPad Succeed as a Gaming Device?

We’ll have to see more games to know exactly what to expect, of course, but innovation is likely. Multi-touch on a 10-inch screen will open up new possibilities for interaction with games.

While 3D games were presented at Apple’s unveiling for the iPad, better graphics won’t drive tablet gaming. We expect that other kinds of games will make this device shine. For example, tech industry bigwig and celeb Jason Calacanis posted fake tweets last night talking about a FarmVille app for the iPad, but that actually sounds like something this device would be perfect for.

Just like the Wii and the Nintendo DS — the two most popular pure gaming devices in the world today — the iPad will attract casual gamers who appreciate new ways of interacting, even if they’re not the most precise. We don’t know how many units the iPad will move, though, and until we do we won’t know if it will be worth it to developers to go nuts with this thing.

Keep your eyes open and your ears to the ground, gamers; it’s at least going to be interesting. If it does catch on, you’ll have a whole new kind of console to play with.

[img credit: GDGT and Engadget]

Tags: app store, apple, Apple Tablet, bay bridge, electronic arts, gameloft, ipad, iphone, nova, software, video games

(Lire la suite) Samuel Axon

Official Apple iPad Demo [VIDEO] par Christina Warren Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

Even though the Apple iPad won’t be available for another 60 or 90 days (depending on the model), Apple already has its official iPad website up and running.

In addition to showing off some of the applications, features and design and technical specifications, the website also features an eight-minute video with Apple’s design and development team discussing the device and showing it off. If you love Johnny Ive and well-produced promo videos, you’ll want to check it out!

You can watch the video over at Apple.com here, but we’ve also gone ahead and embedded it below:

What do you think of the iPad? Does the video make you want to see it in person? Let us know!

Tags: Apple Tablet, ipad, trending, video

(Lire la suite) Christina Warren

Yelp Takes Up to $100 Million in New Funding par Adam Ostrow Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

Local reviews powerhouse Yelp has announced that it’s taking a $25 million investment from Elevation Partners, who will also “seek to increase its total investment in Yelp to $100 million through a planned purchase of shares from vested employees and other eligible shareholders,” according to a statement from the company.

The investment comes at a time when local is red hot, with Yelp looking to capitalize further on it by expanding its mobile presence across platforms and introducing features like “check-ins” that help lend credibility to user reviews.

The company cites mobile app development as one of its uses for the new funding, and an updated Android app with check-in features is expected within the next couple weeks.

Yelp says that it passed 26 million unique visitors in December, while we recently reported that the site now features more than 9 million total user reviews.

Reviews: Android, Yelp

Tags: elevation partners, finance, money, venture capital, yelp

(Lire la suite) Adam Ostrow

iBooks: Apple Answers the Kindle with a Digital Bookshelf Like No Other par Jennifer Van Grove Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

There’s no doubt about it, Apple’s newly unveiled iPad is the ebook reader that will change the game, especially since it is directly attacking Amazon’s Kindle.

And Steve Jobs wasn’t being coy about it, saying this morning: “Amazon’s done a great job of pioneering this functionality with the Kindle. We’re going to stand on their shoulders and go a little further.”

Taking it further is a bit of an understatement. iBooks is Apple’s brand new native application that enables users to discover, browse and download ebooks right from the Apple iPad. iBooks is backed by big-time launch partners Penguin, Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillian and Hachette, all publishing powerhouses in their own rights (notice that McGraw-Hill is not on the list).

iBooks offers an impressively beautiful book reading experience. Readers have their own digital bookshelves, and while consuming digital books they’ll be able to tap right or left to change the page and/or drag the page to manually move forwards or backgrounds in the text. Readers can also browse a book’s table of contents, change the font (something you can’t do on the Kindle without hacking it) and adjust font sizes for digital content. Plus, you can’t overlook how color is integrated into the entire experience. Much like the App Store, the iBookstore will serve as the store front for book purchases and be integrated into the iTunes experience.

Here’s how Apple describes iBooks:

“The iBooks app is a great, new way to read and buy books. Just download the app for free from the App Store, and you’ll be able to buy everything from classics to bestsellers from the built-in iBookstore. Once you’ve bought a book, it’s displayed on your Bookshelf. To read it, all you have to do is tap on it and it opens up. The high-resolution, LED-backlit screen displays everything in sharp, rich, color, so it’s very easy to read, even in low light.”

Also of note is that iBooks is comprised of ebooks using ePub format, which is an open book format that distinguishes the Apple ebook platform from Amazon’s offering.

One thing we didn’t hear about is whether or not users will be able to highlight and annotate texts. But, given that iPad starts at $499 and iBooks offers such an impressive ebook experience, we have to wonder what Amazon could do at this point to stay competitive.

iBooks Photos

Reviews: App Store

Tags: Apple iPad, Apple Tablet, ebooks, entertainment, iBooks, ipad, Kindle

(Lire la suite) Jennifer Van Grove

POLL: Do You Plan to Buy the Apple iPad? par Barb Dybwad Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

The buildup to the launch of the Apple iPad tablet computer was intense and legendary, in true Apple fashion. Now that the device is official and we have all the specs and pricing details straight from mouth of Steve Jobs, how does your wallet feel about the new device?

Apple managed to negotiate some unique broadband data plans with AT&T to provide 3G connectivity to the device, with no contract required and a $29.99 monthly unlimited plan in a field littered with $60 per month 3G netbook or laptop service. Still, users who plans to keep the iPad at home for living room (or kitchen or bedroom…) multimedia use might not need connectivity on the go. Folks who already have a MiFi type 3G hub device too might balk at paying a separate $30 monthly fee just to connect a separate device.

Whether you’re in the “only $499!” camp or the “give me everything and a side of slaw!” camp, or whether you’re scoffing at the Apple faithful and stowing your wallet — let us know in the poll below. Do you plan to pick up the Apple iPad? If so, which model will win a place “in the palm of your hand?”

<script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="http://static.polldaddy.com/p/2603925.js"></script>

[img credit: Engadget]

Tags: 3g, apple, Apple Tablet, att, ipad, mobile broadband, mobile data, polls, social media

(Lire la suite) Barb Dybwad

iWork for the iPad Revealed par Christina Warren Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

One of the nice surprises in Apple’s software announcements for the iPad was iWork for the iPad.

iWork is Apple’s suite of productivity software, including Pages, a word processor; Numbers, a spreadsheet program, and Keynote, presentation software (and what powers all of Apple’s own presentations).

The iWork team has been hard at work on this stuff for more than a year, making it all multi-touch and iPad ready. Keynote, in particular, is really impressive: It looks like it’s easy to view and add slides, make edits and add options. Everything is optimized for touch.

Pages is also optimized to be used without a standard keyboard and mouse (we really hope it will at least be an option), with formatting options quickly accessible and with image and text blocks easy to manipulate.

Numbers features a tabbed design and an easy way to link spreadsheets and graphs and to add and update fields. Again, this is all optimized for multi-touch input.

Each app in iWork for the Apple iPad will be available individually for $9.99 in the App Store.

Photo Credits: gdgt

Reviews: App Store

Tags: Apple Tablet, ipad, iwork

(Lire la suite) Christina Warren

A First Look at the iPad for Publishers par Barb Dybwad Mercredi 27 Janvier 2010 :: Mashable! :: RSS

After a protracted flirtation with the rumor mill, Apple’s iPad is finally official. Did Apple deliver on its expectation to redefine print with a new computing form factor?

Only time will tell, but on first blush things look promising. Steve Jobs invited New York Times SVP Martin Nisenholtz to the stage to show off that newspaper formatted for the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen. It looked similar to the nice, easy-to-read and navigate newspaper format we saw shown off on the Skiff Reader at CES, with one huge difference: color.

That means not only color photographs, but inline video playback as well. As Nisenholtz indicated, the display “captures the essence of a newspaper,” but extends it — finally re-imagining the daily periodical for “the next generation of digital journalism.”

Check out the screenshots of what promises to be only the first of many new digital periodical formats as periodical publishers start wrapping their heads around the possibilities of monetizable content on a portable tablet device (we’ll talk about what iBooks means for book publishers as well: Stay tuned). Let us know what other innovations you want to see in digital publishing.

[img credit: gdgt]

Tags: apple, Apple Tablet, ipad, new york times, newspapers, publishing, tablets

(Lire la suite) Barb Dybwad

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