Although the iPad began as a “magical” device for consumers, Apple’s tablet is quickly finding a place in business. From do-it-yourself meccas such as Lowe’s to the glamorous Gucci, retailers are learning how the iPad attracts, retains and increases customers. Indeed, 25 percent of iPads sold in 2011 will go to businesses, according to New York consulting firm Deloitte.
Just how important was Steve Jobs’ departure as Apple CEO to sales of the iPad? Very little, according to a survey indicating consumers were prepared for Apple’s co-founder to step down.
The long-running dispute between Apple and Samsung has erupted again, this time in an unrelated insider-trading trial. The former manager of Samsung’s U.S. division told a New York City court he leaked shipment data of LCD screens destined for the iPad to a Calif. financial analyst.
For a number of reasons, mainly its long list of stability issues and its unquenchable thirst for any power your system may have, Apple will ensure we never see Adobe Flash on the iPad. And while the company has been criticized by competition for this decision in the past, it’s not the only one turning its back on the aging technology: Microsoft has also announced that Flash player will not feature in Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 8 tablets.
There’re few materials that can match leather for wear resistance and luxuriousness; and if you’re using an iPad in a professional or fashion-forward setting, leather makes a great choice.
Problem is, leather cases tend not to be the most practical solutions: They’re generally portlier than their proletariat plastic counterparts, and they’re also generally don’t allow for mucking about with positioning much.
Ah, but the updated Sena Folio for iPad ($100) is different.
A pair of new goodies from Logitech were revealed today; we actually snagged a little time to check out both when Logitech lifted the curtain for us at a sneak preview a couple of months ago.
You can fly a plane with an iPad but airlines still won’t loan you one to watch “Friends with Benefits” on it while sitting in coach.
Australian airlines Qantas is once again touting its iPad-inflight entertainment scheme– it has been talking about getting it on board since June 2010 – but the concept has still failed to launch in any meaningful way.
Back in 2008, the Malibu Beach Inn billed itself as the world’s first iPhone hotel.
Now apps like that one are helping people get more comfortable (or complain more quickly) in hotels around the world.
The California hotel offered guests loaner iPhones or iPod Touch devices to order room service, set wake up calls, request dry cleaning, extra blankets or replace forgotten toothbrushes, check messages or set “Do Not Disturb” notices plus shopping, eating and cavorting info.
The whole shebang runs on an app called “Hotel Evolution” from Los Angeles software firm Runtriz.
Apple hit a home run with its wireless Bluetooth keyboard. The keyboard is compact, good-looking and functional. It even works great in conjunction with devices like the iPad, thanks to its easy setup over Bluetooth.
Being only 12.5mm thick, the Levitatr Bluetooth keyboard features a design that Apple would be proud of. With a LED backlit set of keys that magically lifts off of a flat slab when you’re ready to type, this Kickstarter project has us already wanting to buy.
We knew Apple’s iPad dwarfed RIM’s PlayBook, but now the image seems even more lopsided, thanks to shipping numbers from a group of analysts. The Cupertino, Calif. company shipped 19 iPads each time the BlackBerry maker shipped one of its rival devices. Little wonder RIM, facing financial scrutiny Thursday, is back concentrating on its smartphones.
Whatever you do, don’t blink. Otherwise you might miss the superbness of this Who-tastic iPad case, and instructions for making your own.
For just two dollars, you can buy the pattern for this smart multi-dimensional iPad sleeve, and make it yourself with some yarn, some needles, and a sonic screwdriver.
Just like the real TARDIS, this one’s bigger on the inside than it is on the outside. On the outside, you have a 7.5inch by 9.5inch crocheted sleeve, but on the inside you have more hours of entertainment than most of us can handle in 11 (count ’em) lifetimes. Having a time machine would actually be quite a good way of keeping up with it all, wouldn’t it?
(Hands up who else is really enjoying the current series of Who?)
Apple’s iPad will soon be spawning in Brazil, according to the country’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Aloizio Mercadante. Until now, the device has been produced solely by Foxconn in China, but by December Brazilian iPads will be hitting the market.
Life in plastic isn’t so fantastic for a pair of iPad thieves named Barbie and Ken.
The crimes took place in Denver, where a woman named Barbie Alvarado is accused of answering ads on Craigslist for iPads then stealing them with the help of an accomplice named Ken.
Despite expectation Amazon’s tablet could challenge the iPad, analysts aren’t setting the bar too high for immediate sales. Indeed, the internet retailer will sell just 2 million of its 7-inch devices for the remainder of this year, one Wall Street expert suggests.
I tend to travel a fair bit, and when I’m not flopping down on friends’ couches (which happens more than I should probably admit — thanks guys), I often turn to Bill Shatner’s pugnacious figure and punch it, firing up the Priceline app to find a killer deal. And now that it’s a universal app, it’s even better on the iPad.
Police in Florida are looking for three men who took $60,000 in iPads from a Best Buy early Monday morning.
From the surveillance video, it took the trio dressed in dark clothing and gloves just a minute to “complete the theft,” the police report says.
Have you noticed the prices of iBooks increasing? It’s not a mystery that publishers now view electronic versions of their hardcover editions as a way to save money. Turns out publishers are adopting Apple’s “agency pricing” model, a move making cheap iBooks on your iPad or iPhone as rare as dime store novels.
While we all patiently await the release of iOS 5, Apple’s assemblers could be getting a gold master release from September 23, according to one analyst — just in time for a mid-October launch of the long-awaited iPhone 5.
Timing is everything. That could be the message from news Apple’s chief iPad 2 supplier is expected to churn out 20 million of the tablets for the third quarter – just in time for the all-important holiday sales period. Shipments of the iPad 2 for the quarter were already expected to hit 14 million, thus topping the last period’s 9.25 million tablets Apple sold.
In the case of a German judge, looks are everything when deciding to permanently ban Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in that European nation. “For the informed customer there remains the predominant overall impression that the device looks” like Apple’s iPad, a Dusseldorf court ruled Friday.
While blogging services like Posterous, Tumblr, and WordPress have long catered to those of use who like to write up posts on our iPhones, Google made us wait a long time for an iPhone app for Blogger. But now it’s finally here, and it does a great job.
A few short months ago, we wondered whether the wee ones should be learning their ABCs with iPads.
The answer appears to be yes: Fall 2011 brings a bumper crop of U.S. preschools launching iPad programs. From Maine to Tennessee, kids are saying teary goodbyes to their parents and being greeted in schoolrooms with sympathetic teachers (we hope) and Apple’s magical device.
Since we can no longer carp about people smoking, it would seem we have to find some bone to pick with fellow diners in restaurants.
Case in point: a server in a busy San Francisco restaurant (where else?) wonders if it is a breach of etiquette 2.0 to bring your own mobile entertainment to the table.
For those concerned Android was catching up with Apple’s iPad, JPMorgan analyst Mark Moskowitz has this message: stop your worrying. “Beyond the iPad, there has not been another high-volume tablet offering, yet,” he told investors Thursday. When one does, don’t look to Mountain View, but Microsoft for a credible Apple competitor.
Japan is the next stop in Apple’s far-reaching attempt to stop the spread of Samsung rival devices. The tech giant has filed suit in Tokyo asking the court to suspend sales of the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II smartphones, as well as the Galaxy Tab 7 tablet. The Galaxy S is outselling the iPhone in this tech-obsessed Asian nation.