Four years after it set the smartphone world on fire, Apple has won a patent for the original iPhone.
This isn’t just old news: it’s a huge win for Apple that will not only help Cupertino out in their case against Samsung, but according to some patent specialists could even allow Apple to go to war against other smartphone makers.
Turns out, creating a tablet that sells like an iPad is simple: just make it look and feel just like Apple’s device. Yes, you might run into the knee-crackers from Cupertino’s legal department, but you’re guaranteed a winner.
It’s been a bad year for RIM so far. Their BlackBerry business has been harried on all sides by the iPhone, and their stock has delated largely thanks to the arterial spray of customers they are losing to Apple.
Worse, in response to the iPad, RIM released the much heralded BlackBerry Playbook, which might just go down in the books as one of the worst, least functional and woefully misguided pieces of consumer technology ever.
Finally, just last week, Apple totally eliminated RIM’s sole advantage over iOS by announcing iMessage, which Wall Street is already saying will kill BlackBerry’s remaining prospects in enterprise.
Anyone surprised that RIM”s now announcing layoffs after seeing their first quarter results? I thought not.
Here’s a bit of sweet timing. Just as the PC Era collapses and everyone moves to the cloud, what is Apple selling? Why, the MacBook Air, a light mobile device that seems perfect for the iCloud generation. Oh, yeah, it’s also a “quasi-tablet.” No wonder analysts predict Apple will make billions off the device.
Apple has just confirmed that they are recalling a limited number of Verizon iPad 2s, and now we know the reason why.
When it comes to mobile, Microsoft has been caught with its pants down twice in the last four years.
The first time was when the original iPhone completely turned the smartphone industry upside down overnight back in 2007. Microsoft was so slow to respond that by the time they released their first true touch-based operating system, Windows Phone 7, in November of last year, they had gone from a dominant player in the smartphone market to losing almost all of their market share.
Before Microsoft could even get Windows Phone 7 out the door, though, it happened again. Apple released the iPad in 2010, and this time, iOS didn’t just revolutionize smartphones… it attacked the very foundations of Microsoft’s Windows empire itself, cannibalizing laptop sales and utterly destroying the netbook market.
PC makers looking to ride the tablet wave and overcome Apple’s lead have had a rude awakening.
At Computex 2011 in Taiwan this week, Asus unveiled its Padfone – a new smartphone that can be placed into the back of a magic dock transforming it into a tablet. But before you stick your iPhone 4 on eBay and start waiting for one of these things, check out this dock from ECS which does exactly the same thing with your iPhone.
One of the best attributes of Samsung’s Galaxy S smartphone series is that beautiful AMOLED display, which could find its way into Apple’s third-generation iPad and finally deliver that Retina display iPad we’re all longing for. However, we’re skeptical Apple and Samsung will shake hands on this occasion.
The placement of the cellular and WiFi antennas between the iPhone 4 and iPad 2 couldn’t be more different, but that’s not stopping a small but vocal minority of iPad 2 owners to cry about an Antennagate of their own.
First, Apple takes Acer to the woodshed over netbooks, now the PC maker takes a bruising for demanding a lady-sized 7-inch tablet. They’ve just figured out what Apple has known all along: the iPad’s the perfect size for a tablet.
They say that no one but Apple can make a decent sub-$500 tablet, but Amazon not only thinks they can undercut the iPad in price once… they think they can do it with two tablet at once.
Oh, Research In Motion! Can you for one moment stop making your would-be iPad killer suck even harder than it already does?
Panned critically at debut, RIM recently had to recall over a thousand half-baked units. Now reports indicate that a recent patch has made PlayBook performance even worse than it was before.
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for since the iPad first launched in April 2010. It’s the reason we all stood in line for a day to get our hands on one. And it’s the reason why the iPad has been such an overwhelming success all over the world. Yes, I’m talking about Playboy magazine… which is now available on your tablet.
The iPad 2 already has phenomenal, 10-hour battery life, largely thanks to a combination of Apple’s custom-built, power-sipping A5 chip and the fact that inside, the iPad 2 is mostly battery.
Thanks to a new, cutting-edge tablet coating, though, your next iPad could run for twenty hours or more on a single charge, while providing Kindle-like outdoor readability.
‘Coyote’ and ‘Hollywood’ are the code-names of two tablets rumored to be a part of Amazon’s
upcoming tablet ‘family’. Details obtained from one tipster reveal the Coyote will boast a dual-core processor much like Apple’s iPad 2, whereas the Hollywood has something even more audacious up its sleeve: hardware that Amazon hopes will potentially make the iPad 3 obsolete even before it launches.
Apple is still yet to announce an official launch date for the iPad 2 in Taiwan, but some sources are claiming the device is set to hit the country before the month is out, while Android tablets in the country are suffering from its delay.
Faced with the incredible juggernaut of Apple’s iPad, Amazon may have no choice but to gang-tackle Cupertino with an “entire family” of Android-based Kindle tablets.
Initial reviews deeming the device “half-baked” meant a bad start for the BlackBerry PlayBook, and things just got a little worse as RIM recalls nearly 1,000 units.
Samsung is preparing to launch a new 10.1-inch display next week which will boast a resolution of 2560 by 1600, making it the first ‘Retina’ display to be announced for tablets. But will it be making its way into the iPad 3?
The SyncMate 3 program from Eltima Software has been providing Android users with a way of seamlessly syncing their phones with their Mac for some time, but the latest update integrates support for Android powered tablets as well.
A Chinese gadget maker of dubious distinction, vowing to directly clone a popular, in-demand Apple product? Is this even real life????
While Apple is unlikely to release a 4G iPad until 2012 or even 2013, due to their issues with the power hungriness of current LTE modems chipsets, never underestimate Cupertino’s competitors — or their desperation to beat the iPad — to adopt an underdeveloped new technology before its time.
Meet, then, the HTC Puccini, a 10-inch LTE tablet set to debut in June. Not much is known about it, although it’s likely to be a Honeycomb tablet and support HTC’s Scribe capacitive stylus.
Otherwise, the most interesting aspect about the Puccini is that it is one of the first devices that will support AT&T’s forthcoming “true 4G” LTE network. That’s interesting not because of the Puccini, but because of what it means for Apple. When AT&T’s LTE network debuts, Apple will finally be able to support the two largest mobile providers in the country in their 4G pursuits using the same chipset.
Sony surprised visitors to the Consumer Electronics Show back in January when the company announced its intentions to take second place in the tablet market within a year, despite not having a tablet under its name. But at a media launch in Tokyo on Tuesday, the company announced two new devices that will be coming to take on the iPad this fall.
Identified, for now, by the code names S1 and S2, the new Sony tablets will be powered by the latest Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system, and will both feature Wi-Fi and 3G/4G capabilities. The S1 will feature a 9.4-inch display and a Tegra 2 processor, with an “off-centre of gravity design.” It will also boast an IR port for controlling Sony’s line of Bravia televisions.
The S2 has two 5.5-inch displays with a foldable design; which can be used independently to display different functions, or together for browsing websites and other tasks.
Sony chose not to reveal any further details about either tablet, disclaiming that “design and specifications are subject to change without notice.” Both devices will be compatible with selected PlayStation games, and are scheduled for a worldwide launch this coming fall.
The S1 certainly looks like a pretty swanky tablet in the picture above, but I’m sure I like the foldable design that comes with the S2. Until we know more details about each device’s technical specifications, it’s hard to determine whether these Sony tablets will worthy adversaries for the iPad 2. However, I can’t imagine Sony would release them if they weren’t strong contenders.
[via AppleInsider]
For those that find the iPad’s 9.7-inch display far too small, Lenovo is working on a 23-inch tablet designed for the home. William Cai, Lenovo’s senior specialist in marketing, said that he believes a tablet that can be moved from room to room, used on (big) tables, and be docked to provide an all-in-one, could be the solution to the “problem” of having multiple screens around the home.
We think that there is potential for a 23-inch tablet. We’d have to take care of battery life and we are working to get the weight down.
It’s obviously not for full mobility use, but it could be moved from room to room in the house and used with a full keyboard, or as a television. Or you could lay it on a table top and use it for family games.
We’re hoping that we can launch it later this year.
Hopefully Lenovo will change its mind before then. I’m not sure how big a battery would have to be to power a device of this size – maybe some kind of battery rucksack that the user wears to keep the thing juiced up for an hour or so is the answer?
While several competitors have tried to beat the iPad with smaller devices, or even slightly larger ones, Lenovo’s idea is certainly the most drastic attempt at producing a tablet unlike any other.
Maybe there is a place for a 23-inch tablet in the home; would you buy one? Could you see a use for a device like this, that provides any advantage over an iPad coupled with an iMac? Let us know in the comments.
[TechCrunch via Revert to Saved]
