Today’s news cycle is all about the iPad. It’s release this weekend has everyone excited. Reviews are in form the old guard and they seem positive but not knock-your-socks-off “wow”. There are two questions that need to be answered in my mind before I’ll commit and they are worth thinking about if you’ve held off pre-ordering.
Question 1: price drop?
With the original iPhone, we saw a price drop very quickly as Apple realized price was going to be a real factor in moving large amounts of smartphones. The subsequent drop in price was greeted with rage from folks who paid more and Apple relented with a store credit, placating the masses. Could the iPad face the same price drop?
Described by PC Mag as “An expensive niche product.” USA Today describes it as, ” the antithesis of the cheap underpowered netbook computers”. Clearly it’s not cheap, but is it cheap enough to get masses to buy? If not, will we see a drop where later adapters benefit?
Question 2: refresh?
One of the common themes in reviews of the iPad is the lack of a video camera. To many of us, the unit screams for video chat. Adding this feature isn’t a software update, it’s a hardware one.
From Mossberg’s review: “If you need to create or edit giant spreadsheets or long documents, or you have elaborate systems for organizing email, or need to perform video chats, the iPad isn't going to cut it as your go-to device.”
So the question then becomes, what is the update cycle? Will it follow iPods and refresh before the holidays? Or will it stick to the iPhone model and launch following generations yearly based on the original launch date? To me, the iPad is a very consumer-oriented device, much like an iPod and might fit in with the holiday launch cycle. The case could be made it’s more about computing and as such should follow the Mac launch cycle.
If I am right (and trust me, it’s rare), that would mean we could see a hardware refresh that might include a camera as early as September. I would hold off buying if that were the case. But besides Apple, who’s to know?
I am sure Robert or Kirk from Appletell would interject at this point and tell me I’m an idiot for not getting one now. Loving Apple and perhaps all of tech for that matter is about embracing a lack of future-proofing and going with the cutting edge.
Following up nicely with the recent FCC sightings of the AT&T compatible Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, we now have a report that AT&T employees will be receiving some practice Palm Pre Pluses. Of course, just because of the day I tend to read this a little skepticism. That said, and assuming this is true, it looks like AT&T stores will be getting the units as of today. They do however come with a pretty strict, and very believable set of rules which include noting that the device is for practice only and can be used in “Virtual Training Sessions and OFF sales floor.” It must also be kept in a “secure place.” As of now, these practice units are being described as having no SKU, and will not be included in the store inventory. But on the bright side, once these “virtual training sessions” have been completed, the units can then be moved out of the secure location and into a place where customers can play. All signs point to a soon-to-be-available Pre Plus and Pixi Plus with AT&T.
I am pretty sure you hate reading tech blogs on 4/1, as much as I hate writing on this day. File this one under, “stuff I want to believe but am scared to.” Gizmodo is reporting, as well as other sites, that Netflix will offer up an iPad app that allows movie streaming. As with all Netflix streaming, there is no charge - it’s all part of your monthly service from the company.
Netflix still hasn’t offered up an official app for the iPhone, but is said to be behind this one. With the recent influx of Netflix on “x” such as the upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series OS, it isn’t that far out of what we might expect. Is it too good to be true?
The app would allow Netflix customers to stream from the company’s instant view movie selection. While on WiFi or on 3G, users can stream movies until their hearts content or the 11-hour plus battery dies. Netflix’s selection of streaming movies isn’t huge yet, but seems to be growing at a good clip. My kids use it daily.
Could this be the app that tips the scale to get you to buy one? For me, it just might.
It looks like Verizon may be trying to make the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus a little more appealing. We have been seeing the price come down over the past few weeks with various third party retailers, and even on sale a few times with Verizon directly. But this deal is a little different from the rest. The pricing of the phones seem to have remained the same at $149.99 and $79.99 for the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus respectively, however the price of the Mobile Hotspot add on service has been lowered. And by lowered I mean it has been slashed, all the way from $40 to $0.
Of course, yes its April Fools day and we should not believe anything we see online. That is why I have included two screenshots (see below). Otherwise, PreCentral is reporting that Verizon has also lowered the pricing of the phones to $49.99 and $29.99. That said, I cannot see, nor verify those prices. [Update] The Verizon website has now confirmed $49.99 and $29.99 pricing on the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus. Price drop is official.
The Palm Pixi Plus recently made its appearance with the FCC, and today it looks like that time has come for its sibling, the Pre Plus. As usual, the listing did not reveal any new goodies. Basically what we have is an image of the FCC label as well the model number, which was P101UNA. In otherwords, the P101 is for the Palm Pre and the UNA stands for UMTS and North America. In short, the Palm Pre Plus has been given the seal of approval for the North American 3G bands, which means its one step closer to seeing an AT&T release.
With everyone focusing on the iPad that comes in a few days, MeeGo has decided to launch the first build of the new effort. MeeGo is the project that combines Maemo and Moblin from Nokia and Intel. It combines the two Linux projects and makes one system that is meant to work on both smartphone and netbooks as well as MIDs and just about any other device possible.
Today being the first build release, MeeGo is right now targeted at developers for testing. The code is available for the Nokia N900, Atom-based netbooks and Atom-based smartphones. To help reinforce the fact that this is meant for developers, and not to be used as a main OS, this build of MeeGo comes with no User Experience as it is not yet public. Instead, booting MeeGo from a flash drive would boot straight into the terminal.
The fact that the first MeeGo builds lack the UX is depressing, though makes sense as the project is still early. However, releasing just a terminal booting image of a netbook/mobile OS this close to the iPad’s launch may not be the best idea. Yes, MeeGo will be interesting when we can use it without having to rely on the terminal, and yes, it is always nice to work with open source software. Why even attempt to announce anything this close to the iPad launch, though? Despite the qualms some if not many of us have with the App Store, the iPad is a power that will silence other news. Guess that makes a good case for why the UX for MeeGo isn’t public yet, wait until we’ve all at least touched the iPad before showing is off.
It looks like the embargo has been lifted on the Apple iPad, and that means the first hands-on reviews have been posted. Overall the reviews seem to be positive and did not really spill anything all that surprising. But at the same time, they are worthy of a read if for nothing more than it will tide us over till Saturday when the regular folks will be able to get their hands on.
And the techies are right about another thing: the iPad is not a laptop. It's not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it's infinitely more convenient for consuming it — books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on. For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience — and a deeply satisfying one.
All in all, however, the iPad is an advance in making more-sophisticated computing possible via a simple touch interface on a slender, light device. Only time will tell if it's a real challenger to the laptop and netbook.
Apple has pretty much nailed it with this first iPad, though there’s certainly room for improvement. Nearly three years after making a splash with the iPhone, Apple has delivered another impressive product that largely lives up to the hype.
A difficult-to-pinpoint target customer and a few pesky omissions are overshadowed by the excellent overall experience you get with Apple’s iPad. And it sets the bar high for competing products in this nascent Internet tablet category.
I like it a lot. But it’s the things I never knew it made possible — to be revealed or not in the coming months — that will determine whether I love it.
The self adjusting touchscreen module, or F.U.J.J for short, is TechCrunch’s latest invention to replace its wrongfully stolen CrunchPad. Coming in at just $50, it is a sound replacement for just about any tablet device. And best of all, it’s a DIY project that your kids can even help with!
In all seriousness, it’s a cute video starring Mike Arrington, the original creator of the CrunchPad, himself where he subtly tells everyone his frustration with losing his pride and joy. It comes as a great April Fools Joke and even if the product was still fake, if they really put this up for sale I’m sure they’d make more than the $44,000 the JooJoo did. Through it all, though, I think TechCrunch might have managed to come out on the high side in this fight even if they don’t win back the rights.
As previously thought, the JooJoo got stomped on by the iPad. Selling around 90 pre-orders for the JooJoo and still managing to miss three or four deadlines, the latest being March 29th, the JooJoo turned out to be a flop. TechCrunch should stop while they’re ahead and let Fusion Garage take the fall for the device instead of attempting to get it back only to get measly sales as a side-effect.
It was a great idea; it would have been amazing had it come out 6-7 months ago and it would probably be seeing the large sales the iPad is getting already. But they waited.
Happy April Fools Day everyone, even if it is a bit early(or late) where you live.
Today’s news cycle is all about the iPad. It’s release this weekend has everyone excited. Reviews are in form the old guard and they seem positive but not knock-your-socks-off “wow”. There are two questions that need to be answered in my mind before I’ll commit and they are worth thinking about if you’ve held off pre-ordering.
I am pretty sure you hate reading tech blogs on 4/1, as much as I hate writing on this day. File this one under, “stuff I want to believe but am scared to.” Gizmodo is reporting, as well as other sites, that Netflix will offer up an iPad app that allows movie streaming. As with all Netflix streaming, there is no charge - it’s all part of your monthly service from the company.
It looks like Verizon may be trying to make the Palm Pre Plus and the Palm Pixi Plus a little more appealing. We have been seeing the price come down over the past few weeks with various third party retailers, and even on sale a few times with Verizon directly. But this deal is a little different from the rest. The pricing of the phones seem to have remained the same at $149.99 and $79.99 for the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus respectively, however the price of the Mobile Hotspot add on service has been lowered. And by lowered I mean it has been slashed, all the way from $40 to $0. 
With everyone focusing on the iPad that comes in a few days, MeeGo has decided to launch the first build of the new effort. MeeGo is the project that combines Maemo and Moblin from Nokia and Intel. It combines the two Linux projects and makes one system that is meant to work on both smartphone and netbooks as well as MIDs and just about any other device possible.
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