WebProNews

Tag: ipad

  • Where to Buy the iPad 2

    Where to Buy the iPad 2

    Apple’s iPad 2 becomes available tomorrow, as you probably know by now. Apple has put out a fresh announcement in case anyone needed a reminder.

    The iPad 2 will be available starting at 5:00 PM local time at all 236 Apple retail stores in the US and through the Apple Store (online) at 1am Pacific. Apple says:

    Every customer who buys an iPad 2 at an Apple retail store will be offered free Personal Setup service, helping them customize their iPad 2 by setting up email, loading new apps from the App Store and more, so they’ll be up and running with their new iPad 2 before they leave the store. iPad 2 will also be available beginning at 5 p.m. local time at AT&T, Best Buy, Target, Verizon Wireless, Walmart and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

    If you still need more details about the device itself, refer to the coverage of the iPad 2 launch event.

    iPad 2 With New Features

    Apple released iOS 4.3 yesterday, after announcing that it would be available on the same day as the iPad 2.

    New research from IDC finds that the iPad controls 73% of the tablet market (10.1 million tablets shipped in the fourth quarter- more than double the number from the third quarter). Apple’s share decreased by 20% from quarter to quarter, but that’s understandable, because now they have competition.

    The launch of the iPad 2 ought to give the company a significant boost though.

  • Apple iPad Tops In Tablet Market

    Apple iPad Tops In Tablet Market

    In the fourth quarter of 2010 (Q410) 10.1 million tablets shipped, more than double the 4.5 million shipped in the third quarter, according to a new report from IDC.

    Apple’s share decreased from 93 percent in Q310 to 73 percent in Q410, but still showed its solid leadership position. The Samsung Galaxy Tab was the main competitor during the holiday season, accounting for more than 17 percent share.

    IDC found that the eReader market also increased significantly in the fourth quarter. Strong sales of Amazon’s Kindle, as well as significant gains from competitors such as Pandigital, Barnes & Noble, Hanvon, and Sony among others, contributed to market growth.

    In Q410, the eReader market more than doubled volume from the previous quarter, with more than 6 million units shipped for the quarter, bringing the full-year total to 12.8 million units shipped. eReader shipments were also up more than 325% from 2009 when roughly 3 million units shipped.
    Loren-Loverde
    “Strong holiday sales of media tablets were in line with IDC projections and strong consumer interest in the category while device vendors scrambled to offer products competitive with Apple’s iPad and now iPad 2,” said Loren Loverde, vice president, Consumer Device Trackers.

    “Media Tablets are on pace to reach shipments of roughly 50 million units in 2011.”

    According to IDC, the United States, Western Europe and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) regions accounted for 89% of all media tablet shipments in 4Q10. Although the United States remained the largest country market, Western Europe and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) grew almost twice as fast from Q310 to Q410 and Western Europe saw a slightly larger jump in shipments in 4Q10.

    In Q410, retailers were the channel with the highest share of shipments, followed by direct and telco sales. A new channel for media tablets, the telco operators, accounted for nearly 14% of all shipments of media tablets in 4Q10

  • iPad 2 at Best Buy Friday at 5pm

    Best Buy has posted an iPad 2 FAQ page that should help those looking to purchase the device at the retail giant complete their task. After all, not every town has an Apple store, and there are over 1,150 Best Buys.

    The iPad 2 will become available at Best Buy at 5:00pm local time on Friday, March 11 – in stores only. There will be no pre-orders from Best Buy. The stores will carry the black and white versions of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB with wifi only as well as each of these for Verizon 3G or AT&T 3G.

    iPad 2 frequently asked questions have now been posted on our forums! Updated frequently: http://bbyurl.us/ipad2faq via @Jacob_BestBuy 2 hours ago via ConnectTweet · powered by @socialditto

    Pricing is as follows:

    Wifi:
    16GB $499.99.
    32GB $599.99.
    64GB $699.99.

    3G:
    16GB $629.99.
    32GB $729.99.
    64GB $829.99.

    Best Buy says it expects the iPad 2 smart covers, which Apple showed off at the recent launch event, to be available as well. These have magnets in them, cling to the device to keep it clean, and fold to let you prop the device up.

    Best Buy will offer two Geek Squad Black Time Protection plans for both the iPad and iPad 2. These are a standard plan and an accidental damage from handling (ADH) plan for coverage up to three years from the date of purchase.

    Best Buy’s  “Buy Back” will be available for the iPad 2 and will guarantee a trade-in price for up to two years from purchase. “If both GSBTP and Buy Back are purchased at the same time, you will receive 50% of the price of Buy Back,” the company says.

    If you want aren’t looking to buy an iPad 2, you may want to avoid going to Best Buy on Friday around 5:00, unless you don’t mind  large frantic crowds.

  • iPad 2 Coming to University of Kentucky School

    iPad 2 Coming to University of Kentucky School

    About a month ago, we ran a couple stories about the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky (UK) here in Lexington, launching an initiative to put iPads in the hands of students and faculty, with support for an 18-month trial from Apple. The idea is that this will help future diplomats be better versed in current technology.

    As current tech is the focus, it only makes sense that the iPad 2 gets into the mix. Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh, who is the Director of the school, who tells WebProNews,  “The iPad 2 offers a bundle of capabilities that enhance its performance as an educational device.”

    Carey Cavanaugh Talks iPad Use “The two that stand out most are video mirroring and the new dual cameras,” he says.  “At the Patterson School, we have already been using iPads for presentations, but with the iPad2 improvements (and a $39 cable) all of our rooms with HD televisions are transformed into conference centers.”

    “Last month we used iPads and Altec Lansing’s Octiv Stage in a 24-hour crisis simulation we held concerning a nuclear accident in North Korea,” he explains. ” In the scenario, students were divided into six teams (corresponding with the official Six Party Talks — US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, North Korea) and had to handle the political fallout that resulted from the radioactive fallout that occurred when a North Korean weapons development site malfunctioned.  The use of the two devices (iPad and Octiv Stage) was helpful in communicating, reading pdfs or maps as a group, and watching video reports regarding the crisis.”

    “The University of Kentucky’s School of Journalism was a partner in this effort producing some excellent accounts of diplomatic and dangerous developments,” Cavanaugh tells us. “What was lacking and desired, however, was an ability to video chat within and between team delegations.  That function will now be simple with FaceTime and iPad 2’s new cameras.  The cameras, and the ability to do HD video recording, also open up an ability to have our students capture and convey some of their experiences serving in internships around the world to their fellow classmates.”

    Apple is providing support throughout the 18-month trial period, and will assist with program development and strategy, train students, faculty and staff, and help get them access to developers when necessary.

    “We are already weighing how best to organize this,” says Cavanaugh.  “With students bound for Cambodia, Macedonia, Uganda and Latin America (they may be able to test whether the iPad’s operating and non-operating temperature ranges are valid).  I also believe these new capabilities will facilitate study groups in some interesting ways.  While the Patterson School does not support distance education and always prefers that students meet directly, we often have a few who are at a disadvantage in preparing for their final comprehensive examinations because they are away at US internships or jobs (in locations like Washington, DC or New York).  The iPad2 will now put them in the room.”

    “I also believe the announced enhancements to AirPlay in iOS 4.3 will be helpful in the classroom,” he adds. “Finally, no one could ever complain about thinner, lighter, and faster — at the same cost.”

    Apple is giving buyers of the first iPad a refund of a hundred dollars when they buy the iPad 2. It’s a little better than the solution offered in Conan O’Brien’s parody.

  • iPad 2 Gets Conan Treatment

    iPad 2 Gets Conan Treatment

     

    Apple’s iPad 2 is already drawing parody in late night TV before it’s even available to consumers. Conan O’Brien did a video mocking Apple’s iPad 2 video, which it played at the launch event and posted to the web.

    “I don’t know about you, but I saw the video,” says Conan, introducing his version. “I personally think that the people at Apple are starting to get a little bit cocky. I do.”

    “iPad 2 is the culmination of literally 2 to 3 meanings. It’s truly incredible how little we did,” says Graham Davies, Vice President Marketing in Conan’s video. “We knew that if we changed the color, put pictures of water droplets on the desktop, made it a little faster, added two holes with cheap cameras in them, and just kind of flattened it a bit, people would just go nuts.”

    “One of my favorite things about the iPad 2 launch is that I get to keep this tight black shirt, which I think really pops against white backgrounds,” adds Graham Davies, Vice President Marketing.

    “Is iPad 2 incredible? Yes,” says Merti Mahlo-D’que – Vice President Dream-Telligence. “Are you believing what I’m saying partially because I have a non-specific ethnic accent? Absolutely.”

    “Most customers will say, ‘What about me? I just bought the old iPad.’ And to you, I say F*** off,” says Davies.

    At the end, the following text appears: “iPad 2. You’ll buy it no matter what we say.”

    The iPad 2 will ship on March 11 in 26 countries, followed by more on March 25. If you really did buy the old one, Apple’s real response is to give you a hundred bucks off your purchase – a little more desirable than the response in Conan’s iPad video.

  • Twitter Releases Updates For iPhone And iPad

    Twitter has introduced new features to its versions of  apps for iPhone and iPad.

    Twitter said it is now easier to upload photos via a camera button in the tool bar, along with a better image preview.

    An autocomplete feature makes it faster to tweet on the go offering speed and accuracy.

     

    Twitter-iPhone

     

    Other features of the update include:

    *Follow friends on Twitter via contacts on your phone.

    *View local trends based on location.

    *Automatically shortened links.

    *A Quick Bar that lets users see trends at the top of their timeline.
     

     

  • iPad 2 Refunds Coming for Current Apple iPad Owners

    Apple revealed the iPad 2 yesterday, announcing that it would ship on March 11 in 26 countries, followed by more on March 25. Apple announced that the pricing of iPad 2 models would reflect those of the iPad 1 models. However, the iPad 1 models are dropping in price by a hundred bucks. 

    Given that the original iPad really hasn’t been out that long yet, and Apple really wants people to get the new version, they’re reportedly offering to refund the price difference to consumers who already purchased the first iPad. 

    UK-based ElectricPig, which spoke with the comnpany, reports, "We were assured by Apple’s sales team that Apple would just refund the £100 price difference, without any complicated returns and exchanges, so you can take advantage of the price drop on the original iPad. Good news! The catch is that you’ll need to be within the 14-day returns window, which doesn’t leave much wiggle room for those outside of that window. You’ll also need your receipt."

    As usual, Steve Jobs did its fair share of competitor mocking at the big iPad event, implying that the iPad 2 will just completely blow everything else out of the water. We’ll let time and consumer decisions dictate the accuracy of that, but the device hasn’t failed to impress so far. 
    iPad 2 coming soon - get a partial refund if you have an iPad 1

    The refund thing ought to be huge for bumping up sales of the iPad 2, which will make the numbers look nice. The people who own iPads already are primarily the early adopters, so it stands to reason that a significant amount of them will be game for purchasing the new version of the device. 

    There’s no denying that competition in the tablet space is much greater now, however, coming from companies putting out devices running Google’s Android operating system, and Microsoft’s Windows platform, as well as HP webOS devices, and BlackBerry devices from RIM.  

    Pricing is a big reason why Android has been able to gain so much momentum in the smartphone market, and as the OS makes its way to more devices, that’s likely to come into play in the tablet market as well. The price reduction for the original iPad should help things for Apple too though. 

  • NCAA March Madness To Stream Free Online

    NCAA March Madness To Stream Free Online

    The NCAA said today along with its broadcast partners CBS Sports and Turner Sports, that it will make every March Madness basketball game available for free online as as well as on iPad, iPod touch and iPhone.

    Last year, the NCAA March Madness was available as a paid app for iPhone and iPod touch. Also available this year are free streams of the tournament outside of the U.S.

     

     

    New features of March Madness on Demand (MMOD) include improved live viewing with better quality and larger streams, a personalizable channel lineup option, and live stats.

    “MMOD is the primary online destination for fans of NCAA March Madness,” said Greg Shaheen, Interim Executive Vice President of Championships and Alliances, NCAA.

     

    March-Madness-2011

     

    “The NCAA enters a new dimension with Turner Sports and CBS Sports that provides men’s basketball fans with enhanced features that will further enrich their online and mobile viewing experience.”

    Additional features include:

    *My Channels- The online, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad apps list all four TV networks: TBS, TNT, truTV and CBS by default. Through My Channels, users can plug in their zip code, select their TV provider and see their channel lineup for every game.

    *The Game Center View- Users can follow stats of every team while watching games on TV.

    *The March Madness Social Arena- Will allow people to connect to Facebook and NCAA.com and “Like” teams in each round.

    The tournament field will be announced on Selection Sunday on March 13 on CBS and the tournament will begin with the First Four airing in primetime on Tuesday, March 15 and Wednesday, March 16 on truTV.

     

     

  • iPad 2 Announced By Apple As Expected – AT&T and Verizon

    Apple announced the iPad2 today, as expected. Also as expected, it is lighter and thinner than its predecessor.

    Nobody knew if Steve Jobs would appear, but he did in fact make the event. He shared some stats about the iBookstore, which has 2,500 publishers. He also announced that Random House is bringing over 17,000 books to the store. He said that Apple has crossed the 200 million account mark (that includes all 3 of Apple’s stores). He said they shipped the 100 millionth iPhone. He then said they’ve sold 15 million iPads in 2010, adding that that is more than every Tablet PC ever sold. Jobs said there’s 65,000 apps that have been made solely for the Pad (as opposed to 100 for Google’s Android Honeycomb).

    Then came the announcement. The iPad 2 is faster with the A5 chip and a dual core processor. Apple says it’s up to 2 times faster,a nd up to 9 times faster on graphics. It’s 33% thinner (thinner than the iPhone 4) and only 1.3 pounds compared to 1.5 on the old one. This should make it a little better for reading publications like The Daily – as far as general comfort. 

    It comes in both black and white. There is a rear and front-facing camera. Battery life is the same as old iPad – 10 hours, over a month of standby.
    iPad 2 With New Features

    The iPad2 will be available through both AT&T and Verizon. Pricing is the same as the old iPad. It will ship as soon as March 11 in 26 countries, followed by more on March 25.

    There is a new HDMI video out feature, mirrored video output supporting up to 1080p, which works with all apps. It supports roation, and you can charge the iPad while you’re using it. The cable costs $39.

    Jobs also introduced another accessory called a "smart cover" which covers the front of the iPad, and folds to prop the device up when using. It even wakes up the iPad automatically when it’s opened and puts it to sleep when you close it. It just sticks to the device using magnets. Kind of cool. 

    There is a polyurethane and aleather option for $39 and $69 respectively.

    A new version of iOS was also released – iOS 4.3. This comes with better Safari performance and an iTunes home sharing feature that lets you get your content over Wifi. There are also improvments to AirPlay and the ability to set preferences for mute/rotation lock. 

    iOS 4.3 also serves as a personal hotspot for the iPhone 4. It comes with some new software to support the cameras – PhotoBooth, which does some filtering effects on pictures, and of course FaceTime for the iPad. 

    The new OS version will be out for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch (3rd/4th gen) on March 11. 

    There is a new app called iMovie for video editing, which includes a precision editor, multitrack audio recording, new themes, AirPlay for Apple TV, the ability to share videos in HD, and a universal app. 

    Jobs also revealed GarageBand for iPad with touch instruments, guitar amps and effects, 8 track recording and mixing, over 250 loops, email AAC file of your song, and compatibility with the Mac version. 

     

    One big difference between this iPad release and the previous one is that it has competition to contend with now, and a growing amount of it from companies putting out devices running Google’s Android operating system, and Microsoft’s Windows platform, as well as HP webOS devices, and BlackBerry devices from RIM. 

    Another factor is that the iPad is no longer a shiny new object. People know full well what the iPad is, and that there are other options offering similar experiences. Prices will factor into many consumer decisions. 

    According to a recent report, 4.5 million  tablets shipped in the third quarter of 2010. 93% were Apple iPads.

    More to come…

  • TD Ameritrade Launches iPad App

    TD Ameritrade Launches iPad App

     TD Ameritrade said today it has launched a free new mobile trading platform for iPad users.

     The TD Ameritrade app is designed specifically for the multi-touch functionality, larger screen size and portability of the iPad.

     

    TD-Ameritrade-iPad

     

    Key features of the app include:

    *Touch to trade stock, complex options, ETFs, futures and forex

    *Real-time quotes

    *Scroll through full-screen views of watch lists, positions, orders, news, and charts

    *Manage positions and view risk and performance metrics

    “This is one of the few true mobile trading platforms to offer a full range of products designed specifically to maximize iPad real estate and all its advantages,” said Nicole Sherrod, managing director, trader group, TD Ameritrade.

    “The TD Ameritrade iPad app can help our clients place trades faster and gain more visibility in the markets.”
     

     

  • News Corp’s The Daily Happy to Have People Put Its Content in Blogs

    Remember when News Corp. first launched The Daily – the Apple iPad news app (early review here) – and somebody indexed all of its stories in blog format so they could easily be read on the web? Well, that guy (Andy Baio) has put a post up about how he did it, and said that he’s taking it down, but it’s not for the reasons you might think.

    "For the last three weeks, I’ve indexed The Daily," says Baio. "Now that my free trial’s up, I’ve had an intimate look at what they have to offer and, sad to say, I don’t plan on subscribing. As a result, I’m ending The Daily: Indexed, my unofficial table of contents for every article they published publicly."

    "I’m surprised and grateful that The Daily executive and legal team never tried to shut it down," he adds. "On the contrary, when asked directly about it, publisher Greg Clayman said, ‘If people like our content enough to put it together in a blog and share it with folks, that’s great! It drives people back to us.’ They seem like a nice bunch of folks, and I hope they succeed with their big publishing experiment."

    Wow, that is not a response that is typical of what you might expect to come from Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp., which has become notorious for its criticism of news aggregation, even threatening to block content from Google in the past, and going so far as to have content removed from other aggregators

    They really need this Daily thing to succeed though, and indexing/linking to its content on the web does give it exposure, but the question still remains, why doesn’t The Daily just offer this itself? Then people would start to question why they were paying for the app, when they can just get the content for free online.

    Sure, the app has some bells and whistles, you just won’t find in the web-based versions of its content – rotatable images and things like that, but is that what people are supposed to pay for? 

    Either way, The Daily’s response to Baio will most likely inspire others to index the content since Baio is stopping. That, along with Baio’s own instructions of how to do so. 

    Another question that comes to mind is how many other people are deciding not to subscribe after their free trial runs up? 

    The Daily is reportedly coming to Android this Spring, so at the very least it won’t be limited to an iPad audience, in case others don’t follow in Baio’s footsteps.

     

  • iPad Dominates Tablet Shipments

    iPad Dominates Tablet Shipments

    In the third quarter of 2010 4.5 million media tablets shipped, according to a new report from ABI Research.

    Among those, 93 percent were Apple iPads. “Over time, Apple’s first-to-market iPad advantage will inevitably erode to some extent,” said Jeff Orr, Senior practice director, ABI Research.

    ABI-TabletsABI Research has been tracking media tablets since December 2009; future quarterly editions of this Market Data product will include market share tracking of all the major media tablet vendors.”

    eBook reader vendors continued to do well in their market, bringing new products to  people in time for the 2010 holiday shopping season. “The US continues to be the leading market for eBook readers,” said Orr, “and the three top vendors, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Sony, are comfortably maintaining their top positions in it.”

    Barnes & Noble introduced a color version of its Nook reader – the first color model from a major vendor – while Amazon introduced a third-generation Kindle. Along with their new capabilities, these products also had lower prices than previous versions of devices.

  • Apple Event Invitations Sent, iPad 2 Basically Confirmed

    Apple event invitations have been sent out for March 2nd. News of the event leaked out yesterday, but now it’s official, as reporters have started receiving their invitations.

    It will take place at 10am Pacific on March 2nd in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

    "Come see what 2011 will be the year of," the invitation teases, with a big picture of an iPad hiding behind a calendar page displaying a big number 2.

    Apple Event for iPad 2 launch coming to San Francisco on March 2nd

    The difference between the release of the iPad2 and the release of the original iPad is that there is much more competition now. It will be very interesting to see what exactly Apple brings to the table.

    Recent reports have indicated that the next iPad will be available through both AT&T and Verizon, and will be thinner, lighter, and will have at least one camera on the front, as well as more memory, and a more powerful graphics processor.  

    Since its release, the company has reportedly sold about 15 million iPads.

  • iPad 2 Expected to Be Unveiled at Apple Event on March 2nd

    Kara Swisher at AllThingsD is reporting that Apple will unveil the iPad 2 on March 2nd at in event in San Francisco. 

    Recent reports have indicated that the next iPad will be available through both AT&T and Verizon, and will be thinner, lighter, and will have at least one camera on the front, as well as more memory, and a more powerful graphics processor. 

    The iPad 2 should be able to continue the success of the first one, though the market is getting much more competitive.

    When Apple announced its first quarter results in January, it said it had sold 7.33 million iPads in the quarter. Since its release, the company has reportedly sold about 15 million. Being available on both carriers will be big for sales of the iPad 2. 

    iPad - New Version Coming Soon

  • Yahoo Launches Finance App For The iPad

    Yahoo Launches Finance App For The iPad

     Yahoo has introduced a finance app for the iPad called MarketDash.

     MarketDash allows iPad users to manage views of stock charts, scroll across hours, days or months of market activity; plot points in time; and compare multiple stock tickers in one chart.

     

     

    The Yodel Anecdotal Blog offers more details. “Want to take a look at how your portfolio is doing today without booting up the computer? MarketDash makes it fast and easy. Every tailored detail fits perfectly to the iPad screen – breaking news, real-time stock updates, and your own personalized portfolio information.”

    “Add a stock to a watch list from your iPad and it will show up instantly in the Yahoo Finance app for iPhone or Android phones or when you view your portfolio on Yahoo Finance.”

     

  • Augmented Reality To Become Our Sixth Sense?

    Augmented Reality To Become Our Sixth Sense?

    Late last month, augmented reality developers Layar announced that it was making its platform available to all developers of iOS apps, opening the door for a lot more innovation and practical use-cases for AR technology. "All apps and services that have a location aspect can now easily and without license costs be enhanced with an AR view of their content," Layar co-founder, Maarten Lens-Fitzgerald told WebProNews. "It fits with the new trends within the AR industry, which is the democratization of this new medium – lowering the barrier to enter the new realm of AR."

    Since then, WebProNews spoke with Layar’s augmented reality strategist Gene Becker about what the future holds for not only Layar and the apps that take advantage of its platform, but for the technology and the industry as a whole. "We think of AR as really a emerging medium for creative expression and communication. It’s a medium that’s digital, that’s interactive, but it’s also uniquely physical in nature," he said. 

    "Think about the web back in 1994," he said. "The web was really – as we look back on it now – it was a democratization of the ability to publish – basically to put anything out on the web and connect with anybody in the world. We see augmented reality as kind of being in the early stages, a little bit like the web in 1994. That was kind of the days of black text on gray backgrounds, but it was a fundamental shift in terms of what kind of capabilities it gave people to publish and communicate with the world."

    "We think it’s really important that we enable anybody to create AR experiences to augment their physical world, and that’s going to be one of the things that really helps AR to take off and become mainstream, and a part of everybody’s life," he continued. 

    Once Layar opens up its platform to other developer ecosystems, growth is bound to be fueled even more. Lens-Fitzgerald told us, "We are always looking to expand to other platforms," and Layar’s Layar Stream feature, for content discovery went to Android even before iOS. 

    "When you augment the world it’s probably going to touch just about everything eventually, but I guess if you look at the kinds of content layers that we currently have on our platform, you can kind of get a sense of the range of things that are starting to be touched," said Becker of the technology. "We have commercial layers, and things like retail store finders. We have promotions – marketing promotions for new films coming out…there are games. People are making a variety of different kinds of interactive games…there’s data visualizations – people looking at things like visualizing earthquake magnitudes in real time, looking at pollution visualization…there’s also art exhibits both from established museums as well as from ‘guerilla artists’ who were sort of appropriating AR space for their works."

    "I think ultimately, it will touch everything," he said. 

    "I think one of the big challenges that we have is, it is early days, and up until now, a lot of people have really positioned augmented reality as this sort of really cool technology thing," Becker said.  "That’s pretty typical for a new, emerging space. We really feel like one of the big challenges for this year and the next couple years is to get past that ‘wow, gee whiz technology’ thing, and really get onto the business of creating a new medium that people can use to express, to connect, and to communicate."

    "The early adopters – the techies – get it," he added. "They like it, but that’s not where we’re going to add value to people’s lives more broadly."

    Of course Layar isn’t the only company out there making use of AR, and Layar prefers it that way. 

    "There’s definitely a growing number of AR companies out there," said Becker. "Most of them are actually our good friends. It’s a small industry, and at this point, I think the fact that there is competition is actually one of the best things that we can see, because it says there really is something here. There’s a real market. It supports multiple players, and we’re looking forward to helping push the envelope along with a lot of our friends in the States."

    "I think that over time, AR is really going to become an essential aspect of the mobile experience," he said. "The same way that today we think about email and social media and mapping and so forth. I think that AR is really going to be something that people use every day when they’re out and mobile. In the longer term, we all like to envision a world where we have immersive displays that you can put on just like a pair of sunglasses, and then suddenly the entire world can be sort of continuously augmented with information all around you. And I think that’s several years away still, but I think that when it gets to that point AR’s going to be almost like a sixth sense that we just rely on that we won’t know in some ways, how to do without."

    Do you think we’ll reach that point?

  • TripAdvisor Adds Street View To iPad App

    TripAdvisor Adds Street View To iPad App

    TripAdvisor has added a new virtual tours feature to its iPad app using augmented reality technology.

    The new feature allows users to take a virtual tour to travel destinations with local places superimposed over Google’s Street View. Users can view hotels, restaurants and other attractions.

    TripAdvisor-iPad

    "With virtual tours on the TripAdvisor iPad app, we’ve made the experience even more engaging and helpful for travelers," said Mike Putnam, Director of Mobile Product for TripAdvisor.

    "For travelers who have ever booked a hotel or restaurant and arrived only to be disappointed by the neighborhood, this feature brings a whole new way to gain insights into their destination. Now travelers can get the full picture in advance.”

    The TripAdvisor iPad app is available for free in the Apple App Store in 18 languages and 26 countries.

     

  • Steve Jobs Soldiers On

    Steve Jobs Soldiers On

    While I’m not the Apple fanboy others are, even I understand the impression Steve Jobs has had on the tech industry. From the earlier days of being the upstart competitor to Bill Gates’ Kingdom of Microsoft, to the current ruler of the tech gadget movement, Jobs’ overall impact is quite apparent.

    However, in recent years, Jobs has been battling pancreatic cancer to such an extent, he received a liver transplant in 2009.  With that, concerns about Jobs’ health and his position at Apple have been an issue, with the main one being will Jobs be around to lead Apple beyond the iPhone/iPad generation?

    The fact Jobs took a leave of absence from his company only fueled these concerns.  However, reports of Jobs’ inability to effectively manage have been quite premature.  Not only is Jobs still very much involved in navigating Apple’s course, he’s also been an active leader.  While he may not be at the Apple campus as much, Jobs still manages — quite well, it seems — from home. 

    While COO Timothy Cook controls the day-to-day operations, Jobs is still an incredibly influential figure, and is still very much a part of the managerial team that drives the fruit-laden tech company.

    The Wall Street Journal offers more:

    The 55-year-old Mr. Jobs, whose ailment hasn’t been disclosed, has been taking business meetings at home and on the phone, these people said.

    Among products he is continuing to work on are the next version of the iPad tablet computer, expected out in the next couple of months, and a new iPhone, expected to be released this summer…

    Not only is Jobs still an active participant in charting Apple’s path, despite his apparent medical issues, he’s been seen on the Apple campus, and reports are, his appearance is very good, in spite of the medical battles he’s been fighting.

    Oddly enough, at least to this writer, the viral leak of an early television appearance of Jobs on an edition of Nightline from the late 70s seems fitting.  With reports of Jobs and his distinct lack of invalidity due to his recent health battles, the video, coupled with the recent reports of Jobs sightings, seemed to give a sense of confidence to Apple fans everywhere:

    Unfortunately, the NASDAQ doesn’t seem to share the same enthusiasm, although, the overwhelming success of the Verizon iPhone launch should reverse the recent down-trend, regardless of Jobs’ physical condition.

    If anything, the Verizon/iPhone grand slam proves Steve Jobs doesn’t need to be front-and-center for Apple’s successes to continue.

  • Yahoo To Launch Digital Newsstand For iPad And Android Tablets

    Yahoo said today it would launch a digital newsstand called LiveStand, aimed at tablets and mobile phones, in the first half of this year.

    The company said LiveStand will offer content to people based on their personal interests.

    Content from Yahoo will include sports, news, finance, Flickr, omg!, and its contributor network.

    Yahoo-LiveStand

    “Adoption of tablets and mobile phones is exploding, and digital media isn’t keeping up. Consumers can’t find the publications they buy off the newsstand, and publishers and advertisers can’t reach the audiences they want to serve,” said Blake Irving, executive vice president and chief product officer for Yahoo!.

    “As the premier digital media company, we’re in a position to meet all of these needs. Livestand is an immersive environment that provides a dynamic and personalized experience for consumers.”

    Yahoo said LiveStand will be available to users as an iPad and Android tablet  application with a mobile phone and browser version to follow.

     

  • Details of Next iPad Revealed

    Details of Next iPad Revealed

    The Wall Street Journal is reporting some new details about the next version of the iPad, based on what "people familiar with the matter" have revealed. Apple has not yet officially commented. 

    According to the report, the next iPad will be available through both AT&T and Verizon, and will be thinner, lighter, and will have at least one camera on the front. It is also reported to have more memory and a more powerful graphics processor. 

    The next version will no doubt be able to ride the success wave of its predecessor. While it is starting to see competition that wasn’t around when the first one launched, the iPad is still the most popular tablet these days. 

    iPad - New Version Coming Soon

    When Apple announced its first quarter results last month, it said it had sold 7.33 million iPads in that quarter alone. Since its release, the company has reportedly sold 14.8 million. 

    The next iPad is expected to launch within the next couple months. The simple fact that it will be available through Verizon will be huge for continued iPad sales. Last week, Verizon iPhones became available for pre-order. 

  • Complaints About The Daily Roll In As Super Bowl Ad Reaches Masses

    The Daily – the subscription-based iPad news publication/app that some have indicated would revolutionize the digital content industry has been riddled with problems since its launch last week. While there are certainly plenty of positive reviews out there, many have simply been unimpressed and taken to the web and expressed their disdain. 

    You can browse the hashtag for #thedaily on Twitter, and get a sense of the complaints. When you get past the issue of whether or not you find The Daily’s content worth paying for, there have been many complaints of bugs – perhaps not the best time for a big, expensive Super Bowl ad (if its’ not ready for primetime):

    First impressions can go a long way, and if this is America’s introduction to The Daily, it may leave a poor taste in the mouths of many, who may not be prone to second chances. 

    I posted a review with my thoughts after taking The Daily for a test drive here. PaidContent’s Staci D. Kramer sums up much of the  issue nicely: "The average user doesn’t want to problem solve to try an app. He or she just moves on," Kramer writes, later adding, "Getting people to pay is hard enough. Getting them to switch from free to pay—or to even try the free version—gets a lot harder when this many people are going public with negative experiences."

    The Daily has posted something of an apology on its official blog, assuring readers that it hears the feedback and is working to improve:

    We’ve had massive uptake since Wednesday’s launch, and with that kind of audience scale in such a short period of time, we’ve seen some stability issues and bugs that need to be addressed. We’re working as quickly as we can to find these problems and fix them. The beauty of the application ecosystem is that we can constantly iterate on and improve our product, and we’re aiming to put out an update within the coming weeks.

    We value feedback and would like to thank our readers for what we’ve received to date. Our goal is to push this medium to its limits, experiment with new forms of content, and deliver a product that seamlessly balances great content with new technology. We want The Daily to be unlike anything else out there: intuitive, informative, entertaining, reliable and easy to use.

    I wonder how many people that have been exposed to The Daily’s ad have taken the time to seek out the publication’s blog looking for excuses.