iPad Launching April 3rd, Pre-Orders Begin Next Week March 6, 2010
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Are you ready for possibly one of the biggest (if not the biggest) tech launches of the year? Have you been desperately waiting to get your hands on an iPad ever since it was announced in January? My friends, that wait is almost over (at least for the WiFi-only version anyway) as Apple today announced that pre-orders on this exciting new tablet will begin next week on the 12th, with a full release of the WiFi version coming early next month, on Saturday April 3rd.
The WiFi+3G version of the iPad will launch later in April, while our international friends in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK can pick theirs up in late April as well.
For those who aren’t sure on pricing of the iPad line, here’s a quick reminder; and see here for all the details on what exactly is the iPad, as well as here for some personal thoughts.
Pricing:
- 16GB WiFi only — $499
- 32GB WiFi only — $599
- 64GB WiFi only — $699
- 16GB WiFi + 3G — $629
- 32GB WiFi + 3G — $729
- 64GB WiFi + 3G — $829
So, anyone getting ready to pre-order some iPad “magic”?
Inside Out: The Future of the Cell Phone February 21, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones, Opinion , 3commentsFrom time to time, we’ll provide our thoughts as to where we think the industry is going, particularly as it relates to teens. We’re calling these posts, Inside Out, because we’ll be looking from where we sit into the outside world.
The future of the cell phone: the Windows Phone 7 Series, iPhone 3GS, BlackBerry Curve 8530, Palm Pre Plus and the Nexus One
Cell phones. We live by them. They’re by our sides 24/7, wherever we are. They are our ways of connecting with the world, through texts, IM’s, or just regular calls. Getting a new one is no longer just picking up a free phone, it’s a choice of style and design. Do we want a full keyboard, something that has a good camera and music player, a simple phone that doesn’t cost much, or something completely loaded with all of the latest features? The choices are endless, no matter what carrier you’re on– Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, or T-Mobile.
But recently there’s been a major shift in the cell phone market, led by new phones like the iPhone, Pre, BlackBerry, Droid and Nexus One. This is the rise of the smartphone (as those phones are called), phones that no longer just do texts but also email, internet, Facebook and Twitter. These phones are growing rapidly and more and more of us are switching to them when we look for new phones. Let’s take a look at why that is and where this is all leading.
A Student’s Take on the iPad February 5, 2010
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Since Apple announced the iPad last week, opinions are abound, with many predicting failure for a device whose capability seems to lie somewhere between Apple’s MacBook and iPod Touch in the company’s attempt to replace or reinvent the traditional computer. In that regard the iPad isn’t well suited in its current stage: it lacks a video camera so you can’t iChat, there is no iLife for content creation, for some reason multi-tasking is still a no-show even with the iPad’s bumped-up specs, and in terms of using this for browsing the web, it’s good but not great, lacking the Flash support that is used on many web sites across the web, like ESPN and Hulu.
As a student, though, even with all these flaws I see a lot of potential for the iPad. I actually believe that this could be a great device, and am really eager to pick one up for this reason alone—this could finally be the perfect school computer.
iPad Accessories—The Break Down February 4, 2010
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Last week we covered exactly what the iPad is, now let’s take a closer look at some of the accessories Apple plans on rolling out alongside the new device. Apple announced 5 main accessories along with the iPad; let’s take a close look at what exactly they are:
- Keyboard Dock– This is a must have add-on in my book—a dock that props up your iPad for ideal vertical view, as well as including a full-sized, physical QWERTY keyboard. The dock, which comes with a keyboard very similar to the Apple wireless Bluetooth keyboards for Macs, also gives you a iPod 30 pin connector for syncing with your computer, charging, or using other add-ons like the ones below, as well as an audio jack let’s you connect to better speakers if you want. If you plan to use the iPad as, say, your computer in school for taking notes or writing papers (for example, using the Pages app), this truly is a must-have, even at it’s price of $69.
- iPad Case– This is Apple’s case for the iPad, that not only protects the screen while keeping it usable for typing and, well just using the device, it also has a built-in stand that can be used in many different ways, such as setting on a table for viewing slide shows or videos. The iPad Case will be priced at $39, though we’re sure there will be many other cases coming out for much less than that.
- iPad Dock– Pretty much the Keyboard Dock, minus the keyboard. It’ll cost $29.
- iPad Camera Connection Kit– This takes the regular iPod dock connector on the iPad and turns it into either a USB port or SD card slot for importing pix from your digital camera right to your iPad. This is some of the most basic functions found on even the cheapest netbooks and we would’ve really liked Apple to have put both of these into the iPad from the outset, but I guess thinness has it’s price. The price for this add-on kit is also $29.
There also is an extra power adapter for charging off of a regular outlet (with a greater range, thanks to a 6-foot cable) and a VGA connector for hooking this up to a computer screen or TV with a VGA port available.
So there you have it—a round-up of all the iPad accessories Apple plans to sell alongside the new iPad. The big thing here of course is the new keyboard dock, which should definitely throw a whole new dimension on what this device can do (we all know how much people wanted a real keyboard on the iPhone).
The Apple Tablet is Real– Meet the iPad January 27, 2010
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Computers, tablets , 2comments
The Apple iPad
Well, it’s official. Apple has finally ended the months (and years) of speculation today, with the announcement of the iPad tablet. What is the iPad? Well for starters, think of it as an iPod Touch– just on so much steroids that it would make Jose Canseco jealous.
Apple Pre-Event Rumor Roundup January 26, 2010
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Seeing as that in under 24 hours Apple will finally announce it’s new “creation,” the rumor wire has been burning up on the internet. Seriously, there is every type of rumors here from an actual possibility, all the way to “some guy in his basement’s magic wish.” And while we tried our hardest to stay away from all these rampant rumors, here’s a few of the latest and coolest ones, with our thoughts on if we believe it will actually happen.
Apple Planning An Announcement for Next Week January 18, 2010
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We wonder what this could be? Perhaps it’s some sort of tablet device *cough* *cough*. Well, whatever it is that Apple is planning, we’ll know soon enough as invites of an Apple event to “come see what’s our latest creation.” We’ll of course have all the info on what’s announced next week, January 27th, so make sure to check back then.
In the meanwhile, any guesses on what will be announced?
Is the Apple Tablet Coming Next Year? Why I Think (and Hope) So December 4, 2009
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One of the many rumored renderings of what the Apple Tablet will look like (From Huffington Post)
For the better part of this year (particularly the later half), a lot of talk has been going around EVERYWHERE– be it on blogs, news outlets, TV– about a new Apple Tablet device. Rumors depict a 9 to 10 inch iPod touch (including multi-touch, something no Mac has done before) powered by Mac OS X Snow Leopard, accompanied by an iTunes-like store for books, magazines and newspapers (to fight the Nook, Kindle and all other e-readers as well as “help save” print media).
We have never mentioned anything in previous posts about the Tablet, though the rumors have circulated for years now, primarily because the disussion appeared to to be grounded more in hope than in fact. But with recent increase and detail emerging about the theoretical device, I have joined the ranks of believers and am convinced that it is finally coming…. very soon.