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Apple on Wednesday made its highly-anticipated announcement, launching the new iPad.
Calling it a “truly magical and revolutionary product,” Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the company’s newest product.
The new tablet personal computer, it looks like an iPhone or an iPod Touch, but it is larger and offers everything from applications, videos, games and an electronic book reader.
The iPad has a 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 display and 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB capacities. Carrying a custom 1 GHz “Apple A4″ chip, the iPad weighs in at 1.5 pounds and is .5-inch thin. The iPad will be priced at $499, $599, and $699 for the varying capacity models without 3G, and $629, $729, and $829 with 3G. Wi-Fi only models are scheduled to ship in 60 days, with 3G-capable model shipping in 90 days.
In terms of standard connectivity, the iPad offers Wi-Fi (802.11n) and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, with 3G models also offering cellular data connectivity. The iPad has an accelerometer, compass, speakers, a microphone, and a 30-pin dock connector. The iPad also offers a claimed 10 hours of battery life for viewing video, with 1 month of standby battery life.
Models with 3G will be unlocked and will be able to use GSM micro SIMs. In the U.S., AT&T will offer two data plan options $14.99 for up to 250 MB per month and $29.99 per month for unlimited data. No contract is required for either option, and free access to AT&T’s Wi-Fi hot spots is included. Data packages for iPad users outside of the U.S. will by in place by June.
iPad will run almost 140,000 apps from the App Store. So you can use all those incredibly fun and useful apps — including everything from games to productivity apps — right out of the box.
Google launched Nexus One on January 5. Google will initially ship Nexus to US, UK, Singapore and Hong Kong. However, it’s expected that Google will ship the phone to other countries later this year.
People in these 4 countries can have the phone ordered by courier with around $30 shipping charges. Note that Nexus One is a GSM phone, and so, obviously in the US, it won’t support Verizon Wireless’ CDMA service nor AT & T’s 3G network; however HTC is expected to release Verizon compatible version later this year.
Currently, an unlocked Nexus One is available for nearly $530 with added cost of a country-specific AC adapter and shipping charges. The subsidized version of the phone is available only in US under a 2-year T-Mobile contract, priced at $180 (plus some additional). Outside US, customers still have to go for a full $530 unlocked Nexus One. The wait for European customers however, ends in spring, when the subsidized Nexus One would hit Vodafone Europe.
The Nexus One uses Android open source mobile operating system.
Hewlett-Packard Co, the world’s top PC maker, is launching a new line of inexpensive business laptops with fresh features targeting users at small and medium-size companies.
The HP ProBook s-series, which starts shipping globally on Tuesday, is the company’s new mainstream business notebook, following the release of its higher-end, lightweight EliteBook line last year.
The ProBook replaces the HP Compaq line, although the Compaq name will continue to be used as a master brand name in other PCs.
The ProBook offers users a number of new features, including an optional Linux-based operating system pre-installed — Novell Inc’s SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 — for those seeking an alternative to the dominant Microsoft Corp Windows platform.
It is HP’s first-ever Linux pre-install on a standard business laptop, the company said. The PC maker does offer some netbooks with Linux.
“It’s pretty much a natural evolution,” said Carol Hess- Nickels, HP’s director of marketing for worldwide business notebooks.
“We want to provide a different option … it’s probably a little time yet before we’ll know exactly what the demand is, but we did think it was something worth trying.”
The ProBooks come with 14-inch, 15.6-inch and 17.3-inch screen sizes, with prices starting at $529. In another first for an HP business notebook, buyers will be able to add a color finish — “merlot” — if they choose.
Some models will also feature Qualcomm Inc’s Gobi technology, allowing them to use a single module to access different mobile broadband network technologies and mobile operators.
HP will also bring higher-end durability features, like its 3D DriveGuard — which protects the hard drive if a laptop is dropped — and a spill-resistant keyboard to the ProBook.
Google Inc on Monday launched free downloads of licensed songs in China, while sharing advertising revenue with major music labels in a market rife with online piracy.
Lee Kai-Fu, president of Google in greater China, said one reason Google lagged in the mainland search market was because it did not offer music downloads, the missing piece to its strategy in a market where it trails leader Baidu.com Inc.
“We are offering free, high quality and legal downloads,” Lee told reporters. “We were missing one piece … we didn’t have music.”
The service offers downloads of some 350,000 songs — from Chinese and foreign artists — a number that will rise to 1.1 million in the coming months, said Gary Chen, chief executive of Google’s partner www.Top100.cn, a Chinese music website co-founded by basketball star Yao Ming.
Music from artists signed by Sony Music, Warner Music, EMI and Universal Music will be available on the service, which Google has no current plans to expand beyond China, said Lee.
“This is the first serious attempt to start (monetizing) the online market in China. I can’t overestimate how important this is,” said Lachie Rutherford, president of Warner Music Asia Pacific and Asia chairman of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
Users will be able to search by musical measurements such as the level of “beat” in a song and “instrumentality,” as well as by artist and song name.
IFPI said last year that more than 99 percent of all music files distributed in China are pirated, and the country’s total legitimate music market, at $76 million, accounts for less than 1 percent of global recorded music sales.
The new service will attract users away from illegal download sites because the music and service will be of a higher quality, said Warner’s Rutherford.
Downloads of unlicensed music and videos are rampant in China, the world’s biggest Internet market by number of users.
While Google dominates the global web search market, in China Baidu holds more than 60 percent of the market, more than double Google’s share.
Facebook on Saturday announced the new Facebook Connect for iPhone service at the SXSW Interactive conference in Austin, TX. Dave Morin, senior platform manager at Facebook, took the stage to explain the new iPhone integration, the recently released new homepage design that began rolling out last week.
Facebook Connect for iPhone is available now with several participating apps, and does for iPhone apps what Facebook Connect does for Web sites: users can link their apps with their Facebook profile to share their data with friends.
“For the first time, your iPhone apps can now have friends,” said Morin. “I can pull out my iPhone and play it not only my other friends with iPhones, but I can also play with my mom—she can join in and play with us on her computer.”
Morin invited several iPhone developers to show off their new functionality. Representatives from Playfish, Tapulous (of “Tap Tap Revenge” fame), and SGN showed off how Facebook Connect for iPhone will work with games. For instance, you can share you scores in your Facebook feed, see which of your friends are online, and invite both iPhone- and non-iPhone-using Facebook friends to play with you.
The most exciting game looks to be “Agency Wars” from SGN, which went live on Saturday. It’s a spy game that uses geolocation to let you leave clues and set traps in specific real-world locations. Recruit friends to your spy agency, or play against them and “assasinate them.”
Other apps that are utilizing Facebook Connect include the popular Urbanspoon and Flixster Movies apps. Urbanspoon now lets users post restaurant pictures and reviews on their Facebook feeds, and Flixster does a similar thing for movies. Look for Facebook Connect-enabled apps soon from Citysearch, CitizenSports, Loopt, MTV, EA Sports, and several other companies.
Dell on Tuesday is expected to launch the tough Latitude E6400 XFR laptop with a touch screen, which the company claims can withstand drops, dust and high-pressure water sprays.
The rugged laptop was designed according to U.S. military specifications and is being targeted at users such as military personnel and first responders.
The laptop can withstand rain and wind gusts of up 70 miles per hour, and can work in temperatures from -20 degrees Fahrenheit (-33.88 degrees Celsius) to 145 degrees Fahrenheit (63 degrees Celsius), the company claims. It can also work for an hour at an altitude of 15,000 feet.
The laptop is also designed to withstand drops of around 4 feet (48 inches) when not operating and 36 inches when operational. The LCD screen floats a little bit within the LCD cover so it can take impacts and shock, said Jeremy Bolen, a Dell spokesman.
During a laptop demonstration provided by Dell, the laptop weathered jetted water and 3-foot drops while running, but the non-operational 4-foot drop proved to be a problem. After a third drop from 4 feet, the LCD screen’s protective plastic cover shattered.
Dell responded to the crack by saying that the demo laptop was a pre-production model that had already been dropped a hundred times. There’s a three-year warranty on the machine and a cracked screen will be replaced immediately, Bolen said.
Despite the screen crack, the laptop is protected by a chassis made of ballistic armor, which is a high-strength substance used in ballistic missiles, cryogenics and other military applications. It is a high-end polymer that is two to three times more durable than the magnesium alloy material used on most laptops today, Bolen said.
The laptop also has fixings to tighten laptop components like the smart-card reader and protect USB ports from elements like moisture and dust, Bolen said.
It is Dell’s first entrance into the rugged laptop space, where it will compete against companies like Lenovo and Panasonic. The world’s second-largest PC maker already offers semi-rugged laptops, including the Latitude E6400 ATG laptop.
The XFR is powered by Intel’s Core 2 Duo processor. It has a 14.1-inch screen and weighs 8.5 pounds (3.87 kilograms) with a six-cell battery and a solid-state storage drive. It comes with a graphics card, supports up to 8GB of RAM and up to 120GB of storage on a hard drive or 128GB of SSD storage. It runs Windows Vista and has Wi-Fi, 3G mobile broadband and GPS antennas.
It will be available starting March 10 for about US$4,299 in the U.S., Canada, France, Spain, the U.K., Germany and Italy.
Acer on Monday launched a powerful quad-core laptop at a price that may appeal to buyers on a budget.
The company’s Aspire 8930G-7665 laptop is designed as a gaming laptop or desktop replacement. The laptop is powered by Intel’s Core 2 Quad mobile processor with four cores that runs at up to 2.53GHz and includes 12MB of cache, according to Acer.
With a starting price of US$1,799, Acer’s laptop could be a bargain compared to expensive quad-core laptops from the world’s top PC vendors. Hewlett-Packard and Dell both offer quad-core laptops as either gaming laptops or mobile workstations with prices starting at over $2,000. Acer is the world’s third-largest PC vendor behind HP and Dell, according to analyst firm IDC.
The laptop includes an 18.4-inch screen that can display high-definition images and video. It also includes 4GB of RAM, Nvidia’s GeForce 9700M GT graphics card with 512MB of video memory, a 500GB hard drive, a Blu-ray Disc drive and Wi-Fi wireless networking. It comes preloaded with the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Premium OS.
The laptop is now available in the U.S. through retailers, the company said. Acer could not be immediately reached for comment on worldwide availability.
