Jan 27
Apple iPad vs. Amazon Kindle chart
Posted in: Today's ChiliA feature-by-feature comparison chart between the Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle.
Jan 27
Apple iPad’s user interface in pictures
Posted in: Apple, apple ipad, AppleIpad, hands-on, ipad, Screenshots, sdk, tablet, Today's Chili, ui
The Apple iPad won’t be out for another 60 long days for us mere mortals, so we’ve got our hands on its SDK — it’s the next best thing for now, as you can see in the gallery of screenshots below. Strangely, the emulator’s bezel is a tad thinner than the real thing, but we’ll get over it. Enjoy!
Gallery: Apple iPad SDK emulator
Apple iPad’s user interface in pictures originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jan 27
Apple iPad’s ‘Micro SIM’ explained
Posted in: Apple, apple ipad, AppleIpad, att, ipad, Today's Chili
While the news of Apple’s iPad having 3G wasn’t exactly a surprise, the move to a new format for the SIM certainly was. The SIM — that tiny card that holds your contact info and account information that you find in your GSM handset — is a 15 x 25mm plastic card whereas the new Micro SIM (also known as a 3FF SIM) is a diminutive 12 x 15mm, about 52% smaller. Needless to say, it’s not physically compatible with your current phone. This card was developed by the ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) to offer things like more storage space on-chip for provider applications, increased control and security functions — over what, we don’t know — and the new smaller form factor allows it to fit in tiny devices. Frankly, we wouldn’t call the iPad “tiny” and we have absolutely no clue what justification Apple had to switch to it other than a desire to be different — this is the company that pioneered Mini DisplayPort, after all — but the long and the short of it is that you’re going to have a hard time finding a carrier offering Micro SIMs in the short term since the GSMA doesn’t appear to be actively spearheading a mass conversion. In fact, from AT&T’s perspective, this is better than a software lock in some ways — you’re not going to be able to download a hack that gets you on another network, so you’re totally at the mercy of your carrier at choice for providing a compatible card. Intentionally evil? Perhaps not — all standards have to start somewhere — but it’s an awful pain in the ass.
Update: T-Mobile (in a partnership with Lok8u GPS devices) announced they were bringing the 3FF SIM to US shores back on January 6th of this year. See the source link for more info.
[Thanks, Brian]
Apple iPad’s ‘Micro SIM’ explained originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Jan 27
The Apple iPad tablet is finally here, but it hasn’t drawn quite the same cheer from Apple enthusiasts and gadget fans that some observers expected.
About 60 percent of the 1,114 readers that took Wired.com’s iPad poll said they would not buy the iPad. Some 41 percent of the 892 readers who took a separate poll said the tablet did not live up to its hype, though they expect it to find a home among high-end consumers.
The quick verdict: “It’s an iPod Touch on steroids.”
The iPad name was the focus of many jokes with, predictably, the comments hitting the “pad” aspect of it.
“I think they should have gone with iSlate for the name,” commenter Navi101 wrote in response to our live coverage of the event. “iPad makes me think of feminine products.”
There’s more. The Jezebel blog, written for women, published an entire article summing up the “best period-related iPad jokes.”
“Not gonna lie, the name iPad makes me shudder a bit,” tweeted Lisa Gumerman. “Kind of even makes me less interested in buying it.”
The iPad name is also symptomatic of the lack of women engineers in IT, said Eve Tahmincioglu on the Huffington Post blog.
“I suspect a room full of female computer engineers would not have named Apple’s new cybertablet the iPad,” she wrote. “This naming faux pas is a perfect example of why we need more women IT professionals in this world. Apple wants women to buy these gizmos, but is anyone really thinking about us gals?”
Still some Apple fans says that customers are likely to warm up to the name after the initial reaction. “It’s a poorly chosen name. But so was Wii, and everyone got over those jokes after the first week,” tweeted Rob Sheridan, creative director for Nine Inch Nails.
Other users focused on the real shortcomings of the device. “What? iPad has no [Adobe] Flash player. That’s what it needs for so many websites. That’s not good,” tweeted Andrea Bakes.
Others pointed to the lack of USB port and multitasking in the device as features that will be missed.
“I don’t understand no multitasking, I mean how can you expect anyone to use this for work?” commented ’spitfiredd’ on Wired.com.
Though Apple’s Steve Jobs introduced the iPad as a device that would occupy the world between smartphones and laptops, potential customers aren’t convinced. A full 71 percent of 934 readers polled said they won’t buy an iPad, because they are happy with their smartphone and notebook.
Some Apple fans are not ready to give up on the device.
“I am not a fanboy at all, and I find it absolutely awe inspiring,” commented NickSA. “This is the future. Hats off to Apple, they have done it again — though personally I would wait till the second generation [of the device] for all the bugs to get ironed out.”
Ultimately, the question is, who really needs an iPad and is the data plan worth it. “Why would you take a iPad with you if you have a iPhone? Do you need to have both?,” commented jescott418. “Why spend an amount on two service plans with AT&T to basically do the same thing? I am scratching my head at who really needs this except for the base model for a coffee table piece.”
And as for the publishing industry, where some had pinned their hopes on the tablet, the iPad is unlikely to prove to be the digital savior that was wished for. About 59 percent of 824 readers who took the poll say the iPad won’t save the publishing industry.
That’s a few hundred readers that publishers won’t be able to count on.
See Also:
- Live Coverage: Apple’s Special Tablet Event
- A Closer Look at Apple’s New Tablet, the iPad
- Will the Apple Tablet Be Called iPad?
- Live Coverage: Apple’s Special Tablet Event
- 5 Features the Apple Tablet Definitely Won’t Have — But Should
- Why 2010 Will Be the Year of the Tablet
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Jan 27
Emotiv EPOC gets reviewed by Joystiq, proves once and for all that videogames turn your brain into mush
Posted in: review, Today's Chili
We don’t want to ruin everything for you, but after some extensive testing by our friends over at Joystiq, it looks like the promising Emotiv EPOC needs a little more time in the thought sensing oven. In its review Joystiq points out the fragile, hard-to-handle nature of the $299 device, but more disappointingly found the thought-sensing functionality of the sensor-stuffed EPOC headgear to be a bit too random, haphazard and inaccurate to actually be enjoyable. Of course, you could blindly assume that 400 hours spent in WoW and a six digit gamerscore has somehow disqualified this Joystiqer’s mind from those joys of telepathy, but before you plunk down your hard earned cash and shave off contact points all around your skull, we’d say the full review is at least worth a skim.
Emotiv EPOC gets reviewed by Joystiq, proves once and for all that videogames turn your brain into mush originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jan 27
Apple iPad event video now online
Posted in: Apple, apple ipad, AppleIpad, ipad, keynote, steve jobs, SteveJobs, Today's Chili, video
Sure, you lived through every harrowing moment live with your friends from Engadget, but if you’re dying for that direct dose of RDF, the video from Apple’s iPad event is now live and streaming away. You know what would be perfect for watching this? A giant iPod touch. Think about it.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple iPad event video now online originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Jan 27
The Kindle was not the savior of digital comics because it doesn’t support color. The iPad, with its beautiful color display, might.
Jan 27
Five things the iPad is missing
Posted in: Today's ChiliApple’s new iPad tablet is generating a fair amount of excitement, but it could have been so much more than a giant iPhone.
Jan 27
Is the iPad good for Amazon?
Posted in: Today's ChiliEverybody’s focused on whether the iPad will be a Kindle killer. But the real story may be how Amazon benefits from the arrival of its would-be competitor. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-18438_7-10442814-82.html” class=”origPostedBlog”Fully Equipped/a/p
Jan 27
Is it two steps forward, one leap back for Firefox Mobile? pOriginally posted at a href=”http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10443090-12.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Download Blog/a/p
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