Hasta La Gadget!

Hey, it’s December, what else are you going to do but monger rumors of the next iPad? Reuters has rounded up no less than four sources from within Apple’s component suppliers, all expressing their belief that the hallowed tablet will be refreshed some time in early 2011. A pair of the tipsters could only go so far as to say that production at places like Wintek and Simplo is expected to ramp up in the first quarter, while the other two were more decisive in identifying the cause for the extra activity as Apple’s next tablet iteration. As to the future iPad’s camera or cameras, one source says it’ll feature both a back-mounted and a front-facing module, with Largan and Genius identified as having received new orders from Cupertino for churning out imagers. Notably, the latter is currently also supplying the iPhone 4’s photon collector and there’s no confirmation that whatever they produce will inevitably land in an iPad 2, but the tea leaves seem to be in agreement: parts are targeted for a February shipment in preparation for an April iPad refresh. Whether the new slate arrives at that time, however, will be another matter altogether.

iPad 2 will have rear and front-facing cameras, say multiple sources originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Dec 2010 03:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sick and tired of hauling your iPad into a dodgy work environment, scared to even leave it in your desk drawer for half a minute while you scurry across the office for a cup of scorched coffee? Never mind finding a new career — just fill out the paperwork necessary to pack a concealed weapon and head over to Mac Locks. You see, the aforesaid site is now carrying what it calls the world’s first locking iPad case — a plastic shell that can be closed via lock and tethered to pretty much anything via a coated steel cable. Once it’s secured, the only way to remove the tablet is the right way, or the fast way, with the breaking-and-entering method rendering the device worthless. The case itself can be had for $39.95, whereas the case / cable bundle is going for $64.95. But hey, it’s hard to put a price on peace of mind, ya know?

Continue reading Locking iPad case makes your tablet far less portable, attractive, and enticing to thieves

Locking iPad case makes your tablet far less portable, attractive, and enticing to thieves originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 07:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you read tech news today, expect to see a story making the rounds concerning a “consumer poll” rating the iPad versus the Galaxy Tab. According to the report, an “overwhelming majority” of consumers prefer Apple’s tablet over its nearest Android competitor — a whopping 85 percent of those queried felt the iPad had a higher perceived value than the Tab. Sounds shocking, right? Except there’s one small problem. The “survey” (and really, you have to use the term loosely here) consisted of 65 people. Let’s just say that again: 65 respondents. That’s problem number one.

Problem number two is that the survey was conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who is not only using a bizarre and somewhat useless metric like “perceived value” to judge these devices, but is also known for wildly miscalculating sales numbers and expectations for Apple products. In fact, Gene Munster should probably be close to the top of the most wanted list for irresponsible analysts. Some of his famous misses? Take the wildly speculative report that Apple would sell 5.6m iPads in 2010 (a baseless prediction which he quickly reassessed to more reasonable digits… the day after the device’s launch), or the prediction that Apple would build its own search engine (so far so good!), and of course, Gene’s news that Apple will have an HDTV on the market by 2011. Did we mention the $1,000 AAPL stock price call? No? Okay.

So this latest report, in which Gene apparently just polled the families living on his block, seems beyond disingenuous. The margin of error on a group of 65 people is so high that it makes the results of the iPad vs. Galaxy Tab study all but meaningless, and further demonstrates the insidious, dangerous power of some analysts and their fantasy football stock manipulations. The moral of the story? Next time you see the names Gene and Munster in the same sentence, don’t just take the news with a grain of salt — use the whole shaker.

Update: Piper Jaffray analyst Andrew Murphy (one of the other researchers on this report) got in touch and gave us some background on the sourcing and methodology for finding respondents. In his words:

The respondents were chosen randomly on their way in/out of a large national retail chain. After spending time with each device, they were asked which they’d prefer and what a reasonable price for each would be.

It’s worth noting that that information is found nowhere in the report itself, nor is any other detail provided (type of store, geographic location, age / socioeconomic background, etc.), though this charming section is included:

Research Disclosures

Piper Jaffray was making a market in the securities of Apple, Inc. at the time this research report was published. Piper Jaffray will buy and sell Apple, Inc. securities on a principal basis.

55 people think the iPad is more valuable than the Galaxy Tab (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 10:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BBC.com managing director Luke Bradley-Jones has dropped some knowledge on the TV-loving world by revealing that the iPlayer’s global launch will be on a “pure paid subscription model,” to be followed thereafter by partnerships with advertisers on “free” areas of the British TV catchup service. The US is specifically named as one of the first new markets for the venture, which is expected to go live in the middle of next year. In addition to knowing you’ll have to shell out to get your fix of Top Gear, Doctor Who and, erm, The Foods that Make Billions, you’ll also be wanting to know that the first platform for the iPlayer outside the UK will be none other than Apple’s iPad. What is it with Brits and the iPad?

BBC iPlayer to start international rollout with subscription service on iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 03:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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He just had to beat Rupert Murdoch, didn’t he? Project, Richard Branson’s iPad magazine, is now available in the iTunes store — at least in Italy and the United Kingdom, since it’s past midnight there. App is free, cost per issue is $2.99 for “a full month’s worth of updating content.” We suspect it’ll hit US, too, the next few hours, but for now, those across the pond can read up on Jeff Bridges (audio and video interview), Earth 2.0, and a “well-informed Godzilla.” Take that, yet-to-be-released The Daily.

Richard Branson’s ‘Project’ iPad magazine now hitting European iTunes stores originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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