Mar 14

Apple Sells as Many as 500,000 iPad 2s

Posted in: Apple, ipad 2, Today's Chili
ipad 2 white flat game.jpg

If those kooky analysts are to be believed, Apple has a bonafide hit on its hand with the second generation iPad. According to numbers from Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster, the company moved somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 tablets in the iPad 2’s first weekend–that’s up over the 300,000 for the device’s predecessor. The majority of the sales apparently hit on Friday–if the numbers are to be believed, Apple actually sold out the majority of its stock after that.

Also interesting in these analytics: 70 Percent of buyers were picking up their first iPad, according to Munster. That number comes from a small survey of 236 buyers, conducted by the analyst. Two-thirds of those surveyed owned an iPhone 4, and the numbers were fairly even between Mac and PC users. Almost half of the folks were opting for the pricier iPad 2 3G.
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Mar 11

Motorola Xoom Not Selling

Posted in: motorola, tablets, Today's Chili, xoom

 

motorola-xoom-android.jpgMotorola Xoom is not the iPad, or even the Samsung Galaxy tablet–and the sales show it. Sales have fallen short of expectations, and now some people are expecting a production cut.

 Here’s what analyst Peter Misek had to say about the Xoom sales,

Xoom sales have been underwhelming. While marketing has just started we believe MMI will likely have to cut production if it already has not done so. We believe the device has been a bit buggy and did not meet the magic price point of $500. We believe management knows this and is hurrying development and production of lower cost tablets. Importantly we believe management will likely have to make the painful decision to accept little to no margin initially in order to match iPad 2’s wholesale pricing.

Motorola has not released figures yet, however, IDC didn’t even list the device in its break down of tablet market share. Motorola has plans to lower the $800.00 price soon, which might help a bit.

Via ZDNet

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Mar 11

Motorola Xoom Preps for Flash Video

Posted in: flash, motorola, Today's Chili, xoom
moto tablet finger.jpg

If you’re Motorola, today might not be the day to try to get the world to pay attention to your new tablet. After all, everyone is a bit fixated with that other device at the moment. The one that’s launching today. You know, the one with the 90 percent tablet market share.

Still, no doubt sick and tired of having the second generation iPad steal its spotlight in recent weeks, Motorola today announced that it will begin rolling out a system update tonight aimed at prepping the device for the March 18th release of Adobe Flash Player 10.2.
The company has long offered Flash as selling point in the company’s battle against the iPad, with Steve Jobs’s on-going snubbing of the otherwise ubiquitous software, for reasons of security, batter life, and overall user experience. The Xoom didn’t actually ship with the software, however, waiting for the 3.0.1 Android Honeycomb update. 
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Mar 11

iPad 2 Online Orders Taking 2 to 3 Weeks to Ship

Posted in: Apple, ipad 2, tablets, Today's Chili
Thumbnail image for ipad 2 white flat game.jpg

As the poet laureate of Gainesville, Florida once wrote, the waiting is the hardest part. You waited for Apple to announce a new iPad, you waited until you could order the thing, and now you get to wait another two to three weeks until the thing actually ships. That’s the current  estimate from anyone who ordered an iPad 2 online this morning. 

Of course, if you’ve got to have an iPad 2 today, I’d a recommend lining up at the nearest Apple Store right about now. The tablet will officially go on sale at 5 PM tonight at the company’s 236 retail locations. You can also pick up the latest Apple tablet at a number of other retail locations, including Target, Best Buy, Walmart, and AT&T and Verizon stores.
Or you can just check the trash bins outside the stores for all of the discarded first generation iPads. 
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Mar 10

Amazon Says Goodbye To Illinois Associates After Sales Tax Law

Posted in: government, Today's Chili

Thumbnail image for amazon logo.JPG

Hoping to make some money advertising gadgets from Amazon on your blog? If you live in the state of Illinois, those dreams might have gotten a little further from reality thanks to an email from the online reseller. After the Illinois legislature passed a bill mandating that online stores collect sales tax if they have affiliates in the state, Amazon told members of their Amazon Associates program with addresses in Illinois that they will no longer be receiving payments from the company, starting on April 15.

“As a result of the new law, contracts with all Illinois affiliates of the Amazon Associates program will be terminated and those Illinois residents will no longer receive advertising fees for sales referred to Amazon.com, Endless.com, or SmallParts.com,” Amazon said in an email.

The banning of Illinoisans participating in the program, which pays site owners for sales that result in referrals from their sites, is the latest step in a battle between state governments and physical stores on one side and online retailers on the other. Amazon has already stopped payments for Colorado and North Carolina affiliates because of similar laws passed in those states and California is considering a bill like the one signed into law in Illinois.

According to Bloomberg, brick-and-mortar stores like Sears, Wal-Mart and Barnes and Noble have begun trying to attract these former Amazon-linkers to their own affiliate programs.

[via Bloomberg, Direct Match Media]

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Mar 10

Kinect Gets Guinness World Record, Is the Fastest Selling Consumer Electronics Device Ever

Posted in: kinect, Tech Toys, Today's Chili, video games

XboxKinect.jpgEarlier we noted that Microsoft’s Kinect gaming peripheral had topped 10 million units sold, but one bit of news that came shortly afterward is that Guinness World Records has certified the Kinect as the Fastest-Selling Consumer Electronics Device, topping gadgets like the iPhone, the iPad, the Nintendo Wii, and every other device you’ve seen people line up for outside of stores in the pouring rain to get their hands on. 

Guinness says Kinect sold an average of 133,333 units per day, and hit 8 million units sold in the first 60 days it was on sale, beating out all rivals not just in the gaming category but all consumer electronics in general. The award was confirmed yesterday, and the new record will be included in the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition book. 
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Mar 10

Shocker: Apple Number One In Tablet Market Share

Posted in: Apple, ipad, samsung, Today's Chili

 

apple ipad.jpgIDC has released data about tablet sales.Apple, not surprisingly, came out on top. However, the Samsung Galaxy also has a slice of the pie, as well.

In fact, the Samsung Galaxy has a 17 percent share of new tablet sales. Not stellar, but it does indicate that buyers are open to non-Apple products. With the good news about “outside” tablets could cause a larger influx of new tablet models coming out. However, with the iPad 2 coming out tomorrow, the data could change quickly.

IDC also stated that e-readers have a 48 percent market share, with so many of the e-readers doubling as tablets. Despite both Samsung, and, e-readers are doing well, the IDC believes that Apple will maintain a 70-80% market share. 

Via ZDNet

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Mar 09

Vermont Develops Gadget To Get More Maple Syrup

Posted in: science, Today's Chili

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Maple researchers at the University of Vermont (where else?) have developed a new device that allows them to increase the amount of sap taken out of trees, which could be a huge boon to the state’s most famous product.

The Check Valve Adapter reduces the amount of strain and bacteria a tree receives when it’s drained of its sap. Historically, taking the resource out caused the hole to close up and, over time, would make it inaccessible until the next season.

Now, because of the scientific advancement, the sugaring season can be extended, meaning more maple goodness for the rest of us. The gadget has been used in Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire with reported success.

Via Business Week

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Mar 09

HP Claims Every HP Computer will get WebOS by 2012

Posted in: HP, palm, Today's Chili

HP Logo

If you’re still wondering if Hewlett-Packard had plans beyond mobile devices like smartphones and tablets for Palm and WebOS, wonder no longer. CEO Leo Apotheker is concerned that HP has “lost its soul,” according to an interview he gave to BusinessWeek at HP headquarters, and he teased that there would be more interesting revelations regarding HP’s plans for WebOS at an upcoming event on March 14th. 
He claimed that HP wants to make broader and better use of WebOS, with plans to bring the mobile OS not just to HP’s next generation of tablets and smartphones, but also to dual-boot WebOS with Windows on every desktop or laptop that HP ships before 2012. He pointed to the rapid growth of mobile development for Android and iOS as opportunities, and bemoaned WebOS’s 6,000 app catalog when compared to the 350,000 apps for iOS and 250,000 apps for Android. 
The goal, according to Apotheker, is to create a massive platform of unified devices, including new mobile devices like tablets and traditional desktop computers where developers can build applications and software that will work on any HP device, regardless of where or how it’s used. 
Considering even Apple noted recently that they wanted to bring more features from iOS into Mac OS X, HP isn’t the only company interested in unifying the mobile with the desktop. The question is whether or not users are interested in that kind of experience. 
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Mar 08

Best Buy Mulls Giving Tablets To Salespeople

Posted in: ipad, tablets, Today's Chili

bby-people.jpg

Imagine if you could go up to a product at Best Buy, find a nearby employee, and pay for it right there. That’s the kind of thing that might be possible if Best Buy’s latest plan comes to fruition.

The leading electronics retail chain is reportedly considering a plan that would aid some of its people on the floor by giving them a tablet. The retailer said it is looking at “handheld devices” for the plan, and reports suggest the iPad likely won’t be the winning device.

“We continue to evaluate all handheld devices and platforms, [looking] for the best solution to aid our employees on the floor,” said Best Buy in a Wall Street Journal story.

Via WSJ.com

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