Hasta La Gadget!

Is anyone really surprised that Microsoft Senior Product manager, Mike Tedesco, said, “Yeah, it’s something that we’re looking at,” when asked by T3 about Office for Mac running on the Apple iPad? Like any responsible corporation, Microsoft must keep an eye on developments in computing and align its resources accordingly. And when the majority of its wealth comes from the 1-2 punch of Windows and Office, you can bet Microsoft is looking at every opportunity that comes along. So while we fully expect Microsoft to take a wait-and-see approach to the numbers Apple can generate from the current dead zone between laptops and smartphones, at least we finally get to use the image above in a post.

Microsoft considering Office for iPad? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some of Apple’s promotional material about the iPad implies the device’s Safari browser can load Adobe Flash content. However, demonstration units of the tablet, including the one presented by Steve Jobs, could not, and a consumer has already filed a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission alleging false advertising.

9to5Mac’s Seth Weintraub noticed that a Flash-based section of the NYTimes.com front page appears to load properly in the video above. The “Video” section of NYTimes.com that loads around the 1:15 mark is normally a piece of Flash content. Weintraub points out that the rendering and the resolution independence makes it look like the iPad really is loading Flash.

But that’s unlikely to be the case. If the iPad really did support Flash, it would be quite odd. Steve Jobs made no mention of Flash during Wednesday’s tablet event, and you would think he would highlight that since the lack of Flash for the iPhone remains an incessant complaint among customers.

Also, when Jobs demonstrated the tablet and showed NYTimes.com in the browser, it clearly reveals a missing chunk for where the Flash content is supposed to be. (Check out the keynote video at Apple’s website at the 13:10 mark.)

First noted by AppleInsider, a second example where Flash appears to be working on the iPad is a press image (right). It depicts an NYTimes.com slideshow that would require Flash support.

Adobe has already reacted to the iPad’s lack of Flash support, and you would think the company would know if Apple was really going to put Flash in the tablet. So while consumers can wish for adequate Flash support on the iPhone and the iPad, in the near term this seems like a pipe dream.

Paul Threatt, a graphic designer at Jackson Walker design group, has filed a complaint to the FTC alleging false advertising. His statement reads:

On the Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch devices, Apple provides a proprietary web browser named Safari. On these electronic devices, Apple computer does not support the web browser extension commonly referred to as “Flash”. The Adobe Flash extension is a popular browser plug-in that has gained wide popularity due to its ability to easily display video and image based slideshows on the web.

In several advertisements and images representing the apple products in question, Apple has purposefully elected to show these devices correctly displaying content that necessitates the Adobe Flash plug-in. This is not possible on the actual devices, and Apple is very aware of that fact. Despite the controversial lack of support for Adobe Flash on these devices, Apple has elected to depict these correctly utilizing the Flash plug-in. This constitutes willful false advertising and Apple’s advertising practices for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the new iPad should be forcibly changed.

“I’m a huge Apple loyalist, so it kind of annoys me that they’re going and doing stuff like this,” Threatt told Wired.com. “Unless they’ve got something up their sleeve to actually give us Flash, it seems like false advertising in a big way.”

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Flash support or Threatt’s complaint.

Flash has already gotten Apple in trouble in the past. In the U.K., two customers complained that Apple was falsely advertising the iPhone in a TV commercial by saying “all the parts of the internet are on the iPhone” when the handset does not support Flash. The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority deemed the ad misleading and pulled the ad.

In November 2008, Wired.com explained why it’s unlikely Apple will support Flash on the iPhone. We pointed out Flash was not allowed in the iPhone developers’ terms of service agreement, which stated, “An Application may not itself install or launch other executable code by any means, including without limitation through the use of a plug-in architecture, calling other frameworks, other APIs or otherwise…. No interpreted code may be downloaded and used in an Application except for code that is interpreted and run by Apple’s Published APIs and built-in interpreter(s).” (I don’t have access to the latest iPhone developers’ TOS agreement because it’s under strict NDA, but I doubt that clause has changed.)

We also noted allowing Flash would open doors to content that competes with apps in the App Store, so it would probably be in Apple’s best interest to shy away from the platform. Lastly, Flash would potentially introduce a slew of performance problems as well. Flash has been known for sporadic crashing and quickly depleting battery life, as well as security risks, which amount to many potential headaches for Apple.

Updated 1/30/10, 11 a.m. PDT: Apple has removed the image of the iPad showing the NYTimes.com slideshow from its home page. Apple has also updated its promotional video to show a missing chunk on NYTimes.com to reveal the lack of Flash support.

Updated 1:45 p.m. PDT: Weintraub has posted more information: “We’ve just got word from our source at Chiat/Day Media Arts Lab that they make fake optimized web pages for all of Apple’s commercials — which load faster. In this case they made optimized images to take the place of Flash and are redoing them as we speak.”

Updated 11:30 a.m. with Paul Threatt’s complaint filed to the FTC.

See Also:

• Flash Lands on iPhone — One App at a Time
• JavaScript Hack Enables Flash on iPhone
• Why Apple Won’t Allow Adobe Flash on iPhone
• False Hopes: Adobe Desperate to Install Flash on the iPhone

In addition to launching its tablet Wednesday, Apple will likely introduce a new programming solution for iPhone developers to easily tablet-enable their apps.

Developers polled by Wired said they expected additions to Apple’s software-development kit that would help make iPhone apps work at any resolution, for full-screen support on the rumored device.

But how will that work? The tablet will likely support all iPhone apps out of the box in their current 480-by-320 resolution. These apps will probably be able to run in the background, perhaps in separate windows. It’s unlikely they’re going to automatically maximize to fill up the tablet’s screen, which is rumored to be 10 inches diagonally, developers polled by Wired.com agreed, because that would result in a blurry, pixelated mess — not Apple’s style.

Therefore, it’s likely that Apple will offer a quick workaround for developers to rescale their apps for full-screen tablet support.

For people who buy the tablet, that means we’ll see a slightly bifurcated world of apps. We’ll be able to access all iPhone apps in small windows, and some of those apps will be resizable to fit the tablet’s larger screen.

“It’s easy to imagine how Apple might offer tools to make it easy for me to not have to make all my graphics from scratch,” said Bart Decrem, CEO of Tapulous, developer of the popular iPhone rhythm game Tap Tap Revenge. “That’s one of the things I’d be on the lookout for.”

“We’ve made a big investment,” he continued. “People have made huge investments in their games. I’d expect Apple to accelerate the process of having lots and lots of apps that feel native and migrate from a fixed-resolution world to resolution independent.”

Decrem said he could not comment on whether Tapulous would be appearing as a presenter at Apple’s Jan. 27 event in San Francisco, where the Cupertino, California, company is rumored to be launching a tablet. Tapulous appeared in the recent September iPod event to present a new game, Riddim Ribbon.

Multiple independent reports agree on the physical description of Apple’s tablet: a blown-up iPhone or iPod Touch with a 10-inch screen. But the software experience has remained a mystery. Offering a glimmer of insight, The New York Times just a day before Apple’s product event has published a bold report claiming the tablet would support all 100,000 iPhone and iPod Touch apps currently in the App Store.

“It will run all the applications of the iPhone and iPod touch, have a persistent wireless connection over 3G cellphone networks and Wi-Fi, and will be built with a 10-inch color display, allowing newspapers, magazines and book publishers to deliver their products with an eye to the design that had grabbed readers in print,” NY Times wrote.

Corroborating NY Times‘ report, McGraw-Hill CEO Terry McGraw said in a live TV interview that McGraw was developing e-book content for the Apple tablet. He explained that the tablet’s OS was based on the iPhone OS, meaning McGraw’s e-book iPhone apps will be easily portable to the tablet.

Other iPhone developers polled by Wired agreed that Decrem’s theory was solid. They said the SDK needed to be updated with new tools streamlining migration to the upcoming tablet. Jeff Meininger, iPhone developer of Snaptic, said Decrem’s proposed solution regarding resolution-independence would work.

“It would be the simplest and most effective way to be able to support all iPhone apps,” Meininger said. “It’s absolutely technically feasible.”

David Castelnuovo, developer of the immensely popular iPhone game Pocket God, said it was likely Apple would offer some new sizability code in the iPhone SDK with the tablet in mind. But he said it wouldn’t be a blanket solution for all 100,000 apps in the App Store.

Pocket God, for example, is game that involves torturing pygmies on an island, and it would have to be redesigned for a tablet with a bigger island and more pygmies, Castelnuovo said. So, some quick and easy sizability code will likely accelerate full-screen tablet support for form-based apps such as Facebook. For games or apps with more complex interfaces, it could take more thoughtful tweaking.

“Ideally we wouldn’t want to just scale [Pocket God],” Castelnuovo said. “We’d want to make the world bigger.”

Just how big a portion of the App Store will support full-screen tablet resolution will be up to the developers. Appcelerator, a company that helps developers build cross-platform mobile apps, polled 554 developers on their interest in coding for the tablet. 51 percent of respondents said it would be “very important” for them to port iPhone apps for the tablet “in a simple, easy fashion without too much cost or delay.” Thirty percent responded “Somewhat important” and 19 percent responded “Not important.”

It remains a question whether Apple will launch an entire section in its App Store for tablet apps. Decrem said he doubts that, because all iPhone apps will work with the tablet. He said it’s realistic that developers will state in their apps’ descriptions whether they feature full tablet support.

We’ll find out soon. Stay tuned on Gadget Lab for full, live coverage of Apple’s tablet event, which kicks off 10 a.m. PDT Wednesday.

See Also:

• What to Expect From Apple’s Tablet Unveiling
• Everything We Know About Apple’s Touchscreen Tablet
• Apple ‘Tablets’ Sniffed by Analytics Are More Likely iPhones
• Designers Unearth Apple Tablet Prototypes — From 1983
• Tablet Wars: Amazon Adds Apps to Kindle
• Is an Apple Tablet on the Way? Orange Exec Says ‘Oui’
• OLED Could Be Apple Tablet’s Secret Solution for E-Reading
• Rumor: Apple Event to Highlight iPhone OS 4.0 in Addition to …
• Will the Apple Tablet Be Called iPad?
• Apple Invitation Confirms Special Product Event Jan. 27
• iGuide and iSlate — Two Potential Name Candidates for an Apple …
• Apple Bought iSlate.com — Perhaps for a Tablet?
• Approaching January, Apple Tablet Rumors Run Wild
• In-App Sales and iTablet: The Killer Combo to Save Publishing …
• How an Apple Tablet Could Pit iTunes Against Amazon.com
• Large-Screen Kindle Won’t Mean Squat if Apple Tablet Arrives …
• Why 2010 Will Be the Year of the Tablet
• Rumor: Back at Work, Jobs Cracks the Whip on Tablet Designers …
• Insider Spills Rumored Apple Tablet Details to Gizmodo

A mockup of an imaginary Apple tablet: Stephen Lewis Simmonds

With all the recent talk about the iSlate, iPad, iSlab, whatever… doesn’t it seem like the obvious candidate for the name of Apple’s rumored tablet computer is being completely overlooked? Like Apple’s first phone that later came to be called the iPhone, isn’t the most obvious name for an Apple tablet the iTablet? To support the theory we decided to share the above image that we received from a trusted source and believe to be authentic. It’s a picture taken of an Apple Store employee’s corporate email after receiving information about the time and place of Wednesday’s Apple event. While the content of the email wasn’t very enlightening, note the word used in the filename of the second attachment: “itablet.” Now this doesn’t prove a thing. The administrative assistant who sent the mass email could have been using “itablet’ much in the same way that we’ve been using the term for years as a generic placeholder for the rumored device. Then again, maybe we should heed the wisdom of Occam’s Razor when speculating about Apple’s naming preference for a 10-inch tablet computer?

P.S. Amtek currently holds the US trademark (and itablet.com domain) for “iTablet” and continues to sell products under that name as it has for years. Not that a silly thing like trademark ownership could stop Apple from announcing its iPhone at a time when Cisco owned the rights.

Update: Looks like the attached image name above, while authentic, likely originated in a post from Pocket-lint (look at the properties). For what it’s worth, the invite image we received was embedded with a name “top.jpg.” Regardless, this is probably not Apple revealing its product name in a sloppy pre-event slip-up. [Thanks, MarkNewby]

Apple iTablet: the obvious name? (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bloggers can’t stop banging the rumor drum with an Apple press event scheduled for next week, presumably devoted to its anticipated tablet device. MacRumors’ Arnold Kim found evidence suggesting Apple filed for the trademark iPad, which could be another potential name for the rumored Apple tablet, in addition to iSlate and iGuide.

Based solely on the 2006 Mad TV sketch below the jump (warning: mildly NSFW), I wholeheartedly hope Apple does not brand its tablet “iPad.”

Personally I’m into the name “iSlate.” It sounds like what you would call the iPhone’s bigger sibling. Plus, there’s firm evidence that Apple filed for the iSlate trademark and owns the iSlate.com domain. (Apple does not own the iGuide.com or iPad.com domains.)

Some other Apple heads are predicting the resurrection of iBook, the name of Apple’s older notebooks prior to the MacBook rebranding, for the tablet. I’d bet against that, since Apple will likely push its tablet as a general-purpose device and stray away from it being construed a pricey e-book reader or “Kindle killer.” Plus, I have doubt Apple would wish to recycle an old product name for what we’re all hoping will be a revolutionary new product. It just wouldn’t seem right.

Whatever the name is, I’m willing to bet the “i” prefix is here to stay. Assuming the tablet is running some form of the iPhone OS, it would be inconsistent to slap the “Mac” prefix into the name.

Of course, anyone’s guess is as good as mine, and we’ll all find out Jan. 27. What do you think an Apple tablet should be called? Vote in the poll below, or add your own suggestions in the comments section.

See Also:

• Apple Invitation Confirms Special Product Event for Jan. 27 …
• Everything We Know About Apple’s Touchscreen Tablet
• Approaching January, Apple Tablet Rumors Run Wild
• Why 2010 Will Be the Year of the Tablet
• Predict Our Apple Tablet Coverage, Win an Apple Tablet

Photo illustration of an Apple “iTab”: Gluepet