Hasta La Gadget!

The Apple iPad. The name is a killing word — more than a product — it’s a statement, an idea, and potentially a prime mover in the world of consumer electronics. Before iPad it was called the Apple Tablet, the Slate, Canvas, and a handful of other guesses — but what was little more than rumor and speculation for nearly ten years is now very much a reality. Announced on January 27th to a middling response, Apple has been readying itself for what could be the most significant product launch in its history; the making (or breaking) of an entirely new class of computer for the company. The iPad is something in between its monumental iPhone and wildly successful MacBook line — a usurper to the netbook throne, and possibly a sign of things to come for the entire personal computer market… if Apple delivers on its promises. And those are some big promises; the company has been tossing around words like “magical” and “revolutionary” to describe what many have dismissed as nothing more than a larger version of its iPod touch. But is that all there is to this device? Is the hope that Apple promises for this new computing experience nothing more than marketing fluff and strategic hyperbole? Or is this a different beast altogether — a true sign that change has come to the world of the PC? We have the definitive answers to those questions (and many more) right here, so read on for our full review of the Apple iPad!

Continue reading Apple iPad review

Apple iPad review originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad he was quick to shake his finger in the nose of the other devices out there attempting to fill the gap between cell phone and full-sized laptop, and in particular those market-dominating netbooks. In Apple’s opinion, the iPad may be the gadget for surfing the web, watching movies, reading books and running apps, but it’s surely not the only game in town. And if you aren’t sold on the iPad, but happen to be someone who’s looking to buy a secondary computing device to use while traveling or while simply lying on the couch, your choices at the moment come down to netbooks and… well, more netbooks. And that’s not such a bad thing, especially if you need a feature Apple’s tablet can’t offer, like multitasking, a keyboard, or Flash support. So, before you get up on Saturday morning and run off to purchase that iPad, you may want to peruse the best current (as well as coming) alternatives we’ve rounded up after the break.

Continue reading iPass? The best present and future alternatives to the Apple iPad

iPass? The best present and future alternatives to the Apple iPad originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Apr 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Greg Packer, we salute you. Sure, the weather in New York City is a lot finer now than it was back in the sweltering summer of 2007, but we still feel the need to tip our hat to someone who’d camp out three whole days at Apple’s Fifth Avenue store (read: “The Cube”) for an iPad. Tipster Tom dropped in the image after the break at around 3:15PM ET yesterday, and after a short nap in Penn Station, Mr. Packer is freshened up and holding down his spot yet again. We aren’t anticipating iPhone-esque lines this coming Saturday, but considering that new pre-orders aren’t being fulfilled until April 12th or later, we reckon this guy is following that whole “better safe than sorry” thing to a T. Check out a brief video captured on the streets (thanks, Zoltan Kaprinay!) by tapping that ‘Read More’ link, and head on over to Switched if you’d like to relive a similar interview from the iPhone campout.

We’ll leave you with a few choice quotes from Mr. Packer on why exactly he’s doing such a thing for such a product:

Question: “So, nobody took your place?”
Packer: “No, nobody… nobody.”

Question: “So, you are the first one?”
Packer: “So far, yep yep!”

Question: “So you’re going to be the first one to buy one, also?”
Packer: “Yep, yep!”

Question: “Do you have any number?”
Packer: “Huh?! Yes, yes. Well, first come, first serve! They don’t give you a number, you queue up for a number.”

Question: “Do you have something in your bag, to eat or drink?”
Packer: “Just mainly a change of clothes. Nothing to eat, nothing to drink.”

Question: “Why do you want [the iPad] so desperately?”
Packer: “Because… it’s like a mini laptop! I mean, you just… you know, click it on, just like you click the iPhone on. And you don’t have to open it up, and you know, go through, you know, go through everything. “

Question: “So, you need to have it?”
Packer: “Yes! “

[Thanks, Tom and Zoltan]

Continue reading First NYC iPad line sitter also camped for first iPhone: a legend is born (video)

First NYC iPad line sitter also camped for first iPhone: a legend is born (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  YouTube  | Email this | Comments

Well beginning of April, you sure do like tablets for $499, don’t ya? While the Eee PC T101MT has been available to suave Europeans since February, ASUS has let out word that the 10-inch, multitouch tablet will start shipping in the US sometime in April for $499. Not a bad deal considering the Pine Trail-powered netvertible has been priced around 499 Euros overseas — though we’re unsure at this point of the final specs of the American T101MT and what version of Windows 7 it will boot. We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for it at the usual retailers, but before you head out and buy one you may want to wait on our upcoming full review to see how this thing measures up to the other netvertibles out there.

ASUS Eee PC T101MT headed to US in April for $499 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Mar 2010 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Liliputing  | Email this | Comments

So, give this a listen — a survey from the lairs of Sybase has found that among smartphone-owning respondents, some 52.3 percent of them “would use a tablet device such as the Apple iPad is for working on the go.” We fully understand that this phrase leaves open the possibility of using tablets not Designed in Cupertino, but the mere fact that it’s highlighted gave us pause. We’re still trying to figure out how exactly Apple’s forthcoming tablet is going to fit between our daily laptop and workhorse-of-a-smartphone, and without a major overhaul of the iPhone OS, we definitely can’t visualize ourselves using it for “work.” ‘Course, maybe they’re into something that doesn’t require the use of multiple applications at once, and maybe the dearth of a real keyboard isn’t much of a productivity killer, but we’re just not sold on the iPad being a bona fide work machine as-is. So, what say you? Are you one of those 52.3 percenters? Or do you relate more with the vocal minority?

Survey finds people eager to ‘work on the go’ with iPad, we wonder what line of ‘work’ they’re in originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Apple Insider  |  Sybase  | Email this | Comments