The New Apple iPad

Well he has done it again folks. Steve Jobs and Apple INC. continue to take us to the next level with technology with the Apple iPad. After announcing a record breaking 4th quarter for what was formerly known as Apple Computers, Steve Jobs introduces the Apple iPad in a press conference yesterday. Think Kindle on steroids! This device is Apple’s version of the netbook, so popular on the PC format, but with an iPhone interface.

“This is a positive move toward touchscreen technology which is the order of the day” says Eric Patterson of iPhoneiCandi. “The user interface on the iPhone is the industry leader and now Jobs has taken that same format and integrated it into a foundation that iPhone users are familiar with. I’m curious as to what MS and Google will do to counter this. ‘iPhone Killers’ haven’t worked, but now they have to find an iPad killer”.

The iPad will be available in 3 memory sizes-16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. The 9.7 inch screen makes for a nice viewing area for reading your new e-book downloaded from the Apple iBook app that will be native to the new device.  It also has the ability to run the iPhone application right out of the box. It can connect to your Mac or PC, via USB and it can play HD video (1024×768 or 780p).

The dimensions are 9.5 inches x 7.5 inches x 0.5 inches. iPad weighs in at 1.5 pounds and is powered by Apples own 1GHz A4 chip. In addition, it has a microphone, accelerometer, compass, Bluetooth 2.1, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and 3G available on the higher end models for those who need more than just Wi-Fi access. It’s a very fast little device and a great size for surfing the net with its full multi-touch screen. Battery life is 10 hours at full use and it will last a month on standby.

The interface is a custom version of the iPhone 3.2 OS, and there is a new SDK for developers. As mentioned, the iPad can run all of the iPhone apps, but you can run them in their native resolution or double pixel mode resolution to accommodate the large screen on the iPad.

For the web-surfer, the iPad will use Safari as the internet browser, like its smaller brother the iPhone. One big issue is that it doesn’t support Flash which could be a deterrent for the same people who dislike that inability on the iPhone. The Photo app does add new features and some multi-touch input changes that allow you to manage photos easier as well as view and organize multiple pictures.

The iPad pricing is nice too. They start at $499 and top out at $829 for the 64GB 3G model. That’s cheaper than the base model iPhone 3G S 16GB if you buy it outright from Apple. There is no phone services available, but that’s what you have the iPhone for… and hackers. I’m sure you could also use VOIP since there is a microphone available and speakers. Keep it up Steve. More photos for your viewing pleasure.

iPad

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO announced Monday it had its best quarter earnings and revenue in the history of the company.  The Macintosh laptops and desktops did much to help this record setting quarter.  The Mac did very well in spite of the Windows 7 launch in the fall.  The iPhone had a 100% increase in sales, but Van Baker, an analyst at Gartner said, “We expected more.  The China launch of the iPhone wasn’t as good as Apple thought it would be.”   Expectations aside, 87 million iPhones were sold and 3.36 million Mac computers were sold in the 4th quarter, a 33% rise for Macs from the prior year.  iPod sales are on the decline.  21 million were sold, but unit sales were down 8%.  The iPod iTouch sales went up 55%, actually bringing up iPod sales up 1% because iTouch’s are in the iPod category.  Apple’s revenue for the4th quarter was 15.7 billion and earnings were 3.4 billion.  Those numbers were up from last year, 11.9 and 2.3 billion, respectively.  Yesterday,  Jobs introduced the  iPad to the world in a much anticipated and media frenzied press event.  Like  iPhone’s big brother, the iPad, a multimedia touch screen wireless device,  does everything iPhone does,  but has  a Kindle-like library component and space for large photo files.  I’m sure I’m only touching on the basics.  Once on the market in March, the price of the iPad will start out at $499.  Not too bad on the wallet either.

Dragon Dictation iPhone App

Here is an iPhone app that has been long over due. With everyone resorting to text messaging, this is one of the handiest apps to come about. There has been some dictation apps before but Dragon Dictation by Nuance, the worlds most popular desktop dictation software, has created one that seems to be the most feasible in the bunch.

The Dragon Dictation app does almost everything you would normal do with your iPhone keyboard, but you use your voice instead. With all the people causing wrecks and other traffic mayhem due to the new texting culture rapidly developing, this is a no brainer. This also includes the ability to say your latest tweets or Facebook updates. Clipboard cutting and pasting is supported as well.

The app is free (for a limited time) and is still pending approval in the App Store. There is some concern about Nuance gathering the names and companies in your address book, which is expressed in there EULA. Other than that this looks like a nice app. Have fun and please leave commits about your experience with this app.

Green "I's" and Blue "I's" Series

Here are two of my latest iPhone 3G Customs. These iPhones came out really nice and have custom firmware on them. The Green I is an 8GB and the Blue I is 16GB. More to come in the future. The Blue is really nice because it seems purple from other angles. Here is another picture of it up close.

Blue "I's" iPhone 3G Custom iPhone

Stay tuned for more beautiful creations!

New iPhone 4G coming to Verizon Wireless in 2010? After their Anti-iPhone Droid marketing
campaign?

According to Digitimes, OmniVision, the supplier of the 3.2 megapixel camera for the current iPhone 3G/iPhone 3GS has secured 5-megapixel camera orders for the iPhone 4G . The iPhone 4th generation will launch in the second half of 2010. It will also contain a CDMA chip that allows it to be used on the Verizon Wireless network, if the rumors are true.

Apple launches new iPhones during the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). This year the WWDC conference is expected to be held during June, so that’s when we will find out whether or not there really is an iPhone 4G coming to Verizon. I’m hoping there will be one because I know a lot of people that would buy the iPhone if it came to Verizon.