iPad

After a weekend of immense enthusiasm and even wide-eyed utopian futurism regarding the debut of Apple's iPad, a bit of dust has settled. Perhaps Apple has hit the nail on the head of a new trend in future computing; perhaps this is just a bump on the road before the next leap.

Either way, from this point going forward, the iPad will be referenced when discussing portable computing, for good or for bad.

Back when the iPad was announced, our first instinct was to reflect on what the cheap, stalwart Netbook could provide that the sleek, homogeneous, iPhone-like iPad … Read more

While most people use the standard QWERTY keyboard layout, one of the most used alternative layouts is Dvorak. Some people believe Dvorak is more efficient for various western languages since it places vowels and the most commonly used letters right under your fingertips. iPad owners who are used to this layout may find it disappointing that the iPad does not yet have support for Dvorak.

While it is not in the current version of the operating system used on the iPad, Dvorak keyboard layouts are popular enough for Apple to implement them sooner rather than later. As noted in this … Read more

Just like the Prius and the Kardashian sisters before it, the iPad looks like it might be the new must-have celebrity accessory.

Basketball superstar Lebron James was photographed checking out an iPad at a Boston Red Sox game Sunday evening. Actress Alyssa Milano picked up one this weekend and by Monday morning wrote on Twitter, "I love my iPad so much I kind of want to make out with it." British comedian Stephen Fry, his country's best-known technophile, got to geek out with the iPad ahead of almost everyone, and even did an interview with Steve Jobs … Read more

I'm not saying that this is a good idea, but I am saying that I saw this coming. The freshly minted Apple iPad has found its way into the dashboard. Installers at Sound Man Car Audio have modified the dashboard of a Toyota Tacoma to accommodate Apple's tablet, which will serve as the brains for a much more extensive installation.

It appears that the iPad will still be removable, which is good for security. Also, because until the Apple iPad 3G goes on sale, there isn't any GPS functionality for nav and Pandora Radio streaming will only … Read more

One of the iPad's marquee features is iBooks, Apple's book reading application and bookstore. It's a good app, attractive and capable. The bookstore itself isn't bad either, with a healthy selection of popular books and a large library of free, public domain works. But be careful before you dive into the Apple ecosystem for books.

iBooks competes with Amazon's Kindle. The new Kindle app for the iPad lacks some features iBooks has, but makes up for it with superior flexibility, and a few useful features iBooks does not have. While the iBooks and Kindle apps … Read more

In case you haven't noticed, Amazon's changed gears a little bit when it comes to its Kindle platform. If you look at Amazon's homepage, you'll notice a different message. Now that the iPad is here, no longer is Amazon just advertising the Kindle e-reader front and center, it's all about the Kindle app, which is available for a variety of devices.

As I've argued all along, Amazon is ultimately more interested in selling software (e-books) than hardware (the Kindle), so the whole multi-prong app effort is key to its strategy of dominating the e-book market. A lot of people talk about how closed the Amazon system is (it uses its own format for its content while the rest of the industry, including Apple, has standardized on the ePub format), but in terms of accessing your library from multiple devices, Amazon is actually the most open and flexible. (Note to Nook owners: You can move an e-book from your Nook to your iPhone, but the Kindle app's page-syncing feature, which takes you to the last page you read on either device, isn't available yet).

So while we can sit here talking about walled gardens all you want, what people really want is the freedom to move their content around.… Read more

Cory Doctorow believes the iPad signals an end to innovation. It doesn't. Apple's iPad actually points to a beginning of innovation in personal computing.

Where Doctorow and I likely agree, however, is that such innovation won't come within the confines of Apple's beautiful iPad device, but rather at its margins.

Doctorow writes:

I believe--really believe--in the stirring words of the Maker Manifesto: if you can't open it, you don't own it. Screws not glue. The original Apple ][+ came with schematics for the circuit boards, and birthed a generation of hardware and software hackers who … Read more

During CES 2010, Hewlett-Packard issued a preemptive strike against the still-unannounced iPad by showing off its own tablet PC at Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's keynote. Only briefly seen and largely undescribed, it may not have left a lasting impression on the audience, but it showed that, like Dell and others, HP was not going to cede the suddenly sexy tablet market to Apple.

In a cunningly timed move, a mere 48 hours after the iPad's retail debut, HP has released a new video demo of the device, which the company refers to as a "slate."

The … Read more

This morning Wilson told us he'd tear his hair out if he hears the word "iPad" one more time, and we completely understand, but we still have to talk about it a little bit on today's show, so beware of falling strands. There's plenty of coverage on CNET TV of Saturday's official Apple iPad launch, plus a first look at gaming on the iPad, and, of course, the official CNET review.

While all the Appleheads patiently waited for their friendly neighborhood mail carriers on Saturday, two 19-year olds in Pennsylvania had a different plan for their iPad. They waited in line for it at the local Best Buy, then took it out to the parking lot and got all "Office Space" on it with a Louisville Slugger, except that at about 1:09 into the video, a tiny voice of reason finally chimes in with "What was the point of that?" Not to blow this out of proportion, but the point appears to be a warning to adults about putting money into the hands of stupid, stupid kids. Come on guys, you could have at least smashed something truly useless, like Jeff's 8th Palm Pre.

Speaking of uselessness, Microsoft just announced that it's finally removing the word "Series" from "Windows Phone 7," the name of its upcoming mobile operating system. The tweet offers little explanation and Microsoft offers this short and sweet statement, as reported by our own Bonnie Cha on Crave: "Customers want a simpler way to say and use the name consistently. The important thing is keeping the focus on the Windows Phone brand, which we introduced in October and will continue investing in through Windows Phone 7 and beyond." Well played, Microsoft!

We hope you had as relaxing of a weekend as we did, but it's time to get back to work sending us voicemails (1-866-404-CNET) and e-mails (the404{at}cnet{dot}com) so we have material to play on the air while we wait for the next big Apple product launch. Just kidding...but seriously, iPad iPad iPad iPad iPad iPad iPad iPad.