iPad

Will Steve Wozniak skip the iPad line?

If you are preparing to spend a long night parked in some freezing, wet sleeping bag just to be one of the first to own an iPad, there is something you might want to be on the lookout for: Steve Wozniak jumping in line.

I say this firstly because the Apple co-founder has been tainted with rumors of line-skipping more adroit than his dancing. More than once, I am sad to say.

And he has now confirmed to Newsweek that he has ordered three of the new thighPads, two for himself and one for a mysterious friend.

The accusations of … Read more

CNET News Daily Podcast: iPad heads to Best Buy

The iPad goes on sale on Saturday, April 3. Apple said today that in addition to be being available at its 221 U.S. retail locations on Saturday, the iPad would also be available from most Best Buy stores, select Apple authorized resellers, and campus bookstores. The company will also hold iPad workshops at its retail stores Saturday to help customers learn more about the device. Apple Suppliers now expect to ship 2.5 million iPads in the first three months alone. Reports this weekend had indicated that any new iPad orders would not begin shipping until April 12, which … Read more

Survey: Apple owners eyeing iPad but leery of buying

Apple hasn't had any trouble getting attention for its forthcoming iPad among Apple loyalists, but convincing Mac, iPhone, and iPod users to actually buy another device poses a challenge, according to the NPD Group.

Interest in the iPad, which hits store shelves Saturday, was 40 percent higher among existing Apple owners than among non-Apple users, said NPD's survey report "Apple iPad: Consumers' Perceptions and Attitudes."

NPD found that 82 percent of current Apple users are aware of the iPad. Among people with incomes $100,000 of higher, 80 percent said they're familiar with the iPad. … Read more

iPad suppliers upping efforts; iPad at Best Buy on Saturday

After news on the weekend that new iPad orders wouldn't ship until April 12, Chinese manufacturers of the device have reportedly revised their shipping forecasts.

Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty told clients in a note Monday that suppliers have increased their forecasts for Apple iPad shipments from 5 million in 2010 to between 8 million and 10 million, according to a report on Fortune. Suppliers now expect to ship 2.5 million iPads in the first three months alone.

Apple is scheduled to begin selling the Wi-Fi version of the iPad at its retail stores April 3. The iPad … Read more

MacBook feedback on iPad's shadow, PC rivalry

As the world waits for new MacBooks, readers have chimed in with comments ranging from Apple losing its technological edge to the iPad overshadowing the venerable laptop line.

Last week, I offered a combination of both realistic--albeit tame--predictions (e.g., new Intel processors) and more fanciful hopes (built-in 3G) about upcoming MacBooks. In response, readers offered some thoughtful insights and suggestions.

PC rivalry: One reader suggested that Apple is falling too far behind its PC rivals. "While the PC world is already enjoying the fruits of (new Intel) processors (and) Blu-ray...we are still living in the dark ages in the world of computing according to Apple."

Along these lines, another reader asserted that selling aging hardware at relatively high prices amounts to "just calling your customers stupid."

Not surprisingly, some readers disagreed. One person said that because Apple is more prudent about upgrades, there is more stability on the Mac platform. "(Apple) is simply not going to put anything out there unless they can feel confident the consumer will have minimal issues. So far, for me at least, it has been nice not having any of the old PC issues of the past."

iPad overshadowing MacBooks: Some possibly prescient comments were made about the iPad ultimately overshadowing the MacBook. "For some people, the iPad with the basic productivity suites will be all the computing they will ever need, and therefore the low end MacBooks may be affected," said one reader.

Another chimed in: "I can see the iPad and future versions of the concept taking over home computing. Yes, there probably will still be professionals that will continue to need a 'full' laptop but for everyone else I am convinced that the simplicity of the iPad will see it replace the normal MacBook."

Not so fast, according to this reader.… Read more

New iPad orders won't ship until April 12

Preorders of Apple's iPad seem to be going very well. The company updated its Web site on Saturday indicating that any new iPad orders will ship by April 12, as pointed out by AppleInsider and other blogs.

Apple is due to ship the iPad Wi-Fi model next Saturday--for those that have already placed their orders, the delivery date remains April 3. Preorder customers had a choice of in-store pickup or delivery, an option that also appears to have been removed from the Apple Store.

The iPad Wi-Fi + 3G is still scheduled to ship in late April, according to Apple'… Read more

Rumor: 'iAd' mobile ad platform is Apple's next big thing

MediaPost reports that Apple's next next big thing, after iPads invade the world next weekend, will be iAd, a mobile advertising platform to be debuted April 7. Coffee dates and patent suits aside, this could be the true Apple-Google battleground.

Of course, if you've been reading the tea leaves, Apple's move into mobile advertising is anything but surprising. In January, they bought mobile advertising company Quattro for a reported $275 million, after Google snatched AdMob out from under them months before.

More recently, we saw glimpses of Apple's mobile advertising future in an "App Store Tip&… Read more

Improve your vocabulary and flick-bowl: iPhone apps of the week

The big news this week was the leaked information uncovered by the folks at PadGadget about approved iPad titles already showing up in the Web-based version of iTunes App Store. Apparently Apple listed a few of the titles with its "XL" or "HD" versions that weren't supposed to be unveiled until the April 3 iPad launch date. Some of the titles shown included popular games Worms HD, Flight Control HD, Plants vs. Zombies HD, and Labyrinth 2 HD. Apple has since fixed the site removing all the iPad versions in advance of launch day.

In … Read more

iPad App Store revealed?

Still a week from the official debut of the Apple iPad, one blog appears to have turned up screenshots of the device's version of the App Store.

App Annie, an analytics site that monitors mobile applications, says it stumbled upon a feed that contained the image of the home page of the iPad's App Store interface.

It's interesting in that it shows listings for quite a few apps already, many of which are games. It looks a lot like the iPad version of the App Store and iTunes Store Steve Jobs walked through during his demonstration of the iPad at the January iPad introduction event.

Something that's immediately obvious: there isn't yet a clear style for developers to indicate that an application is made for iPad or iPhone, at least based on this screenshot. Some developers are using "for iPad," some "HD," while still others are using "XL," referring to an iPhone app needing to scale up to fit the iPad screen appropriately.

Screenshot of the App Store after the jump.

… Read more