EPAD
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Apple files a complaint against Chinese vendor over "EPAD" trademark
Apple has filed a complaint against EBox Digital Technology Product over its use of the word "EPAD," says a Computerworld report. The complaint was filed earlier this year through China's trademark office, and EBox received a copy of the complaint on Febraruy 2. At the heart of this complaint is a line of laptop luggage cases sold by EBox under the brand name EPAD. An EBox spokesperson said Apple is asking the company to give up the EPAD trademark because it closely resembles Apple's iPad."The iPad trademark is not Apple's, so now they want to take ours," said EBox's spokeswoman. "Apple has been a bully." EBox applied for the EPAD trademark in 2010 and reportedly has no plans to used the name on any electronic devices.
You're the Pundit: Does a 7" iPad make sense for the education market?
When it comes to forecasting the next big thing, we turn to our secret weapon: the TUAW braintrust. We put the question to you and let you have your go at it. Today's topic is Education and the iPad. Last month, Apple introduced iBooks Author and expanded iTunes U. It was a big presentation and a big commitment to the textbook market. The problem is, of course, whether the desire to embrace digital textbooks can live up to the costs and grim realities. Granted, Apple's probably going to start pushing the iPad to schools much more enthusiastically now that it's ceased educational sales of the MacBook, but putting an iPad in every student's backpack is still going to be a hard sell for districts that have to hold bake sales just to buy normal textbooks. Just like everything else in the education sector, we're thinking the better-off schools in Silicon Valley and Connecticut will get iPads for Everyone™ first, and inner-city schools in Cleveland will have them by, maybe, 2032. Plus, as far as the federal government goes, we estimate their five-year initiative might take at least 35 years. So what might Apple do to speed up iPad and ebook adoption? What about that hypothetical 7" iPad? Could Apple (or better yet, would Apple) introduce such a critter this spring? Would a bargain priced "ePad" help spread tablets to the classroom, or will a discounted iPad 2 work better as a lower-cost distribution system? You tell us. Place your vote in this poll and then join in the comments with all your predictions. %Poll-73454%
Pioneer Computers soon shipping 7-inch Tegra 2-powered DreamBook ePad N7 to dags down under
Is the device above familiar to you? It should be if you've been following the release of Android Tegra 2 tablets, as it looks conspicuously like Aigo's N700, which is, itself, a rebadged Compal NAZ-10. It's now the recipient of another applique, this time getting inked with the name "Pioneer Computers" (an Aussie company unrelated to that other Pioneer) and now up for pre-order with a price of AUD $599 -- about $530 US. For that you get a seven-inch tablet with a 800 x 480 capacitive touchscreen, Tegra 2 internals, 512MB of RAM with 4GB of internal storage and microSD expansion, HDMI output, and 802.11b/g wireless. A 3G antenna will cost you another $99, though if you order right now they'll throw in the optional 1.3 megapixel webcam for free. That's a nice offer on a somewhat overpriced tablet, but it remains to be seen whether this sucker is eligible for Android 2.2 (it's currently rocking 2.1) and, indeed, whether it's a licensed install with the Market and whatnot. We'd guess the answer is "no," as earlier rebrands of these tablets went without, but we're always ready for surprises.
ASUS EPad: like the EeePad, but with less ecstasy
Well, isn't this typical ASUS. Yet another Eee Pad, or this time an 'EPad' as the placard says, has shown up on the Computex show floor. While the company introduced two Eee Pads at its press conference earlier this week -- the 10-inch EP101TC with NVIDIA Tegra 2 / Windows Embedded Compact 7 and the 12-inch EP121 with Intel / Windows 7 -- this new 10-inch version has popped up running Windows 7 at the Intel booth. We'd be lying if we said we knew what was going on here, but to us it looks like ASUS shot out a working Windows 7 model -- perhaps just to have a functioning device to display on the show floor. There's no telling if it's being powered by Intel's Atom Moorestown platform or a current Menlow Z Series CPU, but the design looks very similar to that of the EP101TC. We've sent off an inquiry to ASUS' PR team, but you'll still want to check out the video after the break of a very slim slate and real live "booth babe."
