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Apple iPad review
Finally, the Apple iPad review. The name iPad 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! %Gallery-89661%
Live from the Apple 'latest creation' event
Will the Apple tablet finally, really be unveiled? We're at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco (see above) patiently waiting to get inside and get this thing underway! Keep reading after the break for the minute by minute coverage!
McGraw-Hill's CEO confirms Apple tablet, debuting tomorrow
Color us (not) surprised, but Apple is definitely launching a tablet tomorrow. At least, according to the CEO of one of the planet's most noted book publishers. In a recent interview on CNBC, Terry McGraw (head honcho of McGraw-Hill, naturally), very openly admitted that books from his company would be coming to an Apple tablet "tomorrow," and he also confirmed that his company has "worked with Apple for quite awhile." As he dug the hole deeper, we also learned that the "tablet will be based on the iPhone operating system," and he noted that said books would be "transferable." We're assuming an updated iPhone OS is also in the works, one that presumably supports textbooks in the way that the mythical tablet might. Obviously we're not taking any of this as gospel until Stevie J confirms or denies it on stage tomorrow -- for all we know, Mr. McGraw may have just seen something speculative -- but it's not too often you see a CEO blow this much pointed smoke. Peek the full quote after the break along with the interview clip.
Rumor: Apple gunning for iPad trademark
Even though the WSJ pretty much broke the story on next week's tablet announcement (when the mainstream media prints something as true, it's true, right?), that hasn't kept the crazy tablet rumors from coming in. Earlier in the week, MacRumors and the no-comment-on-the-name JesusTablet.com delivered more evidence that Apple is fighting for the "iPad" trademark. While it's already nailed down the name elsewhere, in the US, Fujitsu actually originally applied for the moniker, though Apple has made the case to the FTC to pick it up since Fujitsu has "abandoned" it and no one else has used it. There are filed requests to keep the deadline open for complaints against Fujitsu's claim, with an FTC ruling that holds the trademark unclaimed through February 29th. Could be that Apple just wants to avoid confusion with iPod -- it could be the tablet's new name. Of course, if Apple does name the tablet "iPad," I'll eat my hat. That's a terrible name, even worse than the already hated "iSlate." I can see why Apple would want to get the "i" in there, but what will be interesting is to see if they consider this device an extension of the iPod and iPhone lines or part of the Mac series. Personally, I'd much rather buy a Mac Slate or a Mac Reader (or just an Apple Slate) than an awkward name with the "i" squeezed in front of it. And yes, Canvas is pretty good, too. We'll have to see what the company eventually decides on later this week. [via Mashable & MacNN] Update: A legal source of ours says this is not tablet related -- not only does Fujitsu have more right to this trademark than Apple does, since they're the senior user and they've actually sold a product, but Apple is probably only filing for it so they can keep a lock on anything that sounds like "iPod," not because they want to call the tablet "iPad." False alarm. We guess that we'll see plenty of those in the runup to next week's announcement, so keep your cynical hats on.
Take two tablets and call us in the morning
Speaking of thin support & quite amusing -- It's not much to go on with respect to a name, but as suggested by reader Nicholas, we did take a closer look at Apple's invitation copy. "Apple's latest creation," without the spaces, becomes "Appleslatestcreation," which of course does contain the phrase "Apple Slate." Yes, well, it seems pretty silly and inelegant to me too, and not something Apple would do... and yet. [Editor's note: OK, we went and looked again -- the exact phrase "Apple's latest creation" isn't there, it says "our latest creation," so this bit of pipe-dreaming goes from silly to ludicrous... don't blame Erica, blame the editing.] %Poll-40177%
iSlate specs "revealed." We also have a bridge to sell you.
We are publishing this purely for the sake of community interest. PhoneArena.com has published photos of "internal Apple documents" that claim to list the specifications of the impending Apple iSlate. The two-page document "reveals" that the iSlate will run "Mac OS X Clouded Leopard" on a 7.1-inch multitouch display with fingerprint-resistant coating, 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB DDR3 RAM, 120GB hard drive, and... a built-in projector. PhoneArena admits they don't know if the document is real or not, but I'll tell you the top two reasons why it's a fake: The document is still up. If it were real, Apple legal would be on them like a bear on honey. After just refining OS X 10.5 "Leopard" with 10.6 "Snow Leopard", Apple is not going to confuse customers with another OS X called "Clouded Leopard" Read over the document yourself. What do you guys and gals think of the specs? Are the documents fake, really fake, or really really fake? Tell us in the comments!
Apple Tablet rumor roundup: NYT speaks of 'impending Apple slate,' new SIM tray leaks (video)
Bear with us as we bring you the latest rumors related to the most important product that never was: the Apple tablet. Today we have a pair of rumors bubbling to the surface of a delicious tattle brew. First, the SIM card tray pictured above said to be procured from Foxconn (the rumored Apple tablet manufacturer) and available for $14.05 starting October 23rd for the 4th generation iPhone / iTablet... whatever the mythical host device might ultimately be named. It's certainly different than the tray found in previous gen iPhones and its chunkier appearance would be suitable for a larger GSM device. Plausible yes, though really, such a SIM tray could be used anywhere. There's also a pretty big fuss being made this morning over remarks made by Bill Keller, executive editor at the New York Times responsible for the NYT's web presence. Speaking at an all-hands meeting with the Times' digital staff, the supposedly off-the-record speech somehow made its way to Vimeo. Here's the quote that has Apple fanatics and old-media revivalists in a tizzy: "I'm hoping we can get the newsroom more actively involved in the challenge of delivering our best journalism in the form of Times Reader, iPhone apps, WAP, or the impending Apple slate, or whatever comes after that." Now, it's hard to tell if Keller is speaking from insider information or if he's just another member of the media convinced that Apple's tablet will be launched in the New Year. Then again, as Keller himself points out, Apple has always had a special relationship with his paper as routinely demonstrated in Apple's ads that use the New York Times landing page as proof of the "real internet" browsing capabilities of the iPod touch and iPhone. And with Apple supposedly in content delivery talks with the nation's newspaper of record, well, the remarks that begin at about 8:15 are certainly suspicious. Listen for yourself after the break. [Via Gawker, thanks Robert S.] Read -- SIM Tray Read -- NYT 'impending Apple slate'
