bintang-lima.com

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - – Apple chief executive Steve Jobs on Wednesday revealed the culture-changing company’s latest must-have device, a touchscreen tablet computer annointed the “iPad.”
“We want to kick off 2010 by introducing a truly magical and revolutionary product,” said Jobs, who underwent a liver transplant last year and was making just his second public appearance since September.
The long-awaited iPad has a 9.7-inch (24.6-centimeter) color screen and resembles an oversized iPhone. It is 0.5 inches (1.3 cms) thick, weighs 1.5 pounds (0.7 kgs) and comes with 16, 32, or 64 gigabytes of flash memory.
The cheapest iPad model, with Wi-Fi connectivity and 16GB of memory, is 499 dollars while the most expensive — which includes 3G connectivity and 64GB of memory — costs 829 dollars.
“I think it’s a home run,” said Gartner analyst Van Baker. “It becomes a viable alternative to a netbook and I get the 140,000 applications in the App Store. It is a pretty compelling value.”
Apple said it would start shipping the iPad, which has a virtual keyboard but can also be hooked up to an external keyboard, within 60 days, making them available worldwide in late March.
The 3G version will reach the market in late April.
Dressed in his trademark blue jeans, black turtleneck and sneakers, Jobs appeared on stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater to unveil a product that had been the subject of months of speculation.
Walking around the stage or sitting on a couch, he showed off iPad features which include browsing the Internet, doing email, working with spreadsheets and charts, playing videogames, listening to music or watching video.
Jobs, who appeared thin but healthy, said Apple was launching an online “iBookstore” for the iPad and touted its abilities as an electronic reader of books, newspapers and magazines.
“You can have black-and-white, color, video in your books — whatever the author wants,” he said. “We think the iPad is going to make a terrific e-book reader, not just for popular books but for textbooks as well.
“Amazon has done a great job of pioneering this functionality with the Kindle,” Jobs said. “We are going to stand on their shoulders.”
The legendary Apple CEO said the iPad has support from five of the biggest publishers in the world and that Apple will “open the floodgates for the rest of the publishers starting this afternoon.”
Some technology analysts expect the iPad to pose a challenge to other e-readers while a number of publishers are counting on the device to sell digital versions of their publications.
The New York Times, Time magazine and National Geographic were among the partners whose content was displayed on the device on Wednesday.
Apple said that besides serving as an e-reader, the iPad runs all of the applications available through the Apple App Store for the iPod and iPhone.
“If you are thinking about buying a Kindle, you are probably reconsidering that decision. If you are a developer, you have one more reason to develop applications for Apple,” said Interpret analyst Michael Gartenberg.
Apple simultaneiously released a kit for software developers to tailor applications for the iPad.
Jobs said he expected the device to carve out a place between the laptop computer and the smartphone.
“Do we have what it takes to establish a third category of products in between a laptop and a smartphone?” he asked. “We think we’ve done it.”
Jobs said the iPad is “so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smartphone.”
He said it has about 10 hours of battery life. “I can take a flight from San Francisco to Tokyo and watch video the whole way on one charge,” Jobs said.
“In general it was a hit,” said analyst Rob Enderle of Silicon Valley’s Enderle Group, although he expressed some doubt about the inadequate wireless network of telecom carrier AT&T.
“I think this is disruptive for a lot of markets,” Enderle said.
“I have a hard time believing after seeing this that folks are going to want an e-reader that just does plain text and doesn’t do format or color,” he said.
Enderle believed iPads could “do some severe damage” to the gaming market, initially to hand-held gaming systems then eventually to videogame consoles.
“I think the iPad is going to do well for them,” said NPD Group analyst Ross Rubin. “I wouldn’t want to be a competitor in this space at this point in time.”
Apple shares closed 0.99 percent higher at 207.98 dollars.

There’s been an immense amount of crosstalk, speculation, and just plain noise over the past 48 hours about a device allegedly called the Nexus One, or as it’s more commonly known: the Google Phone. We’ve heard all sorts of reports about the HTC-made device, and figured it might be helpful to put together a little roundup about what we know — and don’t — on one of the potentially more exciting devices we’ve seen recently. Read on for an exploration of what this device could mean, as well as a little editorial perspective on some of those “confirmed” stories of the day!

* The phone doesn’t really have an official name, though it’s obviously being referred to as the Google Phone, and both its user agent string (browser identifier) and EXIF data on pictures taken on the device identify it as the “Nexus One,” which we take to be a code name for the phone (it’s also a reference to a line of replicants in the film Blade Runner). Some shots identify the device as “Phone 88,” apparently an earlier code name. It is highly unlikely it will be released to the public as the Nexus One, in our opinion.
* The phone was given to Google employees at an all-hands meeting on Friday, December 10th. The story broke when a number of Googlers tweeted about the phone.
* Google posted on its blog that it was experimenting with “eating its own dogfood” on the Android front by giving employees “around the globe” a device to test. There have been zero — zero — official statements about Google selling the device to retailers or directly to consumers. There is a Wall Street Journal article which claims that this is the strategy Google is headed in, but the post contains a number of poorly sourced and suspect facts, so we say take it with a major grain of salt. Other reports say “what if” and “could.” That doesn’t make it so. As of right now, the only way to get this phone is to work for Google.
* The phone itself appears to be the HTC Dragon / Passion (with at least the specs of the Bravo, which looks to be a variant of the other models). All are Snapdragon-based phones with a 3.7-inch AMOLED displays, 5 megapixel cameras, and no physical keyboards.
* There have been rumors (or fact, as stated in the aforementioned WSJ report) that this phone runs a “real” or different version of Android. Based on the pictures we’ve seen, this is inaccurate. It appears to run a version of Android that looks nearly identical to the version currently found on the Droid (2.0.1) — Google’s latest, most official device. The version number we’ve heard is Android 2.1, which would not be a drastic departure from 2.0.
* There are rumors that if sold, the device will be available unlocked and able to function on both AT&T and T-Mobile 3G bands. A source tells us that they have spoken with someone with first-hand knowledge, and this is the case, despite earlier rumors that it would only function using T-Mobile’s 3G network.
And now, some philosophical perspective on what this device could mean, depending on how it ends up coming to market.

As we said, there is currently a theory floating around that the Google Phone will be sold directly by Google to consumers, or by the company to retailers and carriers. If that is the case, it should cause a real splintering of the Open Handset Alliance, and could also be a sign that Google is moving away from its “all in” mentality demonstrated at the birth of Android. Positioning itself as the purveyor of the “real” Google Phone, while controlling distribution of both hardware and software for that device could be hugely disruptive to its current strategy of ‘one platform, many devices’ (clearly taken from the Windows Mobile handbook). A move to full control over its ecosystem and hardware in this way certainly calls to mind something closer to Apple’s strategy, though it is still confusing as to why Google would make this move given the relative success and growth of Android worldwide. Our guess would be the pressures to homogenize the experience and give developers a single path to app creation may now seem more logical to the company; it’s worked beautifully for their biggest rival.

What everyone seems to be ignoring is the fact that Google has created two other “Google Phones” in the past; the Dev Phone 1 (shock, an unlocked phone that Google sold online!), and the Ion. Both were “Google” phones, both were given out to employees early on, and both were built by HTC. They also both went on to become “with Google” devices, and it’s entirely possible that the Nexus One is the next generation of those phones. Given the fact that there is currently no developer device with specs similar to Android’s current high water mark (the Droid), seeing a new dev phone with a faster CPU, newer version of Android, and higher resolution screen actually makes perfect sense. If we were the betting type, we’d say you were going to see this phone come to market much in the way the myTouch and G1 did — as official, Google branded devices. Google Phones, if you will.

Regardless, all we know of this phone and Google’s strategy behind it has been built largely atop rumors. The phone clearly exists, and some employees clearly have it, but as to what the long term positioning will be, Google has been 100 percent silent — a point to note when reading articles claiming that this device is “confirmed” as being sold by Google. There is no evidence of that. For now, stay tuned — we’ll have more info as we get it!

Update: Peter Kafka over at All Things Digital says that T-Mobile is now on-board to sell this device as an unsubsidized, unlocked phone through its retail channels (he claims the big G first went to Verizon, but was turned down). That doesn’t really make a lot of sense if the phone does indeed work on both T-Mobile and AT&T 3G networks. We can’t see what’s in it for T-Mobile in that scenario, unless this were 3G only on its network, like… previous Google dev phones. We can’t help but feel there’s a crucial piece of this puzzle still missing — here’s hoping we get that info soon.

Update 2: A tipster who has played with phone has some interesting tidbits about the new version of Android. Our source says that the app tray has been changed, and that instead of scrolling through icons, it now “flips” to a new page with a “3D tinge.” We’re also told that it’s fast — faster than the Droid. One disappointing note: our tipster says there’s no multitouch to be found in the browser… AKA, no pinch to zoom.

SwitchEasy’s ThumbTacks are far from being the first third-party microphones designed to function nicely with Apple’s iPod nano 4G and second-generation iPod touch, but we’ll be darned if they aren’t the cutest. Clearly designed to mimic the iconic thumb tack, these itty-bitty microphones function with all third-party voice applications and can be selected in black, white or red. Not too shabby for $15.99 shipped, wouldn’t you say?

An Ohio mom is filing a lawsuit against Apple on behalf of her son, whose “iTouch” popped in his pocket and proceeded to torch his pants. He had to be treated for second degree burns on his leg, had a hole burnt through his pants pocket and got an underwear melting to top it all off. Also, according to the lawsuit, “He continues to suffer from both physical and mental conditions which will cause him to suffer pain, mental distress, emotional distress, and otherwise for the rest of his life.” Poor kid! In addition to Apple, the lawsuit seemingly randomly names 10 Apple retail employees, and wants $150,000+ and attorney fees in damages. While we’ve seen a couple burnt charging cables of late, this is the first we’ve heard of an iPod touch “popping,” and it’s especially odd because the lawsuit claims the iPod was turned off at the time of the incident. Whether or not that’s true, we’ll be certainly keeping an eye on a trend developing here. When it comes to our children, burning pants are everyone’s business.

Apple’s corporate font isn’t Arial, if you catch our drift.

At long last, iPhone users who have grown increasingly frustrated by using Google Maps as their primary navigational tool can find relief… sort of. Available right now in the App Store, XRoad’s G-Map application requires no internet connection whatsoever in order to function; rather, it packs oodles of maps into a 932MB package that covers most of western America and a few sporadic locales on the east. We’re a bit baffled (and angered) by the not-at-all-comprehensive coverage, but we suppose we can expect updates to patch the gaps in the near future. It provides most of the same amenities you’re used to seeing on real-deal GPS units, including POI editing, memo capabilities, location searching, etc. A word of caution, though: early reviews don’t seem too stoked about it, so you may want to gloss it over good before hitting your card for $19.99.
[Thanks, Karel]

We spent most of the weekend putting the iPhone 3G’s battery life (and to a lesser extent, MobileMe implementation) to the test, and we’ve got far more encouraging results to report back than we had on day one. Pretty much everything we’ve found thus far jibes with Apple’s claims, if not exceeds them. (Our video results early on skewed low because we had mistakenly left on push and fetch data, which dropped the battery life by almost 25%. After re-testing, they’re back up to spec.)
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