Surprise! iPad 2 launch draws crowds at Apple Stores

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Handhelds,

At 5:10pm ET, an Apple employee suddenly shouted, "Everybody start cheering!"

And the crowd roared as Russian tourist Alex Shumilov, 29, bounced up the stairs of the New York City's flagship Apple store on Fifth Avenue, clasping two white iPad 2 boxes in each of his hand.

After camping outside the store for 28 hours, through more rain than shine, Shumilov became one of the first people in the world to own an iPad 2. It's quite a story to tell when he returns home to Moscow this Sunday.

"I'm a bit tired," he said, while grinning from ear to ear. "But I came all the way here for the iPad. I got two white ones. Everyone is waiting for white!"

By 4:30pm ET, the line for the iPad 2 outside the Apple Store was more than a mile long. It filled the public pavilion (we felt sorry for neighboring F.A.O. Schwartz), wrapped around the block, and continued along one side of the next block.

According to several Apple employees, the line began to pick up around 2pm. Bottles of water were distributed to the early goers, but what most really craved were stools.

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Video: Fun with the iPad 2 magnets

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Design, Handhelds, Videos,

Apple's done a number of things to improve the speed and utility of its popular tablet device. The Apple iPad 2 features the faster A5 processor, two cameras, and a gyroscope. However, one of the more interesting iPad 2 innovations can be found outside the product: The new Smart Cover. It's also the source of the iPad 2's first entertaining parlor trick.

That cover, a mixture of leather (or polyurethane), microfiber and magnets snaps neatly onto the left side of the iPad 2 (there are no special notches on the iPad, the cover simply auto-aligns itself). The Smart Cover's second trick is to put the tablet to sleep when you lay it down on top of the screen. Upon closer examination, however, it becomes clear that the active part of the cover is only in the last quarter panel. In other words, the iPad 2 doesn't sleep until the last part of the cover touches the screen. This means that there's also some sort of electronic mechanism within the cover and the right side of the iPad 2.

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Next Windows Phone 7 update delayed to March

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Microsoft, Software,

Given the problems with its first Windows Phone 7 update, Microsoft said Thursday that it will delay the next upgrade, which will bring cut and paste functionality, until late March.

"I believe it's important that we learn all we can from the February update. So I've decided to take some extra time to ensure the update process meets our standards, your standards, and the standards of our partners," Eric Hautala, Microsoft's general manager of customer experience engineering, wrote in a blog post. "As a result, our plan is to start delivering the copy-and-paste update in the latter half of March."

Microsoft started rolling out its first, minor update for the Windows Phone 7 platform in late February, but a glitch prompted the company to temporarily halt updates for Samsung phones.

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Google launches Person Finder Japan due to earthquakes and tsunamis

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet,

In the wake of the devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunamis in Japan, Google has launched a version of its Person Finder tool for Web users looking friends and loved ones in the affected region.

The tool is available in English and Japanese. Users can click on the "I'm looking for someone" link or the "I have information about someone" link and enter what they know. Search by name or parts of a name, or - if you have information - enter the family or given name to create an entry.

Google stressed that all data entered is available to the public and viewable and usable by anyone. The search giant also does not review or verify the data entered into the system; after the immediate crisis has passed, Google archives the data. At this point, the system is currently tracking about 7,200 records.

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Google Latitude adds check-in deals

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Location Services, Marketing, Mobile, Product Offers,

Google took aim at Foursquare on Thursday with the addition of checkin rewards for its Latitude app for Google Maps, while replacing 'mayors' with "gurus" and "VIPs".

Google's location class warfare didn't stop there: there are a poor, middle, and elite class under Google's hierarchy, known as "Regulars," "VIPs," and "Gurus," respectively. Users who check in for the first time might not receive any special designation.

Users will need to update to Google Maps 5.2 via the Android Market, join Latitude, then tap "check in here" from the menu. Google said a version for the iPhone would be coming soon.

The new rewards will be rolled out - where else? - at the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) show in Austin, Texas this weekend, where discounts will be offered at restaurants, bars, and other venues around the downtown area.

The new checkins scheme provides a sort of game-like approach to rewards, with additional checkins propelling users to new social rankings - and new discounts, to boot. "Footprint" icons let users track their progress. As an example, a restaurant could offer a free drink to a regular, free breadsticks to a VIP, and possibly a free dessert to a "guru".

Google began offering checkins on Latitude in February.

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LinkedIn introduces social news, skills, ‘maps’ pages

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Business Tools, Social Networks,

Business social networking site LinkedIn launched a number of new products for its users on Thursday, including a customized news aggregation site.

In total, LinkedIn launched the LinkedIn Today news site, LinkedIn Skills, LinkedIn Maps, and updated its LinkedIn iOS app with the new news focus. The company also said that its LinkedIn Signal product would be opened up to all users.

According to Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn's chief executive, the site's historical mission has been about connecting users and new jobs, as they move down their career path. Now, he said, the site's purpose is to "connect talent and opportunity on a massive scale". LinkedIn counts 90 million members, all of which can be connected at either a primary, secondary, or tertiary level of interaction.

Weiner said that LinkedIn has three objectives: to be the professional profile of record, to ensure that users are connected to essential sources of professional insights, and to work wherever members work - reference to the company's mobile apps.

Deep Nishar, LinkedIn's senior vice president of products and user experience, related an anecdote where his teenage daughter applied to an won an internship at Johns Hopkins in 2008. Suddenly, as the opportunity approached, he was faced with checking out the program. Nishar said that he posted a message to LinkedIn, looking for responses, and found them. Searching for facts on a search engine wasn't enough.

"Suddenly it ht me that when we make important life decisions, you just don't rely on facts," he said.

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Video: iPad 2 review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Product Reviews, Videos,

Just in time for its March 11th arrival, we've got an in-depth iPad 2 review, that explores the tablet's new features, like its front- and rear-facing cameras, the FaceTime video chat app, and the faster A5 processor, amongst other improvements. Sometimes, though, you just want to see a shiny new device in action—so for those of you dying for a closer look at the tablet (that isn't culled from an Apple commercial or footage from last week's event), check out our video review below.

The iPad 2 may seem like solid gold—and make no mistake, it's definitely a strong tablet and an improvement upon the original—but our reviews point out some of the flaws or lacking features that you might not have considered yet. Did you know that the rear-facing camera offers less than a single megapixel of resolution, for instance? Our video also shows why some criticism of the iPad 2—namely its lack of Flash support—is starting to matter less and less.

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Apple iPad 2 online sales start Friday at 1:00 AM PST

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds,

Taking a page from Verizon's book, Apple announced Thursday that the iPad 2 will be available online starting at 4am Eastern time Friday.

Unlike the first iPad, Apple did not offer a pre-sale for the iPad 2. The next-generation tablet will be available in Apple Stores, as well as Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and AT&T and Verizon Wireless stores at 5pm local time, but those who are truly eager for the iPad 2 can get up at 4am (or 1am on the West Coast) to place their order.

Apple said that customers who purchase the tablet in-store will get a free personal setup service, which will assist with e-mail and apps.

The Wi-Fi version of the iPad 2 will sell for $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 32GB model, $699 for the 64GB model. The iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for $629 for the 16GB model, $729 for the 32GB model and $829 for the 64GB model. It will come in white or black, and Apple will sell versions that run on the Verizon or AT&T networks.

In the App Store, Apple will add iMovie and GarageBand for iPad for $4.99 each. The new iPad 2 Smart Cover will also go on sale Friday in a variety of polyurethane colors for $39 or leather for $69.

Click to continue reading Apple iPad 2 online sales start Friday at 1:00 AM PST

World’s smallest camera is the size of a grain of salt

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cameras, Design, Science,

Think your webcam is small? Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have developed a camera that's no larger than a grain of salt. The "microcamera" (shown below next to a syringe) has the potential to re-invent medical cameras used to navigate surgeries as well as some aspects of cars and consumer electronics.

"At 1x1x1 millimeters, this camera is as small as coarsely ground grain of salt—the smallest camera that we are aware of," Stephan Voltz, CEO of image-sensor developer Awaiba, said in a Fraunhofer press release.

Part of the challenge for creating effective microcameras is the manufacturing process, which requires that image sensors be created in bulk on a single wafer, then separated and attached to individual lenses. Fraunhofer says it's found a way to mount lenses in bulk on top of the sensor wafer, simplifying—and cheapening—the process, at least for this microcamera.

Click to continue reading World’s smallest camera is the size of a grain of salt

Apple opening pop-up store at SXSW for iPad 2 launch

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News,

For all you South by Southwest Interactive attendees distraught at the prospect of missing out on the Apple iPad 2's launch at 5pm on Friday, you're in luck. According to an Austin newspaper, Apple is opening a pop-up store tomorrow just for you.

A leasing agent told Austin's The Statesman that Apple is retrofitting a 5,000 square foot temporary store in the Scarbrough Building on Congress Avenue in downtown Austin. Apple is said to have leased the space for two weeks. Construction apparently began on Wednesday, and the windows are still covered with black vinyl.

"They came in town on Monday, did a quick tour, found a spot, and they're in there working and will open by Friday," Rance Wilemon, a partner at Plat.Form Real Estate told The Statesman. "We would have loved to have had them" in the Second Street District. "They're just a great draw."

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