CNET's Natali Del Conti gives an unboxing of the just released Apple iPad. For those of you who aren't familiar with an Apple unboxing video, it is something that Apple fans do when a new product is released. If you are an Apple fan then tell us why unboxing videos are so popular in the comment section below.
On December 15, 2003 Staples signed a wireless deal with Fujitsu Transactions Solutions Inc to supply their 1491 Staples retail stores with the Fujitsu iPAD. The iPAD includes some of the latest technology to bring the cash register to associates on the sales floor. Staples analyzed the bottlenecks that could occur at the checkout lines and instead of following the lead of other retail chains who implemented self service check out, Staples decided to utilize associates on the sales floor who could assist customer from anywhere in the store. To accomplish this task Staples would need to provide a solution that was portable, wireless and easy to use.
Whose going to win the rights to the iPad name?
The Fujitsu iPAD solved these obstacles by including built in 802.11 B/G wireless with speeds up to 54 Mpbs that allows associates access to inventory, corporate data as well as access to the Staples.com website. The wireless capabilities also help with customer service by providing associates with tip on how to answer typical questions or problems that may occur on the sales floor. Bluetooth v1.2 is also built into the iPAD to communicate with other Bluetooth enables devices such as printers. This allows associates to print out documents or receipts to the customer without having to enter it into a computer station.
The iPad can also be used as a barcode scanner to input the purchase price and complete the transaction or just provide customers with the current price or sale price if it is not clearly marked. It also had a credit card reader built into the top that can be used to swipe a credit card and perform an on the spot check out.
Voice Over Internet Protocol or VOIP is built into the iPAD to allow associates to make low cost phone calls or page other associates or managers within the store. VOIP is a technology that allows voice communications over the internet and typically is less expensive than traditional land lines or cellular plans.
Other technologies that have become popular in the past few years in personal devices such as the iPhone is touch screen. Although the iPAD does have a physical keyboard like a cell phone would have it also has a touch screen interface that an associate can use to interact with menus with the touch of a finger
The last thing to mention needs to be that because the iPAD is a portable device it needs to have long lasting battery life. The iPAD comes with an 1800mAh Lithium-ion battery. Lithium- ion batteries unlike older battery types can be charged at anytime without being affected by memory. They are also popular for low loss of charge when not in use.
Appleinsider had an interesting picture of some price points that may be available from Apple by the 1st quarter of 2010. Of interest is the rumored Apple tablet that has been raging around the net like wildfire. Apple still denies that they are developing said itablet but they are also notorious about secrecy and it would be no surprise if an announcement would come soon.
Also it has been rumored that Apple will finally release a cheap macbook under $1000. Sure the white Macbook sells for a dollar under but it is most likely that Apple will release at least a couple of options for the sub $1000 macbook line up. This was evident with the 13" aluminum macbook being bumped up to the prestigious title of Macbook Pro.
from appleinsider
This post came from an email I received the other day from Brian M. who wanted to share his experience as someone who switched from a PC to Mac and what it was like to return to the Windows environment:
A few months ago I got my new 13" Aluminum Macbook in the mail for my 40th birthday gift. As a life long Windows user you may ask why I made the switch. That is easy, I was bored with Windows!
A friend of mine has the cheap white Macbook and I played around with it one night. I must say I was a bit lost on how to use Leopard. Although I was interested in learning about OS X, I wasn't that impressed with the white plastic Macbook. When Apple released the Unibody Macbooks I had to check it out myself. After a lot of research I decided to plunge in to the all but foreign world of the Mac user.
I wasn't as lost this time on Leopard because while I was waiting for my birthday to arrive (my wife was getting it for me as a gift so I had to wait) I did some research about the differences between a PC and a Mac.
Fast forward to the present. The other day my son came over sporting his new Dell netbook. He called it a "lollipop" which I found out later wasn't actually the brand name but comes from the Dell commercial that goes to the tune of lollipop or something like that. At first look I thought it was a portable Dvd player. It had a 10" screen and was tiny. I included a stock picture for you to see.
I fired this baby up to see what was going on. Windows XP came preinstalled and when it finally booted up with what seemed like an eternity I was shocked to see all the junk on the desktop and what was running in the taskbar. I asked my son what all this was and he said "I don't know it came with the computer". I preceded to browse around and realized I was already missing my Macbook. Finally I asked him if he minded if I removed all the junk and try to speed things up. The first thing I did was removed all of the trialware.
bloated Norton trialware
The first thing to go on the Dell Mini was the bloated Norton Anti-virus trialware which I had replaced with the free AVG Antivirus. After that it was just a matter of the rest of the junk and also turn off all the unnecessary programs running in the background at start-up.
I rebooted the system and when Windows finally started I was pleased to see that things where running much smoother and faster. I gave the netbook back to my son and he exclaimed "What did you do? It's so much faster now". I simply told him Windows unlike OS X needs a little tweaking when you first pull it out of the box.
A Mac is ready to go right out of the box
After he left I realized how much I didn't miss Windows. When I first booted up my new Macbook it was ready to go like they say "right out of the box". The only thing it did was run software update to make sure OS X was up to date. There was no trialware to uninstall and no bloatware to deal with. With that being said I will say that Windows (with a little tweaking) can be a good operating system, but why settle for good when OS X is great with no work on your part at all.
Thank you Brian for the email. If anyone else recently switched from a PC to a Mac and would like to share their experience be sure to send them our way.
The World Wide Developers Conference is fast approaching and anyone who is a fan of the Apple product line is waiting in eager anticipation of the announcements that will be made.
Snow Leopard should be announced for a release date but hopefully not rushed as the debacle called Vista was.
New iPhones are traditionally announced at the WWDC and Macbook Watch is expecting the same this year. What will this year's model have that will make current iPhone owners envious is yet to be seen?
Come this week we will find out if there is any truth to the rumors that have been circulating through the Mac community. Macbook Watch will have complete coverage so be sure to return for some exciting news.
source: crunchgear
There is a lot of buzz in the industry about Apple releasing a netbook in the near future but it is quite possible that a Mac tablet is in the works. Houston Neal has written a great article at Softwareadvice about the medical applications that could be developed for said "iTablet".
"The Ultimate EMR User Interface
An Apple tablet would be the ultimate UI for electronic medical records. With a touch-screen display like the iPhone, using the EMR during an encounter would be simplified. For example, selecting an evaluation and management (E&M) code could be as easy as “dialing in” the code with a swipe of a finger..."
read the full article at www.softwareadvice.com
Rumors are spreading like wildfire through the Apple community and the newest is about Foxconn Electronics being chosen to manufacture the Cupertino based computer makers new touchscreen netbook.
The Chinese-language site Commercial Times reports that Apple has finalized the deal with Foxconn to pump out the new Netbooks but also may looking for contracts in Asia.
The paper also added that Apple's Macbook is set to become Foxconn's huge impact in laptop shipment growth Q2 09.
If the price point is more than current netbooks, then it just becomes a cheap MacBook. If Apple pulls this off and they most likely, will the new netbooks will fly off the shelves.
Apple still has publicly denied interest in the netbook market, rumors persist though that Apple is planning a 10" netbook with a touchscreen.
Adding fuel to the fire Reuters has published a report pointing to a an unamed source who said Apple "will take third-quarter delivery of newly developed 10-inch touchscreens from Taiwan."
The source has asked not to be identified for obvious reasons, added the screens would come from long-time iPhone touchscreen supplier Wintek, which resides in Taiwan.
This only fuels the rumor that the Cupertino-based electronics maker will be releasing a scaled down laptop commonly known as a "Netbook". Will this be the cheap MacBook we've been waiting for?
Apple, in the past, has been clear in their statements that standard netbooks are "principally based on hardware that's much less powerful than [...] customers want, software technology that is not good, cramped keyboards, [and] small displays."
Steve Jobs has even said in the past that he doesn't believe in building a cheap MacBook and that there are not a lot of netbooks being sold, therefore Apple has stayed away from them,but with the success of the iPhone and iPod Touch have they changed their minds.
If anyone can transform the netbook market it is Apple. I look forward to seeing what is coming in the near future!
What are your thoughts on what Apple has in mind with these new touchscreens?
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