Apple released their first iPad commercial during the first break of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. The commercial showed a person going through the different features that will be available on April 3rd. Each application went by in the blink of an eye but from what we were able to see it looks amazing.
Apple has finally come through with a cheap alternative to the popular Macbook with a price point starting at $499. You can be sure that when Apple releases the 2nd gen model that we will be listing cheap iPads in the near future.
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.
On a report from Reuters there are rumors that Apple's highly anticipated tablet computer is already in the manufacturing stage and the production of the touchscreen device's casing will be in aluminum.
With the upcoming Apple event scheduled for January 27, 2010 the Apple Tablet rumor mill is in high gear. Many think the device will be named the "iSlate" but with the announcement of the hp Slate recently it is hard to tell if Apple would still use any name that involved "slate" in the title. Other rumored names are the iTablet, iPad, and macbook touch.
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.
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..."
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?
Adding fuel to the fire 
