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Did Orange France VP Unintentionally Confirm the Apple Tablet?

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While the folks at Apple is pretty much determined to keep their silence  about what is going to be announced  during the big Apple event on January 27, there are some who just couldn’t keep what they know to themselves. Or perhaps, it’s just us tech bloggers who don’t want to keep silent that sometimes we jump into conclusions hurriedly?

I’m talking about the rounds of talks that are going around the Internet right now saying that Orang France VP Stephane Richard who may been misquoted to have confirmed the Apple Tablet during his interview with French radio station Europe1. According to the interview when Europe1 asked Mr. Richard about Orange France’s partner Apple planning to launch a tablet with a webcam, Mr. Richard replied – “yes.” He also replied yes when the Europe1 announcer said that the said Apple Tablet will benefit Orange users.

The interview was in French and was loosely translated by some as follows:
Jean Pierre Elkabbach: “According to the weekly Le Point, a few days your partner Apple will launch a Tablet with a webcam”

Stéphane Richard: “Yes”

Jean Pierre Elkabbach: “Is that Orange users will also benefit”

Stéphane Richard: “Yes”

That simple answer alone was enough for bloggers and journalist to create a big fuzz and so news that the Orange France VP confirming the Apple Tablet caught fire online. [Read more…]

Originally posted on January 11, 2010 @ 5:00 pm

Microsoft One-Up Apple in Tablet Launch, Intros the HP Slate

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Alright, let me just set aside my Apple fanboy persona and let’s an take an objective look at what Steve Ballmer just presented during his keynote speech at CES 2010. True to the rumors that has been going on the past few days, Microsoft and HP has collaborated on a Tablet PC. It’s a Microsoft tablet PC that is called the HP Slate. Now, that’s confusing, isn’t it?

Anyway, as soon as Mr. Ballmer showed the HP Slate, some resourceful geeks just spotted the official video demo and an official photo of the Tablet PC branded as HP.

Ok, for the purpose of this report, let’s call it the HP Slate. What does it brings to the “not-yet-so-carved” new generation tablet PC niche? What else but Windows 7, to make its screen fully touch-enabled.

Mr. Ballmer describes the Windows 7-powered HP Slate as “ more powerful than a phone and almost as powerful as a PC. Perfect for reading, surfing the web and taking entertainment on the go.”

In other words, Microsoft and HP are hitting several birds with one stone, or slate for this matter – the rumored Apple and Google tablets, e-book readers and perhaps netbooks as well.

The HP Slate is a multi-functional device. It’s a  netbook minus the bezel.

So, are you excited? I am. Not because I’m buying this HP Slate but because I’m pretty excited on what lies ahead.  Just imagine – Apple Tablet vs. Microsoft HP Slate vs. Google Tablet/Slate? Ain’t that exciting enough?

hpslate

via The Next Bench

Originally posted on January 7, 2010 @ 1:30 am

Flurry Report: More iPod Touch Download than iPhone During Christmas

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iPod-v-iPhone

Some interesting report here by mobile analytics company, Flurry Analytics.  According to their early Christmas data on Apps Store downloads, more iPod owners have download apps during Christmas day than iPhone owners. iPod Touch downloads increased by 1,000%  compared to other days.

So, what can we deduced from this findings?  Perhaps, the iPod Touch is also one of the most gifted item during Christmas Day aside from the Amazon Kindle?

Aside from this, the iTunes Apps Store alone made a 51% increase in downloads from November to December. And even more interesting is the fact that the iPod Touch downloads are now greater than iPhone apps download during Christmas Days. Well, of course this is quite understandable considering that it would be more practical to give the iPod Touch as a Christmas gift than the iPhone.

So, what happens to the Droid during Christmas Day? Fortunately, it has somehow managed to get a good piece of the pie. Flurry also reported that Motorola’s Droid managed to get 49% of all Android Apps that were sold on Christmas Day. This should give Google a boost on confidence knowing that there are actually people downloading and using Android Apps. It is very important for Google to gauge the Android Market’s performance, especially with the rumored launch of the Google Nexus One anytime next year.

Unfortunately for Android, the data on apps downloaded from the Android market is still far inferior with that of the Apps Store.

The Android folks have a lot of catching up to do, if they want the Android market to compete with the Apps Store. It would be interesting to know how things will change once the Nexus One is released.

Originally posted on December 28, 2009 @ 9:10 am

Want Tons of HBO Goodies?, Yeah There’s an App for That Too

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Screen shot 2009-12-25 at 10.02.51 AM

HBO joins the madding iPhone apps crowd with its own HBO Mobile iPhone app. And since they are rather a little late in this genre with other cable networks like Discovery, AMC and other already into it, HBO made sure that its iPhone app is peppered with great features to make it stand out from the rest of the crowd.

So, you got program guides, schedules as well as social sharing features and a heap of interactive features  including show descriptions and other details, cast and character profiles, episode guides, video clips and photos of  various HBO programs. For movies, the app even provides you with trailers, yup, right on your iPhone.

To boost its on-demand programs, the HBO Mobile iPhone lets you surf through its VOD service catalog.  And for those who always miss HBO shows and movies, you can set up an alerting service that will send you SMS messages whenever a show you’ve been wanting to watch will be on HBO.

For its social networking features, HBO Mobile lets you share shows, movies and HBO programs that you are planning to watch with your Twitter or Facebook contacts. You can also share this via the embedded email app.

HBO Mobile is a free app. If you spend more hours at your home watching HBO features, this app is definitely for you. You’d love the nice interface and easy navigation features of this iPhone app.

Via

Originally posted on December 24, 2009 @ 10:07 pm

“Welcome to Mac” Docu Film to be Aired on CNBC

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If you haven’t had the chance to watch the independently produced documentary “Welcome to Macintosh”, mark your calendar on January 4 as CNBC is about to bring this docu film to the American Television.  The airing starts at 9:30PM ET during the show “First in Business Worldwide.”

According to the documentary’s co-director Rob Roca, airing their film on CNBC is like finding a perfect home for them.

We took the people and the passion felt for Apple seriously, and CNBC provides the ideal venue for informative and entertaining content to be presented.

Josh Rizzo, the other co-director said that this is perfect opportunity to share what they have been evangelizing about in the film – explain why so many people love the Macintosh in a way that even those who have never used a computer will understand and appreciate the Mac’s value.

While watching the teaser, I couldn’t help but admire the tenacity by which the film was created.  No wonder, even Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder couldn’t help but admire it and calls it one of the best independent film he has seen by far, when the film was screened during the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco.

The film has been going around various Macintosh User Groups globally as well as in several film festivals but this is the first time that it will be shown on national television.

Let’s see whether the film will successfully bring more Mac converts into the fold.

Originally posted on December 29, 2009 @ 6:46 pm