Wealth managers prefer Apple over RIM

Wealth managers prefer using Apple products for business rather than Research in Motion's BlackBerry devices, a survey by Aite Group showed.

Of 402 financial advisers polled, 45 percent said they would choose an Apple iPhone or iPad, while 14 percent would pick a BlackBerry.

The research firm, which focuses on financial services, conducted the survey in March, well before the recent RIM outage which left large pockets of BlackBerry users around the world without access to email and other functions.

The study found that using mobile devices was increasingly important to advisers, many of whom service clients with hand-held devices who have access to online brokerage services.

Nearly half the advisers surveyed said having access to business applications was an "important" or "very important" part of their technology strategy for 2011.

Sprint to get its own iPad

News of an Apple iPhone for Sprint has been making the rounds online. But now there’s new news about an iPad for the Sprint data network.

It could happen before the Xmas shopping season. In the beginning, there was just Apple iPhone and AT&T. And iPad was added to the mix.

Then Apple knighted Verizon Wireless with its own iPhone and iPad.

No. 3 carrier Sprint’s day has arrived. A Sprint iPhone is expected by Oct. 7, though it could be a bit later. Pre-orders for the phone may be taken by the end of September.

MobileBeat pointed out that the timing could make sense: “It wouldn’t be too surprising to see the iPad on Sprint once it does get the iPhone. When the Verizon iPhone was officially announced earlier this year, the carrier was quick to confirm that it would be offering iPads compatible with its network as well.”

Mark Gurman said in 9to5Mac that a Sprint iPad could be good news for consumers: “What’s perhaps most enticing about the Sprint iPad (besides the possibility of 4G) is that Sprint is a lot more generous with its data plans, perhaps offering iPad users once again a truly unlimited data option.”

Apple to launch iPad 3 in early 2012

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Apple is planning to begin trial production of a next generation iPad in October with an eye to an early 2012 launch.

The newspaper said Apple is working with component suppliers and its assembler in Asia on the iPad 3 and has ordered key components such as display panels and chips.

It said the next generation iPad is expected to feature a high resolution 2048-by-1536 pixel display compared with the 1024-by-768 display on the iPad 2.

The Journal quoted one unidentified component supplier to Apple as saying that the company has placed orders for parts for about 1.5 million iPad 3s in the fourth quarter.

Apple sources parts for the iPad around Asia and assembles the tablet computer at Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co.

HTC prepares Flyer, Stylus-based iPad 2 rival

With the launch of Apple's new iPad 2 imminent, companies like Samsung are rethinking about their tablet strategy, while deep discounts are expected for Motorola's Xoom tablet. But HTC, the company responsible for the Evo 4G and Droid Incredible smartphones, has already lined up a million orders for its new Flyer tablet from retailers and carriers.

That number may not be the best comparison point. Samsung moved 2 million of its tablets to retailers, while Apple sold that many iPads in just 60 days. But the HTC Flyer has some interesting features to recommend it, perhaps even over the iPad 2.

The Stylus is the draw..
Windows-based tablets of old, like Palm Pilots, needed a pen-shaped stylus to interact with their pressure-sensitive touchscreens. You could use your fingers, but it wasn't as precise and you needed to apply more pressure. Capacitive touchscreens like the iPad's, meanwhile, are sensitive to body heat, making them easy to use with your fingers but hard to draw or write on.

The HTC Flyer features the best of both worlds: It has a capacitive, multitouch screen like the iPad 2's, but it also comes with a working stylus accessory for drawing and taking notes. An app syncs your drawings with the online Evernote service, and the built-in e-reader app lets you highlight and annotate books. And despite the Flyer's 7-inch screen size - making it about the same size as a Kindle, or half the size of the iPad 2 - it recognizes when you've got your hand on the screen while drawing.

Content and apps..
Since it's powered by Google's "organic," open-source Android operating system and meets Google's hardware requirements, the HTC Flyer will let you buy apps from the Android Market, which has over 150,000 at last count. It will have its own "HTC Watch" movie store, for access to video content; and apps for Pandora Internet radio, Amazon's MP3 store, and Jamendo's free Creative Commons music are all available in the market.

The downside, of course, is that it doesn't have access to iTunes or the iTunes App Store. There are already 65,000 apps designed just for the iPad, whereas very few Android apps have been designed with tablets in mind. Now that Android has seen its 3.0 "Honeycomb" release, though, which was made for tablets, more tablet apps are on the way and while the HTC Flyer isn't shipping with Honeycomb, HTC has tweeted that an upgrade to Honeycomb will be available soon.

Live video gaming..
Perhaps the Flyer's most interesting feature, besides its stylus interface, is its integration with the OnLive gaming service. OnLive lets you stream games to your PC or television using a controller and a high-speed Internet connection, and it will be built into the Flyer at launch. No word yet on how well it performs, though.

As another possible downside, the pen input feature didn't seem quite mature when the Flyer was introduced last month, plus there's no silo to store the pen in. Worse, it requires its own batteries. The feature of having one, though, may be compelling on its own if HTC works the bugs out; and my personal experience with HTC products has been that they're extremely well-made.

Coming soon..
No release date for the HTC Flyer has been given. But, Sprint is rumored to be debuting an Evo-branded tablet at the CTIA Wireless conference this month.

Apple iPad 2 Competitors at a glance

The Apple iPad 2, announced March 2, is hitting shelves March 11 with the updated iOS 4.3, a year after the April 2010 original iPad was released. Both the iPad 2 hardware and software updates promise users a better overall user experience.

New iPad 2 Features, Old iPad Pricing
The iPad 2 offers HDMI mirroring, FaceTime Chat, advanced browsing, and iTunes Home Sharing, one front facing and one rear facing camera-finally-but still no flash. iPad 2 also has an in-the-box "extra," a USB Dock Connector; the original iPad did not offer these features. iPad 2 comes with the improved Apple A5 processor, and its battery will still last about 10 hours. However, the iPad 2 uses the same 9.7-inch screen and 1024-pixel by 768-pixel resolution as the original, so the iPhone's retina display technology is not included.

The iPad 2 sells at original iPad prices, from $499 to $699 for Wi-Fi, but the Wi-Fi + 3G versions cost $130 more per unit, and storage has not changed. The Wi-Fi + 3G CDMA version will sell in the U.S. at Verizon only; otherwise, all versions will be available at AT&T and Verizon. Here is a sneak peak at the competitors.

Motorola ZOOM Tablet PC:
The Motorola XOOM runs the newest Android OS, Honeycomb 3.0, features a 10.1-inch screen, 1200-pixel by 800-pixel resolution, true multitasking, and a 16:9 widescreen HD display. In comparison, the iPad 2 only allows some multitasking in the background and its resolution equates to a ratio of 4:3. The XOOM is one of the only tablets of this size that has a battery lasting as long as the iPad 2 at 10 hours.

Xoom also offers two cameras, and LED flash; a Micro USB port and an HDMI out connector are standard, while a Tegra 2 Dual Core CPU powers the device. The Motorola XOOM debuted at the 2011 CES, where it took home the "Best of Show" award for its intriguing design and features, making it a great iPad 2 competitor. The XOOM is available from Verizon for $800 or $600 with a two-year contract; not much different from the iPad 2 models offering half the features.

T-Mobile LG G-Slate:
This LG G-Slate, announced at the 2011 CES, is another Android Honeycomb 3.0 tablet, this time from T-Mobile. Even though the G-Slate only offers an 8.9-inch touchscreen display, it makes up for it by offering a 3D experience. The G-Slate features not two, but three cameras; two cameras are rear facing, one for use with video, and the other for stills and LED flash for both, and one front facing camera for chat. The tablet also allows HDMI out for 1080p compatible video natively; something the iPad 2 is still has not gotten right just yet. A Dual core Tegra 2 processor powers the tablet, while it is available in either a 32 GB or 64 GB version, all of which include Google Mobile apps such as Google Maps, Talk, and Video. It will be available from T-Mobile, but prices are not yet public.

ASUS Eee Slate EP121 Tablet PC:
The ASUS Eee Slate Tablet PC offers more features than iPad 2 does. It runs the desktop Microsoft Windows 7 version, powered by an Intel Core i5 CPU and Intel-based HD graphics system. The Eee Slate has a huge 12.1-inch, 1280-pixel by 800-pixel resolution display, a full 2.3-inches larger than the iPad 2. Eee Slate has dual card reader compatible with SD and MMC, two built-in USB ports, a mini HDMI out port, a Bluetooth Keyboard, and a Pen Stylus. While a tad expensive, the extra features are worth the $999.

Worth watching for Apple
Even though iPad 2 is may become as popular as the original, Apple should worry about competitors, since iPad 2 is still missing features included on other tablet PC models that debuted at the 2011 CES in Jan. 2011. With Android in second place ahead of Apple in platform market share, iOS 4.3 also needs more than "faster browsing," if it hopes to compete. The standard features of these tablets are nowhere to be seen on an iPad 2, and prices are comparable.

Apple unveils iPad 2, slimmer version of iPad

Apple has finally unveiled a slimmer, trimmer version of the wildly popular version of iPad, complete with a front facing camera for vedio chat and a souped-up processor.

The new iPad 2 took the spotlight during a press event at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, with none other than Apple CEO Steve Jobs - who is still on medical leave, taking the stage to unveil the much-anticipated follow-up to the best-selling original.

The "dramatically faster" iPad 2 boasts a dual-core A5 "system on a chip" processor under the hood, said Jobs, good for twice the CPU power and nine times the graphics performance of the original while maintaining the same 10-hour battery life.

Also new are, dual cameras, including a front-facing camera for VGA-quality video chat, while the rear camera will be good for 720p video capture.

As predicted, the 9.7-inch display on the iPad 2 has the same resolution as that on the original: 1,024 by 768, disappointing news for anyone hoping that the new iPad would boast an improved "retina"-style display.

Measuring 9.5 by 7.3 by 0.34 inches, the iPad 2 is slightly shorter and narrower than the original, with the listed weight of 1.33 pounds (or 1.35 for the 3G-enabled iPad 2) a bit lighter than the iPad 1.

As with the first iPad, the iPad 2 comes with Apple's proprietary 30-pin dock connector for syncing and charging, along with a 3.5mm headset jack. Missing in action, is a slot for SD (or microSD) memory cards.

A white version of the iPad will be available on "Day One," promised Jobs, with Apple probably hoping to avoid last year's debacle of the white iPhone that never quite arrived.

The iPad 2 retains the same price points as the original: $499 for the 16GB version, $599 for the 32GB model, and $699 for the 64GB model. The 3G-enabled versions will also come with the same $130 premium over the Wi-Fi-only models ($629 for the 3G-ready 16GB iPad 2, $729 for 32GB, and $829 for the 64GB version), and they'll be available for both AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

The shipping date is expected to be March 11 in the U.S., and March 25 in 26 additional countries.

Jobs also announced a new "Smart Cover" to go along with the iPad 2 - one with magnetic clasps that either wakes up the iPad or puts it to sleep depending on whether it's being attached or removed. The polyurethane version of the case will sell for $39, while a pricier leather one goes for $69.

Another new accessory is a $39 HDMI video-out cable that's capable of 1080p video mirroring. The cable works with all iPad apps, Jobs said, and it'll charge your iPad when plugged into a power source.

March 11 will also see the release of iOS version 4.3, with new features such as personal hotspot support for the iPhone 4, a speedier version of Safari, improvements to AirPlay media streaming, and FaceTime video chat, but the iOS 4.3 release on the 11th will only be for iPads, third- and fourth-generation iPod Touches, and the GSM version of the iPhone - meaning that owners of the iPhone for Verizon, which runs a CDMA network, will have to wait.

There will also be a new iPad version of Apple's iMovie video-editing app, which is slated to arrive March 11 for $4.99.

Before unveiling the new iPad, Jobs confirmed recent rumors that book publisher Random House, the last of the major iBooks holdouts, would be offering more than 17,000 volumes through Apple's e-book store.

Jobs also took a shot at Honeycomb, Google's new Android-based tablet OS, by bragging that only 100 Honeycomb-ready apps are currently available for download, versus about 65,000 apps for the iPad - perhaps not the fairest comparison, since the first Honeycomb-enabled tablet only landed in stores about a week ago.

The first iPad, originally unveiled last January before landing in stores the following April, was initially greeted with skepticism.

Unsurprisingly, the massive success of the iPad has drawn a slew of competitors, with sleek new tablets from the likes of Dell, HP, LG, Motorola, and Samsung either on sale now or waiting in the wings.

Most of the hottest new tablets, such as the Motorola Xoom and the upcoming LG G-Slate, are based on Google's tablet-oriented Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" OS, although we'll also see some non-Android tablets as HP's WebOS-based TouchPad and the BlackBerry PlayBook from RIM.

Motorola's Xoom iPad: 1st to pack Android 3.0 Honeycomb

When Steve Jobs strode onstage and unveiled the iPad in January of 2010, the news left nearly every other big computer and consumer-electronics maker racing to get into the tablet market that Jobs' iPad had suddenly created.

And the competition turned out to be a marathon. More than a year later, we're still talking about tablets that are huffing and puffing their way towards the showroom floor. There's RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook, slated to arrive by the end of March. HP's Web OS-based TouchPad is due this summer. And dozens of other models are on their way. The pace has been so plodding that Apple's second-generation iPad, will apparently beat most other companies' first-generation models to market.

Then there's Motorola's Xoom, which goes on sale at Verizon retail locations, (today, Thursday). It's the first honest-to-goodness, no-qualifications-necessary iPad rival from a major manufacturer to hit stores. That's in large part because it's also the first to pack Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the operating system that Google designed specifically with tablets in mind. The Xoom has its fair share of raw edges, but it's a great leap beyond earlier Android-based tablets such as Samsung's Galaxy Tab, which took the unsatisfying shortcut of using earlier versions of Android that were meant for smartphones.

Verizon will sell the Xoom for $799.99, a hefty $300.99 premium over the current iPad's starting price of $499; you can get a $200 discount if you commit to two years' worth of data service. The pricing disparity between Motorola and Apple isn't as alarming as it looks at first blush, though. With its built-in Verizon wireless connection and 32GB of storage, the Xoom is most directly comparable to the $729 AT&T version of the iPad. And it has far beefier specs than any Apple tablet, including a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, and two cameras - a 2-megapixel model up front for Google Talk video calls and a 5-megapixel one in back for taking snapshots and capturing HD video.

The Xoom will also be a 4G wireless device, thanks to Verizon's zippy LTE network - but not until the second quarter of this year, according to Motorola. For now, it comes with 3G and the promise of a free upgrade. That's one of several telltale signs that it was rushed out the door. Adobe's Flash Player software, which will let Xoom owners get at Flash Web videos and games that don't work on the iPad, won't be ready for a few weeks. And there's a dormant slot for MicroSD memory cards that Motorola plans to enable it in an upcoming software update.

Even if the Xoom is a work in progress, it already does many things well. The tablet is sheathed in a plastic case rather than the iPad's aluminum, but it's pleasing to the eye and touch; slightly thinner than the iPad, the Xoom tips the scales at an identical 1.6 pounds. It also out-iPads the iPad by doing away with even that tablet's single physical button on the front. However, there's a button on the back - the power switch.

The display measures 10.1" diagonally, giving it a skosh more elbow room and more pixels than the iPad's 9.7" screen. When you meet a Xoom in person, though, the most striking difference is aspect ratio, not size. Apple's tablet has a 4:3 display that's reminiscent of a book or magazine; Motorola's has a 16:10 widescreen that makes it look more like a miniature HDTV.

The iPad's less exaggerated dimensions are superior for reading e-books and other text-centric tasks. But in landscape orientation, the Xoom's extra space makes for comfier typing on the on-screen keyboard. It's also well-proportioned for HD movies.

Apple begins production of new iPad

According to a recent report by Wall Street Journal, Apple has begun to make a new version of its iPad tablet computer with a front-facing camera and faster processor.

The new iPad will be thinner and lighter than the first model and sport a more powerful graphics processor, the Journal said.

It will have at least one camera on its front for features such as video conferencing, and will also have more memory, adding Apple plans to unveil the new iPad through Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

Early in February, a Reuters eyewitness saw what appeared to be a working model of the next iPad with a front-facing camera at the top edge of the glass screen at a press conference in New York.

JooJoo Tablet PC in consumer hands by End of February

Fusion Garage's JooJoo tablet PC is expected to be in consumer hands by the end of February, when it will likely give some indication as to the public's interest in tablets such as the Apple iPod.

Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan says that not only have the preorders for the JooJoo tablet exceeded expectations, but there has been an increase in inquiries since the debut of the iPad -so it looks like the public may be ready for tablet computers after all.

The JooJoo Tablet, which began its life as the TechCrunch CrunchPad, was announced in December 2009. The 2.4-pound touch screen tablet has a 12-inch, 1366-by-768-pixel display, 1GB of memory, and a 4GB Solid State Drive (used to store the OS and cache data). It also features a USB 2.0 port, Bluetooth support, built-in speakers, Wi-Fi, and a Webcam with a mic. The JooJoo tablet also features a fun color-tinted screen-but don't worry, the color can be changed.

Instead of custom-built apps, the JooJoo tablet uses the web as its primary platform. It also supports Flash and reportedly plays 1080p Youtube streaming videos fairly well. The JooJoo tablet's price point is close to that of the iPad's, at $499.

While the JooJoo tablet beats the iPad in a few ways (notably, multitasking, Flash support, and the webcam/mic combo), it also falls short in some pretty major areas. It has a 4GB SSD, but users cannot directly save files to said drive -it's purely an internet tablet. The problem with this is that the JooJoo has Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi only -there is no 3G option, though Fusion Garage is "not ruling out the possibility of 3G in the near future."

Because the JooJoo tablet uses the Internet as its platform, the lack of an "App Store" is another downside.

The JooJoo tablet is just, quite literally, the internet in your hands. Of course, the iPad is just, quite literally, a giant iPod Touch in your hands.