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Apple iPad 2 Event Set for March 2

by Kara Swisher 
Posted on February 22, 2011 at 10:00 AM PT

To those who care intensely about this kind of stuff–which would be pretty much everyone in the tech ecosystem–Apple will hold its much-anticipated event on March 2, where the tech giant seems poised to unveil a new version of its hugely successful iPad, according to multiple sources.

As in, iPad 2! Or, as BoomTown is now officially nicknaming it: iPad Too!

Analysts expect the iPad 2 to be thinner than its predecessor and feature an improved display, as well as front-facing camera and Facetime video chat support. And some reports suggest it will be powered by one of Qualcomm’s multimode chips and will run on both GSM and CDMA-based networks around the world.

In its last earnings calls, Apple said it had sold nearly 15 million iPads, since it went on sale last spring.

This is a very big deal, although Apple will be facing increased competition with the launch of a passel of tablets coming from numerous manufacturers, most of which are using the Honeycomb version of Google’s Android mobile operating system.

According to several sources close to the situation, the Wednesday date in a little more than a week is firm and will take place in San Francisco, the scene of many such Apple events.

In that case, the venue is likely to be the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

It’s not clear when Apple will begin sending out its famous invites for the gathering, but I am guessing soon, in order to get the Apple faithful to the proper level of froth.

(The image above is from one of my favorite previous save-the-dates.)

Now that this date is confirmed–at least by me!–the next round of speculation will be around whether Apple CEO Steve Jobs will appear or not.

He is currently on leave to deal with ongoing health issues, although has been sighted all around Silicon Valley at various places. In addition, Jobs sat right next to President Barack Obama at a high-profile meet-the-tech-moguls dinner in the area last week.

In other words: Let the media frenzy begin!

The 10 hottest tablets to watch in 2011

By Jason Hiner
Takeaway: There are an obscene number of new tablets coming to market in 2011. Plenty of them are safe to ignore. Here are 10 that are worth anticipating.

I have an announcement to make. I will not be releasing a tablet in 2011.

Feeble attempts at humor aside, nearly everyone has a tablet in the works.  It’s the technology’s industry’s latest gold rush. With Apple selling 15 million iPads in 2010 and projected to sell as many as 45 million in 2011, everyone wants a piece of the public’s sudden infatuation with multitouch slabs of silicon.  From the world’s biggest computer companies to obscure little parts makers, there will be an obscene number of companies releasing tablets this year.

So, which ones are safe to ignore and which ones are worth your attention? Here is my list of the 10 most significant tablets to watch for, at least until someone else announces another new one next week. The bottom line is that if you’re feeling the urge to buy a tablet right now (currently, the two main choices are the iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab) then my recommendation would be: Don’t do it. Wait for one of these 10 instead.

Photo gallery

Photos: The 10 hottest tablets coming in 2011

10. Notion Ink Adam

The Adam tablet from Indian startup Notion Ink has been germinating for a long time — maybe too long. Notion Ink finally unveiled the product in December and started taking pre-orders. It’s an Android 2.3 tablet with a custom interface. It’s Eden UI offers a drastic re-think of the Android interface, based on vertical panels (here’s a demo from CES 2011). The other unique thing about the Adam is that it uses PixelQi technology, a low-power transflective display that is viewable in full sunlight.

9. HTC Flyer

Half of the tablets on this list are powered by Android and HTC is one of the powerhouses of the Android ecosystem. Unlike rivals Motorola, Samsung, and LG, who all unveiled high-end tablets at CES 2011, HTC was remarkably silent on the tablet question in Vegas. However, the company officially launched its first tablet a month later at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It is the HTC Flyer and it’s a 7-incher with 1.5 GHz CPU, 1.0 GB RAM, 32GB of Flash storage, an attractive unibody design, and a special version of the HTC Sense UI designed for tablets. Unlike most of the other Android tablets, the Flyer also includes digital ink technology and a stylus. However, the Flyer will not run Android 3.0. Instead, it will launch with Android 2.4. HTC is also reportedly working on a 10-inch tablet (the “Scribe”) running Honeycomb and connecting to Verizon LTE.

8. Acer Iconia

Acer tried to beat the tablet deluge at CES by announcing its Iconia tablet at the end of 2010. Unforutnately, the Iconia is still getting lost in the shuffle, and that’s a shame. The Iconia is a power tablet. This thing features dual 14-inch touch screens, a Core i5 CPU, and a full range of computer ports to match the average laptop. It also runs the full version of Windows 7, which will make better for productivity tasks but harder on battery life. The most innovative thing about this one is that the bottom screen has multiple input options, including a full virtual keyboard, a multimedia controller, and customizable touch gestures. Lots of companies have envisioned making the dual touchscreen idea work, we’ll see if Acer can pull it off (and do it at a reasonable price).

7. T-Mobile G-Slate

Another promising tablet that’s flying under the radar is the T-Mobile G-Slate, built by LG. This Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet will run on T-Mobile’s new HSPA+ network. Also called the LG V-900, it features a 9-inch screen, a 1.0 GHz dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 32 GB of flash storage, HD video capture, and a front-facing camera for video chat. Outside of the US, the LG will be marketing the G-Slate under the product name Optimus Pad. One of the best things about the G-Slate is that it runs the stock Android Honeycomb OS, without a custom UI layered on top. The most gimmicky things about the G-Slate is that it can capture 3D video (which you’ll have to use 3D glasses to view during playback).

6. Samsung Sliding PC 7

Another Windows 7 tablet that is legitimately intriguing is Samsung’s Sliding PC 7. It looks like a normal 10-inch tablet, but includes a slide-out keyboard that turns it into a fully functional laptop. The hardware manages to deftly combine slimness with keyboard usability, based on the demo at CES. For those who don’t want to carry both a laptop and a tablet, hybrid devices like this could carve out a new niche. This one has a 1366×768 screen, up to a 64GB solid state drive, 2GB of RAM, and built-in 3G and WiMAX chips. Since it runs all of that hardware and the full version of Windows, battery life and cost could both be concerns.

5. BlackBerry PlayBook

I was at the event last fall where RIM announced the BlackBerry PlayBook and my first impressions were not very good — mostly because RIM kept it behind glass. However, the company had demo units available to caress at CES (see demo) and the PlayBook looks like it could become a factor in the tablet market, especially for businesses that are already invested and committed to the BES backend infrastructure. This is a 7-inch tablet, so that limits its appeal a bit — except for the vocal minority who claim to like the smaller form factor — and it faces the same concerns about battery life and price as Windows tablets. Still, the hardware feels great and the QNX operating system appears to have been successfully adapted for tablets. BlackBerry die-hards alone could turn this one into a winner.

4. ASUS Eee Pad Transformer

ASUS believes that the iPad has two weaknesses — lack of choice and limited productivity (content creation) — so that’s where the company is focusing its energy in tablets. At CES, ASUS unveiled its line of four tablets, and three of them were aimed at content creators. The most interesting was the Eee Pad Transformer, a 10-inch tablet with a dual core NVIDIA Tegra 2 CPU that will run Android 3.0. The most innovative thing about this one is that it has an optional keyboard dock that also functions as an extended battery, giving the device up to 16 hours of life. If Android and ASUS can pull off a tablet UI that also plays well as a laptop when the Transformer is in dock mode, then this one could be highly useful. It will also be interesting to see if people prefer this dockable keyboard on the Eee Pad Transformer versus the slide-out keyboard on the Samsung Sliding PC 7 or even ASUS Eee Pad Slider (a cousin of the Transformer).

3. HP TouchPad

I think we can safely call this one the “X factor.” Even after Hewlett-Packard officially unveiled its webOS tablet on February 9, there are still two big questions hanging out there - when exactly will it arrive (”summer” is all we know) and how much will it cost? This product has been in the works since HP bought Palm last summer. Putting the resources of HP behind the massive potential of webOS could be great combination. Also, don’t forget that HP has a decade of experience building tablet hardware (even thought it was as part of the long defeat for Microsoft’s Tablet PC). HP’s new TouchPad is 9.7-inch tablet with lots of high-end features, but it doesn’t have much to distinguish it from Apple or Android and that could hurt. The tablet will likely succeed or fail based on price. If it is comparable to the iPad ($500) while offering a stronger feature-set, it has a shot. If it’s more expensive than the iPad then it could struggle.

2. Motorola Xoom

When Google is ready to make a leap forward with Android, it anoints a hardware partner to work closely with the company on the new software and produce a device that will be initial concept vehicle of what Google envisions. For its Android 3.0 tablet OS, Motorola is the chosen one. And, interestingly enough, the Motorola Xoom will not only be the first Honeycomb tablet, but it will also be the first tablet to run on Verizon’s new 4G LTE network (a.k.a the new mobile superhighway). This 10-inch widescreen tablet has drool-inducing tech specs and is expected to launch by early March, although the 4G version won’t land until mid-year. The one big drawback is that the Xoom could be pricey. It will reportedly cost $700-$800. There might be a lower subsidized price, but that would include a two-year Verizon contract and a data fee of at least $20/month. Keep an eye out for the Wi-Fi only version of the Xoom, which is expected to launch later this spring. That one might be more competitive on price.

1. Apple iPad 2.0

The iPad remains the king of the category and, even with the invasion of an army of challengers, it’s difficult to see a scenario in which the iPad won’t retain a commanding market share lead when we get to the end of 2011. It still has too many factors in its favor: usability, battery life, a massive catalog of apps, and price. The last factor might be the most important. Price has been the iPad’s greatest marketing weapon, and rivals are having a very hard time meeting the iPad’s price tag while still offering a comparable experience. The iPad 2 probably won’t bring any revolutionary new changes — it will likely be a little thinner and lighter, have an upgraded processor, and feature front and rear cameras — but the most important thing about the iPad 2 is that it could give Apple a further advantage in price. After manufacturing over 15 million of the first-gen iPads, Apple will be able to squeeze out more efficiencies, and the component costs will have decreased over the past year. The result: Apple will be able to pack in more and better technology for the same price with the iPad 2. Meanwhile, the company could decide to drop the price on the first-gen iPad to further undercut its rivals.

The lives and deaths of mobile platforms - by Horace Dediu

When Stephen Elop said that Nokia and Microsoft sought to create a “three horse race” he implied that there were only two viable mobile ecosystems today. With that statement he sought to deprecate or declare “end of life” two platforms: Symbian and MeeGo, implying that Nokia’s efforts at being the third way failed.

However, he also implicitly declared irrelevant a larger set of market participants. In fact, the market is awash with platforms. Far more than the three or five that Stephen considered.

To illustrate I built the following chart showing the history of all major mobile platforms. The are ranked by launch date (earliest at the bottom). A vertical line marks the present. End dates are approximate and based on declarations of end of life rather than end of usage.

There have been 16 total mobile platforms[1], 10 of which are still (or soon will be) on the market. Of the six that were terminated, three had replacements built by the same orchestrating company (Windows Mobile begat Windows Phone; Maemo begat MeeGo, and PalmOS eventually led to WebOS.) Only three reached end of life with no known descendant (iMode, MeeGo[2] and Symbian).

Operating systems that were launched in the 1990s or early 2000s have mostly been withdrawn/replaced with the exception of Java and BREW.  ”Modern” operating systems all emerged after 2007 (following iOS). A total of eight such new OSs were introduced in four years[3].

What I find noteworthy is that there is an implied peculiar fatalism about the market when only two platforms are considered viable, neither of which are more than 3 years old. While visiting the Mobile World Congress, I sensed this jumping to conclusions about platforms was eerily similar to that of a few years ago when new entrants like Apple and Google were declared dead on arrival.

I can only conclude that there is a great deal of groupthink going on in the industry. A perfect setting for a disruptive entrant to change everything, all over again.

—

Notes:

  1. I excluded some platforms like Motorola’s Linux, SavaJe and perhaps some others which did not gain significant traction. I also excluded any embedded OSs which did not have native APIs.
  2. The end of MeeGo is speculative. Intel is still defending it and may continue developing it.
  3. Android variants like Tapas could be considered new platforms, but I maintain them as part of one OS for the time being.

Windows Phone 7 Marketplace Vs. Google Android Market

COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS: WINDOWS PHONE 7 MARKETPLACE AND GOOGLE ANDROID MARKET

Posted on 

February 10, 2011 by Vincent Hoogsteder

It is our pleasure to release our latest Distimo Publication.

Distimo Logo

This publication covers the Apple App Store for iPad, the Apple App Store for iPhone, BlackBerry App World, Google Android Market, Nokia Ovi Store, Palm App Catalog, Windows Marketplace for Mobile (6.x), and Windows Phone 7 Marketplace during January 2011. The major findings are:

  • Two app stores are clearly ahead of the other app stores in terms of growth rates in January 2011: Windows Phone 7 Marketplace (30%) and Google Android Market (18%). However, the evolution of both stores is very different, and will be examined in more detail in this report.
  • The overlap of applications between countries is over 97% for all countries in both the Google Android Market and Windows Phone 7 Marketplace. However, if we look at the 100 most popular applications only, the overlap between countries is much lower in Microsoft’s store than in Android Market, indicating that it is much easier for consumers to find locally popular content in the
    Windows Phone 7 Marketplace than in the Google Android Market.
  • Google Android Market is the only store that has more free than paid applications, and the proportion of free applications increased again in January.
  • Windows Phone 7 Marketplace has already attracted some of the largest cross-store publishers, but it still has a long way to go to attract the same number of cross-store publishers as the Google Android Market or the Apple App Store.

You can now download the publication.

Vincent Hoogsteder

Android Market
Google Android Market image
Company: Google
Website: www.android.com
Launched: Oct 22, 2008
Applications: 135,829

Google acquired the company Android in 2005, which was the basis for the Android OS that was launched in October 2008. Google Android Market is the pre-installed application store on Android. Read more.

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Apple App Store For iPad
Apple App Store for iPad image
Company: Apple
Website: itunes.apple.com
Launched: April 3, 2010
Applications: 58,225

The Apple App Store for iPad was launched along with the iPad in the United States on April 3, 2010. The number of applications shown below reflect iPad only applications. iPhone only applications hav... Read more.

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Apple App Store For iPhone
Apple App Store for iPhone image
Company: Apple
Website: itunes.apple.com
Launched: Jul 11, 2008