iPad

This comes via CNET, the joy of multitasking, wireless printing and AirPlay will be bundled into an OS update (v4.2) to be released in November:

During Apple’s music event, Steve Jobs gave a brief preview of iOS 4.2, the iOS update that will finally bring the iPad up to speed. In November, the update will finally bring the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad up to the same iOS version, and it will also bring Game Center to the iPad.

Other new features revealed were few and far between, other than the multitasking that iPhone 4 users already enjoy. Wireless printing and AirPlayy, a wireless streaming function that will work with music, photos and video. Not much information was given, but it seems like a nice addition. Unfortunately, some of our iPad iOS 4 fantasies don’t seem to have been met. Maybe they still will (fingers crossed).

Bolded emphasis added by IO.

This is rather bizarre. A pinky finger paid the price of iPad ownership..

The man accused of ripping off part of a shopper’s pinky finger while stealing an iPad said he feels sorry for the victim.

In all honesty, the guy claims to be a drug addict and going after an iPad was actually a sound business (yet criminal) decision as it is surely more effective than going after three iTouches or someone’s pin collection. (Let’s exclude moral judgment for a moment here though)

TimeWarner is developing an app that will allow users watch content on-demand.

If you have 20 min to kill watch a series of videos the company posted on YouTube:

Mark Papermaster, Senior Vice President of Apple’s Devices Hardware Engineering business unit has left the company after approximately 20 months with the firm. In November 2008 Steve Jobs said: “Mark is a seasoned leader and is going to be an excellent addition to our senior management team…”, less than two years and two amazing products (iPad and iPhone 4) later the position is vacant again…

As a side note, Papermaster was not participating during the Mea Culpa iPhone 4 press conference on July 16 – was this a sign that his days at Apple were numbered?

Here is the news source (WSJ via Fox News Feed) and a couple of excerpts:

Issue Background:

Mr. Papermaster started his position while Mr. Jobs was on sick leave to receive a liver transplant during the first half of 2009. At the time, executives had more autonomy to make decisions, so Mr. Papermaster was likely ill-prepared when Mr. Jobs, who is known for his hands-on management style, returned, said the people familiar with the situation.

On Cultural Fit:

The Apple Inc. executive in charge of the iPhone has left the company following a string of stumbles with the device, and what people familiar with the situation said was a falling out with Chief Executive Steve Jobs…. Mr. Papermaster had lost the confidence of Mr. Jobs months ago and hasn’t been part of the decision-making process for some time, these people said. They added that Mr. Papermaster didn’t appear to have the type of creative thinking expected at Apple and wasn’t used to Apple’s corporate culture, where even senior executives are expected to keep on top of the smallest details of their areas of responsibility and often have to handle many tasks directly, as opposed to delegating them…

On the Antenna Issue:

It was Mr. Jobs, rather than Mr. Papermaster, who decided to move forward with the development of the phone even though the company was aware of the risks of the antenna design as much as a year ago, according to people familiar with the matter…

Here is another piece of news on the rumored iPad upgrades, this time via Digitimes (the source was historically reliable – hence this post).

• The 9.7 in device version will sport a faster ARM A9 processor and will have a 512MB of RAM (should start selling in 2011).
• The 7 inch version (1024×768) is an addition to the product line and should be released in the same timeframe.

Here is the source note:

Apple is set launch an upgraded 9.7-inch iPad adopting a new ARM Cortex-A9-based processor and 512MB RAM in the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, the company will also launch a 7-inch iPad using the Cortex-A9 processor and an IPS panel with a resolution of 1024×768, according to Digitimes Research senior analyst Mingchi Kuo.

Source Link: Digitimes.
Read more about the chip here: ARM Cortex A9 Processor

The chip comes in two flavors running on 800MHz and 2GHz respectively [(A) Cortex-A9 Single Core - Soft Macro Trial Implementation and (b) Cortex-A9 Dual Core - Hard Macro Implementations] – the source article does not specify what flavor will be built into the iPad yet given the current iPad processor speeds it’s almost certain that Apple will go with a 2GHz version.

Previous article on the original iPad Processor: A4 Chip

Cablevision Systems announced that it’s testing technology to deliver video feeds to all Internet-enabled devices, including PCs, smartphones and the iPad.

Cablevision is a mid-tier cable-TV player with approximately 3 million customers – we can certainly the big boys of cable business (TimeWarner, Comcast) to promptly follow suit.

Here is what LA times had to say about the move:

This obviously makes sense from a business point of view — reaching customers wherever they are. But it’s an open question whether people would want to subscribe to an online cable plan when they can get their fix via free or cut-rate services such as YouTube and Hulu.

Source: LA Times

Here is a sweet one – As “UC Irvine Today” reports, each student (Class 2014 only) at the University of Irvine School of Medicine will get an iPad pre-loaded with tons of apps needed to complete the first year of course work. The devices will be handed out to the students at the ceremony scheduled to take place this week.

Here is what the college had to say about their mission to become the first school with 100% digital interactive learning ecosystem:

As part of its new iMedEd Initiative, the medical school has developed a comprehensive, iPad-based curriculum, reinventing how medicine is taught in the 21st century and becoming the first in the nation to employ a completely digital, interactive learning environment for entering students…

Students will be able to view short, topical lectures via podcast prior to meeting for small-group discussion…

Additional content includes course outlines and handouts, slide presentations and essential first-year textbooks in a digital format that allows highlighting and notation. Students will have access to audio and video libraries as well as podcasts.

The college is currently developing additional software – apps for digital stethoscopes and handheld ultrasound units are currently being configured.

Here is a detail note on the digital stethoscope:

A second technological advance being incorporated into the curriculum on a pilot basis is the digital stethoscope, about a dozen of which are available for the incoming class. With applications on the iPad, students will be able to listen to a patient’s heart while simultaneously recording its tones and then compare them to a library of more than 3,000 heart sounds characteristic of specific conditions to gain a better understanding of cardiac physiology and pathology.

UCI has long been at the forefront of introducing technology into the classroom (a decade ago UCI was among the first schools to offer MBA programs focusing on eCommerce)- given the iPad move they are serious about staying at the top of digital game.

UCI is certainly not the only one opening up to the new technology, Stanford Med School had a similar announcement a day or two ago (source article):

The school plans to provide all first-year medical and Master of Medicine students with a 32 GB WiFi iPad.

Interesting, very interesting times…

Here is a piece of terrific news news for all Dish TV customers – Dish subscribers will soon be able to watch live Dish TV on their iPads (and other mobile devices) at no extra cost. Dish will leverage Slingbox functionality to enable user access – if you remember, Dish acquired Slingbox in 2007 (many were puzzled by the move).

As a huge Sling fan I certainly welcome the news – let’s see how this pans out, you never know – I may make a switch to Dish if this turns out functioning well.

Anyhow, here is a blurb from the article published by the Associated Press (source link):

Dish Network Corp. is planning to offer the feature on the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and BlackBerry devices in September and on phones using Google Inc.’s Android system in October.
Subscribers will need special hardware. One option is Sling Media Inc.’s SlingBox, which retails for $180 to $300. Dish subscribers can also pay $200 to $400 to upgrade to Dish’s high-definition digital video recorder with SlingBox features; they’ll need to pay $10 a month for multiple DVR service, but they’ll get recording capabilities with it. Sling is owned by EchoStar Corp., whose chairman is Dish CEO Charles Ergen.

iHome has a new toy ready for us – the company recently announced the first clock radio with a functioning iPad docking capabilities. The device will have all clock radio features but you will also get a Bluetooth connection to use with your iPad. The user will be able to synchronize the proper time from an iPhone, and in turn, the alarm settings from the radio may be synced to your iPad. Finally, you can also pair the physical device with the free iHome+Sleep app, which will eventually gain iPad optimization. You will be able to use both iPhones and iPods with the dock…

iHome did not disclose price (or price range) – the company is silent about the release date as well. Several blogs have discussed possible sticker price iHome may attach to the unit – the general consensus seems to be in the $150 range…

I am not going to comment on this one (hit Wired for the source):

They are six times more likely to be “wealthy, well-educated, power-hungry, over-achieving, sophisticated, unkind and non-altruistic 30-50 year olds…”