A concept of what an Apple Tablet computer could look like
According to a report published today by the Financial Times that only cited “people familiar with the discussions”, Apple should officially unveil its much-anticipated Tablet computer as early as February 2010.
Apple has explicitly denied it is working on such a device.
The device will very likely support the iPhone apps from the App Store, and will likely be a cross of OS X and the iPhone OS. It is very unlikely the tablet would include OS X found on regular Mac machines.
The Financial Times report also says Apple is preparing to launch a paid online television subscription service sometime in 2010. According to reports, Apple is approaching publishers such as Time, Disney, and CBS to offer content through iTunes.
After recently updating its iMac and MacBook Pro models, Apple has now begun shipping quad-core 27-inch iMacs, with the new i5 and i7 quad-core Intel processors with 8MB level 3 cache.
Apple first unveiled the new products last month, but only now have they started to ship from Shanghai were they are made.
The world’s largest computer software-maker, Microsoft Inc., today announced Q3 2009 (ending Sept 30) earnings, easily beating Wall Street expectations and sending the Microsoft stock (MSFT) surging up almost 6-percent in mid-day trading.
Microsoft recorded total sales as $12.9 billion (down 14-percent from the same period last year), but still topped analyst expectations.
Microsoft posted $3.6 billion ($0.40 per share) in profits, an 18-percent decrease compared to the same period in 2008.
Nokia is working on a new netbook dubbed the “Booklet 3G” that will be powered by Microsoft Windows Vista (according to the video below but it is more likely the netbook will in fact run Windows 7).
The device weighs in at only 2.75 lbs, has AGPS, WiFi, will include the Nokia OVI store, and a long 12-hour battery life. The device will come in blue, black or silver colors.
NPD Research has released new computer June sales numbers indicating Apple holds 91% of the total revenue generated for computers costing at least $1,000.
According to NPD, in June, average selling prices for all PCs sold at US retail was $701, or $690 for desktops and $703 for notebooks. But the ASPs get more interesting when comparing Macs to Windows PCs. For all Windows PCs, ASP was $515 in June. For Macs: $1,400. Desktop Windows PC ASP: $489. Mac desktops: $1,398. Windows notebook ASP was $520, or $569 when removing all those nasty, margin-sucking netbooks. Mac laptops: $1,400. (via)
The Taiwanese-based electronics maker Kinpo has just released their first video of their own Google Android powered UMPC device. The device currently sports a 7-inch 800x480px touch display and is dubbed the Kinpo Thin Client.
It is clear from the video there is a lot more work to do. The company will at some point release an Android powered device, but it is currently unclear when that will happen. We can likely estimate in about a year from now.
It is clear that computer-makers are taking notice of Google’s open source Android OS. We can confirm that both BenQ and HTC are working on release an Android powered device, but we have yet to see any actual pictures. BenQ says it will release an Android netbook by 2010. There is no time frame from HTC.
The very first laptop computer powered by Google Android has been unveiled. It was long rumored that Google was going to push Android beyond mobile phones to power laptop computers.
The first Android powered laptop the world has firstly seen comes from Acer. The OS still seems to need a lot of more work to fully run on a laptop, but judging from the first video below, it seems Google is off to a good start. The computer takes about 15-seconds to load up, and seems to not lag at all after it is done initially booting up. The browser also seems to load pages swiftly with correct formatting over HSDPA.
Apple has just released an updated version of OS X to version 10.5.7. There are many enhancements, including the DFU problem fix. Also, for iPhone users, note synching now once again works. You can get the update by clicking on the Apple menu > software update.
General
* Includes latest security fixes.
* Includes additional RAW image support for several third-party cameras.
* Improves performance of video playback and cursor movements for recent Macs with NVIDIA graphics.
* Resolves an issue with Dvorak keyboard layout in Mac OS X 10.5.6.
Acer senior VIP James T. Wong has apparently confirmed the company is developing with Google an Android OS powered desktop today after confirming Acer has a working Android powered desktop prototype. Wong also said that Android currently does not support multi-touch. Wong made the comments in the Liberty Science Center’s IMAX Theater and noted he thought that Android “had a good chance.” There was no more elaboration on a possible product.
New data released by Garnter suggests worldwide PC shipments were up by 302.2 million units in 2008 over 2007, a 10.9% increase. Note, Apple is not included in the worldwide list because it simply does not rank in the top 5. Complete data after the jump. Read the full story
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NPD Research has released new computer June sales numbers indicating Apple holds 91% of the total revenue generated for computers costing at least $1,000.
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