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It’s war! This week, I went to the unveiling of the iPad 2 and got some hands-on time with the device afterwards. Meanwhile, Jason bought a Xoom and has been extensively testing it out. The consensus? iPad 2: Good. Xoom: Bad. At least for now. I haven’t extensively played with iPad 2 yet, and Google is undoubtedly going to patch the Xoom. But still, first impressions are key. Jason and I discuss these two products in depth in this week’s episode of OMG/JK, and we also dive into the upcoming group messaging war that is likely to break out at...

Apple's magnetic iPad 2 cover flops back and out of the way, or rolls up into an easel for typing or viewing. Putting the rumors to rest: iPad 2 announced today Hands-on review: How does Motorola Xoom compare to iPad? Apple expected to unveil new iPad today If one of your company’s goals for 2011 was to introduce a tablet to complete with the iPad, you can expect to struggle. The second most powerful evidence of this happened just a minute ago, as I pulled out my iPad and keyboard here in my San Francisco hotel lobby to write...

Ever since Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad 2, people have busy trying to compare his statements to the truth, especially this one:  “Many have said (iPad) is the most successful consumer product ever launched. Over 90% market share and our competitors were flummoxed.”Where was Steve getting this 90% market share data point? Strategy Analytics showed iPad’s market share at 75% in 4Q10 and falling fast. The thing about Steve Jobs is that he rarely outright lies, instead opting to look at data in a way that he thinks makes most sense and which contains some shred of validity.  I don’t think Steve was...

Even the chair on the stage was the same. Yesterday’s iPad 2 introduction felt like a repeat of last year’s event for the original iPad. Same place. Same pace and structure for the presentation: a brief prelude of statistics showing how well Apple is doing company-wide; a positioning statement for where the iPad fits, why it exists; the reveal of the product; the specs; a tour of the system software; and, then, some demos of a few impressive iPad applications from Apple that are available for just $4.99 in the App Store. Delightfully, the host was the same as last...

Apple reportedly will change the screen size of iPhone to 4-inch for its fifth generation iPhone to compete with the Google Android platform in the 4- to 7-inch smartphone market, according to upstream component suppliers. The component suppliers noted that the production lines for Apple's next generation iPhone have begun testing, and Apple is interesting in expanding the screen size to 4-inches to support the tablet PC market as the vendor only has a 9.7-inch iPad in the market. In fact, smartphones that adopt the Google Android platform are mainly 4-inch and larger models. Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S and Google's...

'Allegations are insufficient,' says federal judge; plaintiffs have 30 days to file amended complaintComputerworld - A federal judge has tossed a class-action lawsuit that claimed Apple's iPad overheats when used outdoors in warm weather or in direct sunlight, according to court documents. In an order dated last Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel dismissed a lawsuit submitted in July 2010 that accused Apple of fraud, deceptive advertising and violating California's consumer protection and unfair business practices laws by making, marketing and selling defective tablets. The three plaintiffs -- Jacob Balthazar, Claudia Keller and John Browning -- said last year...

Jeppesen today announced that Executive Jet Management has received authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration to use the Jeppesen Mobile TC App for iPad as an alternative to paper aeronautical charts. The authorization allows Executive Jet Management to use iPad and the Jeppesen Mobile TC App as the sole reference for electronic charts, even during taxi, takeoff and landing. Executive Jet Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of NetJets Inc., is a leading provider of worldwide jet charter and aircraft management services.This announcement is a result of a three-month extensive in-flight evaluation managed by Executive Jet Management and Jeppesen with...

Apple didn't attend Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but it took the event's top award for a mobile device. The event, a major confab of the mobile industry, has been virtually ignored by Apple in much the same way as the more general Consumer Electronics Show held in January. Apple not only fails to show at both events, but also appears to leak news or hold press events of its own that tend to overshadow the announcements of competing firms. Judges didn't hold that against the company however, calling iPhone 4 "Best Mobile Device," saying that it has a "great...

Preliminary DisplaySearch Results Indicate Apple’s Share Reached 17.2% in Q4 Sort Date: 02162011 Santa Clara, California, February 16, 2011—Surging iPad shipments have propelled Apple to a 17.2% share of worldwide mobile PC shipments in Q4’10, placing Apple at the top of the DisplaySearch market share ranking. According to preliminary results from the DisplaySearch Quarterly Mobile PC Shipment and Forecast Report, Apple shipped more than 10.2 million notebook and tablet PCs combined, nearly a million more units than HP in Q4’10. While Apple’s iPad is benefiting from a first-mover advantage, particularly in mature markets, its notebook PC shipment growth rate...

Apple’s continued glory eats away at me. I long for it to pick up some bruises. When the iPad came out, I prayed it would be awful.LIKE most Brits, I find success in others pretty hard to cope with. When that success is combined with good looks, I can’t tolerate it at all. Apple’s continued glory eats away at me. I long for it to pick up some bruises. When the iPad came out, I prayed it would be awful. My prayers were not heard: like all Apple products, it is sleek and gorgeous, and in due course I shall...

Cupertino is raking in the cash as its competitors struggle to post any profit at allCanaccord Genuity initiated coverage of Apple (AAPL) Tuesday with a "buy" rating and a price target of $356 per share. In the long, laudatory accompanying note by T. Michael Walkley, their new Apple specialist, the two paragraphs that jumped out at us were the ones that talked about the company's ability not just to innovate, but to turn those innovations into cash. For example, he writes, Apple sold 17 million mobile handsets in the first half of 2010, compared with 400 million handsets sold by...

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) will become the most valuable company in the world. Bet on it. In fact, go out and sell all your personal belongings, liquidate your 401(k), and buy Apple stock with every last dollar you own.OK … on second thought, I wouldn't advise that -- it's a bit rash. But there are ample reasons to believe that the company's rise is just starting and that Apple will continue blowing past expectations.Big Oil, meet Big PhoneYou've heard the standard "bullish" reasons before: Apple has $45 billion in cash and trades at only 12 times forward earnings when netting out...

“This has become known as the iPad class,” Corey Angst, assistant professor of management at the University of Notre Dame, told his students on their first day of class Aug. 24. “It’s actually not…it’s ‘Project Management.’” YouTube Video about the "iPad Class produced by Notre Dame". A member of Notre Dame’s ePublishing Working Group, Angst is debuting the University’s first and only class taught using Apple’s new wireless tablet computer to replace traditional textbooks. The course is part of a unique, year-long Notre Dame study of eReaders, and Angst is conducting the first phase using iPads, which just went on...

In PC Magazine's Readers' Choice Survey 2010, Apple simply dominates: Computer Notebooks Readers' Choice: Apple Inc. No other company comes anywhere close to Apple's ratings. Computer Desktops Readers' Choice: Apple Inc. Apple sweeps the category, with the highest ratings in everything from the reliability of the computers to the technical support and repair service the company provides. Cellphones Readers' Choice for AT&T: Apple Inc. Apple continues to improve its smartphones. Top rated for smartphone OS, Apple also had higher satisfaction ratings for application availability, games, and music player (iPod). Portable Media Players Readers' Choice: Apple Inc. With a line of...

Apple today announced several significant changes to the iOS developer agreement, and a new document called the App Store Review Guidelines. The latter is intended as a plain-English guide to the rules and guidelines Apple is using to determine which apps to accept into the store — a guide that has been sorely lacking to date. These documents are only available to registered iOS developers, however, so here’s a look at some of what’s new. Section 3.3.1 — Third-Party Developer Tools and Languages This is the section that was changed a few months ago, with the release of iOS 4.0,...

WASHINGTON - The economy’s growth slowed sharply in the second quarter, logging just a 2.5 percent pace as consumers tightened their belts and spending on home building dived. Inflation, however, shot up. The latest snapshot of gross domestic product released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed that the overall pace of economic activity in the April-to-June quarter was less than half that of the January-to-March quarter, when the economy zipped along at a 5.6 percent annual rate, the fastest in 2 1/2 years. Gross domestic product measures the value of all goods and services produced within the United States...