At 9.7-inch, 680g and 0.5-inch thin, the Apple iPad costs between US$499 to S$829 for a 16, 32, 64GB Wi-Fi (w/wo 3G) model.

SHOWCASE: Apple has unveiled what CEO Steve Jobs calls “our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price” at the Yerba Buena Convention Centre in San Francisco.

Officially announced at 2am our time, with details released online, the Apple iPad uses an LED-backlit IPS technology-based screen, has a 9.7-inch XGA (1024 x 768) oleophobic coated multi-touch display, is 0.5-inch thin on the side and weighs 1.5 pounds (680 grams).

It has 16, 32 or 64GB of flash storage, utilizes a 1GHz processor within a chip known as the Apple A4 chip. It also boasts 10 hours of battery life. It has 802.11n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth 2.1, optional 3G cellular connectivity and more in terms of specs.

Apple iPad operates like an iPhone with a big screen, supporting ebook reader iBooks and the iWork productivity suite.

The iPad is slated to be ready for US customers via AT&T in 60 days (Wi-Fi only model) and 90 days (3G/Wi-Fi model).

The iPad will have new built-in apps such as Brushes, which allows artists to digitally paint on the iPad, and accessibility (including the same SDK support developers get for the iPhone) to third-party apps from the App Store. At the live event, partners like The New York Times, Electronic Arts (demoing Need for Speed Shift) and Major League Baseball went on stage to present content accessible on the iPad.

When it came to ebooks, the iPad has a built-in app called iBooks. The app itself will have an iBooks store for iPad users to browse and buy books and publishing materials from major publishers.

Another app introduced on the iPad is iWork mobile productivity suite, which consists of Pages (word processing), Numbers (spreadsheet) and Keynote (presentations). Each of the app (eg. Keynote, Pages, Numbers, etc.) will cost US$9.99.

(additional summary and photo gallery after the break)

HWM Indonesia

HWM Indonesia: A giant iPod Touch? Yes, but will my internet connection suffice for the required bandwidth?

Would my Wi-Fi connection be available everywhere?

How much would my data charges be if I go through GPRS or 3G connections? A good product supported with good value data connection from the operators will make it fly, but until the back-end infrastructure is more established, it won’t take off in the region. (more…)

The Google Voice app was rejected by Apple for its App Store but the service stubbornly returns as a Web app for both iPhone and Palm WebOS device users.

T&A: On September 2009, we posted news that Google Voice was rejected by Apple for its App Store service because it conflicts with Apple’s core telephony services on the iPhone. Well the app is back, this time in the form of a HTML5-based Web application accessible at m.google.com/voice via the Web browser on your mobile device.

According to Google’s blog, the Google Voice web app will be accessible for iPhone (version 3.0 or higher) and Palm WebOS device users. Functions within the app like AppCache, lets you interact with web apps without a network connection while local databases allow you to store data locally on the device, so even if you close the browser, you lose no data.

Google Voice basically does what a standard telephony service does, be it making phone calls, listen to voicemail, read voicemail transcripts, send/receive text messages as well as make international voice calls based on Google Voice’s international IDD rates.

Meanwhile, here’s a video demonstrating what Google Voice does:

CORP TALK: As the rumor mill over Apple’s impending January 27, 2010 launch event in San Francisco heats up, speculative news are afoot that the company is not only talking to book and news publishers like Harper Collins and New York Times to have their content in the tablet device, but may also be discussing possible distribution plans with telecom operators, particularly in the UK.

The device is rumored to be 10-inch wide, has no keyboard but has short-range Wi-Fi and possibly mobile connectivity to phone networks. Journalists and bloggers have been speculating on its name, ranging from iSlate to iPad.

There are also speculations that the price of the device may be between US$800-1000, but if talks with telecom operators come through, expect these devices to be subsidized further.

Till January 27, the world waits with bated breath.

VIEWPOINT: With the release of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system yesterday, we thought it apt to unveil an interview and demo sessions we did with executives from both Microsoft and Apple (which released the Mac OS X Snow Leopard update in August).

Basically the objective of this interview is to understand what are the new directions and features each operating software has in the areas of security, functionality, aesthetics and user needs.

If you want a comprehensive breakdown of both operating systems, refer to the Windows 7 review and Mac OS X Snow Leopard summary by the HardwareZone Singapore team. Alternatively, you can refer to your past issues of HWM for our comprehensive coverage of both operating systems.

Here’s the ViewPoint video of the interview with both executives:

This video comes with English captions. To change caption language, click on Translate in the bottom corner option of the video.

Hit the jump to watch actual demo sessions on both Windows 7 and Mac OS X Snow Leopard. For the Windows 7 demos, we had the pleasure of having Mr. Matthew Hardman, Group Manager, Business & Marketing Organization, Microsoft show us its features.

Navin Danapal, Technical Editor, HWM Malaysia

Navin (HWM Malaysia): Apple lost a good chance to position their latest Mac OS 10.6, Snow Leopard, as an idol in the land of the Otaku (geeks) of Japan, when Microsoft Japan beat the Cupertino company in coolness by coming out with an official OS-Tan (OS personification), Nanami Madobe, voiced by Nana Mizuki, a Japanese anime voice actress, to represent Windows 7.

Limited to only the first 7777 copies of Windows 7 Ultimate in Japan, the unique Windows 7 theme was quickly leaked out and distributed to other Windows 7 users.

While OS-Tans have long been invented by devoted Japanese fans for previous versions of Windows, Microsoft coming out with an official character showed their commitment to making Windows 7 become really appealing to all levels of their target markets.

If this link is anything to go by, Apple should have done the same instead of resorting to tactics like hijacking Google search results for Windows 7 and directing people to consider a Mac instead.

(more…)

The Google Voice app was rejected by Apple for its App Store because it encroached on Apple's core telephony features for the iPhone.

T&A: Knowledge@Wharton has put up a feature on Google stepping on Apple’s toes recently when it wanted to distribute its Google Voice app on Apple’s App Store for the iPhone.

Apple rejected the app because it felt Google Voice interfered with the Apple user experience with its own core telephony features, such as voicemail, text messaging and calls. But that’s just one potential competitor out of many others.

According to Wharton, Google has a dominant position in Internet search, but has since moved into other areas like free office production software and the Android mobile computing platform — making it look like a younger Microsoft in the mid-1990s — an ambitious company with a growing list of competitors.

The caution given is to avoid a clash with antitrust issues (and privacy advocates) in the future, prompting a similar predicament Microsoft faced with regulators many years later. The difference however is that most of Google’s offerings are free — from office productivity software, to the Chrome Web browser — and “free” is always a popular word.

While analysts share that Google’s main goal in expanding beyond its core search business model is to expand into areas where Internet access and mobility happen, its ultimate plan is to organize the world’s information so that more people will use its free services online, allowing it to capitalize on reach and grow its search advertising business.

It is no wonder then that though it is dominant on the desktop and notebook space, it wants to secure the consumer reach in the mobile space as well. But we’re certain the Google Voice app rejection from Apple is just a bump on the road for the Mountain View, California-based company. (Editor opinions: 1)

HWM Indonesia

HWM Indonesia: It’s a common practice among competing parties to “block” access to another’s applications.

There’s nothing wrong with that since Apple has to protect its core business for telephony with the iPhone.

However, Google should take some lessons from the experiences Microsoft had to go through in the past and recently in the EU, with the occasional fine making the news now and then.