Apple Launches iPad

Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple Inc has, after a string of revolutionary new products such as the iPhone, iPod and Mac, come out with yet another path-breaking device, called the “iPad”.

The iPad is a computer that fits in between the laptop and the iPhone. The device has a 9.7 inch LED-backlit display with an ultra-wide 178 degree viewing angle. The device is all-screen and no keyboard, with a soft keyboard that pops on the screen whenever required. A full-size traditional keyboard can be connected to the device through a keyboard dock.

The iPad is built upon A4, which is Apple’s system-on-chip. The chip provides all the graphics performance along with battery life of up to 10 hours.

The device comes in two versions: one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G. Incorporating the 802.11n Wi-fi, the iPad supports speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks in the 3G version. The company has tied up with AT&T to carry signals for iPad.

iPad has three different models: The 16GB model costs USD 499, the 32GB model costs USD 599 while the 64GB model comes at a price of USD699.

Read more about the revolutionary new product from Apple, here.

New Version Of Software For TV From Apple

Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple Inc has announced the launch of a new version, Version 3.0, of the software that goes into its Apple TV, the digital media receiver that connects to an HDTV and allows users to view photos, play music and watch video coming from a local network or internet media service such as iTunes Store, YouTube, Flickr or MobileMe.

The new version of Apple TV software is available for download free of cost. Apple TV device with 160 GB capacity is tagged at USD 229.

The new version has been launched a new-look user interface which is immediately apparent to veteran users. The main menu now lists the latest content – such as recently rented or purchased movies, as well as favorite-marked TV shows, music, podcasts, photos and YouTube. iTunes has been brought to the forefront, with its Extras and LP options now available right there on the main menu. A catalog of over 8,000 Hollywood films has been built in iTunes Store, which can be rented or purchased.

Purchases that have been downloaded to Apple TV are automatically synced back to iTunes, so that users can seamlessly enjoy them whether they are on the desktop or on iPods or iPhones.

Read about the latest release of a new version of software for Apple TV, here.

Apple Clocks Most Profitable Quarter In Its History

Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple Inc has announced its Q4 2009 financial results, which incidentally has been its most profitable in the company’s history.

Apple has logged revenue of USD 9.87 billion, yielding a net profit of USD 1.67 billion for the quarter, which works out to USD 1.82 per diluted share. The gross margin has been 36.6%. These data compare quite well with the corresponding figures for Q4 2008.

The company has sold 3.05 million Macintosh computers in Q4 2009, which is a jump by 17% compared to the year-ago quarter. 10.2 million iPods and 7.4 million iPhones were sold across the world during the same quarter. While iPods registered a decline by 8% compared to Q4 2008, iPhone sales moved up by 7% over the year-ago quarter.

Coming on the heels of depressing results elsewhere in the industry, Apple’s performance has come as a relief. The management expects revenue for the next quarter – Q1 2010 – to touch USD 11.3 billion. Given its focus for creative and innovative product line-ups, it won’t be surprising to have the company unleash yet another game-changing product come next year, and add to its existing product portfolio.

Read more about the abundant profits coming Apple’s way, here.

New Version Of Microsoft Office For Macintosh

When you can’t beat them, keep giving them your software to work on. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corporation has announced the next version of its famed Office suite for rival Apple’s Macintosh platform.

The Macintosh Business Unit (MacBU), a team in Microsoft working on software apps for the Macintosh platform, today announced the release of a new version, Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition. This is in addition to Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student editions. The Business Edition comprises Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook which Mac users have liked on the Windows machines. The product is priced at USD 399.95.

This version has a new application – Outlook for Mac – which will replace “Entourage for Mac” of the earlier versions. As a transitional step towards moving to the new application, Entourage has been upgraded to “Entourage 2008, Web Services Edition”. The web services edition provides improved email and calendaring support, besides faster data synchronization, according to the company press release.

The Outlook for Mac application will have a clutch of new features, such as a new-look Cocoa, a new high-speed file-based database, and information rights management.

Read more about the latest version of its software suite from Microsoft for a rival’s operating system, here.

Over One Million iPhone 3GS Pieces Sold In Three Days

Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple Inc has reported that its latest iPhone model, the iPhone 3GS, has clocked a sale of over one million pieces within three days of launch.

The iPhone 3GS model was introduced on Friday, June 19, at a price of USD 199 for the 16GB model. A higher capacity version of 32 GB is available for USD 299.

According to the company press release, the iPhone 3.0 operating system software that is required to run the new 3GS model was downloaded six million times from the Apple online store, indicating the level of popularity that the device has acquired in just a matter of a few days. The popularity has been further bolstered by the company making available more than 50,000 applications that customers can download and readily run on their phones.

The key features of the new product that appears to have made an impact on customer buying decision are its longer battery life, hands-free voice control, nifty windows-like facilities such as Cut, Copy and Paste, and the landscape keyboard.

Read more about the latest blockbuster sale of any electronic device in recent history, here.

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