Didn’t stay up in the wee hours of the morning to catch the new iPad announcement? No time to sit down and watch the full 85 minute presentation? We’ve got just the solution for you. Here’s a 90 second recap of the highlights from yesterday’s announcement, just perfect for your lunch time viewing. Enjoy!

[source]

	iPad, Mobile Devices, Video
	apple, iPad, iPad 3, iPad 3 Malaysia, New iPad, New iPad Announcement, new iPad keynote, Tim Cook, Video

First, watch the video. Done? Ok good. Now awe in amazement knowing the fact that that video was made entirely using iMovie on the iPad. It’s amazing what such a simple device can do. Just think, if a novice can crack a decent quality video edit, imagine what a pro can do with the the iPad. The possibilities are indeed limitless.

And if you consider that 48 hours of videos are uploaded on YouTube every minute, you can see how the iPad with the new iMovie makes a compelling case for consumers. Videos are the next frontier in user generated content and the new iPad, with its quad-core graphics performance, the 5MP camera with backlit sensor and enhanced optics, and the updated iMovie, is primed to make the most out of this surging trend. Imaging shooting a concert in 1080p, editing it right after and uploading it immediately when you’re done. Or imagine a roving reporter shooting, editing and uploading the content right from the field. Imagine the advantages and potential.

More and more people are uploading videos online and even more want to make their videos look good. Similarly, these same people don’t want the fuss, complication and cost normally associated with full editing suite.

Apple’s combination of easy to use yet immensely powerful software and the gratification of being able to create amazing user generated content so quickly and easily on an intuitive device like the iPad will be the biggest pulling factor for consumers to hit Apple stores come launch day.

In yesterday’s iPad announcement Tim Cook said “Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t create on an iPad”, we can certainly agree with what he said. While we still think that there is still very little to get excited about with the new iPad, overall Apple has once again shown why it is unbeatable in the tablet market segment.

With the iPad and easy to use yet amazingly powerful apps like iMovie, Apple has created the perfect marriage of software, operating system, applications and cloud solutions that all work seamlessly together to give the user a simple yet immensely rewarding and satisfying experience.

And this, ladies and gentlemen is why the new iPad doesn’t need to be revolutionary, because as it is right now, it’s already perfect.

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Check out the first of what will surely be a series of commercials for the new iPad. The focus is on the new iPad’s 2048 x 1536 pixel Retina Display and that’s pretty much expected as the new display will be a key selling point and one of the most visually dramatic and appealing feature when you first pick up the new iPad.

With a high definition display, improved graphic performance and an improved 5MP camera that can shoot 1080p videos, the new iPad brings enough improvements to bring the masses by the droves to Apple stores to get one but for us we expected much more. The “resolutionary” new iPad brings welcomed improvements to Apple’s iconic tablet but it is by no means the game changer that it used to be.

The iPad will still dominate the tablet market. Nothing on other tablet right now offer a more complete user experience. If anyone asks us which tablet to get, we’d still point them to the direction of the nearest Apple store but the same time we’d tell them to keep an eye on the horizon because the next big thing in tablets might be coming from somewhere unexpected.

What do you think about the new iPad? Yeah or meh? iPad 2 owners, will you make the move? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

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After the announcement of the new “Resolutionary” iPad, Malaysia’s Apple store has already started slashing prices of the existing iPad 2. Now the cheapest entry model, the 16GB WiFi version is going for only RM1,199 after the RM300 reduction across all models including WiFi and 3G.

Such price reduction also occurred last year and Apple Store Malaysia had offered refunds of price difference for those that purchased within 14 days before the announcement. If you’re one of the unfortunate ones that just bought one recent, do stay tune for the refund announcement as it is likely they might be doing the same this year.

Here’s the price difference for comparison:

WiFi
16GB iPad 2 RM1,499 RM1,199
32GB iPad 2 RM1,799 RM1,499
64GB iPad 2 RM2,099 RM1,799

3G
16GB iPad 2 RM1,899 RM1,599
32GB iPad 2 RM2,199 RM1,899
64GB iPad 2 RM2,499 RM2,199

To place an order, head over to the Apple Store. If you’ve been eyeing for a cheaper iPad, this is the time to do so but you better hurry before the old stocks run out.

	iPad, Mobile Devices
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Apple has just lifted the covers off its latest creation, the new iPad. Yes, that is the official for Apple’s latest tablet, it’s not the iPad 3 or the iPad HD, Apple simply calls it the “new iPad”. So what’s new with the new iPad? Let’s look at the details.

First up, we have the new 9.7-inch Retina Display that packs a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixel giving
you a PPI count of 264. As we’ve mentioned before that’s well under the 326 PPI Retina Display
standard on the iPhone 4 and 4S, but Apple still deems the screen on the new iPad worthy of the Retina Display name because it claims that at the optimal operating distance – about 10-inches – the individual pixels are indistinguishable. If we follow the same logic, the iPad 2 with a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 and a PPI count of 131 can also be deemed a Retina Display if viewed from a distance of, maybe, 20-inches?

Read the rest of this entry »

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UPDATE: New iPad finally revealed and iPad 2 pricing slashed by RM300.

We’re just hours away from one of the biggest announcements Apple will make this year. Riding on a tsunami of rumours and speculations, the new iPad will make its global debut in San Francisco at 10AM PST on Wednesday, March 7 or 2AM on Thursday, March 8, our time. We’ll be up to catch the latest and you’re up for it here are the live blogs we recommend you follow.

The Verge
Engadget
Gizmodo
Gdgt
Ars technical

Read the rest of this entry »

	iPad, Mobile Devices
	apple, iPad, iPad 3, iPad 3 event, iPad 3 keynote, iPad 3 launch, iPad 3 Malaysia, iPad HD

The tablet market has changed a lot since the original iPad entered the stage, but at the same time, in some respects, nothing much has changed either. Apple’s wonder tablet is still an undeniable dominant force in the market and despite the onslaught of Android slates bringing much variety and choice to the scene, nothing in the market comes close to offering the perfect mix of hardware, software and ecosystem in the tablet form-factor than the iPad. The iPad is indeed an iconic device.

But it would seem with each new version, Apple is finding it hard to create the next killer feature for the iPad. The iPad 2 drew a lot of criticism precisely because of this. Even if the new iPad is going to look very much like the iPad 2 with very little difference in terms of hardware – save for a higher resolution screen and a faster CPU/GPU combo, all of which are already present in the latest range of Android tablets – the new iPad sales figures will still be phenomenal, possibly topping the massive sales of the iPad 2. This is because there is, simply, no real competitor to what Apple can offer, not from the Android camp at least.

Yes, Android tablets are superior in terms of hardware but in terms of delivering the whole tablet experience, Honeycomb has failed to live up to its potential. Android’s latest Ice Cream Sandwich that promises a more integrated user experience on smartphones and tablets, have not made much on an impact either. Interestingly, for those who are looking for an alternative, hope comes from an unlikely source – Microsoft.

We won’t even try to attempt to mask our excitement about this refreshed innovative movement from Microsoft. The Redmond giant has – for the most part – made all the right moves especially with Windows 8. The new OS offers a glimpse of Microsoft’s new future and it looks enticingly good. With Windows 8 comes the promise of a truly seamless user experience across devices be it smartphone, tablet of computer – this is the future of computing.

Apple is heading towards a similar direction trying to create a bridge to cover the gap between its Mac OS and iOS platforms but in our opinion, no other operating system paints a more cohesive picture than Microsoft with Windows 8. And this will be the biggest threat to Apple’s dominance in the tablet market. Of course whether Microsoft can deliver on this promise remains to be seen and the recently released Windows 8 Consumer Preview for the PC has drawn a mixed bag of reactions from experts and regular users alike.

But despite the mixed reaction, the positive vibe is unavoidable. Microsoft has proven itself to be a company that can change and surprise users with wonderment. What’s left for Microsoft to do now is to show that it can follow through and continue to innovate. Apple will tell you, that that is not going to be easy.

So while the world gets itself ready to go into a mass iPad buying frenzy, we’d wait till the dust settles and till the hype dies down to see what Microsoft has up its sleeve before making a decision.

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It’s official, Apple will be unveiling the iPad 3 next week. How do we know that it’s official? Well, Apple has already sent out invites for the event. But with Apple being Apple, it’s a sure bet that the invite has so much more to tell than just a date and a venue. And sure enough, it does.

Gizmodo theorises that the “And Touch” phrase in the Apple invite suggests that Apple will do away with the iconic hardware home button in the new iPad.

Here’s what Gizmodo has to say:

…there seems to be NO home button, which explains the mention of the “And touch.” in their invitation. How can we know? First, the photo they are showing is on portrait mode. You can’t achieve that icon spacing in the landscape mode (which is the only explanation for the lack of home button). Moreover, the icon falls right onto the same water drop that the current iPad 2 falls while in portrait mode. It’s clearly a photo of the iPad in portrait mode. And there’s no button to be seen.

Rumours of a home button-less iPhone/iPad have been around for ages but in the iPhone 4S and iPad 2, this no button vision didn’t happen. Could the iPad 3 finally confirm this rumour to be true? It sure does look like it.

[source]

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Right on que – after the major Android manufactures have made all their MWC announcements — Apple has sent out invites to the unveiling of its next iPad. The iPad 3 (name yet to be confirmed) will be unveiled on March 7 (March 8 Malaysian time).

The event will take place in San Francisco at 10AM PST, on Wednesday, March 7. That’s 2AM, on March 8, our time.

From the invite, we can see that the new iPad will feature a higher resolution screen possible with 2048×1536 pixel resolution. On a 9.7-inch screen, that will give you a pixel density of about 264 ppi. You can also expect a much faster processor in the new iPad. Rumours are rife that it will be a quad-core unit. We won’t be surprised if Siri makes it into the new iPad iteration as well.

Another interesting rumour is saying that the new iPad will be available in more markets faster with some market possibly selling the device within a few days of the announcement, or maybe even on the event day itself.

There’s also a lot of talk of Microsoft will share the stage with Apple at the iPad 3 launch. The software giant is believed to be working on iPad versions of its ubiquitous Microsoft Office. Full Microsoft Office support on the iPad could effectively change the way we work in a very, very big way. This is something we are looking forward to come March 8.

Whatever it is, we will be able to get all the juicy details together in a week from now.

Now, iPad 2 owners, have you start looking for a buyer yet?

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	apple, iPad, iPad 3, iPad 3 event, iPad 3 launch, iPad 3 Malaysia

Apple and Foxconn opened its door to the media for the first time amidst controversy surrounding weeks of intense scrutiny on worker treatment at Foxconn and other Apple suppliers in China. This is the first time ever cameras are allowed inside Apple’s Foxconn factory in China.

What are your thoughts?

	iPad, Mobile Devices
	ABC News, apple, China, Foxconn, iPad