Bites from the Apple: Another Step Toward the iTablet
As for what the iTablet really will be, Ars Technica parses RBC analyst Mike Abramsky's recent report of a sit-down with Apple execs about the tablet device, in which he found them more interested in the video possibilities than just a newfangled newspaper/magazine reader. But Ars sees the reality somewhere in the middle, where Apple would provide a platform for publishers to provide enhanced content from their periodicals (much along the lines of Apple's recently touted iTunes LP and iTunes Extras movies).
The iTablet is rumored for an early 2010 announcement and subsequent release, and Wired is holding a two-pronged contest for best mock-ups of the iTab in the categories of Most Realistic Mock-Up and Most Creative Mock-Up.
- Cult of Mac reminds us that the iTunes LP exists, that much ballyhooed feature of iTunes 9 when it debuted along with Apple's passel of 2009 iPod models. After getting into a kerfuffle over a rumor where Apple was charging high production fees and limiting entry into the iTunes LP club to just major labels, Apple vowed to open up the specs and promised many new upcoming titles. However, in that time, they've only released four more to bring the number of total releases to 17 (link opens in iTunes software).
- Electronista reports that the recently released 27-inch iMac with the Intel Core i5 quad-core processor is finally starting to ship previous orders with new orders delayed by 7 to 10 days. Electronista also puts it through its benchmarking paces, and it looks like it kicks some serious butt. AppleInsider also offers its own review of the 27-incher.
- You gotta be in it to win: Apple's got some strong competition for the iPhone with the Motorola DROID, which launched last week on Verizon and has been estimated to have sold between 100,000 and 250,000 units in its debut week. That's still just a fraction of the 1 million iPhone 3GS models that were sold during its first week, but better than the Palm Pre's 50K during its debut.
Apple's Apple TV team should be looking over their shoulders now that Boxee announced that it will bring a hardware set-top box to market (partnering with an unnamed hardware manufacturer) that will enable users to more easily plug into the online video streams that the Boxee software can plug into. Up until now, you had to do some hacking of an Apple TV or install Boxee on your Mac or Windows PC to get its streaming goodness. More details will get unveiled at the December 7th event to introduce the official beta version of the software (it's still in alpha).
- Speaking of Boxee and hacking the Apple TV, the aTV Flash bundle of software add-ons for the Apple TV (which includes Boxee) has been updated to be compatible with the recent version 3.0.1 Apple TV software.
- My mother-in-law is visiting with her recently acquired iPhone 3GS and asked me to give her a tips and tricks session this weekend, which I'm looking forward to doing. But I'll also be purchasing the Take Control of Your iPhone Apps ebook for her to take home with her by my colleague Jeff Carlson. It's a good primer on the basics iPhone platform with handy screenshots to help you visualize Jeff's instruction. For advanced users looking for more detail, Ted Landau's Take Control of iPhone OS 3 also got released this week, and it covers loads of troubleshooting as well as setting up an ad-hoc, peer-to-peer Bluetooth network and syncing via Microsoft Exchange (you can get the lowdown on both ebooks at TidBITS).
- In the world of GPS iPhone apps, Navigon has a released an update to its navigation app (link opens in iTunes) with the addition of live traffic monitoring via a one-time, in-app payment of $19.99. Consumer Reports notes that the traffic data is aggregated from road sensors and traffic cameras and is further supplemented by "crowdsourced data from Navigon application users who choose to share their current speed and location." TUAW likes what it sees, but cautions it's probably best for larger metropolitan areas as that's where it's focusing its data gathering. And TomTom's iPhone app gets an update (free for current users), which provides text-to-speech capabilities and more clarity in its lane guidance.
- Macworld reports that Wallace and Gromit now have an iPhone app, but unfortunately it's just a fairly static comic book (with some static bonuses thrown in during the course of the story) that kinda drains the magic of the duo. But I suppose it might amuse some younger fans.
- If you're a fan of London's (boring, boring) Arsenal soccer club, there's now an iPhone app for you with match highlight videos, news, image galleries and more--but it will cost you $4.99 for the privilege of downloading (via IntoMobile).
- Owners of an Elgato EyeTV USB digital TV tuner stick can now access both live TV programming as well as saved recordings via an iPhone app (only over Wi-Fi, however), and Andrew Bednarz at The Apple Blog has a pretty detailed look at how it performs.
- And finally... I'm digging this Lego-themed custom vinyl stick for the MacBook, available at Etsy (via TUAW).
--Agen G.N. Schmitz
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