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iPad 26 March?
Thursday, 04 March 2010
iPad due 26th March? The Examiner is reporting (via TUAW) that the iPad will go on sale in the US on Friday, March 26th. They cite "inside sources" with confirmation from an Apple Store manager in Southern California who wishes not to be identified. Daryl Deino, the post's author, claims that internal Apple Retail training will begin on March 10 with commercials starting on March 15. The commercials will emphasize the iPad's ebooks and iBookstore capability.
Deino states his sources say the March 26th date has not been officially set and is only "very likely". (Pic – Apple Inc iPad)
Foxconn claims it's on track for iPad release: Talk of an iPad shortage in March was rejected today in a reported leak from within Foxconn's own part suppliers. They claim the components are on track and that Apple should get about 600,000 to 700,000 iPads in March, or at least twice as many as suggested by one Canaccord Adams analyst. The same sources also tell DigiTimes that 1 million of the tablets are expected in April and that they still expect Apple to launch the hardware on time.
iPad will push WiFi: For hardcore users, the iPad’s WiFi-only SKUs may seem like “why bother” affairs… especially given the $30 month-by-month data plan AT&T is offering to customers who pick up the marginally more expensive 3G version.
But AT&T doesn’t see it that way at all: in fact, speaking in a financial conference call this week, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has flat-out warned Ma Bell investors that they shouldn’t expect a huge upswing in new subscribers when the iPad launches, because it's a "WiFi-driven product" (Reuters).
The first model available will be WiFi only, with the cell-capable model being released some time after, presumably once Apple has levered deals with cell providers.
Facebook scam targets iPad lust: A new scam is targeting Facebook users keen to try out Apple’s soon-to-arrive iPad.
Graham Cluley’s Sophos blog, which highlights internet security concerns, explains the latest scam currently doing the rounds. The offer is simply to gain your mobile phone details.
(This hit New Zealand already a month ago,)
(What you expect to hear is 'So'n'so drops iPhone for lack of Flash support'.)
Massive profits in iPhone: Bernstein Research's Toni Sacconaghi issued a 13-page report last week in which he estimated that the iPhone's gross profit margins were an astounding 57.8%. Those margins tower above Apple's competitors with RIM estimated to have 43% profit margins, Nokia 33%, Motorola 32%, and HTC 31.7%.
Omnis Studio 5 iPhone developer software: TigerLogic will demonstrate a beta version of its Omnis Studio 5 iPhone developer software during the CeBIT expo this week in Germany. The software is a development tool for building everything from web applications to enterprise software, in both team-based and individual modes. The visual utility works across all three major OS platforms using a component-based environment from a single code-base.
Omnis Studio 5 requires Mac OS X 10.4.10 and is Snow Leopard compatible. It costs US$2500.
