The home of Mac info for New Zealanders, mac-nz serves daily Mac, iPhone and related news from the world of Apple Inc.
iPad pricing & VGA
Tuesday, 09 February 2010
Apple may drop iPad prices if it doesn't sell well: If the market does not respond well to the iPad and its price range of US$499 to $829, Apple executives have reportedly said they could be "nimble" on its cost.Analysts with Credit Suisse met Sunday night with Apple executives, and according to The Wall Street Journal, company officials indicated they could become even more aggressive in pricing the hardware. Currently, the 16GB model without Wi-Fi will cost US$499 when the hardware debuts in March.
When Apple revealed the iPad with a $499 starting price, it caught many off guard. Previously, analysts had expected the new touchscreen tablet to cost around $1000, notes AppleInsider.
iPad interest wanes, except for doctors: More than 60 per cent of physicians who participated in a new survey have shown interest in Apple's recently announced iPad, and one in five already intend to purchase one, while other reports say that after the initial flurry of interest, iPad interest has waned, no thanks to the backlash across the tech blogs worldwide that I wrote about on the NZ Herald ('iThunder').
Another 38 per cent of respondents said they are interested in the iPad, but would like to obtain more information about the product before they decide whether or not they will purchase.
If you want an insight into what iPad might mean for tech, read this interesting interview with Brian Fling which I posted yesterday.
New VGA connector on iPad supports projectors: Apple's new iPad debuts a new VGA-style video output option, a first for the company's mobile device lineup.
Like the existing iPhone and iPod touch, the iPad can output video via the same composite or component video cables to present standard definition, analog video with roughly 480 lines of resolution.
The iPad's new VGA-connector option delivers PC style video at the device's native 1024x768 resolution. Existing iPhone and iPod models won't work with the new VGA cable, as they aren't designed to support higher resolution outputs than they can display.
The iPad gets the new VGA output option primarily to support video projectors, which will allow business users to present Keynote presentations directly from the device.
A touch presenter? Gosh, yes!
Healthcare features missing, though? The healthcare industry has shown strong interest in tablet computers, but the iPad may be missing several important features requested by physicians, according to a Software Advice survey. Over half of respondents claimed they were very likely or somewhat likely to purchase a tablet sometime in the coming year, but as MacNN notes, some requested features may be missing.
iPhone Bluetooth improver: Eventual Innovations has released an application that aims to improve upon the limited AVRCP capabilities in the iPhone and iPod touch. Apple first introduced support for stereo A2DP Bluetooth accessories in iPhone OS 3.0, however AVRCP remote control capabilities over Bluetooth were limited to only starting and pausing playback.
Bluetooth Helper ($1.29) is a third-party application that provides additional playback controls including next track, previous track and seeking within tracks. Users enable Bluetooth Helper by starting their music within the iPod application and then starting the Bluetooth Helper app to allow access to the additional playback commands.
iLounge's latest iPhone app gems: Drag Racer, GT Racing: Motor Academy, Parcel Panic plus Tapulous' Riddim Ribbon Black Eyed Peas edition ($4.19, screenshot).
Note that thousands of additional iLounge iPhone app and game reviews are available here.
