Apple iPad sketches future of tablets
Is Apple’s iPad media tablet the “Magical & Revolutionary Device at an Unbelievable Price” that Steve Jobs claims it is? Or will it be an embarrassing failure like the Apple Lisa, the Newton and Pippin?
We will have to wait until the iPad goes on sale in the US towards the end of March for the definitive answer to that question. But based on the iPad’s specifications, Apple’s new baby does appear to avoid many of the pitfalls that have plagued earlier tablet and slate-style devices. Read more
Apple iPad – the hardware winners and losers
We may have got our handson the new Apple iPad , but analysts have yet to break one open and see what’s inside.
However, guesses can already be made as to the winner and losers among component makers. Read more
Apple iPad – first impressions
Apple’s new iPad gives the company new opportunities to compete against devices from e-readers and netbooks to digital picture frames.
Trying the device out after its unveiling on Wednesday, I was impressed by the elegance and ease of use of the software – Apple’s trademark – and the performance of its hardware. Read more
Mixed reviews for the iPad
To the critics, fanboys and sceptics who have been waiting for Apple iPad for months, today’s first impressions ranged from elation to exasperation.
Writing at Slate.com, Farhad Manjoo said the iPad is the second computer he’s been looking for. “I wanted a flat, portable, easy-to-use machine that I could use for e-mail and reading the Web,” he writes. “The iPad is that device. Jobs described it as the perfect hybrid of a laptop and a phone, and I agree. Everything about it—its size, shape, weight, and fantastically intuitive user interface—feels just right.” Read more
Steve Jobs’ Slate of the Union speech in pictures
Steve Jobs unveiled the long awaited Apple iPad in San Francisco on Wednesday in another showbiz-style event.
Mr Jobs and other Apple executives revealed the iPad will be available in two months starting at $500. It will have eReader functionality and an iBooks store.
A games console, artist’s palette and portable media player are among its other functions. See our slideshow of photos taken from our view from the audience after the jump. Read more
Yelp gets major investment from Elevation Partners
It was only last month that Yelp was almost Googled. The local reviews site came a breath away from inking a $500m deal to sell itself to Google, but for reasons still unknown, the deal ultimately fell apart.
The company, it seems, is not looking back. Today Yelp announced an investment of up to $100m from Elevation Partners, the private equity firm that counts U2 frontman Bono among its directors. Read more
Apple iPad – our first-look video
“This is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price.”
That was how Steve Jobs described the iPad when he unveiled it on Wednesday at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, and he went backstage afterwards to show off the device.
I had a chance to get a close-up view with an Apple demonstrator backstage and was impressed with the iPad’s many capabilities. See the video first-look after the jump. Read more
FT techtalk: Apple’s latest creation – live blog
The iMac in 1998 , the iPod in 2001 , the iPhone in 2007, the MacBook Air in 2008.
Steve Jobs has launched one iconic design after another since his return to Apple and today unveiled the Silicon Valley company’s latest creation – the iPad – a tablet device that promises to shake up the technology and media industries.
Preparations have been underway for the event at the Yerba Buena Center (pictured) in San Francisco all week, and we liveblogged the event. Read more
Sony Daily Edition eReader not as hot as its news
Sony has been thrilled with sales of its eReaders over the Christmas period, but could their comparative success be about to be eclipsed by the arrival of an Apple tablet?
We’ll know better later today but, in the meantime, I have been trying out the new Sony Reader Daily Edition for the past three weeks to see if it is as hot as the news it provides. Read more
So you want to be a profile writer?
One of the most terrifying concepts for a journalist is the notion that one day someone will invent an algorithm that will take a basic set of text inputs and output a complete story in elegant prose.
Well ProfileWiz, launched today, does not actually do this, but it does create a 500-word personal profile of the type required by most online dating services based on a user selecting the most appropriate photographic answer to 22 questions. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
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