2010 is the 25th anniversary of the .com domain and dotcom companies appear to be back in rude health, judging by their domination of Super Bowl ads this year.

Google’s Super Bowl debut on Sunday night, with Parisian Love, was a low-budget affair. It was a rerun of an ad it has been showing online for months on YouTube. Continue reading "Dotcoms, tech dominate Super Bowl XLIV ads"

Cameras have relied on mechanics for operations such as changing focus since their early days, but all that may be about to change, according to Silicon Valley start-up LensVector.

The company, founded in 2006, emerged from four years in stealth mode today to announce its first product - an autofocus created with no moving parts - on silicon.

“The vision of the company is to replace all the mechanical aspects of a camera with solid-state alternatives, starting with autofocus,” Derek Proudian, chief executive, told me. Continue reading "LensVector promises a camera revolution"

Ustream, the internet live-video streaming service, has announced a $75m venture-capital roundled by Japan’s Softbank , primarily aimed at funding Asian expansion.

The Silicon Valley company said the second-round investment would help to fuel its growth in the US and Asia, specifically in Japan, China, Korea and India.

Giving individuals in China the ability to broadcast their thoughts live to the world sounds a risky business for any startup at present, but John Ham, chief executive, told me they would tread carefully. Continue reading "$75m funding flows to Ustream"

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. Continue reading "Apple iPad - the hardware winners and losers"

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.

Continue reading “Apple iPad - first impressions”

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. Continue reading "Steve Jobs’ Slate of the Union speech in pictures"

“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. Continue reading "Apple iPad - our first-look video"

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. Continue reading "FT techtalk: Apple’s latest creation - live blog"