If we've learned anything from the modding community, it's that they don't mess around. Give them a goal and they'll get it done, as is the case with the iPad 2. Apple's second generation tablet went on sale just before the weekend, and it's already been jailbroken, shedding the shackles of iOS 4.3.
We aren’t sure why so many Android tablets have tied their fates to the contract crazy wireless carriers, but clearly it’s a strategy that’s done little more than allow the iPad to continue eating their lunch. Android tablet makers should be under no illusion, the real promise of Google’s tablet OS lies in devices with more functionality, at a lower cost.
While the final numbers are not yet in, we know Apple sold more or less an ass load of iPad 2s on its product launch day. Lines outside of Apple stores stretched for blocks by Friday afternoon. So it was off to an entirely unglamorous Best Buy, where we slid comfortably into the #4 spot in line.
Few would argue that Intel did a great job positioning its Atom processor platform as the de factor standard for netbooks. If you buy a netbook, chances are high it's sporting Intel inside. In the still emerging tablet market, however, Intel has some ground to make up, and pricing could end up holding the chip maker back.
The world's gone mobile folks, and don't worry about choosing sides between tablet PCs and eBook readers. Recent data suggests the two segments can coexist just fine, thank you very much. Not only that, but both sectors are growing at an explosive rate. Pretty exciting stuff considering one represents an emerging market (tablets) and the other is just now coming into its own with lighter, faster devices (eReaders).
Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform was fashionably late to the smartphone party, but in the slate shindig, Microsoft's Windows platform is just going to be late. Citing "people with knowledge" of Microsoft's plans, Bloomberg reports there won't be a truly tablet oriented version of Windows until 2012's back-to-school season, leaving Google (Android) and Apple (iOS) to duke it out.
If the only thing holding you back from purchasing an iPad 2 this Friday is that you're worried about giving up the unlimited data plan you were lucky enough to sign up for with your first generation iPad through AT&T, then worry no more. Word on the Web is that AT&T is letting you take your unlimited data plan with you.
One of the big draws of the Android operating system is that most mobile Android devices are able to be rooted, adding all kinds of additional functionality. At the same time, you usually forfeit your warranty and support when you decide to root, which makes Motorola's latest announcement particularly surprising (in a good way). Motorola said that all Xoom tablets on the Verizon Wireless network are eligible for a 4G LTE upgrade, even if you've unlocked your tablet.
Research firm Gartner fanned the flames of anti-PC fanboism by essentially declaring that mobile PCs are dead. To be fair, Gartner didn't actually say as much in so many words, but it sure did paint a pretty grim picture for the future of notebooks and netbooks, which Gartner predicts will have a tough time competing with tablets. Listening to Gartner, you'd think that by this time next year, we're all going to be a bunch of iPad and iPhone toting hipsters too cool for for PCs. More blasphemy after the break.
Sometimes you have to tip your hat at your opponent and tell them, "Well played." Usually, however, those or similar words of mutual respect are saved for after the fight, when there's a clear winner and loser. Samsung isn't waiting. With Apple having announced its iPad 2 on March 2, Samsung had some things to say about Cupertino's next generation tablet, essentially admitting that Apple once again has set the bar and it's not going to be easy to hurdle.
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