There weren't any major variations in gender differences among the iPad fans. Although the second page skewed more female and the third page skewed more male, the overall numbers balanced out to a fairly even split.

However, when Rapleaf delved into the ages of the fans, they discovered that iPad fans were a lot younger than your typical Facebook user. While 61% of the U.S. Facebook market is under 35, nearly 50% of the iPad fans were between 18 and 25. You can see the differences between the pages and Facebook in general (U.S. only) plotted on the chart here.

Apple iPad fans are also rather social, with 33% having over 300 friends on Facebook and 8% with more than 500 friends. Additionally, perhaps due to their age, a lot of the iPad fans were fans of other pop culture themes like favorite celebs, brands and memes. By analyzing the top 100 other fan pages of these users, Rapleaf discovered interests like Starbucks, Megan Fox, Coca-Cola, Michael Jackson, YouTube, Will Smith, Twilight, Lady Gaga, pizza, and other various Facebook "memes" like "Pants on the Ground," random laughter, "I need a vacation" and "I really hate slow computers," (the last being a problem the iPad hopes to solve, incidentally).

iPad for the Young?

What does this tell us about the market for Apple's new device? Mainly that it has a lot of youth appeal, apparently. While some have predicted the iPad is the sort of computer that your "mom" will use - implying that the iPad is a sort of computer for non-computer users - it appears that "mom" isn't actually a top demographic among the iPad's Facebook fans. But then again, you can't read too much into that finding - after all, "mom" (the older Facebook user) may not even know how to fan things on Facebook yet or she may simply not be interested in doing so. But the study does at least solidify that there is quite a bit of iPad interest out there among the youngest tech users, something that bodes well for the device's adoption.

Although we know that many people are already confirmed buyers, there are a lot of fence-sitters out there still wondering why they need an iPad when they already have an iPhone (or iPod Touch, or netbook, or laptop, etc.). If that's you, we've come up with a list of confirmed iPad apps that may convince you otherwise.

No surprise here. The NY Times was actually one of the applications demonstrated during the iPad announcement in January. Their native application lets you save stories, watch video, zoom in and out on photos and virtually "flip" through the paper without dirtying up your fingers with newsprint. The news stories are updated whenever the device has an internet connection.

2) The Wall St. Journal

We haven't seen it in action yet, but News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch has apparently been telling people that there's an iPad under lock-and-key in the WSJ's building. "We've been allowed to work on one," he told members of the Real Estate Board of New York during a luncheon this past week. We imagine its features will be very much on par with those in the NY Times app, as described above.

3) Need for Speed Shift (Game)

The iPad represents a whole new gaming platform. It's a handheld device like the iPhone, but one with a much larger screen. That means video games will look great - more like games you play on your TV via game consoles like the Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii. Electronic Arts is one of the first to develop for the iPad and their "Need for Speed Shift" racing game, also demoed during Apple's announcement, has been redesigned from the iPhone version into one just for the iPad. They've scaled up the images to fit the larger screen and the results, from what we've seen so far, look great.

4) Penguin Books

Penguin CEO John Makinson spoke to a London audience this past week about his company's plans to build iPad-ready books. Instead of releasing text-only publications, Penguin books will be more like apps including embedded video, audio and streaming. "The .ePub format, which is the standard for ebooks at the present, is designed to support traditional narrative text," said Makinson, "but not this cool stuff that we're now talking about. So for the time being at least we'll be creating a lot of our content as applications, for sale on app stores and HTML, rather than in ebooks. The definition of the book itself is up for grabs."

5) Condé Nast Magazines: Wired, GQ, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Glamour

Enjoy magazines but hate how they clutter up your house? That will never be a problem again thanks to the iPad. According to the NY Times, the large publishing firm has big plans for their periodicals. GQ will have a tablet version of its April issue ready. Vanity Fair and Wired will follow with their June issues, and The New Yorker and Glamour will have issues in the summer. Already, the company's iPhone application for GQ that proves Condé Nast gets how to develop for new platforms. The GQ app is not a simple digitized magazine, but includes features that embrace the mobile web. For example, you can tap through on an ad to go to a company's website or tap a song in a music review to download it.

Wired, specifically, gave us all a look at their iPad app earlier this month and it's incredible. Although they actually called it their "tablet" app - Wired isn't limiting themselves to one platform - we know one of the first places we'll see it is Apple's new slate device.

6) Your Student Newspaper

In addition to the big names like the NY Times and WSJ, colleges will also begin to use the iPad for distributing their highly localized news. One college, Abilene Christian University, has already confirmed they've developed an app for their paper, "The Optimist." "We want to be up and running and there when they're ready for us," said Professor Kenneth Pybus. You can bet they won't be the last college to launch for iPad, either.

7) Disney iPad Apps

Walt Disney's Robert Iger recently informed investors that Disney will develop all sorts of iPad applications that will range from games to digital books and who knows what else? "We find that the iPad has a lot of potential. We think it's a really compelling device," he said. Iger also predicts that the iPad will be "a game-changer in terms of enabling us to create essentially new forms of content." We can't wait to see what the creatives at Disney come up with.

Also of note: Disney owns Marvel Comics and that has some speculating that comic book apps are on the list of soon-to-arrive Disney iPad apps.

8) iPhone Apps, Transformed

Although iPhone apps will work on the iPad without any updates required, developers who want to redesign their iPhone apps specifically for the iPad can do so.

For an example of how great these will look when they do this, check out 1Password. Already available as an iPhone app, this app helps you create strong passwords for web services and accounts, remembers them for you and stores them right in your browser. Their iPad app, shown off on their blog here, shows just how attractive - oh, we'll say it - just downright gorgeous - iPad apps will be.

South by Southwest Interactive is a favorite conference for many a geeky programmer, and its no wonder why. The talent, learning opportunities and free booze run deep and wide at this show.

We've compiled a list of ten must-see, must-do panels, parties and events - and don't worry, we won't be sending you to three identical core conversations on JavaScript.

Revenge Of Kick-Ass Mash-Ups with Punk Rock APIs

"Last time we wrote an API layer for a dozen different sites and services, using nothing but free online tools and client-side JavaScript. This time we'll crack into client-side OAuth. This time actual working code WILL BE WRITTEN BY YOU. This time ... it's personal." With Kent Brewster of Netflix.

Coding for Pleasure: Developing Killer Spare-Time Apps

"Every startup origin story is about a couple of developers who abscond to a garage and end up building the Next Big Thing. But money and fame don't need to be your end goal. You can significantly improve your life--and impact others' lives--by coding for pleasure in your spare time." With Gina Trapani, Adam Pash of Lifehacker and Matt Haughey of MetaFilter.

Mozilla SXSW Happy Hour

"Join us for happy hour drinks and appetizers at Cedar Door and learn what we are working on at Mozilla. Party is limited to the first 250 guests who arrive - please RSVP on Facebook: http://bit.ly/mozsxswparty!"

Web Framework Battle Royale

"Which web framework will rule them all? As an audience member you pick the winner! We will present an introduction to a variety of web frameworks including Rails, Django, Catalyst, and Sinatra. You can vote for the best web framework in categories such as URL handling, database integration, forms, HTML templating, documentation, testing and deployment." With Yehuda Katz of Engine Yard, Leah Culver of Six Apart, Elizabeth Leddy of Janus Health, Blake Mizerany of Heroku, Avi Bryant of Dabble DB and Dustin Whittle of Yahoo.

The Hive Awards

"The Hive Awards honor the Unsung Heroes of the Internet. The people who do the heavy lifting but rarely get any credit. Drinks, hors d'oeuvres, free admission." Sponsored by KickApps.

Facebook Developer Garage Austin - SXSW Edition

"Join the Facebook team and local developers for a deep dive into the latest and most exciting ways developers are building with Facebook technologies. Come to learn, stay to make friends! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=331218348435"

Beyond LAMP: Scaling Websites Past MySQL

"Most startups begin with a basic LAMP stack (on PHP or Python) and then add database replication and memcache as they grow. But then what? There's a big gap between these out-of-the-box solutions and what it takes to run something bigger." With Serkan Piantino of Facebook, Alan Schaaf of Imgur, Kevin Weil of Twitter, Christopher Slowe of Reddit and Jason Kincaid of TechCrunch.

Objective C Crash Course for Web Developers

"Build your first iPhone app in 60 minutes flat. Along the way, you'll tour Apple's developer tools and learn the basics of the Cocoa Touch framework. Discover how to use your PHP and JavaScript experience for an informed approach to coding iPhone apps. Apply familiar JavaScript design patterns, for example, to handle interface programming in Objective-C." With Joris Verbogt of Mangrove.

If Objective-C isn't your bag, why not try Hold the Cocoa: Building iPhone Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and learn how to build iPhone apps "without ever touching Objective-C."

Wow, That's Cool... Fun With HTML5 Video

"Using the video tag in HTML5, developers can do all sorts of things that are hard or impossible with plugins. In this presentation, Mozilla will show the best and most interesting hacks entered into OVA's Open Video Contest - because when the webmonkeys unleash their creativity, things get interesting." With Michael Dale of Kaltura Wikimedia and Christopher Blizzard of Mozilla.

Google Hackathon

"The Google Hackathon hosted by Google will provide a hands-on workshop throughout the day where attendees will be able to build apps using a variety of Google technologies including App Engine, HTML5, Android, Chrome, and Maps/Geo technologies. Although the hackathon will run all day long (from 9:30-7:00pm), we'll be providing short 20 minute "deep dive" presentations on specific topics covered in the hands-on exercises. This panel is sponsored by Google."

Those are our SXSW Interaction recommendations for hackers of all stripes. If you've got suggestions or feedback, let us know in the comments! See you in Austin, folks!

According to a Reuters report, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson says he doesn't expect the iPad's launch to lead to very many new AT&T service subscriptions. "My expectation is that there's not going to be a lot of people out there looking for another subscription," he was quoted as saying.

He may be right. As consumers, we're starting to hit a saturation point with how many times we have to pay - again and again - for access to the same Internet. We have our broadband bill for at home, a mobile broadband bill for our laptop's "air card" and a third bill for our phone's data plan. Layer on top of that the numerous subscription services for Internet-accessible content, like Xbox LIVE, Netflix (via their "Watch Instantly" service) and premium music streaming sites like Pandora, Spotify or Last.fm, and it's clear that we've become overloaded. Will anyone out there be able to afford yet another wireless data plan? Apparently, AT&T isn't counting on it.

Will You be Missing Out?

If you plan to use the iPad mainly as an eBook reader and portable media device for streaming iTunes-purchased content, then you won't miss out too much when you go offline, which - let's face it - when you leave the house, that will be most of the time. The majority of iPhone games, all of which will work on the iPad out-of-the-box, won't be affected either. But what about when you want to read the newspaper or a magazine via the iPad? Without an Internet connection to download the latest, you'll be stuck with yesterday's news or last month's edition of Wired. And if you wanted to quickly share something you read on Facebook or Twitter, you would be out of luck, here, too.

However, many people may be willing to live with these limitations. Just as we've learned to sync our iPods and iPhones before we leave the house, we may soon need to remember to update our online newspaper and magazine apps, too. For this minor inconvenience, there's a major payoff: the monthly savings, of course, but also hundreds of dollars off the retail price of the iPad.

In any event, we wonder if AT&T's CEO has any insight into this situation or if he will be surprised by how popular the 3G iPad ends up being. Do you agree with his prediction? Lets find out! Take our poll (linked below) to tell us what iPad you'll buy. (If you're not buying an iPad, then just skip it!)

NY Times readers, click here to access the poll.

Today, 489 out of the Global 500 companies are featured on Wikipedia, though the majority of companies scored very low on Lundquist's scale. The average score was just 11 out of a possible 25 points. Apple's entry scored 22 points.

Top Wikipedia Pages

• Apple (22 pts)
• BT (21.5 pts)
• Nokia (21 pts)
• Royal Dutch Shell (21 pts)
• Ford Motor (20.5 pts)
• Toyota Motor (20.5 pts)
• BAE Systems (20 pts)
• Bank of America (20 pts)
• BP (20 pts)
• Dell (20 pts)

Wikipedia is one of the first entry points for Internet users who are looking for more information about a company. A lot of companies score very low on Lundquist's scale, however. Quite a few entries, for example, don't even mention what geographic area the company serves or display any data bout the company's board members or number of employees. According to the company's researchers, entries for companies in the computer and IT services industry have the highest average score, while the entries for pharmaceutical and health care companies rank the lowest.

According to Lundquist, Sumitomo Electric Industries and the French financial services group Crédit Industriel & Commercial have the worst Wikipedia pages of all the Global Fortune 500 companies.

What Can Companies Do to Improve Their Pages?

As the report's authors point out, companies are strongly discouraged from editing their own articles on Wikipedia. There are some things, however, that these companies can do to enhance their entries. Here are three recommendations from the report, which don't just apply to large companies:

• respect the rules of Wikipedia
• make copyright-free images available to the Wikipedia community
• only edit factual information like quarterly results or management changes (Wikipedia actually encourages companies to do this, though it's probably best to explain the edit in detail)
• use discussion pages to interact with editors
• engage and help editors who are interested in the company or the company's products
• monitor your company's Wikipedia article for updates and vandalism
]]>Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/companies_on_wikipedia_apple_bt_nokia.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/companies_on_wikipedia_apple_bt_nokia.php News Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:15:56 -0800 Frederic Lardinois In January, the Austria-based company Mobilizy updated the Android version of its mobile augmented reality browser Wikitude to include a new feature they dubbed "Worlds," which are similar to the layers found in the alternatively popular Layar AR browser. On Thursday Wikitude 2.0 for the iPhone (version 4 on Android) was released on the iTunes App Store, brining these new Worlds to the iPhone.
]]>Sponsor

]]> Previously, Wikitude only served up geo-tagged Wikipedia articles, or content created on the Wikitude.me online service. With the addition of Worlds, users can now also browse locally for Twitter posts, Flickr photos and YouTube videos - the usual AR suspects. Also, local search points-of-interest (POI) are available through Google Local Search, CitySearch and Qype, but actual search functionality is not included.



This new verison of Wikitude also marks the browser's first commercial entries as users can find the nearest Startbucks, Walmart, Harley Davidson or BestBuy locations using the various World filters found on the applications new "Overview" home screen. Some of the Worlds, such as Last.fm events, Meetup Events and Outside.in content, are unique to Wikitude and are innovative inclusions for AR browsing.

First released for Android phones in October of 2008, Wikitude was the very first mobile augmented reality browser to hit the market. Since then Layar, acrossair and hundreds of other mobile AR apps have upped the ante in the mobile AR space, and the latest iteration of Wikitude is in direct response to this competition.

Wikitude's updated features follow a continuing trend in mobile AR to consolidate a group of applications into a single AR browser-like experience. Mobilizy previously produced the AR application C2 YouTube for the iPhone, but has moved that functionality into Wikitude.

Additionally, acrossair's AR browser now includes features like Twitter and Wikipedia entries, which were previously features in their own independent applications. French iPhone app development house Presselite, which made waves with its Metro Paris Subway app, and other transit applications, has since rolled its applications together into the Bionic Eye application. It's only a matter of time before these companies begin rolling games and entertainment, a growing AR sector, into their browsers for one-stop augmented reality experiences.

Mobilizy, Layar, acrossair, and Presselite now have comparable AR browsing applications with Tonchidot not far behind with its more social app, Sekai Camera, the most popular AR app in Japan. Competition is certainly a good thing when it comes to mobile AR, and the deal-breaker in the coming months and years for most users will likely be the commercial content found on the applications.

Which mobile AR application do you like best? Let us know what you think in the comments.

]]>Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/wikitude_brings_augmented_worlds_to_the_iphone.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/wikitude_brings_augmented_worlds_to_the_iphone.php Augmented Reality Fri, 12 Feb 2010 12:30:00 -0800 Chris Cameron What important Web browsing feature is sorely missing from mobile Safari, the iPhone's built-in browser? If you're like us, you probably said the ability to search for text within a Web page. We're accustomed to using this feature in the grown-up Web browsers on our desktop and laptop machines, but sadly, it's lacking when we switch over to the mini-browser built into our mobile phone.

Until now, that is. In yet another case of "there's an app for that," there is, in fact, a new iPhone application that adds the "find within a page" feature to the iPhone browser. And it's well worth the $0.99 fee to finally have this function at our disposal again.

]]>Sponsor

]]> Find in Page for iPhone

The application "Find in Page" (iTunes URL), which was released last month in the iTunes App Store, is essentially a browser bookmarklet that adds an extra feature to mobile Safari. Not only does "Find in Page" locate all instances of a word within the displayed Web page upon launch, it also counts them, highlights them and lets you move from once instance to the next (and back again) by tapping arrow buttons. Of course, there are other free bookmarklets out there that provide similar functionality, but this one feels very much like a part of mobile Safari itself. It feels built-in.

The key differentiating factor that makes this pseudo plugin stand out from the rest is the semi-transparent toolbar that appears at the bottom of the screen once the bookmarklet is activated. From here, you can access the arrow buttons, word count information and you can pull up the search window again if you want to edit your current search or start a new one. Also, if you perform multiple searches, you can do so without having to reload the page - a definite time-saver. Finally, an "X" button closes the toolbar when you're finished.



Although this small application may not sound as exciting as a revolutionary new feed reader or a brand-new interface for Facebook, it's arguably going to be one of the most useful applications you've ever installed on your iPhone. For that reason, we think it's well worth the $0.99 the developer is charging for the app. We've certainly paid far more for applications we've used much less than this. However, for those of you who balk at paying anything for apps, especially for ones that are essentially just a bit of code, you'll be happy to know that a free "lite" version of this tool will be coming mid-month. Stay tuned to the App Store for its release. Otherwise, you can grab the paid version here.

]]>Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/finally_find_in_page_comes_to_mobile_safari.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/finally_find_in_page_comes_to_mobile_safari.php Apple Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:54:49 -0800 Sarah Perez A new survey from Retrevo finds that consumers' interest in the Apple iPad died down after they heard what the new tablet PC actually had to offer. According to the company, "not only did Apple fail to convince new buyers, it may have lost many potential buyers who now say they don't think they need an Apple tablet computer." Ouch!

While it's true that the poll results do support these findings, they contradict what tech analysts have been saying about the device's potential. With sales expectations that range anywhere from 1 million to 6 million units over the course of this year, the iPad is predicted to do quite well. So is the survey wrong? Or is it the analysts?

]]>Sponsor

]]> iPad Reality Disappoints?

The Apple iPad has the dubious glory of being one of the most over-hyped, hotly anticipated tech products of the year. Rumors surrounding the device prior to its launch had the tablet computer offering everything from OLED to multiple cameras to an innovative multi-touch enabled back. The reality was a much simpler device that looked more like a big iPod than the revolutionary product so many had built up in their minds.

But will this let-down in expectations actually lead to fewer sales? If you believe the Retrevo survey, that could easily be the case. The percentage of consumers who had heard about the iPad but were not interested in buying one jumped from 26% prior to Apple's announcement to 52% afterwards. Also, people who claimed they don't need an iPad went from 49% to 61%. That certainly sounds like bad news for Apple, doesn't it?



Survey Says: Marketing Stunt!

Well not so fast. Let's keep in mind that Retrevo likes to put out these sorts of link-baiting surveys from time to time. For example, a prior survey found that iPhone owners were materialistic and fickle people. (Who couldn't write about that?) We probably should just ignore these publicity stunts... err... surveys, but this one was begging to be shot down... or shored up, we suppose. After all, their survey phrases questions in a way that almost guarantees a negative response. Case in point: "do you need an iPad?" No one really needs an iPad. Not surprisingly, many people said "no." We need water, food, shelter and clothing. Once our basic needs are met, we then focus on obtaining other "needs" like a job, a car, an education, etc. The iPad, however, is something we want. We already have a computer. Maybe even a computer, a netbook and an iPod or iPhone. We can't in all honesty say we need an iPad. It may seem like a simple turn of phrase, but when crafting survey questions, word choice is important.

Will You Buy an iPad?

So instead of going by Retrevo's findings, we'll ask you instead. Will you buy the iPad? Will you rush right out and get one as soon as it hits store shelves? Or will you wait patiently for iPad 2.0? Or are you not interested at all? Now's your chance to weigh in and prove Retrevo's numbers wrong... or right, as the case may be. Just answer the question in the poll below:

]]>Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ipad_gets_no_consumer_love_poll.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/ipad_gets_no_consumer_love_poll.php Apple Mon, 08 Feb 2010 06:56:44 -0800 Sarah Perez After being saturated with blog posts from every blogger, tech pundit and average Joe about Apple's newest entry into the tablet PC game, the iPad, we finally decided to seek out the opinions of those who know best (well, sometimes, that is): the tech analysts. Numerous sites have quoted from this analyst or that and a few have even done round-ups of their own, but we never found a comprehensive resource providing all the analyst opinions in one post. So we made our own.
]]>Sponsor

]]> Below, we've combined all the analysts' statements and estimates into one massive read. And after going through everything that's been said, we discovered that the collective opinion of the analyst industry is that Apple has a definite winner on their hands.

The iPad Will Sell

Thanks to Barrons, we found a round-up of analyst estimates regarding iPad sales. We've taken their post and re-listed the quotes below from lowest to highest. The end result? Sales could be anywhere from 1 million to 6 million. No matter what the number, that's not too shabby.

• Yair Reiner, Oppenheimer: 1.1 million units in FY10 and 4M units in FY11
• Scott Craig, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch: He forecasts Apple to ship 1.25 million units in FY 2010 and 3.75 million in FY 2011.
• Keith Bachman, BMO Capital: He projects 2.5 million iPad units in FY 2010 and 5.5 million units in FY 2011.
• Ben Reitzes, Barclays Capital:  Forecasts iPad sales of 2.9 million in FY 2010 and 7.3 million in FY '11.
• Gene Munster, Piper Jaffray: 2010 sales of 3-4 million units, expects 2011 to be the break out year, with 8 million units
• David Bailey, Goldman Sachs: 6 million iPad units in 2010
• Katy Huberty, Morgan Stanley: CY2010 unit forecast 6 million; CY 2011 forecast is 9 million units



When the Apps Arrive, iPad Will Impress the Doubters

Some of the negativity surrounding the iPad has to do with its limited functionality. No multitasking? No Flash? No camera? But as the analysts below point out, when it comes to the iPad, we ain't seen nothin' yet. Once developers start releasing their iPad apps, the device will seem a lot more impressive than it does now.

Charlie Wolf, Needham & Company:

Wolf said the iPad is "another winner" from Apple but people won't realize its potential until developers create iPad apps. "The iPad is not a revolutionary product. But it has the potential to become one once the creative juices of content providers are unleashed...The $500 starting price point is low enough to attract a sizable portion of the early adopter crowd, consisting of iPhone and iPod owners...Our best guess at this time is the Apple could sell four million iPads in its initial year on the market, which translates into at least $2 billion of revenue" (Source: AppleInsider & AllThingsD)

Tavis McCourt, Morgan Keegan:

"We suspect initial sales will be strong (this is Apple, and there are many enthusiasts), and then simmer down a bit after a few months. The ultimate success of a new product category will be the unique apps developed for this device, and with the SDK just going out today, it is hard to know how impressive they will be. However, the good news is that aside from maybe modest iPod Touch cannibalization, we doubt that the iPad will cannibalize any revenues from the massive margin pools within the iPhone and Mac product categories." (Source AllThingsD)

It's a Great Casual Gaming Device

Like the iPod Touch and iPhone, the iPad will attract casual gamers and game developers to its platform. However, the iPad won't be considered a serious gaming device by the community. One analyst even claims it won't generate significant revenue for developers.

Michael Pachter, Wedbush Morgan:

Pachter thinks the tablet will appeal to the casual gaming community. "I think the early offerings on the tablet will be a lot closer to iPod Touch/iPhone style games, and then probably morph into DS kind of games and then ultimately will morph into PSP quality games. The core audience is probably more of a casual game audience than a hardcore audience. So the one device I think will suffer from the introduction on the games side is the DS. And you're going to see a lot of cross-fertilization of games between the iPod Touch, iPhone and the tablet, so I actually see the iPod Touch benefiting from that." (Source: TGDaily.com)

Jesse Divnich, EEDAR:

Divnich thinks the iPad won't appeal to serious gamers. "The iPad has limited functionality and limited controls and will not be taken seriously as a gaming platform from the industry...all publishers will support the iPad, as they do with the iPhone, but I do not expect any publisher to realize a significant amount of revenue from the iPhone/iPad platforms, which means that their iPhone games will have play a supporting role to an overall brand...EA doesn't expect Sims 3 for the iPhone to be a cash cow; however, they do expect that consumers enjoy the iPhone version and then purchase the PC or console branded Sims games." (Source: TGDaily.com)

But We're Surprised there's no Verizon Deal

Some analysts reported they were "shocked" by the lack of a Verizon deal. So were we. Larsen from Piper Jaffray speculates as to why that may be - GSM. Here at ReadWriteWeb, we're hoping the delay is because Apple wants to surprise us with the news at their next big event where they announce iPhone OS 4.0.

Allen Weiner, Gartner Inc.:

"The choice to leave out Verizon was a surprise, given that AT&T has faced complaints from consumers that its network is overloaded by the iPhone...AT&T is going to need to make some sort of statement or some sort of acknowledgement that they're up to the test of supporting this." (Source: Business Week)

Chris Larsen, Piper Jaffray:

The choice of AT&T is probably due to GSM, the cellular tech used in large markets outside the U.S. including Europe. "If you can pick one device that you can ship everywhere, you're going to bring down your manufacturing costs, you're going to bring down your shipping costs. Verizon is going to be at a disadvantage." Larsen predicts the iPad may generate $100 million in earnings a year for AT&T. (Source: Business Week)



The iPad is Just a Big iPod Touch?

Of course, in any round-up, there are going to be a few nay-sayers. The analysts below basically called the iPad a big iPod Touch. While their reviews aren't necessarily out-and-out pans, they're not as head-over-heels with the device as others have been.

James McQuivey, Forrester:

McQuivey thinks the iPad could be a miss. "The iPad is a grown-up iPod Touch. Apple has taken the safe route of offering its existing customers an option that goes beyond today's iPod Touch in size and capability, but it has not offered a new category of devices that tackles the five-six hours of media we each consume every day. With no integrated social media for sharing photos, recommending books and sharing home video, the iPad misses a big piece of what makes media so powerful. As it stands, a quick, well-structured response from Amazon in the next version of Kindle could easily be a contender here." (Source: AdWeek)

Gene Munster, Piper Jaffray:

"Originally we were estimating sales of 2m units in the first calendar year at a price point of $600-$800. With the actual $499/$629 price point, we believe Apple will sell 3m-4m units in the first 12 months....After using the iPad, we believe it will cannibalize iPod touch sales, but not Mac sales. The gadget is a premium mobile device, not a computer; as such, we see some iPod touch buyers stepping up to the iPad, but consumers looking for an affordable portable computer will likely stick with the MacBook lineup." (Source AllThingsD)

Richard Gardner, Citigroup:

"Looks essentially like a super-sized iPod Touch...Investors are extrapolating that unit estimates could be materially higher than expected given the $499 base price. The flip side is that the low price point together with overlapping features does increase the risk of cannibalization of iPod touch sales." (Source: Barrons)

Analysts are Generally Impressed

Still, at the end of the day, most analysts - especially those who got some hands on time with the device - walked away impressed. Although some of the reviews acknowledged the various disappointments regarding lack of features or functionality, the long-term view for the iPad is positive.

Mike Abramsky, RBC Capital Markets:

"With iPad, Apple creates a revolutionary e-reading, browsing, media, gaming experience. Newspapers, Web pages, books 'come alive' with video, animation, color and fullscreen touch." And as for the mixed reaction in the tech community? "Not everyone initially liked the Ten Commandments either -- but they endured." Although he did find the lack of a camera, multitasking and no Verizon option disappointing, he said the simplicity of the device is its greatest strength. He forecast first-year sales of 5 million, adding 30 cents earnings per share to AAPL stock with an average iPad selling price of $600. (Source: AppleInsider)

Shaw Wu, Kaufman Bros.:

Wu thinks the Wi-Fi only version will be the best seller because of the $130 premium for the 3G version. After hands on time with the device, he was impressed. "We see iPad as a new product category that is superior as a shared device in a group setting (such as a living room or meeting) or as an ultra-portable computer. Sure, there could be some cannibalization, but it doesn't quite replicate the functionality or form factor of either device." (Source: AppleInsider)

Craig Moffett, Bernstein Research:

"Longer term, the iPad offers the potential to redefine the boundaries between print and video, turning formerly passive media into active ones, and in the process making what are currently low bandwidth applications (say, reading a newspaper) become much more bandwidth intensive (e.g. by embedding video rather than still pictures)." (Source AllThingsD)

Mark Moskowitz, J.P. Morgan

"iPad is not for everyone, and the first-generation product is sure to have its critics given the prelaunch buzz. In our view, the iPad is a smart, nimble device for heavy content users-Apple's core customer. iPad is a hybrid of sorts, marrying select benefits of the smartphone and notebook. We expect the market to be small at first, but the gamer and education verticals should construct a meaningful growth ramp longer term." (Source AllThingsD)

Yair Reiner, Oppenheimer

"It finally gives the right form to leisurely functions long trapped, like the Frog Prince, in the body of a late-20th century office productivity tool." (What?) However, Reiner estimates iPad sales at only 1.1 million in fiscal 2010. (Source: CNN Money)

Ben Reitzes, Barclays Capital:

"In terms of features & services, we believe today's launch was largely in line with expectations. However, the pricing is much more attractive than expected and clearly shows Apple desires mass market appeal. Even accounting for potential cannibalization of other products, we believe iPad adds at least $1.00 in EPS power quickly & $20 plus in value to Apple's shares. He forecasts iPad sales of 2.9 million in FY 2010 and 7.3 million in FY '11. (Source: Barrons)

Maynard Um, UBS:

"The two big surprises to us were the price points at the low end ($499 for a 16GB model) and the attractive monthly wireless plans with AT&T ($15: 250 MB data transfer; $30: unlimited), with no associated contract. We believe the lower price points & data plans likely increases the mass market appeal for the iPad (vs. prior expectations)." (Source: Barrons)

]]>Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/analysts_on_the_ipad_its_a_winner.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/analysts_on_the_ipad_its_a_winner.php Apple Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:53:46 -0800 Sarah Perez Apple just received a very interesting patent for a method of sharing location data during a phone call. Assuming that Apple implements this idea in its phones, you could soon press a button during a phone call on your iPhone and request location data
from the person you are talking to. Judging from the description of this new feature in the patent, the receiver would always have to give permission before the data is sent back to you.
]]>Sponsor

]]> In the graphs that accompany Apple's patent, buttons to request and release location info can be found right underneath the standard iPhone phone interface. If Apple decides to implement this, the feature would work like this:

During a call, you send out a request to get your friend's exact location by pressing a button on the phone interface. Your friend would get an alert and gets the choice to send his location data back to you or to ignore your request. Assuming your friend wants to share his location with you, you will then get an alert with your friend's location.

Thanks to this, you wouldn't have to try to give long-winded and error-prone descriptions of where you are when you plan to meet up with a friend in the city, for example.

Us 20100029302

Reading through the patent, it quickly becomes clear that Apple is quite concerned with the privacy aspects of sharing location data. This makes sense, given that sharing location data has privacy implications that go far beyond just sharing what you had for lunch.

It is worth noting that MobileMe users can already check where their phones are at any given point and that all the necessary hardware to implement this feature is already available in every iPhone.

We also couldn't help be feel reminded of Echoecho, an iPhone app for sharing location data we profiled just about a week ago. Echoecho allows users to share location data on a one-on-one basis. Unlike Apple's patent, Echoecho's permission-based location sharing system isn't based solely around sharing this data in the context of a phone call, but otherwise, the two seems quite similar.

]]>Discuss]]> http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_gets_a_patent_for_sharing_location_data_during_a_call.php http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/apple_gets_a_patent_for_sharing_location_data_during_a_call.php Apple Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:35:47 -0800 Frederic Lardinois