Posts Tagged ‘Apple’
Steve Jobs steps down as CEO of Apple
Today marks a historical day in the world of computing and technology, as Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple has stepped down from his role as the leader of the tech-Goliath.
The announcement followed the news that an iphone 5 was due for release in the near future.
Jobs, who co-founded the company, has been plagued with medical issues of recent years, including his bout with pancreatic cancer which he beat. Steve has been on a medical leave of absence in the past few months, only to briefly return for an announcement of the new Max OSX Lion at a conference.
He has been a driving force at Apple, and only time will tell if the company will continue to be innovative and maintain it’s strength without their leader. One thing is for certain, Apple’s share price dipped 7% on the announcement, and had a tendency to drop on previous announcements of his leave from work. The company almost fell over during the 90s while he was away, and only started to recover when Steve took the reins and introduced the iMac personal computer, and announced a partnership with Microsoft to run MS Office on their machines.
Apples rise and rise since his return has been attributed to the slow but steady growth of the OSX Platform, and most notably the introduction of the iPod music player, and more recently, the highly sought after Apple Iphone smart phone, and iPad tablet devices.
Steve has indicated he will be staying on as Chairman of the board at Apple, should he receive share holder approval.
We hope Steve recovers to health and continues contributing to the things he is passionate about.
A Sign of the times: Fairfax Newspapers Online
Fairfax media, the owner of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers has today taken it’s online presence further, by launching a mobile application to view it’s news content via Apple’s very popular iPad.
The media conglomorate has said the application will provide users a new way of reading news, and help the company pay for it’s reporting expenses.
In a changing digital world, people are heading online more than ever to keep abreast of news and current affairs, and make informed purchasing decisions, or buy direct from an online store to enjoy cost savings. Fairfax has embraced this change by now entering this space, despite possibly being a little late off the mark.
The Fairfax online app will be free during the initial 6 month launch period, but will move to a paid subsrciption of $8.99 per month from December this year, possibly signalling a move for it’s remaining online presence to move online, like News Corp’s publishing houses, however Jake Mathews, Chief Executive at Fairfax seems to deny that the website will move to a fully-paid subscription model.
The Fairfax application for Apple iPad is available today from the Apple App store, with an Android application coming soon.
More information, see the Fairfax website
iPad2 Release Date
The much anticipated successor to Apple’s popular iPad tablet, the iPad2 is due to launch in North America today, with Apple fans expected in their troves to line up around the block and camp outside of stores across the USA to get their hands on the latest piece of shiny goodness from Steve Job’s empire.
The new iPad, which launches in Australia on 25th March 2011, has a new A5 dual core processor, meaning it can load applications much faster, and handle more applications, and is reported to have nine times the graphics processing power of its predecessor, great for games and movies.
The iPad2 is thinner and lighter the original, and still matches the battery performance of the older iPad , which is great for power users wanting to spend all day with their iPad.
In addition to a cosmetic upgrade and performance enhancements under the hood, the iPad 2 has a new “Smart Cover” which clips onto the iPad magnetically, flips open like a book cover, acts as a protective screen cover and power saver when the cover is closed, and also doubles as a stand.
It also has a front-facing camera for “facetime” a video conferencing feature which was sorely missed in the first generation, and led to much criticism of the first iPad launch.
The release date for iPad2 in Australia is 25th March 2011, and is expected to go on sale with a starting price of approximately $650 for the base 3G model with 16GB of storage, with a $100 premium for Wifi+3G, and storage options up to 64GB.
The optional magnetic Smart Cover is expected to retail from $70-140 depending on whether the polyurethane or leather option is selected, however these figures are speculative, as Apple is yet to launch an official Australian price list.
See the Apple website for more details.
iPad Launch in Australia
Tommorow, Friday 28th May 2010 marks the official launch of the Apple iPad in Australia.
The iPad has already proved a massive success in the USA, where the iPad shifted over a million units in less than a month, and where stock shortages have caused delays of it’s launch in other regions, including Australia.
The Apple iPad is a Tablet device, enabling users to browse the web, check emails, play games, read E-books downloaded from the iTunes store, play music, watch videos and more.
The iPad features a large 25cm touch-screen for interaction with the device and display, and comes in two models including a wi-fi only model, and a 3G+WiFi model. The 3G model enables users to connect to a mobile broadband network to download data when they’re out and about. Both models come in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB varieties.
Users of the iPhone or iPod touch will feel at home with the iPad’s familiar interface, but will delight at the extra screen real-estate and a more enjoyable viewing experience on the larger screen. The iPad also offers a unique gaming experience with use of the in-built accelerometer, where users will move and rotate the iPad to perform in-game actions, like steering a car.
The iPad weighs in at 730 grams (3G+WiFi models) and is the perfect portable entertainment device that you can carry with you, but won’t have to squint at the screen.
The iPad launches tomorrow, and will be available through authorised retailers and the Apple Online Store.
ONE currently does not stock Apple iPhone or iPad devices, however watch this space, as ONE will soon be introducing iPad 3G Data plans, which comes with a unique micro-SIM Card that is required by the iPad 3G model to connect to mobile broadband.
Check back at our Blog or myone.com.au for regular updates on the Apple iPad.