Apple iPad 3 Event Scheduled For March 7th In San Francisco

It's not like we weren't expecting it, but Apple's now made it official. The event is scheduled for March 7th at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10AM PST. 

Apparently, the event is about something they would really like us to see, and touch. If you pay close attention to the image, that is definitely not a 1024x768 pixel display, but instead a super-high resolution Retina display as most us have come to expect. Most estimates currently put the resolution at twice that of the original iPad/iPad 2; or at a ridiculous 2048x1536 pixels. That should put the iPad 3's display at 264ppi, which is still shy of the iPhone 4's 326ppi display, but impressive nonetheless. In comparison, the optional high resolution displays on the current-gen 15" MacBook Pros sport a modest 1680x1050 resolution.

Amongst other things, the new iPad should bring with it upgraded internals such as a faster processor; possibly an upgraded SoC with faster graphics and better front and rear-facing cameras. Since Apple never publicly releases the specifications of its SoCs, it would be unwise to comment on the exact nature of the silicon inside the iPad 3 until we can run benchmarks and draw some inferences about the architecture, process node, performance and power consumption of the new chip. It remains to be seen whether Apple offers Siri on the iPad 3 or if it would remain as an iPhone-exclusive feature. However, it would be fair game to expect iOS 5.1 to launch alongside the new iPad 3.

What is certain however, is that the added lure of the Retina display, amongst other things, should keep Apple comfortably ahead of the competition in terms of absolute revenue and unit sales. We can also expect pre-order systems to crash, and long lines outside Apple stores shortly.

If the date on the calendar is any hint, the wait isn't terribly long now. Keep your credit cards ready.

Source: The Verge

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Windows 8 Consumer Preview Event Scheduled For Feb 29

Windows aficionado Paul Thurrott has just confirmed that the Windows 8 Consumer Preview event will be held in Barcelona, Spain on February 29, 2012. Coming from Mr. Thurrott, we would be inclined to believe that this is not a rumor.

There have been a lot of leaked screenshots of the supposed Consumer Preview build 8220 (or build 8225 if the @BuildWindows8 Twitter feed is to be believed) floating around the interweb these past few days. Some of the more aggressive changes include the disappearance of the iconic Windows Orb, or the Start Button as some of us still lovingly like to call it. Others are more subtle like changes to the Metro-styled start screen and a new translucent UI for Charm bar.

I quite like the Consumer Preview moniker being used this time around. The consumer-centric branding, just like the Building Windows 8 blog, demonstrates Microsoft's commitment to actively communicate progress on the OS and gather feedback from end users and developers. 

The Consumer Preview should ideally be a feature-complete release, with future builds focusing on performance, stability and usability enhancements, rather than any major new features.

In any case, the wait shouldn't be too long now.

Source: Supersite for Windows

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Samsung and Google Cancel Unpacked Event - May Delay Nexus Prime and Ice Cream Sandwich

Google and Samsung had scheduled an event, Unpacked: Google Edition, for October 11th, but the companies today reported that the event has been canceled. It was expected that Samsung would release a new smartphone, which has been referred as both, Galaxy Nexus and Nexus Prime in reports. Google was also set to launch the next version of Android (4.0) called Ice Cream Sandwich. The new Samsung phone would have run the new Android obviously. 

No concrete reason for the cancelation was given, although Samsung said that they felt that "it wasn't the right time to announce a new product". This suggests that the companies decided to postpone the event due to Steve Jobs' death, and if this is the case, it's a very respectful call towards Steve. The event is set to be rescheduled at a later date but no further details have been given yet. 

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

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Analysis of HP's event : It's Raining webOS

Today's HP webOS event was all about letting everyone know that webOS is definitely here to stay and HP is putting in massive resources (human and monetary) to ensure that webOS puts up a decent fight. To this effect, three product announcements were made today; the TouchPad tablet, the Pre 3 smartphone targetted at professionals and the Veer, which is unlike anything out there today (except maybe the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini).

Read on to find out how strong a fight webOS is going to put up and what it will be bringing to the table.

 

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