Archive for the ‘Tablets’ Category

Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool from Adobe

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011
At long last, Adobe has released an experimental piece of software codenamed Wallaby that can convert Flash files into HTML5. It’ll be interesting to see how the Flash vs HTML5 rivalry pens out.

HTML5 logoThis tool was first demo-ed at Adobe Max 2010 developer conference in October last year. The cross-platform AIR app is available for free download as a technology preview for developers.

Wallaby allows Flash developers to deployFlash content on Apple iOS devices like iPads and iPhones, which has banned Flash on Steve Jobs’ accusations that it is vulnerable to exploits, battery draining, and prone to frequent crashes.

Flash logoFLA files from Flash can be instantly converted to HTML5 by a simple drag-and-drop. The HTML can then be edited in Dreamweaver or any HTML authoring tool.

Tom Barclay, senior product manager for Flash pointed out that not all elements from Flash files will make it into HTML5. Although the overall look and feel can be ported, much will be discarded in the migration.

The Wallaby Release Notes describe what features are supported, what differences we have already discovered between the various browsers, what device variations have been found, and any currently known issues.
Adobe logo What is thrashed: audio, video, ActionScript, as well as blend modes and filters (apart from simple alpha), dynamic masks, some Text Layout Framework text, and 3D tweens and transforms.

What is supported: vector art and images, classic text, keyframes, MovieClips and graphics, classic motion and shape tweens, rollover buttons, and instance names.

Immediate application of the tool would mainly be for making basic banner ads and animations, especially if the FLA files have already been developed.

iAds ProducerApple had released iAd Producer in December last year. It is a free tool “for online advertisers to create content for Apple’s iAd platform, helping the company to establish HTML5 as a viable alternative to Adobe Flash technology on mobile devices,” wrote Daniel Ionescu of PCWorld.

iAd Producer is a visual HTML5 authoring tool, available to Apple developers for producing advertisements for iOS devices, using a combination of HTML5, Javascript and CSS3.

Steve Jobs launches the Apple iPad 2

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
Steve Jobs emerges from medical leave to unveil the iPad 2, an evolutionary upgrade of its predecessor, making it thinner, lighter and faster.

The iPad 2 now comes in white, and its thinner, lighter and faster.The iPad 2 was unveiled as anticipated on 2 Mar at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Specifications were in line with virulent speculations prior to the event. What was more uncertain was whether Steve Jobs would helm the launch.

He did, and Apple’s stock price rose $2.81 to $352.12 on the Nasdaq in a sign of investor confidence. The stock has risen 9.2% this year.

Steve Jobs has been on medical leave since 17 Jan but had stated that he would still “be involved in major strategic decisions for the company.” He is on his third period of medical leave in seven years and there has been rife rumours about how dire his health has become. For some, his attendance at the event was as important as the launch of the new tablet.

The cover is attached using magnets and doubles up as a stand.With 350,000 apps on the Apps Store, with 65,000 dedicated to the iPad 2, the tablet will hit US shelves on 11 March and ship internationally on 25 March. The $499 starting price is the same as the original iPad when it was first launched in Apr 2010.

Competitors already in the market include the Samsung Galaxy and Motorola Xoom – both Android-based tablets. Research In Motion plans to release four versions of its Playbook this year while HP will roll out the WebOS-based Touchpad.

Here are the more noteworthy features of the iPad 2:
The cover comes in 10 colours.

  • It’s available in white.
  • Has 2 cameras for video conferencing: one front (VGA-quality), one back(720p).
  • Faster: New A5 dual-core processor claimed to be twice as fast as the previous iPad.
  • Faster: Graphics performance nine times faster than before.
  • Thinner: by one-third to 8.8mm.
  • Lighter: 1.3 pounds from 1.5 before.

Optional extras:

  • Optional $39 HDMI adaptor that connects the iPad’s 30-pin port to an external display so that iPad’s display is mirrored on the external display.
  • New magnetic protective case that puts the iPad to sleep when it is closed. Bendable and doubles up as an iPan stand. Comes in 10 colours (plastic ones: $39, leather: $69).
  • iMovie and Garageband as Apps at $4.99 each on the Apps store

Pricing (original iPads are now $100 cheaper):

Attached using magnets, the flexible cover puts the iPad 2 to sleep when covered.1. Wi-Fi only versions:
  • 16GB: $499
  • 32GB: $599
  • 64GB: $699

2. Wi-Fi/3G devices:

  • 16GB: $629
  • 32GB: $729
  • 64GB: $829

93% of 4.5 million tablets sold in 2010Q3 were iPads

Friday, February 25th, 2011

This is hardly surprising since the iPad has been the only tablet around for most of last year, until Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.

ABI ResearchAccording to data from ABI Research, of the approximately 4.5 million tablets sold in the third quarter of 2010, about 93 percent were Apple iPads.

The original iPad went on sale on 3 April 2010. Reports anticipate the announcement of the iPad 2 next week on 2 Mar 2011.

Samsung’s well-received Android-based Galaxy Tab was launched late last year, while Motorola’s Xoom Android-based tablet became available yesterday. Research In Motion plans to release four versions of its Playbook this year.

iPad 2 launch on 2 Mar?

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

Have you received the invitation from Apple?

Apple's invitation for the 2 March event

Apple emailed the invitation to a media event in San Francisco that showed a calendar page with the date 2 March and the top right corner of the page peeling back to reveal an iPad underneath. The peek-a-boo iPad suggests that Apple may unveil its new version of the iPad during the event.

Earlier reports from Taiwan-based Yuanta Securities had surmised that the iPad launch might be delayed to June this year because of production bottlenecks at the China production line of Hon Hai – Apple’s Taipei-based contract manufacturer.

Will the iPad 2 be announced on 2 Mar?Indulging in my own bit of speculation, both schools of thought may not be untrue. We might actuallly see an iPad announcement on March 2 followed by the taking of orders, with deliveries only materialising in June, probably staged out based on country.

What with the legion of Android tablets being unveiled by the day, with specs that trounce the year old iPad, any delay in unveiling the upgraded specs of iPad 2 could create a negative impression in people that the iPad is inferior to Android tablets.

The announcement of iPad2 with all the specs that has been rumoured to ship with it should maintain its aura of invincibility that over challengers.

Apple certainly won’t want to announce the iPad 2 in June only to have people yawn at its specs, since by then it may already have been featured on the Android tablets out there.

Samsung’s Android-based Galaxy Tab was launched last year and was well-received. Motorola’s Xoom Android-based tablet goes on sale today, while Research In Motion plans to release four versions of its Playbook this year.

The original iPad went on sale on April 3. Announcing the iPad 2 on March would mean that it will follow an annual cycle of updates like the iPhone and iPod.