Apple recently took down Fingerworks.com after letting it stay up after acquiring the company and hiring its founders five years ago. The move is more evidence of the tablet announcement coming on January 27.

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Of all the hype generated by the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, few products generated more headlines and heat than tablet PCs.

Technology-industry executives showed off their newest table wares to varying degrees of excitement.

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer got a ho-hum reaction as he showed off a new H-P Slate tablet, while executives from Dell Inc. gave a look at what they called a tablet-concept device that features a 5-inch screen.

Graphics chipmaker Nvidia Corp. boasted of the 500 engineers it took to design that company’s new Tegra microchip, which Nvidia claims will revolutionize the capabilities of tablet devices.

Then there was Apple Inc. — or rather, there wasn’t Apple, which didn’t attend CES but is expected to introduce a tablet Mac of its own, as soon as the end of the month.

Indeed, Apple’s shadow led some analysts to assert that no one would even be talking about tablets were it not for the anticipation over what the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has planned. Read the rest of this entry »

Apple Inc, the famous iPhone and Mac maker was just $5 billion company in 1998, but has now reached the market value of $180 billion. Now, market analysts have started an assumption that “€œcould Apple replace Microsoft as world’s most valuable tech company?” Microsoft Corp, the software giant is the world’€™s most valuable technology company with over $250 billion market cap. The company’s Windows operating system (love it or hate it) runs over 92% computers across the world.

Reasons for such assumption

The assumption to unseat Microsoft from the top position comes due to strong cash and fat margins of the Apple, besides its successful product line, apps store, expected tablet PC and the latest Snow Leopard operating system. The company’s best-known hardware products include Macintosh PCs, the iPod and the iPhone. Apple has about 250 retail stores in nine countries and an online store for its hardware and software products.

Fortune magazine reported that Apple has been the most admired company in US (2008) and in the world (2009). Analysts said that the reasons for Apple’€™s high growth are its market-driven innovation and interesting software offerings, which leads to repetitive purchases.

Apple has doubled its annual revenue since 2005 to $36.5 billion and earnings per share (EPS) up more than four-times to $6.29. Whereas, in the same time frame, Microsoft’s annual revenue has ascended just 47% to $58 billion, with EPS up 45% to $1.62. Read the rest of this entry »

On Friday we had Jason Schwartz, an options strategist long on Apple (AAPL), explaining in Seeking Alpha Why Apple’s iTouch Tablet Will Become Its Flagship Product.

On Monday we heard from Michael Scalisi, an IT manager writing in PC World, that the Rumored Apple Tablet Is a Train Wreck.

If the first hurdle of a successful Apple product is to capture the imagination of the chattering classes, this one is half-way there.

Of course, we don’t really know what the product is, what it looks like or when, if ever, it will be released. But that hasn’t stopped the trade press from weighing in – and quickly taking sides.

In this context, the most useful thing I’ve read lately is Harry McCracken’s PAQ – for Possibly Answered Questions, a kind of pre-emptive FAQ – in Monday’s Technologizer.

McCracken sorts through the myriad details that have been bruited about in nearly two years of press speculation (and, reportedly, four years of product development under Steve Jobs’ watchful eye) and draws a plausible picture of the rumored device and what it might be good for.

Among the tablet’s salient features, as McCracken sees it: Read the rest of this entry »

Suppliers for the Apple Tablet have begun shipping touchscreen panels and will start delivering aluminum casings next month, according to Reuters sources, implying a second-quarter product launch.

AVY Precision Technology Inc, a Taiwanese manufacturer of covers for electronic products, will begin production of the cases in February, two sources familiar with the situation said on Friday.

TPK Solutions, an unlisted touch screen panel maker also based in Taiwan will also supply panels for the product, a third source said, on top of those already being manufactured by another Taiwan company, Wintek Corp.

“Production of the cases will begin in February, so everything points to a second-quarter launch right now,” said one of the sources. “It doesn’t take that long for the company to assemble the PC together, but a second-quarter shipment date is what we’re looking at now.”

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Recently, one poster (Mike) brought it to my attention that he could not find the tutorial to jailbreak his iPod Touch. I’m guessing this happened during one of the design phases that MashingKeys went through earlier this year, but regardless – the articles have always been around and should be easy to find if you use the search function. I’m currently revising the original iPhone jailbreak post, but the instructions are still accessible to everyone on this site. To help our friend Mike out, if you still can’t find the iPod Touch article, it’s right here. Enjoy, and thanks for reading!

Bains Software has announced the release of their first iPhone app: instaplaylist. instaplaylist is the universal remote for music. It allows users to quickly create a playlist of YouTube music videos from their iPhone or iPod touch and enjoy them on any computer on the same WiFi network.

The videos play on the user’s computer while they control playback from their iPhone. Videos continue to play even if the user exits instaplaylist or turns off their iPhone.

With a tap of their finger, the user can:
* Play/pause
* Jump to the previous/next video
* Add and remove videos
* Reorder their playlist
* Adjust the volume
* And more Read the rest of this entry »

Apple has officially announced that its annual iPod music event will take place on September 9th. Then again, who DOESN’T have something happening on 9-9-09, right? Be it celebrating the birth (or 10th anniversary) of the Dreamcast, a movie release, Rockband’s Beatles edition, or checking out new Apple gear – you’ve got something to do on September 9th.

The keynote will be presented at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco at 10 am PDT.

The invite includes a graphic stating “It’s only rock and roll, but we like it,” which references a classic Rolling Stones lyric.

The event is rumored to bring a refresh to the entire iPod lineup. iTunes could also see an update to version 9 which is said to include new social features.

According to recent reports, It’s unlikely that a Apple will announce a new tablet device at this event.

[via AppleInsider]

Rockstar Games has announced that the critically acclaimed Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars from Rockstar Leeds, the winners of the 2009 Develop Award for Best Handheld Game Studio, will be making its way to the iPhone and iPod touch this fall.

“Chinatown Wars is a perfect match for the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “We are very excited to bring this incredibly ambitious version of Liberty City, with this level of detail and immersive gameplay on Apple’s new gaming platforms.”

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is currently available for the Nintendo DS and is also coming this fall for the PlayStation Portable system. The game follows the story of Huang Lee, a young Triad who travels to Liberty City after the mysterious death of his father. Players will navigate their way through the streets as they uncover the truth behind an epic tale of crime and corruption within the Triad crime syndicate, delivering the unprecedented amount of depth that has become a true trademark of the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

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