Target getting iPad 2 on launch day
Target has confirmed today that it will begin selling the upcoming Apple iPad 2 on launch day, March 11th, at 5pm.
Says the large retailer (via PCM):
We will be offering all 18 versions and price it as all other retailers have, starting at $499.
Apple sells three Wi-Fi only models, three AT&T 3G models and three Verizon 3G models (16/32/64GB for each). Because the iPad 2 is available in black or white, there are a total of 18 different versions available.
The tablets will only be available in-store, not via Target’s online store.
Furthermore, you can trade-in your original iPad for store credit starting on the 13th.
The tablet is going on sale through AT&T, Verizon, Apple and Best Buy on launch day, as well.
Marvell posts weak earnings, highlights market shift by RIM
Marvell Technology posted weak earnings on Friday, leading to a 10 percent dip in the company’s shares.
Perhaps more notably, Marvell’s report highlighted the continued struggles of RIM, maker of the BlackBerry smartphones.
Marvell makes the application processors in BlackBerry devices.
Overall revenue in the wireless and mobile markets fell 13 percent year-over-year and CEO Sehat Sutardja said the decline was due to the fact that RIM “was shifting entry-level smart phones, an area where we do not currently participate.”
The shift came as a shock to most, although one analyst explains:
Demand for low-end smart phones is rapidly outpacing growth in the high-end segment in emerging economies given their lower cost.
RIM Blackberrys are particularly attractive in this market given the Blackberry Messaging service which allows free Blackberry-Blackberry messaging and lowers the total cost of usage.
Nielsen reported this week that Android had taken the crown as top smartphone OS in the U.S. with 29 percent share, followed by iOS and BlackBerry at 27 percent each.
Apple shipped 1 million MacBook Air units in the Q4
Apple’s updated MacBook Air line has quietly become a hit, with the company having shipped 1 million of the notebooks in the fourth quarter.
The figures come via Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who says recent checks in Asia imply that Apple shipped 1.1 million units for the three months ended December 31st, 2010.
If accurate, the numbers will indicate one of the strongest Mac launches in history.
Furthermore, Kuo says the Air are now selling at a 1:2 ratio to the MacBook Pro laptops, Apple’s best-selling.
Kuo says he expects Apple to “set a new Mac sales record during the [upcoming] quarter.”
Best Buy to give iPads to all sales associates?
According to multiple reports, large retailer Best Buy may be ready to give iPads to all on-floor sales associates.
Best Buy has about 1100 stores in the United States.
Forbes, via AI says:
A source with knowledge of corporate mobile device deployments has told Forbes that one of the 10 largest retailers in the U.S. will soon distribute iPads to all its sales staff. The source noted that the retailer in question operates 1,100 U.S. stores, making Best Buy, which had 1093 U.S. stores as of September 2010, the most likely candidate.
Best Buy and Apple have a long retail history and the retailer is set to begin selling the iPad 2 on March 11th.
The retailer has 180,000 employees, although it is unclear how many are on-floor sales staff.
Associates will likely use the iPad for a new point-of-sale and inventory management system.
AT&T to begin selling Amazon Kindle next week
AT&T has announced this morning that it will begin selling the Amazon Kindle 3G in stores in the U.S., beginning on March 6th.
The device can connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi, as well as AT&T’s nationwide 3G network.
AT&T will include the device in its “connected devices displays” throughout the store, allowing would-be buyers to test out the e-reader.
Says the carrier:
Amazon has without question pioneered the eReader space with Kindle, and it’s exciting to not only connect this device through our network, but now offer it in our stores to readers around the country. As the first dedicated eReader offered in our stores, we are confident the Kindle will be an attractive addition to our in store connected devices lineup.
The updated Kindle 3G can hold up to 3500 e-books internally, and Amazon has 810,000 books available. The device has one month of battery life when not connected to Wi-Fi.
There are no contracts or data fees and the devices sells for $189.
NY Senator wants HTTPS to be default
New York Senator Charles Schumer has called on America’s largest sites to make the HTTPS protocol the default for their sites in an effort to prevent ID theft when users hop on public Wi-Fi at places like Starbucks and McDonalds.
The Senator says the growth of public Wi-Fi spots is making it easier for hackers to steal info like credit card numbers and passwords for banking institutions.
Says Schumer (via Reuters):
The number of people who use WiFi to access the Internet in coffee shops, bookstores and beyond is growing by leaps and bounds.
The quickest and easiest way to shut down this one-stop shop for identity theft is for major Web sites to switch to secure HTTPS web addresses instead of the less secure HTTP protocol.
HTTP, says the Senator, is a “welcome mat for would-be hackers.” Most major site operators, outside of the banking institutions, use HTTP as the default, even if they do have HTTPS versions.
Man loses $200,000 to fake ‘girlfriend’ met online
The Chicago Sun-Times posted a remarkable blurb this week, one in which a man from Naperville, Illinois was conned out of $200,000 by his “online girlfriend.”
Last week, the 48-year old man called Naperville police because he believed his girlfriend had been kidnapped somewhere around London.
In explaining the situation, the man told police that he started the online relationship 2.5 years ago, and over the course of the relationship he wired over $200,000 to the woman’s bank accounts.
The bank accounts were in England, the U.S., Malaysia, and you guessed it, Nigeria.
When the police asked for any pictures or ID to help them find her, the copy of a driver’s license he produced turned out to be a sample ID from Florida.
When officers told him he had been conned and his girlfriend did not really exist he “was in disbelief.”
Google looking to launch YouTube movie service in UK
Google is actively looking to begin an unlimited streaming subscription service, one that will rival Netflix and Amazon, and may launch it first in the UK.
The search giant has been in talks with the major studios for months but may begin in Europe first where there is much less competition.
Netflix does not currently offer services in Europe but Amazon, following their purchase of LoveFilm last month, has a strong foothold.
For now, Google has put aside $100 million for content deals with the studios.
The NYPost says the plan is being lead by executive Robert Kyncl, who left Netflix last September.
HTC unveils their first Android ‘world phone’
HTC has announced their first Android ‘world phone,’ the Merge.
The slider CDMA phone will go on sale in the U.S. during the “spring,” and will likely be available on Sprint and Verizon.
Featuring a 3.8-inch multi-touch display, HTC did not say what the resolution of the Merge will be.
For the QWWERTY slide-out, it is unclear whether the phone will feature a four or five row keyboard.
As standard for other HTC smartphones, the Merge will run on Android 2.2 Froyo, include a 5MP camera with autofocus and flash, GPS, Wi-Fi, 720p video and Microsoft Exchange. There doesn’t look to be a front-side camera.
Says HTC (via PCM):
HTC prides itself on creating unique solutions that meet the needs of different customers, and with features like a full keyboard and global 3G roaming, the HTC Merge smartphone is the perfect example of this commitment. Combining the functionality of Android with the HTC Sense experience, the HTC Merge is the perfect device for those customers who are looking for a reliable mobile experience with the features and functionality of a smartphone, whether it’s at home or travelling around the world.
HTC reveals Gingerbread update roadmap for some devices
HTC has confirmed that a number of their smartphones will finally receive the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update during the Q2, which starts in April and ends in June.
Says the company:
We are excited to announce that the Desire HD, Desire Z, Desire and Incredible S will receive the Gingerbread update in Q2.
The Desire Z is otherwise known as the T-Mobile G2.
HTC’s Desire is the oldest phone of the bunch while the Incredible S was just announced earlier this month at the MWC.
