International iPad Pre-orders Are Live <- goed nieuws voor Belgen: even naar Frankrijk, UK of Duitsland voor iPad.


Sent to you via Google Reader

International iPad Pre-orders Are Live

Just as Apple promised last week, international iPad pre-orders are underway as of today.

Customers from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK can pre-order the iPad from their respective Apple stores; the actual device is slated to ship on May 28.

As you can see, the prices are quite a bit higher in the UK than in the US, but, unfortunately, European customers are already used to paying a premium for Apple products.



For more Apple coverage, follow Mashable Apple on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook



[via Boy Genius Report]

Tags: apple, Apple Tablet, ipad


Sent from my iPad

Foursquare Exceeds 40 Million Check-Ins


Sent to you via Google Reader

Foursquare Exceeds 40 Million Check-Ins

Location-based social network Foursquare counted its 40 millionth check-in a “couple days ago”, according to a Tweet from one of its developers.

The number shows that Foursquare’s growth rate is accelerating: Five weeks ago, we clocked Foursquare’s total check-ins at 22 million. In short: Foursquare appears to have doubled its check-in rate in just over a month.

It’s just over two weeks, meanwhile, since Foursquare hit the million user mark. What’s more, recent acquisition rumors have driven the Foursquare hype to new levels.

But Foursquare may soon face a new challenger: Facebook is launching its location features this month. Depending on how Facebook implements location into its service, Foursquare may see its growth stall — why would new users join Foursquare if their existing social network provides the same experience?

Alternatively, Facebook may offer a location platform: That might let Foursquare, Gowalla and their ilk build upon Facebook’s massive userbase, rather than getting squished like a bug.

Tags: foursquare, location, million, twitter


Sent from my iPad

Smartphone Sales Continue To Blow Up Worldwide


Sent to you via Google Reader

Smartphone Sales Continue To Blow Up Worldwide

According to market research firm IDC, 54.7 million smartphones were shipped in the first quarter of 2010, a 56.7% increase over the same period last year. This is doubly impressive as growth in the fourth quarter of last year was 38%, which is usually the strongest quarter of the year.


Nokia continues to be the world’s largest manufacturer of smartphones, followed by Research in Motion (Blackberry), Apple, HTC and Motorola (see chart below). Of course, with these five companies comes at least five mobile operating systems, and although the report mentions that Symbian and the Blackberry OS are expected to have upgrades this year, it’s clear that the iPhone OS, Android and perhaps the upcoming Windows Phone OS are clearly where app developers want to be.


Smartphone growth more than doubled that of the overall mobile market (with still healthy growth of 21.7%), and clearly Apple, HTC and Motorola (with the Droid) are starting to catch up to Nokia and RIM worldwide (see the 1Q10/1Q09 Change column in the chart below). Their response? Well, Nokia for one seems to think lawsuits are the way to go.



Chart: IDC


Image Credit


(Disclosure: I am a former employee of IDC)




Sent from my iPad

Apple is developing a Flash alternative (and has been for almost a year).


Sent to you via Google Reader

Apple is developing a Flash alternative (and has been for almost a year).

It was only a matter of time, but the announcement has been made: Apple is developing a Flash alternative.  Oh, but wait, the “matter of time” was apparently last summer.


Yep, the entire tech industry has known about this for a year, and yet nobody has seemed to have latched onto it.  However, Apple Insider is giving a heads up as of today.  Now, let’s take a look at what is and what could be.


The product, named Gianduia is a browser-side code written in Java.  Its purpose is to provide rich content applications without the need for client-side plugins. Ideally, Gianduia will be used for Apple’s retail customers in order to create applications for them.


Apple has already been showing solid examples of the code.  In fact, the  Genius Bar reservations system, as well as the One-to-One program Internet interface are both done with Gianduia.


There’s the argument, of course, of HTML5 and changing standards.  However, Gianduia is proving that rich content is already capable of being produced even before the Internet makes the switch to HTML5.


Gianduia within HTML5 will very likely be the proverbial straw that breaks Adobe’s back for Flash.  In HTML5, objects that are already an integrated part of the page can be manipulated across the canvas, instead of having to be in their own containers.


Gianduia will take this one step further by offering developers the chance to truly code meaningful applications, inside of a customizable canvas, all while maintaining integration.


Our own @Alex said it best: the end user will decide when it’s time for Flash to die, just as it did with BASIC.  If you’re asking me, I’m hearing a death march…




Sent from my iPad

Facebook and Location: Here is What We Know


Sent to you via Google Reader

Facebook and Location: Here is What We Know

AdAge is reporting that we will very soon see some sort of McDonald’s app on Facebook mobile that allows people to check in – or at least associate their status updates – to McDonalds locations (see our analysis here).


For this to happen, Facebook will need to be able to map status updates to user location.  Which means the functionality will be there for other brands / developers – and Facebook itself – to use in other ways.


Yes, Facebook location is coming, and it’s coming soon.


Does this signal the introduction of a venue focused, Foursquare-like check-in service?  Or, as MG Siegler believes, will users simply be given the opt-in (or opt-out) option to associate their coordinates with a status update, like how Twitter is currently doing it.


At this point, we don’t know.

It depends on what exactly the word “location” means to Facebook.  If it’s mapping to a venue, Facebook will be moving in direct competition with companies like Foursquare, Gowalla, PlacePop, BrightKite, Rummble, Buzzd, etc.  But if it means a pin on a map, it might signal a willingness by Facebook to be the infrastructure layer that powers countless other third party developed native Facebook geolocation apps.  Kind of like SimpleGeo for Facebook apps.


And then there’s the question of whether Facebook sees location as core to its platform.


If Facebook deems location as core to the platform, location would be in the same category of functionality as photos, messaging, and events.  Ominously, how many third party apps do you use on Facebook for photos, messaging, and events?  If you’re like me, none.


Facebook has decided to o...

Sent from my iPad

What iPads Did To My Family <- my experience exactly!


Sent to you via Google Reader

What iPads Did To My Family

Chuck Hollis, EMC

Last Sunday, I broke down and bought a non-3G iPad.  I just was too damn curious.  Walked into the Apple Store, played with it for 5 minutes, gave them my credit card, and walked out 15 minutes later. 


Brought it home, set it up, downloaded some interesting stuff, and had a blast.  Big geek fun.


I then went off to work for the week, and left it home.  And that's when things got interesting ...


Some Context


I've been married for almost 25 years, and have three kids, the youngest of which is 14.  We have always had a lot of tech in the house. 


A lot.


As I think about it now, we've got a fleet of 6 PC desktops of various vintages and three Windows laptops -- two of them that actually work well.  On the Apple side, we've got an iMac and two MacBook Airs of different vintages.  We just updated the family NAS server to the most recent Iomega device.


We use Verizon FIOS 20Mb service and can keep it busy.  Add in 3 printers, three separate wireless domains to cover the house, a few thingies that connect between the TVs, stereos and the in-house tech, countless MP3 players and USBs, gaggles of cables, Harmony remotes and -- yes -- you could say that we have a decent amount of tech in my family.


Having all this stuff around is an indulgence of mine.  My 16 year old son is in charge of first-level tech support.  I get the really hard stuff, like fixing rootkit problems, or debugging dodgy hardware.


And then I brought home the iPad...


Keep reading at Chuck's Blog >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

Sent from my iPad

WSJ Uses Foursquare To Alert Users About Times Square Evacuation


Sent to you via Google Reader

WSJ Uses Foursquare To Alert Users About Times Square Evacuation

The Wall Street Journal just checked-in on Foursquare – to tell people that Times Square has been evacuated due to a suspicious package (thankfully a false alarm). Here is a screenshot of the check-in taken by Foursqure’s CEO Dennis Crowley:



Not sure if this is a first, but it certainly seems to one of the most high-profile uses by a major media publication of a checkin service.


Really, this use makes perfect sense, especially in New York City which is one of the top Foursquare usage cities (Foursquare is based in NYC). In a way, this is kind of like the WSJ using Foursquare as a kind of reverse-iReport app (CNN’s iPhone app) and there are many future applications that can come out of this for disaster/crisis response.


This is a case where for a media outlet such as the WSJ, it is more efficient and to the point to broadcast this out on a social location service such as Foursquare than to perhaps push it out directly through their own mobile apps (although most likely they did post the story there first, but that’s just a guess – would be great if someone from the WSJ could contact us to let us know the timeline).


This is a use that crisis response technologist such as those at Crisis Commons have been thinking over the last few months of near constant disasters, but of course, as Foursquare and other services are just getting going and basically require a smartphone (though SMS is an option as well), this might not be a practical strategy right now everywhere in the world.


At any rate, this is just another mainstream example of why social location services are poised to become an integral part of our lives, in good times and in bad.




Sent from my iPad

What a Girl Wants: More Mobile Shopping, Survey Says [STATS]


Sent to you via Google Reader

What a Girl Wants: More Mobile Shopping, Survey Says [STATS]

Mobile shopping company miBuys conducted a survey of 1,600 women on mobile phones and found that the overwhelming majority of them were open to more mobile marketing and mobile shopping.

These respondents love using the mobile web overall, this study shows; 94% said they even use their phones to surf even when they’re at home and nearby much more powerful devices, such as laptop and desktop PCs. These heavy mobile users are big on social sites — 86% access Facebook, Twitter or similar networks on their mobiles — and 93% said they’d feel lost without their cell phones.

Moving to another segment of the Venn diagram of women, cell phones and shopping, 74% of these same mobile-loving women said they sometimes shop for splurge items they might not necessarily need. The majority of these women also said they’d be open to learning about discounts, deals and event promotions on their phones.

MiBuys CEO Mark Bamber said in a release, “This research sends a clear message to advertisers that women are already engaged and eager to explore new cell phone services. It also supports our belief that cell phones and portable devices can already play a significant role in connecting retail brands with their customers. It is perceived that women are only just embracing cell phone services, but the truth is they’re already well beyond this point and now want access to the entire high street through their cell phone”.

Here are some other findings from the survey:

  • 85% use the mobile Internet almost daily
  • 70% expect their mobile internet usage to increase in the future
  • 84% have noticed mobile advertising, and 57% have clicked on mobile advertising
  • 67% are interested in receiving mobile coupons or vouchers
  • 93% are always on the lookout for bargains
  • 93% like being up-to-date with new technology

We want to know from our female readers, do you agree with these findings? Would you like to use your phone for more shopping, or do you have more practical tasks in mind for your mobile web browsing?

[img credit:

Sent from my iPad