Although Apple has posted the video of Steve Jobs’ media presentation last week, it may be a little lengthy for most of us. This is especially true considering most of the content in that video is a surplus of demos and various information that you can discover from two seconds of looking at the iPad website. But if you do still want to see a little bit of what you missed, Neil Curtis has edited together just what you need. Embedded below is his under three minute clip of the presentation. And yes, it’s meant to be humorous.

As you can see, the strategy commonly employed by Steve Jobs in his presentations is in effect here as well. However, not only did he seem to be caught up in his “greats,” “wonderfuls,” “beautifuls,” and “amazings,” he seems to have also influenced his coworkers to do the same. The only thing missing from this year’s only keynote so far was the “booms.” Oh well, maybe next time.

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By now, you no doubt want an iPad, but the only things you’ll get for the next 60 to 90 days are images, videos and information that will just make you want it more. Apple wasted little time by posting their first iPad walkthrough video, and now you can stream the entire event. I’m going to go watch it now, and I’m sure you’ll join me by doing the same.

Watch Apple iPad Special Event Video

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Throughout the coming weeks (months and years), there’s going to be plenty of talk about the iPad. In fact, there already is, covering everything from the name to the apps to the features that are missing (seriously…why do you all love cameras so much?). The good people at TechVi got these conversations flowing early by inviting Techmeme.com’s Rich DeMuru and me, your Appletell editor-in-chief to discuss Apple’s announcement.

What do we all think? Head on over to TechVi to watch a quick video of our conversation. While you’re doing that, I’ll be shopping for a higher quality webcam and microphone.

Read [TechVi] and [Techmeme]

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Along with the actual hardware of the iPad, Apple also announced a few accessories they will be creating for the device.

The first of them is simply a dock that props the device up at a nice angle. It can presumably be used for syncing, along with serving as a sort of photo frame. The second of the devices is also a dock, but this one has an Apple keyboard attached to it to allow for text entry from a physical keyboard instead of just the iPad’s virtual keyboard. This raises the question, though, of whether the iPad will be able to use Bluetooth keyboards or USB keyboards as well. Furthermore, there will also be an iPad Camera connector kit that allows either SD cards or USB plugs to be used to import photos. Finally, Apple will also be creating a case to use with the iPad, which is only 1.5 pounds and .5 inches thin.

Considering that Apple has already created a few of their own products to go alongside of the iPad, it’s going to be really interesting to see what other manufacturing companies do with it. As if the ability for developers to create all sorts of new software for it isn’t enough, who knows what the hardware side of companies will come up with for this new device. I’m excited.

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Curious about when you can order the iPad, or why the Apple store never went down during Steve’s presentation? You’ll have to wait until March for a WiFi iPad, and April for the 3G. Turns out the FCC is to blame. At the end of the introductory video is a brief and tiny message which states:

“This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.”

At issue is the fact that the iPad can use AT&T’s 3G network (even though not all of them do), which means it falls under the auspices of the FCC, which regulates cell phones (among other public broadcasting spectrums). It’s a similar situation to the release of the original iPhone: Steve brought it out six months before you could buy it, because they’d have to submit it to the FCC for review, thus blowing the surprise.

Way to tease, Apple.

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Though as of this writing the iPad is not yet available for preorder at the Apple Store, you can watch the introductory video at the Apple website.

The video discusses the ideas behind the iPad, its construction, and its use, focusing on the tactile nature of holding it (in any direction you like; “there’s no wrong way to hold it” being a repeated phrase), and using your fingers, rather than an intermediary device, to use it.

The video is just under 8 minutes long.

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Along with the hardware announcement of the iPad, Apple also stated that the Software Development Kit (SDK) for the device will be available to developers later today. This means that developers will be able to develop for the iPad on their Mac using a simulator much like that of the iPhone.

While not many details were given out about this, I would assume it also will allow developers to make changes to their current iPhone apps so they display better for the iPad and the iPhone at the same time. That said, the iPad will allow users to run existing iPhone applications in the center of the screen currently or in portrait mode by doubling the pixels.

The announcement of this new SDK has Apple saying, “We think it’s going to be another gold rush for devs.” And I’m sure it will be. As they already did demo some applications altered specifically for the iPad, I’m sure that is only the beginning of what developers will do with this new screen real estate. It will be interesting to see what the new SDK entails more in detail once the download link is posted to the developer center.

Definitely check back with Appletell for information on this as it’s available.

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It was a high possibility that Apple would release a new version of iWork for 2010, but no one really saw iWork coming to the brand new Apple iPad. Well, that’s exactly what Steve Jobs just introduced live on stage.

Apple was apparently originally worried that the iPad would not have enough processing power to handle word-processing software, but with the Apple A4 1GHz processor, it certainly appears to handle it quite well. To clarify, Pages, Numbers and Keynote will all be available on the iPad, each with its own new beautiful interface.

Each individual application will cost $9.99, although it unfortunately appears there’s no option for a free version with the desktop versions of iWork. Still, it’s quite a reasonably priced application for what you’re able to do. The bottom line, they’re just as powerful as the desktop applications, but through the power of touch, I would imagine this would bring you closer to your work (if that could be possible for you hard working lot). This means that you can simply move items to where you want them, and be in total control of your designs.

This is great news for myself. It means the iPad is more powerful than just a big iPhone. There’s much more to it. The ability to edit and create documents on the fly has been something missing from the iPhone, and so to see it on the iPad is great, especially considering Apple will also be selling a dockable keyboard/stand for desktop use.

Don’t forget to keep checking back at the Appletell live blog for even more great news.

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Along with the iPad comes a new application known as iBooks. This application was created by Apple, not a third party developer, and is backed by partners such as Penguin, Macmillion, Simon & Shuster, etc. Interestingly enough, Steve Jobs did give Amazon and their Kindle credit in this category in saying, “Now Amazon has done a great job of pioneering this…we’re going to stand on their shoulders for this.”

iBooks uses the industry standard ePub format and also comes with a store right in the application that allows for the purchase of books. When it comes to viewing books for sale, there is an extremely clean bookshelf-like user interface. When it comes to reading books, it appears sort of like it would in physical media, except on a screen (imagine using a camera to view a book page through).

On top of just serving as a reader, it also allows you to edit some of the settings such as which style of text you use and how large that text is. When turning a page, the animation is much like that of a real book and looks really slick on the iPad, which we’ve already seen can render graphics for games pretty well.

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Apple has announced its new tablet device, the iPad. At first glance, the device appears to be simply a large iPhone like device with the hardware consisting of only the home button we are used to. And it’s true, much of the interface is exactly like you would find it on the iPhone. That said, while Mail.app is still similar, it does have some refreshing new changes.

For one, since the screen is so much larger, the organization of the inboxes and messages on the iPad is quite a bit different. One view allows the user to have the messages listed along the left hand side with the actual selected message open on the right. While it takes an extra modal to view messages on the iPhone, this seems much better for viewing email.

Furthermore, the new interface also has drop down menus for switching messages and inboxes. Basically, the larger screen on the device allows much more real estate for the developer to plays with and thereby makes it more efficient to navigate around the interface. While the changes are somewhat subtle, they will make browsing your mail a much more pleasurable experience if you ask me.

Stay tuned with the live coverage of the event, and don’t forget to check back soon, as we’ll have more in-depth articles around the iPad and it’s software.

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It’s here—it’s official. Apple has just announced the Apple iPad. Steve Jobs said on stage that the iPad will be “... way better than a laptop, way better than an phone.” It looks, as you can see, quite similar to the iPhone and iPod touch. It has the same home screen button and the same icons (albeit more spread out). The first obvious difference between the iPad and an iPhone or iPod touch is the ability to change the background; something that we’ve wanted on the iPhone and iPod touch for quite some time.

With a bigger screen (although not yet specified on stage), viewing web pages looks great. They render just like a normal browser, and with the new on-screen keyboard, text-entry appears to be a breeze too. There are some updated applications, of course, specified for the iPad, including a new Calendar and Contacts app, which both utilize the full screen.

It’s also now possible to stream high-deffinition content to the iPad, although the screen looks to be more towards 4:3, rather than 16:9. Still, from what we can see so far, it looks beautiful.

Stay tuned with the live coverage of the event, and don’t forget to check back soon, as we’ll have more in-depth articles around the iPad and it’s software.

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Talk about last minute. Thanks to Engadget’s source, these images, while still smelling a bit fishy, seem to show what could be the real Apple tablet. Albeit, covered with some kind of hideous security device that could only pass for descent design in the PC world. Still, the amount of effort that went into editing this image to discard any identifying information is somewhat convincing.

It shows a much larger screen and resolution, like we are expecting from the Apple tablet. Interestingly enough, it also shows what appears to be a Spotlight search bar in the top right corner.  This would not only qualify as another background application, but a very nice feature. It also shows an unidentified power cord to the bottom of the device (I’m betting an iPod USB cable) and a single Home button. Is it real? You decide.

Via [Engadget]

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At this point, yes, an Apple tablet is all but a given. If Apple doesn’t make the announcement on Wednesday the faithful (and the shareholders) are likely to torch the village. But one thing we still don’t know is what the tablet will be called. Well, a recent, fairly innocuous press release about an iPhone crossword app seems fairly certain the tablet will be called the iPad.

Stand Alone, Inc. announced today they’ve been working on a “larger” version of their Crosswords iPhone app. The headline reads, “Crosswords iPhone App Coming to the upcoming iPad device.” iPad? Okay, is that a guess? Something less significant? Or is it a slip?

I’m not going to put much weight on this, although it is fun to consider. Is Apple going to go the “i” route with this as with the iMac, iPod and iPhone, or stick with the more straightforward “Apple tablet,” as with “Apple TV?”

So, is iSlate any better? iTablet? Apple tablet? Quite honestly, we’re too close to the event to worry too much about it. We’ll find out soon enough.

More interesting than the usage of the term “iPad” is what the developers are doing with Crosswords to get it ready for the Apple tablet. According to Stand Alone president Ben Gottlieb, “We have been anticipating the Apple tablet as the greatest piece of hardware for App developers since [the] iPhone itself, and Crosswords will be even better on the new device. The goal is to utilize the larger screen, but keep both the functionality and the sleek, intuitive, custom design that our users love.”

Hopefully, this is an approach all app developers take with the tablet. We don’t just want larger buttons and images, we want a clean layout that maximizes the rumored 10” screen with options for easy navigation and usage. Having a touch device with buttons that are actually large enough to be touched will be great, provided developers don’t let the UI take over the design, as we’ve seen with many of the artist mock-ups.

Whether iPhone developers will be able to make this jump to a larger screen, I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Before we worry about that, let’s first worry about getting an official announcement.

Oh, and a name. To find out what it’ll be, join our Apple event live blog tomorrow starting at 12:00 noon EST for complete coverage of the announcement. Before then, be sure catch up on the latest Apple tablet rumors, as well.

Product [Crosswords]

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A McGraw-Hill CEO went on record during an interview with CNBC admitting they’ve been working with Apple for “quite a while” on the tablet that Apple is announcing tomorrow. So much for secrecy. Thankfully, I doubt Apple would refrain from announcing the tablet tomorrow just to make this guy look silly, but I’m sure he’ll get an informative lesson on how secrecy works at some point. Madness you say? This…is…Apple!

He actually did confirm a few things for us on the tablet.  Apple is indeed targeting the educational market by trying their darndest to get textbooks onto the Apple tablet in electronic format.  We now know that 95% of McGraw-Hill material will be available at some point on the tablet, and likely much more from other publishers.  Look out, Kindle.  I’d call the Apple tablet a Kindle-killer, but I’m sure there are quite a few other products out there that are about to spend a while in a body gadget bag, as well.

Here’s the exact quote and a video just for good measure.  The last line is my favorite.

Yeah, Very exciting. Yes, they’ll make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite a while. And the Tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system and so it will be transferable. So what you are going to be able to do now is we have a consortium of e-books. And we have 95% of all our materials that are in e-book format on that one. So now with the tablet you’re going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tablet is going to be just really terrific.

Be sure to join our Apple event live blog tomorrow starting at 12:00 noon EST for complete coverage of the announcement.

Via MacRumors

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Thank you for joining our live blog of Apple’s media event. If your browser isn’t updating regularly, click the reload button to see the latest posts. And, of course, feel free to post your own thoughts below. Should be a good time.

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Word around the web is that Steve Jobs has been heard saying he considers the rumored Apple tablet to be the most important thing he’s ever done. And considering this is coming from the man who helped bring you the Mac, the MacBook, the iPod and the iPhone, then this is just one more reason why we’re all impatiently waiting for Wednesday’s announcements.

I wouldn’t call this a direct quote, but apparently, TechCrunch has numerous, independent sources that confirm Jobs said something very close to the following while talking about the device we’re all waiting for:

This will be the most important thing I’ve ever done.

Believe it? It’s highly likely that he said it, but do you think he’s right?

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Many years ago, back when lamp-style iMacs were cool and iPods came in only one color (how passé, right?), Apple promoted a vision of the Mac as the hub of the then-emerging “digital lifestyle.”  Since that time, many players have joined the game, and Apple’s vision has become slightly more complicated than the iTunes, iPhoto, iMac trifecta that Steve Jobs used as a visual aid. Not that enhancements to the iLife suite are off topic, but some bits such as Garageband and iDVD have limited appeal. And with so much of the spotlight on iPhone OS products, there has not been a clear central pillar of this digital hub strategy. The recent release of Snow Leopard for Mac users, coupled with the just-announced iTunes 9, has refocused the digital hub strategy squarely on the Mac, and brought a wide audience some extremely cool features.

Snow Leopard’s half of the equation:

Out-of-the-box Exchange integration is one of the major whizbang features being touted for Snow Leopard (there really aren’t that many of them).  This is crucial, because far too many people live dual lives between their work computers and their home computers, upsetting the whole concept of a central digital hub.  Office for Mac has always lagged behind the Windows versions, but PowerPoint, Excel, and Word are fairly worthy competitors for 90% of us.  Entourage has never quite reached the same level of functionality as its Windows counterpart in Exchange environments (though it can be a worthy competitor for PIM tasks, it quickly gets embarrassing to compare to Outlook).  Mac OS X has fairly robust applications that serve the same purposes in Mail, iCal, and Address Book—and for many tasks, the seamless way in which these applications can share data makes them feel more like a single integrated suite than the monolithic Entourage!  Barrier 1 to your MacBook Pro as a digital hub: gone!

The other big news from Snow Leopard are the subtle interface cues in the GUI borrowed from the iPhone OS; everything from the Stacks navigation arrows to the disappearing interface of Quicktime X looks like the iPhone’s GUI team provided the design.  In the original digital hub strategy, the iPod was considered a minor, supporting player: the iMac was clearly the central point for music management, purchases, and organization.  But as has been pointed out, iPhones and iPod Touches are really more pocket computers than they are iPods.  Ergo, the digital hub strategy is now software based, with hardware duties shared amongst the computer and the iPod.  If you are performing the same task in different places, it is much easier to do if the interfaces are similar; media tasks on your desktop now look an awful lot like they do in the palm of your hand on your iPhone!  And the number of gadgets required to lead this digital lifestyle is shrinking, as more of them are combined; think cameras in iPhones (and now iPod Nanos, too!).  That’s another supporting player gone from the landscape, and one less media interface to learn.  Barrier 2 to learning the digital lifestyle: gone!

iTunes 9 to balance the math:

In addition to the shared GUIs across the iPhone and Snow Leopard, this latest update to iTunes brings many of the desktop interfaces in line with their mobile counterparts.  The new way of previewing albums looks exactly like the iTunes store interface on the iPhone.  Again, trimming multiple interfaces makes it easier for the user, but this is also a subtle strategy statement.  iTunes 9 brings the digital lifestyle hub forward a decade, reflecting the new dual-pillar Mac OS/iPhone OS landscape.  Some of the enhancements in iTunes 9—including the ability to better manage syncing music and organize applications—help to reinstate iTunes as a worthy contender for the title of hub manager.  It seemed in the past that the iPhone and iPod Touch were a little more than iTunes could really handle, with all their spiffy new features and untethered abilities.  Barrier 3 to centrally managing your digital lifestyle: gone!

iTunes 9 also has a shadier underside, if you will, that makes it easier to get into this whole digital lifestyle thing.  With all the stuff that iTunes can do (music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, ringtones, visualizers, synching, rentals, genius, and other stuff, oh my), it can be somewhat daunting to learn what’s what and how to do it.  Never fear; fire up iTunes 9 for the first time, and you will be greeted by a warm, friendly “Welcome to iTunes” panel, which directs you to helpful video tutorials on the key features of the program.  Much like the iPhone intro videos that popped up when the iPhone first came out, these quick tutorials cover just the basics and make it easier to get underway.  Think of it as a sort of iTunes gateway drug, and you’ll begin to see the appeal.  Barrier 3 3/4 to learning to use your digital hub: gone!

Last, but probably most important, iTunes 9’s new sharing features are a clear response to the challenge of Microsoft’s HomeGroup feature in Windows 7.  In a nutshell, HomeGroups can be used to make content available to all computers on your network, to include media files and documents.  The resources need not be duplicated across multiple hard drives, which is a plus, but it is entirely possible to lose access to vital files if you take your laptop out the door with you!  iTunes now brings a feature called Home Sharing, whereby you can maintain purchased content on all computers on your network, either automatically or manually.  This way, you and your iTunes library walk out the door in the morning, rather than realizing after you have boarded your plane that the nostalgic copy of The Little Mermaid you planned to watch actually resides on your sister/daughter/whoever else’s hard drive.  Tough beans if you’re in a HomeGroup.  Oh, and the iTunes Home Sharing is free for all, while HomeGroups require all your computers be running Windows 7 (meaning new computers or painful and expensive upgrades).  If Microsoft could undercut the world with free IE, why can’t Apple do it with iTunes?  Barrier 4 to personalizing your digital lifestyle hub: gone!

While today’s special Apple event, “It’s Only Rock and Roll,” did not bring any earth shattering announcements or unexpected product launches, there were some solid improvements to the existing suite.  Maybe that is what makes Apple so unstoppable: we get a few mind bending announcements per decade (the iMac, the Intel transition, the iPhone), but Apple is not happy to rest on its laurels during in-between times.  iTunes once again reigns supreme as the linchpin of the digital lifestyle hub, and it has a great counterpart in the desktop and mobile OSes that support the hub.  Snow Leopard’s advanced technology sets a clear path for future growth of the Mac OS on the desktop and mobile, and the upgraded iTunes screams management potential for wrangling the digital media that makes up our digital lifestyles.  The digital hub strategy may be an old one, but it is certainly not past its prime.  In fact, it looks like we may finally be able to take delivery of our digital hubs, with spiffy new interfaces and gadgets to boot!

P.S. Shout out in the comments if you thought it was awesome to not only see Steve Jobs back on stage, but to hear him utter the words, “One More Thing…”!

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Did Apple pull the major announcement (the “one more thing”) from this year’s Macworld Expo keynote in anticipation of Steve Jobs’ health announcement?

My reasoning goes like this: First, Apple had something really cool to announce at Macworld Expo 2009. Something that would have taken up the big empty space at their booth. We heard rumors that after the Expo, Apple was going to announce a new Mac mini as well as something so big that the rest of the news would pale beside it. A Mac netbook? Opening the iPhone to other carriers? We couldn’t find out.

Now, Apple must have known that the lack of a truly big announcement at Macworld would send their stock down. So why not announce it then? Because Steve knew he was going to have to take a leave of absence, which was an even bigger downer. “The last hurrah,” they’d have called it: one last thing before Jobs leaves his company floundering for months! And then stock prices go down even further.

So, what if the plan was this: Take the hit from the keynote and from Jobs announcement. Let that play out in the press and then ta da! An announcement of both a new version of a popular product (Mac mini) and this “Next Big Thing” to boost confidence that Apple can run just fine sans Steve.

Pure speculation on my part, of course, but it’s hard to believe that even if Apple wanted Macworld Expo to die, they would squander a press opportunity like that one.

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