The new OS will ship in June (Fall for iPad, and a developer preview is available today) and has the following new or updated features:
• Multitasking
• Fast app switching
• Local notifications
• App folders
• A new Mail app
• iBooks
• Custom backgrounds
• Game Center
• iAd advertising
• 5x digital zoom
• Bluetooth keyboards

When the software ships in the summer, iPhone 3GSes and iPod Touch 3rd-gens devices will get all of the new features. The iPhone 3G and Touch 2G will get “many things,” which doesn’t include multitasking. I repeat: the iPhone 3G won’t get multitasking, ever. iPhone 2Gs will be left on a hillside somewhere to die of exposure, or something.

The mouse-less computer allows users to access the Web and other applications by swiping their fingers across the 10-inch screen.

The San Jose Mercury News reports that Jobs talked with customers and browsed the shelves of the Valley Fair Mall Apple store, and Wozniak compared waiting in line on the first day of the product’s launch with waiting in line for concert tickets.

The iPad starts at $499 for a 16-gigabyte basic models and is priced as high as $829 for models equipped with Wi-Fi and 3G networks.

Industry watchers are waiting to see whether the iPad goes beyond being a niche product, or if it revolutionizes the tablet computer industry.

Early sales estimates indicate that Apple sold more than 700,000 iPads on opening day.

By allheadlinenews.com

Apple’s iPad hits stores today amid fevered speculation over whether the gadget can meet expectations.

The iPad, which Apple chief executive Steve Jobs hopes will bridge a gap between smartphone and laptop, goes on sale across America from 9am.

Industry analysts and Wall Street are now waiting to see whether the touchscreen tablet will prove as successful and revolutionary as the company’s iPhone mobile and iPod music player.

The company has already received several hundred thousands in pre-orders and first-year sales are estimated to be between 4 million to 7 million.

Last night those wanting to be the first to buy the device started queuing outside a few of Apple’s 200-plus US outlets. Queues were shorter than for the launch of the iPhone three years ago, as the iPad has been available to pre-order since last month.

The lightweight device, which features a 9.7 inch touchscreen, is an attempt to fuse the best qualities of laptops and smartphones. It allows owners to access the internet, play video games and view a range of media from films to magazines.

Pricing ranges from $499 for a short-range Wi-Fi model to more than $800 for a 3G-enabled version.

Apple’s stock has risen steadily since the iPad was launched to much fanfare in January.

However some commentators have critisced the device as an ‘oversized iPhone’ lacking the processing power of a laptop and questioned whether it will be able to compete in either market.

Rival software giants Hewlett and Packard and Dell are also planning to launch tablet devices later this year.

On Thursday, two video-heavy apps — from Netflix and TV broadcaster ABC — showed up in the App Store for iPad, offering consumers software to watch hours of movies and TV shows.
That could take heat off Apple, which has been criticized for developing its iPad tablet computer without the ability to work with Adobe Flash, which powers most Web videos and animation.

After weeks of buildup, iPads hit stores at 9 a.m. Saturday. They will be sold out by “early afternoon,” predicts tech analyst Richard Doherty of Envisioneering Group. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster estimates Apple will sell 200,000 to 300,000 iPads this weekend and 1 million in the quarter.

Lines could be long at Apple Stores as buyers get help setting up e-mail, adding software apps and moving data from computers to the iPad. Some university campus bookstores and Apple resellers, in addition to Apple Store and Best Buy, will be selling iPads.

When Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, lines moved slowly, in part because customers had to activate their phones with AT&T. Not this time.

The iPad comes in three models — 16 gigabyte, 32 GB and 64 GB, for $499, $599 and $699. It accesses the Internet via public or home Wi-Fi networks. Three more models due out later this month will access the Internet via AT&T’s 3G wireless network. Prices: $629, $729 and $829. Monthly AT&T service plans are $14.99 for 250 megabytes of data or $29.99 for unlimited.

Charles Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co., says the target audience for the iPad is young teens and adults, who would previously buy the iPod Touch. If Apple takes a hit on iPod Touch sales, that’s not a problem, he says. “The iPad has a higher price point and bigger profit margin.”

Apple says 1,000 new apps will be available Saturday for the iPad.

by USA Today

We’re yet to know what features the iPhone OS 3.2 SDK fourth beta has to offer. According to the MacRumors forum, the Camera tab the Photos App found in the third beta of SDK has been removed. Apple had released the third beta of iPhone OS 3.2 SDK for iPad on February 24, pulled it back and then later made it available after making some changes.

by techtree.com

1) The next version of the iPad is getting a camera. This is the least immediately helpful possibility, but it also sounds completely likely. A lot of tech pundits assumed the first-gen iPad would include a camera, so I’d bet on seeing it next time around.

2) Multitasking is coming to the iPhone sooner rather than later. Although a video call and another task at once might be a lot to ask on the small screen – and not that useful, either – we can at least hope that the next software update brings the ability to run third-party apps in the background. The iPad already has wicked multitasking potential, with the introduction of new popover windows that don’t take up the entire screen.

Another useful new feature rumored for 3.2 is the ability to download and locally store files using Safari, and open them in other apps. The lack of access to the iPhone’s filesystem is one of the biggest reasons that fans of more open mobile operating systems scoff at Apple, and, although this wouldn’t totally shut down that line of criticism, it would be a step in the right direction. File uploading is also reportedly included in the update.

Display

• 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
• 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Capacity

16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive

Processor

1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip

Wireless and Cellular

Wi-Fi model

• Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Wi-Fi + 3G model

• UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900,1800, 1900 MHz)
• Data only
• Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Sensors

• Accelerometer
• Ambient light sensor

Size and weight

Location

• Wi-Fi
• Digital compass
• Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
• Cellular (Wi-Fi + 3G model)

Battery and Power

• Built-in 25Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
• Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Prices

Apple is using the first chip to come out of its PA Semi acquisition in its new iPad, a processor called the Apple A4. Apple CEO Steve Jobs made the announcement at the media event Wednesday where the iPad was unveiled, according to Engadget’s coverage of the event, where he said, “It’s powered by our own silicon. The 1GHz Apple A4 chip. It screams.”

10.00am, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San-Francisco

Apple officially alerted the world Monday that it is ready to unveil its latest tinkerings — which many in the tech industry are betting will be a multimedia tablet computing slate — on the morning of Jan. 27.

The media hordes and analysts are being invited to San Francisco, where it is presumed company CEO Steve Jobs will show off the latest gadgets and services from Apple.

The invitation is as vague as it is inviting. “Come see our latest creation,” the mass e-mail read.

Although the company has officially declined to comment, industry insiders and analysts have been speculating for weeks that Apple will be entering the market for a lightweight, portable tablet computer, designed for consumers to interact with digital games, books, movies and other types of content.

It is expected to be priced in the $800 to $1,000 range. Numerous sources point to a March ship date for the new device.

Several companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Redmond-based Microsoft and Lenovo, already have tablets on the market, while Seattle-based Amazon.com and other companies are seeing favorable sales of e-readers, which are tabletlike devices designed specifically for reading books.

The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that HarperCollins Publishers is negotiating with Apple to make electronic books available for Apple’s tablet, a move that would pose a new challenge to Amazon.