Archive for the ‘internet tablet’ Category

How Does One Use The Data Service On The 3G iPad?

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Looks like a lot of details are being made available in conjunction with the start of pre-orders for the Apple iPad.  If you were wondering how one would activate/deactivate the 3G service that the WiFi+3G version of the iPad supports, wonder no more.  Get it from the horse’s mouth here.  This is specific to AT&T in the US, Apple’s preferred carrier, but should work the same way the world over.  And I think this is one of the reasons why it’s taking some time for Apple to make the 3G version available in other geographies outside of the US – carrier deals have to be struck, and the proper IT and billing sub-systems have to be put in place by the carriers.

In a nutshell, I think this is how it’s going to work for us here:

  1. buy a 3G iPad from a carrier with a microSIM pre-loaded inside, but not activated.  Sign some sort of a service contract at the point of purchase with the carrier.  The reason for this is that one still has to get that microSIM somewhere before using the service!
  2. whenever you want service, activate it on the iPad, as illustrated on this page.
  3. whenever you want to stop the service, deactivate it using the iPad, as illustrated on this page.

The part that our local carriers are going to struggle with is the notification portion – where they are supposed to warn users when the monthly data quota is close to being breached in the event that the user chooses the “limited” plan (eg. XXX MB of data for RM YYY).  I think to keep things simple our carriers may just opt for a “limited unlimited” plan – breach that 3/5GB limit and automagically get throttled to EDGE speeds or worse.

One side effect of this 3G iPad that I foresee is that there will be a number of vendors in Lowyat Plaza for example, who will be offering SIM cutting services.  And the carriers better brace themselves for customers requesting for new SIM cards for their accounts when they have a misadventure in cutting a regular SIM card down to size!

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120,000 iPads Sold On First Day

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Yep, it’s an Apple weekend (of news).  One of the most anticipated events of the year, the release of the iPad occupied many a front page of many a web site this weekend.  I’ve covered how many were estimated to be sold during the first hours, and here’s an estimate of how many has been sold during the first day – 120,000.  This is the estimation of the investor village website.  Don’t ask me how they managed to arrive at this number, but you can click here for more details.

This number only applies to the US, of course.  Based on their estimates, Apple sold more WiFi models than the WiFi + 3G models (both were up for pre-orders), while the models were evenly spread out, disk capacity wise (there are 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models on sale).  Says one of the analysts who covered the orders as they were flowing in (to the study):

“Apple has been able to generate over $75 million in revenue in one day on a product that 99.9% of purchasers haven’t touched or for that matter, even seen in person,” said Victor Castroll, an analyst with Valcent Financial Group. “And, we’re still three weeks away. That is amazing.”

And that is amazing indeed.  If this is true, we will be in for a long, long wait, as I’ve mentioned before – Apple will surely satisfy demand in the richer countries first before making it available in other poorer ones.  And that’s a sad thing (for us) indeed.

In fact, the demand is reported to be so good that new in-store collections (you have two options when you pre-order – whether to have it shipped, free of charge to you, or collect it in an Apple Store closest to you) have been frozen.

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7 New Things To Know About The iPad

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

As the iPad went into pre-order yesterday, the FCC also released documentation regarding its own testing into the product, as well as additional documentation provided by Apple as part of the review process.  The FCC is the body in the US responsible for certifying all(?) IT products before they can go on sale in the US.

So, here are the new things to note, and be happy about, based on the filings:

  1. it will work with any Bluetooth keyboard, not just those from Apple.
  2. the iBooks app will read any ePub format ebook, not just those downloaded/purchased from the Apple iBookstore.
  3. the operating system can easily recognise file types and hand them over to the appropriate application for further processing.
  4. there are accessibility features for those who are vision or hearing impaired.
  5. location based services will work even with WiFi only models.
  6. it will support A2DP, aka Advanced Audio Distribution Profile, aka stereo Bluetooth so you can listen to your favourite music in high fidelity stereo on your BT headset.
  7. there will be dedicated magazine apps; ie. the iBookstore is not the only place to purchase/download content to be consumed.

Click here for more details.

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50,000 iPads Reportedly Ordered In First 2 Hours

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

The unofficial Apple weblog reports that as many as 50,000 iPads were ordered in the first two hours of it being made available for pre-order yesterday.  As a basis for comparison, the Apple online store is reported to “only” receive in the vicinity of 15,000 orders daily, for all its products, so the 50,000 number is rather staggering.  And Apple is limiting the number of iPads that a single person can order to 2, whether you are an end consumer or a business customer.  This means that supply must be tight and they are anticipating a lot more demand than they are able to supply.

This is not good news for us, of course, since Apple would try to satisfy its major markets first before selling the device in poor countries such as Malaysia.  I guess the only want to get your hands on one now would be to import one yourself from the US, or Australia, as the device goes on sale at the end of next month.

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The Hour Is Nigh

Friday, March 12th, 2010

No, no, I haven’t ventured into the doomsayer business, silly.  I’m referring to the fact that one can now place an order for the new Apple iPad soon, in a couple of hours time.  To be specific, beginning 530am Pacific Time, US.  Of course this is for US folks only, which leaves us in the lurch unless you happen to know someone in the US, who is willing to help you get one, and who is coming back to Malaysia very soon.

Or you can use a service called vPost.  This is a service operated by Singapore Post.  In a nutshell, you go on the Apple online store.  You place an order for the iPad.  You pay for it using your Malaysian credit card (assuming one can pay for purchases using a Malaysian credit card in the US online store!).  You then instruct Apple to ship the iPad to a collection facility in the US, whose address vPost will give you once you sign up as a customer.  vPost then batches shipments and sends them to Singapore, to save on shipping costs.  From Singapore, your beloved iPad is then shipped to you in Malaysia.

So, to sum up, you pay Apple for the iPad (plus any applicable shipping costs), and you pay vPost for the shipping from the US to Malaysia.  Now whether vPost will help you clear the iPad through Customs and SIRIM or not is another matter altogether, because I can tell you for sure that the iPad will be held back in Customs, since they have these super-duper shiny new x-ray machines that can see within a package without having to open them up.  How else do you think Customs have become so efficient at sniffing out the “right” merchandise to be taxed?  ;-)

Click here to find out more.  The service is also available for Singaporeans as well, click here if you’re interested.  Obviously this service does not only apply to the Apple Store – you can in fact shop at any US online store that doesn’t ship to Malaysia/Singapore, subject to certain items which vPost will never ever ship to you, for example, components to build a nuclear device  :P

Disclaimer: I am not being paid a commission, monetary or otherwise, by any party to promote this service.  Nor have I used it before, although there is no reason not to trust Singapore Post, which operates the service.  At least it is not being operated by Pos Malaysia.

Perhaps as a token of appreciation to me for making you aware of this, you can help me bring in one unit as well?  For buddy buddy sakes?  :P  That way we can share shipping costs.  It’ll be almost heavenly if you “know someone” in  Customs and SIRIM who can expedite the delivery of said items as well  :P

There you go, then.  Press those “order” buttons NOW!!!

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