News written by Rich Fiscus (January, 2010)

Apple introduces iPad

Written by Rich Fiscus @ 27 Jan 2010 1:31

Apple introduces iPad The time for Apple's big product announcement has come. As the rumors suggested it's a tablet, which they're calling the iPad.

At first glance it looks like a giant iPod Touch. So far Steve Jobs has shown off web browsing capabilities, which conspicuously didn't include a Flash plugin, much like the iPhone and iPod Touch.

With a 9.7 inch LED backlit LCD display, the iPad is half an inch thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds.

It features between 16GB and 64GB of storage with a 1GHz Apple A4 CPU, Bluetooth 2.1 support, and a 802.11n Wi-Fi interface. It can run almost all the apps from the iPhone App Store.

The iPad will be available in March, and will sell for a (suggested retail) price of $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 32GB model, or $699 for the 64GB version. In April there will also be models with both Wi-Fi and 3G capabilities and suggested retail price of $629 (16GB), $729 (32GB), and $829 (64GB).

Two different AT&T iPad data plans for the 3G version were also announced. For $14.99 you will be able to get a plan with a 250MB limit. There will also be an unlimited plan for $29.99 per month.

This is significantly cheaper than standard data plans using a USB 3G modem, but is also more limited since it will only work with your iPad.

First look: Free All Music - ad-supported MP3 downloads

Written by Rich Fiscus @ 13 Jan 2010 12:56

First look: Free All Music - ad-supported MP3 downloads Last October a company called Free All Media announced a service to offer ad-supported, DRM-free music. Earlier this week I got an invitation to the Beta for Free All Music. I decided to give it a try and report back to Afterdawn's reader's.

Keep in mind that Free All Music is currently in beta testing, and may change significantly, perhaps many times, by its public launch. If you'd like to check it out for yourself, and are in the US and at least 13 years old, you can sign up for the Beta waiting list on their website.

How It Works

Previous attempts to offer free music downloads, like SpiralFrog and Qtrax, have offered DRM laden Windows Media tracks paid for by standard background ads seen on many web pages. The problem is these files don't play on most portable media players - no iPods or Zunes for example. Since the DRM is tied to your computer you also have to download multiple copies if you want to listen to a song from multiple computers.

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News written by Rich Fiscus (January, 2010)

Apple introduces iPad

First look: Free All Music - ad-supported MP3 downloads

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