Joe Wilcox

The first true Honeycomb tablet went on sale yesterday -- preorders for most folks and actual hardware for people lucky enough to be in New York and close to the Best Buy Union Square. I got the 16GB Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi late Tuesday afternoon, from Samsung for review. I highly anticipated the Tab 10.1, simply because it's not iPad, it packs Android 3.1 "Honeycomb" and has impressive hardware specs.

A Matter of Dimensions

Continue reading →

I just called the Best Buy Union Square, which is selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 nine days before the official launch. There are still 10.1s in stock, but one sales associated said to "hurry." The New York store started selling the tablet a few hours ago. If you live in NYC and can't wait, don't hesitate.

I called and spoke to two different sales associates. Neither would give an exact number of Tabs received for sale, but both indicated a fairly large number -- at least in the hundreds, based on indirect answers to my questions.

Continue reading →

But 2012 is waaaaay too late.

DigiTimes reports that Microsoft is "considering to launch an own-brand tablet PC that features Windows 8 by the end of 2012 with cooperation from Texas Instruments and Taiwan-based OEMs/ODMs." Companies like Microsoft are "considering" all kinds of things. For example, Microsoft Research might be considering how to adapt Windows for cryogenic chambers, anticipating someday freezing CEO Steve Ballmer's head. That doesn't mean it will happen.

Continue reading →

I can answer that question for you. Apple locks up your past purchases for 90 days, and you can forget that Monopoly game get-out-of-jail free card. But that's OK.

It was a big day for Apple yesterday, announcing iCloud and new push sync features from iTunes Store. It's a big day for Apple customers, now that iTunes 10.3 is available -- with purchase sync in beta. The utility is simply amazing for what Apple intends for it -- but also for how customers might choose to use it.

Continue reading →

Apple's iOS 5 is slated for release this fall, presumably with iPhone 5. But the Android Army doesn't have to wait, like the iPhone idolators. Android users can have some of those features now. Looks like Apple has been doing a little copycatting. Again.

It's funny, since hardcore Apple enthusiasts are so quick to accuse whenever they see anyone copying the slightest thing from Steve Jobs' company. They're not as fast to acknowledge when Apple does the, ah, borrowing. I'm glad to do it for them.

Continue reading →

That's right. During Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference today, CEO Steve Jobs said that MobileMe's price would drop from $99 to free. But there's more to it. I just received email from Apple stating the service will retire in little more than year.

No surprise, iCloud, which Jobs announced today, will replace MobileMe. How many times is Apple going to change the name and function of its online service, I wonder. Anyone remember iTools, which Apple debuted in January 2000? That was a free service, too. Then in summer 2002, Apple unveiled .Mac, which would replace iTools and institute a yearly subscription fee.

Continue reading →

I'm having freaky sense of déjà vu, today. Apple may be late to cloud computing, but what's that saying about better late than never? Late has worked for Apple before, and I expect it to do so again.

Apple was late to music, when it launched iTunes in January 2001. The Napster revolution was well underway and Windows PC manufacturers shipped CD-RW drives. Now look at Apple and music. Apple was late to smartphones and tablets. Now it has shipped 200 million iOS devices, 25 million of them iPads -- in just 14 months. The list is longer, but you get the point.

Continue reading →

Apple's newest operating system, Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" is coming next month, with Apple passing big savings to customers. But you'll need v10.6 "Snow Leopard" to get it. The announcement came earlier today during Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference.

Lion will be distributed as a software download through the Mac App Store, which is available as an add-on to Snow Leopard. Mac App Store is built into Lion. The in-app upgrade is a new distribution mechanism for Apple, and the company is passing on savings to its customers. Apple offered v10.6 Snow Leopard as a $29 upgrade from v10.5 Leopard on DVD. More typically Apple charged $129 for a single license and $199 for 5-license Family Pack.

Continue reading →

Apple CEO Steve Jobs today dispelled the rumors surrounding the company's new cloud service. For months, the rumor mill churned out thousands of webpages of guesses about iCloud. Would it be a cloud-based music locker, MobileMe revamp or something else?

Simply stated, iCloud is a synchronization service for pushing data out to all your connected devices. Jobs introduced the service during the Worldwide Developer Conference keynote this afternoon. For more than a half decade, I've said that synchronization is the killer application for the connected world.

Continue reading →

During today's Apple Worldwide Developer Conference, Scott Forstall, senior vice president of iOS software, announced that to date 200 million iOS devices have shipped. Apple also shipped 25 million iPads in the first 14 months. Forstall used the data points to prepare the audience for the introduction of iOS 5.

Forstall offered other important data points:

Continue reading →

Apple may be generating loads of rumors this morning, but Microsoft has got some noise to make, too, even if done accidentally -- or accidentally on purpose. Hours before Apple Steve Jobs takes the Worldwide Developer Conference stage (1 p.m. EDT) or Microsoft's E3 keynote (12:30 p.m), several Xbox announcements leaked: Kinect Fun Labs and some new games, including Halo 4.

I say accidentally on purpose, because Microsoft's leaks cut into Apple noise before it drowns out most other tech news today. Jobs' keynote will unveil iCloud, which has generated more rumors than, well, storm clouds drenching rain. The Apple fan club of bloggers and journalists are sure to drown out pretty much everything else. So, Microsoft's leak, whether or not intentional, is timely -- and it may lead more people to tune into the E3 keynote. Microsoft is streaming its keynote; Apple is not. LOL, you have to enter your birthdate to watch the Kinect keynote and other content.

Continue reading →

In this corner, measuring .34 inches thick and weighing in at 1.3 pounds, is the Korean Demon, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Its opponent, the svelte-weight champion of the world, the Pride of Cupertino, Apple iPad 2, measuring .34 inches thick and weighing 1.33 pounds.

A Worthy Opponent

Continue reading →

Enthusiasts are the best marketers. Repeat until memorized.

We live for enthusiasts here at Betanews, from bug-eyed junior high school students coding websites to grey-haired mainframe administrators turned Linux hacks or Windows Server admins. Enthusiasts are the lifeblood of many products or brands, but nowhere do they matter more than in tech. Last night, I was simply delighted to mingle with tech geeks at the Samsung Galaxy Tab Meetup in San Francisco.

Continue reading →

Amazon apparently is getting into the Groupon coupon-like business by aggregating deals from LivingSocial. But don't rush out to the AmazonLocal website, unless you live in Boise, Idaho. That appears to be the only city where there are local deals.

Tip of the hat goes to TheNextWeb for uncovering AmazonLocal and its apparently one-city offering. I've got a call in asking for more details and will update this story should Amazon respond.

Continue reading →

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 isn't the only new portable getting the early sales treatment -- and, hey, it runs another Google operating system. Gilt Groupe is offering the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook, for presale. I meant to write about the offer yesterday, but got sidetracked with other news. Gilt Group spam promotional email reminded me today.

Yesterday I received an unexpected email from "The Chrome Team" offering the presale, starting at Noon ET June 1, but leading to the Gilt Groupe site. Can you say phishing scam? So I suspected before confirming legitimacy.

Continue reading →