>No More Microsoft Stores, Thanks

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Agreeing with me is not a prerequisite for Technologizer contributors. (Actually, I always learn more when our other writers — and commenters — have a take that’s in conflict with mine.) I was happy to read Ed’s post on why he shares Steve Ballmer’s apparent belief that Microsoft should build many more Microsoft Stores. But even though Ed makes his case cogently, I’m still not sold on the argument that Microsoft should mount an Apple-like campaign to sell products directly to consumers through hundreds of retail outlets. Here’s why.

1. “Microsoft” is not a unifying concept. For one of the world’s largest companies, Apple makes shockingly few products — and they all work together, look alike, and appeal to a certain kind of person. They’re a matched set, and it makes sense for them all to be on display in one place. Microsoft, on the other hand, makes all kinds of stuff aimed at all kinds of people; there’s nothing tying together Xbox, a Microsoft mouse, and SQL Server. Yes, I know that Microsoft Stores focus on consumer products, but even then, “Microsoft” is a corporation, not a lifestyle or an aspiration or a rallying cry. (That helps to explain why Microsoft Stores look so much like Apple Stores that they’ve been roundly mocked for their copycatting.) When I first heard of

Microsoft Stores, I said that the notion of a Microsoft Store feels like that of a Procter and Gamble Store; I still feel that way.

2. Microsoft Stores can’t support Microsoft products like Apple Stores can support Apple products. It’s possible for an Apple “Genius” to know nearly everything there is to know about a Mac, an iPhone, or an iPad, in part because Apple is responsible for (as Steve Jobs likes to say) the whole widget. The world of Windows, however, involves a nearly infinite array of PCs from many, many manufacturers. No Microsoft expert can truly be an expert on all of them. And while Apple Geniuses who fail to solve problems on the spot can accept Apple products for warranty service — no matter where you bought them — a Microsoft Store can’t fix the Acer PC you bought at Best Buy or the HP one you bought at Office Depot.

3. Microsoft can’t tick off its partners. When Apple started opening its own storefronts in 2001, Apple products weren’t widely carried by big retailers-they were mostly stocked by mom and pop stores (some of whom were not pleased with Apple getting into the retail business). As Ed says, Microsoft products are readily available at major stores just about everywhere. I don’t think that Best Buy would be thrilled if Microsoft Stores started popping up across the nation. And I know it would be nonplussed if Microsoft took Ed’s suggestion and began offering exclusive deals through its stores that Best Buy couldn’t match. I don’t think Microsoft can afford to be as capricious about the feelings of major retailers as Apple was about independent Mac shops a decade ago.

4. There’s just too much stuff. Even a smallish Apple Store can stock every Apple computer, every iPhone, every iPod, and every iPad, plus every Apple accessory and a goodly selection of third-party products. A Microsoft Store is doomed to incompleteness: it can contain only a smattering of Windows computers, an incomplete selection of other Microsoft products, and a sampling of third-party offerings. I don’t even know whether the Microsoft Stores that already exist have every Windows Phone 7 handset on display.

5. It’s just not necessary. Apple began opening its own stores in part because it was hard to find Apple products for sale, and even harder to find salespeople who could answer fundamental questions such as “Why should I buy this $1000 Mac instead of a $500 Windows machine?” It isn’t difficult to find Microsoft and Microsoft-related products. And because they’re the default — at least when we’re talking computers — they require less explanation. I can’t imagine that anybody doesn’t buy a Microsoft product because there aren’t more Microsoft stores — but if every Apple Store on the planet were to mysteriously disappear tomorrow, Apple would be in deep trouble.

I should note that I’ve never been in an Microsoft Store: there aren’t any here in the Bay Area, and I haven’t encountered any in my travels. It’s possible that visiting one would leave me less skeptical about the whole idea. Then again, it might reinforce my gut feeling.

Ed, if you’re reading this — feel free to step in and tell me why I’m wrong…

>Will Sony Supply the iPhone 5 With an 8MP Camera?

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Will the iPhone 5 have an 8-megapixel camera? Reports say that Sony CEO Howard Stringer let the cat out of the bag during an interview with Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal.

“It always puzzles me,” Stringer said. “Why would I make Apple the best camera?”

Both the 5-megapixel camera on the iPhone 4 and the 3.2-megapixel device on the iPhone 3GS have been supplied by OmniVision. Electronista first revealed in February that Sony could replace OmniVision as the camera provider for Apple’s smartphone, creating a beefed-up 8-megapixel sensor for the device. Electronista said Sony would take over for OmniVision because the latter wouldn’t be able to produce the camera in time for the launch of the iPhone 5.

Stringer’s statements have given additional fuel to this report. He also reveled that 15 Sony factories in Japan, including a camera sensor plant, were damaged by the earthquake in the beginning of March, thus delaying part shipments.

According to another report, there could be some truth to these rumors. A report surfaced earlier this week that said the iPhone 5 won’t make its debut until October or later. The report, which originally appeared on Macotakara and was translated by AppleInsider, also said that Apple hasn’t even ordered components for the next-generation iPhone. So even if Sony is slated to provide the iPhone 5’s camera, those plans might not be set in stone.

Macotakara predicted an iPhone 5 launch in the first half of fiscal 2012, it isn’t likely that Apple would miss the opportunity for holiday season sales, and AppleInsider predicted an October or November launch.

The iPhone 5 rumors have been floating around for several months now. The most recent reports contend that the phone will have an edge-to-edge screen. Other rumors claim that the design of the back of the phone could be different, ditching glass for aluminum and moving the antenna from the external frame.

>Apple May Have Sold 500,000 IPad 2 Tablets on Debut Weekend, Analyst Says

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Apple Inc. may have sold as many as 500,000 iPad 2 computers after retail outlets ran out of the tablet-style device on its debut weekend, said Piper Jaffray Cos. analyst Gene Munster.
Stores run by Apple, Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. contacted by Munster’s team had sold out of the device, he said in a research note yesterday. Online orders via Apple’s website are taking up to a month for delivery, up from less than a week when sales began.
Early estimates suggest demand for iPads remains buoyant even as competitors such as Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. enter the tablet market. Apple sold more than 300,000 units of the first iPad in the 24 hours after its April debut.
“IPads are sold out across virtually all channels,” Munster said in the research note. “We were unable to find any availability.”
Munster said Apple will probably surpass his early prediction that 5.5 million iPads would be sold this quarter, which ends this month. Munster, based in Minneapolis, said that 70 percent of the customers surveyed by his team were first-time iPad buyers, signaling Apple is expanding its user base.
Apple may have sold three times as many iPad 2s in the debut as the first iPad, according to Trip Chowdhry, an analyst with Global Equities Research. All of the handful of Best Buy stores surveyed by Global Equities sold out of the iPad in four minutes, Chowdhry wrote.
Thinner, Lighter Model
The new model, which comes in white and black, is lighter, thinner, includes a more powerful processor and has front and rear cameras. It ranges in price from $499 for a base model to $829 for the top-of-the-line version.
Materials used in the iPad 2 cost about $326.60, according to research firm IHS ISuppli, which based its analysis on a version that has 32 gigabytes of memory and works with the mobile phone standard know as global system for mobile communications. That’s up from $320 for the earlier model.
Apple expanded the number of retail outlets where the device was available, including 236 retails stores in the U.S. and thousands of AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, Best Buy, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Target stores.
“Demand for the next-generation iPad has been amazing and we are working hard to get iPad 2 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible,” said Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Apple. The company has not issued a first-weekend sales figure for the iPad 2.
Apple similarly didn’t have enough of the iPhone 4 in the days after its June introduction.
102 Tablets In Works
Through December, Apple had sold 14.8 million iPads, generating $9.6 billion in sales, making it one of the fastest- selling consumer-electronic devices in history.
Rivals including Motorola Mobility, Samsung Electronics Co., Research In Motion Ltd. and Hewlett-Packard Co. are introducing tablet computers to compete with the iPad. Overall, there are 102 tablets from 64 makers either on sale or in development, according to consulting firm PRTM.
On March 11, hundreds of people lined up at the Fifth Avenue store in New York. Store workers handed out free hot chocolate and water to those waiting.
“I’m a student, and I hate carrying my laptop to school. It’s like five pounds and the iPad is a lot lighter,” said Jay Narang, 19, a sophomore at Baruch College. “I was going to get the first one, but I knew they were going to come out with one with cameras, so why not just wait?”
Francis Degode, 44, lives outside of Brussels and said he came to New York for the release because it would take too long to get one at home. Degode got in line at 6 a.m. in the rain on March 11 to get his first iPad.
“The iPad 2 is faster, and there are two cameras. It’s very useful,” Degode said. “It’s the gadget of the year.”

>Why You Should Not Buy An iPad 2: iOS(Gallery Foto)

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Like many tech enthusiasts, I followed last week’s Apple event closely. Steve Jobs unexpectedly took the stage, but the company announced an expected product: the iPad 2. Although not nearly as revolutionary as the original, the second generation model brings refined hardware improvements. Extras such as cameras are also a great addition, however there is one major flaw: iOS.
Do Hardware Specs Matter?
This questions comes up quite often and the answer is not simple. Apple’s original iPad was a game changer since there was nothing else like it on the market. Tablet PCs had been around for ages, but they still ran a desktop operating system. While I adore Windows 7 and use it primarily for all my work, it is far from being ideal for tablets. With the introduction of iOS, hardware specs for tablets became more along the lines of a smart phone rather than a laptop computer.
Although 2010 was definitely the year of the iPad, 2011 has an entirely new landscape. Competition such as the BlackBerry PlayBook, HP TouchPad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10, and LG G-Slate each offer a very similar set of features. There are some benefits and drawbacks to each which we highlighted in our series of infographics, but the specifications are roughly the same. They are so close in some regards that it truly does not make a difference to consumers.
Software Matters Too

While hardware specifications were all the rage for ages, easy to use and intuitive software has pushed for consumer friendly devices. Apple made a great decision when they chose to run iOS on the iPad instead of Mac OS X last year. The interface was efficient, familiar, and simple. The iPhone was already a hit and the iPad was a perfectly complement to the family.
Although I do not own an iPad, I spent some time using and reviewing it last year. There were many missing features at the time, however iOS ran incredibly smoothly. Fast forward a year later, not much has changed aside from the addition of multitasking. The new iPad 2 makes things faster with a dual-core processor, but the operating system is nearly identical.
This creates a major issue for Apple as we head into the flooded market of tablets in 2011. The current iOS for the iPad is essentially an enlarged version of the operating system for the iPhone and iPod touch. The platform was a great start, but the original design does not take advantage of the tablet form factor. Although I was hoping for a new refreshing interface, Apple did not announce a major software revamp for the iPad 2 aside from a few minor enhancements.
The Competition Has Caught Up

There are many amazing iPad apps that take advantage of 9.7 inch screen, but the operating system does not go far enough. Google, HP, and RIM have started from the ground up with new tablet operating systems that take the slate form factor into consideration from the OS level. BlackBerry Tablet OS, webOS 3, and Android 3.0 Honeycomb each offer many user interface improvements which are more innovative and intuitive than iOS.
For instance, HP’s latest webOS 3 lets users stack sets of applications together for organized multitasking. Google’s Android 3.0 Honeycomb has an impressive notifications panel for keeping up to date with the latest information without letting pop ups disrupt work flow. It is not just about multitasking and notifications either, these new breed of tablets offer creative home screens with widgets and improved navigation for getting things done fast.
It’s Also About The Apps

In addition to beyond impressive sales, Apple’s App Store count is far ahead of competition. Steve Jobs proudly noted that there are over 65,000 iPad optimized apps while less than 100 are available Android tablets. It is also important not to forget that the quality of apps also matter. Apple’s out of the box apps are amazing and many third-party apps are even better.
However, you will probably change your mind once you try Android 3.0 Honeycomb. The default bundled apps truly highlight the true potential for Google’s new operating system. Everything from the Browser, Calendar, Chat, Contacts, Email, Maps, and Music apps are incredibly innovative. They look gorgeous, have more features, and actually very easy to use. This is a small indicator of the likely nature of upcoming third-party Android tablet apps.
Keep in mind that the Motorola Xoom is the only Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet on the market so far and it is than a month old. Apple iOS for the iPad is about a year a more mature than all the others. Competitors, including Google, are still far behind Apple when it comes to tablet sales, but they are move up the ladder faster with better technology.
To Buy Or Not To Buy
If you are ready for a tablet, you may want to think a moment before dropping cash for the iPad 2. It is a great product, but it is only a slight advancement to the previous iteration. Apple has yet to announce or make any mention of iOS 5. It is unclear what the next generation operating system will offer or if every feature would even carry over to the iPad 2. Other tablets already have a head start with features such as 4G connectivity, integrated mobile hotspots, flash player, video chat over a cellular network, and expandable storage. While the iPad 2 will by no means disappoint if you know what you are getting, consider the available options if you are open to unique alternatives.

>9,500 unaccounted for in Japanese port city: report

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More than 9,500 people are unaccounted for in Minamisanriku, a town of some 17,000 people, Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported Saturday.
CTV’s Tom Walters said the town is located on Japan’s northeast Pacific coast.
“All eyes here are on reports from Miyagi Prefecture and 9,500 people missing there,” Walters told CTV News Channel. “This of course is the region that was so devastated by the tsunami wave in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake.”
No other details were available.
Elsewhere in Japan thousands remained missing and millions without power on Saturday in the aftermath of Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.
An estimated 5.5 million households were still without electricity. More than 1 million homes had had their water supply cut off.
The death toll from Friday’s combined disasters has reached 686 so far, but it is feared that the number of dead could climb much higher.
Police said they found 200 to 300 bodies washed up on beaches, but authorities are only now getting a look at the extent of the devastation in Sendai and along the coast.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said late Saturday evening, local time, that more than 3,000 people had been rescued.
“We will do our very best to rescue all survivors,” Kan said to reporters upon touring the devastated area.
“We’d first like to focus on saving lives and secondly the comfort of the evacuees,” Kan said. “There will be many resources that will be needed for this evacuation process.”
Rescue workers dug through the rubble Saturday while military helicopters plucked survivors, stranded by floodwaters, from rooftops.
Fires continued to burn in residential areas as further earthquakes and aftershocks, some registering upwards of magnitude six, continued to rattle the area.
Some 3,400 buildings have been damaged or destroyed and 200 fires have been reported in the stricken area. Officials said 181 welfare facilities, including nursing homes, have been damaged.
On Saturday, an estimated 6.4-magnitude quake hit near the east coast of Honshu at about 10:15 p.m. local time, just 82 kilometers from Fukushima, home of the already damaged nuclear reactor that stoked fears of a meltdown. Another quake on Saturday registered 6.1.
“We are still getting a lot of aftershocks,” one resident told Associated Press, en route to an evacuation center. “It’s very frightening. People are panicking, shivering in the cold.”
Phone reception was cut in stricken areas while hundreds of people lined up outside the few still-operating supermarkets for basic necessities. The gas stations on streets not covered with water were packed with people waiting to fill their cars.
As many as 300,000 people have been displaced by the disaster, many from the area surrounding Fukushima.
Friday’s 8.9 magnitude quake — the worst in modern Japanese history — and the resulting tsunami laid waste to whole sections of northern Japan.
In the immediate wake of the disaster rail operators lost contact with four trains running on coastal lines and still had not found them by Saturday afternoon local time according to Kyodo News agency. The East Japan Railway Co. said it did not know how many people were aboard.
The fate of the trains remains unclear though there are reports of passengers and crew members being rescued.
Bullet train services in the area remained suspended Saturday, nine expressways were closed and as many as 464 flights had been cancelled.
Most buildings out of range of the tsunami appeared to have survived the quake without much damage, though some older wooden structures were toppled. Paved roads had buckled in some places.
Japan has sent some 50,000 soldiers into the area to assist with rescue effort and recalled the search and rescue workers it sent to New Zealand in the wake of that country’s recent quake. The U.S. on Saturday said eight warships bearing relief supplies are near or headed to Japan, while additional rescue teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and the U.S. are on their way, part of an effort coordinated by the United Nations.
Sniffer dogs, personnel and other help is also reportedly on its way from Singapore, Switzerland and the U.K.

>Twitter to Devs: No New Third-Party Apps

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Will we see the death of Twitter clients like TweetDeck or Echofon soon? Twitter on Friday issued a clear statement to developers that placed a moratorium on third-party apps.
Apps like Foursquare or Instagram are free to integrate Twitter into their services. Twitter is also fine with companies like Klout creating analytics tools. But Twitter’s director of platform Ryan Sarver made the company’s stance on apps that show and send tweets clear in a note sent to developers.
“Developers ask us if they should build client apps that mimic or reproduce the mainstream Twitter consumer client experience,” he said. “The answer is no.”
Sarver said 90 percent of tweeters use the company’s official apps. Which is why, for example Twitter acquired iPhone client Tweetie and started making its own “official” apps last spring. Twitter wants to continue to be the primary provider of access to the service, whether it’s on the desktop, a phone, a tablet, or any other device, Sarver said. The goal in this policy is to give users a seamless experience.
“We need to ensure that tweets and tweet actions, are rendered in a consistent way so that people have the same experience with tweets no matter what they are,” Sarver continued. “For example, some developers display ‘comment,’ ‘like,’ or other terms with tweets instead of ‘follow, favorite, rewet, reply,’ – thus changing the core functions of a tweet.”
Accordingly, Twitter has updated its terms of service. The announcement leaves no doubt that existing third-party clients like Twitterific or UberSocial must change their apps to reflect the updated policy or they’ll get API access yanked.

>Apple Selling iPad 2 Online Early Fri. Morning

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Taking a page from Verizon’s book, Apple announced Thursday that the iPad 2 will be available online starting at 4am Eastern time Friday.

Unlike the first iPad, Apple did not offer a pre-sale for the iPad 2. The next-generation tablet will be available in Apple Stores, as well as Best Buy, Target, Walmart, and AT&T and Verizon Wireless stores at 5pm local time, but those who are truly eager for the iPad 2 can get up at 4am (or 1am on the West Coast) to place their order.
Apple said that customers who purchase the tablet in-store will get a free personal setup service, which will assist with e-mail and apps.
The Wi-Fi version of the iPad 2 will sell for $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 32GB model, $699 for the 64GB model. The iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for $629 for the 16GB model, $729 for the 32GB model and $829 for the 64GB model. It will come in white or black, and Apple will sell versions that run on the Verizon or AT&T networks.
In the App Store, Apple will add iMovie and GarageBand for iPad for $4.99 each. The new iPad 2 Smart Cover will also go on sale Friday in a variety of polyurethane colors for $39 or leather for $69.
On March 25, the iPad 2 will hit Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
When Verizon released its version of the Apple iPhone, the carrier held a pre-sale for existing customers that started at 3am Eastern time. Verizon later said said the pre-sale was its “most successful first day sales in the history of the company.”

>JP Morgan: Apple’s iPad 2 could cause ‘bubble burst’ for rival tablets

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According to one Wall Street analyst, Apple’s soon-to-be-released iPad 2 could burst a bubble for competitors who are hoping to capitalize on the growing tablet market but remain unable to catch up.

Analyst Mark Moskowitz of J.P. Morgan Research warned investors early Wednesday that build plans for tablet shipments from Apple’s rivals may be too high, presenting “increasing risk of a bubble burst” in the second half of 2011.

“In our view, the technical and form factor improvements of the iPad 2 stand to make it tougher for the first generation of competitive offerings to play catch-up, meaning actual shipments could fall well short of plan,” Moskowitz wrote.

Using discounted build plan estimates to project tablet shipments for the year, the analyst claims that tablet makers will build approximately 65.1 million tablets in 2011. When compared against J.P. Morgan’s estimates of 47.9 million tablets sold this year, companies could find themselves with as much as 51 percent oversupply in a worst case scenario.

Apple is expected to maintain the lion’s share of the tablet market. Moskowitz estimates that Apple could see nearly 100 percent sales growth year over year, resulting in more than 29 million iPads sold worldwide in 2011.

According to Moskowitz, component suppliers could stand the most to lose from a bubble burst. “Based on our research inputs, tablet makers eager to emulate Apple’s meteoric start are trying to secure components with inflated build plans,” Moskowitz noted. “Of note, glass displays, processors, and, to a lesser extent, NAND Flash are the components that could be most at risk.”

Moskowitz has a “favorable view of Apple’s products and operating model,” but acknowledges that “Apple is not for everyone.” However, holdouts hoping for an alternative to Apple’s iPad may be “underwhelmed” by rival offerings.

“Aside from Motorola’s Xoom and HP’s TouchPad (which does not have a price tag yet), the competitive offerings appear to be light on attraction, in our view,” said Moskowitz.

J.P. Morgan maintains an Overweight rating on Apple with a price target of $450.

Initial Wall Street response to the unveiling of the iPad 2 last week has been favorable. In general, analysts were impressed by what were seen as “evolutionary” upgrades to the device and the thinner and lighter form factor. At the time, Moskowitz admitted that his firm’s forecast of Apple holding 68 percent market share in 2011 “may be conservative” in light of the iPad 2.

>Apple iPad 2 on Sale this March 11 on Verizon

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Apple iPad 2 is being prepped up for its March 11 release date. Apple Stores will surely have a very long line again for its iPad 2 Sale. Its popularity has just gone high when it was unveiled last Wednesday with CEO Steve Jobs. 

The Apple iPad 2 was featured as thinner, Lighter and faster. Sources are also saying that the Apple iPad 2 will be made available on Verizon Wireless with a price tag of $ 499 for 16 gig, $599 for the 32gig, and $699 for the 64gig (All Wifi Only Units).

Verizon Wireless has already confirmed that they will be offering the Apple iPad 2 this upcoming March 11. AT&T and Verizon has not yet confirmed that the 3G version will be available on this date. So those who want the Apple iPad 2 3G will have to wait. Although, AT&T also had not confirmed that they will be releasing the Apple iPad 2 on March 11. Its your choice on which provider you will be sticking to.

The Apple iPad 2 has a similar appearance to its predecessor but comes with its new features. A front and rear camera, a 1.3lbs weight and a new shell for the Apple iPad 2. Having 33% thinner aluminum shell with a flat back and beveled corners wrapping around the 9.7-in. screen. Its Display has not changed at all, still has a 1024 by 768 pixels, with 132 pixels per inch. Get yourself ready for the Apple iPad 2 Sale this March 11!.