This morning just before I set off for work, I thought that I would just check to see if the status on my iPad order had changed as the tracking information said delivery would be on 27/05/2010 but that it was subject to change. Low-and-behold the status had updated to say that it had been checked-in at my local depot and that it was out for delivery.
This came as a surprise as the Apple iPad wasn’t due to launch until tomorrow (28/05/2010). Not that I was complaining of course.
I looked on Twitter and there were posts of people getting their iPads… I had to sit and wait.. and wait.. as more and more people got their hands on this much talked about device from Apple.
Early afternoon and there was a knock on my door from a friendly UPS man with my iPad. Yeah.
The box was very light.
I opened it to find a find a sexy new iPad inside. After connecting it to iTunes as requested to activate the device I was ready to try out some of the apps that I had already downloaded ready.
The first thing that you notice is the amazing screen. You have to see it to appreciate how awesome it really is.
I’ve been having a good play with the device and have to say that I am VERY happy with my decision to ditch my netbook in favour of it.
I think that I have gotten used to it’s size already as going to use my iPhone afterwards is a really weird experience, as for the first time the iPhone just feels so oddly small!
The keyboard on the iPad is far better than I was expecting, in-fact this post was written entirely from the iPad without much issue at all, with some pretty quick typing speeds..
I can’t believe that people are queuing outside shops this evening to get their hands on one. I’m so glad that I pre-ordered.
After 4 1/2 years of use sat under my TV as the media hub for my living room, it was time to say good bye.
I bought the Mac Mini in March 2005 not long after the ground breaking piece of hardware from Apple was announced. This was my first venture into being a Mac owner, and my very first Apple product.
Equipped with an Apple wireless Keyboard and mouse, the Mac Mini was perfect for watching movies, playing music via iTunes and surfing the Internet on a large LCD TV connected to a surround sound system.
Having found the joys of using a Mac so pleasurable, it then led me on to purchase numerous iPods over the years and eventually to the iMac that I have today.
Sadly the original G4 Mac Mini was starting to show its age, and creak under the demands of today’s software. It just was not up to the job of playing HD content, as it would stutter it’s way through films.
Also as more and more software was being developed primiraly for Intel based Mac’s my G4 Mac Mini was starting to get left in the dark. And with Snow Leopard just launched last week, the Mac Mini’s days are well and truly numbered.
Luckily the Mac Mini has found himself a new owner and a new home.
OK – I really could not resist temptation any longer and picked myself up an Apple iPhone yesterday!
For those of you in the UK, you’ll probably be aware that o2, who exclusively have the iPhone, slashed £100 off the price of the 8GB iPhone to £169 as it would appear that the handset is going ‘end of line’.
I have been toying with the idea of just getting an iPod Touch since that first appeared, but now that the 8GB iPhone is cheaper than an iPod Touch, I just had to do it..
Of course I didn’t want to sign up to an expensive o2 tarrif for 18 months, so promplty Jailboke the handset within minutes of getting it home..
I’ll keep you posted about my experiences with the handset and how, it compares to the market leaders Nokia and their Nseries handsets.
The monster that is Mobile World Congress has come and gone.. and I for one was lucky enough to be able to attend.
So what did people make of the announcements by Nokia?
The N96 - lovely as it is, is really just a refined N95 with some extra bells and whistles.. mainly DVB-H which isn’t even available in most countries yet. I understand that when you have a pretty good product in the N95 – you don’t need to re-invent the wheel, just make it better and I think that they (hopefully) have done that.
Again the same can be said for the N78 – which is the N73 replacement.. Again – its taken the best of its sibling and enhanced on it..
Overall have we heard anything groundbreaking? Well actually I think not.. Nokia Maps – lovely as it is.. its a Beta, again its just an update (ok a major improvement on the original) but not really anything new.
So what happened to Touch? This is the one thing that I was really hoping to see. Sadly it was a no-show (in handset terms at least).
As much as I like the look of the new handsets and the improvements to the software – I did come a way a little underwhelmed.. Thankfully the whole experience of being at WMC and having access to the Nokia Product Managers while there more than made up for it.
Being an Apple fan – we love the big bang announcements and the Steve Jobs Key Note – you really do get that wow factor. I know that nobody can match Apple for this. The problem is that they raise the bar and I just expect others to follow..
That being said – I really cannot wait to get my hands on the N96 when it comes out – it rocks!
[Note: I've been a little slow on the blogging front recently, this was drafted shortly after my trip to WMC, I thought I just as well post it, even if it is a bit late in the day..]
Day 2 kicked off bright and early with breakfast at 7.30, with an 8.00am coach pickup to take us back into the City. Traffic was very heavy, and it took us longer than expected to get to WMC.
On arrival we had to go pick up our Nokia Exhibition Passes. As you can imagine there were a few other people trying to do the same.
When we finally get our passes we made our way over to the Nokia Hospitality Suite (our base during our time at WMC) to watch a live webcast of the Keynote Speech.
I am now back in the UK again after spending a few days at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Unfortunately due to some very ropey WiFi at both the event and the hotel, I wasn’t able to bring you guys live coverage as I’d initially hoped. I have quite a bit of work to catch up on (sorting photos & videos etc) so all being well, I’ll have more detailed coverage in the next day or so. For the time here’s a bit about my trip to Barcelona.
Well I have just finished packing my bags ready for my flight to Barcelona tomorrow for the Mobile World Congress. Here are some of the goodies that I’ll be bringing with me.
I am really excited to say that iGadget Life will be flying out to be at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week.
For those of you who don’t know the Mobile World Congress (formerly 3GSM) is the worlds largest mobile exhibition which runs from the 11th-14th February in Barcelona, Spain.
The Mobile World Congress features the very latest in technology, services, and developments, bringing to life the promise of mobile broadband for all and defining the industry’s path to continued growth. The Congress brings together the eminent leaders and personalities from mobile operators and equipment vendors, as well as those from the Internet and the world of entertainment.
Hopefully I’ll be able to post live from the floor of this amazing mobile event and bring you details of all the latest announcements and mobile news.
For those of you who Jaiku, I have set-up a MWC Group (see right panel for live feed) for anybody who wants to join in the conversation.
If you are going to be at MWC, drop me a line to let me know..
Watch this space for more details, and live coverage from 11th Feb of the world’s largest phone show!
I’d like to thank the guys from WOMWorld for making this trip possible.
Since the launch of the N95 8GB, it would seem that people are still trying to figure out if it is worth getting over it’s elder brother (the original silver N95) as I was pleased to see today that my recent N95 / N95 8GB Video Comparison has just hit over 1/4 million views on YouTube and is the 9th most popular video of all time in the Science & Technology section!
