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Seton Hill University plans to give every first year undergraduate student a 13" MacBook and an iPad. Just last month, George Fox University in Oregon also announced that it plans to give its new students a choice between a MacBook or an iPad. The question, though, is if programs like this aren't a bit premature, given that nobody has actually used the device yet and that we don't really know how well the iPad will work for textbooks and other school-related activities. Sponsor Can the iPad Succeed Where the Kindle Failed? So far, Amazon's Kindle and other e-book readers haven't made a major dent in the textbook market and the early experiments with e-textbooks on the Kindle have been met with little success . At the same time, though, textbook publishers (who are always looking for ways to cut down on the used book market) will surely embrace the iPad, either by publishing books through their own apps and bookstores, or by releasing books through Apple's, Amazon's or B&N's e-book stores. Interactive Textbooks Given the amount of interactivity that's possible with books on the iPad, we can only hope that publishers will make good use of the device's capabilities. While just publishing a static book on the iPad might be good enough for some subjects, Penguin's recent demonstration of interactive books clearly shows the potential of interactive books on the iPad. At the same time, though, publishing textbooks is already an expensive business, so it remains to be seen how many interactive textbooks we will actually see. (via: TUAW ) Discuss
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The iPad in Education: Colleges Give iPads to All Incoming Students
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A new report from mobile analytics firm Flurry reveals some interesting numbers about Google's first attempt to sell its own custom branded Android device, an HTC-built phone called the Nexus One. It's a flop. After 74 days, the same amount of time it took the original iPhone to sell its first million units, the Nexus One sold only 135,000. But before you read too much into these numbers, thinking that it has any meaning with regard to the Android ecosystem as a whole, think again. Android market share is growing fast - it more than doubled from September to December of last year, for example. Oh, and the Droid, Android's fastest-selling phone to date ? It actually beat the iPhone by day 74, Flurry says. All this new data shows is that Google is no Apple when it comes to marketing their own device. Sponsor iPhone Killer? Hardly In January of this year, Google hosted a press event to showcase their new Nexus One phone, a HTC device sold exclusively by Google on its own website in both a carrier-specific and unlocked version. When asked if the new phone was meant to be an iPhone killer, Google's Director of Mobile Platforms Andy Rubin simply replied that "choice is a good thing." Prior to its launch, many technology insiders suspected (or rather, hoped) that the new "Google phone" would be exactly that - a killer , the first real rival to challenge Apple's dominance in the smartphone market. With features like support for multitasking, Google's own GPS navigation application, Google Voice (the VoIP app Apple banned from iTunes), a 3D photo gallery and, of course, heavy integration of Google services, the Nexus One had a feature lineup that Apple's iPhone couldn't beat. Why Did the N1 Flop? So what happened? Why don't the sales numbers match up with the excitement surrounding the device? The problem likely has to do with the fact that the phone is sold online only. You can't march into a store and purchase a Nexus One and, apparently, that's how most customers want to shop. Another problem is that the U.S. carrier for the N1 is T-Mobile, a much smaller network than either AT&T (iPhone) or Verizon (the Droid). Also, the N1 isn't available worldwide like the iPhone is. However, don't count the N1 out just yet. According to Google's website , it will arrive on Vodafone in Europe by Spring 2010 and, in the U.S., Verizon will get a version of the device at the same time. Given how well the Droid has done for Verizon, the Nexus One may have a shot at boosting its sales soon. Meanwhile, Android, as a platform, is doing quite well even if the Nexus One isn't. The Droid recently became the fastest-selling Android phone to date, beating the sales of the myTouch 3G by more than four times, the Android market share has been growing by leaps and bounds, Android's application store is now the second largest , second only to Apple's iTunes and finally, some companies found their Android website visitors increasing by as much as 350% over the past year. In the end, the Nexus One may not have succeeded the way Google had hoped, but clearly, Android itself has. Discuss
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Nexus One Flopped, but Android Didn't
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Portland has a fast emerging tech culture that is seeing a number of new technology startups. Today, $225,000 is on the table for one of the year's biggest events: The Oregon Entrepreneur Network's annual Angel Oregon . One of the major contenders is ActiveTrak, which tracks lost or stolen devices. The company is launching a SaaS service in the next three months for the enterprise. Sponsor You may know the company for its consumer service: GadgetTrak . The software is installed on laptops or mobile devices. It uses WiFi to track the device. For mobile devices, the service may use GPS. If that's not available, it will triangulate using WiFi hotspots or cell towers. The software will also take a picture of the person who stole it. The software has been used to track stolen computers that has helped break up criminal rings. Recently, Portland schools had a number of laptops stolen that had the software installed.The software tracked the devices, leading to arrests and recovery of the laptops. CEO Ken Westin said the enterprise service will be available as SaaS or on-premise offering. One of its pilot accounts is with a major chemical company. People will install the software on the device, which syncs with the application in the cloud. Mobile devices will allow for over the air updates such as with iPhone or Android applications. Security is obviously a priority. ActiveTrak will store its databases on dedicated servers. The application layer will reside in the cloud. The on-premise service will reside entirely As demand increases, it will increase or decrease its number of application servers as demand peaks and ebbs. Westin said they are trying to avoid issues with propagating data across a number of servers. Data, in Westin's view, is easier to secure in one place. Discuss
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ActiveTrak: A Hybrid Service To Track Stolen or Lost Laptops
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When consumers rush out to purchase Apple's new handheld device, the slate-like computer called the iPad , they'll have several options to choose from. In addition to multiple storage capacities, iPad buyers will have to make an even more critical decision: Wi-Fi or 3G ? Although Wi-Fi hotspots are in many places these days, from airports to coffee shops and sometimes even blanketing a city's downtown, anyone with an iPod Touch will tell you that they're far from being everywhere. That problem certainly limits some of the functionality of the iPad apps, especially those relying on real-time updates for breaking news, data downloads or other Internet-only content. Considering that the contract-free iPad 3G plan starts at $15 per month, one would think that, given these potential issues, the 3G version would be the top choice among consumers. However, AT&T's CEO thinks otherwise. He predicts the iPad will primarily be a Wi-Fi only device. Is he right? Sponsor Too Many Subscriptions According to a Reuters report , AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson says he doesn't expect the iPad's launch to lead to very many new AT&T service subscriptions. "My expectation is that there's not going to be a lot of people out there looking for another subscription," he was quoted as saying. He may be right. As consumers, we're starting to hit a saturation point with how many times we have to pay - again and again - for access to the same Internet. We have our broadband bill for at home, a mobile broadband bill for our laptop's "air card" and a third bill for our phone's data plan. Layer on top of that the numerous subscription services for Internet-accessible content, like Xbox LIVE, Netflix (via their "Watch Instantly" service) and premium music streaming sites like Pandora, Spotify or Last.fm, and it's clear that we've become overloaded. Will anyone out there be able to afford yet another wireless data plan? Apparently, AT&T isn't counting on it. Will You be Missing Out? If you plan to use the iPad mainly as an eBook reader and portable media device for streaming iTunes-purchased content, then you won't miss out too much when you go offline, which - let's face it - when you leave the house, that will be most of the time. The majority of iPhone games, all of which will work on the iPad out-of-the-box, won't be affected either. But what about when you want to read the newspaper or a magazine via the iPad? Without an Internet connection to download the latest, you'll be stuck with yesterday's news or last month's edition of Wired . And if you wanted to quickly share something you read on Facebook or Twitter, you would be out of luck, here, too. However, many people may be willing to live with these limitations. Just as we've learned to sync our iPods and iPhones before we leave the house, we may soon need to remember to update our online newspaper and magazine apps, too. For this minor inconvenience, there's a major payoff: the monthly savings, of course, but also hundreds of dollars off the retail price of the iPad. In any event, we wonder if AT&T's CEO has any insight into this situation or if he will be surprised by how popular the 3G iPad ends up being. Do you agree with his prediction? Lets find out! Take our poll (linked below) to tell us what iPad you'll buy. (If you're not buying an iPad, then just skip it!) NY Times readers, click here to access the poll . Discuss
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iPad Owners to Go Wi-Fi Only? AT&T CEO Thinks So (POLL)
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