Cynopsis Digital

Cynopsis Digital 01/28/10

wayne@cynopsis.com — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:00:00 EST

Apple finally unveiled the iPad, an intuitive tablet device for browsing the web, watching TV shows and movies, reading e-books and periodicals, sending e-mails and accessing the 140k or so apps now available on the App store. Of course, it also ships with a dozen apps developed for the device and Apple is hoping developers will immediately get busy creating unique apps optimized for the larger screen iPad. It sports a beautiful 9.7-inch, 1,000 sensor multi-touch display that looks much like the iPhone or iPod Touch screen, is super thin (.5 inches) and weighs just a pound and a half. It can playback 720p HD video, although video output to external sources is limited to 480p. The user interface for watching videos looks very cool, as does the "iBooks" application. The UI allows you to flip pages like a real book, or tap the screen to rotate into a virtual book store that presents a visual representation of your local Barnes and Noble. Now for the best part: despite a rumored $900 price tag, Apple is managing to deliver the entry level 16 GB WiFi-only model for just $499, which begins shipping within 60 days. iPad users who want 3G access from AT&T must wait an additional month and pay from $629. 3G plans will run $15/month for up to 250MB of data, or unlimited data for $29.99/month.

http://enews.cynopsis.com/html.asp?XZY2574845UTF58

Cynopsis Digital 1/27/10

wayne@cynopsis.com — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:00:00 EST

Apple is in negotiations with US television networks to cut the prices of TV shows offered on the iTunes store in half as it moves to introduce its tablet computer, per the FT. Offering TV episodes a la carte has never generated much income for Apple (or generated much interest in the Apple TV device for that matter,) but lower prices could help spur demand. The news indicates that Apple's proposed $30/month digital subscription service may be attracting few takers on the programming front.

http://enews.cynopsis.com/html.asp?XZY2569367UTF58

Cynopsis Digital 1/26/10

wayne@cynopsis.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 04:00:00 EST

Two days before it holds a press conference presumably to announce its fabled tablet computer, Apple reported record Q1 revenues and profits thanks to huge upticks in sales of Macs and iPhones. Apple sold 3.36 million Mac computers (up 33% y/y), 8.7 million iPhones (up 100%,) while iPod sales fell by 8% to 21 million units. The company posted net income of $3.38 billion or $3.67/share, up nearly 50% from the $2.26 billion it earned a year earlier. (The stellar numbers were due it part to an accounting change, but by all accounts Apple beat analysts' estimates.) Apple COO Tim Cook refused to comment on the upcoming product announcement or rumors that Apple might finally offer the iPhone through additional carriers in the U.S.

http://enews.cynopsis.com/html.asp?XZY2563868UTF58

Cynopsis Digital 1/25/10

wayne@cynopsis.com — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:00:00 EST

The Chinese government responded sharply to Hillary Clinton's call for an open internet over the weekend, accusing the U.S. of "information imperialism" and utilizing calls for internet freedom as an excuse to make "groundless accusations" against China. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhouxu said China had 384 million internet users, 3.68 million websites and 180 million blogs and a constitution that guarantees its citizens freedom of speech. Meanwhile Communist Party newspaper The People's Daily published an editorial accusing Ms. Clinton of hypocrisy, noting Patriot Act measures to censor speech and clamp down on the flow of illegal information.

http://enews.cynopsis.com/html.asp?XZY2558642UTF58

Cynopsis Digital 1/22/10

wayne@cynopsis.com — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 03:51:55 EST

A little more than a week after Google declared war on Chinese censorship policies, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled a new policy that encourages foreign governments to act unilaterally to insure that citizens around the world have open access to the internet. Ms. Clinton promised that the U.S. would lead an international effort to combat censorship and cyberattacks, and urged American companies to rethink whether or not to do business with countries that limit free access to the net. She also said the State Department was reaching out to the private sector to help develop new technologies to allow citizens in other countries to circumvent politically motivated censorship by their governments.

http://enews.cynopsis.com/html.asp?XZY2551717UTF58