Monthly Archives: January 2010

So, the iPad became reality today and turned out to be a big iPod Touch. There will be 3G/Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi only models available from $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only to $829 for the 64GB 3G/Wi-Fi model. There is no carrier exclusivity, but there will be data bundles available from the likes of AT&T at launch. The Wi-Fi only model will arrive in March and the dual model in April.

It will be able to run all iPhone apps and will come with a new software title called iBook (just to confude everyone) which offers Kindle style eBook downloading at similar prices. Data entry will be via an onscreen QWERTY keyboard (shame) and that’s about it. After all of the hype it is a big iPod Touch with eBooks.

I have little doubt that it will be wonderful to use and will take eBook reading to a much bigger audience than before, but stuck between an iPhone and an iMac it may struggle to find the customary number of consumers Apple has been used to lately. On a personal note, besides offering me a better video, eBook and gaming experience I can see little here that my iPhone cannot already do in a form factor which is much more practical and portable.

This could change the eBook industry, but it won’t change much else and I am surprised at the lack of forward movement shown by the iPad. How about you?

UPDATE: I am having second thoughts about the iPad. Something is tingling in the back of my head which is telling me that it is taking all of the goodness from the iPhone and bringing it to life in a factor that makes everything you do with the iPhone better than before. Sharing documents, viewing photos, playing games, watching movies and many other functions could be made immeasurably better with a few extra inches. There is something here which is not obvious at first glance, but it is something that may well have millions pulling out their credit cards after the first play.

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The 2010 Independent Games Festival Mobile has named the finalists for its third annual competition with a huge number of titles running on the iPhone / iPod Touch platform. In fact, it is almost exclusively ‘i’ titles which is really saying something. Not sure what though…

From Gamasutra- “This year’s IGF Mobile marks a record number of entries with 170 titles submitted for the competition, up nearly 65 percent from last year’s total, which itself was double over the previous year. The finalists for IGF Mobile will compete for $5,000 in prizes, including specialized awards for art, design, audio, technical prowess, and iPhone game creation, as well as the IGF Mobile Best Game award.

Some of the notable titles nominated for this year’s IGF Mobile Awards include iPhone games such as double nominee, Tiger Style’s Spider: The Secret Of Bryce Manor, downloadable games for Nintendo’s DSi including Powerhead Games’ Glow Artisan, and promising titles from a host of worldwide indie developers, from England’s Studio FungFung through Finland’s Secret Exit and beyond.

This year, overall winners in each category will be announced on Feb. 8, 2010, with the category winners receiving $500 in prizes, a place as an overall IGF Mobile Best Game finalist, and the opportunity to showcase their mobile game at the IGF Pavilion during Game Developers Conference 2010 in San Francisco this March.”