Apple iPad built for just £146

iSuppli has claimed that the manufacturing cost of Apple’s iPad is $229.35 (just over £146 at current exchange rates).

iSuppli notes that the iPad – set to retail in the US for $499 – costs the company over half of that amount to produce, based on what it calls a “virtual teardown” of the device, which is not yet available to consumers.

Apple’s iPad will go on sale in the US early next month, with the UK set to see the device a little later in the early spring.

The $499 iPad is Apple’s lowest-cost model, with 16 gigabytes of flash memory.

The device’s total materials are estimated to cost $219.35, with a $10 manufacturing cost added on by iSuppli’s analysts. The iPad’s 9.7-inch touchscreen display is estimated to cost of $80.

The top of the range iPad will cost around $335 to make and the mid-range iPad will cost in the region of $287, says iSuppli.

Apple is expected to sell anything between 2 million and 5 million iPads in the first year on the shelf as it battles with mainstream laptops and netbooks.

Bill Gates not a fan of the Apple iPad…

Steve Jobs’ arch-nemesis Bill Gates has criticised the new Apple iPad, claiming that laptops will still be the mainstream choice for digital touch and reading.

Gates joins the growing army of iPad critics, with many consumers disappointed at the relatively low-spec and limited connectivity available on Apple’s new tablet PC device.

This, combined with the clear fact that Apple was never going to deliver a new computer that would satisfy its fans who were hyped on the pre-release rumour and speculation, has led to a somewhat muted response to the iPad by many.

Jobs’ longtime rival, Bill Gates said of the new iPad: “You know, I’m a big believer in touch and digital reading, but I still think that some mixture of voice, the pen and a real keyboard – in other words a netbook – will be the mainstream on that.

“So, it’s not like I sit there and feel the same way I did with iPhone where I say, ‘Oh my God, Microsoft didn’t aim high enough.’ It’s a nice reader, but there’s nothing on the iPad I look at and say, ‘Oh, I wish Microsoft had done it.’”

‘Pah iPad, don’t forget me’ says HP TouchSmart

After the success of the first touch-enabled notebook aimed at consumers, HP has honed the design with the arrival of the HP TouchSmart tm2. It’s a convertible notebook comfortable both in laptops or tablets form thanks to the swivel screen and it’s multitouch enabled for all zoom, scroll and rotating manoeuvres.

The idea behind the HP laptops machine is that it’s adaptable for all environments and includes a digital pen for writing on the screen when in tablet form for note taking purposes.

It runs a low voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processor with a discrete ATI GPU and the rest of the specs are the consumer’s choice when you get to the online store. The six-cell battery offers a reported 9 hours life, there’s a finger print reader and it’s all wrapped up in an aluminium chassis thermodynamically designed to keep the computer cool.

It’s out in the States now in all sorts of colours and starts at $949. Doubtless a UK and EU version will follow.

Apple iPad set to create third sector between laptops and smartphones

Industry experts say Apple’s long-awaited iPad tablet could reverse the fortunes of the tablet PC industry.

Microsoft introduced a failed tablet computer in 2001, but advances in touchscreens and wireless technology mean that the market could now be right for products such as the iPad, analysts said.

“Tablets have been around for a long time and tablets have failed for a long time. This is a winning product,” said analyst Van Baker of Gartner Research. “I was nervous when they first started talking about this and thought it would be nothing more than a giant iPhone but it’s hard to argue against. I can use it in the living room, the classroom, for light work and at the coffee shop,” Baked added.

Apple said its aim was to try to create a third category of product that sits between laptops and smartphones, which is the traditional interpretation of a tablet computer.

Apple tablet to change eBooks and small laptops forever

2009 turned out to be a huge year for eBooks and eReaders however many predict that the upcoming Apple iTablet will change the e-book and small laptops business forever.

Currently Amazon’s Kindle is the market leader in the e-book market, however many believe that Steve Jobs and Apple’s tablet device will dethrone the Kindle.

The device, which is due to be officially announced tonight at an event in San Francisco, is based on a version of Apple’s iPhone operating system, with the ability to have multiple applications running at the same time

Other specifications include Wi-Fi and 3G data connections, with both Verizon and AT&T listed as carriers in the US by Calacanis. Also mentioned are two “thumb pads” on either side for “mouse gestures”, plus two cameras, one front facing for video conferencing and one at the rear, presumably for capturing video or stills.

Apple drumrolling to end tomorrow with tablet launch

Apple is to announce its new product, the iTablet tomorrow. The name of the gadget is still not officially known. The new creation may be called iTablet, iSlate or perhaps even iPad.

Apple is not revealing any details on the new laptops/touchscreen/tablet gizmo. However Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO has explained: “The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about.”

The new gadget will be a tablet computer which will allow users to surf the web, send emails, read newspapers, stream videos and download files. Similar to the iPhone, it will be a touch-screen device without a keyboard, running the MultiTouch OS.

German electronics retailer MediaMarkt leaked the price of the new gadget on Twitter earlier today. Apple’s new gizmo is to cost 499 Euros (£436) on a T-Mobile contract and 899 (£789) without. The tweet was probably accidental and has since been deleted.

Some critics argue that Apple’s iTablet will not become a bestseller, questioning its functionality vs price.

Apple fans will have to wait until tomorrow for the new product to be revealed.

Apple iSlate tablet to be unveiled

Apple is inviting reporters to an event next week to see what it calls “our latest creation,” which is thought to be a tablet-style touch-screen computer.

The company email offered no specifics about what it would display at the invitation-only January 27 event in San Francisco.

But it comes amid speculation that Apple is close to unveiling the gadget that is bigger than an iPhone but smaller than standard laptops.

Tablets are one-piece computers with big screens and no keyboards. Such devices have been around since the early 1990s, but haven’t seen much success in the mainstream.

The real questions will be asked after the launch, when focus will fall on who will be providing what types of content (music, magazines, video, games, books etc) for Apple’s new slate.

Recent rumours have suggested that Apple is currently in talks with HarperCollins and a number of other major book publishers suggesting the tablet will be looking to straddle the eReader market.

Laptop sales hit by recession, unless you’re Apple or Acer

Laptop sales in the UK dropped 2.4 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2009, according to latest data from Gartner.

This decline is less than in previous meltdown quarters, but principal analyst Ranjit Atwal warns that: “The return to growth will be slow and a difficult process.”

However, there are exceptions to the rule that the computing industry has had a poor year; sales of what Gartner calls “mini-notebooks” and the rest of the world calls netbooks or laptops boosted Acer’s sales by 35% in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same quarter in 2008. Netbooks accounted for more than 40% of the total consumer notebook market in the same period.

Apple’s increase was also strong, jumping from a 3.8% market share in 2008′s third quarter to 5% in 2009′s – a 26.6% increase for the American tech giant.

Apple tweaks its best-selling Macbook laptop

Apple has revamped its best-selling Mac model – the economical, entry-level 13-inch MacBook laptop – in time for Christmas.  Oooh they don’t miss a trick, do they?!

To give the new MacBook laptops a more appealing appearance, Apple had moulded the original polycarbonate plastic material into a more modern ‘Unibody’ enclosure. With no grayish surface implanted atop the laptop’s casing, the overhauled MacBook now boasts a consistent white color, and a smoother surface – minus the sharp edges of its predecessor.

Along with giving the MacBook a new look, Apple has also given it new innards; and has equipped it with a multi-touch glass touchpad, a non-detachable 60Wh battery.

Apple Tablet, the world’s first touch screen computer, to arrive in 2010

The launch date of the Apple Tablet has moved back and forwards like the old Arsenal back four under George Graham. The general consensus was that early 2010 is the time these little touch-screen mini laptop beauties will be hitting the shelves but a report in the Financial Times seemed to indicate that they will in fact be available in time for Christmas. Since then various authoritative reports have refuted this and put the date back to early 2010.

A couple of weeks ago, well-respected Apple analyst Gene Munster issued a report which said:

“Last week we spoke with an Asian component supplier that has received orders from Apple for a touch-screen device to be fulfilled by late [calendar year] 09. This data point underscores our thesis that a tablet will likely launch in early [2010].”

So in conclusion, you’re going to have to wait ’til next year to take your tablet.