Apple iPad Available Late March, Optional 3G

“Apple today introduced iPad, a portable tablet with Multi-Touch display, 0.5 inches thick body and weighs just 1.5 pounds. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for the iPad, and will run almost all of the over 140,000 apps in the App Store. iPad will be available in late March starting at $499. Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. The iBookstore will feature books from major and independent publishers.iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable, so you can sync all of your contacts, photos, music, movies, TV shows, applications and more from your Mac or PC. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.iPad is powered by A4, Apple’s next-generation system-on-a-chip. Designed by Apple, the new A4 chip provides exceptional processor and graphics performance along with long battery life of up to 10 hours. Apple’s advanced chemistry and Adaptive Charging technology deliver up to 1,000 charge cycles without a significant decrease in battery capacity over a typical five year lifespan.iPad comes in two versions—one with Wi-Fi and the other with both Wi-Fi and 3G. iPad includes the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi, and the 3G versions support speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks. It will be available in late March worldwide for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model. The Wi-Fi + 3G models of iPad will be available in April in the US and selected countries for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model.” via slashphone.com

Nokia Q4 2009 results, smartphone world market share up 5%

Nokia Smartphone Shipments over time

“Nokia has released their Q4 2009 results, reporting an operating loss of EUR 426 million, with net sales EUR 12 billion (down 5% YoY). Nokia’s device and service division’s profits were EUR 1.14 billion, up 130% year on year. Margins in devices and services were 14.9% (up 5.5% YoY and 3.5% QoQ). Converged devices sales (smartphone) were 20.8 million, compared with 15.1 million units in Q3 2008 and 16.4 million units in Q3 2009. As such, worldwide converged device (‘smartphone’) marketshare increased from 35% to 40% sequentially. The results are significantly ahead of market expectations, with Nokia’s share price up 10% since yesterday.” Read more here: