Apple to Demonstrate iPADs on November 1

San Mateo Senior Computer Club President Jeanne Martin met with representatives from Apple Computer today and invited them to our November Computer Club meeting on Monday, November 1 @ 2-4pm.    

Interested seniors can make reservations by sending an e-mail RSVP to opyc1st@yahoo.com or calling (650)345-7029 for further information.  Reservations are needed in order to determine how many chairs to set up,  Apple will bring as many iPADs as they can so we will be able to feel and use them.

ElderGadget - a website on Products with Elder-Friendly Features

The San Francisco Chronicle carried an article about how the Apple iPad was popular with seniors. Chronicle staff reporter Ryan Kim wrote "IPAD Appears to be Clicking With Seniors".

The article also referenced ElderGadget, a useful website that carries news and reviews of products that have "elder-friendly" features. See http://www.eldergadget.com/ Product categories reviewed by ElderGadget include about a hundred products beyond computer and other technology products. Check it out.

[Note: Remember to refer to the online tutorial "Discovering Assistive Technology" because the tutorial's links are updated as new user-friendly products become available.]

New Apple iPAD

Apple released its long-awaited wireless iPAD device on Saturday, April 3, 2010. Some eager fans camped out overnight by stores in order to be the first in line to buy one. There were long lines in the morning. As they waited in line, many "Twittered" about standing in line. :) Here is a CNN article about the iPAD roll-out. Lots of features and fun, especially for Apple fans who like the latest and greatest.

Competitors will soon catch up and prices will drop, so this is the time to watch who is buying it and how it will be used.

Apple's iPad

Apple CEO and showman extraordinaire Steve Jobs introduced Apple's new iPad tablet on January 27, 2010 in San Francisco. It was an invitation-only event, but it was captured on video and posted it to the Apple Special Event site. The first half hour is pure Steve Jobs. The next hour is a series of more detailed demos on applications that already exist for the iMac, iPhone, and other Apple products that are also available on the larger device, the iPad.

PC World's review of the iPad lists five "best surprises":

• Price - lower than expected. Priced to compete with netbooks and/or eBook Readers
• Pre-paid, nocontract, unlocked G3
• External keyboard support
• iWork for iPad
• ePub support of International Digital Publishing Forum Standard for open-standards-based-format for digital books.

Another review, "Tablet Makers Rethinking Things in Wake of iPad's $499 Price" points out, among other things, that the iPad has no USB interface ports, so it is more like a larger version of the iPhone. Tricks to keep iPad price low:

• "... iPad left out some key hardware features and will instead charge users a nice markup on accessories designed to give those features back. Specifically, the lack of built-in USB ports and SD card support saved a few dollars per unit, and for a unit that will eventually sell in the tens of millions, that's real money."
• "...the classic up-sell. The company is charging considerably more for the 3G and/or more storage, with the result that buyers of the higher-end models are pitching in extra money to pay for the low-end model's discount."
• "...making up lost hardware revenues with content sales. ... Apple can afford to give away the hardware because it's taking a cut of iTunes, App Store, and iBook sales."