iPad now available at Target |
- iPad now available at Target
- Verizon to refund $90 million to customers over data use
- Early iPad adopters use their device more often than newer buyers
- Facebook adds high-resolution, batch tagging to photos
- Google buys BlindType, virtual keypad correction startup
| Posted: 03 Oct 2010 07:55 PM PDT  The Apple iPad is now officially available at Target brick-and-mortar stores. All six models of the popular tablet are available for would-be owners. Starting with the 16GB/Wi-Fi model at $499, all the way to the 64GB/3G/Wi-Fi model at $829, the retailer says all Target credit-card holders will receive a 5 percent discount. There are currently 1743 Targets in the United States, with the company planning to remodel 400 of the stores in 2011. A recent NPD survey showed that a full 80 percent of early adopters said they were "very satisfied" with their device, as compared to 65 percent for buyers who purchased over 60 days after launch. The survey also said that early adopters use the device for over 18 hours per week, and that time is actually increasing for over 30 percent of those owners.
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| Verizon to refund $90 million to customers over data use Posted: 03 Oct 2010 05:28 PM PDT  Verizon Wireless has said today that it will pay up to $90 million in refunds to 15 million mobile phone users who were wrongly or overcharged for Internet usage on their devices. The FCC has been actively investigating many complaints about unauthorized charges and Verizon has hinted at settling with the FCC over the case. Current subscribers will get a credit of $2 to $6 off their next bill and former customers will receive refund checks. Verizon says the charges affected customers that do not have data plans but were still charged by inadvertent "episodes" of Internet access. The FCC has said they have received hundreds of complaints since 2007 from Verizon customers who complained they were being charged excessively after mistakenly hitting a button that automatically opens Verizon's Web portal. "Verizon Wireless values our customer relationships and we always want to do the right thing for our customers," added the company.
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| Early iPad adopters use their device more often than newer buyers Posted: 03 Oct 2010 03:46 PM PDT  The NPD Group has said this week that early adopter iPad owners are the most satisfied with their device and also use it the most often. Early adopters are consumers that purchased the tablet at launch, or within 60 days, as defined by NPD. On the other hand, more recent purchasers are much less active with their iPad. A full 80 percent of early adopters said they were "very satisfied" with their device, as compared to 65 percent for buyers after launch. The survey also says that early adopters use the device for over 18 hours per week, and that time is actually increasing for over 30 percent of those owners. "Clearly early adopters love their iPads and are finding increasing opportunities to use them," says NPD.
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| Facebook adds high-resolution, batch tagging to photos Posted: 03 Oct 2010 03:03 PM PDT  Citing the fact that users upload 100 million photos per day, social networking giant Facebook has said this week that they have added high-resolution image support to their new photo upload tool. The new photo software will also have batch tagging and a new view for browsing photos. Facebook currently has 500 million users, most of which have hundreds if not thousands of photos. In April, the company purchased Divvyshot to bring in Sam Odio, the founder of the company and a "whiz" with photo uploading and editing software. Odio says uploaded pics can now have a resolution as high as 2048 for width, as opposed to 720 for current uploads. Additionally, Odio says "the new photo viewer opens in the center of a user's computer screen, allowing users to view photos and albums without navigating to a new page or clicking Refresh. Odio said he rewrote all of the viewer code to make navigating through photo Web pages faster." The latest uploader uses Flash 10.1 more better reliability. All the updated features are set for a full rollout by the end of the month.
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| Google buys BlindType, virtual keypad correction startup Posted: 03 Oct 2010 02:23 PM PDT  Google has announced another acquisition this week, purchasing the virtual keypad startup BlindType. The company makes corrective software for Android virtual keyboards. BlindType says their software will correct "sloppy typing," making inaccurate typing a thing of the past. Says Google: "We're excited to welcome the BlindType team to Google. With their help, we hope to make touch typing on your mobile device easier and faster than ever." Adds BlindType: "We're excited to join Google, and look forward to the great opportunities for mobile innovation that lie ahead." Android has quickly moved into third place in the U.S. smartphone market behind RIM and Apple with first place expected to be taken by 2012.
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