iPad to be Followed by the iBoard and iMat

Now that the iPad is here we have to wonder what Apple will launch next. The company seems interested in putting to good use that iPhone OS mobile platform so we might be in for some hot new products in the near future.

This year alone Apple will launch the Wi-Fi iPad versions in March and the 3G iPad models in April. Soon after, in June or July the company will launch the next-gen iPhone, the iPhone 4G but we want more.
Sources close to Cupertino have revealed two Apple projects that are currently being secretly developed. The iBoard and the iMat are based both on the iPad and will further explore the tablet world.
Just like the iPad is an iPhone on steroids the iBoard will be an iPad on steroids too. It will have all the functionalities of the iPad and the iPhone but it will come with a far more impressive touchscreen display. We expect the iBoard to sport at least a 17-inch display and run a next-generation iPhone OS version. Developers have plenty of time to conceive special apps for it as the iBoard is coming only in 2012 or later.

Hands on first impressions of Windows Phone 7

We go hands on with the first Windows Phone 7 devices to see whether Microsoft can really run with Apple and Google in the smartphone arms race.

At the end of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 launch event on Monday, something suspicious didn’t occur – there was no Q&A. While Microsoft’s total remake of the mobile phone is impressive, as are the multiple handsets we got our hands on, Microsoft’s unwillingness to publicly answer questions signals that there may be trouble.

And there is. In short, Windows Phone 7 isn’t quite a finished product. But there is plenty of room for growth. Whether there is time – remember, the similar Kin was pulled from the market in just six weeks – is an open question.

A fresh approach to smartphone design

First the good news: Windows Phone 7’s whole activity-based gestalt is an impressive step forward, beyond Apple’s and Google’s comparatively sterile icon-based environment. WP7’s Live Tile interface seems cluttered but entertaining – many of the tiles feature little animations, making the home page seem not just alive but a bit mischievous, something you wouldn’t expect from the normally buttoned-down Microsoft – as well as functional. Being able to “pin” nearly anything to the home screen as a new tile – apps, contacts, photos, webpages – gives the user near complete control over how they use their device.

WP7 is also clean. It uses a consistent large and easy to read sans-serif font in nearly every function. While each screen seems self-contained, a portion of adjacent screens peeks out from the edges to let you know there are more options.

Microsoft, of course, makes Microsoft Office, Outlook, OneNote and Explorer. While “pocket” versions of these essential productivity products were available, Microsoft has smoothly integrated them into Windows Phone 7. For instance, if you get an invite via e-mail, the message will include any possible scheduling conflict the software detects from the calendar. This conflict message is live – click on it, and the conflicting event in the calendar come up, which in turn is connected to all the affected parties in the conflict to make it easy to contact all concerned.

All work and no play makes WP7 a dull phone, so Microsoft has struck a deal giving Windows Phones access to AT&T U-verse content for a monthly fee. Unfortunately, no pricing details are available yet, but if you happen to be a home U-verse subscriber, you’ll get all that access through Windows Phone for no extra charge. Since each handset maker and carrier is likely to add supplemental offerings, such as a Netflix app, Windows Phones could be the most content-rich smartphones extant.

Actual navigation and usage is smooth and easy. Scrolling and screen swiping is instantaneous and natural as on an iPhone. The auto-correct software on the touchscreen QWERTY’s produced nearly perfect, mistake-free text, and is sure to convert hardcore physical keyboard lovers.

But in portrait, Send, Attach and Delete are to close to the space bar. While typing some test texts, we kept annoyingly accidentally hitting these control keys.

Missing pieces