The latest version of iOS that drives Apple’s mobile products expands the utility of the iPhone 4 and iPads in ways that are easy to see.

To start, the iPad now supports FaceTime, using its new video cameras. CEO Steve Jobs said in a presentation today that “the iPad is the ideal size for video conferencing.”

FaceTime now allows a user to flip the front and rear facing cameras of both the iPhone and the iPad 2.

The iPhone 4 includes tethering, to deliver a 3G connection to a device.

iMovie for iPad (a new app) has a precision editor, multitrack audio recording, new themes and AirPlay to work with Apple TV. Apple has created a full-featured video editor on a mobile device that can play videos created with the product.

The iMovie app is available at the App Store for $4.99.

Led by an appearance from its CEO Steve Jobs, Apple today announced the specifics of its new iPad 2, still priced starting at $499. All of the prices are the same as the original iPad, running up to an $829 model including 3G and 64GB of storage. All models ship on March 11, the first day anyone can order the device. Models that add 3G will be “Coming Soon,” the same advice Apple is supplying for the wi-fi model. It appears that there will be no delay in getting 3G on the new iPad, unlike the original model. Ordering will be online and in stores on the same day. Overseas, in 26 countries, the wi-fi device ships on March 26.

It’s up to twice as fast, with graphics 9x faster — but same 10-hour battery life, relying on the new A5 processor. The design of the new device will give 9 hours of video watching time using 3G, according to Apple’s specs.

“We’ve done things with this iPad that we never could have done before,” Steve Jobs told the crowd of analysts and media at the Yerba Buena Events Center in an hour-plus unveiling.

The iPad 2 will ship in both white and black models. The resolution of the screen on the new device is the same as the original model.

Apple has full specs on the new iPad online at its website. It also has a business-focused roundup of the new product’s features at http://www.apple.com/ipad/business/

The device supplies HDMI graphics out through a new $39  accessory cable. Output is up to 1080p. This can mirror what’s on the iPad screen.

Front and back-facing cameras have been added, video-capable. In another improvement, Apple has returned the ability to use the outside switch as either a way to mute the sound or lock the screen rotation.

It’s 33 percent thinner, 8.8 mm, thinner than the iPhone. Its weight has dropped from 1.5 lbs to 1.3, but it still uses a metal case.

Speaking of cases, the new iPad case has microfiber to clean the screen, starts up the device when you open it, and acts as a stand while it protects the screen. Apple has built magnets into the iPad, along with magnets on the case’s hinge cover.

Cases, perhaps to the consternation of the vast case industry, will sell in both leather ($69) and vinyl ($39). And come in a raft of colors.

Apple has replaced its original iPad with the new model, having pulled down the ability to order the older devices from its online store. It has added a free engraving feature along with the usual free shipping offer.

As the iPad makes its way into the hearts and plans of the enterprise, businesses let the device make its way into office workflows. The Quickoffice family of apps makes mobile office work possible and even pleasant, with access to the cloud.

Share slides and docs via the cloud

There are more clouds than ever to share work through, thanks to the latest version of Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite. In addition to Google, Dropbox, box.net, and Mobile Me’s iDisk and Web interface, the suite’s been integrated with two additional mobile cloud storage providers, Huddle and SugarSync. And what’s on the way in a new version is support for social publishing partners Slideshare, Scribd and .docstoc.

We’ve used Quickoffice for about six months here as a regular iPad tool. It’s got built-in accommodations for Microsoft’s Office tools, so you can save and trade and edit files for things like Word and Excel. Last year they added Powerpoint support, and at year’s end the Suite gained the ability to edit Powerpoint slides. When I think of the trips where slide edits might have made a difference, if only the right person in the company could get to them, this editing is one of the best arguments for pushing your office work, via these clouds, to the iPad. Read the rest of this entry »

Verizon is reporting that its pre-ordered units of iPhone 4s have sold out. The company says the sales total is the highest ever for any single phone that Verizon has sold in pre-order.

The phone will be available in Verizon’s stores next Thursday (Feb. 10). From the looks of the notice on the website, the company will start taking orders again at 3 AM on Feb. 9.

Analysts and pundits are tracking the release of this model of iPhone closely. They hope to get fresh data on the popularity of the device based on its offer from the second largest carrier in the US. The iPhone has been available from dozens to hundreds of other carriers throughout the world — the US is the only country where ATT has had an exclusive contract to sell and supply a network for the phone. But Verizon’s customer base represents the largest untapped source of mobile phone users for the iPhone.

Some analysts believe that the release of the Verizon iPhone — which is getting rave reviews for its phone signal reception vs. ATT’s model, as well as simple and strong tethering to give wi-fi devices access to the Internet outside of wi-fi networks — will add millions of customers for Apple and its array of iOS app providers.

Downloading The Daily news took about 3 minutes

The iPad is counting Day One of The Daily, the first everyday newspaper created for the iPad and iOS. A massive download of the free app, plus three minutes of downloading each issue a day (on demand) gives you plenty to talk about with clients on visits: News, Gossip, Opinion, Arts & Life, Apps and Games, and Sports (sections of the paper)

Of note: No specific business section. The publishers, after all, also own The Wall Street Journal, which has its own app and subscription needs. The Daily is produced by the biggest news organization on Earth, News Corp. Not a peep yet about whether the app is headed for the Android tablets, as well. If that happens, it may offer a metric to measure popularity — how well will this first tablet-only newspaper do in these two markets.

There’s photos to view and video to play inside the stories of The Daily, up to 100 articles worth of coverage per day. In this app release, The Daily joins the ranks of Zinio, which for almost a year has been a digital newsstand for iPad and iPhone and Mac owners, selling weekly and monthly publications like The Economist or Smart Money. Zinio has been previewed a slick new version of its app, set to release around the time the new iPads start shipping. Both Zinio and The Daily provide social network sharing of articles, as well as pushing copy via email. Great for researching for staff projects.

The Daily is a grand experiment in stalling the decline of the newspaper. Big metro dailies, which may have given you something to chat up with local clients during your coffee-shop meetings, have seen circulation dive. The LA Times is reported to have gone from 1 million subscribers to 600,000 on daily issues over the last few years.

There are other ways of getting iPad-ready news, for research as well as social sharing. Zinio’s got multiple-platform ability: Macs and PCs, as well as phones. And the New York cousin of the Times is pushing software that delivers papers to anything that can run Adobe Air — which eliminates the iPad and iPhone.

Read the rest of this entry »

Customers, vendors, users and hawkers are putting their cards, demos, data sheets and gimcrack giveaways in order this week after four days of Macworld 2011. Attendance was up 10 percent, we’re told, and the number of exhibitors is on the rise, too.

Although the number of vendors selling solutions, apps and hardware is below the gaudy days when this show spanned both North and South Moscone halls, plus Moscone West for sessions, a rough survey of the 2011 show revealed a bigger share of business-ready help: in apps, in hardware, in Mac software and in advice. Macworld 2009, Apple’s last, had more of everything except business: especially iPhone cases and iPod accessories. Those were still on display last week, along with a wave of iPad holders.

But 2011 was the year when Apple business users could find a Macworld supplier a-selling with no effort at all.

Two years ago, the Enterprise Software Alliance was about the only booth where Windows-friendly Mac software for business was showcased. This year a veteran firm from the Windows virus battlefields, ESET, was selling antivirus and giving away security training. The company said it has muscled antivirus maker Intego out of Apple’s retail store slots with NOD Antivirus 4. It’s called the Business Edition of antivirus for endpoints — what you’d call Macs, but now ESET uses the enterprise-savvy terminology, and perhaps technology, too. Read the rest of this entry »

Business travelers are often finding a client location — a meet spot, or an office — while on the roads. A new product here makes that a job for an iPhone of any sort, using the built-in GPS of the device. Navigon AG has launched a design-focused car kit for the iPhone at Macworld. The Navigon Car Kit consists of an iPhone mounting device and designer suction pad holder, plus an Apple-certified connection cord and a car charger, which powers the iPhone while on the road.

“The iPhone is the most elegant smartphone available, therefore a mount should never get in the way of showcasing the design,” said Gerhard Mayr, VP of worldwide mobile phones & new markets. The mount is designed to fix to the windshield to reduce driver distraction and position the iPhone for optimal GPS signal. Directions, whether they’re just Maps or a GPS app, drive down the battery in a hurry, so the included car charger and the five foot connection cable make sure the iPhone battery doesn’t drain. The kit is now available for the iPhone 3G/S and 4, and sells for $49.99 with free shipping — with an introductory price of $44.99 until Feb 3, from www.bringmobi.com.

The company says Navigon MobileNavigator is the first universal navigation app from a major GPS company (it’s been in business since 1991) that runs natively on the iPhone and the iPad. Users with MobileNavigator installed can use the app on both devices without extra charges. It utilizes the iPad’s large display and user interface with a higher resolution, and new menus. Route planning shows a scrollable, multi-touch map to select destinations in simple taps. Users can plan routes at home on the iPad and then send them to their iPhone for navigation on the go.

Navigon is located at booth 943 At Macworld Expo, where there’s free stuff in a contest. The company will give away 30 licenses for the award winning MobileNavigator app via a Twitter wall. Include a defined hashtag (#) (revealed at the booth) in a tweet. Winners are announced each day at 4pm on Twitter. Read the rest of this entry »

Macworld’s organizer IDG assembled a thick lineup of pundits for an Industry Forum on the day before the Macworld Expo 2011 opened with all the new products and solutions. Among the more interesting was a speaker who in 25 minutes worked to explain how your vendor behaves, in product design, release, and even killing favorites.

Apple is a pretty consistent and rational company, said Macworld’s chief editor Jason Snell. Despite legends like the Reality Distortion Field that has surrounded the company’s product activities here in San Francisco over the last quarter-century of Januarys, there are fundamental rules to guide a customer in understanding what’s coming next — and maybe more to the point, why Apple kills and creates the way it has for the last 15 years.

Snell focused on the period since 1996 because that’s the Steve Jobs era, the time when he returned to the company he founded and molded it with his image. The less said about the Apple of pre-’96, the firm that made the Newton and a raft of mistakes, the better. Comparisons to that Apple without Jobs and today’s company are ill advised.

Rather than viewing the Apple of this year, sans Steve, as an echo of that John Sculley-Gilbert Amelio mess, the 2011 Apple is a company that even without Jobs on the campus runs in his image. He’s not a cult leader, “but a man who has created a strong corporate culture.” Snell went so far as to describe Jobs not as Apple’s MVP, but more like a Michael Jordan,” leading a hand-picked team.

The rules in Snell’s rundown felt simple and familiar for How Apple Does It.

1. Build technology so you can control your destiny: the Safari browser.
2. Release no feature that isn’t perfect: the user interface of the iPhone, long after the world was littered with cell phones.
3. Let design lead you in creating products (see below).
4. Make engineering serve the needs of design: simple to use products are harder to engineer, but that’s success for you, the customer.
5. It’s better to get rid of a feature too early, than too late: floppy drives on the first iMacs, or Firewire ports on laptops.
6. Timing can be everything; don’t release before a product’s technology and its market is ready.
7. All products need showmanship as part of their release, whether it’s an industry event like last year’s iPad rollout or the ongoing push from Apple retail stores.

Snell admitted that summing up Apple in a 20-minute talk was daunting. But the details he chose to prove the rules above rang true. He showed a photo of thee Rio MP3 music player, released in 2000. the iPod arrived and blew away the Rio, because it had storage enough for thousands of songs, not the album-full of the Rio’s. The technology was timed right.

Apple is driven by design and not engineeering as a philosophy, Snell said, and that’s no dig at the company’s technical chops. Design is also a place where the company gets misunderstood most often.

“Design isn’t about making it look pretty; that’s one of the fatal mistakes its competitors make,” Snell said. “Most products are bad, and the reason they’re bad is that the more complex a product is to make, the more you have to rely on very technical people focused on details — who are trained to build very technical products. They make decisions based on their world, rather than the user’s world. Apple’s corporate philosophy is to design a product, and challenge their engineers to create the product that the users want.”

Apple and Microsoft used to be arch-rivals, but Google seems to have taken that spot in today’s market. Just the same, Microsoft has a multiple personality — maybe not a disorder — pose when it comes to supporting Apple’s business products such as an OS or office software.

From the Macintosh Business Unit, Apple desktop customers can get the first 30-day-free trials for Office 2011 starting this week.

Today Microsoft has made a free 30-day Office for Mac 2011 trial available at www.officeformac.com/trial.

This week also marks the Macworld Expo in San Francisco. This year the Office for Mac team has a show special tied to the event. If you attend the expo check out your badge for details and see the Office for Mac blog for more information and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more Macworld goodness throughout the week.

From its Windows unit, CNET reports on a comparison between Windows 7 products and the iPad in the enterprise IT world, with some predictable results. I wince a bit when I see the Microsoft slide boasting that Windows 7 has support for “the largest breath of printing software” when it means “breadth.” Not a word breathed about Windows Tablets out there working in businesses.

Microsoft is big enough to be both kinds of creature in the Apple world: adversary and ally. Pick your posture while evaluating products.

The iPad alternatives are a-comin’ this spring, or so we are promised in a bit of web advertising from this vendor and that. The wanna-be’s of mobile desktops range far and wide in price, availability and size. But none of them can top the cheeky sass of Toshiba. The maker of DVD players and Windows laptops wants an iPad user to switch, sending a special nyah-nyah from its website.

When an iPad user arrives at the web page that teases about Toshiba’s tablet, you get greeted by the screen to the left, which is force-fed to you as the website determines you’re an iPad user. Mind you, Toshiba could have served up even more useful information in its we-haven’t-shipped message: Something like an exact date of release, or crucial data such as weight of their Tablet. Or its price. On and on it goes with the competitors to the best mobile computer Apple ever released. They want to remind you that you’re not part of the largest group of web users: the ones that have to swallow the battery-sucking, horsepower-choking Flash.

It’s quite the ad ploy, but Toshiba’s device managers must be hedging their bets, because Daring Fireball reported that lopping off the apple.html on the web page directs you to an HTML 5 page where its snappy movie runs fine. Runs even more apparently than the tablet, which doesn’t even have a video demo on the web. (Toshiba’s reading Daring Fireball, because less than a day after the HTML 5 trick was posted, Toshiba killed off access to everything that didn’t use the “apple.html” on the web page address. Odd though: apparently Toshiba doesn’t own the name to its product on the web; head to toshibatablet.com to see it’s got nothing to do with mobile computing. More confusing is that Toshiba sold what it called a tablet for months already: the Portege Tablet, all last year at about $1,700, because that sparkler was a Windows PC with a touchscreen interface.

What to buy for a tablet this year? You could wait to see what’s on sale by the time these Android-powered tablets finally clear company tests and go into the market. By that late date, though, Apple will have an iPad 2 ready for you to purchase, a device that now has more than 30,000 apps written for it. Even though it won’t have all those blessed ports (USB, microSD, video output, thick toast), the iPad 2 will be available to everybody on Day One (no shortages this time; Apple’s put in a massive component order and is building the devices now) and we know it will be under $600, somehow. Those two features, availability and value, are likely to be hard to beat by a wave of smarty-pants vendors hooking up with Android.

On that best-mobile-ever claim above: You can use an iPad (model 1) as your travel laptop even today. Starting Wednesday I’ll be posting news and photos using nothing more than my iPad, the 16GB no wi-fi model, a Kensington Bluetooth keyboard and case, and an iPhone for my camera. You’ll be able to read the reports from Macworld Expo — a show just crawling with tablet apps like the new DK Publishing travel guides to major cities, or the Mobile Office Suite that lets you edit PowerPoint presentations. See, while everybody with an iPad is likely to have another computer to watch that sassy Toshiba teaser ad, few of the Toshiba tablet buyers will have 30,000 apps to make their tablets useful. Not this year, or even by this time next year.