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Filed under: Odds and ends , Freeware , iPad That’s the word from the giant U.S. bookseller. There is already a version for the iPhone and iPod touch, and Barnes & Noble says customers can expect the free software around the time of the iPad launch. The reader will give B&N customers access to more than a million eBooks, as well as selected newspapers and magazines. The Barnes 7 Noble Nook , which competes with the Amazon Kindle , has only been out a short time, but if the iPad is a success a heck of a lot more people may be reading B&N books on Apple’s device rather than the Nook. Now we have to wait and see if there is a Kindle app for the iPad (other than the already-released and popular Kindle app for iPhone ), but I think it is a foregone conclusion. It sounds like Apple is going to allow these competing book apps on the iPad, rather than forcing people to only use the iBooks store; if so, that’s a good thing. [Via Engadget ] TUAW Barnes & Noble eReader for iPad coming soon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

Filed under: Odds and ends , Freeware , iPad That’s the word from the giant U.S. bookseller. There is already a version for the iPhone and iPod touch, and Barnes & Noble says customers can expect the free software around the time of the iPad launch. The reader will give B&N customers access to more than a million eBooks, as well as selected newspapers and magazines. The Barnes 7 Noble Nook , which competes with the Amazon Kindle , has only been out a short time, but if the iPad is a success a heck of a lot more people may be reading B&N books on Apple’s device rather than the Nook. Now we have to wait and see if there is a Kindle app for the iPad (other than the already-released and popular Kindle app for iPhone ), but I think it is a foregone conclusion. It sounds like Apple is going to allow these competing book apps on the iPad, rather than forcing people to only use the iBooks store; if so, that’s a good thing. [Via Engadget ] TUAW Barnes & Noble eReader for iPad coming soon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

JooJoo, the tablet formerly known as CrunchPad, is set to land at the end of this month with several new features that weren’t seen in the early prototype. Most noticeably, the drab, solid-colored home screen seen in the JooJoo prototype (below) has been replaced with an elegantly polished icon grid laid on top of a customizable wallpaper (above). Engadget, who first reported the story, has some exclusive screenshots posted, in addition to the one above. Also interesting is the addition of a new text-entry option allowing you to display a smaller keyboard designed for one-handed operation, which can be dragged around to avoid interfering with content. There’s an option for a larger virtual keyboard for two-hand typing as well. The one-handed typing solution is intriguing to me, and it makes me wonder whether Apple will do something similar with its iPad. From my hands-on time with the iPad , I found the larger virtual keyboard to be unpleasant to type with compared to entering text on the iPhone. Some more factors competing with the iPad: Flash is now fully working on the JooJoo. Videos can also be played from a thumb drive plugged into the JooJoo’s USB port. Oddly, the hardware has changed color as well. Rather than black, it sports a champagne exterior, JooJoo maker Fusion Garage told Engadget. The JooJoo looks sweet, and that home screen is quite attractive. But as I’ve said before, I have doubts that a vertically integrated product from this small company will succeed. The JooJoo runs its own custom operating system, and it’ll be difficult for Fusion Garage to persuade developers to code apps for a device with a relatively small user base. We’ll just have to see what happens when the JooJoo goes on sale March 25 . See Also: Hands On With the JooJoo, Formerly Known as CrunchPad JooJoo Tablet Faces Uphill Battle Against iPad JooJoo Tablet Set to Ship Around Same Time as iPad Startup Disses Arrington, Relaunches CrunchPad Tablet as JooJoo … Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com

Apple has set the standard that once every year they will release a new version of the iPhone. It stands to reason that this year will be no different, with a new model likely coming sometime this summer. But arguably just as important as Apple’s hardware refresh is the accompanying software refresh that comes with it as well. And that’s why it shouldn’t be surprising at all that whispers of iPhone OS 4.0 are starting to grow. But this year, the timeline appears a bit off. As AppleInsider reported today , iPhone OS 4.0 is likely to deliver multitasking support. If true, that will make it perhaps the most important OS upgrade for the platform yet. However, in reporting the news, AppleInsider also notes that the software, “ remains under development and reportedly has a quite ‘way to go’ before it’s ready for prime time .” Looking back at the iPhone OS SDK history you’ll notice a constant: Apple has released the beta builds in March the past two years. We’re already well into March this year, and so far, no word about Apple being close to doing the same. Read the rest at TechCrunch > >

Apple has set the standard that once every year they will release a new version of the iPhone. It stands to reason that this year will be no different, with a new model likely coming sometime this summer. But arguably just as important as Apple’s hardware refresh is the accompanying software refresh that comes with it as well. And that’s why it shouldn’t be surprising at all that whispers of iPhone OS 4.0 are starting to grow. But this year, the timeline appears a bit off. As AppleInsider reported today , iPhone OS 4.0 is likely to deliver multitasking support. If true, that will make it perhaps the most important OS upgrade for the platform yet. However, in reporting the news, AppleInsider also notes that the software, “ remains under development and reportedly has a quite ‘way to go’ before it’s ready for prime time .” Looking back at the iPhone OS SDK history you’ll notice a constant: Apple has released the beta builds in March the past two years. We’re already well into March this year, and so far, no word about Apple being close to doing the same. Read the rest at TechCrunch > >

Filed under: Apple Corporate , Multimedia , Rumors , iPad Rupert Murdoch has confirmed , in a Q & A following his announcement of a New York ‘metro’ section for the Wall Street Journal, that an app for the iPad is under development (WSJ story here , behind the paywall). There’s an iPhone app available now, and it’s expected that the iPad version will expand upon it, with attention being paid to the iPad’s big screen. What’s most interesting about this story is the extreme secrecy with which Apple is handing the process. it seems that WSJ developers do have access to a pre-release iPad, which Murdoch confirms is “kept under padlock and key.” Not only that, but an Apple employee turns the key every night to confirm that the iPad is where it should be — locked up tight, safe and sound. Not even preferred developers have earned Apple’s full trust. Apple paranoid ? We can’t imagine such a thing. [via MacNN ] TUAW Rupert Murdoch confirms WSJ for iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

Filed under: iPad The Examiner is reporting that the iPad will go on sale in the US on Friday, March 26th. They site “inside sources” with confirmation from an Apple Store manager in Southern California who wishes not to be identified. Daryl Deino, the post’s author, claims that internal Apple Retail training will begin on March 10 with commercials starting on March 15. The commercials will emphasize the iPad’s ebooks and iBookstore capability. While Deino states that his sources say the March 26th date hasn’t been officially set and is only “very likely” it would allow Apple to hit their end-of-March shipping goal and follow in the likes of other major Friday launches like the iPhone and iPhone 3GS . Deino’s sources also state that the 3G iPads won’t go on sale until April or May and that people who line up for the WiFi iPad will receive a “special gift.” TUAW iPad to hit stores on Friday, March 26th? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read

Anchor Bay has debuted the official trailer (via Apple ) for their upcoming thriller After.Life starring Liam Neeson, Christina Ricci and Justin Long. The concept for this is pretty damn unique and it’s easy to get from watching the trailer, so I won’t say much so you can enjoy the reveal. There’s some creepy necrophilia style sexuality with Ricci too, which hopefully doesn’t interest anyone, but it’s still in there. If I had to make a quick comparison, this looks like a dark intense look at the life/afterlife balance as also seen in The Lovely Bones . I’m actually kind of interested in checking this out, mainly because of Neeson. What about you? Watch the official trailer for Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo’s After.Life : You can also watch the official After.Life trailer in High Definition on Apple A young woman ( Christina Ricci ) caught between life and death wakes up to meet a funeral director ( Liam Neeson ) who appears to have the gift of transitioning the dead, but might be intent on burying her alive. After.Life is both written and directed and by Polish filmmaker and NYU Film School graduate Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo , of only the award winning 2001 short Pâté previously. The screenplay was co-written by Wojtowicz, her husband Paul Vosloo, and Jakub Korolczuk. This first premiered at the AFI Film Festival last year. Anchor Bay Films will be bringing After.Life to very limited theaters starting on April 9th this spring. Discover More: Indies , Trailers , Worth Watching

Apple hasn’t stated an official release date for its iPad, but rumors suggest the highly anticipated tablet will go on sale on March 26. Both MacRumors’ Arnold Kim and the Examiner have heard from tipsters that Apple stores will begin selling the iPad on Friday, March 26 at 6 p.m. The Examiner added that “People who camp out for the iPad will receive a special gift.” That would be similar to the launch of the original iPhone, which began selling 6 p.m. on Friday, June 29, 2007. (I don’t remember receiving any gifts when I camped out for the iPhone, but employees did hand out some coffee.) Apple has said the iPad without 3G will begin shipping late March. The iPad including 3G should be shipping about 30 days later, according to Apple. An analyst spread a rumor earlier this week that tight inventories might delay iPad shipments by a month, but an Apple spokeswoman told Wired.com that the iPad was on schedule to ship by late March. See Also: Ten Things Missing From the iPad With iPad, Apple Still Has a Fatal Attraction for AT&T Would You Buy an iPad? Wired Readers Weigh In Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

If you’re trying to keep track of how all the app stores are performing in relation to each other (or are otherwise just a stats geek), this one ought to make your day. Nokia has just released a pocketful of statistics regarding their app store, Ovi, detailing just how well it was doing as of the end of February. The Stats : Each registered user has downloaded an average 12 apps since the store launched in May. That seems a bit low, considering that the Ovi Store launched over 9 months ago. Ovi Store is now supported on over 100 devices (60+ of which are Symbian-based). The Ovi store sees the most downloads from Nokia’s touch handsets, like the N97, 5800 XpressMusic, and 5530 XpressMusic. New user registrations and downloads both doubled in February as compared to January The top downloading countries (in alphabetical order): France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UK & Vietnam. On average, the Ovi Store is hitting around 1.5 million downloads each day — which, when broken down, works out to 22 applications download each and every second, around the clock. Solely for the sake of perspective: between September of 2009 and January of 2010, the iPhone App Store averaged about 30.5 million application downloads per day, or 350 per second. In other words, the App Store is pushing out downloads at about 16 times the average rate of the Ovi Store — but, being that Apple’s store launched in July of 2008, it also had nearly a full year head start. So what do you think – given Nokia’s massive hardware presence around the world (outside of the US, especially) whilst factoring in the relative newness of their App Store, how well do you think Ovi is performing?