Google said to launch tablet via its own online store

The latest chatter on the debut of the Web giant's Android tablet is that users might be able to get their hands on them this year by way of an exclusive Google store.
The Google tablet is reportedly on the way and could be released this year, according to The Wall Street Journal. What is more, it could be sold in exclusive Google-only online stores.
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Was the iPhone worth it for Sprint?

An early read from one analyst on the iPhone's performance at Sprint suggests limited benefits from the device, despite its blockbuster status.
Did Sprint Nextel really need the iPhone?

That's what one Wall Street analyst is asking after looking at the company's year-end performance, which Sprint disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. The results show that a bulk of Sprint's customers would have joined the carrier regardless of whether the iPhone was available, and only a fraction of the customers would have left the service for the iPhone elsewhere. Sprint began carrying the iPhone in October.

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Instagram for Android imminent: Now taking sign-ups

Android device users, get ready to join the Instagram fun. Makers of the popular photo-sharing app are now taking e-mail addresses for those who want to be "first in line."
Good news for Android users who've had to sit by the sidelines watching their iOS friends have all the Instagram fun: the company yesterday opened a sort of registration for Android users, giving them the chance to be "first in line" for the app made for Google's platform.
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Apple: 3 million iPads sold since launch

Apple says it sold 3 million iPads over the weekend, not counting preorders. That handily beats previous iPad launches, and puts it close to that of the iPhone 4S last year.

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Does the new iPad have a heat problem?

Previous-generation iPads have had heat problems. But the new iPad may have a unique issue due to the larger battery and chip.
Heat has come up as an issue with previous generations of iPads. So, that's not news. But the new iPad may have, in select cases, its own unique heat problems.

User forum postings (here and here) and a report seem to point to heat as an issue for select users.

The problem area--based on forum links above--seems to be the a hot-spot in the lower left corner of the unit.

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Should I buy iPhone 4S now or wait for iPhone 5?

The iPhone waiting game has begun. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer advice to a desperate iPhone 3GS devotee on whether he should hold out for the iPhone 5.
It's that time of year again, when anxious smartphone shoppers flood my inbox with questions about whether they should buy the current iPhone now or wait for the new version.
And with good reason. No one wants to be the dupe who buys the older version of a product a week before the latest model is introduced. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I advise a reader who recently lost his iPhone 3GS to the smartphone gods about whether he should buy an iPhone 4S now or wait another three to six months for the new iPhone to be introduced.

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Apple's Siri not as smart as she looks, lawsuit charges

A new lawsuit seeking class action says Siri doesn't work anywhere near as well as Apple's TV ads suggest.
Apple's been a little overzealous in the way it's advertised Siri, the voice assistant feature found on the company's latest iPhone, a new lawsuit claims.

iPhone 4S buyer Frank Fazio says the software feature simply didn't work like it did in Apple's television advertising. And now he's suing Apple in the Northern District of California.

"Promptly after the purchase of his iPhone 4S, [Fazio] realized that Siri was not performing as advertised," Fazio's complaint states. "For instance, when [Fazio] asked Siri for directions to a certain place, or to locate a store, Siri either did not understand what Plaintiff was asking, or after a very long wait time, responded with the wrong answer."

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The iPad HD: Is This How Apple Will Own the Living Room?

Put aside the rumors of streaming TV service or an Apple HDTV set. The company’s real play for the living room might be right under your nose — in the form of the iPad.

In the biography Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson quoted the Apple co-founder and CEO as remarking: “I finally cracked it.” The “it” was a fully-integrated wireless television set that could sync content and was extremely easy to use. Since the book was published, that quote has led to widespread conjecture about what an Apple iTV could look like.

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