Filed under: Apple , iPad Considering AppleCare for your iPad? I know that I am. For $99, AppleCare extends your iPad warranty coverage to two years from the date of purchase. Although AppleCare tends to be expensive, for certain purchases it can really save you, especially for devices which run a higher risk of component failure over a lifetime of hard use — such as laptops and other mobile tech. Many Apple aficionados tend to avoid buying AppleCare for robust devices like the Mac mini series. Those units tend either to die right away or last forever. They are highly self-serviceable for anyone who has a reasonable degree of comfort with a screwdriver. The iPad and the iPhone, on the other hand, can feel like accidents waiting to happen. Without a simple avenue for owner-repair, they are more of a black box purchase. And their components can and do die much more unexpectedly. In my history of purchasing iPhones and iPod touches, I have personally encountered video driver death and massive touchscreen failure. To be fair, both of these incidents happened within a month or so of purchase, so keep that in mind as well.

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iPad 101: iPad AppleCare pros & cons

Filed under: Retail , Apple , iPad With iPad preorders finally available , at least for USians, I was relieved to place my order for an 16 GB iPad, due to be delivered on or after April 3rd. Along with a bluetooth keyboard (which I’ve been meaning to pick up for some time now), a case, and taxes, the whole kit & kaboodle came to about $650 for me. I declined AppleCare for the moment, and am now feeling a little conflicted. At $99 for two years of coverage, it seemed a little steep. However, AppleCare has saved me in the past; it’s something I’ve meant to buy on less robust items and earlier technology. I’m probably going to end up adding it on, although please feel free to convince me otherwise in the comments. I kept with my decision to go with the 16GB unit for now. I may end up passing the unit along to family once I’m ready to upgrade to a better system, but I do need a unit as soon as possible for work. Out of the accessories on offer, I felt that the case was going to be really handy for day-to-day use. I passed on the dock (both the regular and keyboard varieties; I have enough charging desk space without), the USB power adapter (I’ve got plenty left-over from iPhones, along with Apple-branded cables), the VGA adapter (my existing component cable should work for the moment, but it’s something I’ll likely pick up at a later date), and the MobileMe membership (do I even need to justify that decision?). None of these seemed compelling enough for immediate pre-order. Interestingly, Apple does not seem to offer any engraving options for the iPad yet, although I’m guessing they will at some point. So what did you end up ordering? Did you go for one of the overseas ordering work-arounds that have been posted around the ‘net? What size did you buy and why

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iPad fever: What didja get?

Gentlemen (and ladies), start your engines! iPad preorders for the United States begin today. TUAW is reporting that “ The Apple Store is currently down in the U.S., the U.K. and the rest of the world.” Unless you’ve been living in a cave somewhere in the region between Afghanistan and Pakistan with your neighbor Osama, you probably know that iPad preorder sales begin this morning. But did you know the exact time? We didn’t think so. iPad preorders at apple.com begin at 8:30 am EST (that’s a bleary-eyed 5:30 am for our West Coast MacLife staff & readers!) Before you start palming your credit card, remember that come April 3rd, only the Wi-Fi model will be available. We presume that any preorders from today through April 2nd will be scheduled to arrive via FedEx on April 3rd, as is customary for Apple product launches. However, if you have your heart set on a 3G-enabled iPad, you’ll have to wait until an unspecified date in late April — exactly when, Apple ain’t saying. There were also some new, last-minute rumors on Thursday that we might see refreshed MacBook Pros and Mac Pros today, so keep an eye out for those as well when The Apple Store springs back to life.

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It’s March 12th — Do You Know Where Your Credit Card Is?

Filed under: Apple Today Apple announced that the iPad will ship in April , writing that the device will “be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.” Consumers will be able to pre-order their units starting March 12th, with pick-up at Apple retail stores. With Apple’s reportedly limited stock , will pre-orders work the way they did with the iPhone 3GS? Namely, will your reservation get you first shot at an iPad pick-up until stocks run out? Or have analysts “misunderestimated” (in the words of a certain American Idol judge ) supplies, and there will be iPads available for everyone who wants to lay down the cash, starting at $499 plus local tax? There are no firm answers at this time. Apple has clarified that iBooks will be available as a free download at the first date of shipping from App Store. iBooks represents the first time that Apple has shipped its own major product (iWork titles will follow shortly thereafter) from App Store. If it proves successful on the iPad, keep your eyes open for a potentially similar distribution move via iTunes for Macintosh software. TUAW has been guessing April 2nd for the launch since early January. Nice to know we weren’t too far off. Hat tip, Twitterific iPad ships April 3. Preorders start March 12 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . iPad ships April 3.

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iPad ships April 3. Preorders start March 12

If the rumor mill is correct, Apple Store employees are a little over a week away from getting their hands on the iPad. So if you’re the impatient type, there’s still time for you to run down and put an application in tomorrow morning. It’s being reported in The Examiner that starting on March 10th, Apple Store employees will begin in-store training on the iPad to prepare themselves for its launch. Sources include Apple insiders as well as an Apple Store manager in southern California, all of whom, naturally, are unnamed. According to the rest of the rumor, the employees will begin what amounts to a little over two week training period, with the WiFi versions set to begin selling on March 26th and 3G versions rolling out in either April or May. Five days after Apple Store employees begin fondling the device, the first commercials will be set to roll, touting the device primarily as an e-book reader. All of this runs counter to earlier rumors that production delays might set the iPad back, rumors that were countered by an Apple spokeswoman . So, better start getting your camping gear ready. This one looks like it’s almost ready to go.

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Get Your Drool On

Sources from within Apple are claiming that the iPad will be in stores starting March 10, if a recent Examiner post is to be believed. Examiner’s report claims that the tablet devices will be hitting Apple retail stores early in order to give employees and employees only , plenty of time to get up-to-speed with using the new tablet device, ahead of its official launch. The iPad is expected to arrive before the month is out, with many blogs increasingly hinting at a March 26 launch date . Examiner sources, which allegedly include an anonymous “Apple Store manager in Southern California,” also claimed that the iPad’s advertisement campaign will kick off around the 15th of this month. The advertisement campaign is said to be focusing heavily on the iBookstore and e-book capabilities of the upcoming device, no doubt with an intent to take some steam out of the Kindle’s successes. Finally, the Examiner report also hinted that individuals who set up camp ahead of the launch, in order to become one of the first to get their hands on an iPad, will be rewarded. Just what this Apple related reward may be is unknown.

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iPad to Hit Stores On March 10, But Only for Employees?

Sources from within Apple are claiming that the iPad will be in stores starting March 10, if a recent Examiner post is to be believed. Examiner’s report claims that the tablet devices will be hitting Apple retail stores early in order to give employees and employees only , plenty of time to get up-to-speed with using the new tablet device, ahead of its official launch. The iPad is expected to arrive before the month is out, with many blogs increasingly hinting at a March 26 launch date . Examiner sources, which allegedly include an anonymous “Apple Store manager in Southern California,” also claimed that the iPad’s advertisement campaign will kick off around the 15th of this month. The advertisement campaign is said to be focusing heavily on the iBookstore and e-book capabilities of the upcoming device, no doubt with an intent to take some steam out of the Kindle’s successes. Finally, the Examiner report also hinted that individuals who set up camp ahead of the launch, in order to become one of the first to get their hands on an iPad, will be rewarded. Just what this Apple related reward may be is unknown.

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iPad to Hit Stores March 10, But Only for Employees?

Filed under: Retail , Odds and ends , Apple For some fans of the Olympic Winter Games, it’s all about the beauty and grace of figure skating. For others, it’s the organized chaos of short-track speed skating, or the aerial bravado of the half-pipe. And for some, it has nothing to do with the sports of winter. Instead, they’re intent on pin trading and collecting. While this may sound like an odd pastime, for some Olympic fans pin collecting is a huge deal. The official Vancouver 2010 website store lists 459 different pins for collecting and trading with others, but those aren’t all of the pins that fans will find. Often, local businesses or organizations will make their own pins to give away or sell, and at these Winter Games, Apple joined in on the fun. TUAW reader Alan Waite was in Vancouver earlier in the week to attend the Games and visited the Apple Store at Pacific Centre . Much to his surprise, Apple was giving away a limited edition set of pins (see photo above) to store visitors to commemorate the event. Very classy, Apple! Waite noted that the Apple Store at Oakridge Centre had a special red iPod nano pin with the Canadian maple leaf on the screen

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Apple gives Vancouver Olympic visitors a rare treasure

Yesterday Apple held its annual shareholder’s meeting at its Cupertino headquarters. All the top brass were there to answer questions from the men and women to whom, let’s face it, they must eventually answer. Of course, that didn’t stop Steve Jobs from being his usual tactless self, quipping during a lengthy comment from one shareholder, “Do you have a question ?” There’s a lot of information to digest, so I’ve condensed the juiciest morsels into what I hope is a more accessible short-form. Here goes! All seven board members were re-elected; there was an advisory vote on executive compensation and Apple’s public accounting firm was chosen (it’s Ernst & Young, by the way.) Votes also were cast on two shareholder proposals. The first called for a published “sustainability report” detailing the company’s environmental policies and its contingency planning in the face of climate change. The second proposal was for the creation of a second board of directors, tasked with overseeing Apple’s environmental policies and business strategy in the face of climate change. The board felt they were already doing a fine job in both these areas, and recommended voting against the new proposals.

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Apple Shareholder’s Meeting Roundup

The internet is awash in advice on what kind of computer you should buy, how to get the best deal, what configuration is most optimal for your needs, etc. etc. But someone has finally cut through all the palaver and delivered up the completely idiot proof guide. You know, something even your mom could do without your help. We were pointed in this direction by the SF Weekly’s Music Blog , who, like us, were completely agog at what Microsoft had to offer. In typical Redmond fashion , this overloaded page will make the uninitiated’s eyes glaze over. There’s links upon links, pages upon pages, 8 reasons to this, Top 10 thats, 7 things to look for. No one said this was going to involve math. And for those out there who march in lockstep to the latest dicta down from on Oprah high , Leena Rao has made things a tiny bit simpler, though she does go on and on and on and by the time you finish her magnum opus, technology has moved on. iPad version 2 will be out before you wade through this piece

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How To Choose a Computer