We are T-minus two days until the media circus descends on the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco and the world is introduced to the next-generation iPad, as well as a revamped Apple TV set top box if the speculation turns out to be correct. With the new tablet device rumored to have a Retina-quality display, as well as an upgraded processor and possibly new camera units, the hype for the product launch is at an all time high and will result in record breaking iPad sales when it is eventually launched to the public.
One of the great things about Apple, and one of the main reasons why so many people love the company the world over, is the service that they provide to their customers. Apple is often praised for the great products which they provide, which is a compliment they are indeed worthy of, but the truth is that a lot of technology companies manufacture exceptional products which are equal in functionality to Apple's. The thing which generally sets Apple apart is the way they go about marketing those products, and the service they provide through after sales channels, designed to breed consumer loyalty.
With the much-anticipated iPad 3 set to make its debut in only three days -- March 7th, at a special media event in San Francisco -- the rumor mill is working overtime. One of the latest, seemingly credible rumors to crop up is one that reveals a good deal of information about the device if it is true; tech blog M.I.C. Gadget claims to have gotten their hands on the front glass, rear shell, and case of the iPad 3, on top of some other nuggets of information from their sources.
The consumer electronics industry has always represented a huge business sector for companies, but with devices like smartphones and tablet PCs being such big news, around the world it has never seen as a big a growth as it is currently seeing. It seems that a day can't go by without a new Apple or Samsung product being talked about or speculated on, with the Cupertino and Korea-based companies leading the way when it comes to smartphone and tablet production.
I imagined that when Apple first started developing the Siri software to be distributed with the iPhone 4S handset, they would have hoped that the intelligent voice assistant would be taken to the hearts of users and quickly become an integral part of their mobile lives. After all, this isn't just some bonus feature or application which offers a small amount of entertainment before being discarded in the never-to-be-used-again pile. Siri is deeply integrated into the operating system, meaning that going forward; we are likely to see enhanced abilities as well as inclusion on all new devices brining Siri to a much wider audience.
With the App Store being launched in 2008, I am not so sure that anyone would have predicted the insane levels of success that it would enjoy during its infancy. We have to remember that Apple’s application market is not even four years old and already has close to 600,000 applications on it with over 100,000 registered developers regularly adding to that total. We are pretty sure that Apple would have taken great pride in announcing to the world that they were approaching the 25 billionth download on the App Store, offering a $10,000 iTunes gift card to the person who manages to download that app.
Everything Everywhere, the collaborative marketing effort of T-Mobile and Orange - two of the UK's foremost carriers - is said to be readying demonstrations and point of sales for a "new iPad" in its nationwide outlets.
With the big iPad announcement just days away, Apple has begun its marketing and ad campaign - sort of. The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco - the chosen location of Apple's next-gen iPad event - is currently being decorated with banners of, we presume, whatever winds up being announced.
It seems that if you are the type of person who has a particular interest in watching competing technology companies go head to head in a legal battle, then Germany, or more specifically, Munich Regional Courts is the place where you should be. It is no secret that patent infringement cases have been sprouting up all over the place, with companies like Motorola Mobility, Apple and Samsung all trying desperately to get one up on each other through the legal system and strike a victory blow in the tense battle for smartphone domination.
Privacy - particularly in this most digital of times - is a massive deal. You don't have to look a great deal further than the commotion surrounding Google's big privacy policy amendment today to realize that consumers care a great deal about privacy, and will kick and scream to the high hills if said privacy is threatened in any way.

