Special Thanks to MXL for providing the Microphones that record the Simulcast.

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Special Thanks to MXL for providing the Microphones that record the Simulcast.

Jobs, who returned to the helm last year after a much-scrutinized liver transplant, is hoping to sell consumers on the value of tablet computing after numerous technology companies had failed to do so in recent years.

Called the “iPad,” the device is Apple’s biggest product launch since the iPhone three years ago, and arguably rivals the smartphone as the most anticipated in Apple’s history.

After months of feverish speculation on the Internet and among investors, Jobs took the stage at a jam-packed theater in San Francisco and, with his famed showman’s flair, began detailing the device’s basic features.

The iPad has a near life-sized touch keyboard and supports Web browsing. It comes with a built-in calendar and address book, Jobs said.

Technology enthusiasts had expected to see a sleek, full-color, 10-inch gadget with a touchscreen interface and wireless connectivity, designed for snacking on all sorts of media from videos to games to electronic books and newspapers.

Despite the buzz surrounding the launch and Apple’s storied golden touch on consumer electronics, the tablet is not necessarily an easy sell, analysts say.

Consumer appetite for a gadget that sits somewhere between a smartphone and a laptop has yet to be proven, though plenty of devices such as Amazon.com’s Kindle e-reader are vying for that market.

Apple had been mum, so the market had been rife with speculation about the device.

Shares of Apple have generally risen ahead of Wednesday’s event. The stock slipped on Nasdaq to about $201.67, still within reach of its all-time high of $215.59 logged on January 5.

As iPod sales wane, Apple is looking for another growth engine and hopes to find one in the tablet. But the move is not without risk. Consumers have never warmed to tablet computers, despite many previous attempts by other companies.

In an online poll on reuters.com, 37 percent of more than 1,000 respondents said they would pay $500-$699 for the tablet. Nearly 30 percent weren’t interested, while 20 percent said they would pay $700-$899. (For more details, see http://www.twiigs.com/poll/Technology/Consumer_Electronics/47707?results=1)

Analysts’ sales predictions for the tablet vary widely, with many believing Apple can sell 2 million to 5 million units in the first year.

Via Yahoo

Via Yahoo

Both products will afford great protection and are available at Uniea.com

The company offered no clues about what it plans to unveil Wednesday in San Francisco, although analysts expect the new product to be a tablet-style computer. CEO Steve Jobs indicated that investors should expect a significant event.

“The new products we are planning to release this year are very strong, starting this week with a major new product that we’re really excited about,” Jobs said in a statement.

Apple also offered a profit and revenue forecast above Wall Street forecasts.

The iPhone’s rollout in several major new markets, including China and South Korea, helped Apple double sales of the hot phone.

Apple’s numbers also got a boost from an accounting change. Apple started putting iPhone revenue and profit on its books when the gadget is sold, rather than deferring those results over the presumed life of the device.

Apple said Monday it earned $3.4 billion, or $3.67 per share, in the latest quarter, which ended Dec. 26. In the same period of 2008, had the same accounting standards been in place, it would have had net income of $2.3 billion, or $2.50 per share.

Revenue was $15.7 billion, a 32 percent jump from $11.9 billion in the same period last year. Apple’s chief financial officer, Peter Oppenheimer, said on a conference call that half of the company’s revenue growth could be attributed to the accounting change, but Apple was silent on the change’s effects on net income.

Apple’s report reflected the company’s ability to allure shoppers without deep cuts to its premium prices. Apple’s reputation as a luxury brand hasn’t dented its ability to put up better numbers even as many computer buyers gravitate toward cheaper options.

Apple sold 8.7 million iPhones in the quarter, double what it sold in the same period the year before. And its sales of Macintosh computers rose 33 percent.

But the 21 million iPods it sold marked an 8 percent decline. Although Apple refreshed its iPod Nano with new colors and a video camera last fall, sales of the iPod have suffered as the iPhone, which has iPod features built in, has grown in popularity.

Shaw Wu, an analyst for Kaufman Bros., was expecting Apple to sell about 800,000 more iPhones in the quarter. He attributed the lower number to possible component shortages.

Apple didn’t tell Wall Street analysts in advance that it would make the accounting switch in the first quarter. That may have left some investors scratching their heads when the numbers landed. In extended trading, the shares edged up less than 1 percent, after gaining $5.32, 2.7 percent, to end the regular session at $203.07.

Wu said that until he goes back to re-crunch the numbers, he is basing his opinion on the number of iPhones, Macs and iPods Apple sold in the quarter, and on the nearly $6 billion increase in Apple’s cash stockpile.

“That number looked pretty solid,” Wu said.

Apple said it expects the current quarter, the second in its fiscal year, to yield earnings of $2.06 to $2.18 per share, with revenue of $11.0 billion to $11.4 billion.

Analysts did not factor the accounting change into their estimates for the current quarter. On average, they had been predicting profit of $1.77 per share and revenue of $10.4 billion in the current quarter, according to Thomson Reuters.

Via Yahoo

It could put pressure on rivals such as AT&T Inc and Sprint Nextel Corp, the second and third biggest U.S. mobile services, to follow suit with price cuts of their own. It may also hurt smaller competitors such as Leap Wireless International Inc and MetroPCS Communications Inc, which already offer big discounts.

Shares of Verizon Wireless parent Verizon Communications Inc were down 1.5 percent on Friday. Shares in Vodafone Group Plc, a minority Verizon Wireless owner, were also down 1.2 percent in London.

Verizon Wireless said on Friday it is replacing a $99.99 voice plan with a $69.99 plan that includes unlimited phone calls and an $89.99 plan that also includes text messages.

However, the company upped its fee for data services such as Web surfing to $9.99 per month in a plan which caps data use at 25 megabytes of downloads, from a $19.99 service plan for 75 megabytes of data downloads.

Executives for Verizon said while voice revenues would come down initially, the ultimate effect of all the changes would be an increase in revenue and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

They did not give specific details.

The increase in data fees comes as Verizon and its rivals look for ways to ease pressure on their data networks. The growing popularity of Web-capable phones has vastly increased data use.

AT&T’s mobile chief said late last year that he was looking for ways to ease data usage. A spokesman for AT&T declined comment on whether or not his company would follow suit.

AT&T currently offers a $99.99 unlimited voice plan and data services for $29.99 excluding text messages.

A Sprint representative was not immediately available for comment. Sprint offers voice and data services for $99.99.

Via Yahoo