So, what are the odds that Amazon will sell the iPad?
Loading ...I was looking around Amazon to see if they were taking pre-orders for Apple’s upcoming iPad yesterday, and I noticed the only search results returned for “iPad” on their site are for 3rd party cases and screen protectors and such. This seemed a little odd to me as Amazon traditionally is right on top of Apple pre-releases, and in fact has actually slipped up and let pre-orders for unannounced Apple gear show up a day or two before previous Mac events, much to Apple’s dismay. However, it looks like the iPad may be the one Apple product that is not going to be welcome on the Amazon store, and I’m guessing we can chalk it up to the Kindle.
In fact, a quick search for eBook readers of ANY sort on Amazon reveals nothing but the same types of 3rd party accessories, such as chargers, cases, and batteries – at least not directly from Amazon. Amazon DOES allow other retailers to sell gear through its webstore, and you can find various eBook readers from a those retailers, however these sellers do not offer the same Amazon Prime shipping and return/warranty deals that Amazon itself traditionally does.
So why is the iPad different from the Apple MacBooks, iPods and iLife bundles that currently dominate Amazon’s sales charts (and help make Amazon a very rich company) ? Simple. Amazon’s first foray into the world of consumer manufacturing is the Kindle, and they are scared the iPad will eat its lunch. Thus far no other Apple product has directly competed with anything Amazon sells (digital downloads notwithstanding) and it looks like Amazon may be defending its product by keeping the iPad off of its virtual shelves, as it appears to be doing with all e-readers.
Ironically odds are the iPad WILL in fact crush the Kindle, and Amazon might have ending up making more money by getting a fraction of the iPad sales commission that actually selling the Kindle itself. But we’ll have to wait a few weeks before we know for sure how Amazon feels about the iPad, so in the meantime, take our poll and pretend you know something.
Yeah, what HE said
Braniac Daniel Eran Dilger from AppleInsider discusses the “No Flash for Apple Handhelds” issue, and even has some charts and stuff to back up his arguments.
Thanks to faithful Macenstein reader Jonro for the link!
How To: Fix a noisy car stereo iPod/iPhone connection with this Magic Box
I am a bit ashamed to admit it, but one of the few reasons I opted to spend $6,000 more for a Toyota Camry over a Toyota Corolla is the Camry had an AUX in port for my iPhone, and the Corolla did not. For years in my old Ford Contour I had to make due with horrible iPod FM transmitters that may possibly work fine in Nebraska, but which are more or less useless if you live outside a big radio market like New York City, as do I. And while at first I was overjoyed at my new found ability to enjoy crystal clear audio while driving, I eventually noticed that that crystal clear audio suddenly became decidedly LESS clear when I charged my iPhone while playing music. At first I chalked it up to the car charger (a Griffin) but when a Belkin produced the same problem, I was pissed. What I was experiencing was noise created from a “ground loop”, or sometimes referred to as “alternator whine”. But whatever you call it, it came through as a high-pitched, staticky sound that would vary in intensity depending on God knows what, but it was always present. If I unplugged my iPhone from the car charger, the audio was fine. Charge it, whine. I decided to do a test on my wife’s newer Toyota Sienna mini van, and she has the exact same problem, so maybe it’s a Toyota thing (Not that I want to accuse Toyota of having any type of manufacturing defects).
But thankfully that annoying sound is just a high-pitched memory now that I’ve found this magic box.
It’s called the PAC SNI-1/3.5 Noise Filter, and while with a name like that you would think it would sell itself, I’m so happy with mine that I figured I would give them a free commercial, and hopefully save some of my fellow car audio lovers some of the aggravation I experienced. Basically you just slip this box between your iPhone and your existing 3.5 mm audio cable (or if the Noise filter’s cable is long enough, you can just use it) and BOOM! Static gone. Unlike the iPad, this thing really IS magic!
If you do a Google or Amazon search for “Car Noise Filter” or “Alternator Whine filter” you’ll likely find a bunch of matches and prices, and almost all of them have both positive and negative reviews, but this one worked amazing for me, so I’m throwing it out there for what it’s worth. I did not notice any loss in audio quality, and I can now crank my music as loud as I’d like without hearing any of the previous whine. It’s $17.99 on Crutchfield’s site. Go get it.
Steve Jobs cheese head probably tastes AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, and MAGICAL
…Or gross. There IS a lot of pepper on that beard…
When Ken over at The Cook’s Den needed something special to spice up his iPad launch party, his thoughts naturally turned to carving Steve Jobs’ head out of cheese.
Above: Much like the iPad, Steve’s “Magically” delicious!
A self-described Apple fanboy, Ken has not only graciously posted instructions on how you too can carve your own Steve Jobs cheesehead, but he’s also detailed 3 different recipes that will surely make your guests’ heads go “BOOM!”
My only question is, isn’t it a little early to be making food for a launch party nearly 3 weeks away? What’’s the shelf life of a Steve Jobs cheese head? I know I’m not making my Strawberry Woz Pie until April 2nd.
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