Invitation reveals higher-res display

Apple has announced the date of a long-anticipated press event for the next-generation iPad. Media invitations point to an event taking place on March 7th, at 10AM Pacific time. It will be hosted in a favorite Apple venue, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

“We have something you really have to see,” the invitation reads. “And touch.” Notably, a photo in the email depicts an upgraded, extremely high-resolution display, confirming widespread reports. What Apple will call the new tablet is unknown, but most news accounts have simply referred to it as the iPad 3.

Other rumored features include support for LTE 4G on cellular-equipped models, and a new quad-core processor. The device should also become the second piece of Apple hardware to support Siri, the voice command system currently restricted to the iPhone 4S. One rumor has Apple launching a new Apple TV alongside an iPad 3.

Now, the real question is when is the new iPad 3 going to be available for purchase?

Apple said to hold ‘iPad 3′ event first week in March

By AppleInsider Staff

Published: 08:40 AM EST (05:40 AM PST)

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Apple will reportedly hold a media event the first week in March in San Francisco to unveil its third-generation iPad, which is expected to go on sale soon after it is unveiled.

Citing unnamed sources, AllThingsD reported on Thursday that Apple’s so-called “iPad 3″ will debut at a special event to be held the first week in March. That means the next-generation tablet will be shown off in the next three to four weeks.

Author John Paczkowski said the device will be largely the same as rumors have suggested, with a high-resolution Retina Display in the range of 2,048-by-1,536 pixels along with a “much faster” processor and improved graphics processing.

Paczkowski also asked a source whether 2012 will be “the year of the iPad 3,” and they reportedly said, “what do you think?” Last year at the iPad 2 unveiling in March, Apple killed off rumors that a new iPad model would launch later in the year by declaring 2011 the “Year of iPad 2.”

Last year, the iPad 2 was unveiled at a media event at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Wednesday, March 2. Thursday’s rumor suggests that the new iPad will debut at a similar point in the year. The month of March kicks off on a Thursday in three weeks.

The rumored date comes as a flurry of pictures claim to show components for Apple’s third-generation iPad, including one that purports to be a high-resolution Retina Display manufactured by Sharp for the anticipated tablet’s 9.7-inch touchscreen. Separately, a pair of reports claim to show both the outside and inside of the device’s back panel, suggesting it will include space internally for a larger battery.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that this is the case. I was an early adopter of the original iPad, but skipped the iPad 2. Now I’m ready for an upgrade.

Amazon nears deal with Viacom as it readies standalone video subscriptions

By Josh Ong

Published: 11:30 PM EST (08:30 PM PST)

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Amazon is reportedly close to finalizing a Web video licensing agreement with Viacom and is nearly ready to launch a standalone video subscription service that would challenge Netflix.

People familiar with the negotiations between Amazon and Viacom told Reuters that a deal could be announced as soon as this week. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman teased last week that the company would announce a new online deal this week, but he declined to provide more details.

Amazon has already reached agreements with major studios including CBS, Warner Bros, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Walt Disney for its Prime Instant Video service, but the company is believed to have ambitions for a standalone service as well. People who have spoken with Amazon executives told the publication that the online retailer is looking to create a non-Prime video service to spur sales of the Kindle Fire tablet.

Multiple sources said Amazon is currently in negotiations with Hollywood studios to expand its licensing rights and add to its library. Though the company does compete with Apple’s iTunes to offer digital videos for purchase or rental, it is apparently also set on going after Netflix in the subscription video market.

The Kindle Fire arrived last November with a low $199 price tag. Amazon bundles a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime with the tablet in hopes of drawing customers into its ecosystem. Prime costs $79 a year and offers customers free two-day shipping in the U.S. for most items in addition to access to video content.

The company relies heavily on content sales since the Fire is believed to be sold at a loss. Amazon’s net income declined by 57 percent last quarter even as Kindle sales shot up by 177 percent year over year. The company declines to provide specifics on how many Kindle devices it has sold, though it has indicated that sales are in the “millions of units.”

Analysts on average believe Amazon sold five million Kindle Fire units last quarter, though Sitfel NIcolaus’ Jordan Rohan estimated last month that the company shipped as many as six million during the period.

A recent survey revealed that 29 percent of Kindle Fire owners, which made up six percent of respondents, plan to spend more at Amazon over the next 90 days. That’s compared to an average of 20 percent of consumers. The company could, however, face problems with customer satisfaction, as the same survey showed that only 54 percent of Kindle Fire owners are “very satisfied” with the device, compared to 74 percent of iPad owners who answered a November survey.

Downloads of Amazon’s video offerings saw healthy growth last quarter after the Kindle Fire release. Instant video purchases or rentals more than doubled during the December quarter, while the number of Prime Instant Video streams jumped up almost 300 percent year over year, the company said last month.

For its part, rival Apple has reportedly been met with resistance in its own efforts to negotiate subscription streaming deals from Hollywood and TV studios. Last November, CBS executive Les Moonves revealed that he had rejected an “advertiser split” online streaming offer from Apple because it refused to enter into “success-based or non-guaranteed” agreements.

Sterne Agee analyst Shaw Wu said late last year that Apple hopes to offer content subscriptions with customized channel lineups, but licensing agreements for such a service have turned out to be “much more complicated” than current deals. Separately, Jefferies analyst Peter Misek said he believes Apple may choose to work with existing cable providers for its rumored connected television set. His claims gained some credibility soon after when The Globe and Mail reported that Canadian telecommunications companies Rogers and Bell Canada already have a prototype “iTV” in their labs.

Okay, this is something that I could really get behind. As the owner of a Kindle Fire and a Roku box for streaming Amazon video to my TV, I could hop on board with an Amazon Video Subscription in a heartbeat. I’ve been using the free Amazon Prime instant videos for awhile now, but have often found myself wishing that there was a greater selection to choose from.

I recently cancelled my Netflix account out of frustration over their price changes and the lack of account management features. When you have streaming devices in a family context, you need a way to manage access to viewing history and basic parental controls would be nice. There is content that, while suitable for my wife or myself, I wouldn’t want younger children to have access to. Netflix doesn’t effectively implement a way to separate viewing history and reccomendations between parents and kids.

My wish for an Amazon subscription service would be competitive pricing and basic account management. If their past actions are any indication, I would say that competitive pricing is a given. Also, when it comes to providing recommendations Amazon currently provides a way to edit how past purchases are used. Let’s hope they follow through and incorporate that process into their video subscription service.