The results as pointed out by Fortune’s Apple 2.0 blog say that after two hours of iPad availability Victor Castroll announced “51,000 orders in two hours” on the board.

The estimates were made by looking at two order numbers 30 minutes apart and accounting for the estimated 15,000 online orders that run through Apple’s store in a typical day.

After six hours of iPad pre-orders Castroll estimated that orders were up to 91,000.

iPhone 3GS | Image courtesy of Apple

According to a new rumour Apple will silence the critics by bringing multitasking to the next major update to the iPhone operating system. The update will allow “several third party apps to run concurrently and in the background” writes AppleInsider.

According to AppleInsider “people with a proven track record” say that Apple has developed a “full-on solution” to multitasking on the iPhone. Details of how multitasking was implemented was withheld from the sources as iPhone OS 4.0 development “has a quite ‘way to go’ before it’s ready for prime time.”

AppleInsider goes onto cite a multitude of reasons why Apple has yet to implement multitasking, looking at security and hardware resource issues.

The Core i7-980x is due for release from Intel this coming Tuesday and will mark Intel’s first six-core processor running at 3.33GHz (TurboBoost to 3.6GHz) and based on 32nm technology.

9to5 Mac is speculating that the release will be tomorrow.

Apple iPad

During the official launch of the iPad in January, Apple said that the iPad would go on sale worldwide at the end of March.

Mac Rumors is now reporting that it has heard that the official on sale date is Friday, March 26th at 6PM.

The report corroborates with a blog post from the Examiner which claims that the iPad will go on sale on March 26th and Apple store employees will begin training on March 10th. The post also reveals that advertising for the iPad will begin March 15th and early adopters will receive a “special gift”.

Apple iPad

Apple has yet to reveal UK iPad pricing stating that it will do so nearer the time of release. Today Geeky Gadgets has published a tip claiming that iPad pricing will begin at £389.

In addition to pricing the site states that despite Apple expecting a March release for the iPad in the UK it will more likely be April.

• iPad 16GB WiFi – £389
• iPad 32GB WiFi – £439
• iPad 64GB WiFi – £489

Geeky Gadgets provided no pricing for 3G+WiFi iPad models.

It has been revealed that a new category is available for Apps but not yet visible to the public. The category available to developers submitting Apps is labelled “Explicit” which has since been removed.

The addition suggests that Apple could wish to add Apps to the store which are beyond a 17+ rating.

CBS is looking to experiment with the pricing on TV shows on the iTunes to see if a lower price will spur a sales increase. CBS is looking to sell some TV shows through iTunes for as little as $0.99 according to the New York Times.

One anonymous TV network executive said, “We’re willing to try anything, but the key word is ‘try,’ “.

The price cut will only effect standard definition versions of TV shows with HD versions staying at $2.99.

Last week some other networks lowered pricing with NBC recaps of Olympic events and episodes of the PBS Kids shows “Arthur,” “Martha Speaks” and “WordGirl” all available for $0.99.

Andrew Russell, a senior vice president of PBS said that it was a three-week experiment to “generate buzz”. Adding, “At this point we still feel the $1.99 price point is right for us, our audiences and our producers to help support creation of more outstanding kids’ content,”

ThesMac.gr has published a screenshot of memory modules listed for use in a “MacBook Pro 2010″. The listing unfortunately contains numerous errors, listing the RAM type as DDR3 running at 1333MHz, which would not be compatible with the expected processors.

On the other hand the part numbers are inline with expectations and the part has begun working its way to other retailers.

The discovery raises the probability of a MacBook Pro refresh in the near future.

Steve Jobs uses iPad during unveiling keynote. Apple iPad Event by mattbuchanan, on Flickr

Rumours suggest that when Apple CEO Steve Jobs met with Wall Street Journal editors to show off the iPad the subject quickly turned to Adobe Flash and the lack of compatibility.

The details published by Valleywag say that during the meeting Jobs defended Apple’s decisions by calling Flash “a CPU hog” and is full of “security holes” adding that Apple doesn’t “spend a lot of energy on old technology.”

Jobs who has a history of abandoning technologies is also rumoured to have said that playing videos in Flash would reduce the iPads battery from 10 hours to 1.5 hours recommending that the WSJ abandon Flash in a “trivial” move and adopt H.264.

Steve Hemmerstoffer for Nowhere Else writes that, “An anonymous source who works for Apple just tell me that the new MacBook Pro line will be launched tomorrow”.

A release tomorrow would coincide with the start of the first Apple-less Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

Over the weekend it was revealed that a GeekBench post could potentially refer to an unreleased MacBook Pro model, assuming it hasn’t been intentionally faked. The report posted on February 4, 2010 shows a MacBook Pro with a Core i7 M 620 clocked at 2.66GHz running an unreleased build of Mac OS X 10.6.2 scoring an impressive 5260.

Apple's A4 Processor inside iPad

In an interview with The Guardian, chief executive of ARM Warren East has given the “strongest hint yet” that the company’s technology is inside the iPad.

The iPad officially—according to Apple’s spec sheets—uses an in-house Apple A4 SoC (system on chip) processor, but speculation has suggested that the chip incorporates ARM’s Cortex-A9 MPCore processor, more commonly known as the Snapdragon chip.

In the interview with the UK newspaper the chief executive hinted that the mystery would soon be over saying, “I would doubt whether anybody other than Apple has taken the iPad to bits yet,” adding, “But in a month or so it will be available and somebody other than Apple will take it to bits – and then we will know.”

Speculation has risen from the ability to run iPhone and iPod touch applications directly on the iPad, the apps on the App Store are designed for ARM processors.

East reportedly teased, “But I cannot possibly confirm anything,”

Apple iPad

Rumours of a Verizon attached iPad have been circulating since before the device was even announced. Last week when Apple announced a partnership with AT&T it looked like the rumours were simply untrue but the originator of the rumours Clayton Morris of FOXNews.com has spoken to his Verizon source who claims that Apple and Verizon are continuing to work towards a deal.

According to Clayton, Verizon is “more interested in the lucrative iPhone contracts” but the Apple and the carrier are “very much talking and plan to bring an iPhone and an iPad” to Verizon in 2010. AT&T’s exclusivity over the iPhone is expected to expire in June this year.

The report also adds some insight into the pricing of the data for the iPad stating that, “AT&T was able to outbid every other GSM carrier with a $14.99 or $29.99 plan that gives customers 250MB or unlimited data, respectively.”

Of course Verizon does not operate a GSM network and would require Apple to build compatible hardware to work on Verizon’s CDMA network.

The report states that Pegatron Technology has been selected by Apple and will manufacture the next-generation iPhone alongside Foxconn.

The next iPhone is expected to be released along Apple’s normal timeframe around June time and the addition of another manufacturer could suggest that Apple is looking to increase output. Along the same lines Pegatron expects handset shipments to “grow substantially in 2010″.

In separate news with the release of a new iPhone SDK yesterday alongside the iPhone OS update revealed that Apple has begun referring to the next iPhone as “N89″. A contrast to a report that suggested the iPhone was referred to as “N90″.

Following images from Engadget earlier that showed the front of the tablet, Gizmodo now republishes photos of the rear. The photos were originally sourced from Chinese website WeiPhone.

The photos are reportedly from an RF testing facility and clearly show port holes in the unibody enclosure.

Images below.

Engadget also publishes some specs claiming that the tablet will have “a 10-inch screen and look like a larger iPhone with a MacBook-like aluminum back, and that pricing will run $800 on contract with Verizon and $1000 without when it arrives in March.”

Additionally Engadget’s source claims that the iPhone will be “coming to Verizon” and there will be a demo of iLife ‘10.

Images inserted below.

In the first of a series of tweets Calcanis starts by saying “Yes, it’s true… I’ve been beta testing the Apple tablet for the past two weeks and it’s amazing.”

Then Calcanis goes onto reveal multiple details about the tablet.

The best part ofthe apple tablet as beta user has been the built in HDTV tuner and pvr, and the chess game.

Also, the apple tablet is really amazing for newspapers. Video conferencing is super stable, but nothing new.

The price will be 599, 699 and 799 depending on size and memory in apple tablet. Also, wireless keyboard + monitor connection for tv

Yes @HappyDrew, the apple tablet is running an iphone os flavor with ability to have multiple apps running at same time (ie pandora, browser

Well @joshgrenon, I can tell u the battery life is great in ebook reading mode but not great when on wifi or playing games. 2-3hrs

Yes, there are 2cameras: one in front and one in back (or it may be one with some double lens) so you record yourself and in front of u.

Apple Tablet has thumbpads on each side for mouse guestures, reads fingerprint for security. Up to 5 profiles by finerprint for family.

Yes, apple tablet is oled + back has solar pad for recharging, but it really doesn’t work quickly. More a gimmic. Verizon+att,wifi yes!

Apple tablet’s 2 cameras is sick feature for video conferencing: u shoot what’s in front of you + yourself. Augmented video conferncing!

Ok, I’m going to bed (with apple tablet after reading nytimes+Vanity Fair on it!), steve jobs outdid himself, its greatest device ever!!!

Apple tablet games are sick. Basically nintendo wii-level innovation. Custom farmville app is insane. Mark pincus is demoing with steve tmmr

apple tablet connects to other tablets over wifi for gaming. There will be LAN parties with these things, people playingFirst personshooters

Off to bed, but I assure you I’m not joking and the specs are real…. Most of all that this is best gadget ever made and NOT overhyped.

During the interview on the “Street Signs,” show Terry McGraw was quizzed about Apple’s tablet and whether textbooks would be available on the device, McGraw answered yes adding that it was “very exciting”.

“You know, they will make their announcement tomorrow on this one. We have worked with Apple for quite awhile, and the tablet is going to be based on the iPhone operating system, and so it will be transferable.

“So what you’re going to be able to do now — we have a consortium of e-books, you know, and we have 95 percent of all of our materials that are in e-book formats on that one. So now, with the tablet, you’re going to open up the higher education market, the professional market. The tablet is going to be just really terrific.”

McGraw interview embedded below.

Financial Times associates TV shows as an integral part of Apple’s tablet strategy which the publication expects to be unveiled tomorrow.

According to a person familiar with the talks Apple “is looking to change pricing dynamics” adding, “That’s what they did to the music industry. The difference between the TV industry and music is this one has good economics.”

Financial Times goes onto state that Apple has primarily focused on ” courting book and newspaper publishers ahead of the tablet’s launch” suggesting that Apple has been in talks with News Corporation’s HarperCollins and the New York Times. Apple has also rumoured to have “approached Conde Nast, Hearst, McGraw-Hill and the Hachette book group, according to the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.”

Finally, Financial Times reports that Apple has “floated the idea” of a low-cost video subscription service with “News Corp, Time Warner, Viacom, Disney and CBSwhich would combine the “best of television” and would cost $30 per month.”

Alongside this prediction Misek also expects Apple to announce iPhone OS 4.0. In Misek’s note he runs down what he expects to see in iPhone OS 4.0 with his predictions running along the same lines as those rumoured by Boy Genius Report earlier in the week including, multitasking, a simpler user interface, and a new way to sync contacts and calendar apps.

Misek goes onto suggest that although many U.S. carriers will adopt tiered data plans, the iPhone on Verizon will still carry an unlimited data plan according to his “industry sources”.

“Together with our semi-conductor partners, we have ascertained that there is a reasonable chance the Asian supply chain is prepping for mass production of a new iPhone in March, for availability in late Q2, likely June,” Misek said. The new iPhone according to Misek will be capable of running on both CDMA and GSM networks.

Misek also looks forward to 2011 iPhone models speculating that Apple will release an LTE-capable “4GS” iPhone.

The tablet is said to have also the same function buttons as the original iPhone including the “home button” the tablet will also have the same inputs and outputs as the current iPhone “including a 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack, built-in speaker grills, a microphone, GPS, 3G connectivity and a 30-pin dock connector.”

Ars spoke to Barry Young, managing director of the OLED Association who said that there is “no real production of 10.1-inch panels.”

Whilst the inclusion of LCD will most likely prove true the chances of AMOLED seem unlikely in 2010. Young told Ars that at most Apple would be able to secure 150,000 AMOLED display panels per month.

According to BusinessWeek Apple and Google now consider each other primary enemies and that “Microsoft is now a pawn in that battle.”

BusinessWeek is bolstered by an additional report from the Wall Street Journal who states that “Apple was in serious discussions with Microsoft Corp. to incorporate its Bing search engine into the iPhone as the default search and map technologies.”

More interestingly the Wall Street Journal includes the following in its last paragraph:

Even if it’s consummated, an Apple-Bing deal may prove short-lived. The person familiar with Apple’s thinking says Apple has a “skunk works” looking at a search offering of its own, and believes that “if Apple does do a search deal with Microsoft, it’s about buying itself time.” Given the importance of search and its tie to mobile advertising — and the iPhone maker’s desire to slow Google — “Apple isn’t going to outsource the future.”

Towards the end of last year Apple also acquired mapping company PlaceBase.

Shaw Wu analyst for Kaufman Brothers writes that “the product would most likely not ship in volume until the June timeframe, as there may [be] minor issues that need more work including battery life and durability. We believe the timeline could be similar to the original iPhone, where it was announced in January 2007, but didn’t ship until six months later.”

In addition Wu goes onto discuss some of the rumours he’s heard about the speculated Apple tablet.

• Act as an intermediary between the iPod touch/iPhone and Mac. “it is not intended to replace a Mac but to be somewhat of a ’super’ iPod touch where video, gaming, web browsing, e-books, and the ability to run multiple apps, would be enhanced with the much larger screen.”
• Believes that Wi-Fi would be the “most likely option” for internet access making no clear ruling out of 3G network access
• Estimates price point close to $999 but says that carrier subsidies could reduce cost
• Supply chain sources suggest Apple is looking to sell 5 million tablets in first year.

The rumours which come from a “trusty” source are published by Boy Genius Report and go as follows:

• There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)
  “A few new ways” to run applications in the background — multitasking.

• Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.
• The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”
• The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.

Apple is holding a media event on Wednesday, January 27 in San Francisco and is widely expected to announce its long-rumoured tablet computer alongside discussions of iPhone OS 4.0 and accompanying SDK.

The email which was sent to members of Intel’s Retail Edge program stated that two MacBook Pros with Core i5 processors could be won. Intel now blames a marketing error for the incorrect promotional email.

Intel has apologized for the mistake and the confusion they have created with this slip, which it blamed on a lack of communication from their central marketing agency.

Intel has modified the artwork for the promotion, which was available in several countries, to reflect the “new” laptop model available for the drawing.

The MacBook Pro line of notebooks which currently features Core 2 Duo processors is expected to move up to Intel Core i5/i7 processors in the future but it is unknown when.

Boy Genius Report writes that the internal name for the tablet is K48AP and is said to be an “iPhone on steroids” as well as the following details:

• The tablet’s multi-touch gestures are “out of control.”
• It’s powered by an incredibly fast ARM CPU
• It runs on the iPhone kernel.
• There hasn’t been an updated iPhone OS build because there’s too much tablet-related code/references in the OS and Apple obviously didn’t want that to leak. Oops.

Mac Rumors notes that a commentor on Reddit has also referred to the tablet by its internal name and the next iPhone is referred to as N90AP.

Intel’s Retail Edge program aims to educate staff of retail stores about Intel products as well as pass on knowledge of contests and discounts.

Apple is rumoured to be hosting a special event on January 27th where the company is expected to announce its long-rumoured tablet computer. The company could also use the stage to announce refreshed notebooks.

“We were designing a product for a customer and we needed 10 inch screens, but we’ve been trying for months and can’t get one from any of the Asian suppliers,” an anonymous designer for a firm wishing to remain nameless told TG Daily.

TG Daily’s source also stated that the displays Apple had bought were headed for a tablet.

TG Daily refers to the poor supply of “10.1-inch multi-touch display LCD and OLED screens”, it should be noted that the multi-touch panel, LCD display and OLED display are all separate components and in the case of the iPhone supplied by separate suppliers (minus OLED of course).

Details are thin in the report but the author does speculate that the device will help Apple “capitalize on demand from consumers for devices that can surf the Web and play movies and music.” Additionally the tablet could be competition for Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader according to the report.

In separate but related news analyst Brian Marshall with Broadpoint.AmTech said that the Apple tablet will support multiple carriers and will definitely connect to Verizon’s 3G network.

“The tablet will be supported by multiple [mobile] carriers,” said Brian Marshall of Broadpoint AmTech, citing unnamed sources he said were close to the situation. “Verizon and others,” he continued. “Definitely Verizon. I’ve been told that’s a certainty.”

Speculation is widely expected to come to an end on January 27th when Apple is rumoured to have scheduled a special media event to unveil the touchscreen tablet. The event is said to be held at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, a common stage for Apple product releases.

Digital Daily concurs that the event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco with author John Paczkowski adding “So, that rumored Apple event everyone has been jawing about these past few weeks? It’s on and it’s going to be a big deal.”

The event is expected to be the launch base for the long-rumoured multi-touch tablet from Apple.

Along with this weeks purported change of date the Wall Street Journal is also disputing previous details by insisting that the device will feature a 10- to 11-inch display. Adding that the announcement of the tablet will come “later this month” with shipments expected to begin before the end of March.

WSJ also expands its details claiming that Apple has begun talking to outsiders and has now been able to glean the following information from its sources:

• 10- to 11-inch colour touchscreen display.
• Will allow the watching of movies and TV shows and ability to play games, use the internet and read books and newspapers.
• Will redefine how consumers interact with multimedia offering with “integration of live up-to-the-minute information from multiple sources.”
• Requotes Yair Reiner, an analyst for Oppenheimer & Co. stating a $1000 price tag.

In addition to Tablet rumours Mac4Ever is claiming that Apple will also announced iPhone SDK 4.0 beta which will include a “simulator” that will help developers with working with different screen resolutions.

Morris corroborates last weeks report that Apple will hold an event in San Francisco on Tuesday January 26, 2010; adding that the event will be focused on “the mobility space” speculating that this event will be related to the iPhone/iPod touch.

Morris offers no further information only going onto speculate that this event could be related to the mythical Apple tablet.

The first report from Taiwan’s Economic Daily states that Cheng Uei Precision Industry has been the beneficiary of an order for “connectors” adding that the company is likely to ship the parts in 3Q 2010, not in line with previous suggestions of Apple timeframes.

The second report from DigiTimes states that Foxconn’s subsidiary Innolux and Apple’s current iPhone panel maker will be responsible for supplying 10-inch panels for the tablet. Glass strengthening will also be supplied by another Foxconn subsidiary G-Tech Optoelectronics.

As previously reported Foxconn is rumoured to be the assembler of the tablet.

According to one senior Apple employee who Bilton spoke to, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is said to be “extremely happy with the new tablet.” Whilst another ex-Apple employee reportedly said that consumers will be “surprised how you interact with the new tablet.”

Bilton also offers some background on the development of the tablet which is said to have stretched back as far as five years, the first version was shelved by Steve Jobs but much of the technology has made it into other products, the iPhone for example.

Bilton also links the tablet to the successful App Store, although this looks like an element of speculation, “one of the barriers to producing the early tablets was the lack of software. The success of the App Store and the eagerness of the publishers show that this won’t be a problem for any new devices.”

The rumour comes just hours after reports suggested that Apple’s long fabled tablet could make an appearance in January. The same reports suggesting that the touchscreen tablet will have a 7-inch display.

Adding to the rumours, Silicon Alley Insider reports that Apple has approached several iPhone app developers to prepare a demo of apps to run in “full screen mode” next month. The source stated to Silicon Alley Insider that “as long as [developers] build their apps to support full screen resolution — rather than a fixed 320×480 — their apps should run just fine”.

As with previous sources Silicon Alley Insider notes that the January event will only hold a demo of the tablet which will be released later in the year.

OmniVision Technologies is expected to see CMOS image sensor (CIS) orders for Apple’s iPhone devices grow to 40-45 million units in 2010 from 20-21 million estimated this year, according to industry sources. The sources said OmniVision has secured 5-megapixel CIS orders for the next-generation iPhone model, which will hit shelves sometime during the second half of 2010.

Omnivision is the current supplier of the iPhone 3GS 3.2-megapixel sensor.

Boy Genius reports that a very reliable source to them guarantees that the Apple tablet will have a 7-inch display (presumably multi-touch) and will be announced in January.

Along the same lines the Financial Times in the UK claims that Apple is preparing an announcement next month that many anticipate will be the official unveiling of its tablet.” The FT does not disclose the source of the information.

The current public version of iPhone OS is 3.1.2 was released back in early October making it very like that 3.1.3 is in the works and likely to be presented to developers in the near future. iPhone OS 4.0 would be a major OS release and going on history would see a release in June next year.

The third update to Snow Leopard is expected to arrive with developers sometime on Thursday and according to AppleInsider will carry the build prefix of 10Dxx.

Reid’s thoughts come off analysing the carriers different advertising campaigns, “AT&T advertising in the United States has in recent weeks clearly shifted away from iPhone as the carrier likely readies itself to lose exclusivity in the United States (to T-Mobile and not to VZ, we believe) while VZ ads promoting Droid and other anti-iPhone devices appear to have intensified markedly”.

Rumours earlier in 2009 suggested that AT&T was looking to extend its exclusive contract—which expires sometime in 2010—through to 2011 but such suggestions died off around the middle of the year.

Reid added that Verizon could pick up the iPhone in 2011 when its 4G network is more established.

T-Mobile would be an easier target for the iPhone than Verizon as it will already be able to work on T-Mobile’s GSM network but will be unable to access thaw 3G portion of the network as the iPhone is only compatible with 850MHz, 1900MHz and 2100MHz bands where as T-Mobile operates on 1700MHz.