Intel, Nvidia, NSA Rally with iPad's Early Success
More and more technologists are getting a first hand use of Apple's iPad, and they like it.
We managed to get some time with Intel last weekend for a totally different topic -- which we can't reveal yet -- but representatives from the company ended up actually talking about Apple's direction and the iPad. Were they just sidestepping talking about the secret technology.
We asked Intel if they were upset about Apple not going with an Atom CPU in the iPad.
"Not at all. Just think, a few years ago they were not using our processors at all, and now we're in every Mac, so do you think we can be upset?"
The Intel reps also indicated that the iPad was the talk of the town and a favorite among other engineers at the chip giant, pointing to the device's ease of use and large applications and games library. When asked if they already had one, they said that most were waiting for the Wi-Fi + 3G model.
On the other side, we have Nvidia with graphics business. But discrete GPUs is just one side of Nvidia's business. The company this year will be pushing forward in the mobile devices space with the Tegra 2 SoC, which aims to power many of the tablets current in the pipeline.
Apple may have all the spotlight in the world for tablets, but Jen-Hsun Huang, Nvidia's CEO, views that as a positive thing as it's validation for tablets that will use Tegra 2, which will boast capabilities beyond that of the iPad.
"I am really delighted to see the success of Apple," he said. "And now we can take it from there forward and innovate all around that. We have seen the first of the tablets. But we haven’t seen the best of it yet."
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National Security Agency, Lieutenant General Keith Alexander, also indicated that he and his colleagues are liking what Apple has done with the iPad, focusing on usage rather than following other traditional tablet makers.
"I am a technologist. I love computers. I have a new iPad," Alexander said to a committee of Senators.
The Wi-Fi + 3G iPad is slated to arrive later this month, although international availability has been delayed to May.
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theholylancer Why the heck is NSA on board this train?? Apple is like the wow of hardware vendors, catering to the less hardcore everyday.Reply -
dxwarlock the NSA is publicly announcing its approval? really? what next CIA, FBI and even the NRA and PETA are having public forums supporting the ipads success?Reply
talk about totally unrelated organizations hoping on the "we don't know tech, but we know popular brands, and apple is one"
one of those pop culture, we need to talk about, to look like we got a finger on the pulse of current happenings.
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babybeluga "I love computers. I have a new iPad"Reply
Ugh, I don't see how loving computers and having an iPad are related. That's like saying, "I love calculators. I have an abacus."
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Kelavarus What I'm surprised about is how from the numbers I heard, the iPad failed the majority of analysts expected sales, and yet 'everyone' is now calling it a success. How does that work?Reply
Still haven't seen a person with one IRL. -
Ragnar-Kon babybeluga"I love calculators. I have an abacus."Reply
haha, true statement for me.
But anyway. The general consensus on campus here (I work at NAU) seems to be that technology gurus hate the iPad (including the die-hard Mac fans, strangely enough), while the general "average-user" population love the iPad.
I managed to play around with one, and it is definitely a cool product, and I think Apple did VERY well with it, especially with its ease of use. Having said that, I will never need/want one. -
gayan "I am no Technologist, but I know enough to avoid the iPad like the bubonic plague"Reply
-me-