The DIY "iPad3" from China

There are many ways to get an iPad. It can be as easy as walking into any Apple Store and shelling out at least $500, or as creative as building yourself one. Yes, it's possible, sort of.

Photo Source: http://www.geek.com

It took two weeks and a couple of laptop hardware for this Chinese guy (allegedly a hacker/geek/genius) to create his own replica of the coveted tablet which he named "iPad3". The device runs on Windows XP and is bulkier compared to the original one but apparently it works just fine! Reportedly, his device is able to run Google Earth, read an ebook and do a bit of web surfing. A carrying case with keyboard and an Apple logo were added to complete the "iPad3".

People have called this creation insane and genius. Yeah. Sure. But it's also an impending law suit for trademark infringement, or a cease and desist order from Apple at the very least. 

Trademark Infringement happens when an identical or similar trade mark for identical or similar goods and services to a registered trade mark creates a likelihood of confusion on the part of the public. This includes the case where because of the similarities between the marks the public are led to the mistaken belief that the trade marks, although different, identify the goods or services of one and the same trader. Where the registered mark has a significant reputation, infringement may also arise from the use of the same or a similar mark which, although not causing confusion, damages or takes unfair advantage of the reputation of the registered mark. This can occasionally arise from the use of the same or similar mark for goods or services which are dissimilar to those covered by the registration of the registered mark.
Source: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/t-infringe.htm

Trademark infringements are nothing new to Apple. Almost every product they have introduced into the market involved a Trademark Infringement suit over some other company holding the rights to a particular device. The iPad is just the latest dispute in the Trademark wars. In fact in 2010, Apple almost faced a lawsuit over the iPad trademark in China, which I think was "settled", since we never heard anything anymore after the iPad dominated the market last year. As the saying goes, if you can't beat them, buy them!

And in case anyone is interested to attempt making their own tablets, the guy made a 20-minute video to illustrate the process. Watch the actual video here, courtesy of Youku, the Chinese version of YouTube.

Or you can just wait for the official release of the (real) iPad3 in September :)


4th Entry
Soleil Flores

From Big Guns to Sleek Gadgets

If you think an iPad (or any other tablet device) is just for entertainment and ‘information on the go’ . I suggest you think, or should I say tap again.

Just recently the Singapore’s Defense Ministry announced its plans to issue the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) 8,000 sets of tablet devices, to its military recruits starting November this year. According to the report, this is to "harness our advantage of today's technologically savvy servicemen" by "exploiting the use of popular and current information and communications technology." The device's camera can be used to send photos and videos to share intelligence data and for post-mission assessments. It would also allow for group chats and live messages to commanders or other battalions. (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/224687/technology/singapore-military-adopts-ipad-2)

“This changes everything. Again.”

Back in the days, no one would have ever thought that such devices can be used for the military. In fact, can we imagine the AFP holding IPads and rifles at the same time? Probably not in a million years. But with today’s technology, a lot of things that seemed absurd and unheard of come alive. As early as 2010, the UK Military has adopted the iPad for training its soldiers. And today, special applications for military use are being worked on with third parties not only in Singapore but also in the United States as well (e.g. SoldierEyes by Textron Systems).

The recent developments in military tactics only proves that the use of tablet computer technology is not anymore limited for the gadget-hungry mass consumers looking for ways to entertain themselves. It has evolved into a different game altogether involving the government. Tablet military warfare anyone?

(Image Source: Image Source: http://thenextweb.com/apps/2010/07/30/uk-militarys-new-recruit-an-ipad-app)

Entry #2

Kindle: Victor of the Ebook Wars?

Given that Amazon’s Kindle has recently crossed the e-reader Rubicon, an ongoing price war is about to take center stage. Evolution is rearing its undiscriminating head as it surveys the ebook playing field and finds Gutenberg’s centuries-old invention to be wanting. True, the e-reader market has yet to reach its full potential, barely making its presence felt in the so-called First World countries. But where mass adoption of a potentially global norm takes place in these parts, the rest of the world seems to follow suit. We’ve seen this phenomenon happen a few times before: the time email coined the phrase ‘snail mail,’ the time that Google became a verb, and more recently, the time that Facebook and Hollywood started appearing in the same sentence.

Erstwhile presidential candidate Dick Gordon, aside from dancing with the likes of internet sensations Moymoy Palaboy, will probably be remembered as the man who introduced the Kindle to the Philippines. If elected, he promised, he’d give every student of this country a Kindle. Back then - and when I say back then, I mean less than a year ago - this seemed an impossibility despite Gordon’s stalwart claims of feasibleness. In a few months time however, after the dust has settled from the e-reader price wars, it’d be a crime for the present Administration to ignore the promise of Gordon’s idea.

Today, the cheapest Kindle costs $139. Even cellphones - which resemble rice as a staple commodity in the Philippines - are more expensive! If we wait for a few months, this might even go lower as analysts predict the dawn of an ebook renaissance (or, if you’re shaking your head in disbelief, a paradigm-shift) in the coming years. Considering that public libraries are a joke, that this too suffers from the ‘tragedy of the commons,’ that the budget for education is mostly devoted to infrastructure and teacher training rather than in increasing the system’s pedagogic value, a government investment of this magnitude has the potential to improve the educational system by leaps and bounds rather than by simple staircase steps. Even the Kindle’s use for non-educational purposes has the collateral effect of allowing the student to learn grammar and syntax - a definite plus to a country that claims to be the best in having adopted English as a native language. Though issues concerning intellectual property rights and the perpetual use of content would seem to discourage the device’s adoption by content-makers, I don’t think that this should bar its acceptance as a tool that could very well change the course of our waning educational system for this decade and beyond.

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Endnote: The Kindle (Amazon), the Nook (Barnes & Nobles), and the iPad (Apple) are today’s prominent contenders for the e-reader platform crown. Though other ‘readers’ are about to penetrate the market, the most prominent of which being Android-based tablets, these seem to target the iPad as a platform rather than e-books in general. So for purposes of this article, my choice of the Kindle for the Philippines is based on the current crop of movers and shakers in the ebook world, reserving the right to change said choice upon the entry of a more specific, more cost-effective Android e-reader in the very near future. Oh and I apologize for the seeming duplication of subject matter with the next preceding entry. I had already finished writing the article when I saw Linus' post! My bad.