Veteran Apple watcher Robert Hof thinks Apple is phoning it in with the brand's latest commercials for the iPad, called "Together" and "Alive," and pulls together a slideshow of early Apple ads for context. Watch the new pair of iPad spots below and let us know what you think.Continue reading...

If there is any specific forthcoming initiative tied to why Apple CEO Tim Cook's will sit with First Lady Michelle Obama at tonight's State of the Union Address, Cook's morning remarks at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference offered no clue.

But Cook — who also made no major product announcements or huge news in remarks made in conversation with analyst Bill Shope — nonetheless revealed that cash-rich, acquisition-shy Apple has evaluated far more companies than it has ultimately absorbed — and will likely continue to do so.

"We have looked at large companies," Cook said. "In each case that we've done that thus far, it didn't pass our tests."

He added: “Cash is not burning a hole in our pocket."Continue reading...

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died before seeing two of his big ideas – an iCar and an iWatch – become reality. But word is that one of those visions may be coming to fruition in the near future.

The computer giant “is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass,” according to The New York Times. The watch will have some of the same functions as a smartphone, but the bulk of information about the gadget – when it might appear, cost, features – remains a mystery.

“Apple’s certainly made a lot of hiring in that area,” Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester analyst who specializes in wearable computing and smartphones, told The Times. “Apple is already in the wearable space through its ecosystem partners that make accessories that connect to the iPhone."

She cautioned that an iWatch probably wouldn't be landing on store shelves anytime soon, though.Continue reading...

Toys R Us is really aiming for this holiday season to bring in some big bucks. As a result, the company is hiring 13% more seasonal help than it did last year, hiring 45,000 temporary employees across the U.S.

Why the need for all the extra folks? Well, the retailer is planning to have 50 more pop-up shops than it did last year across the country  and it is, of course, very excited about the revenue possibilities for its new made-for-kids-tablet called Tabeo, a featured item on its 2012 Hot Toys List.

Of course, it remains to be seen if the store's proprietary $150 Tabeo is going to hit its stores, as planned, in October. Fuhu, the Taiwanese manufacturer of the kid-friendly Nabi tablet that Toys R Us sold before Tabeo, is attempting to block its sale with a lawsuit claiming intellectual property infringement.Continue reading...

With all the Olympic-themed ads that have been running during the London Summer Games, some might see the "Apple Genius" ads that debuted the first weekend of the games as a breath of fresh air. They featured a youthful employee who's been let loose from an Apple store's genius bar — still wearing his blue t-shirt and, whether it be on a plane, above, a street corner, or an apartment building, heroically ready to solve consumers' computer problems in the name of touting the brand's Mac line.

More often than not (under the watchful eye of an intensely involved Steve Jobs), Apple ads have always been considered a cut above the ordinary if not positively in a league of their own. Apple has always found a way to advertise a product with a good dose of humanity and a touch of humor. Witness the lauded "I'm a Mac" series from several years ago that brilliantly personified the differences between a Mac and a PC, and the current Siri campaign for the iPhone that feature celebrities including Zooey Deschanel, Samuel L. Jackson, John Malkovich and Martin Scorsese having intensely personal conversations with their iPhones.Continue reading...

“Your name is Windows. Why are you a flag?” asked Pentagram's Paula Scher, the designer behind the new logo for Microsoft's Windows 8.  

The result of that conversation: the new logo for Windows, above right, which is an actual window, slightly angled, and blue. This style is supposed to reflect movement, and the fast pace of the new operating system. If you look back at their old logos, it was always meant to be a window, although throughout the years it mysteriously evolved into a flag, until now.Continue reading...

Sad but true: HP's TouchPad caused more excitement during its death than at any other point in its life cycle. Long lines for a $99 tablet were similar to those you'd expect to see for the launch of the next big Apple product. Stock soon ran out, proving that consumers can't pass up what appears to be a bargain.

Now the TouchPad is back from the dead with Best Buy, Walmart and Sam's Club and others announcing limited stock of the TouchPad.Continue reading...

America’s love affair with tablets is growing. 

According to a just released study commissioned by the Online Publishers Association, 12% of the U.S. population between ages 8-64 now own or use a tablet, and that number is projected to rise to 23% by early 2012, representing 54 million people.

The study — “A Portrait of Today’s Tablet User” — was commissioned by the OPA to gain fresh understanding of consumers' usage of tablets, content preferences and implications for advertising.Continue reading...