The TouchPad may not have yet captured the hearts and minds of users everywhere, but Apple may be expecting big demand for the next iPhone. Elsewhere, Google bids adieu to a couple of venerable brands. But don’t worry, the remainders for Tuesday, July 5, 2011 aren’t bound for the dust heap quite yet.
Jon Rubinstein sends message to HP staff; Addresses TouchPad reviews (PreCentral.net)
Yes, reviews of the HP TouchPad—including our own Jason Snell’s—called it sluggish and hampered by a lack of useful apps, but senior vice president and Palm general manager Jon Rubinstein isn’t worried. A leaked memo from the former Apple executive points out that the exact same criticisms were made of another product ten years ago—Mac OS X. Zing. Well, if HP holds to that comparison, then expect an actually functional TouchPad to ship five months from now.
Pegatron receives orders for 15 million iPhone 5s from Apple (DigiTimes)
Pegatron—whom we can only assume is a maker of fine robotic pegasuses (pegasi?) the world over—has reportedly received an order for 15 million next-generation iPhones. Of course, DigiTimes can’t decide whether to refer to the new model as the iPhone 5 or the iPhone 4S, so for all we know this is a shipment for 15 million RIM PlayBooks. (Hey, it’s a company that makes pegasuses.)
EXCLUSIVE: Google To Retire Blogger & Picasa Brands in Google+ Push (Mashable)
Goodbye, Blogger. Adios, Picasa. The Google blogging and photo services aren’t entirely disappearing, but their brands are due to be folded into the company’s new Google+ social service, launched last week. As such, Mashable reports they will be rebranded Google Photos and Google Blogs. And I can only imagine the millions of marketing strategy dollars that went into coming up with those names.
Product News:
Skype 5.2 for Mac – The latest update to the VoIP client for Mac lets users share their screen during a group video call. It also adds video to the call control bar, and reorganizes the sidebar by adding a Recents section as well as a history. Free.