Microsoft Office may be bound for the iPad, Apple’s painted a bull’s-eye on Target, and Consumer Reports says that the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire are the best tablets that aren’t the iPad. The remainders for Tuesday, November 29, 2011 excel at their outlook from this (power) point.
Word on the street: Microsoft plans to get its Office software suite on the iPad (The Daily)
Seems Microsoft might be packing a surprise in the next version of Office: iPad support. Redmond is rumored to be working on a mobile version of its venerable productivity suite, alongside the updated Mac edition. What are the odds that it’ll still have a floppy disk icon for saving?
Apple Nipping at Target’s Heels for Fourth Most-Visited Site on Black Friday (All Things D)
Apple was the fifth most-visited site on the Web for Black Friday, according to a comScore analyst—and it just missed number four, Target, by a whisker. Other reports suggest that Black Friday may have been Apple’s biggest day of in-store sales ever. You mean the one day that Apple products are discounted yields a lot of purchases? I’m shocked, Monsieur Rick—shocked!
Apple releases iOS 5.1 beta for iPhone, iPod touch and iPads to developers (Boy Genius Report)
The beta of the next version of iOS has been seeded to developers, says BGR. And it includes some incredible new changes like freezing when you try to use shake-to-shuffle in the Music app.
What do you mean that’s not a feature?
Apple, Google absent from ESRB’s new mobile app rating system (GigaOm)
The two largest purveyors of mobile software, Apple and Google, are steering clear of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board’s plan to add ratings to apps. Because everybody knows that ESRB ratings just tell kids where all the good games with the blood and guts are.
Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire: Best tablets in their price range (Consumer Reports)
Consumer Reports says the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire are the best tablets…in their price range. But we hear the publication refuses to recommend them, because if you hold them with the screen facing away from you it’s impossible to read anything.
Product News:
Little Printer – Berg’s new device works with your iPhone to print receipt-sized documents. You use the Little Printer iPhone app to subscribe to publications on the Web. The Little Printer device then checks those subscriptions and prints the content on sheets of paper you can fit in a wallet. Content partners include Arup, Foursquare, Google, the Guardian, and Nike, with more to come. Little Printer will be available in 2012, with pricing yet to be determined.
iA Writer – iA Writer for the Mac has been updated to version 1.2, bringing support for iCloud and AppleScript, optimized transitions, and integration with window manager SizeUp. Free upgrade for current users; $20 for new users normally, on sale for $9 to promote new version.
iTunes Movie Trailers 1.0.2 – Version 1.0.2 of Apple’s movie trailer app features minor improvements to stability, performance, and ease of use. Free.
VMware Fusion 4.1.1 – The 4.1.1 update removes the ability to virtualize the non-server versions of Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6, which violated Apple’s terms for those operating systems. Free update.
SpaceMouse Pro – 3Dconnexion’s newest 3D mouse features 15 programmable function keys for access to application commands, standard views, and keyboard modifiers. The SpaceMouse Pro also has a coated arm rest. The SpaceMouse Pro is aimed at users who work in 3D applications, such as CAD, 3D maps, or 3D graphics. $299.