Apple to Unveil 'iAd' Mobile Ad Platform on April 7th?

MediaPost claims that Apple is poised to announce its "next big thing" on April 7th. The new product is reportedly called "iAd" and represents a "personalized, mobile advertising system".

The iAd system is believed to have been built on top of Quattro, a mobile ad firm that Apple acquired in January for $275 million. Few details are known but given Apple's recent success, many will be interested to see their next move:

"Everyone will be following this very closely," says Josh Lovison, the mobile lead at Interpublic's Emerging Media Lab, adding: "Given the way that Apple is able to package things up, with very slick presentations, it will be interesting to see what they do with that advertising."

The move would put them squarely up against Google which was largely built on advertising revenue and has had their own plans to move into the mobile space. In fact, Google's acquisition of Admob has been described as a defensive move to keep the company out of Apple's hands.


via MacRumors

iPad Camera Connection Kit Shipping in Late April

Apple's iPad Camera Connection Kit, which offers two adapters to allow users to transfer digital photos directly to their iPad via either USB or SD card, is now listed as shipping in late April.

The kit had been announced by Apple as part of the iPad launch in late January, but did not come available for pre-order earlier this month alongside other iPad accessories. The reason for the delay in making the kit available for order is unknown.

Other iPad accessories are showing a variety of shipping dates for new orders, with the standard dockand VGA adapter scheduled for April 3rd availability and the iPad case shipping in "mid April". The iPad keyboard dock is currently showing "late April" availability, while the power adapter is not shipping until May.


via MacRumors