Is Apple Going to Release a 7-inch iPad?

I have my doubts but...

Sources say Apple is readying another tablet similar to the iPad but with a 7-inch touchscreen for launch as early as the end of this year.

This is the second report of an iPad 2 sighting in Taiwan, and it comes from the island's Chinese-language Economic Daily News financial newspaper, which was among the first to correctly report that Apple was making a tablet when other news sources said it would be a netbook. The launch of the original iPad proved the paper correct.

Taiwan's Digitimes newspaper last week reported that Taiwanese companies were starting to assemble a 7-inch iPad for Apple.

The Economic Daily reports that Taiwanese companies have won a number of component contracts for the iPad 2. Chimei Innolux will supply 7-inch LCD screens, which use the same IPS (in-plane switching) technology found in the original iPad, which improves viewing angles and color on LCD screens. Touchscreen technology for the screens will come from Cando Corporation, the report says.

Apple has also tapped Compal Electronics, one of the world's largest contract laptop computer makers, to assemble the new iPad, the report says.

The companies named in the Economic Daily report declined to comment. Contract manufacturers and component makers normally do not reveal what products they're working on because failure to maintain secrecy can cause them to miss out on future contracts.

Kindle Free Pick of the Week: Dracula by Bram Stoker

Another free classic availabe for your Kindle.  Great reviews for this book including:

I have never read the novel "Dracula" but with it being absolutely free for my absolutely wonderful Kindle, I decided to give it a shot. The book is written entirely in correspondence from the characters; letters to each other, diary entries, telegrams, etc. While I did have to use my built-in Kindle dictionary many times with the big (or antiquated) words, the book flowed freely and was a surprisingly easy read. Certain scenes were downright chilling. What's truly amazing is Stoker's creation of such an incredible monster that has stood the test of time.

My first book read on my new Kindle... I could not put it down! Beautifully written, most engaging, and a wonderful opportunity to use so many features of the Kindle. Thank you for making this classic story available at no charge.

magicJack Back at it Again

magicJack, the Internet phone gadget heavily advertised on television, has another trick up its sleeve: free phone calls from computers, smart phones and iPads.

The cost of phone calls routed over the Internet has been on a long slide. There are already a multitude of programs that allow free calling between computers, and some that allow free, but short, calls to regular phone numbers. Another alternative, Google Voice, provides "free" calls to the U.S. and Canada, but you need a phone to use it, and if you're using a cell phone, it uses up minutes.

MagicTalk would go one better by eliminating fees for calling landline and cell phones in the U.S. and Canada, with no time limits on the calls.

The software will be available next week for Windows and Mac computers. Versions for the iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Android phones will follow in September or October, said Dan Borislow, the CEO of VocalTec Communications Ltd.

Each magicTalk user gets a phone number that's associated with the software. Users will also be able to move their existing phone numbers to the service, for a fee, a feature that will be extended to magicJack users soon as well.

The reason the calls can be free is that VocalTec operates as a phone company, so it can charge other phone companies for calls placed to magicTalk and magicJack numbers. It also charges its users who dial phone numbers abroad.

Still, magicTalk will likely have slimmer profit margins than magicJack, which costs $40 and comes with a year of free calling in the U.S. and Canada (an extra year costs $20).

Although magicTalk calls won't be limited in duration, Borislow said it's not intended for nonstop calls around the clock. The company hasn't quite decided if the smart-phone versions will run over "3G" cellular broadband or if it will be restricted to Wi-Fi for better sound quality.

Borislow said magicTalk won't be advertised on TV as the magicJack has been, nearly unavoidably. Slightly bigger than a matchbox, the magicJack plugs into a computer's USB port. A regular home phone can be plugged into it. MagicJack then routes the calls over the computer's Internet connection.

Borislow said the company is working on a standalone version of the magicJack, one that wouldn't need to be connected to a computer. That would make it similar to the Internet phone adapters sold by Vonage Holdings Corp. and some other companies.

The magicJack's sound quality can be shaky, and not all users are happy with it. In a few tests with magicTalk, however, the sound quality was excellent, even on an international call.

In January, Borislow showed off another prospective second act for the company: a small device that would connect wirelessly to cell phones in the home and route their calls over the Internet, without costing the user any minutes.

It was an audacious idea, because the devices used wireless spectrum owned by phone companies, who weren't likely to look kindly on gadgets that allowed their customers to call for free. The phone companies have their own devices that extend a wireless signal inside a home, known as "femtocells," and charge for their use.

Borislow said plans for the device are now on hold. The device had to use low signal power levels to get around legal restrictions on the use of licensed spectrum, but that also shortened the range and reduced sound quality. He's now looking for a carrier partner that would allow him to turn the power up.

Borislow launched the magicJack as the founder of YMax Corp., which was based in Palm Beach, Fla. It was privately held until July, when it merged with VocalTec, an Israeli company listed on the Nasdaq.

Formally, VocalTec was the acquirer, but in reality, YMax's owners contributed the majority of the equity and were left in control. This means shares of the company behind the magicJack are now publicly traded. It has market capitalization of about $300 million, and the combined company expects to have $110 million to $125 million in revenue this year.

VocalTec was the first company to release commercial PC-to-PC calling software, which it called Internet Phone, in 1995. However, many competitors soon followed, and the company wasn't able to parlay its technology into a success of the kind enjoyed by Skype SA, and even Skype doesn't make much money from it. More recently, VocalTec has been selling Internet calling services to businesses

iPad Free App of the Week: Social Islands

It's strangely addictive and time consuming.  Is that a good or bad thing when it comes to a free iPad app?  My wife love Social Islands, a free app from Doug Peterson.

The premise is simple.  You are standed on a deserted island and you can send and receive messages by a bottle.  Communicate by drawing pictures, putting them in bottles, and throwing them out to sea. You never know what is going to float up on your beach! Social Island is a social drawing application. You receive drawings from other people and can either add to them and throw them back into the water for someone else to add to or you can burn them. A fun no hassle app that will have you plucking bottle after bottle out of the water to see what is inside.

Different, but fun.  Give it a try.

Kindle Free Pick of the Week: New Kindle Apps

The first apps for the Kindle are a couple of games: Every Word and Shuffled Row.

Every Word - Test your vocabulary as you try to find as many words from the scrambled letters in this fun and fast-paced word game.

Here's how it works. You are given six or seven scrambled letters with the goal of finding as many words as you can. You score points by filling out the words in each empty spot on the board using only the letters that appear at the top of the game board. Keep at it until time runs out or until you fill up the board. The more words you make, the higher your score!

Shufled Row - See how many words you can make from 60 lettered tiles.

The tiles are added to your row one at a time so you'll constantly be working with a new set of letters. After you submit a word, the letters you used will be removed and new ones will be added. Increase your score by using less common letters. Create longer words and increase your score even more.

If you don't use the letters fast enough, they'll disappear and new ones will take their place, so you'll have to decide if you want to play it safe and use short words or try to wait for more letters to form longer words.

These are the first of I'm sure many more apps to come for your Kindle.  They are tops in the Kindle Store now, get them. and try them for free.