The Philippine Online Chronicles

Apple pushed back the launch date of its anticipated device iPad to April 3. All models of iPad will be available in the US, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and UK.

Coming in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi with 3G models, the iPad, described by Apple CEO Steve Jobs as ‘magical’ is an all-in-one device that allows users to browse the web, read and send email, share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more.

Announced last January 27 at the annual MacWorld Conference, the iPad is an enlarged iPod Touch. It is half an inch thick and weighs 1.5 pounds - thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook and delivers battery life of up to 10 hours.

The iPad includes 12 new apps and will run almost all of the more than 150,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone or iPod Touch. This early, game makers are rushing develop games for the iPad.

Analyst Peter Misek said in a Yahoo News report that Apple might have to delay or limit the size of the launch because of an "unspecified production problem." He said Apple's Taiwan-based supplier, Hon Hai Precision, could be facing a production bottleneck or a shortage of components.

Meanwhile, Japanese electronics empire Sony is reportedly readying a whole line of new handheld devices including a multifunctional device that combines the capabilities of a netbook, the Sony reader and the PSP.

The multifunction device is reportedly designed to compete against Apple's upcoming iPad.

Sony’s CFO Nobuyuki Oneda said, "that is a market we are also very interested in. We are confident we have the skills to create a product".

The new smartphone and the multifunction device, expected to work with Sony's online media platform are due to launch this month in the United States offering movies, TV shows and music like Apple's iTunes, the Wall Street Journal said.

The new devices are intended to combat Apple's dominance of the portable market. Sony will integrate its new devices to its iTunes competitor, currently called Sony Online Services. Sony promises it will deliver content to a wide array of devices, including PlayStation 3s, PSPs, PCs, and Internet-enabled HDTVs and Blu-Ray players.

Apple has sold more than 40 million iPhones. The iPhone and iPod Touch are competing with Sony's PSP in the handheld gaming market. The iPad is expected to rival the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle in the e-reader market, according to Agence France Presse.

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