CNet reports that Apple’s plans for cloud computing could go well beyond music. Apple is said to have been in negotiations with some of the major film studios to offer streaming video service to users.

Apple has told the studios that under the plan, iTunes users will access video from various Internet-connected devices. Apple would, of course, prefer that users access video from the iPad, the company’s upcoming tablet computer, the sources said.

Apple has been making apparent moves into streaming content with the acquisition of LaLa media and their North Carolina data center, but previous rumors had focused primarily on music streaming.

Sources : Cnet , Macrumors

According to Mac Rumor sites, whispers heard that Apple is planning on launching the iPad at retail stores on Friday, March 26th at 6 p.m. in similar fashion to the original iPhone launch.

A blog post from the Examiner now makes similar claims of a March 26th launch date with Apple store employees getting training on the device starting on March 10th. The author also claims that the commercials will start beginning on March 15th. Finally, those who camp out for the iPad will receive a “special gift”.

The 3G enabled version of the iPad will follow the Wi-Fi iPad launch by about 30 days, according to Apple.

Sources : MacRumors, AppleInsider, The Extreamer

Apple today released iPhone OS 3.1.3 for all iPhone and iPod touch models, addressing several specific bugs as well as offering fixes for a handful of security issues.

This update for the iPhone and iPod touch contains bug fixes and improvements, including the following:

- Improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS.
- Resolves issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instances.
- Fixes bug that may cause an app to crash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard.

This update can be downloaded from iTunes .

Live coverage Podcast off air. check our full review of the event soon

Find out more about the iPad from Apple’s site

(Photo Courtesy of Engadget.com)

As apple media event approaches, rumors about what to expect apple to reveal builds up, the huge ones are that Apple would release it long awaited “Tablet” , also the Big news on releasing the iPhone from it’s exclusivity with AT&T and the expected iPhone 4.0 firmware announcement!

What do you think that apple would surprise us with ? post your predictions and share your view with us.

Make sure to join us Wednesday Jan 27th @8PM (KWT Time) for our live coverage of the event .

(Photo Courtesy of MacRumors.com)

Independent sources saying that Steve Jobs has been heard saying that the upcoming Apple tablet “will be the most important thing I’ve ever done.” They report is said to come from multiple sources:

We haven’t heard this first hand, but we’ve heard it multiple times second and third hand from completely independent sources. Senior Apple execs and friends of Jobs are telling people that he’s about as excited about the upcoming Apple Tablet as he’s ever been.

Rumor sites believe that apple’s upcoming Tablet “iSlate” would carry a front facing video camera as recently described in the Wall Street Journal:

This person said Apple has experimented with the ability … for the gadget to automatically recognize individuals via a built-in camera.

While the presence of a front facing camera could allow for this novel use of facial recognition, it would also open up the possibility for video conferencing, which has been a long requested feature for the iPhone. Apple already supports video conferencing with their Mac OS X iChat software, so the ability to tie in video conferencing with their existing technology would be trivial.

DigiTimes points to a report from Taiwan’s China Times claiming that Apple is preparing to launch a 22-inch touchscreen iMac in the second half of this year.

The report also claims that Apple’s highly-anticipated tablet will launch later this month, and will include a 9.7-inch screen.

Apple has issued invitations for a media event scheduled for 10:00 AM Pacific Time on January 27th. The event will be held at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, and the invitation’s tag line reads “Come see our latest creation.”

No official word if the iTablet is going to be announced at the event, but from the invitation it looks like something new is going to be announced! We’ll have to wait and see what apple and Steve have in their sleeves.

UPDATE:

FOXNews.com reports that Apple’s January 27th media event is expected to include the introduction of Apple’s much-anticipated tablet device and iPhone OS 4.0, as well as iLife 2010. According to the report, no iPhone hardware is expected to be shown.

I spoke to a source at Apple this morning, before the invite hit my inbox, who said the event would likely focus on three projects: The tablet device, iPhone 4, and a new round of iLife 2010 software. While we won’t see new iPhone hardware just yet, we will see the next-generation software.