Apple's new iPad: 2 missing features

from www.pcworld.idg.com.au:

>>Haptic display

When it came to the iPad, the biggest talk over the past month was its haptic display. Haptic touch responds to you as you touch the display. Does your smartphone vibrate when you tap a key? Then you’ve already experienced haptic technology.

Virtually every device manufacturer has at least one haptic device under its belt except for Apple. Up until now and, obviously, the foreseeable future, Apple users will be limited to smooth touchscreens that provide no feedback.

The tech blog Pocket Lint believed Apple was working with the haptic technology company Senseg to update the new iPad. It didn’t help that Apple’s invite said “We have something for you to see. And touch.”

Without the haptic technology, it’s hard not to view the new iPad as a minor upgrade from last year’s model.

Why Apple’s New iPad Won’t Win Over the Xbox Gamer

from http://kotaku.com:

>>But in an industry where touching is everything, touchscreens can't be the only thing. As subtle as it can be sometimes, haptic feedback is an integral component to most interactive experiences. The tiny click you hear when you push a button. The vibration of your controller. The slight resistance as you pull your triggers to a game's rhythm, shooting soldiers and aliens along with the pulse of your screen. To console gamers, Apple's tablet can't come close to mirroring that feeling, no matter how powerful its guts are.

Will iPad 3 offer a more immersive touch experience?

from http://tabtimes.com (thanks for the mention):

>>See me, feel me, touch me

The reference to “touch" is more problematic.

But it could well mean Apple has implemented new haptic technology in the iPad. Haptics is tactile feedback technology that lets users feel sensations like vibration and force feedback -- e.g. a kind of mini-shockwave feeling in a game controller, or a grainy or “heavy” feeling when certain onscreen objects are touched to differentiate them.

“It’s an intriguing idea that Apple could use haptics to offer more feedback in a user’s gestures,” says IHS iSuppli analyst Rhoda Alexander.

Immersion Corporation: Will Its Haptic Technology Become Part Of Most Smartphones?

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>Last week Immersion Corporation (IMMR) reported Q4 2011 and full year results.

A quick look at some of the highlights:

• Revenue was $7.7 million, a 20% increase compared with $6.4 million in Q4 2010, and higher than consensus ($ 7.09 million);
• Royalty and license revenue totaled $6.8 million in Q4 2011, an increase of 26% as compared with $5.4 million for the same period of the previous year;
• Net loss for Q4 2011 was $(270,000), or $(0.01) per share, slightly better than consensus of $(0.02);

One day, all data centres will be made this way

from www.cloudpro.co.uk:

>>A couple of weeks ago, I joined a number of journalists on a visit to two Equinix data centres in Paris (one complete, one under construction), on the invitation of one of their prime tenants, BSO Network Solutions. Now that the air conditioning noise has stopped ringing in my ears, what did I learn?

Data Center Related Stocks Are Beating The Market

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>The US market is off to a very good start in 2012, with the NASDAQ up 5.4% in February alone and nearly 14% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 and the DOW gained 4.1% and 2.5% respectively, in February and 8.6% and 6% in the first two months.

In spite of such a strong benchmark, data center related stocks performed, on average, much better than the market, delivering mostly double-digit gains in February alone, and several outstanding results since the start of the year.

Most Data Center Related Stocks Positive After Q4 2011 Earnings

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha:

>>Most data center related stocks delivered solid numbers in Q4 2011 and met analyst expectations for more growth in 2012, confirming the strength of the sector.

Here is a complete look at how the companies under our radar screen performed on their report date last quarter: