Brand: MacTech

The Goldman Sachs research group says the iPad is going to put the hurt — big time — on netbooks. Their new report — as noted by the “Financial Times” (http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2010/07/13/285006/goldman-really-likes-its-new-ipad/) — lists five reasons for this:

° Consumption — the iPad is focused squarely on information consumption versus information production;

° Content — the iPad relies on tight integration with content sources;

°  Connected — multiple options ensure the iPad is connected to the Internet;

The NPD Group (http://www.npdgroup.com), a market research company, recently surveyed iTunes, iPod, iPhone, and iPod Touch users to explore their reactions to various music subscription-model concepts. According to NPD’s “iTunes Usage Report,” more than a quarter of respondents expressed strong interest in a free cloud-based music option, and many were willing to pay a subscription fee to access their own music libraries from multiple devices and platforms.

ChangeWave’s latest smart phone survey of 4,028 consumers shows an explosive transformation occurring in consumer demand — resulting in some major new winners and losers for second half 2010. At the individual manufacturers’ level, going forward the survey findings show a major leap for Apple and HTC at the expense of RIM and Motorola.

Canon U.S.A. (http://www.usa.canon.com) introduces the new VIXIA HF M32 Dual Flash Memory camcorder. Equipped with 64GB of internal flash memory, the new camcorder can record up to 24 hours of HD video and also includes an SD memory card slot that’s compatible with latest generation SDXC memory cards.

Apple has bought Poly9 (http://www.poly9.com), a Quebec company, for its web mapping technology, according to a “LeSoleil” report (http://macosg.me/2/iu). The article gives no purchase price or acquisition date, but says that most Poly9 employees have moved to Apple’s California headquarters.