Amazon has directly challenged the iPad in their latest commercial. The premise of the ad is that a man cannot read his iPad in direct sunlight due to the glossy screen whereas a women with a Kindle can read perfectly fine. There is also the suggestion Amazon believes the iPad is too expensive. Click here to view the commercial for yourself.

While the problem is a real problem (trust me, it can be very frustrating), iPad users can be comforted by the fact they can access the same array of Kindle books via the app. Also, if you flip the situation to low light, the iPad is easily viewable whereas the Kindle is not.

Apple has posted two new iPad ads on their website titled: “iPad is Musical” and “iPad is Delicious”. They follow up from the What is iPad…?”  commercial. Click on the links to view iPad is Musical and iPad is Delicious

Today Apple hosted it’s annual media event which centres around it’s iTunes and iPod products. There was however, exciting news of updates for the iPad.

Firstly, Steve Jobs gave a preview of iOS 4.2 which will be made available for the iPad sometime in November. This update will bring all the features the iPhone 4 and 3GS are able to use at the moment. For example: multitasking, folders, email threading and others. What is very exciting however, is the added ability of being able to wirelessly print from the iPad; this is a feature that has been sorely lacking up to this point.

Another update for the iPad is the ability to be used in conjunction with the revamped Apple TV. This allows the iPad to stream media to the Apple TV to watch on a larger screen. So if you were watching Iron Man on your iPad on your way home and decide when you get home you’d like to continue on a larger screen, you tap the ‘Airplay’ button and the Apple Tv will play from where you left off.

These updates sound very promising, and we will of course update you when more news and details are available.

Then there’s all new iPods today.

It is not a complete overhaul to the store by any means, but does offer a useful tool for those looking to expand their App library. No update is required and is available now.

SendStuffNow is a ‘cloud’ based file sharing service that offers amazing versatility, security and ease of use for every user. To start, users set up an account and within a couple of minutes can begin to share files to other users who can then download the files themselves. Crucially, they do not need to set up an account themselves to do so. An example of use would be: a photographer is out in the field, loads up the images on his iPad using the Camera Connector. They open up SendStuffNow and can very quickly select which images they want to upload and select who they want to send them to using the iPad’s contact list. Users can set a password and an expiration date as well as track the number of downloads against the number of invites.

For the average consumer the service is free and offers 1GB of storage space and 10GB to download, which should offer plenty to those who just want to share between family and friends. Those looking for greater capacity can become a Premium member for $120 a year which offers 2GB upload capacity p/m and 4GB download capacity p/m. Where the company are really targeting are small businesses. With the emergence of smart-phones and more recently tablet devices in the last couple of years, we are living in an increasingly mobile world; Smith Micro have recognised this and are taking full advantage. They believe that for those businesses looking for a solution to the problem of being able to have a secure area where files can be kept, shared and monitored all on the go, SendStuffNow is the answer. I have to say I agree. The service can be accessed from any computer, iPhone and iPad; having tried the service on all three, it is tailored perfectly to each device.

The overall experience is seamless and the functionality is flawless. Considering the baseline service and app are free, this app is a must have for, not only any iPad user but iPhone and iPod Touch users as well.

Link to download: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sendstuffnow/id380541939?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D6

Apple reported in their earnings for the previous quarter that a total of 3.27 million iPads has been sold.

The Company began selling iPads during the quarter, with total sales of 3.27 million.

• April 3rd – 300,000 WiFi iPads sold on launch day
• April 8th – 450,000 iPads Sold total 5 days after launch, 3.5 Million iPad Apps and 600,000 iBooks downloaded
• April 10th – 500,000 iPad Units sold in its first week
• May 3rd – 1,000,000 iPad Users in 28 days since launch
• May 31st – 2,000,000 iPad Owners after its International Launch
• June 21 – 3,000,000 iPads in 80 days

Today Apple released an update for their iBooks app, bringing it up to Version 1.1.1. Normally such updates include a mundane list of bug fixes, however, the update notation offers one very intriguing update, audio and video support.

This update will be of particular interest to Textbook, STM (Scientific, Technical and Medical) and non-fiction publishers as it would offer a greater level of interactivity to their material. This update has me excited about the possibilities of what such a simple addition could bring to an area in the iBookstore which is currently rather lifeless.

The other updates are listed here:

• Double-tap an image within a book to view it in greater detail.
• Experience books that include audio and video.
• Enjoy substantial performance improvements when reading PDFs.
• Look-up definitions to English words inside books without a specified language.
• Addresses an issue that may have caused some book downloads to not complete.
• Includes many stability and performance improvements.

Customers will be able to purchase an iPad through Apple’s own retail stores and authorized resellers.

iPad Available in Nine More Countries This Friday

CUPERTINO, Calif., July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today announced that iPad™ will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday, July 23. iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad is 0.5 inches thin and weighs just 1.5 pounds-thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook-and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.*

Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase all models of iPad through Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Pricing & Availability

All iPad models will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday, July 23.

iPad is currently available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for 16GB, $599 (US) for 32GB, and $699 (US) for 64GB for iPad Wi-Fi models and $629 (US) for 16GB, $729 (US) for 32GB and $829 (US) for 64GB for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models. iPad will roll out to many more countries later this year and Apple will announce availability and local pricing for these additional countries at a later date.

If you’re looking for a skin for your iPad that has a good balance between protection and beauty, StealthArmor may be your best bet. The StealthArmor for iPad from Fusion of Ideas is a really thin adhesive cover that comes in a wide range of variety of finishes for the back of the iPad including carbon, leather, wood, brushed metal. You can also opt to pay extra to add an additional screen protector or laser etching service for the armor.

We received one of the skin (Brushed Metal) for review and the company was generous enough to laser engrave our logo on it.

Included in the box is a squeegee, actual armor, application spray, instructions, and optional screen protector if you purchased it.

Installation of the back armor was surprisingly a breeze compared to other similar application process like the  invisibleSHIELD™ that requires the squeegeeing of bubbles. Simply spray the adhesive side of the armor with the fluid getting it wet enough to align/fix and squeegee out the bubbles. The entire installation of the armor took less than 10 minutes and the outcome is pretty darn good I must say.

Price point for the armor ranges from $45 to $75 for different finsishes, with the screen protector being $25. You can find more details and purchase info here.