NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's iPad mini hit stores around the world on Friday, attracting sparser crowds than previous Apple launches, but the kickoff still drew hundreds of New Yorkers only days after one of the biggest storms to hit the United States.
A proliferation of rival gadgets aimed at the holidays and cheaper tablets from Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc may have sapped interest in Apple's latest bet, resulting in shorter lines outside stores from Tokyo and Amsterdam to Sydney and Hong Kong.
The 7.9-inch iPad mini marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and is the company's first major new device since the death of its co-founder, Steve Jobs, last year.
In Manhattan, crowds braved crippled public transit and an early morning chill to line up outside Apple's Fifth Avenue flagship store just two blocks from where a damaged crane dangled from a high-rise building - a stark example of how superstorm Sandy ravaged the city.
Some turned up on impulse, lacking power and heat at home.
Lisa Sieber, 59, from Germany, rode a bicycle to the store because she said she was going 'stir crazy' at her 81-year-old mother's home in Manhattan's Lower East Side.
'There's not much to do without power and lights,' she said. 'I didn't think I needed an iPad but once you get your first Mac, you slide into the iPhone and the next one and it makes it easy to get more Apple products.'
While the city was still grappling with Sandy's unprecedented devastation, some New Yorkers were angry that Apple delayed the store's opening until 10 a.m.
'Usually it's 8 a.m.,' said Vincent Leroy, 27, a student from Long Island City in Queens who showed up at the store at 6:30 a.m. His friends complained loudly in unison when he told them he had found out about the delayed opening.
On the U.S. West Coast, fewer than a hundred people thronged Apple's new outlet in Palo Alto, California, near the company's Cupertino headquarters, and staff appeared to outnumber customers.
Shares of Apple, which hit an all-time high in September, slid as much as 2.7 percent on Friday to $580.14, their lowest level in more than three months. The shares were down 2.5 percent at $581.65 in late afternoon.
LATEST SALVO
The iPad mini marks Apple's assault on the smaller 7-inch-plus tablet segment, hoping to beat back major inroads by Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire this year. It is the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war, with software giant Microsoft Corp angling its Windows 8-driven Surface tablet for the holidays.
Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews but criticism centered on a heftier price tag and a screen considered inferior to those of rival gadgets like the Nexus 7. It replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling.
Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad minis in the first weekend - far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads that sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster.
'While launch lines and initial weekend sales may not be as impressive as previous iPad launches, the iPad mini will be a hit product for Apple and become a more significant part of the story over the next two to three quarters,' Munster said.
The iPad mini is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Chief Executive Tim Cook, who took over from Jobs months before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.
Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Jobs, or that new management may struggle to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its turf.
Jobs launched the original iPad in 2010, which has since taken a big chunk out of PC sales. On Friday, Apple also began selling the fourth generation of that 9.7-inch device, much the same as before but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi.
Both devices hit stores across 34 countries on Friday.
HONG KONG, AMSTERDAM
When Apple's flagship Hong Kong store opened on Friday, staff appeared to outnumber those waiting in line. In Amsterdam two hours after the store opened, it looked like a typical day, with no lines outside. An Apple employee told Reuters that people had lined up ahead of the store opening.
There were queues of 100 or more outside Apple stores in Tokyo and Seoul when the device went on sale. But fewer people turned up in Sydney than for previous iPhone launches.
'It's so thin and light and very cute - so cute!' said Ten Ebihara at the Apple store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district.
Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad's features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand. But at $329 for a Wi-Fi-only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted, though some analysts see that as Apple's attempt to retain premium positioning.
Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.
(Additional reporting by Mariko Lochridge in Tokyo, Stefanie McIntyre in Hong Kong, Miyoung Kim in Seoul, and Roberta Cowan in Amsterdam; writing by Noel Randewich and Edwin Chan in San Francisco, Sinead Carew in New York; editing by Phil Berlowitz, Alex Richardson, Steve Orlofsky and Matthew Lewis)
This news article is brought to you by TAXES BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Apple rolls out iPad mini to shorter lines
SYDNEY/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The launch of Apple Inc's iPad mini attracted smaller crowds from Sydney to New York on Friday than have been typical for previous Apple product debuts, events marked by people lining up for hours or even days.
A proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest for the device, which is priced above rival gadgets from Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc.
A few hundred people were in line at Apple's Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York at about 8 a.m., days after the city was battered by Hurricane Sandy, one of the biggest storms to ever hit the United States.
Lisa Sieber, 59, from Germany rode a bike to the Apple store on Friday as she said she's been going 'stir crazy' from lack of power and water at her 81-year-old mother's home in Manhattan's Lower East Side.
'I didn't think I needed an iPad but once you get your first Mac, you slide into the iPhone and the next one and it makes it easy to get more Apple products,' she said, adding that 'there's not much to do without power and lights.'
While many people have been happy to camp overnight at the New York store for past launches, some were angry on Friday that Apple changed the store's opening time to 10 a.m. for this launch from 8 a.m. previously.
'Usually it's 8 a.m.,' said Vincent Leroy, 27, a student from Long Island City in Queens who showed up at the store at 6:30 a.m. His friends complained loudly in unison when he told them he had found out about the delayed opening.
In Amsterdam two hours after the Apple store opened, it looked like a typical day at the store with no lines outside the door. An Apple employee on the scene told Reuters that people had lined up ahead of the store opening.
About 50 people waited for the Apple store in Sydney, Australia, to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company debuted new iPhones.
At the head of Friday's line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 a.m. and was eager to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate.
'It's light, easy to handle, and I'll use it to read books. It's better than the original iPad,' Li said.
There were queues of 100 or more outside Apple stores in Tokyo and Seoul when the device went on sale, but when the company's flagship Hong Kong store opened staff appeared to outnumber those waiting in line.
The iPad mini marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Internet search leader Google, whose Android software runs on tablets from several vendors, to Web retailer Amazon.com and software giant Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft's 10-inch Surface tablet, powered by the just-launched Windows 8 software, went on sale in October, while Google and Amazon now dominate sales of smaller, 7-inch multimedia tablets.
POSITIVE REVIEWS
Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centering on a lofty price tag and a screen considered inferior to those of rivals. The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package.
'Well, first of all it's so thin and light and very cute - so cute!' said iPad mini customer Ten Ebihara at the Apple store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district.
At $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted, but some analysts see that as Apple's attempt to retain premium positioning.
Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 9.7-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.
Also on Friday, Apple rolled out its fourth-generation iPad, with the same 9.7-inch display as the previous version but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi. Both devices were going on sale in more than 30 countries.
Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad minis in the first weekend, far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
'The reason we expect fewer iPad minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers,' Munster said in a note to clients. 'We believe that over time that will change.'
Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad's features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand.
James Vohradsky, a 20-year-old student who previously queued for 17 hours at the Sydney store to buy the iPhone 5, only stood in line for an hour and a half this time.
'I had an iPad 1 before, I kind of miss it because I sold it about a year ago. It's just more practical to have the mini because I found it a bit too big. The image is really good and it's got the fast A5 chip too,' Vohradsky said.
The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple boss Steve Jobs and since then it has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based ecosystem.
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Chief Executive Tim Cook, who took over from Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.
Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Jobs, and that new management might not be able to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its market share.
Apple shares were down 1 percent at $590.56 in morning trade on Friday.
(Additional reporting by Mariko Lochridge in Tokyo, Stefanie McIntyre in Hong Kong and Miyoung Kim in Seoul, Roberta Cowan in Amsterdam; Writing by Noel Randewich and Edwin Chan in San Francisco, Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz, Alex Richardson and Steve Orlofsky)
This article is brought to you by BUY A COMPUTER.
A proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest for the device, which is priced above rival gadgets from Google Inc and Amazon.com Inc.
A few hundred people were in line at Apple's Fifth Avenue flagship store in New York at about 8 a.m., days after the city was battered by Hurricane Sandy, one of the biggest storms to ever hit the United States.
Lisa Sieber, 59, from Germany rode a bike to the Apple store on Friday as she said she's been going 'stir crazy' from lack of power and water at her 81-year-old mother's home in Manhattan's Lower East Side.
'I didn't think I needed an iPad but once you get your first Mac, you slide into the iPhone and the next one and it makes it easy to get more Apple products,' she said, adding that 'there's not much to do without power and lights.'
While many people have been happy to camp overnight at the New York store for past launches, some were angry on Friday that Apple changed the store's opening time to 10 a.m. for this launch from 8 a.m. previously.
'Usually it's 8 a.m.,' said Vincent Leroy, 27, a student from Long Island City in Queens who showed up at the store at 6:30 a.m. His friends complained loudly in unison when he told them he had found out about the delayed opening.
In Amsterdam two hours after the Apple store opened, it looked like a typical day at the store with no lines outside the door. An Apple employee on the scene told Reuters that people had lined up ahead of the store opening.
About 50 people waited for the Apple store in Sydney, Australia, to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company debuted new iPhones.
At the head of Friday's line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 a.m. and was eager to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate.
'It's light, easy to handle, and I'll use it to read books. It's better than the original iPad,' Li said.
There were queues of 100 or more outside Apple stores in Tokyo and Seoul when the device went on sale, but when the company's flagship Hong Kong store opened staff appeared to outnumber those waiting in line.
The iPad mini marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Internet search leader Google, whose Android software runs on tablets from several vendors, to Web retailer Amazon.com and software giant Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft's 10-inch Surface tablet, powered by the just-launched Windows 8 software, went on sale in October, while Google and Amazon now dominate sales of smaller, 7-inch multimedia tablets.
POSITIVE REVIEWS
Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centering on a lofty price tag and a screen considered inferior to those of rivals. The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package.
'Well, first of all it's so thin and light and very cute - so cute!' said iPad mini customer Ten Ebihara at the Apple store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district.
At $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted, but some analysts see that as Apple's attempt to retain premium positioning.
Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 9.7-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.
Also on Friday, Apple rolled out its fourth-generation iPad, with the same 9.7-inch display as the previous version but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi. Both devices were going on sale in more than 30 countries.
Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad minis in the first weekend, far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
'The reason we expect fewer iPad minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers,' Munster said in a note to clients. 'We believe that over time that will change.'
Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad's features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand.
James Vohradsky, a 20-year-old student who previously queued for 17 hours at the Sydney store to buy the iPhone 5, only stood in line for an hour and a half this time.
'I had an iPad 1 before, I kind of miss it because I sold it about a year ago. It's just more practical to have the mini because I found it a bit too big. The image is really good and it's got the fast A5 chip too,' Vohradsky said.
The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple boss Steve Jobs and since then it has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based ecosystem.
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Chief Executive Tim Cook, who took over from Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.
Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Jobs, and that new management might not be able to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its market share.
Apple shares were down 1 percent at $590.56 in morning trade on Friday.
(Additional reporting by Mariko Lochridge in Tokyo, Stefanie McIntyre in Hong Kong and Miyoung Kim in Seoul, Roberta Cowan in Amsterdam; Writing by Noel Randewich and Edwin Chan in San Francisco, Sinead Carew in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz, Alex Richardson and Steve Orlofsky)
This article is brought to you by BUY A COMPUTER.
Apple rolls out iPad mini to shorter queues
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Apple fans lined up in several Asian and European cities to buy the iPad mini on Friday, but the device, priced above rival gadgets, drew smaller crowds than previous launches.
Apple Inc's global gadget rollouts are typically high-energy affairs attracting droves of buyers who stand in line for hours. But a proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest.
About 50 people waited for the Apple store in Sydney, Australia, to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company debuted new iPhones.
At the head of Friday's line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 am and was keen to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate.
'It's light, easy to handle, and I'll use it to read books. It's better than the original iPad,' Li said.
SHORTER QUEUES
There were queues of 100 or more outside Apple stores in Tokyo and Seoul when the device went on sale, but when the company's flagship Hong Kong store opened staff appeared to outnumber those waiting in line.
Europe also saw shorter lines than for past launches. About 100 fans queued in the rain in Amsterdam, while in London's Regent Street about 50 people were still waiting to buy a device a couple of hours after an Apple store opened its doors.
The iPad mini marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Internet search leader Google Inc to Web retailer Amazon.com Inc and software giant Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft's 10-inch Surface tablet, powered by the just-launched Windows 8 software, went on sale in October, while Google and Amazon now dominate sales of smaller, 7-inch multimedia tablets.
POSITIVE REVIEWS
Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centering on a screen considered inferior to rivals' and a lofty price tag. The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package.
'Well, first of all it's so thin and light and very cute - so cute!' said iPad mini customer Ten Ebihara at the Apple store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district.
At $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted but some analysts see that as Apple's attempt to retain premium positioning.
Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 9.7-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.
Tim Price, waiting in London to buy a device for his father, said the iPad was easier to use than competing tablets. 'The usability is unmatched,' he said.
Also on Friday, Apple rolled out its fourth-generation iPad, with the same 9.7-inch display as the previous version but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi. Both devices were going on sale in more than 30 countries.
Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad minis in the first weekend, far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
'The reason we expect fewer iPad minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers,' Munster said in a note to clients. 'We believe that over time that will change.'
Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad's features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand.
James Vohradsky, a 20 year-old student who previously queued for 17 hours at the Sydney store to buy the iPhone 5, only stood in line for an hour and a half this time.
'I had an iPad 1 before, I kind of miss it because I sold it about a year ago. It's just more practical to have the mini because I found it a bit too big. The image is really good and it's got the fast A5 chip too,' Vohradsky said.
The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple boss Steve Jobs and since then has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based ecosystem.
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Tim Cook, who took over from Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.
Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Jobs, and that new management might not be able to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its market share.
(Additional reporting by Mariko Lochridge in Tokyo, Stefanie McIntyre in Hong Kong, Miyoung Kim in Seoul, Roberta Cowan in Amsterdam and Stephen Eisenhammer in London; Writing by Noel Randewich and Edwin Chan in San Francisco; Editing by Phil Berlowitz, Alex Richardson and Helen Massy-Beresford)
This news article is brought to you by WOMEN'S BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Apple Inc's global gadget rollouts are typically high-energy affairs attracting droves of buyers who stand in line for hours. But a proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest.
About 50 people waited for the Apple store in Sydney, Australia, to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company debuted new iPhones.
At the head of Friday's line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 am and was keen to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate.
'It's light, easy to handle, and I'll use it to read books. It's better than the original iPad,' Li said.
SHORTER QUEUES
There were queues of 100 or more outside Apple stores in Tokyo and Seoul when the device went on sale, but when the company's flagship Hong Kong store opened staff appeared to outnumber those waiting in line.
Europe also saw shorter lines than for past launches. About 100 fans queued in the rain in Amsterdam, while in London's Regent Street about 50 people were still waiting to buy a device a couple of hours after an Apple store opened its doors.
The iPad mini marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Internet search leader Google Inc to Web retailer Amazon.com Inc and software giant Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft's 10-inch Surface tablet, powered by the just-launched Windows 8 software, went on sale in October, while Google and Amazon now dominate sales of smaller, 7-inch multimedia tablets.
POSITIVE REVIEWS
Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centering on a screen considered inferior to rivals' and a lofty price tag. The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package.
'Well, first of all it's so thin and light and very cute - so cute!' said iPad mini customer Ten Ebihara at the Apple store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district.
At $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted but some analysts see that as Apple's attempt to retain premium positioning.
Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 9.7-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.
Tim Price, waiting in London to buy a device for his father, said the iPad was easier to use than competing tablets. 'The usability is unmatched,' he said.
Also on Friday, Apple rolled out its fourth-generation iPad, with the same 9.7-inch display as the previous version but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi. Both devices were going on sale in more than 30 countries.
Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad minis in the first weekend, far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
'The reason we expect fewer iPad minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers,' Munster said in a note to clients. 'We believe that over time that will change.'
Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad's features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand.
James Vohradsky, a 20 year-old student who previously queued for 17 hours at the Sydney store to buy the iPhone 5, only stood in line for an hour and a half this time.
'I had an iPad 1 before, I kind of miss it because I sold it about a year ago. It's just more practical to have the mini because I found it a bit too big. The image is really good and it's got the fast A5 chip too,' Vohradsky said.
The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple boss Steve Jobs and since then has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based ecosystem.
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Tim Cook, who took over from Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.
Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Jobs, and that new management might not be able to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its market share.
(Additional reporting by Mariko Lochridge in Tokyo, Stefanie McIntyre in Hong Kong, Miyoung Kim in Seoul, Roberta Cowan in Amsterdam and Stephen Eisenhammer in London; Writing by Noel Randewich and Edwin Chan in San Francisco; Editing by Phil Berlowitz, Alex Richardson and Helen Massy-Beresford)
This news article is brought to you by WOMEN'S BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Apple rolls out iPad mini in Asia to shorter lines
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Apple fans lined up in several Asian cities to get their hands on the iPad mini on Friday, but the device, priced above rival gadgets from Google and Amazon.com, attracted smaller crowds than at the company's previous global rollouts.
Apple Inc's global gadget rollouts are typically high-energy affairs drawing droves of buyers who stand in line for hours. But a proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest.
About 50 people waited for the Apple store in Sydney, Australia, to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company debuted new iPhones.
At the head of Friday's line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 am and was keen to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate.
'It's light, easy to handle, and I'll use it to read books. It's better than the original iPad,' Li said.
There were queues of 100 or more outside Apple stores in Tokyo and Seoul when the device went on sale, but when the company's flagship Hong Kong store opened staff appeared to outnumber those waiting in line.
The iPad mini marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Internet search leader Google Inc to Web retailer Amazon.com Inc and software giant Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft's 10-inch Surface tablet, powered by the just-launched Windows 8 software, went on sale in October, while Google and Amazon now dominate sales of smaller, 7-inch multimedia tablets.
POSITIVE REVIEWS
Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centering on a screen considered inferior to rivals' and a lofty price tag. The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package.
'Well, first of all it's so thin and light and very cute - so cute!' said iPad mini customer Ten Ebihara at the Apple store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district.
At $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted but some analysts see that as Apple's attempt to retain premium positioning.
Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 9.7-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.
Also on Friday, Apple rolled out its fourth-generation iPad, with the same 9.7-inch display as the previous version but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi. Both devices were going on sale in more than 30 countries.
Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad minis in the first weekend, far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
'The reason we expect fewer iPad minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers,' Munster said in a note to clients. 'We believe that over time that will change.'
Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad's features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand.
James Vohradsky, a 20 year-old student who previously queued for 17 hours at the Sydney store to buy the iPhone 5, only stood in line for an hour and a half this time.
'I had an iPad 1 before, I kind of miss it because I sold it about a year ago. It's just more practical to have the mini because I found it a bit too big. The image is really good and it's got the fast A5 chip too,' Vohradsky said.
The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple boss Steve Jobs and since then it has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based ecosystem.
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Cook, who took over from Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.
Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Jobs, and that new management might not be able to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its market share.
(Additional reporting by Mariko Lochridge in Tokyo, Stefanie McIntyre in Hong Kong and Miyoung Kim in Seoul; Writing by Noel Randewich and Edwin Chan in San Francisco; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Alex Richardson)
This news article is brought to you by ADVANCED DATING ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
Apple Inc's global gadget rollouts are typically high-energy affairs drawing droves of buyers who stand in line for hours. But a proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest.
About 50 people waited for the Apple store in Sydney, Australia, to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company debuted new iPhones.
At the head of Friday's line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 am and was keen to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate.
'It's light, easy to handle, and I'll use it to read books. It's better than the original iPad,' Li said.
There were queues of 100 or more outside Apple stores in Tokyo and Seoul when the device went on sale, but when the company's flagship Hong Kong store opened staff appeared to outnumber those waiting in line.
The iPad mini marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Internet search leader Google Inc to Web retailer Amazon.com Inc and software giant Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft's 10-inch Surface tablet, powered by the just-launched Windows 8 software, went on sale in October, while Google and Amazon now dominate sales of smaller, 7-inch multimedia tablets.
POSITIVE REVIEWS
Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centering on a screen considered inferior to rivals' and a lofty price tag. The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package.
'Well, first of all it's so thin and light and very cute - so cute!' said iPad mini customer Ten Ebihara at the Apple store in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district.
At $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted but some analysts see that as Apple's attempt to retain premium positioning.
Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 9.7-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.
Also on Friday, Apple rolled out its fourth-generation iPad, with the same 9.7-inch display as the previous version but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi. Both devices were going on sale in more than 30 countries.
Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad minis in the first weekend, far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
'The reason we expect fewer iPad minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers,' Munster said in a note to clients. 'We believe that over time that will change.'
Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad's features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand.
James Vohradsky, a 20 year-old student who previously queued for 17 hours at the Sydney store to buy the iPhone 5, only stood in line for an hour and a half this time.
'I had an iPad 1 before, I kind of miss it because I sold it about a year ago. It's just more practical to have the mini because I found it a bit too big. The image is really good and it's got the fast A5 chip too,' Vohradsky said.
The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple boss Steve Jobs and since then it has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based ecosystem.
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Cook, who took over from Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.
Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Jobs, and that new management might not be able to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its market share.
(Additional reporting by Mariko Lochridge in Tokyo, Stefanie McIntyre in Hong Kong and Miyoung Kim in Seoul; Writing by Noel Randewich and Edwin Chan in San Francisco; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Alex Richardson)
This news article is brought to you by ADVANCED DATING ADVICE - where latest news are our top priority.
Apple rolls out iPad mini in Sydney to shorter lines
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Apple fans lined up in Sydney, Australia, to get their hands on the iPad mini on Friday, but the device, priced above rival gadgets from Google and Amazon.com, attracted smaller crowds than at the company's previous global rollouts.
About 50 people waited for the Apple store to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company launched new iPhones.
Apple Inc's global gadget rollouts are typically high-energy affairs drawing droves of buyers who stand in line for hours. But a proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest.
At the head of Friday's line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 am and was keen to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate.
'It's light, easy to handle, and I'll use it to read books. It's better than the original iPad,' Li said.
The iPad mini marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Internet search leader Google Inc to Web retailer Amazon.com Inc and software giant Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft's 10-inch Surface tablet, powered by the just-launched Windows 8 software, went on sale in October, while Google and Amazon now dominate sales of smaller, 7-inch multimedia tablets.
Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centering on a screen considered inferior to rivals' and a lofty price tag. The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package.
At $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted but some analysts see that as Apple's attempt to retain premium positioning.
Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 9.7-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.
Also on Friday, Apple rolled out its fourth-generation iPad, with the same 9.7-inch display as the previous version but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi.
Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad minis in the first weekend, far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
'The reason we expect fewer iPad minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers,' Munster said in a note to clients. 'We believe that over time that will change.'
Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad's features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand.
James Vohradsky, a 20 year-old student who previously queued for 17 hours at the Sydney store to buy the iPhone 5, only stood in line for an hour and a half this time.
'I had an iPad 1 before, I kind of miss it because I sold it about a year ago. It's just more practical to have the mini because I found it a bit too big. The image is really good and it's got the fast A5 chip too,' Vohradsky said.
The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple visionary Steve Jobs and since then it has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based ecosystem.
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Cook, who took over from Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.
Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Jobs, and that new management might not be able to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its market share.
(Writing and additional reporting by Noel Randewich and Edwin Chan in San Francisco; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
This news article is brought to you by PARENTING KIDS - where latest news are our top priority.
About 50 people waited for the Apple store to open, where in the past the line had stretched for several blocks when the company launched new iPhones.
Apple Inc's global gadget rollouts are typically high-energy affairs drawing droves of buyers who stand in line for hours. But a proliferation of comparable rival devices may have sapped some interest.
At the head of Friday's line was Patrick Li, who had been waiting since 4:30 am and was keen to get his hands on the 7.9-inch slate.
'It's light, easy to handle, and I'll use it to read books. It's better than the original iPad,' Li said.
The iPad mini marks Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment, and the latest salvo in a global mobile-device war that has engulfed combatants from Internet search leader Google Inc to Web retailer Amazon.com Inc and software giant Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft's 10-inch Surface tablet, powered by the just-launched Windows 8 software, went on sale in October, while Google and Amazon now dominate sales of smaller, 7-inch multimedia tablets.
Unveiled last week, the iPad mini has won mostly positive reviews, with criticism centering on a screen considered inferior to rivals' and a lofty price tag. The new tablet essentially replicates most of the features of its full-sized sibling, but in a smaller package.
At $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is a little costlier than predicted but some analysts see that as Apple's attempt to retain premium positioning.
Some investors fear the gadget will lure buyers away from Apple's $499 flagship 9.7-inch iPad, while proving ineffective in combating the threat of Amazon's $199 Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both of which are sold at or near cost.
Also on Friday, Apple rolled out its fourth-generation iPad, with the same 9.7-inch display as the previous version but with a faster A6X processor and better Wi-Fi.
Apple will likely sell between 1 million and 1.5 million iPad minis in the first weekend, far short of the 3 million third-generation iPads sold last March in their first weekend, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster.
'The reason we expect fewer iPad minis compared to the 3rd Gen is because of the lack of the wireless option and newness of the smaller form factor for consumers,' Munster said in a note to clients. 'We believe that over time that will change.'
Reviewers have applauded Apple for squeezing most of the iPad's features into a smaller package that can be comfortably manipulated with one hand.
James Vohradsky, a 20 year-old student who previously queued for 17 hours at the Sydney store to buy the iPhone 5, only stood in line for an hour and a half this time.
'I had an iPad 1 before, I kind of miss it because I sold it about a year ago. It's just more practical to have the mini because I found it a bit too big. The image is really good and it's got the fast A5 chip too,' Vohradsky said.
The iPad was launched in 2010 by late Apple visionary Steve Jobs and since then it has taken a big chunk out of PC sales, upending the industry and reinventing mobile computing with its apps-based ecosystem.
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under Cook, who took over from Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts credit Google and Amazon for influencing the decision.
Some investors worry that Apple might have lost its chief visionary with Jobs, and that new management might not be able to stay ahead of the pack as rivals innovate and encroach on its market share.
(Writing and additional reporting by Noel Randewich and Edwin Chan in San Francisco; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
This news article is brought to you by PARENTING KIDS - where latest news are our top priority.
First iPad mini teardown reveals Samsung display
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc's iPad mini uses a display from South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, one of Apple's major suppliers and also its fiercest rival in the global mobile-device market that the two companies dominate.
Analysts say the Silicon Valley-based iPhone maker is trying to wean itself off its reliance on Samsung, as both giants are embroiled in a bitter international legal battle over mobile patents, for everything from microchips to displays.
In the first dismantling of the iPad mini, which will be sold in 34 countries beginning Friday, teardown and gadget-repair specialist company, iFixit, discovered a Samsung display driver chip, which indicated that Apple had picked the Korean firm's screen technology.
Like most producers of mobile hardware, the U.S. company typically employs several suppliers for the same components in its gadgets. Apple has been known to use screens made by LG Display, for instance.
"Though the markings on the back of the LCD (display) don't turn up much information, the Samsung display driver IC (chip) reveals that Apple, once again, went with Samsung in its display manufacturing," iFixit said, detailing the teardown on its website.
Supplying parts for Apple's iPhones and iPads - some of the industry's most popular and advanced gadgets - is considered a coup for chipmakers and other manufacturers.
The iPad mini also employs SK Hynix Inc flash memory, a Broadcom touch controller, and a number of microchips from Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc, according to iFixit, which acquired one early.
The 7.9-inch iPad mini marks the Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment. The company hopes to beat back incursions into its home territory - carved out with the original iPad's launch in 2010 - with 7-inch slates that are popular with consumers, even as it safeguards its lead in a larger tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung have found tough to penetrate.
It has won mostly positive reviews focused on its ability to wrap most of the functions of its full-sized iPad sibling into a smaller package, but critics pointed out the higher price tag of the iPad mini and an inferior display relative to those of rival products like Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and Google's Nexus 7.
START YOUR ENGINES
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under CEO Tim Cook, who took over from predecessor Steve Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts said it may have been Google and Amazon that helped influence the decision.
Online sales have run for a week, but Apple has not disclosed sales numbers so far. Friday's global sales rollout may offer a hint of demand for the gadget, which analysts expect to be strong.
Still, it will be playing catch up. Priced at $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is more expensive than many analysts had expected. Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both released at $199, have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market.
Meanwhile, it is battling Samsung in the smartphone arena, which still yields the majority of Apple's revenue and profit. The Korean giant last year became the world's largest maker of smartphones as other rivals lost steam.
Apple and Samsung are engaged in patent disputes across several countries, and Apple is believed to be seeking ways to rely less on Samsung. But the Asian tech powerhouse remains a key supplier for Apple, manufacturing its application processors and providing other components.
Samsung has stopped supplying displays for Apple's iPhone, and plays a reduced role in the full-sized iPad, according to DisplaySearch. Apple is also buying fewer memory chips from Samsung for the iPhone 5, relying more on Hynix and Elpida Memory.
Many analysts believe Apple will also gradually phase out Samsung as the main producer of the mobile micro-processor and shift business to rival supplier TSMC.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis, Tim Dobbyn and Bernadette Baum)
This news article is brought to you by FREE ROMANTIC DATING SITE BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Analysts say the Silicon Valley-based iPhone maker is trying to wean itself off its reliance on Samsung, as both giants are embroiled in a bitter international legal battle over mobile patents, for everything from microchips to displays.
In the first dismantling of the iPad mini, which will be sold in 34 countries beginning Friday, teardown and gadget-repair specialist company, iFixit, discovered a Samsung display driver chip, which indicated that Apple had picked the Korean firm's screen technology.
Like most producers of mobile hardware, the U.S. company typically employs several suppliers for the same components in its gadgets. Apple has been known to use screens made by LG Display, for instance.
"Though the markings on the back of the LCD (display) don't turn up much information, the Samsung display driver IC (chip) reveals that Apple, once again, went with Samsung in its display manufacturing," iFixit said, detailing the teardown on its website.
Supplying parts for Apple's iPhones and iPads - some of the industry's most popular and advanced gadgets - is considered a coup for chipmakers and other manufacturers.
The iPad mini also employs SK Hynix Inc flash memory, a Broadcom touch controller, and a number of microchips from Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc, according to iFixit, which acquired one early.
The 7.9-inch iPad mini marks the Apple's first foray into the smaller-tablet segment. The company hopes to beat back incursions into its home territory - carved out with the original iPad's launch in 2010 - with 7-inch slates that are popular with consumers, even as it safeguards its lead in a larger tablet space that even deep-pocketed rivals like Samsung have found tough to penetrate.
It has won mostly positive reviews focused on its ability to wrap most of the functions of its full-sized iPad sibling into a smaller package, but critics pointed out the higher price tag of the iPad mini and an inferior display relative to those of rival products like Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and Google's Nexus 7.
START YOUR ENGINES
A smaller tablet is the first device to be added to Apple's compact portfolio under CEO Tim Cook, who took over from predecessor Steve Jobs just before his death a year ago. Analysts said it may have been Google and Amazon that helped influence the decision.
Online sales have run for a week, but Apple has not disclosed sales numbers so far. Friday's global sales rollout may offer a hint of demand for the gadget, which analysts expect to be strong.
Still, it will be playing catch up. Priced at $329 for a Wi-Fi only model, the iPad mini is more expensive than many analysts had expected. Amazon's Kindle Fire and Google's Nexus 7, both released at $199, have grabbed a chunk of the lower end of the tablet market.
Meanwhile, it is battling Samsung in the smartphone arena, which still yields the majority of Apple's revenue and profit. The Korean giant last year became the world's largest maker of smartphones as other rivals lost steam.
Apple and Samsung are engaged in patent disputes across several countries, and Apple is believed to be seeking ways to rely less on Samsung. But the Asian tech powerhouse remains a key supplier for Apple, manufacturing its application processors and providing other components.
Samsung has stopped supplying displays for Apple's iPhone, and plays a reduced role in the full-sized iPad, according to DisplaySearch. Apple is also buying fewer memory chips from Samsung for the iPhone 5, relying more on Hynix and Elpida Memory.
Many analysts believe Apple will also gradually phase out Samsung as the main producer of the mobile micro-processor and shift business to rival supplier TSMC.
(Editing by Matthew Lewis, Tim Dobbyn and Bernadette Baum)
This news article is brought to you by FREE ROMANTIC DATING SITE BLOG - where latest news are our top priority.
Civility efforts seek better behavior on campus
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Jewish students in the University of California system labeled terrorists for their support of Israel. Black high school students pelted by bananas on a Tennessee campus tour. A hostile student in Maryland challenging his professor to a fight after the teacher limited the use of cell phones and laptops during lectures.
In a society where anonymous Internet commenters freely lob insults, and politicians spew partisan barbs, the decline of basic civility isn't limited to academia. But the push for more polite discourse - often as an extension of more entrenched diversity efforts - is firmly taking root on campus.
From the University of Missouri to Penn State and Vanderbilt, colleges across the country are treating the erosion of common decency as a public health epidemic on par with measles outbreaks and sexually transmitted diseases.
'What we're trying to do is remind me people of what they already know, to get back in touch with things they probably learned growing up,' said Noel English, who heads a new Missouri civility campaign called 'Show Me Respect,' a nod to the state's nickname.
The Missouri campaign comes after two white students pleaded guilty in April 2010 to misdemeanor littering charges for dumping cotton balls outside the school's black culture center during Black History Month; the students were sentenced to 80 hours of community service, two years of probation and had their driver licenses suspended for two months. A 2009 survey of more than 3,500 students found that nearly one in seven reported incidents of harassment on campus, from racial slurs to hostile emails.
At a campus civility workshop earlier this week, Eric Waters, a junior from Mansfield, Texas, who is the football team's starting tight end, described how other students often label Mizzou football players as 'mean' and 'disrespectful' womanizers, sometimes to his face.
'It's not about the stereotypes people put on us,' he said. 'We try to carry ourselves like true gentlemen.'
The University of Tennessee enacted its civility campaign in 2011. There had been a cotton ball incident at the Knoxville school's black cultural center after President Barack Obama's election and, in 2010, bananas were thrown at a group of more than 100 black high school students from Memphis during a campus visit.
'We want to be a campus that's welcoming to all, and hostile to none,' said Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, who now outlines the school's 10 'principles of civility and community' at freshman orientation. The shared values range from inclusivity and collegiality to respect and integrity.
In some cases, the campus civility campaigns are being challenged by First Amendment advocates who fear that such programs muzzle unpopular speech in the name of tolerance and diversity.
That was the complaint at North Carolina State University, which revised a residence hall policy that, among other stipulations, prohibited dorm dwellers from wearing T-shirts or hanging posters 'disrespectful and hurtful to others' while also requiring students to 'confront behavior or report to staff incidents of incivility and intolerance.'
The new policy now includes a written caveat calling the civility effort a set of 'voluntary expectations' while emphasizing that the school is 'strongly committed to freedom of expression.'
'Civility is an important value,' said Robert Shibley, senior vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which protested the Raleigh university's civility policy. 'But at the same time, it can't be made the paramount issue in a free society, because there has to be space for people who have intense feelings about things to express those feelings in a way that really communicates the urgency and the depths of feeling that lies behind their opinions.'
When campuses attempt to compel civil behavior, Shibley said, they become 'so committed to civility that if you say something uncivil, you are going to be penalized In some way, that's going too far. It starts to infringe on the very expressions that are protected by the First Amendment.'
Many credit Pier Forni, a professor of Italian literature at Johns Hopkins University, as the dean of the campus civility movement. He started the Hopkins Civility Project 15 years ago, wrote the 2002 book 'Choosing Civility' and is a frequent guest speaker on other campuses, including at Missouri earlier this year.
For Forni, the culprits behind contemporary incivility are numerous, from what he called 'the crisis of civil engagement' in this country to eroding workplace manners to 'radical informality' heightened by Facebook and related social media. Yet he has no interest in making civil behavior a campus requirement.
'Civility should be promoted, not believed in,' he said. 'Civility is not something to enforce. '
Among the schools embracing those beliefs is the University of Arizona, which last year opened the National Institute for Civil Discourse after the shootings in Tucson, Ariz., that killed six people and injured 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
In 2010, Rutgers University launched its 'Project Civility' just before freshman Tyler Clementi killed himself when a roommate secretly recorded the teen's sexual encounter with another man. English, the Missouri campaign leader, said the New Jersey student's suicide helped influence her decision to start a program on campus.
She, too, favors the voluntary approach, though her initial instincts said otherwise.
'My first thought was, 'I'm a lawyer, we need a rule or a policy,' but then my thinking was, 'That's not really necessary,'' she said. 'We can have all the policies in the world, but what we want to do is raise awareness and get people thinking ... We want to change the culture so it just becomes embedded.'
Or, as Noor Azizan-Gardner, Missouri's chief diversity officer, put it: 'I'm hoping when they graduate they will know what it means to be civil, kind and compassionate.'
___
Online:
Show Me Respect: http://civility.missouri.edu/
University of Tennessee Principles of Civility and Community: http://civility.utk.edu/
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: http://thefire.org/
___ Alan Scher Zagier can be reached at http://twitter.com/azagier
This article is brought to you by BUY A COMPUTER.
In a society where anonymous Internet commenters freely lob insults, and politicians spew partisan barbs, the decline of basic civility isn't limited to academia. But the push for more polite discourse - often as an extension of more entrenched diversity efforts - is firmly taking root on campus.
From the University of Missouri to Penn State and Vanderbilt, colleges across the country are treating the erosion of common decency as a public health epidemic on par with measles outbreaks and sexually transmitted diseases.
'What we're trying to do is remind me people of what they already know, to get back in touch with things they probably learned growing up,' said Noel English, who heads a new Missouri civility campaign called 'Show Me Respect,' a nod to the state's nickname.
The Missouri campaign comes after two white students pleaded guilty in April 2010 to misdemeanor littering charges for dumping cotton balls outside the school's black culture center during Black History Month; the students were sentenced to 80 hours of community service, two years of probation and had their driver licenses suspended for two months. A 2009 survey of more than 3,500 students found that nearly one in seven reported incidents of harassment on campus, from racial slurs to hostile emails.
At a campus civility workshop earlier this week, Eric Waters, a junior from Mansfield, Texas, who is the football team's starting tight end, described how other students often label Mizzou football players as 'mean' and 'disrespectful' womanizers, sometimes to his face.
'It's not about the stereotypes people put on us,' he said. 'We try to carry ourselves like true gentlemen.'
The University of Tennessee enacted its civility campaign in 2011. There had been a cotton ball incident at the Knoxville school's black cultural center after President Barack Obama's election and, in 2010, bananas were thrown at a group of more than 100 black high school students from Memphis during a campus visit.
'We want to be a campus that's welcoming to all, and hostile to none,' said Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, who now outlines the school's 10 'principles of civility and community' at freshman orientation. The shared values range from inclusivity and collegiality to respect and integrity.
In some cases, the campus civility campaigns are being challenged by First Amendment advocates who fear that such programs muzzle unpopular speech in the name of tolerance and diversity.
That was the complaint at North Carolina State University, which revised a residence hall policy that, among other stipulations, prohibited dorm dwellers from wearing T-shirts or hanging posters 'disrespectful and hurtful to others' while also requiring students to 'confront behavior or report to staff incidents of incivility and intolerance.'
The new policy now includes a written caveat calling the civility effort a set of 'voluntary expectations' while emphasizing that the school is 'strongly committed to freedom of expression.'
'Civility is an important value,' said Robert Shibley, senior vice president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which protested the Raleigh university's civility policy. 'But at the same time, it can't be made the paramount issue in a free society, because there has to be space for people who have intense feelings about things to express those feelings in a way that really communicates the urgency and the depths of feeling that lies behind their opinions.'
When campuses attempt to compel civil behavior, Shibley said, they become 'so committed to civility that if you say something uncivil, you are going to be penalized In some way, that's going too far. It starts to infringe on the very expressions that are protected by the First Amendment.'
Many credit Pier Forni, a professor of Italian literature at Johns Hopkins University, as the dean of the campus civility movement. He started the Hopkins Civility Project 15 years ago, wrote the 2002 book 'Choosing Civility' and is a frequent guest speaker on other campuses, including at Missouri earlier this year.
For Forni, the culprits behind contemporary incivility are numerous, from what he called 'the crisis of civil engagement' in this country to eroding workplace manners to 'radical informality' heightened by Facebook and related social media. Yet he has no interest in making civil behavior a campus requirement.
'Civility should be promoted, not believed in,' he said. 'Civility is not something to enforce. '
Among the schools embracing those beliefs is the University of Arizona, which last year opened the National Institute for Civil Discourse after the shootings in Tucson, Ariz., that killed six people and injured 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
In 2010, Rutgers University launched its 'Project Civility' just before freshman Tyler Clementi killed himself when a roommate secretly recorded the teen's sexual encounter with another man. English, the Missouri campaign leader, said the New Jersey student's suicide helped influence her decision to start a program on campus.
She, too, favors the voluntary approach, though her initial instincts said otherwise.
'My first thought was, 'I'm a lawyer, we need a rule or a policy,' but then my thinking was, 'That's not really necessary,'' she said. 'We can have all the policies in the world, but what we want to do is raise awareness and get people thinking ... We want to change the culture so it just becomes embedded.'
Or, as Noor Azizan-Gardner, Missouri's chief diversity officer, put it: 'I'm hoping when they graduate they will know what it means to be civil, kind and compassionate.'
___
Online:
Show Me Respect: http://civility.missouri.edu/
University of Tennessee Principles of Civility and Community: http://civility.utk.edu/
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education: http://thefire.org/
___ Alan Scher Zagier can be reached at http://twitter.com/azagier
This article is brought to you by BUY A COMPUTER.
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