Humongous is here:'Eyes-on' with three 29-inch displays

When you’re multitasking like mad, one monitor doesn’t provide enough real estate to display every open window without many of them overlapping and obscuring each other. For this reason alone, most PCWorld editors and designers use more than one display. Constantly rearranging multiple browser, text editor, chat, and photo-editing windows as you search for the one you need saps productivity and invites frustration.

But using multiple displays isn’t a panacea, either. First, you need a graphics card that can support two displays. That isn’t an unusual feature for a desktop PC, but it’s hard to find on older notebooks. Second, multiple video and power cables add clutter to your work environment. Third—and most important—a gap between the displays is inevitable, no matter how carefully you arrange them. Even the narrowest bezel will create a blind spot as your mouse pointer crosses from screen to screen.

So the new 29-inch, ultrawide displays featured here—each delivering a resolution of 2560 by 1080 pixels on a single screen—are a welcome addition to the market. They’re just the ticket for productivity apps, and they’re not bad for gaming, either. When we ran BioShock Infinite’s built-in benchmark at these displays’ native resolution (using settings of Very High) on a PC outfitted with a midrange AMD Radeon HD 7790 video card, we experienced a very playable frame rate of 41.1 frames per second.

Three such models recently passed through the PCWorld Lab: the Dell UltraSharp U2913WM, the AOC Q2963PM, and the LG 29EA93P UltraWide IPS Monitor. Each of these monitors measures 29 inches diagonally, with an aspect ratio of 21:9. That’s much, much wider than the 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratios you’ll find on more-conventional monitors (or the 4:3 aspect ratio that old-school displays deliver).

Each of the models I reviewed incorporates a high-quality IPS (In-Plane Switching) LCD panel that delivers a very wide off-axis viewing angle (an especially important feature when you’re dealing with an ultrawide display). And each screen uses environmentally friendly LED backlighting, which reduces warm-up time, lowers energy costs, and reduces the amount of damaging chemicals that eventually find their way into landfills at the end of a product’s useful life.

I liked all three displays, but one delivered more features and performed better than the other two.

The AOC is one of the most full-featured displays in the group, providing DVI, HDMI, MHL, VGA, and DisplayPort. MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link, in case you’re not familiar with the standard), provides a means of mirroring the display on your Android tablet or smartphone (in some instances, the cable can charge the device at the same time). AOC provides the necessary cable, which has a micro USB connector for the device and an HDMI connector for the Q2963PM.We found that the technology worked as advertised.

AOC's Q2963PM is loaded with features, but its display wasn't as accurate as its rival screens.

The AOC monitor also supports DisplayPort 1.2 multistreaming, which allows you to chain several monitors together. Not every video card supports this feature, but I successfully tested it with an MSI GX60 gaming laptop. Daisy-chaining is easy: Connect a DisplayPort cable from a video card to the monitor’s DisplayPort In. Run a second DisplayPort cable from the first monitor’s DisplayPort Out to a second monitor’s DisplayPort In, and repeat until you run out of monitors or bandwidth.

The AOC supports both ‘Picture by Picture’ and ‘Picture in Picture’ modes and includes the company’s own Screen+ software, which lets you divide your screen into multiple zones. Windows snap to a grid when dragged into a given zone, and you can split the screen in half horizontally, vertically, or both, to make four rectangular zones for email, chats, browsers, and more.

The Q2963PM has stereo speakers, but they’re poorly located on the left and right sides of the base, behind the center of the display. They don’t sound terrible, but they fire out parallel to your ears instead of toward them. You’ll be happier using even the most modest set of desktop speakers. The AOC’s stand permits little in the way of ergonomic adjustment: There’s no height adjustment, pivot, or swivel—just a few degrees of tilt.

The panel delivered crisp, clean text, and games and movies played smoothly; but it rendered stark whites with just a hint of yellow. You won’t want to use this display for mission-critical tasks such as photo editing.

Score: 3.5

Pros:

Supports DisplayPort 1.2 with multistreaming

Supports MHL

Very good off-axis viewing

Cons:

Whites have a yellowish tinge

Ergonomically limited stand

Subpar speakers

Dell’s UltraSharp U2913WM offers the greatest degree of ergonomic flexibility in this group, with several inches of height adjustment and a stand that both tilts and swivels. It also supports DisplayPort 1.2’s daisy-chaining capabilities, and I had no problem getting that feature to work.

Dell wins this competition by a wide margin, thanks to the U2913M's excellent performance, full feature set, and competitive pricing.

The monitor has all of the inputs you might need: Mini DisplayPort, DisplayPort In, DisplayPort Out, Dual Link DVI, VGA, and HDMI. You’ll also find a handy USB 3.0 hub for connecting peripherals such as mice, keyboards, and external hard drives. Dell provides a Mini-to-Standard DisplayPort cable and a USB 3.0 cable in the box.

The U2913WM’s IPS panel afforded great off-axis viewing, with very little color shift when my eyes moved left or right from the center of the screen. Colors were saturated and pleasing, once I figured out how to turn off the annoying Autocolor feature that tries to optimize the screen settings according to the application being used.

I found Autocolor to be a little freaky, to be honest. After looking at a test photo, I would click a browser window—and the whole screen would turn a pinkish color. Tap back to Photoshop, and the colors would return to their prior values. On a display designed for multitaskers, having automatic color shifting turned on by default seems distinctly odd. On the positive side, text was easy to read, even at small type sizes, and movies and games played back smoothly.

When I ran DisplayMate’s black-screen, stuck-pixel test, I encountered two stuck subpixels: one blue and one red. They weren’t in the same area of the screen, and I could detect them only when running the test screen. These should be covered by Dell’s warranty (you can read the details at Dell’s site).

Dell’s Display Manager application, like AOC’s Screen+, lets you select zones that windows snap and expand to as you drag them. The apps work pretty well, but they take some getting used to. PCWorld recently rounded up a number of third-party window managers that you might find to be a little more full-featured (see “Crisp up your desktop with a window manager utility”).

Score: 4 stars

Pros:

Supports DisplayPort 1.2 multistreaming 

Excellent off-axis viewing

Very flexible stand

Cons:

Does not support MHL

No audio speakers

The 29EA92P has the most stylish design of the three ultrawide displays I evaluated. Though its thin black bezel looks similar to those on the AOC and Dell models from the front, the back of the case is white plastic and its edges and stand are chromelike. The stand is attractive enough, but it possesses a very limited range of motion, with just a few degrees of tilt. You can’t adjust its height, and it doesn’t swivel or pivot.

The speakers integrated beneath the front edge of the screen sound considerably better than the AOC’s built-in speakers. But as I mentioned in my AOC review, you’ll be happier with even modest desktop speakers.

LG's 29EA93P is pretty enough, but the absence of support for DisplayPort 1.2 multistreaming holds it back.

The 29EA93P provides multiple connection options, including dual-link DVI, two HDMI ports (one of which supports MHL mirroring of an Android device), VGA, and full-size DisplayPort. Unlike AOC and Dell, LG doesn’t support DisplayPort 1.2 multistreaming on this model. The company provides dual-link DVI, MHL, and USB 3.0 cables in the box.

Being an IPS panel, the 29EA93P provides generous off-axis viewing angles, exhibiting very little in the way of color shift or loss of contrast when your eyes leftward or rightward from the center of the screen. Video and games played well, colors were well saturated and pleasing, and text was easy to read, even at small point sizes.

All of these displays performed well, with wide viewing angles, good text legibility, and windows management features for taking advantage of the extrawide screens. For folks who want to use their extrawide screens to handle multimedia, the LG with its MHL support and decent built-in speakers would be the best choice. The Dell would be better for users who want to daisy-chain monitors or adjust the height and position of their displays without using risers. The AOC is a fine monitor, but its colors are a little lackluster in comparison to those on the other displays, and its speakers are just crappy.

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Tested! Three graphics cards you can actually afford

Times are tough. The economic recovery still hasn’t rained pixie dust on your bank balance, but you’re still determined to play the latest PC games in their full visual glory. Sounds like an impossible situation, right? Not so fast. You don’t have to choose between a first-rate gaming experience and paying the rent. With the right midrange graphics card, you can get your game on without having to move into a van down by the river.

In fact, AMD and Nvidia are clamoring to place one of their cards in your system for less than $200. Just last month, AMD announced the Radeon HD 7790, a gaming card that delivers considerable performance without a high cost. Then, one week later, Nvidia announced its own budget card, the GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost, the successor to the GeForce GTX 650 Ti.

Three different cards, at three slightly different price points. Which one is best? To find out, we staged a battle royale of budget graphic cards, since the benchmarks never lie. First let’s look at the contenders, and then we’ll turn to the test results.

Radeon HD 7790 OC edition

The Radeon HD 7790 fills the gap between the 7770 and the 7850 in terms of price and performance, and emerges as a great entry-level card for budget-conscious PC builders. For $150 you get 1080p gaming for cheap. Up until the 7790’s release, Nvidia’s GTX 650 Ti had no competition at the $150 price point, giving Nvidia a monopoly in the budget-minded-enthusiast space.

The Radeon HD 7790 sports 1GB of GDDR5 memory and a core clock speed of just over 1GHz. For multiple-monitor fanatics, it comes with two Dual-Link DVI connectors, an HDMI connector, and a DisplayPort output. Plus, it manages to stay compact for smaller cases, measuring just 185mm by 125mm by 38mm.

Perhaps the best news regarding the 7790 is that it supports CrossFire, which means that you can affordably double your graphics power down the line by adding a second card.

EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost

A mere week after the 7790 was announced, Nvidia aimed for the graphics card sweet spot as well with its GTX 650 Ti Boost. This “boosted” version of the 650 Ti costs $170 but offers double the memory of AMD’s 7790 (2GB of GDDR5) for just $30 more. There is talk of a 1GB version coming soon that will directly compete with the 7790 at $150.

The 650 Ti Boost utilizes its overclocking capabilities to deliver core speeds of over 1GHz, and it comes with a cooler similar to the one found in its bigger sibling, the GTX 660. The Boost also provides two DVI ports (one DVI-D and one DVI-I), a mini-HDMI port, and a DisplayPort. Like the AMD 7790 (but unlike the older 650 Ti), the 650 Ti Boost is SLI (Scalable Link Interface) compatible, which means that you can add a second card later if you want to.

GeForce GTX 650 Ti

The GeForce GTX 650 Ti was released back in October, making it an older card at this point (anything over six months old these days is borderline ancient). Still, the card was significant enough to draw some direct competition from the Radeon HD 7790 card some months later.

If you’re looking for the best bang for your buck, the 2GB version of the 650 Ti tops out around $160, making it slightly cheaper than the “boosted” version. In fact, the only advantage the 650 Ti Boost has over the 650 Ti model we tested is its core clock speed of 980MHz.

This cheaper card still provides a mini-HDMI port and two DVI ports (one DVI-D and one DVI-I). One thing you are missing out on if you go the cheaper route, however, is the ability to add a second card later on, since the original 650 Ti is not SLI compatible. When you want to upgrade, you’ll have to start fresh.

Read on for the benchmark numbers.

Alex covers desktops, everything from fancy to practical. He's also an avid (addicted) gamer and loves following the industry.
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Reviewed: Three touchscreen displays that bring Windows 8 to life

You don't necessarily need a touchscreen monitor to use Windows 8, but swiping your finger to invoke the Charms bar is a lot more fun than holding down the Windows key and pressing C. I'll admit that initially I had to force myself to use the new touch gestures, but after a short time with the OS I found myself reaching out to touch even my MacBook Pro's screen.

Since the debut of Microsoft's latest operating system, monitor manufacturers have been working to bring touchscreen support to desktop users. At first it was near impossible to find a display that responded to all the gestures in Windows 8, but now we're able to review three 23-inch models with 10-point multitouch support (meaning the monitors recognize all 10 fingers on both your hands). 

We put the three monitors through a gauntlet of tests to find which one offers the best value, quality and feature set to win a spot in your workstation.

Acer's T232HL is a 23-inch, 10-point touchscreen LCD monitor with a resolution of 1920 by 1080. It uses environmentally friendly LED backlighting and a high-quality IPS panel for wide viewing angles.

The T232HL offers VGA, HDMI, and DVI inputs. Acer thoughtfully includes cables for each connection type in the shipping box, but we still found the initial setup to be a bit tricky. The T232HL’s stand uses a hinged design that lies flat against the display for shipping. It took a lot of force (and courage) to open the stand, but eventually we were able to pull it into position. A note in the setup guide would go a long way to alleviate fears of snapping the base off your newly purchased monitor. The stand doesn’t allow for height adjustment, pivot, or swivel, but it does tilt back to a 45-degree angle very easily, once you’ve set it up.

Acer's T232HL touchscreen display has the edgiest design aesthetic of the three models we reviewed.

We connected the display via HDMI, and our test PC recognized it automatically as a Windows touchscreen device, booting directly into its native resolution without issue. The T232HL delivered impressive performance as we ran the display through our battery of test images. On our solid-color screens, we found no stuck or dead pixels, and color and brightness were uniform across the screen. Its viewing angle was top notch, losing contrast only at extreme angles. Its glossy surface, which can be problematic in terms of glare, helps to enhance the appearance of photographs. Even gray tones appeared neutral at its default color settings.

While no one would confuse the T232HL with a Retina display, text was legible even at small point sizes. We also watched test clips of HD video, and the action played smoothly without any obvious artifacts. The built-in speakers are okay, if a little tinny. The speakers are located in the back of the display, and they sound like it.

As for touchscreen performance, the T232HL was responsive and accurate. We didn’t have any issues using the gestures, closing open windows, or selecting menu items. The stand’s ability to lean back to a 45-degree angle made the touch features—especially the on-screen keyboard—easier to use for extended periods of time.

Despite a little trouble in our initial setup, the Acer T232HL is a nice display that uses high-quality components. It performed admirably in our text, motion, color, and uniformity tests, and it would definitely be worth considering even without its 10-point touch capabilities.

Acer T232HL, $549 (street price)

Pros:

10-point touchscreenWide viewing angleAccurate colorsSmooth gradients

Cons:

Stand is difficult to set up and offers no height adjustment

Bottom line:

This is a terrific display, but we do wish it allowed height adjustments.

4 stars

LG Flatron 23ET83V-W

The LG Flatron 23ET83V-W is based on a high-quality IPS panel with 1920 by 1080 resolution and an LED backlight. Sporting a white plastic case with a thin black bezel, this glossy-screened monitor connects to your PC via HDMI or VGA.

LGLG's Flatron 23ET83V-W doesn't offer the great off-axis viewing experience we've come to expect from IPS displays.

A red light illuminates a thin, translucent, crescent-shaped plastic tab on the bottom edge of the screen that reflects off the desktop. The tab is not a button, but it sits just below the buttonless touch power control. Although the absence of physical buttons might make for a cleaner, simpler-looking design, we prefer the tactile response of a button. Maybe we’d get used to the menu system over time, but we found ourselves frequently hitting the wrong buttons and having to exit and reenter the menus.

Aside from a few degrees of tilt, the LG display’s stand offers little ergonomic flexibility. You can’t adjust the height, pivot it into portrait mode, or swivel the screen from left to right. Other touchscreen monitors we’ve looked at can lean back farther, making it easier to use touch gestures without having shoulder fatigue setting in immediately.

A quick note about the setup: When attached to an AMD graphics card, the display would boot up underscanned, with about an inch of black space around the screen. The LG’s on-screen menus have an Overscan setting, but turning that from its default off position to on did not fully correct the problem. We had to turn off overscanning on the display and then go to the AMD Catalyst Control panel’s advanced settings and move the overscanning slider to zero. In addition to the unwanted space, the screen was blurry in this underscanned mode, and that affected calibration. When we attached the monitor to a system with an Nvidia-based graphics card, the proper resolution came up automatically and the image filled the screen as expected.

Once we had the screen properly set up, the 23ET83V-W performed well in most of our image tests. We found no stuck or dead pixels, and colors were uniform. Text was legible even at small point sizes, and photographs looked good, although making out details in shadowy areas of the image was hard. In some of the DisplayMate gray-level test patterns, we were unable to see differences in the first few gray-level patches. Switching the display’s Black Level control setting from its default Low to High resolved the issue.

The LG’s viewing angle wasn’t quite as stellar as that of other IPS screens we’ve seen. Color shifts weren’t an issue, but at extreme angles it was harder to see what was on screen. This minor drawback is probably attributable to the touchscreen coating.

Speaking of the touchscreen, the 23ET83V-W performed admirably in that regard. It was responsive and accurate, and we had no problems using Windows 8 touch gestures or closing windows and choosing menu items on the Windows 8 desktop.

The LG Flatron 23ET83V-W is a capable touchscreen display. Its viewing angle isn’t as wide as that of most IPS screens we’ve tested, but is still very good. Its controls were a bit of a hassle to use, and we needed to make adjustments to the black-level settings to help the display look its best. While those are admittedly minor grievances, the monitor’s lack of ergonomic agility could reduce the amount of time you end up using its touch capabilities.

LG Flatron 23ET83V-W, $550 (street price)

Pros:

10-point touchIPS panelLED backlight

Cons:

Limited ergonomic flexibilityBlack levels require adjustment

Bottom line: 

This is a very good display, but its controls are more difficult to use than they should be, and its viewing angles aren't as good as other IPS monitors we've evaluated.

3.5 stars

Viewsonic TD2340

Viewsonic’s TD2340 display is built like a tank, weighing a hefty 20.4 pounds. It features a 23-inch, LED-backlit, IPS panel that delivers a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, and it supports 10 touch points.

The TD2340 has a heavy-duty, dual-hinged base that offers a few inches of height adjustment, the ability to pivot into portrait mode, and even the option to tilt the display down so that it sits completely flat like a tabletop. At a height of 6 inches above the desk, however, the flat orientation seems like an awkward way to work. The best position we found for typing directly on screen using the touch keyboard was tilting the panel back to a 45-degree angle and lifting the bottom-front edge a couple of inches off the desk. This position allowed us to type on the screen without reaching as far, while still being able to keep our physical keyboard and mouse in front of us.

ViewSonicYou'd never guess by the ViewSonic's TD2340 Frankenstein feet just how limber this display can be.

You can connect the TD2340 to your computer via HDMI, DisplayPort, or VGA. To use the touch capabilities, you need a USB connection as well. The on-screen controls are simple and easy to use, which we find refreshing. Button 1 brings up the menus, while button 2 selects with up and down arrows for adjusting color, brightness, contrast, volume from the SRS speakers, the on-screen menu position, and much more.

The TD2340 offers a wide viewing angle, which is helpful if you collaborate with other people around your screen or if you take advantage of the aforementioned flexible stand to position the screen at nonstandard angles. Text was legible even at small point sizes, and colors were uniform across the screen. We found no stuck or dead pixels when testing the display. The glossy screen helps to give photographs more depth, but glare can be an issue. You'll need to consider where, in relation to windows or other fixed light sources, to position a glossy-screen display like the TD2340.

The Viewsonic’s 10-point touch capabilities were impressive. Input was responsive and accurate, and we didn’t have any issues using Windows 8 gestures or maneuvering around the Windows 8 desktop.

Of the Windows 8 touchscreen monitors we’ve evaluated, the Viewsonic TD2340 is the most capable. Its wide viewing angle, its agile yet bulky stand, and numerous little touches such as the SRS speakers, multiple inputs, and easy-to-use menus combine to make the TD2340 a great choice for Windows 8 users. It’s more expensive than some other touchscreen displays, but it earns its price tag.

Viewsonic TD2340, $600 (street price)

Pros:

10-point touchscreenWide viewing anglesVersatile standDisplayPort

Cons:

Not very attractiveBulky and heavy

Bottom line: 

ViewSonic's TD2340 is more expensive than other monitors in its class, but it delivers enough features and value to warrant the difference.

4 stars

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Three new features coming in Linux Mint 15

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Katherine Noyes has been an ardent geek ever since she first conquered Pyramid of Doom on an ancient TRS-80. Today she covers business and tech in all its forms, with an emphasis on Linux and open source software.
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It's been just a few weeks since the launch of Linux Mint 14 “Nadia,” but already the project behind the popular distribution has been making plans for its next release.

In fact, last week project lead Clement Lefebvre laid out a roadmap for Linux Mint 15, whose nickname is still to be decided.

Linux Mint has remained at the top of DistroWatch's page hit rankings for the past year or so, making its next version a topic of widespread interest.

Ready for a rundown? Here are three features we can expect to see in Linux Mint 15.

1. Cinnamon 1.8

It's already been a full year since the launch of the GNOME 2-like Cinnamon desktop environment, and the next version of Linux Mint will use Cinnamon 1.8.

Included along with that popular desktop will be desklets, or desktop widgets, such as for system monitor, terminal, and picture, video, and slideshow frame; themes with configurable color schemes; calendar events similar to those in KDE; and new applets including an email notifier and an RSS reader similar to Pulse.

Also coming will be bump maps and a control center governing settings for both Cinnamon and GNOME properties, among other features.

2. Nemo 1.8

Cinnamon's default Nemo file manager, a fork of Nautilus, will be upgraded to version 1.8 in the next Linux Mint release, according to the roadmap. Along with it will come an action API, disk management, file preview capabilities, and user interface improvements.

3. MDM 1.2

Version 1.2 of the Mint Display Manager (MDM), meanwhile, will bring new capabilities as well. Themes, for example, will be able to have borders around text fields.

Other new features coming in Linux Mint 15 include user interface improvements for software management and the live installer as well as a new screensaver and driver manager.

Based on Ubuntu, Linux Mint issues new releases twice a year. The current version, “Nadia,” was rolled out in November.

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Windows 8 to Come in Three Versions, Here’s What They Mean

When Microsoft released Windows 7, the company was roundly criticized for introducing far too many versions of the operating system, with no fewer than six different and confusing SKUs available from the low-end Windows 7 Starter to the mainstream Windows 7 Home Premium and the pricey Windows 7 Ultimate. It seems Redmond has learned from its mistakes as the company announced it will release just two main versions of Windows 8 that consumers and businesses can buy, along with a separate edition that only comes preloaded on tablets with ARM-based processors.

The versions of Windows 8 break down as follows:

Windows 8: The main version for consumers, the simply named “Windows 8? has all the features users have come to expect from today’s Windows 7 Home Premium and even includes the ability to switch to any language you want, something you couldn’t do in prior versions of Windows.Windows 8 Pro: The more-expensive version of windows is designed for businesses and power users and features advanced features like drive encryption, the ability to join domains , the ability to boot from a virtual drive, remote desktop and client hyper-V.Both Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro will be available in 32 or 64-bit flavors.Windows RT: The ARM-based version of Windows will be called Windows RT and will come with its own versions of Microsoft Office, but not the ability to run x86 programs or use Windows Media Player. 

There’s no word yet on pricing for the different Windows 8 SKUs. Microsoft has yet to announce a release date for its upcoming OS, though most expect it to arrive sometime in the fall.

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Three Publishers to Compensate Ebook Buyers

April 13th, 2012 by Leslie Meredith, TechNewsDaily  After getting slapped with an antitrust lawsuit, publishing houses Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins and Hachette have agreed to compensate people who bought ebooks from Apple’s iBookstore at elevated prices.Apple and ebook publishers have been accused of price-fixing. The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that Apple , as it prepared to launch its own ebook store, persuaded publishers to price ebooks at $13 and $15, or about $3 more than the same books being sold through Amazon and other outlets.Formerly, it was retailers like Amazon, and not publishers, that set consumer prices. As part of the deal, Apple allegedly got a 30 percent commission on each ebook sold. Amazon and others felt compelled to adopt the new model, and now most Amazon Kindle  books start at $13.After a two-year investigation, the Justice Department filed an antitrust suit against Apple, Penguin, Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster.The bottom line, based on documents filed by the Justice Department and released by tech news site The Verge: Amazon’s $10 ebook price scared the hell out of publishers. The plan to end Amazon’s iron reign took place in secret CEO meetings in private New York dining rooms beginning in the fall of 2008.Sixteen states and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico have filed a suit of their own in Texas. Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia and Puerto Rico have demanded compensation for their citizens.Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins and Hachette are avoiding the states’ suit by agreeing to “provide restitution” to people in those states that had purchased their books from Apple . The publishers said that they will “use a formula based on the number of states participating and the number of eBooks sold in each state” to determine amounts due, but did not specify how consumers will be reimbursed — by check, a discount on future purchases, or some other mechanism. Details are to be finalized in the coming weeks.

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Apple Sells Three Million New iPads over Launch Weekend

Apple has released an amazing figure that will surely be remembered among the hallowed numbers of its product launches. The company sold 3 million new iPads over the weekend since its March 16 launch, with Apple SVP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller calling this the company’s “strongest iPad launch yet.”

No numbers were available for the first weekend sales of the iPad 2 (since there was an extremely short supply of units at the time), but analysts estimated that the number hoevered somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million units. To put things into context, this means the new iPad launch did roughly three times as well as the iPad 2's launch last year.

Back in 2010, over 300,000 original iPads were sold on the tablet’s launch day, and it took the company 28 days in total to move 1 million units. It then took Apple 80 days to sell 3 million iPads.

During an early morning conference call held Monday, Apple CEO Tim Cook hinted that the company experienced a “record weekend” for the new iPad, but declined to report any hard numbers. Turns out he may just have wanted to keep his audience in suspense: Eight hours later, Apple officially announced the staggering 3 million figure.

In comparison, 4 million units of the iPhone 4S were sold in its first weekend, though it’s worth noting that the iPhone 4S had a lower $199 price. At this point, it almost seems like the juggernaut Apple can do no wrong.

via Apple

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Three Ways Facebook Can Win in Mobile

On Android phones it’s even worse news for Facebook. Google+ is the default service used to automatically back up your photos, video chat and instant message, so millions of people will be introduced to Facebook’s main rival upon using an Ice Cream Sandwich device. When I asked Google over the summer about a possible ETA for Facebook integration with Android 4.0's People App (contacts), I got the following vague response:

“There’s an open API for any developer to use, so it’s up to third-party developers to integrate.”

Despite this statement, it doesn’t seem likely that Google would ever promote Facebook to the same status enjoyed by Google+.

That leaves iOS. When Apple launched its Ping social network for music, the company had a falling out with Facebook over what Steve Jobs called “onerous terms.” Facebook needs to find common ground with Apple on achieving first-class status in iOS, alongside Twitter.

Option 2: Say “Fork You” to Android with a Facebook Phone

Probability: 60 Percent

If you look at the Facebook app on an iPhone today and open the slide-out menu, you’ll see a category called Apps. From here you can link off to apps that integrate with Facebook, from Instagram and Bejeweled to Spotify. In a way, the Facebook app is a platform within a platform. But as the company noted in its IPO filing, it simply doesn’t control its own destiny in mobile. Some have suggested that Facebook should launch its own phone, a device that would go much further than a single share button on the HTC Status. One way Facebook could challenge Android and Google+ would be to pull an Amazon and “fork” Android to suit its needs.

The Kindle Fire looks nothing like traditional Android but has quickly become the No. 2 tablet behind the iPad. Why couldn’t Facebook do the same thing with phones? A Facebook phone would have its own curated app store of Android apps, and all of them would connect with Facebook in some way. Such a phone would also sport its own browser that let people like or share articles via Facebook with a tap (similar to Rockmelt on the desktop).

Just as importantly, Facebook would be able to experiment more boldly with integrating ads in different parts of its OS, which is critical to generating more revenue.

Although Google likely wouldn’t allow Facebook to use Google Wallet, Facebook could leverage NFC technology to enable users to redeem Facebook deals with a swipe. A layer on top of the maps app would show you where your friends have checked in and display what local offers are available.

There’s no way Google or Apple would allow this type of integration, which is exactly why Facebook might need to take matters into its own hands. Another option would be to adopt Tizen, an open-source Linux OS backed by Intel and Samsung, but it would take much longer to build an app ecosystem. Open sourcing webOS will also take too long.

Option 3: Strengthen Your Ties with Windows Phone

Probability: 70 Percent

I’m not convinced that Windows Phone will become the No. 2 mobile OS come 2015, as IHS iSuppli has suggested. But the platform will certainly gather momentum over the next couple of years as Nokia puts its full weight behind Microsoft’s software and Windows 8 debuts with a similar interface.

Windows Phone happens to integrate with Facebook pretty well already, displaying the latest status of your friends in the People hub and showing you the latest posted photos in the Pictures hub. And while it takes too many steps, you can share websites via Facebook within IE Mobile.

This level of integration isn’t a surprise, given that Microsoft purchased a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook back in 2007. Since then, the two companies have collaborated in other ways, including advertising initiatives and incorporating Facebook recommendations in Bing search results. But Facebook should attempt to go even further with Windows Phone, especially with Xbox Live.

Zuckerberg could easily point to the fact that Zynga accounted for 12 percent of the company’s revenue in 2011, and remind Microsoft that the company behind Farmville has yet to deliver a single game for Windows Phone. Perhaps Facebook could convince Zynga to devote more resources to Windows Phone in exchange for deeper Facebook integration across Microsoft’s multiple platforms, including the Connect feature of Windows 8.

What’s the Answer?

The above three paths are not mutually exclusive. While getting Google to put Facebook on the same level as Google+ is pretty much out of the question, the social network should do whatever it can to strengthen its ties with Apple. Twitter alone simply won’t help iOS realize its full social potential, so Facebook and Apple will need to iron out terms that are favorable to both parties. In the meantime, Facebook should be developing its own mobile platform on the back of Android and getting cozier with Microsoft on both Windows Phones and Windows 8 tablets. For Facebook to be worth that $100 billion, it will need to “Like” all of the above options.

Editor-in-chief Mark Spoonauer directs LAPTOP’s online and print editorial content and has been covering mobile and wireless technology for over a decade. Each week Mark’s SpoonFed column provides his insights and analysis of the biggest mobile trends and news. You can also follow him on twitter.

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