APPLE UNVEILS IPAD MINI, NEW MACS AT CALIFORNIA EVENTSteve Jobs said it would never happen. Yet a smaller Apple just fell from the iPad tree. Apple execs have finally unveiled the company's long-awaited iPad mini - something Jobs once declared the company would never do. The new $329 product is meant to compete with smaller, 7-inch tablets from companies like Google and Amazon that are nipping at the tech giant's heals. "You knew there'd be something called Mini in this presentation," joked vice president of marketing Phil Schiller before revealing the hotly anticipated gadget. Apple has sold 84 million iPads since their debut in April 2010, he said. "So this iPad mini is just 7.2 mm thick. That's about a quarter thinner than the fourth-generation iPad. Thinner than a pencil," CEO Tim Cook told the crowd earlier. The new product has the same resolution as the larger display 1,024 × 768, but it should look sharper thanks to the smaller screen. The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard rather than a physical one. The iPad has Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity. "You can hold it in one hand," he said. It's not just a shrunken down iPad. It's an entirely new design." Yet the new mini will run all of the software designed for the full-size siblings, he said. The mini will start with 16GB of storage at $329; a 4G model will cost an additional $129. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IPAD If speculation is correct, a mini iPad would follow three full-sized models. Here are Apple's iPad release s since its debut in 2010: — the iPad, April 3, 2010. Original model (announced Jan. 27, 2010). — the iPad 2, March 11, 2011. Faster processor, thinner. Comes with two cameras for taking photos and video chatting (announced March 2, 2011). — the new iPad (third generation), March 16, 2012. Faster processor, much sharper screen and improved camera (announced March 7, 2012). Cook announced an update to the iPad prior to that that he labeled a "fourth-generation" model with updated specifications. But he began the event by tout ing the company's success in software - especially the app store. "We've reached another milestone — customers have downloaded 35 billion apps from the store. This is jaw dropping," Cook said. It's the iconic hardware that Apple is known for, of course, and the company wasted no time unveil ing it. Phil Schiller, senior vice president of worldwide marketing for the company, joined Cook on stage to tout the company's victories in that arena, as the pair noted that Macs are the number one desktop and notebook in the country. To continue that momentum, Schiller revealed a new 13-inch MacBook Pro that he said is 20 percent thinner than the previous generation, and a pound lighter. The new laptop features a 2.5-GHz Intel processor, a high-resolution Retina display with over 4 million pixels, and a solid-state drive rather than a spinning disk. It will start at $1,700, he said. Schiller also described updates to the company's Mac Mini and iMacs. The new iMac, which starts at $1,299, is a razor-thin all in one computer that starts shipping next month, he said. "There is an entire computer in here," he said, despite the product's incredibly tiny form. "We sold more products in the June quarter than any PC manufacturer sold in their entire PC line," Cook said as he returned to the stage. (based on: http://www.foxnews.com)
7. Find English equivalents in the text: Планшет, наступати на п’яти технічного велетня, гаряче очікувана технічна новинка, поява, роздільна здатність, мультисенсорний екран, стільниковий зв'язок, зменшений, пам'ять, випуск, поліпшена камера, модернізувати, посилено розхвалювати, рекламувати, зробити досягнення, урочисто відкривати, настільний комп’ютер, вирізнятися, твердотільний диск, обертовий диск, дуже тонкий (як лезо), впроваджувати, неймовірно крихітний.
8. Answer the questions: 1. How do you understand the sentences “Yet a smaller Apple just fell from the iPad tree”, “This is jaw dropping”? 2. How do you understand the words execs and apps? 3. How thick are the tablets from companies like Google and Amazon? 4. How many iPads has Apple sold since April 2010? 5. What are the technical specifications of the new iPad mini? 6. What Apple's iPad releases are there? 7. What is another milestone that Apple has reached? 8. What other device described in the text is Apple known for?
9. Choose the right word: 1) The product competes/ wins with smaller tablets of other companies. 2) The new device includes/ constructs many features. 3) The article reveals/ returns the urgent problems. 4) The new gadget will be booted/ shipped next month. 5) The manufacturers/ customers will be able to buy it in spring. 6) This model has updated/ awful specifications. 7) The new notebook features/ drops a 2.5-GHz Intel processor. 8) You can get new software at the appliance/ application store. 9) I anticipate/ release the appearance of the new device.
10. What words from the article are defined? Choose an appropriate word from the databank: Databank: an iPad, a tablet PC, execs, a pixel, a debut, a screen, an inch, a desktop PC, a mini gadget, tiny. 1) Informal for an executive; 2) a small mechanical device or appliance; 3) a notebook or slate-shaped mobile computer; its touchscreen allows the user to operate the computer with a stylus or digital pen, or a fingertip, instead of a keyboard or mouse; 4) the phosphorescent surface on which an image is displayed; 5) smallest resolved unit of a video image that has specific luminescence and colour; 6) a first public appearance, as of a performer; 7) a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot or 0.0254 metre; 8) denoting a computer system, esp for word processing, that is small enough to use at a desk; 9) a very popular tablet computer from Apple, introduced in April 2010; 10) very small.
11. Translate into English: 1. Комп’ютери відіграють життєво важливу і ключову роль у повсякденному житті. Адже саме вони застосовуються для банківських операцій і нагляду за залізницями, для керування літаками й управління телекомунікаційною системою. 2. Не тільки складні обчислення важких математичних задач, але й такі щоденні речі, як купівля, реклама, організація заходу, пошук роботи, замовлення послуги можуть бути зробленими завдяки комп’ютеру. 3. Передумови для мов програмування високого рівня були розроблені в часи другого покоління комп’ютера. 4. Перший комп’ютер, що містив електронні лампи, був побудований в 1946 р. Згодом електронні лампи були заміщені транзисторами, які вважаються величезним досягненням в електроніці. 5. Перехід від магнітного барабана до технології магнітного стрижня був зроблений перед тим, як з’явився мікропроцесор. 6. Одночасний запуск багатьох комп’ютерних програм забезпечується завдяки операційній системі. 7. Комп’ютери масово використовуються з 1981-х. Саме тоді був представлений перший комп’ютер для використання в домашніх умовах. 8. Зараз використовуються програми розпізнавання голосу, які базуються на штучному інтелекті. 9. Термін штучний інтелект придуманий у 1956 році Джоном Маккарті в Массачусетському технологічному інституті. 10. Технічні характеристики нового iPad були успішно оновлені. Саме тому зараз цей новий технічний прилад так розхвалюється на веб сторінках. Його можна тримати в одній руці й одночасно запускати різні програми, оскільки інтерфейс користувача вбудований навколо сенсорного екрана пристрою. 11. Компанія має ще одне досягнення – останнім часом покупці завантажили з магазину біля 35 мільярдів програм.
Grammar revision: Passive voice (consult Appendix 1)
|
