Ace Metrix, a company that measures television advertising effectiveness, released a report that found Apple to be the overall winner of the most effective ad campaign this year. Jack McKee, Ace Metrix’s head of marketing, told us that the other tablet makers put forth a very strong effort, but that it still wasn’t enough to beat Apple.

James Brown, the Senior Director of Merchant Accounts with PriceGrabber, told us that the survey also revealed that 51 percent of consumers planned to purchase it within the first year, 14 percent within the first month, and 7 percent within the first week.

Although the exact date of the iPhone 5 release has not been made public, it is expected to be available sometime this fall.

Are you planning to buy the iPhone 5?

Carl Gibson, a spokesperson with US Uncut, told us that the protestors went through the Apple stores chanting, “Love the iPhone, hate the tax cheat” and “Why can’t I sync my iPhone with my values?” The demonstrators also made a decorated appearance at Apple’s WWDC event this week in hopes of getting their message out.

While there has been a great deal of excitement regarding the iPad, there has also been some criticism. In the above video broadcast, Rich Ord, the CEO of the iEntry Network, which includes WebProNews, and WPN reporter Abby Johnson, take a close look at the iPad and point out both the pros and the cons of it.

Ord calls the device a “convenience revolution for the Internet.” Some of the most noticeable pros of the iPad include convenience factors such as portability and access. Businesses could potentially find this device easier to use in the workplace than a laptop. In addition, students could find a similar usage pattern in schools.

On the negative side, the iPad is very susceptible to fingerprints, just as the iPhone is. However, due to the size of the iPad, it is not as easy to clean. Users need to keep several cleaning wipes on hand. Another negative of the iPad is its glare, which makes it difficult to use outdoors. Also, the fact that it is somewhat heavy is a downfall since it makes it difficult to hold for an extended amount of time.

Many people have speculated as to what the iPad will replace. Instead of looking at it as a replacement, Ord suggests looking at it as a “supplement” since people will use it in places where they didn’t use laptops before. Overall, Apple’s iPad is a revolutionary device that many other companies will build upon.

What are your initial thoughts regarding the iPad?

The iPad looks a lot like the iPhone, only larger. Jobs said, “Using this thing is remarkable. It’s so much more intimate than a laptop, and it’s so much more capable than a smartphone.”

Notable features of the new tablet include:

- Dimensions: 0.5-inches thick, weighs 1.5 pounds, and 9.7-inch display
- Powered by Apple’s A4 processor
- 10-hours battery life; One month on standby
- 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB of Flash memory storage
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled
- Built-in speaker and microphone
- Digital compass
- App Store application included

Some models of the iPad will have 3G. Apple and AT&T are offering two data plans without contracts. The first includes 250MB of data per month for $14.99, and the second includes unlimited data usage for $29.99 per month. These 3G versions will range in price from $629-$829, and those without 3G will start at $499 and go up to $699, both depending on storage size.

As expected, the iPad comes with an e-book reading application called iBooks. Jobs praised Amazon’s Kindle but said Apple hoped to refine that model.

Despite all the hype regarding Apple’s iPad, a tablet computer is not a new concept. Jobs admitted that tablets have not done well in the past but believes Apple is up for the challenge.

The company will begin shipping the iPad in 60 days and the 3G models in 90 days.

Do you believe Apple’s iPad will succeed?

The company added a few new external batteries to their lineup at CES 2010 for the iPhone, iPod, and other USB devices. The first is the HyperMac Nano. This device is a favorite for its patented design that includes a built-in charging cable. It is to be used exclusively with the iPhone, iPod, and iPod Touch and will retail for $39.99.

The second size is the HyperMac Micro that charges anything that can be charged with USB. This device will retail for $59.99.

The HyperMac Mini is the third new product that also charges anything with USB. It is the largest of the three new devices and will retail for $79.99.

The new HyperMac batteries come in 9 different colors and will be available in March.

Google Voice is said to be a competitive threat to voice services that already come with the iPhone. Industry analysts have also said that AT&T is likely concerned that its company could lose revenue as a result of Google Voice services.

The FCC is looking into the matter as part of its continuing investigation regarding wireless open access and handset exclusivity. The letters also seek to find out if AT&T had any input in the decision to reject Google Voice.

Ironically, Google CEO Eric Schmidt announced his resignation from Apple’s board Monday, August 3. Although his resignation came just days after the FCC’s investigation began, the FTC had already been investigating ties between the companies and whether they were breaking antitrust laws.

What will become of the FCC’s investigation? How will it impact Apple’s iPhone? Was the timing of Eric Schmidt’s resignation simply a coincidence? Will these proceedings affect Google and Apple’s cordial relationship?

WebProNews got the inside scoop on the new product from Larry Fox, the AT&T Director of Sales for Central and Eastern Kentucky. He shared with us several of the top features of the device including the two that are the most talked about: speed and video. The iPhone 3G S is said to be two times faster than the 3G. With the video capability, users can shoot, edit, and share their video straight from their device. Other features include:

-    3-Megapixel Camera
-    Voice Control
-    Compass
-    Cut, Copy, and Paste
-    Landscape Keyboard
-    Messages
-    Search
-    Accessibility for the Visually and Hearing Impaired
-    Internet Tethering
-    Voice Memos
-    Stocks
-    YouTube

Interestingly enough, the iPhone 3G is gaining almost as much attention as the new release. Upon the announcement of the iPhone 3G S, Apple also reduced the price of the iPhone 3G to $99. So, you can get the 32-gigabyte iPhone 3G S for $299, the 16-gigabyte iPhone 3G S for $199 dollars, or the iPhone 3G for $99.

When we spoke with Larry this morning, he said inventory was tight, but they did have some devices still available. If you hurry out to get one of the new iPhones, feel free to get me one too!

In addition to the changes, the advertising industry has been hit with a hard blow from the economic downturn. However, the advertising industry is far from being over as Steve Hayden, the Vice-Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy Worldwide, so eloquently explains in the above video. His words should not be taken lightly since he co-created the 1984 Apple commercial that launched the Macintosh computer, led the team that produced IBM‘s award-winning e-business campaign, and his clientele at Ogilvy has included Kodak, Motorola, Dove, American Express, and more.

With advertising, on one side lies the “fear” factor and on the other side is the “love” factor. Given the changes in the industry and the impact of the economy, it is no surprise that there is a sense of “fear” among advertisers. Steve developed a tool called Hayden’s Mandala that describes the cycle a business or even a person experiences when facing changes. The stages of the cycle include:

1.    Fear and Arousal
2.    Intelligence
3.    Intelligent Fear
4.    Arrogance
5.    Intelligent Arrogance
6.    Stupidity
7.    Arrogant Stupidity
8.    Cowardice

To counteract the current fears among advertisers, Steve introduces 3 new innovations that pushes the fears aside and brings back the spirit of excitement and love to advertising. They are: Intelevision, Bunkspeed, and Ogilvy PR’s Digital Influence program. These innovations prove that the advertising industry is still very much alive in spite of the obstacles the industry has encountered. As Steve says, many valuable inventions and developments resulted from the Great Depression and as evidenced by his 3 examples, the same could happen today.

Terry Semel couldn’t be happier with the performance of Yahoo’s new search advertising system. The Yahoo CEO told an AdAge conference that Panama would show “some very exciting numbers” in the first quarter as they try to gain on Google. “We have said from the beginning and we say it clearly right now, again, that our intention is to close the gap and Panama is doing a great job,” Semel said.

Yahoo has disclosed for the first time it discards anywhere from 12 to 15 percent of clicks on its ads as either invalid or of inferior quality. To help fight click fraud, Yahoo promoted one of their attorneys, Reggie Davis, to a newly created post of vice president of marketplace quality. “We need to take some of the inconsistency out of this issue,” Davis told Reuters about the challenge of fighting click fraud.

The source of the anti-Hillary Clinton video spoofing Apple’s legendary ’1984′ advertisement has been identified. The Huffington Post identified Philip de Vellis, who has resigned his position with Internet company Blue State Digital in the wake of the controversy surrounding the ad. “I made the “Vote Different” ad because I wanted to express my feelings about the Democratic primary, and because I wanted to show that an individual citizen can affect the process,” De Vellis said on his blog.

Google and Apple are, “doing more and more things together. We have similar goals, and similar competitors.”

Apple’s new I-phone can work together with Google search and map features, but Schmidt did not state what the two companies currently work on.

The Netscape team released today the My.Netscape Beta. My.Netscape will keep its individuality as a personalized homepage, with the smallest amount of advertising. The left side of the screen includes a weather module. Logging in lets users save model layouts, and view them from anywhere. The Add Content layer makes it available for users to add modules to their My.NetScape screen. My.NetScape has around 100 modules to add, but if users don’t find what they want, Net-scape encourages them to use their generic RSS feed reader to add favorite sites.

NBC Universal and MSNBC.com have revealed a behind-the-scenes look at The Today Show Web site. Todayshow.com launched the video blog from co-anchor Al Roker with content from Today contributors and other ideas from iVillage. Today Executive Producer Jim Bell wants viewers to relate to the stories, the recipes, or just the TV personalities on the official Today show blog allDAY.
MSNBC.com’s deputy editor Randy Stearns comments on how MSNBC has highlighted this particular show with its own Web site, instead of putting it into the main MSNBC.com page. Viewers can log onto the site by clicking on allday.msnbc.msn.com.

A new UN led alliance will work to protect the environment from electronic trash, such as computers, microwaves, phones, batteries and televisions. Three UN agencies, 16 companies including Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, several government organizations and universities teamed up to create the Solving the Ewaste Problem, also known as STEP. STEP measures around 40 metric tons a year, or enough to fill a line of dump trucks stretching half way around the world. Step encourages manufacturers to make products with more durability to upgrade, rather than to throw out old appliances.

The latest Nielson/NetRatings show that Google controls the competition for online search. The ratings explain that Google performed around three-point-nine billion searches representing a little over half of all searches. Yahoo came in second with 22.7 percent of all searches, MSN at 8.9 percent, AOL at 5.4 percent and Ask.com with 1.8 percent of all searches. Google had the largest year-over-year growth percentage up 41 percent. Yahoo grew almost 29 percent, while MSN, AOL and Ask.com grew less than 6 percent.