Well the wait is over and after much anticipation the rumours of a forthcoming tablet from Apple have turned out to be true. Apple has announced their latest creation – the Apple iPad.
“You can hold the Internet in your hands.”
“It’s more intimate than laptop and more capable than a smartphone,” says Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, as he unveils the new tablet while sitting on a couch set on stage. And as for netbooks, Jobs says, “Netbooks aren’t better than anything, not better than a laptop just cheaper.”
The iPad looks like a giant iPhone, but thinner. The screen is 9.7″ IPS diagonal, designed to be used in any orientation. Jobs says that the pop-up keyboard is almost life-sized. The iPad is only 1/2″ thick and weighs 1.5 lbs, and lighter than any net book. It’s powered by Apple’s own 1 GHz Apple A4 chip and will be available with 16, 32 or 64GB of solid state storage.
And like the iPhone, it has a built-in accelerometer, compass and fully supports multi-touch. It has 802.11n wi-fi as well as Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. And as expected, it does have a speaker, microphone and 30-pin connector. Sadly it does not have a built-in camera.
An optional accessories include both a dock and a keyboard dock.
The larger screen now makes the iPad ideal for reading e-books, which users will be able to download from Apple’s new iBookstore, using the new iBook e-reader app.
Jobs assures that App Store apps that run on the iPhone will run on the iPad and in fact the Developer SDK kit update is now available to enable developers to take full advantage of the large display.
Heavy iPhone users complain about their unit’s battery life. So what about the iPad? Jobs says that they have been able to get up to 10 hours of battery life, like watching a video flying from San Francisco to Tokyo. As well, the iPad can live for up to 1 month on standby.
Wi-FI and 3G
Some models will also have 3G capability. The units will be unlocked, run on the new GSM microSims and can be activated directly through the iPad. In the US, monthly data plans through AT&T will be $14.99 for 250MB Data/ $29.99 unlimited and no contract will be required. US users will also get free use of AT&T Wi-fi hotspots. Jobs indicated that international users will have to wait until June or July.
There’s no indication as to whether the device could be used as a phone.
Pricing in the US
After expected a price tag closer to $1,000, Jobs blew away everyone with a base model for under $500.
Wi-Fi models are priced at 16GB $499, 32GB $599, 64GB $799. 3G models are only $130 more, $629, $729, and $829 respectively
In the US, Wi-fi models will be shipping in 60 days, 3G models in 90 days however, pricing and availability in Canada has yet to be announced.
Jobs is proud of Apple’s latest creation.
“(It’s) our most advanced technology in a magical & revolutionary device at an unbelievable price.”
I was able to demo this, it’s awesome! Although, I’m not sure if its just another product that does the same thing as my iPhone and computer. Maybe if there is a function that turns it into an all-in-one remote control for the house, that would be useful. I also think it needs to be lighter so it doesn’t fatigue the hands while reading.
This was my take too. It’s cool – it really is. But I already have stuff that does this. Half of it, I bought from Apple. So I won’t get, except as a gift, perhaps.
So who does get it? Someone who doesn’t have an iPod/iPhone or some other portable media devices along with a notebook/netbook? Or some who wants to dump all of those devices for one 9″ device? Or someone with too much money?
Who’s the market here?
Oh, and someone who has no intention of using it at a desk.
So AT&T’s network can’t handle iPhone tethering, but somehow it can handle the traffic from iPads, which will be much better suited to make use of very large files? Hmm… Either they don’t expect many people to by iPads, or they just figure that they will have a harder time charging for iPad data access if iPhone users can tether to their laptops.
Perhaps they forgot what they said last summer:
“As for tethering, by its nature, this function could exponentially increase traffic on the network, and we need to ensure that some of our current upgrades are in place before we can deliver the expanded functionality with the excellent performance that customers expect,” an AT&T spokeswoman said in an e-mail.”
Awesome! Apple has done it again! Innovation in your hands that work effortlessly. You can have access to tons of neat stuff from the app store, itune store, and now the ibook store, all contributing to enriching your life. To be able to carry the “ipad” around anywhere with that screen size and weighing only 1.5 pounds is truely amazing.
I have an iphone and I use it alot but because of the screen size I use my laptop when I’m home because it gives the full features. The problem with my laptop is I can only access the internet at hot-spots when I’m out and about. Sure I have my iphone, but sometimes the screen size just sucks. With the ipad I can get 3g connectivity anywhere 3g is available and I can do everything my laptop can do, and more, like having in-your-face experience by holding the ipad up close while playing games or watching a video, all without breaking a sweat.
The ipad can be passed around in the car and shared by family members without spending tons of money in car accessories. Students will go crazy nuts with this ipad with homework and studies and research, etc.. This device will be at my side 24-7!
I’m gettin’ one of these ipads as soon as it is made available. Very affordable at the starting price of $499. Whow! What more do you want? People were looking for Apple to come up with a product cheaper than their lower-end laptops and now here it is–the ipad. I have a feeling the ipad can out-perform a whole lot of expensive laptops out there now in the market.
Thank you Steve Jobs, for making my life fun and enjoyable with your Apple products! Keep cranking out these amazing products and the world will keep puttin’ their stamp of approval on it, by buying them in the millions.
p.paepule
I guess we’ll just have to wait until launch and see if the levee actually breaks. In Canada, people will have the choice between their service providers – but of course it will remain to be see what the data costs would be.
It may be an ideal unit for a first device for the home – but for guys like me who carry all sorts of devices – and I was thinking about a Kindle at one point, it may give us an opportunity to leave one device at home. For occasional jaunts for those who may be ready to replace their iBook, PowerBook or MacBooks – this may also be another option.
High end remotes like the harmony are not inexpensive. See what you can get for just a couple of hundred more?
I’m not saying the iPad is for everyone. If you only surf the web and check email – the iPad with keyboard might just do the trick.
IPad ? What a name! I want the small one – you know the mini one – think it’s called an IPod or something. Seriously it’s an oversized IPhone, so hey why not just call it a BPhone (big phone) or a DPhone (DirtyPhone), you know that screens gonna get so dirty from putting your fingers all over it…lol. Also these types of things have been around for years but apple loves to act like they made everything first. Remember when mp3 players came out? Apple didn’t invent them. But they still went ahead and claimed an IPod to be something special.
Check this out…http://ketiva.com/Computers_and_Internet/apple_tablet_rumors__of_awe.html
I can see this being a great sales tool. A flat tablet is much cooler than a laptop when doing presentations. I can also see it being handy for reading email/ebooks on the plane when you don’t feel like elbowing your seat-mates (I tried out a Kindle and it was great on the eyes, but might be hard to read at night). It’s obviously a conversation starter as well.
If you bought one of the first generation tablets (which might be a little buggy), you would probably have a 1-2 year head start on others in your industry.
I do agree that the price is hard to justify. I could buy a decent desktop computer for the same or less, but for some professionals or early adopters, the cost might be worth it.
no camera…