New Apple iPad is “Magical and Revolutionary”

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Steve Jobs and Apple finally let the cat out of the bag today and confirmed the introduction of their new tablet computer dubbed the “iPad”. Unfortunate choice of name aside, Steve announced that this device is “our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price.” The device is basically a big iPhone or iPod Touch, with a 9.7″ in-plane switching screen (which looks gorgeous), half an inch thin, and weighs a pound and a half.

Steve claims this is the category in between the MacBook and iPhone where a netbook should be. However he said the netbook did not do anything better than the former two. The iPad is Apple’s version of the third category, and they think they have done a much better job of it. “We’ve always tried to be at the intersection of technology and liberal arts — we want to make the best tech, but have them be intuitive. It’s the combination of these two things that have let us make the iPad,” concludes Jobs.

Demonstrations during the unveiling revealed that the iPad will run all iPhone/touch apps unmodified out of the box, adding pixel double to let apps run in full screen. This will be wonderful for games, however text-heavy apps may appear sparse on such a large screen. With a full capacitive multi-touch screen on which gestures will work, 75 million iPhone/touch users already know how to use this device. Battery life apparently will be 10 hours, with a month of standby. There is a speaker and a microphone, and perhaps an sd card slot on the side. It runs the iPhone operating system, powered by Apple’s new in-house 1Ghz A4 chip, with 16gb, 32gb or 64gb of storage. There will be a wi-fi only version, and a wi-fi plus 3G version.

A new iBook store is being launched to compete with Amazon’s Kindle and other ebook readers. At least five major publishers have signed on to provide titles for this new Apple store. Steve said the iPad will provide the most intimate web experience ever, especially since you can cradle the device in your lap just like a folded book or newspaper with no keyboard interference. The book experience certainly looks realistic. The virtual on-screen keyboard looks just like a wireless Apple keyboard. iWork is being updated to work in sync with the iPad’s capabilities with new apps and features.

As for the pricing, Apple starts the iPad off at $499 for the 16gb wi-fi model, and goes up to $829 for the full meal deal. Data plans will be $14.95 per month for a rather measly 250mb, and $29.99 for an unlimited data rate which is much more attractive, all through of course, AT&T. No other mobile partners were announced which should disappoint disgruntled AT&T iPhone customers. Apple threw these people a bone by offering free use of AT&T wi-fi hotspots. Cheers did erupt when Steve mentioned no contract, and you can cancel anytime. The device will be available in the US on March 27, and not until June or July internationally.

So all in all, is this the Jesus tablet everyone hoped for? Yes and no. Yes it is pretty and fast. But magical and revolutionary? Only time (and a bunch of money) will tell. Leo Laporte reported the hands on experience to be quite something. It is disappointing that there is no two way camera to allow for video Skyping. There is no multi-tasking. But you can’t have everything I suppose. I for one will be in the line up to get mine along with all the other fanboys.

The is an article by the Apps Machine.