iPad Rising: The Dawn of the Apple Tablet
[10:10 am update] And the official name is... iPad!
[10:12 am update] An image of the iPad from the Gdgt blog:
[10:15 am update] And one from Gizmodo, showing the onscreen keyboard:
[10:22 am update] Another one from Gdgt showing Steve Jobs (who is looking healthier) reclining with his iPad:
[10:27 am update] Interesting tidbit picked up from a couple of sources--it seems that the iPad is not immune from the dreaded black bars when viewing widescreen video due to the more squarish nature of the screen and device.
[10:30 am update] Jobs has finished demoing the iPad and is going through some of the specs: 9.7-inch full capactivie multi-touch display, 1.5 pounds, up to 64 GB of memory, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1. And it's powered by Apple's own processor chip--a 1 GHz Apple A4 chip.
[10:33 am update] More specs: 0.5 inches thin, accelerometer, compass (sounds like no GPS), a single 30-pin connector (as opposed to dual connectors as had been rumored), up to 10 hours of battery life.
[10:36 am update] Now onto apps--your old iPhone/iPod touch apps will work on the iPad. From iLounge's live feed: "Can run pixel for pixel accurate black box in the center of the screen, or pixel double to run the apps in full screen. Facebook can run in the center of the screen with a glossy frame around the image. You can hit a 2X button to scale application up to full screen."
And starting today, the iPhone SDK now supports development in the iPad.
[10:45 am update] The New York Times is on stage now, discussing their iPad-specific app. Looks like the future of newspaper publishing is pixels (image via Engadget):
[10:55 am update] And now comes the challenge to Amazon's Kindle--the iBooks app (below) and iBooks store. Starting off with five of the world's biggest publishers with more to be welcomed in.
[11:05 am update] They've redone the iWork interface to work with the multi-touch iPad. quote from Engadget's live feed: "We don't know about you, but using iWork wasn't one of our fantasies when we thought about what an Apple tablet would be like. This is nice... but it's iWork."
[11:07 am update] iLounge counters that iWork sentiment with this assessment of the Keynote presentation application: "To call this a "basic" version of Keynote would be unfair. It's been cut down a little, but it's obviously very sophisticated by iPhone OS standards - the next evolution of creation tools on a simple device."
[11:15 am update] Here it comes... 3G cellular connectivity is built-in. Two "awesome" plans, says Jobs, for the iPad. One for up to 250 MB of data -- $14.99 a month. Unlimited plan is $29.99. Both from AT&T, which is throwing in free Wi-Fi at its hotspot locations.
[11:17 am update] Jobs impresses on all the impressive features of the iPad before revealing the price... starting at at $499. Wow. That's for the 16 GB model. Add in 3G connectivity, and it's $629. Top-of-the-line 64 GB goes for $699 (and $829 for 3G connectivity version).
First availability will be for the non-3G models in 60 days, with 3G-included models following about 30 days after that.
[11:30 am update] Some Apple accessories for the iPad: standard dock; keyboard dock with full-sized mechanical keyboard; a folio-like cover that presents the iPad in book format, with the cover folding back to present the iPad like a picture frame.
[11:33 am update] Jobs sums up the "magical and revolutionary" third way for Apple, and that's a wrap:
We'll cover the iPad more in depth later on Friday in our weekly Bites post after all the specs and wonderment sink in. My first impression is that, as I suspected, I don't need the iPad right now. I certainly want it... desperately. But I don't see it fully fitting into the flow of my family's technology needs and usage. We are currently all stocked up on Macs and iPhones (one each for my wife and I) and it just doesn't seem to fulfill a need.
However, I can see some possibilities for it down the line. Where I once saw a netbook as my three-year-old's first computer (not yet, but in a couple years), I now see an iPad in his future. The way of computing for this young generation is the touchscreen, and the iPad will lead the way to even further adoption of this more natural input method.
But the biggest temptation for me will be an upcoming family trip to Europe in the middle of April--definitely within the window for release of the non-3G models. The iPad also looks like a great travel computer--powerful enough for some work if needed with the added benefit of excellent e-book and multimedia entertainment features--and it could be especially useful for entertaining a certain toddler during all our plane and train travel. With that in mind, it's going to be hard to keep me and my credit card away it, and I will try to stay strong. For as long as I can.
Do you have the strength to withstand the Apple magic? Let us know in the comments.
[One Last Update for now] The six different iPad models have been added to Amazon, and while they're not currently offered as pre-orders, you can sign up to be notified by e-mail when they do become available for ordering.
- 16 GB Wi-Fi only
- 32 GB Wi-Fi only
- 64 GB Wi-Fi only
- 16 GB 3G + Wi-Fi
- 32 GB 3G + Wi-Fi
- 64 GB 3G + Wi-Fi
--Agen G.N. Schmitz
hal meeks on January 29, 2010 at 08:49 AM
The negative reactions to the device are informative. Obviously it is too quick to judge whether it will be successful or not - no one has an actual device to review other than the event coverage! The tablet as a form-factor has always been a "it's gonna be great" device that has failed to live up to it's imagined promise (even as far back as Alan Kay's dynabook concept), but Apple's decision to leverage all they have learned from the iPhone is exactly what they needed to do. Any new platform is driven not just by user experience and perception that it solves a defined problem - but by actual content and applications that utilize the form-factor effectively - which the iPad has in spades. This is precisely why Microsoft's Windows Tablet platform has never been a big success - it can run applications for Windows - but few have effectively addressed the potential of the tablet interface in their Windows applications. My guess is that the iPad will be a modest success. Yes -- I am selling my netbook and buying one - as it more closely mirrors the kind of device I am seeking - casual browsing and a lightweight device for traveling.
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