Apple iPad: What You Need to Know
Well, it's finally here after nearly 7 years of speculation over an Apple tablet. It's called the iPad, believe it or not, and we've got what you need to know after the break including availability, applications, and new features.
Apple will be selling two versions of the iPad in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, one with Wi-Fi and another with Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity provided by AT&T. Inside the iPad, you'll find an ARM-based Apple A4 processor running at a sweet 1GHz. It rivals Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor seen in devices featured at CES 2010 earlier this month. You'll also find the usual accelerometer, ambient light sensor, and a digital compass. On the ouside is a 9.7-inch multi-touch LED-backlit display with IPS technology at a 1024x768 resolution. You can expect to get around 10 hours of battery life, according to Apple's claims, but that will obviously change depending on usage.
On the exterior of the device you'll spot a 30-pin dock connector (which you can connect a variety of accessories to, we'll get to that later), a speaker, headphone jack, sleep/wake button, ringer/vibrate switch, and a volume rocker.
The iPad runs a build of iPhone OS 3.2 and includes the standard apps you'll find on an iPod touch including Safari, Mail, Photos, YouTube, iPod, the App Store, Notes, and Google Maps. Since the iPad has a larger screen real estate, you'll find an enhanced user interface for apps like Calendar, Contacts, YouTube, Photos, iTunes, iPod, and Mail. You can also run your existing iPhone & iPod touch applications at their original size or scaled up to fit the entire screen. It's a lot easier to explain this in photos, so we've included some snapshots of the apps below.
The real special sauce of the iPad is the new Books application. Apple is getting into the e-book business by selling iBooks (does that ring a bell?) in its new iBookstore. Books will sell for $12.99 to $14.99 although there is no word on pricing or even availability of magazines or newspapers being sold on the iBookstore. It is surprising that Apple is using the open ePub standard and not its own proprietary standard.
There is no multi-tasking on the iPad, which may be a bottleneck to some, but Apple may just be worried about battery life. There's always the chance that Apple will integrate multi-tasking into a software update in the future.
3G data connectivity by AT&T will be available as follows: 250MB data for $14.99 a month and unlimited data for $29.99 a month. There is no contract, and the 3G version can use any GSM Micro-SIM chip available.
Apple also announced iWork for iPad, with customized versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote that are completely redesigned for the iPad. They'll be available for $9.99 each. Documents can be transferred through a shared file directory that will mount on your Mac or PC when connected.
In terms of accessories for the new device, Apple released a couple handy items that you might need if you want the full iPad experience. If you're not too fond of an on-screen keyboard, the iPad Keyboard Dock is a dock for charging the iPad and has a full-size aluminum keyboard. The dock also has a 30-pin connector for connecting a USB power adapter, syncing the iPad to your computer and using another accessory called the Camera Connection Kit. There is also a standard dock without the keyboard. You can also use any Bluetooth keyboard with the iPad. Apple is also selling a case which can be used to stand the iPad upright and protect the device.
The iPad Camera Connection Kit allows you to import your photos and videos from a digital camera with either the USB cable or SD card directly into the Photos and Videos app through the 30-pin dock connector. There is also a Dock Connector to VGA adapter for connecting your iPad to a projector or HDTV to present Keynote presentations.
The iPad with Wi-Fi will be available in late March starting at $499 while the version with 3G will sell for an additional $130 more for the 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities in April.
More hands-on and photos are available at Engadget and Gizmodo along with their thoughts on the new device. iLounge has posted a comprehensive 10-minute walkthrough video which we've also embedded below. We will update this post as needed when new details emerge.
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