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Apple Tablet Gets Officially Unveiled as the iPad! Almost Everything You Need To Know

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Apple has just confirmed the Apple tablet and they're calling it the iPad. They decided to work on a tablet instead of a netbook because a netbook, basically, doesn't do anything better than a notebook. Steve Jobs actually demoed this iPad on stage and Engadget actually called it "odd" since they were just watching him browse the web. Jobs clicked on a page and there was actually a missing Flash plug-in, so let's hope they get some Flash support before this launches or else that'll be a real big let down. The UI is like a big iPhone and everything else works just like an iPhone does with some new UI changes.

The iPad itself features a 9.7-inch IPS capacitive multi-touchscreen LED-backlit display with a 1,024 x 768 resolution (132 ppi), it weighs 1.5 pounds, and it's just 0.5-inches thin which is already impressive. Inside it's packing an Apple A4 CPU which is clocked at 1GHz. It'll be available in 16GB / 32GB / 64GB models and they'll all, of course, be packing a 3.5mm headphone jack, 3G, WiFi 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. It'll also have a speaker, a microphone, an accelerometer, and a digital compass in case you didn't know. The battery life is good enough for a month of standby time and 10 hours while watching a movie (possibly with WiFi turned off). Since Apple is one of the greenest companies out there it's an eco-friendly product.

The iPad doesn't have a front-facing webcam or a camera on the back - just in case you're wondering. Like I said earlier, the iPad also appears to be missing Flash support. There's no multi-tasking, no phone calls (Google Voice could work though, I believe), and no notifications. Apple showed off a regular dock, a keyboard dock, and a case that doubles as a stand as well. The prices - I believe - were not mentioned though.

With the iPad you'll be able to use "almost all" of the apps on the App Store. It'll connect to your Mac / PC the same way your iPhone / iPod does. Apple - more specifically Steve Jobs - mentioned that this is "our most advanced technology in a magical & revolutionary device at an unbelievable price." The iPad is running a customized iPhone OS.

The iPad will be available contract-free (pre-paid) on AT&T. For $14.99 monthly you'll get 250MB of data and for just $30 monthly you'll get unlimited data (which costs $60 for mobile phones). All models will be unlocked and use GSM microSIMs. The best part is that it will only cost you $499! Amazing, even I'm impressed. Of course, that's the 16GB model. The 32GB and 64GB model will cost $599 and $699, respectively. Unfortunately, those are the models without 3G. The iPad 3G models will add another $130 to the price tags, so $629, $729, and $829, respectively. You can order them now and the WiFi-only models will be shipping in 60 days. The iPad with 3G will be shipping in 90 days.

Just thought I'd mention one more thing: what a terrible name. I also think that this was overhyped - as usual.


[Engadget, Gizmodo]



5 comments:
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Unknown said...
January 27, 2010 at 2:44 PM  

How could apple leave off a webcam for a device built to show off the power of the web and media connectivity? It seems like a major misstep!

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Unknown said...
January 27, 2010 at 2:45 PM  

I'll stick with my Kindle! The Kindle has a much better screen for reading, and free internet connection. Cute, though.

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Anonymous said...
January 27, 2010 at 2:47 PM  

USB? Oter ports? Resolution? Is it OLED screen? Batt life in wifi browsing? Batt life in reading ebooks???

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Unknown said...
January 27, 2010 at 2:48 PM  

@ben I have no clue how Apple could leave out a camera on the iPad. Video conferencing on this device is just expected these days.

@Lawrence Haha, I don't have a Kindle but I won't be scooping up an iPad either. It's not a terrible device, but it's definitely nothing ground-breaking.

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Unknown said...
January 27, 2010 at 2:50 PM  

@Anonymous It's not an OLED display, the resolution is said to be 1,024 x 768 (132ppi, not 16:9 HD). They didn't mention any ports (so that should be popping up later today) and they also didn't mention that battery life while reading e-books, so we'll have to wait on that as well.

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