Image via gdgt.com
After numerous years of rumors and speculation, Apple Inc. unveiled a new tablet computer called the iPad at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Price for the iPad starts at an unbelievably low price at $499 and up to $829 (for all of the options) and will be available in 60 days (90 days for a 3G model). I am VERY excited about this and cannot wait to get my hands on it firsthand.
There’s so much to say about the iPad. I’ll first start with the highlights on the iPad specs and at the end go into how to use the iPad.
iPad Specifications:
- 1/2″ thick
- 1.5 pounds
- 9.7″ screen
- 10 hour battery life (up to a month of standby time)
- Accelerometer & compass
- Bluetooth
- 1GHz Apple A4 chip
- 16GB – 64GB flash storage
- Speakerphone & microphone
Internet on the go is available at additional pricing through AT&T on the 3G network. There are two price plans. First is a 250MB per month plan at $14.99 per month. For some users 250MB per month may suffice. For more “power users” an unlimited plan will be available at $29.99 per month. Both do not have any contract and can be canceled at any time.
Two accessories were announced which are very exciting! The first is a keyboard dock/charger. You slide the iPad onto the keyboard dock so you can use a full size keyboard and charge the iPad at the same time. The second accessory is a cover for the iPad which doubles as a slightly tilted stand for desk use.
The interface for the iPad is very similar to the iPhone. The iPad utilizes full capacity multi-touch, enabling you to interact with the screen without the use of a pen or mouse using your fingers directly to the surface of screen. The keyboard is onscreen (like the iPhone) and takes up the bottom half of the landscape mode. It is large enough to use two hands like you would on a regular keyboard, but slightly smaller.
The iPad comes with a wide array of applications standard. Additionally, ALL apps from the App Store work as well!
Some of the default apps include:
- Web
- Photos
- Calendar
- Address Book
- Google Maps
- Music
- iBook (Brand new application)
- iWork – Keynote, Pages, Numbers ($9.99 each)
iBook is a new application that allows for the discovery, purchase, and download e-books. It is much like the Amazon Kindle but on steroids.
Following are some more images of the Apple iPad
Image via gdgt.com
Image via gdgt.com
Image via gdgt.com
Image via gdgt.com
Image via gdgt.com
Image via gdgt.com
Image via gdgt.com
Image via gdgt.com
