Apple iPad
Steve Jobs didn’t disappoint at his presentation of the new Apple product announcement.
The iPad will be available in the next month, with international availability pending. It’s little more than an oversized iPod, but that’s exactly what I was hoping for.
The 9″ device is powered by Apple‘s own A4 chip, running at 1GHz and able to execute the entire library of iPhone applications natively. A choice as to whether the app is run in full screen mode or centered on the larger iPad screen is available, until applications for the iPad are developed. A variety of options regarding configuration are available and the pricing starts at USD 499. The ideal model is the one containing both 3G and WLAN with 64GB of storage. That’s the one to get.
The unit accepts optional accessories, including a stand and keyboard stand. For those with an Apple Bluetooth keyboard, that can be connected to the iPad. It will be possible to upload photos from a camera and possibly use an application to edit and process those. A new version of iWork runs on the iPad.
Just a few comments. The 9.7″ iPad will not be available for another 65 days in USA and another 120 days internationally. The 4 big cons: No multitasking, No Flash, no Video Calling (no cameras), and in SA the 3G 64GB version will retail for around R11,000 – very expensive. Otherwise it”s a great toy.
I can’t comment on the South African price as I’ve only seen the US pricing so far. I agree that the top-of-the-line model will certainly cost in the region of ZAR 10000 once it lands here. April is the release date for the wireless model, with the 3G model requiring about 90 days to gain FCC approval.
I’m not sure I agree with your listing of cons, but my usage case is probably different and I’ve accepted certain features of the iPhone as immutable, most notably the lack of multitasking. Lack of multitasking can be a bugbear, but I would argue that it’s not as necessary as it seems at first. Apple’s introduction of its own chipset and larger memory base in the device points to a possibility that the current notion of wanting to avoid multitasking due to processing/memory constraints may be dismissed infuture. A 1GHz processor is fast and subsequent models will likely be even faster.
I don’t require Flash and avoid it even in a regular browser on a notebook or a desktop. I don’t use video calling and consider the inclusion of a camera for taking pictures on a larger device like the iTab useless. The availability of the camera dock is interesting, and I’m certain that webcam features will be available at some point in time with applications being developed to hook into external devices. Already, the camera hook has been discovered in the latest SDK. I think it’s just a matter of time before we see a huge array of peripherals being made for the iTab.
I think it’s more than a toy – it’s a great e-reader, great web browser, great entertainment centre and could well turn into a significant productivity device for vertical markets and certain industry sectors.
Nice article very helpful. I know most of this stuff but its nice to have it all specified by one place for reference.