So the announcement for the Apple tablet, the iPad is over, and this is what we know:
It has everything you would expect: Calendar, maps, iTunes, photos with slide shows, web browsing, e-mail, movies.
And here are the specs: 0.5-inches thin, weighs 1.5 pounds, 9.7-inch IPS display. 10 hours of battery life, a month of standby, accelerometer, compass, speaker, mic, dock connector.
It runs all third-party iPhone apps either small or full screen (2x), and developers can also develop specifically for the iPad, with fancier graphics for video games, etc.
It has iWork with spreadsheets, etc. (spreadsheet has onscreen calculator). iWork apps are $9.99, but I’m not sure what that means.
You can type on it with two hands, like a real keyboard, or you can connect an external keyboard through a keyboard dock.
It has a case (sold separately, like the keyboard?) that lets you prop it up a little or a lot to watch movie or read books.
It has an e-reader called iBooks, which looks like a (color) bookshelf and links to an iBooks store. Looks like all but RandomHouse of teh big five publishers are on board and book prices will vary (Ted Kennedy’s was priced at $14.99). Will use ePub format, which is way better than the Kindle because it allows you to download books from libraries and other e-book stores.
It syncs with USB, has WiFi and optional 3G. Data plans with ATT: $14.99/250mg; $29.99/unlimited. No contracts. Cancel anytime.
PRICE!: Wifi only: 16mb $499; 32mb $599; 32mb $699. Wifi+3G: 16mb $629, 32mb $729, 64mb $829.
Until I play with one, it will be hard to say, but it sounds like this thing could replace laptops altogether with the attached keyboard. Depends on whether you can work on a screen that small, though. I know I’d rather lug an iPad around than a MacBook Pro.
A few disappointments, but it sounds like @Jason of Endgadget had the next generation, due out in October (Why would they give him one that’s different than the one announced today? Seems odd.) Jason said the one he has has two cameras, one front and one back, mouse gestures, and fingerprint recognition. Will I have to wait until October to get mine? UGH! But seems worth it to get the cameras.
Now that you know the price – will you buy one? Will you, will you?
iWork is three apps: Pages (word processor), Numbers (spreadsheet), and Keynote (slide show/presentation tool). They are $9.99 each. Seems like as a writer, Pages will be a must-buy. It had really great auto-layout features. Not sure whether it will support clean import/export to Word though…
@jason is full of it. He was just lying his a!$ off. He had me too! Should have known when he went off the deep-end talking about how FarmVille (a flash application tied to facebook) was the best app on there, and that it had a solar panel on the back… ugh.
I've read mixed reviews on the speed. Daring Fireball says it is blazing fast and web pages load instantly. But the keynote video has ~4 sec load times, and doesn't seem *that* snappy. Either way, the A4 processor they developed is *very* cool.
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