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Wed, 27 Jan 2010 Apple iPad in detail

Details of and reaction to the Apple iPad launch

Matt Egan, PC Advisor

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The Apple iPad will be available worldwide in just 60 days. Steve Jobs described it as: "Our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price."

At the start of the speech Jobs said the iPad plugs the gap between the smartphone and laptop. He dismissed netbooks, saying they 'aren't better than anything'.

"Slow, low quality displays," Jobs said. "They're not better than a laptop at anything, just cheaper. We don't think they're the 3rd device."

Click here for more Apple iPad coverage

Apple's answer is the Apple iPad, which will run all Apple iPhone apps straight out of the box - either at their native size or stretched to fit the 9.7in screen. Users will be able to move apps from their iPhones to the iPad.

Big iPhone

The Apple iPad is a slate PC that looks like a big iPhone. It has a home button and an aluminum bezel like a MacBook. The 9.7in, 4:3 touchscreen is made of glass. It's only half an inch thick, and weighs just 680g (about half a smallish laptop).

It contains a 1GHz Apple A4 chip, which is both processor and graphics. The Apple iPad will come with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of flash solid state storage.

Connectivity is handled by 802.11n WI-Fi internet, and Bluetooth 2.1. It has an accelerometer and compass, speaker, microphone and 30-pin connector.

A hardware keyboard dock can be attached, and works in portrait and landscape modes.

To complement the Apple iPad, Apple is launching the iBookstore online store, a kind of iTunes or App Store for e-books.

At the launch, Steve Jobs said users can personalise their home screens. The iPad is also a web-browsing device. In fact, Jobs boasted: "It's the best browsing experience you've had."

Some models of the Apple iPad come with 3G connectivity. In the States this will be available through AT&T, with an up to 250MB a month deal costing $14.99. Unlimited data is $29.99. There's no contract, it's pre-pay, month-by-month.

Available in under two months, there are six Apple iPad models, ranging in price from $499 to $829. UK pricing is not yet know.

NEXT PAGE: demonstrating the Apple iPad, and battery life >>

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Comments received


Insoft said on Wed, 27 Jan 2010

For £399 this feels like a decent gadget to have, with iWorks on it I can see a future were people sit around doing work on a computer like you see in Star Trek, so how long will it be when we all have these devices and have a main computer that we talk to with a female voice.

nvreeves said on Wed, 27 Jan 2010

one thing that the iTouch,iPhone and the new iTablet is the ability to print to a wireless printer. This would be a really useful addition to the system software. May an app from apple could be written.

shalpin said on Thu, 28 Jan 2010

What about I/O?. I would want video out so I could use it to give presentations on a projector, and a USB port for a USB stick so I could have extra storage. ...

frere said on Thu, 28 Jan 2010

The pricing for the UK market will be crucial. Let's take the basic Wi-Fi 16Gb ... the US price is $499. Let's add some US Sales Tax at 8%, no, let's say just over 10% to make it easy ... That's $550.At the current exchange rate that's about £339.00.

If they sell it for £349 I'll be happy enough to pay the premium but my prediction is that the UK Apple Store will sell that machine at £399. An absolute rip-off.

We'll see.

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