Touch screen tablet - Apple iPad officially announced: it’s almost what we’ve imagined

After so much waiting and rumors hitting the web everyday it’s relief to finally write the official article about Apple’s tablet called iPad. Apple iPad was one of the names speculated in past months and it’s on par with other Apple naming schemes. Let’s see what the new slate type tablet has to offer, what we like and what we dislike about it. I won’t put too much words into an introduction because it’s useless, so let’s get directly to specs.

Apple iPad technical specifications:

• 9.7 inch capacitive multi touch screen with LED backlight and IPS panel (that’s pretty much the best you can get today as color accuracy and viewing angles). Resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels
• WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless connectivity and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• optional 3G module capable of data transfers. No voice as it would have competed with the iPhone somehow
• 1 GHz Apple A4 custom design CPU so we can’t compare it yet with the other mobile chips. It’s ARM based with integrated GPU
• iPhone OS 3.2 with some customization for the bigger resolution but it will run all the iTunes stuff out there and apps from the Apple App store, even the ones you already have on your iPhone
• internal memory size of 16/32/64 GB with no expansion options
• virtual keyboard for text input. Doesn’t work that good as we’ve seen in the presentation Steve Jobs did as it missed a few hits here and there
• 680 grams for the WiFi version and 730 for the one with optional 3G
• 12.7 mm thickness
• 25 WHr battery that’s rechargeable (doh) and lasts up to 10 hours, according to Apple
• Accelerometer and Compass + assisted GPS for the 3G Model
• iBook application for reading eBooks, all supported by an eBook store
• more specs on the Apple iPad official page

The 3G model Apple iPad

Now almost all of the above things were expected but there are still some missing things we would have liked to see inside like: web cam for chats, multitasking (it’s 2010 after all), Flash support in browser (that’s disappointing), USB port(s) for further expansion, SD card slot (why pay 100$ for every 16 GB more when I can purchase a 20$ SD card).

There are a lot of things to love about the Apple iPad like its lightweight of just 1.5 lbs, ultra fast interface, simple to use pattern, compatibility with the current 140.000 apps in the App Store, access to eBooks and iTunes, acceptable price (for an Apple product) but there are also a lot of things to hate about it like the same closed Apple architecture that doesn’t let you do the things you do, the lack of Flash in Safari browser (that’s not that ‘amazing’ as Steve Jobs when it referred to the iPad as a better browsing device than netbooks, which he mocked a lot during his keynote speech), the limited storage space (I can’t possibly take all my music and photo albums on it, not to mention my favorite movies).

If you’re a guy like me, which appreciates some sort of control over what I buy, then you won’t love the iPad and I’m pretty offended by the opening line you’ll find in the presentation video in the iPad official page which states something like “when you don’t understand how something works it becomes magical“. WTF, we’re not all retards, I can pretty much understand what Apple did with the iPad, how it constructed it, how it adjusted the iPod/iPhone interface to the bigger resolution screen.

 

So, in the end it all revolves to price. The Apple iPad is nice to have, but pricing puts it above netbooks (those ‘no good to anything’ products, as Steve Jobs called them) but when it comes with what you can actually do with a netbook, those come up in the first place.

How much the Apple Ipad will cost you?

• WiFi models: 16 GB – 499$, 32 GB – 599$, 64 GB – 699$
• WiFi + 3G models: 16 GB – 629$, 32 GB – 729$, 64 GB -829$
• available accessories: docking station (would have loved to see it by default in the package), keyboard, carrying case, camera transfer module, USB charging pad

I must admit I wouldn’t expect price to be that low (with 3G data plan sold separately) but I would also want something better at doing work, not just something to have around in my house when I’m not using my computer. All in all I have mixed feelings about the Apple iPad but I guess I’ll have to use it before emitting any more theories about it. It will be available starting April 2010. What do you think about it, what’s your take about the iPad?