Wow. After years of waiting, the iPad is finally here. Months of rumors and false leaks have led us to this point and now…. we discuss it.
First let’s discuss the hardware. Dimensions wise I’m perfectly happy with the 9.7 inch screen and to be honest it would have been difficult for me to differentiate between the rumored 10.1 inch size. Second, it’s only .5 inches wide and weighs less than 2 pounds. Talk about small! As expected, it comes equipped with a compass and an accelerometer but no GPS. It has a 30 pin connector and a headphone jack but no other ports. Everything is wireless. It is powered by Apple’s in house PA semi chip, which is both fast and cheap. The battery life enables 10 hours of usage, plus a month of standby time. Some models come with a 3G chip, and it’s available in 16, 32, and 64gb flash memory chips. No camera.
The software is also pretty impressive. It runs a beefed up version of the iPhone OS that is capable of running any current iPhone apps in addition to soon to be released tablet only apps. It comes with the standard iPhone house applications with some exceptions, but it adds a new one–iBooks. iBooks is an e-reader app that has its own store and a plethora of new book titles for purchase.
Apple is releasing three new accessories as well. Two docks and one case. One dock props it up and makes it look suspiciously like a digital picture frame. The other dock is identical but has a KEYBOARD attached to it. I’m sure more third party accessories will rush in soon.
Pricing and availability. It costs $499, $599, and $699 without 3G chips and an extra $120 each with 3G. 3G data from AT&T costs 14.99 for 250mb per month or 30 for unlimited data. The non 3G model will ship in 60 days and the 3G models will ship 30 days later.
I’ll do a full review once I can get my hands on one in April.
Ross Isdaner
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