As usual, Apple event started with Steve Jobs throwing some big numbers in our face: 250 million iPods sold, 284 retail stores that saw over 250 million visitors, 140,000 apps, 3 billion applications downloaded, all this wrapped in some exciting adjectives such as “amazing”, “exciting”, “wonderful”, “phenomenal”, “incredible”, etc… Uncle Steve sure knows how to warm up a crowd!
Let’s cut to the chase. Here is everything you need to know about the iPad.
The Name
Well, we already know… It’s called iPad, and not iSlate!
The Stats
- 0.5-inches thin
- 1.5 pounds.
- Thinner and lighter than any netbook
- 9.7-inch IPS display
- Powered by Apple’s own chip: the A4
- 1GHz
- 16, 32, or 64GB of flash storage
- Wifi 802.11n
- Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
The OS
- ???
- Nothing was really said except that the new iPhone SDK (complete with support for the iPad) will be available today.
The Features
- accelerometer
- compass
- speaker
- mic
- dock connector
- syncs to your computer just like an iPhone
- no Flash support
Battery
- 10 hours of battery life
- a month of stand-by life
What about my old iPhone apps?
- the iPad can run all your iPhone apps – unmodified
- developers can take full advantage of the large touchscreen display in the iPad (aka make better looking apps)
Extras?
- iBook: an ebook reader – bye bye Kindle. Apple has deals with major publishers and is launching an iBook Store.
- iWork – the revisited version with improved UI
3G Network
- Exclusive carrier is AT&T
- 250MB per month for $14.99
- Unlimited for $29.99 (just like the iPhone)
- Free use of AT&T wifi hotspots
- No plan, it’s pay-as-you-go, you can cancel anytime
- iPad 3G models are unlocked
- Uses new GSM micro SIMs
Accessories
- A dock (probably very expensive) for your keyboard
- A case
Pricing
- 16GB is $499
- 16GB 3G is $629
- 32GB is $599
- 32GB 3G is $729
- 64GB is $699
- 64GB 3G is $829
Available when?
- the iPad will start shipping in 60 days
- the iPad 3G will start shipping in 90 days
That’s about all I could catch from the presentation. I might have missed a few things, so feel free to feel in the blanks if I forgot anything. I’m currently in Bali and I’ve stayed up all night. It’s 4am here and I need some sleep.
A big thank you to gdgt for the images and the amazing live blogging coverage.
My quick thoughts about the iPad? I’m not impressed. At all! This is nothing more than a big iPhone. What do you think about the iPad? I look forward to reading your comments when I get up in about 18 hours 😉