Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 28, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
According to company information, the iPad’s responsive, high-resolution Multi-Touch display enables users to interact physically with programs and content. The iPad is just 13.4 millimetres thin and weighs only 680 grams - it is slimmer and lighter than any laptop or netbook, the manufacturer explains. The iPad features twelve innovative applications developed specifically for the iPad, and almost all of the more than 140,000 programs from the App Store will run on it. The iPad will be available from the end of March starting at 499 US dollars, it continues.
The iPad features 12 next-generation Multi-Touch applications, Apple explains. Each application supports both portrait and landscape views and animates them according to the direction in which the user turns the iPad. The precise Multi-Touch interface makes surfing the internet a new experience, significantly more interactive and intimate than on a computer. Reading and sending email on the large display and its nearly full-size “soft” keyboard is fun and easy, according to Apple.
Users can import photos from a Mac, PC or digital camera, view and enjoy them organised in albums and share them with others in elegant slide shows; watch films, TV programmes and YouTube videos in HD; leaf through the pages of an e-book downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to their music collection, it continues.
Almost all of the more than 140,000 applications from the App Store run on the iPad, including those already purchased for the iPhone and iPod touch. According to Apple, the iTunes Store is the world’s most popular online store for music, TV and video content and offers more than 11 million songs, 50,000 TV episodes and more than 8,000 feature films, 2,000 of them in HD quality. Apple has introduced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes the new iBookstore. The iBookstore will carry books from both major and independent publishers.
According to its own information, Apple has also introduced a new version of iWork for iPad, the first desktop-like software suite developed specifically for Multi-Touch. Pages, Keynote and Numbers can be used to create formatted documents, presentations with animations and transitions, as well as spreadsheets with charts, functions and formulas. These three applications will be offered separately in the App Store for 9.99 US dollars.
The iPad synchronises with iTunes - just like the iPhone and iPod touch - using the standard 30-pin-to-USB cable. This allows all contacts, photos, music, films, TV programmes, applications and more to be synchronised with a Mac or PC. All applications and content downloaded to the iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will automatically synchronise with the user’s iTunes library the next time the iPad is connected to the computer.
The iPad’s 9.7″ LED-backlit display uses IPS technology to deliver crisp, clear images and consistent colours over a nearly maximum 178-degree viewing angle. The precise capacitive Multi-Touch display is accurate and responsive, whether leafing through web pages or playing games. The intelligent “soft” keyboard, first introduced with the iPhone, takes advantage of the iPad’s larger display to offer a keyboard on a nearly 1:1 scale. The iPad can also be connected to the new iPad Keyboard Dock with a traditional full-size keyboard.
The iPad is powered by A4, Apple’s next-generation system-on-a-chip, Apple further explains. The new A4 chip was designed by Apple and offers very good processor and graphics performance combined with a long battery life of up to ten hours. According to company information, Apple’s advances in chemical processes and Adaptive Charging technology enable up to 1,000 charging cycles without significant loss of battery capacity over a typical lifespan of five years.**
The iPad is available in two versions - one version with WLAN and one with both WLAN and 3G, the manufacturer explains. The iPad integrates the latest 802.11n WLAN technology, and the 3G models support speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks. Apple and AT&T have announced 3G prepaid data plans with simple ‘on-device’ activation and management for the iPad.
Apple further highlights its commitment to designing environmentally friendly products and emphasises that every iPad enclosure consists of highly recyclable aluminium. In addition, it comes as standard with an energy-efficient LED-backlit display that is mercury-free and made from arsenic-free glass. The iPad contains no brominated flame retardants and is completely PVC-free.
Apple has released a new Software Development Kit (SDK) for iPad, with which developers can create great new applications that take advantage of the iPad’s capabilities, it continues. The SDK includes a simulator that enables developers to test and ‘debug’ their iPad apps on a Mac. Developers can also create Universal Applications that run on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.
Prices & availability
The iPad will be available worldwide from the end of March as a 16 GB model for 499 US dollars, a 32 GB model for 599 US dollars and a 64 GB model for 699 US dollars. The WLAN + 3G iPad models will be available in April in the US and selected countries as a 16 GB model for 629 US dollars, a 32 GB model for 729 US dollars and a 64 GB model for 829 US dollars, Apple explains. The iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store, Apple Retail Stores and Apple specialist retailers. International pricing and worldwide availability will be announced at a later date. The iBookstore will be available in the US at launch, it continues.
* Apple tested battery life wirelessly by browsing web pages and receiving email over an AirPort network. The system was never allowed to enter sleep mode and the display ran at half brightness. This corresponds to a typical ‘on-the-go’ user scenario and results in a battery-performance measurement relevant to mobile users, the company explains.
** When used properly, the iPad battery is designed to retain 80 percent or more of its original capacity over a lifespan of up to 1,000 charging cycles. According to company information, battery life and charging cycles vary depending on use and system settings.
Further links:
- More information
