iPad Demonstration 27/1/10

Demonstration - If you Skip through

"Apple has taken the middle ground, but ground not walked upon before," claimed Steve Jobs as his company launched one of the most anticipated products in years.

The rumours about the launch of a tablet-style device from Apple have been circulating the web since 2004 when, according to Gizmodo, Apple filed a patent for a European design trademark on a device that looked like "an iBook screen minus the body of the computer."

However, this evening, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Steve Jobs was finally able to unveil the iPad -- the announcement for which, he was overhead telling colleagues just days ago, would be "the most important thing I've ever done."

With only a short preamble, Jobs stated: "Everyone uses a laptop and/or a smartphone. The question has arisen lately: Is there room for a third category device in the middle?" Apple believed so.

But it set itself the task of creating a device that is "better than the laptop and better than the smart phone." A specification was set for a device that will "do browsing, email, photos, video, music, games and e-books," he said, but faster and better than all of the devices out there.

On first glance, the iPad -- which should be on sale in the UK by March -- looks like an oversized iPhone, but houses a 9.7-inch LCD display. However, continuing the mantra that thin is best, it has a 0.5-inch girth and weighs 700g. It's "thinner and lighter than any netbook" claimed a svelte and proud Jobs.

The device runs on a 1GHz CPU which Apple developed in-house, after acquiring chip-maker PA Semi some time ago. This chip, claims Jobs, delivers "the best browsing experience you've ever had", and showed how the screen's multi-touch sensors and accelerometer play their parts. And, as expected, Apple was keen to show off how these specs affect the ability to view newspaper and magazine pages online. Queue Martin Nisenholtz from the New York Times who gushed that the iPad "captures the essence of a newspaper, but it's so much more".

There was also news for bookworms. One of the most important features of the iPad will be iBooks -- Apple's own digital, colour e-book application, which uses the open-standard ePub file format. This means books you've already purchased from the likes of Waterstones.com will be compatible with the iPad. The company has signed deals with five major partners, including Penguin, HarperCollins and Macmillan, to bring digital bookshelves to the device, and of course, there's a new iBookstore for buying books.

The interface looks just like the wireless iTunes Store, only larger. And instead of DVD covers, it has book covers. With your tome downloaded wirelessly, you're presented with a new book-like interface for reading, complete with pretend digital pages to flip and a choice of fonts and font sizes.

Another major feature for the iPad is iWork. On Mac computers, this is Apple's alternative to Microsoft Office. Apple has developed a new version of iWork specifically designed for the iPad's screen and interface, and it includes the major apps: Pages, Keynote and Numbers. These will cost $10 (about £6.20) each.

The iPad comes with up to 64GB of flash memory, supports all existing iPhone applications, supports 802.11n Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth and GPS. A version with 3G wireless will also be available -- for use on any network (hooray!) but with a new, smaller type of SIM card (boo!) -- and not outside of the US until June 2010.

Google Maps, YouTube and a whole host of Apple's own productivity apps -- calendars, iTunes, Mail, Safari etc -- have been re-written to take advantage of the device's TFT display.

And the cost of the iPad itself? It'll start at $499 (about £309), and it'll be on sale within the next two months, worldwide. Honestly, we're stunned it's that low. Are you? And will you be buying? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• iPad
• iPod
• ps3
• gaming
• pc
• laptop
• Apple
• Mac

[DKbastard]

yeah, and it will burn out your brian like a cellphone.. FUCK IT "!

[showoffcrew]

precisely lawd

[VSDigital]

Please read the Specs first!

1 Ghz is a good speed (remember is osx not windows)

multitasking? remember... is a tablet,

u need 3rd party software? download the SDK (you can make software to iPad if u are smart but i don't think so)

did you tested network ? i don't think so...

Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/UMTS/HSDPA/GSM­/EDGE

Video Output: VGA / Component AV Cable / Composite

USB: 3 Slots! ( connect your iSight cam here )

64 GB,u need more? connect an USB FLASH DISK....

you can make phone calls too.

[showoffcrew]

You have made a fair point about it, but for me to want it, i personally would like it to have a mac OS so that it may run Photoshop etc

[TiggerOaks]

i kind of don't like it. i've wanted a good tablet for over a decade too. it just seems like a big iPhone that won't fit in my pocket. i'd love to do some photoshop on a large touchscreen but this thing is just an app seller. of course this video makes it seem like it's genius but that's because it's made by them. 1 device, apple, not 3.

[showoffcrew]

I think you are right if it had all the right software on it, it wud be lethal doesnt even have a mac desktop on it

[ipodtouchnow]

$600 dollars for only 32gb of memory? Who the fuck are they trying to fool? I would just buy a top of the line laptop instead of that square money killer!

[ipodtouchnow]

I like the part where you said a cheap person that works in an office.

The lowest price for these things are $500 U.S.D....

My point still stands. If you are willing to spend 500-800 dollars spend it on a top of the line laptop, not a piece of shit.

[madseasonstaley]

give us a demonstration and stop jerking it off!

[olivierlauret974]

type "ipad suicide" on the search tool bar and you'll understand why you SHOULD NOT buy ipad.

[xXmegaRoryXx]

yes! the ipad is amazing it will enhance your life, make you stupid, fry your brain and reduce your sperm count

THANKYOU IPAD!

O_o

[UltimateGrobanite]

I love how any apple product shown on YouTube brings the trolls out of their caves....

[baha151]

this a over size touch

[Madhousefreak]

2:17 what a tool

[joe32817]

You have to buy the "iStand" (only) from Apple. That's the "magic" of it :)

[barbosento]

Dude. I wanna spit on their faces. Wtf man. Stop that fucking brain wash.

[dx12323]

this thing is huge

[TheDutchCarlos]

It seems a nice product, but why does it that my dreams are far ahead of this? I see

a holographic screen, to which I can point and/or talk,command to perform something. And the only thing I take with me is some tiny, as a needle, dot, which can be activated by voice and is then connected with the Net, and your domain in it is protected by reading your fingerprintsand the reading the iris of your eyes/