My mind has been racing with thoughts about Apple’s latest and greatest new device, the iPad ever since the announcement Tuesday. There has been so much speculation and hype that there was no way that the actual device was going to live up.
iPad © Apple
Apple has put together some top notch hardware as usual. The iPad sports their standard aluminum and glass exterior and is manufactured to be environmentally friendly. The most surprising part is the A4 CPU. The workhorse of the device is the first of it’s kind that we’ve seen from Apple. Gizmodo has an article stating it runs at 1GHz. It’s been deemed an ARM chip (as opposed to a mobile chip). The chip has to have come out of Apple’s 2008 acquisition, PA Semiconductor. The A4 is a low-power mobile chip, so I wouldn’t expect to start seeing iMacs and Mac Pros being powered by it any time soon, but could we see a variant at some point? Absolutely. I have to believe that Apple is exploring the idea. It would make even more sense that we’d see a future iPod or iPhone making use of the A4.
In addition, there is the standard array of components such as touchscreen, a mic, a compass, an accelerometer, GPS, and wifi. A mid to high end model will also have 3G wireless which requires a monthly contract with AT&T. The wifi variant will be making it’s debut in “60 days” while 3G models won’t go on sale for “90 days” because of they are awaiting FCC approval. Leo Laporte and gang on MacBreak Weekly quipped that Steve has found a way to make us each buy two. I figured AT&T must have got on their knees and begged and promised they’d beef up their network. I fully expected them to announce a different wireless partner.
The wireless plans available are either $15 or $30 per month for 250MB or Unlimited data respectively. So much for the idea that the wireless would be subsidized with each purchase/download. The contracts can be terminated at any time, but it’s still painful to think that some people out there will be paying $30 for unlimited data on both their iPhone AND this new iPad device. Even so, most of the iPads sold will end up being the 3G models. The sim chip is swappable, so evidently it will be possible to chose a different data provider.
The iPad runs iPhone OS 3.2. There are the standard set of applications you’d imagine for email, web browsing, playing or viewing various media types. The device quickly was nicknamed the “giant iPod Touch,” for it’s resemblance in both hardware and software to its smaller cousin. Just like it’s next of kin, the iPad runs all the existing AppStore applications. There was some speculation that it would be very easy to port existing iPhone applications to the tablet device when it came out. It will be interesting to see what kind of app purchasing frenzy the initial set of iPads sets off. A large part of the success of the iPad will depend on the apps that are available. You’re going to need to see a different breed of apps as well. Things that work on the iPhone won’t always translate and vice versa. It may take some time to get everyone on board. There will be new gold rushes in the AppStore.
Apple also announced it has ported all of it’s iWork apps over to the iPad. The total cost to get a spreadsheet, word processor, and a presentation app is $30. Not too bad. They almost had to do iWork on the iPad or the analysts would say there was no way to do “real work” on the device. To a certain portion of the population, that is still true. As a developer, I’m not going to be coding on the thing. Graphic designers aren’t going to be using them as workstations either.
A prominent feature of the announcement was the new book store. The books will be in epub format, which should make the publishers happy. They are already used to producing books in that format. Apple announced a number of big names as partners. The general sense is that this will be the Kindle-killer. Apple is claiming a 10 hr battery life even while playing fullscreen video, so it will be able to go quite awhile displaying text. What it may come down to is preference. Some people get more fatigued when viewing backlit screens.
iTunes Bookstore © Apple
Of course Apple leaves the price for last. They even were quick to acknowledge that the iPad had been rumored to be a $1000. Depending on how you look at it, that could be way off or that could be pretty close. The iPad comes with either 16, 32, or 64 GB of storage and as previously mentioned, you can opt for a 3G model or not. This equates to a price range of $499 – $829 with the higher end models also carrying that 3G contract. Certainly a bit lower than expected and in line with Apple’s existing device pricing structure.
In addition there were a number of accessories shown. There is a plain old dock, a dock with a keyboard (which basically looks like their small wireless keyboard), a snazzy looking cover, and a camera connection kit. All of these items are extra. Once you throw in one or two, some apps, you are pretty much at that $1000.
What would an Apple release be without the critics. There are plenty of things the iPad was supposed to have or was rumored to do which it doesn’t. Because it uses the iPhone OS, it can’t run multiple applications. No playing music while you are web surfing on the couch (or toilet).
As I already mentioned, if you have an iPhone with an unlimited contract, you’re going to be paying the same amount to get a 3G data plan on the iPad.
There is no camera, so there is no way to do video conferencing. Maybe a camera could be made to attach to the dock later?
There is a dock connector and a 3.5mm headphone jack. While there is a vast amount you can do with a 30-pin cable, it really makes it a one-at-a-time deal for accessories. It would have been interesting to see 2 mini USB ports on the side. Almost not worthing noting is that there is no optical drive or ethernet port. However, you can get an existing iPhone video out cable to drive an external monitor.
The iPad Side View © Apple
During the demo, Steve loaded Time.com and it clearly showed that Flash wasn’t supported. A lot of pundits are saying that this is a deal-breaker for that size device. If the iPad is meant to replace a laptop, it must do the web just as well as a laptop and that basically means Flash.
There is no handwriting recognition. While a large touchscreen like that begs to have a natural handwriting interface, maybe the keyboard will be enough. I’m not convinced we’re going to care about that.
There are also a contingent of people lashing out at Apple for making the iPad a closed, proprietary system. I ask them, would you expect anything else from Apple? Take one look at their history with iTunes, the iPod, and iPhone. The iPad was never going to be an open device.
It must be said that this is a first generation device. There has been a history of Apple’s first gen devices not living up to expectations. To Apple’s advantage, there is much they can do in software to add to the already solid product. There will likely be enough inertia generated by this initial foray into the tablet space for them to continue tweaking the iPad. It’s not so much the iPad I’m interested in. What I really want to know is what will iPad version 2 look like? What will the world that has acclimated itself to the iPad look like.
As most have said, the iPad is not a device for the geeks. It’s mainstream appeal comes in the familiar iPod interface and the simplicity. The fact that it doesn’t have Flash or an open operating system truly does not matter to a large portion of the audience for this thing. Everyone that is frustrated by having a computer and the complexity of it will find the iPad a joy to use. If you can afford a Kindle, you can afford the iPad and it does so much more. There are also a myriad of other applications. Imagine your doctor having applications for charts and to show patients information. Think about an application that does statistical analysis based on input. You could take an iPad out in the field with you to crunch numbers on. Or how about just as a generic touch interface. I’ve heard of dumb industrial machines being made “smart” by connecting an iPod Touch and writing a specialized application. There are literally millions of tasks that could be done with a large, precise touchscreen interface. This is why I am so excited to see what the future will bring.
