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SOFTWARE INDUSTRY NEWS |
Apple launches the iPad |
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Apple today introduced the iPad, what it called “a revolutionary device for browsing the web, reading and sending email, enjoying photos, watching videos, listening to music, playing games, reading e-books and much more.” Earlier dubbed the 'tablet' computer, the iPad’s features a high-resolution Multi-Touch display that lets users physically interact with applications and content. The iPad is 0.5 inches thick, weighs just 1.5 pounds, and is said to be thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook. Itbundles a dozen new apps that have been specially designed for it, and is said to be capable of running almost all of the over 140,000 apps in the App Store. Apple said the iPad would be available starting late March 2010, starting at $499.  “iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.” The iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch via a standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable that also syncs contacts, photos, music, movies, TV shows, applications and more from a Mac or PC. All the apps and content downloaded from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore would be automatically synced to the iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer. It is powered by A4, Apple’s next-generation system-on-a-chip that provides for greater processor and graphics performance along with a prolonged battery life of up to 10 hours, according to Apple. The iPad comes in two versions—one with Wi-Fi and the other with Wi-Fi and 3G – and features the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi standard. 3G versions support speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on HSDPA networks, Apple said, with partner AT&T announcing breakthrough 3G pre-paid data plans for iPad. The iPad features 12 next-generation Multi-Touch applications, with each app capable of working in both portrait and landscape, animating automatically between views as the iPad is rotated. Apple said surfing the web on the iPad is a new experience on account of the Multi-Touch interface, which is “dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer.” Apple said email is “fun and easy” on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard. It also plays music, works with imported images as photos, video movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD, and functions as an e-reader for e-books. The iPad can run almost all of the 140,000 plus apps available on the App Store, including apps purchased for iPhone or iPod touch. It plugs in to the iTunes Store for music, TV and movies. What is noteworthy is that with the iPad, Apple has also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple’s new iBookstore that will feature books from major and independent publishers. This function is bound to put it in head to head competition with other e-readers such as Amazon's Kindle. Apple introduced a new verion of the iWork for iPad, a desktop-class productivity suite designed for Multi-Touch that has Pages, Keynote and Numbers to create documents, presentations and spreadsheets. The three apps, however, would be available separately through the App Store for $9.99 each, Apple said in its statement. The company also released a new Software Development Kit (SDK) for the iPad, which according to media reports could trigger a 'coding frenzy' with developers scrambling to create new applications that leverage the new product's capabilities. Apple said the iPad will be available worldwide starting late March for a suggested retail price of $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 32GB model, $699 for the 64GB model. The Wi-Fi + 3G model would follow in April in the US and selected countries, and would retail at around $629 for the 16GB model, $729 for the 32GB model and $829 for the 64GB model. |
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