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BREAKING NEWS & VIEWS
It’s an ‘iPad’: Jobs and Apple Give Birth to New Media DeviceWednesday, January 27, 2010 The long-awaited Apple ‘tablet’ was revealed officially this afternoon by CEO Steve Jobs. Calling it a “magical” device and naming it the iPad, .png) Jobs demonstrated at a press conference a color 9.7-inch touch-screen device that looks and operates much like an iPhone/iPod Touch. Priced in different versions between $499 and $829, it includes email and calendaring, embedded mapping and has an icon-driven interface that also includes a system tray of ever-ready programs at bottom. Very iPhone-like. But unlike previous attempts at tablet-like PCs, this is only 1.5 pounds and half an inch thick. It will ship in 60 days, Jobs promised. Jobs emphasized in his demo the multimedia playback capabilities of the new toy. He demonstrated e-book, film, music and TV playback that worked with touch-screen interaction; video and images can be displayed in high resolutions. The 9.7-inch display offers enhanced angle of view for easier reading at different angles. Technically, the iPad also includes 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth, an accelerometer and compass, speaker and built-in microphone. Some models will have 3G, with a $14.99 per month plan for 250 MB of data and $29.99 for unlimited data. AT&T will be the network provider, but there will be no contract required. Users can cancel at any time. The 3G units are “unlocked,” which means they can also be used on other carriers that run GSM networks. Users will also get free access to all AT&T WiFi hotspots. The internal chip is a 1GHz CPU, which is considerably faster than the current iPhone chips. And there will be between 16GB and 64GB of Flash memory storage. Jobs claimed the iPad has 10 hours of battery life and will retain a charge of one month on standby mode. The iPad will have a discrete store of apps designed specifically for the higher resolutions, but the unit will also run—and can access—iPhone apps. The iPhone apps will run either in a smaller window or in a “pixel-doubled” mode that will run them full screen but at lower resolution. Among the publishers and organizations that demonstrated customized versions of their publications were The New York Times and Major League Baseball, as well as several game developers. Jobs complimented Amazon for pioneering the e-book reader, but then launched into his own pitch for the “iBooks” platform. The e-Reader app lets users pick from a virtual bookshelf; users can access the bookstore from the device, download immediately and start reading. Tapping on the right or left side of the screen or swiping the screen will flip the page. Publishing partners include Hachette Book Group, Penguin, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster. It uses the open ePub book format, which is a direct challenge to Amazon’s closed proprietary format. The iPad also has a range of productivity capabilities, including a version of Apple’s iWork suite. Users can also make and edit presentations, do charts etc. The productivity apps for Apple are $9.99 each. The device will sync with the PC or Mac to transfer media and create backups. Notably absent from the iPad and its demo were an internal camera as well as any of the snazzy digital magazine content we have seen Time Inc. and Bonnier demo in recent months. At a minimum of $499, the iPad is twice as expensive as the Kindle and about the same price as a low-end laptop or midrange net book. After this afternoon's presentation, Apple updated its site to include details, images and video of the iPad. Check back at minonline tomorrow for more detail and analysis. See "Top 5 iPhone Mag Apps That Should Be on a Tablet." CNN Offered early video coverage of Jobs' presentation. If you have breaking news to share please contact Steve Smith at ssmith@accessintel.com
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