After much anticipation and speculation, Apple Inc. today finally unveiled its tablet computer, the Apple iPad (see more pictures). Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the device at an invite-only press event in San Francisco.
The iPad is only a half of an inch thick and weighs just 1.5-lbs. It is powered by a 1GHz Apple A4 processor and will come in three flavors: 16, 32, or 64GB sizes. The 16GB version will retail for $499, the 32GB for $599, and the 64GB version for $699. The 3G version will cost an additional $130 per model.
Other features include an accelerometer, WiFi, Bluetooth, among other features. It operates on the same operating system as the iPhone and does run applications from the app store.
Mr. Jobs said today there is enough space for an intermediary device between PC computers and mobile devices. He said at the event, "It is the best browsing experience you’ve ever had, its phenomenal,” and went on to say, “[the iPad is] way better than a laptop, way better than a smartphone,"
Apple also announced the availability of an updated iPhone OS SDK for developers to develop applications specifically designed for the bigger display of the iPad. The iPad can currently run app store applications on a double-pixel basis for full-screen, or in a smaller window for better clarity since the current applications are not designed for larger resolutions.
Interestingly, the iPad also has mobile phone functionality. There is a micro-SIM card slot ready for you to insert your telecom SIM card to use the iPad as a phone. Apple is selling all iPads unlocked so that they could be used with any telecom.
Analysts expected the device to center around media, more specifically towards eBooks. According to screen shots released by Apple, it appears the iPad has newly designed applications, such as the YouTube and iBook apps pictured below to really make the device all about media. Users will be able to purchase media, including eBooks and HD movies from iTunes. Apple has also announced an iPad optimized iWork app will be released, too.
AT&T is offering unlimited 3G data for the iPad for $29.99 per month, or 250MB of data for $14.99 per month, both contract-free. Activations are handled directly from the iPad, allowing you to easily activate and deactivate your mobile 3G service anytime you want.
The non-3G iPads will all be available in 60-days from now, with the 3G versions becoming available in 90-days.
The iPad is really just what many had expected, essentially, a bigger iPhone with app improvements. Few expected the device to run OS X applications, but unfortunately, that was simply not the case.
It is difficult to currently predict future expected earnings generated from the iPad, simply because many people have mixed feelings about the device. Some argue the price is too high for a device that simply mainly runs iPhone apps and because it lacks features such as GPS already found on the iPhone. The truth is, we’ll just have to let some time go by until we can actually use it, that we, we can better understand its true value.