Apple iPad
What is the Apple iPad?
Apple's Newton days are over
When Apple dropped the Newton
line of palm-computing devices in the late '90s, many people
were severely disappointed. The project was abandoned by
Apple, but die-hard Newton fans hunkered down and kept the
systems going for years afterward. To give credit to Apple,
the Newton MessagePad was designed well enough so that even
today it is still considered a viable option by
some people. Through Apple's ups and downs, there has been
speculation on whether or not Apple would revive the Newton,
and while recently it has been clear Apple's Newton days are
over, the hope for the company to return to palm and tablet
computing devices had not faded.
Though the iPhone can be
considered Apple's next-generation MessagePad, after much
speculation Apple's long-rumored entrance into tablet
computing has finally arrived. In the past few weeks the
hype has ramped up all over the Web, with fake images,
speculation based on domain name registrations, "leaked"
advertisements, patent investigations, and comments from
various tech and media CEOs, all of which have built quite a
stir around the latest "creation" from Apple. Today Apple
has put the rumors to rest with the announcement of the
iPad; however, what is the purpose of this device and will
it succeed?
Apple's Tablet, in a nutshell
At first glance, the device does
not look like much, and, as rumored, it basically resembles
a large iPhone, complete with a home button and glass touch
screen. True to the style that has come to define Apple
products, the device looks simple and well-built, with a
rigid glass display and a inch or so of bezel area around
the display. The display is a full capacitive multitouch
panel, as was expected, but is also an LED-backlit IPS
display that has a great viewing angle. The back is
aluminum, and there are various connectors on the sides for
power, sleep, and volume controls.
On the inside, Apple has given us
a surprise. The device uses an Apple-designed chip it is
calling the "A4," which runs at 1GHz and is used for
managing everything: processing, graphics, and I/O. The
system has between 16 and 64GB of memory, contains Bluetooth
and EDR wireless connectivity, has a speaker, and
microphone, and also contains Apple's accelerometers,
ambient light sensors, and digital compass with assisted GPS
technologies. There is a 30-pin connector for attaching the
device to computers, but it also uses Bluetooth and Enhanced
Data Rate technologies for fast wireless access up to 3Mbps.
The device has a powerful battery that gives up to 10 hours
of usage, and nearly a month of standby time.
Apple has not omitted the option
for 3G connectivity. The system contains 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-fi
options, but also can directly tap into UMTS/HSDPA and
GSM/EDGE 3G wireless networks, and come unlocked and without
any contract so if your wireless carrier uses a GSM micro
SIM, it should "just work." Despite this, the capability to
make phone calls does not appear to be available, but then
again it is not a phone. The one missing feature in the iPad
is an internal camera, but there may be ways to add one as
an accessory, though Apple has not mentioned any support for
this. In terms of software capability, similar to the
iPhone, the device seems to be limited when it comes to
multitasking.
As for the price, despite rumors
of Apple targeting around $1,000, it has been able to
provide all of this in the range of $499 to $699, and we
should start seeing them hitting store shelves in about two
months.
When Steve Jobs introduced the
iPhone, he promoted it as an all-in-one communications
device for music, telecommunications, Web, and computing,
and not just a phone that includes these other features.
Given that the features of the iPad are similar to the
iPhone's, Apple clearly intends for this device to be used
in a variety of areas to offer an all-in-one package for
connectivity, computing, gaming, and any other task you
might think of.
The popularity of the iPhone has
made it a raging success, and it, along with other "smart"
devices, has shown Apple and other manufacturers that
consumers are ready for a tablet. In order to create its
tablet, Apple had to ride a wave of consumer-readiness and
incorporated the technologies and approaches to computing
that have come to define computing in the modern era.
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