After the success of the iPod and iPhone, much hype surrounded the release of Apple’s secretive new tablet PC project. The device called iPad was revealed in the US on Wednesday night by Apple’s head honcho, Steve Jobs.
“We want to kick off 2010 by introducing a truly magical and revolutionary product,” said Jobs.
The iPad has a 9.7-inch colour screen and resembles an oversized iPhone. It is 1.3cms thick, weighs less than a kilo and comes with 16, 32, or 64 gigabytes of memory. The cheapest iPad model, with Wi-Fi connectivity and 16GB of memory, is $499 (Rs 23,000 approx), while the most expensive – which includes 3G connectivity and 64GB of memory – costs $829 (Rs 38,000 approx).
Apple said it would start shipping the WiFi version, which has a virtual keyboard but can also dock with an external keyboard, in late March in the US. The 3G version will reach the US markets in late April.
Dressed in his trademark blue jeans, black turtleneck and sneakers, Jobs walked around the stage and sat on a couch at the Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts Theatre as he showed off the gadget.
He demonstrated various features which include browsing the Web, checking email, working with spreadsheets and charts, playing videogames, listening to music or watching video. Jobs also said they were launching an online “iBookstore” for the device and touted its abilities as an electronic reader for books, newspapers and magazines. But online rumours say the device may not feature ebooks on launch outside the US.
The device is also not without some serious flaws, like a lack of an HDMI adapter and a native USB port (the iPad requires an adapter to connect a USB device) that had some people fuming.
Technology journalist Mihir Patkar said: “No multi-tasking. No Adobe Flash. No USB port, and an adapter is just a pain! No HDMI to connect to a TV. No Web cam. The only way for fast text input is when you keep the device on your lap, with your feet raised – and the virtual keyboard will still take up over one-third of your screen! Apple just took the Touch, gave it a gave it a larger screen, and is trying to pass it off as a ‘revolutionary new device’. It could just as well have been called iPod Touch – SuperSized!”
Others accepted the device as it is. “Despite its negatives, I think the iPad is a pretty good device. It certainly replaces the netbook in my mind and possibly my iPhone, even though the two are different product categories,” said Tushar Burman, an iPhone enthusiast who followed the launch online.
When asked about an Indian release schedule, a local representative for Apple said that they were not informed about release dates for the Indian market but it won’t make it to our shores for a while.
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