"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 Features
A slate that looks much like a larger iPhone, the iPad features a home button, a MacBook-like aluminum bezel and a glass screen. It’s a half-inch thick, weighs 1.5 pounds, and has a 9.7-inch LCD screen (with 1024 by 768 resolutions). It will use a custom-made 1GHz CPU and flash storage and, Jobs claimed, will get up to 10 straight hours of battery life or a month of life on standby.
For connectivity, in addition to the optional 3G, it has 802.11n, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 2.1; it syncs to a Mac via USB. To feed those 3G connections, Jobs also announced two new cellular data plans from AT&T: $14.99 a month for 250MB of data, $29.99 a month for unlimited data; both are prepaid, meaning neither requires a contract like the two-year commitment that iPhone users must make.
The Software
iPad runs almost all of the over 140,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone or iPod touch. The iTunes Store gives you access to the world's most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 11 million songs, over 50,000 TV episodes and over 8,000 films including over 2,000 in stunning high definition video. Apple also announced the new iBooks app for iPad, which includes Apple's new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile device. The iBookstore will feature books from major and independent publishers.
Apple also introduced a new version of iWork for iPad, the first desktop-class productivity suite designed specifically for Multi-Touch. With Pages, Keynote and Numbers you can create beautifully formatted documents, stunning presentations with animations and transitions, and spreadsheets with charts, functions and formulas.
iPad syncs with iTunes just like the iPhone and iPod touch, using the standard Apple 30-pin to USB cable, so you can sync all of your contacts, photos, music, movies, TV shows, applications and more from your Mac or PC. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.
Pricing & Availability
iPad will be available in late March worldwide for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model. The Wi-Fi + 3G models of iPad will be available in April in the US and selected countries for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. International pricing and worldwide availability will be announced at a later date. iBookstore will be available in the US at launch.
