Apple unveils iPad tablet starting $499, ships in 60 days

updated 01:40 pm EST, Wed January 27, 2010

Expands on iPhone conventions


After much speculation Apple has officially announced the iPad, the company's first tablet device. The hardware resembles an oversized iPhone, but uses a dramatically altered version of the iPhone interface, borrowing tropes from Mac OS X such as a Dock, floating windows and a desktop background. Apps on the device are much more elaborate, for instance allowing Mail to display both a list of messages and a preview pane at the same time, or Calendar to show an entire month.

The tablet is half an inch thin, and uses a 9.7-inch IPS display, with a 1GHz Apple A4 processor, and 16 to 64GB of flash storage. It also includes an accelerometer, compass, microphone, built-in speakers and wireless in the form of 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and 3G. The unit's battery is said to last a month on standby, and 10 hours when running video.

Apple also describes the iPad as media-focused, for instance allowing better control of video through both scrubbing and chapter selects. Apps are delivered via the App Store, and can be run either at normal size or magnified to the full dimensions of the screen. Developers can already download a new SDK from the Apple website, which will allow titles to be customized explicitly for iPad support.

The hardware should for instance be capable of better 3D-rendered games, and the New York Times has confirmed the existence of a new iPad-enabled iPhone app with photo and video viewers. An app by Steve Sprang, Brushes, allows more complex illustration with tools like layer and palette windows. MLB has announced the existence of an updated app with game information overlays.

Apple itself is introducing iBooks, an app which turns the iPad into an e-book reader. The title uses a bookshelf metaphor, and has its own store, which will be stocked with material from publishers like Penguin, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette. It further relies on the ePub format, meaning that downloaded titles are not exclusive to Apple products.

Complementing the iPad is a new, portable version of the iWork suite, including Keynote, Pages and Numbers, all designed for a multi-touch interface.

Only some models of the iPad will be 3G-enabled, and in turn require a $15 monthly fee with AT&T for 250MB of data, or $30 for unlimited access. Unlimited AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot service is included with either plan.

Prices for tablets without 3G are $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB and $699 for 64GB. Models tied to AT&T will cost $629, $729 and $829, respectively. The former will ship in 60 days, to be followed by the 3G units in another 30.




















by MacNN Staff


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Comments

  1. ScottG

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2005

    -5

    BUT???

    I have not seen the Apple Store go off line at all, and the SDK is available today. Looks like we will have to wait for a release date as it is going now.

    2:03pm EDT

  1. climacs

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2001

    +8

    Redmond

    start your copy machines

  1. crevatis

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Feb 2005

    +9

    huge!

    Compared the Job's head there that sucker looks to be about 10 feet wide!

  1. ScottG

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2005

    +2

    Available in 60 days

    Shipping iPads in 60 days, worldwide availability of Wi-Fi models. It’ll be another 30 days beyond that for 3G models.

    $499 to $829 Fully Loaded with AT&T G3 Fully Loaded and avail on APRIL 28th.

    Well that's just what everyone had predicted as it being available 2 to 3 months later on from this show.

  1. zaghahzag

    Dedicated MacNNer

    Joined: Aug 2006

    -9

    prediction...

    This machine is going to land with a dull thud. After all the hype wears off, it's going to absolutely apparent that you can do everything with either an iphone, itouch or macbook.

    Except those devices actually do all those things better with the possible exception of reading books. In which case, you spend a lot of money for a book reader than can read a book for 10 hours before you have to recharge it. On its one important feature, it loses to a kindle.

    yawn. My guess is they did a 60 day lead in, so they know how many of these to build. So far, tablets have always been flops because ultimately, they are either too big, too easy to break, too slow to use or too expensive.

    Comment buried. Show
  1. wrenchy

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 2009

    -27

    Looks like

    Apple copied HP on their pc tablet. How original. Apple didn't want to copy the netbook trend but they want in on it, so they "invented" the tablet. That's been around for a while now.

    And this is a ground-breaking game-changing product? Pllleease.

  1. luckyday

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Apr 2008

    +2

    Wow

    What a let down that was. Device looks cool, but nothing even close to revolutionary. It's basically just a big ipod that can't make phone calls. Was looking forward to buying one too.

    Not to mention any of the hype and desire to own one of these will be gone in 60 days anyways.

  1. iphonerulez

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Nov 2008

    0

    For those that have no interest in it, too bad...

    Apple will sell millions of iPads. You'd probably say the Kindle was nothing special but Amazon likely sold close to 2 million units. The Apple iPad can do much more. Most of you guys are fairly bright as tech-heads, but you know nothing about what the average consumer would consider a fun device to have. Again, people will be lining up in front of Apple stores for the first day of sale. Apple is likely to sell a 1 million iPads the first month.

  1. ScottG

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jan 2005

    +4

    I'm Going to Wait for iPADD2

    No Camera, and NO MIC!!! What were they thinking about? It's like owning a Large iPodTouch G2 Crippled with no Camera or Mic.

    A New Movie now: "Honey! I Blew Up the iPod Touch!" You Got $829.99 and the lack of 3G Coverage with AT&T for another 10 Years?

    What a Disappointment I have to say...No New iLife'10, No New laptops, Very Upsetting once again. I think I will start working on getting OSX running on one of the new N270 Tablets to have a full working version of OSX verse the iPodad.

  1. normr

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Mar 2002

    +8

    What?

    6 different models? Why didn't they let you buy the base model and then add features as you need them in modules? And no isight camera? I guess I better start designing a bluetooth web cam for it.

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