Apple announces ‘iPad’ touchscreen tablet

[sh15uya]

Dump the iSlate and iTablet name, Apple's tablet computer is officially called the iPad (as revealed by iPhone developer Stand Alone, Inc. earlier this week).

As expected, the iPad looks not unlike an extremely large iPhone or iPod Touch... though it's clearly still hugely portable as far as on-the-go computing is concerned.

The technology rumour mill appears to have largely hit Apple's device on the head when it comes to its related features and functions:

*Touch-screen interface

*Landscape and portrait view shifting

*Web browsing capability - full screen viewing, not scaled mobile version

*Virtual keyboard (landscape)

*On-board access and support for Apple iTunes

*Includes built-in iPod platform

*Film and TV playback can be viewed in either landscape or portrait

The iPad weighs about 1.5 pounds, is 0.5 inch thin, has a 9.7-inch display and should have a battery life of 10 hours, Jobs said.
It uses what he called Apple's own 1GHz A4 chip The tablet has the company's online iTunes Store built into it, as well as YouTube in high-definition.

http://www.macrumors.com/2010/01/27/apple-tablet-media-event-today-come-see-our-latest-creation/

http://live.gizmodo.com/



edit:

[MochaNutz]

its pretty much a big iphone.

If you can use a stylus pen like a wacom tablet, it would be awesome. I'd buy it for design purposes (like sketching.  That Brushes app is cool, but i don't want to fingerpaint). But they used an inhouse chip, so i don't even know how fast/strong it is. 1GB, but that seems so powerless these days =P

its supposed to be under $1000

[reina's eyes]

I had a similar thought, a wacom type pen would be a great accessory.

While reading the live reports, I was thinking 500usd would be a really really good low starting point, and so did apple.

My one concern will be reflections. I refuse to get a mac of any sort with a glossy screen, so that's my one area of doubt.

There is a connection kit to transfer data directly from a digital camera which would have been a welcome accessory for the iphone.

So, the 3g one is exactly what I wanted on my trip this last weekend, and it's the one I'll be likely to get. By about then the next gen iphone might be announced and it will make for an interesting comparison.

[kuro808]

Apple has gone bananas and I guess I should wait until the kinks are out of the way and the amount goes down a bit to pick it up

[Sev]

I thought this was a joke when I first heard of it. I still believe it's a joke. It even seems like a joke when you visit apples own site about it. When is anyone ever gonna use this? And the name, iPad.. WHAT? What's next, iFag?

[RoyMoy]

A built-in camera please, then we'll talk.

[JFC]

I'll wait for this instead, thank you very much:


FULL ARTICLE AND MORE PICS HERE - http://gizmodo.com/5365299/courier-first-details-of-microsofts-secret-tablet

[hide321]

Looks cool. Not sure if I need it since I have 2 laptops, a netbook, and an iPhone in my apartment, but who knows down the road after the bugs are worked out.

[Slack]

My favorite headline for this thing is:

Apple's iPad becomes big fat ‘intimate’ joke
Tablet may be revolutionary, but it sounds like a feminine hygiene product

[shurastriker]

to me compared to an iphone so big and useless... well i don't need any of those so thank you very much.

srsly, i wonder how many hours would take to own an scratch-screen ipad

[frblckstr1]

My favorite headline for this thing is:

Apple's iPad becomes big fat ‘intimate’ joke
Tablet may be revolutionary, but it sounds like a feminine hygiene product

Just have a look at this:


iFail 

[J-Triumf]

I walked by an Apple Store earlier today, and I was really tempted to walk in and ask "Hey, do you guys have the iTampon available yet? Oops, I mean the iPad."

Of course, this kind of ridicule was already happening not too long ago when Nintendo officially revealed its new motion-based console to be named "the Wii", and now only the most insecure and closed-minded of gamers are ragging on it due to its runaway success. Apple could see a similar situation if (or when?) this thing takes off...that is, if they can get over a few legal hurdles with the name.

Personally, for its price and specs, I'm not really crazy about it (much like with most of what Apple makes), but at the same time I'm glad Apple is pushing stuff like this forward into the mainstream/non-geek world, which, as we've seen with the iPod and iPhone, will result in other companies joining the bandwagon and offering more options at lower prices for everyone: sure, I've become loyal to the iPod line for portable media players, but phone-wise my Nokia 5800 is a decent, much affordable substitute for the iPhone (now if only Nokia invested in more support for the US market ).

[JFC]

[shurastriker]

da tru abutt the ipad

[shadowstar]

[J-Triumf]

While y'all speculate the technical origins, this article speculates the software potential:

iPad Apps We'd Like to See

The board game one actually sounds like a good idea.

[Wonderboy]

 

[aznnerd]

I had a chance to play with this at the store on campus. While the big screen is nice for some e-reading material, I'd have to say that I don't like it. I personally rest my hands/fingers on top of the keys on my laptop and with the iPad, you can't do that because of the touch screen. It's not that great for some games either. The demo iPad was pre-loaded with Need for Speed and the iPad is just too big for playing games comfortably imho.

[LaJon]

I'll wait for this instead, thank you very much:


FULL ARTICLE AND MORE PICS HERE - http://gizmodo.com/5365299/courier-first-details-of-microsofts-secret-tablet

Love how Gizmodo made a lot of noise about a product that didn't exist, and then comes back in the present day with the 'exclusive' that it doesn't exist (Link).  Tech journalism at it's best.

As for the iPad, if it hits the sweet spot between computer and mobile phone that you're after then go for it.  Doesn't do anything for me, and I especially hate the philosophy behind it as a closed-in platform that forces you to conform or be damned.  For instance, here's how the conversations usually goes about the iPad:

Sane Person: Why doesn't the iPad do *this*?
Fanboy: It isn't meant to do that!
Sane Person: But it could, and it would be much better for it.
Fanboy: NO! It's a (INSERT NOUN HERE) device!  Steve doesn't think it needs *that*!
- 2 years later -
Steve Jobs: With our new iPad 2.0, we will be introducing a new feature: *THIS*!
Fanboy: OMG HE'S A GENIUS!!

[frblckstr1]

^ Might be stupid, but then again driving two screens will make for problems with the batteries in the current state of affairs.

I'm expecting somewhere next year the color ePapers will be fast enough to start replacing the power hungry screens.
Until then I'll make do with my TC1000 and Archos 5 Internet tablet, or any other 7" android coming along, and my BeBook NEO (eBook 6") can browse the internet also.

Maybe someone will make a (affordable!) AMOLED 7" or even 11" in the mean time...