“Steven P. Jobs has finally introduced Apple’s new tablet computer, called the iPad,” Brad Stone and Jenna Wortham report for The New York Times. “The question now is whether regular consumers will buy the iPhone-like device, which is priced at $499 at the entry level and can cost as much as $829.”
“Mr. Jobs, appearing energized but thin, a result of his continuing health difficulties, unveiled the iPad at a press event here on Wednesday morning,” Stone and Wortham report. “Its features and specifications, once the stuff of Internet myth, are now sharply in focus: The half-inch thick, 1.5-pound device will feature a 9.7-inch multitouch screen and is powered by a custom Apple microchip, called the A4. The iPad will have the same operating system as the iPhone and access to its 140,000 applications.”
Stone and Wortham report, “However, the device does not have a camera and lacks the ability to make phone calls.”
MacDailyNews Take: Correct that it doesn’t have a camera, but it does have connectivity (WiFi and/or 3G), a mic, a headphone jack, and built-in speakers, so its inability to make “phone calls” will last about along as it took you to read this sentence.
Stone and Wortham continue, “In 2008, Apple acquired a semiconductor company, called P.A. Semi. That group is responsible for the development of the A4 chip in the iPad.”
Full article here.
And the 3G version should have had a built-in iSight camera.
great product! I heard, when you are typing, it puts in the periods for you
so light! The iPad would not handle my heavy days so I will pass on this.
Exactly as MDN says it. $30 unlimited 3G data plan with IP based phone! It’s there.
Will we have to wait for the Apple A8 in 2014 before they feel the chip is efficient enough to run multiple third party apps on iDevices?
If this thing cured Cancer people would still complain!! It’s just what I wanted.
Will order one the first day the 3G is out.
A webcam and a GPS are missing. And the ability to run mac apps. I will wait v2 like for iPhone.
I was initially surprised at the lack of a camera, or even better, a through-body, double-lens camera. But it occurs to me that if Apple want to create a market for what is essentially a new product, then low prices for the initial models are essential. Once enough people get the idea that this is a “must have” item, they may be prepared to pay more for bells and whistles. I think we can expect GPS and cameras on future models.
I’m not sure I’d want to make phone calls with a tablet anyway. I would however like to be able to use iChat video on the thing and that makes the absence of a camera seem a bit short sighted to me.
iWork for iPad looks very nice but how does one quickly move iWork files from the desktop to the iPad and back without docking? I hope this can be done via WiFi. What about using Back to My Mac via mobile me? These would be great features. Does it support Mobile Me? Can I use Bluetooth on the iPad to tether it to my iPhone for internet access?
Many questions. I like what I see but I will, however, reserve judgement until further details emerge from Apple and until I have actually used one of these devices in an Apple Store.
Remember all the bitching about the first iPhone?
exactly right ‘micro me’ ppl dont often understand product life cycles, they put in every trick at once and have no upgrade path. The camera can be in the next iteration, and so on, and so forth. Ppl will buy it anyway brand new, and it is a tradeoff. Productivity or fun from day one, or wait a year for the camera version? I believe getting one now, then selling it a year from now for 70% the new price will help finance the next version, and so on, and so forth.
Think of it this way.
Executive Business Tool in an office with no camera allowed rules. You know those special government and secret Apple jobs.
Email, Schedule, Tasks, Read materials sent to you.
Write documents, spreadsheets, and one radio adapter away to projection screen connectivity for presentations, all on a device you can carry from meeting to meeting and can be locked like a phone, and if lost wiped using mobile me.
Imagine the possibilities.
The single most significant thing introduced today was the A4 chip. Forget the speed. It is how it handles data that counts. And you can be sure it has been optimized for the OS. Proprietary chips are the future of Apple and the first light was thrown on today. And think people, they did all this development making margins most people can only dream about, took on no debt and put together almost $40B in cash. For that they deserve accolades no matter what the pundits may say about anything else.
I think an add on camerais a much better solution. I hate having to adjust my position to really use the MacBook camera
An add on camera would be able to be adjusted to how you hold the iPad.
No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking. No Multitasking.
WTF?
everyone bemoaning multitasking (especially you dallasm)…
It’s a problem a lot like copy/paste. Technically, it’s simple (and already done with Apple’s apps). The UI is a problem though, and Apple is trying to figure it out as we speak.
After all, there’s gotta be something good to say about iPhone 4.0. It’s a software problem, and that means it can be fixed at any time.
If you don’t want it because of this, stop bitching and don’t buy it.
@ Macdoc
You’re very right. And count me in, too; I’ve already registered for an email when orders are ready to be taken.
Considering this is not a phone and most phones today have a camera built in, seems like a mute point.
Does this thing have I/O ability to hook up to USB? If so, would any of us be surprised if someone made and marketed a usb clip on camera for iChat capability.
Plus without a camera, the corporate world will have one less thing to moan about.
I like the iPad. Still not crazy for the name or the majority I heard. I think some peoples accent up north might be hard to determine iPad from iPod, but that’s okay.
Now that the cat is out of the bag, and now the rest see what a Tablet should be, when will Microsoft be modifying the tablet versions they, along with their 3rd party developers, have been releasing since 2000 and later?
http://news.cnet.com/2300-1041_3-6067135-2.html?tag=mncol
@ CitizenX. I think we can expect to see some small, add-on cameras for the iPad in the next few months. However, for such a strikingly unitary device, it would seem like clumsy solution, long-term.
The new Apple A4 microprocessor is fascinating. I wish they had given more information about it.
What kind of video chip resides inside the iPad? I didn’t see that listed. Is the video GPU integrated on the CPU chip? Geeks need to know.
Remember all the bitching about the first iPhone?
——————-
Yep, and two months later, Apple fixed the price issue (biggest complaint,) and a year later they added 3g, the second biggest complaint in addition to bringing the price from $400 to $199.
Give the iPad a year or so, these complaints will be fixed as well.
The A4 is the most important development. Apple is producing its own, custom ARM chips. I hope that it somehow gets into Macs as a supplementary chip.
@montex
I’m with you there, would love to know more about the A4. ARM cortex A9, perhaps? I would beat GPU is integrated. The tech specs page on apple.com says it’s a system-on-a-chip, so I think most everything they need is in it.
Ay, Rot’nApple, you gotta face on ya like a hens arsehole in the nort west winds – a tad batty at that iPad name, wait a fair wind, and Ay’ll git one cas’ we gotta keep the lingo bye’s, shay’s easy to lose out ‘ere, Lard tundering Ay’ll tell ya I may as well be sitting on tuh jiggin’ rock me wants one so bad.
@Scott:
No, not having multitasking is a deal breaker. This thing is a disaster. Are you seriously telling me that Apple could have thought of a way to let me listen to Pandora while working in Pages? Palm thought of a really good way with WebOS. Google thought of a really good way with Android. There is no excuse for this.
iPad is a disaster. No one is going to buy this.