“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.
@dude,
Who says that the iOS is not a “real” OS? And who says that the iPod touch is not a computer?
Because whoever says either of those things is dead WRONG. iOS is a very real OS which is nothing more than a specifically tailored version of Mac OSX. And the iPod touch is definitely a very real COMPUTER. It has a processor, ram, it runs an operating system, it runs applications, it connects to the internet, it’s a computer! The iPad is simply a larger and more powerful version.
And if you still need something even more powerful, try a Macbook, a MacBook Pro, an iMac, or a MacPro. They are still available.
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“My soul, sit thou a patient looker-on; judge not the play before the play is done: her plot hath many changes; every day speaks a new scene; the last act crowns the play.” -Francis Quarles
I think multi-tasking will come, and it will appear first on this device where battery life isn’t as mission critical as it is on one’s cell phone.
Stuck background processes happen today on iPhone — some of apple’s apps *do* run in the background and there are days when Mail or Chat gets stuck and battery life is woeful.
But I have faith they’ll solve for multi-tasking in the OS, and belief that they’ll do it first on the ipad. Believe whatever makes you happy, just my $0.02
I’m very, very disappointed! I had hoped it would have a horn for turning corners. I also wished it had a bottle opener. Other than that, to me it seems perfect for 80% of people grown up with iPods, iPhones, Macbooks, iMacs, and VWs. If that’s not you and you absolutely need what doesn’t exist then apply for a job at Apple since that seems to be the place where the future is being shaped. Maybe just not yours, but I’ll be happy to tote this thing around instead of my 3Lbs heavier Macbook, whose features are largely underused by me…
I’ll bet it will be much harder to unlock/jailbreak the iPad with the custom processor. For that reason, I’ll also bet that the iPhone will get one too.
Not having a camera or being a phone! It’s almost as if Apple want you to buy an iPhone and an iPad!
I think they’ve missed a trick not having a camera for video chat, even if it was only via ichat over wifi, it would have really opened up video chat to the mainstream – and made ichat the dominant technology for it.
First comment I got when I showed the iPad to someone.
“Does it have a DVD player?”
This thing looks great as a tool to watch a DVD on a long flight, train trip or even in the car.
So does it have a DVD/CD player? Doesn’t look like it.
One way or the other though, they will sell like hotcakes.
So does it have a DVD/CD player? Doesn’t look like it.
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What is a DVD?
@ Dallasm
You forgot to complain about the lack of a physical keyboard and about rounding errors. Dallasm aka Ballmer or what?
Why do I need multitasking? For IM programs, I get notifications. Then I switch over to the IM program and chat. I could care less about Pandora. Perhaps Apple will open up the Dev kit some and allow Pandora to run like iTunes? Who knows.
This iPad is amazing. It would totally do what I’d want when on the go. I’ll keep the MacPro at home for heavy lifting….
If Dallasm wants to multitask as so clearly wants to, why doesn’t he just get a laptop? So a just announced product he hasn’t even seen in person yet is a disaster? Is his real name chicken little?
Hey, Dallasm! It doesn’t have a floppy drive either! There’s something else you can bitch about!
I can just see the engineers at Griffin Tech and Belkin, working on a camera that connects to the Dock connector, and swivels from to back…
People with one track minds don’t need multitasking.
iTunes has radio stations, and they stream. You can listen to them while using other apps – Pandora isn’t the only radio station streaming app out there.
Oh, I’m sorry, it IS an Apple app, isn’t it? That means, in your small mind, it isn’t REALLY multi-tasking…
Thank You!
I can’t stand it when “a point is mute” and can’t hear!
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Love the iPad…..not sure about the name but I understand why they did named it such, as it’s only one vowel off of the name iPod, and now all three devices are iPxxxx devices. People will get used to the name after they use it and embrace the new platform.
Way to go Apple!
To all those for a web cam is the ultimate requirement. A little look at a BT-1 should convince you that that’s not a real reason to forego an iPad. It shouldn’t take long for a smart developer to produce an app to handle video conferencing via Skype, etc. So chill out and look at what an iPad *will* do.
When are we going to see this A4 or similar chip in an iPhone?
Well if this is the starting point…I’m pretty thrilled.
The absence of a webcam means a cheaper monthly data plan rate, since there’ll be less bandwidth taken by a pool of users. Perhaps the absence of a camera was also helpful in obtaining a lower rate.
I expect that come June and the WWDC Apple will release a new iPhone and iPod Touch using the A4 Processor. I also believe the iPad was probably going to have the same camera the iPod touch was going to get but for some reason Apple scrapped it for both. And when the new Mobile OS X is released at WWDC it will have multi-tasking.
@dallasm – sure you can multitask on ipad. Simply dial up pandora on your iPhone and pages on your ipad… what’s the big deal?!
I’m also disappointed, I’m not looking for another electronic device to carry around on business / school in addition to my notebook.
Does everything a notebook does, and cannot replace it.
Net book CAN replace a notebook, running full OSX.
Really disappointed in Apple pushing this product out with such capabilites missing.
iPhone was one thing, that broke the mold and was something no one else was even close too. We could buy, and know the product would improve, but even in’s original state, was soo much better than anything else out there that it made sense to buy (even at the steep beginning price). But iPad doesn’t have that same spread of capability between the netbook and itself, and in fact, the net book running OSX still looks like a much much better deal.
This is gonna hit my stock value!
“energized but thin, a result of his continuing health difficulties” Can we ever give this a rest? (sadly I know the answer)
C’mon a few bucks worth of hardware, a hole in the back, charge aonther $50. Another few bucks, hole in the front, charge anthioer $50, you can VTC with others, just like in the sci-fi movies we’ve been watching since the 70’s.
I’ll wait.