Apple announces eagerly awaited iPad - Summary

Wed, 27 Jan 2010

San Francisco - Apple chief executive Steve Jobs revealed the company's eagerly awaited tablet computer Wednesday, promising that the iPad would give users "the best web experience you have ever had."Saying that there was room for a third device between a laptop and a smartphone, Jobs demonstrated the new device at a launch event in San Francisco.

Comparing the iPad to a larger version of the company's genre- defining iPhone, Jobs said the device would feature a 9.7-inch (24.6- cm) multi-touch screen and specialize in common tasks like browsing the web, email, video, music and picture tasks, as well as playing games and reading ebooks.

"If there's going to be a third category, it has to be better at these tasks - otherwise it has no reason for being," he said.

The iPad will be price competitive with low-end laptops and netbooks. It will be available in 60 days starting at a lower than expected 499 dollars for a 16 GB model going up to 829 dollars for a 64 GB model with wi-fi and 3G capabilities. 3G plans will be available though AT&T, the exclusive iPhone carrier in the US, starting at 15 dollars a month for 250 GB of data and 30 dollars for unlimited data.

Investors initially balked at the first details of the iPad, sending Apple stock down 4 per cent. But the announcement of the pricing, turned their sentiment around and the stock recovered to gain 1 per cent on the day.

Analysts had predicted that Apple could sell 5 million units and generate 3 billion dollars in revenue if the iPad was priced at 600 dollars. With cheaper units available Apple may surpass those expectations and forge a new category that it can dominate as it did with the iPhone and iPod, analysts said.

Jobs said the device was just 1 cm thin, weighed 680 grams, had battery life of 10 hours in use and over one month on standby and would come with a 16 GB flash hard drive.

Able to connect to the thousands of applications already available for the iPhone, the iPad also functions as a game playing device through the use of its built-in accelerometer.

The device's use as a newspaper reader was demonstrated by New York Times digital chief Martin Nisenholtz. He said that the application developed in three weeks, "captured the essence of reading a newspaper" while also offering features like instant video clips.

"iPad is our most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price," said Steve. "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."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/306201,apple-announces-eagerly-awaited-ipad--summary.html.