quarta-feira, 27 de janeiro de 2010

A Closer Look at Apple’s New Tablet, the iPad


By Priya Ganapati



After months of speculation, Apple has unveiled its tablet, called the iPad. The slim, large screen device evokes much of the same user interface as the iPhone, but it’s bigger and has some surprise features including Apple’s own custom chip.
Here’s the rundown on specs and some highlights of the device.
  • The tablet is 0.5 inches thick and weighs 1.5 pounds.
  • It has a 9.7-inch display with 1024 x 768-pixel resolution. It also has capacitive multitouch that’s similar to the iPhone.
  • The device runs Apple’s own processor, a 1-GHz Apple A4 chip — possibly the fruits of of Apple’s $278 million acquisition of PA semiconductor in 2008.
  • The iPad will have 16-GB to 64-GB flash storage.
  • It includes speaker, microphone and accelerometer so you can use the device in both landscape and portrait mode. There’s also a compass.
  • It has up to 10 hours of battery life and one month of standby time.
  • It offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
  • It will include optional 3G access from AT&T. For $30 a month, users can get unlimited data. For iPhone users already crying out in pain about their bondage to the AT&T network, here’s something to sweeten the deal: No contracts are required for the data plan. iPad users can cancel their data connectivity at any time.
  • Unlimited data will cost $30 or users can pay $15 for up to 250 MB of data.
  • The iPad will cost $500 for 16 GB, $600 for 32 GB and $700 for a 64-GB model. But if you want 3G connectivity, add another $130 to the price tag.
It’s worth noting that these specs are nothing like what entrepreneur Jason Calacanis claimed when he tweeted Tuesday night that he had been testing a tablet.
The iPad will start shipping in two months. The 3G models will be available in 90 days.
Despite its gorgeous hardware, the iPad is missing some key features.
  • There’s no camera on the iPad.

  • Though Apple is yet to confirm it, on-stage demos of the device during the launch indicate it might not support Flash. That could mean broken pages and some websites that might be off-limits.

    No multi-tasking. Apple hasn’t commented on this but it looks like the iPad work like the iPhone when it comes to apps. It can run just one app at a time and there’s no background processing.

  • There’s more to the iPad than just this. It will run apps designed for the iPhone, new custom apps and double as an e-book reader.
  • And no GPS. Though the iPad has Google Maps, the lack of GPS means you can’t use it for turn-by-turn navigation or in areas where’s there’s no AT&T connectivity.
For more on this, read our live coverage of the tablet event.
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
Wired