Apple iPad: 10 things you need to know

Posted by Michael Sawh on Wed 27 Jan 2010

Get the low-down on Apple's latest creation

So the Apple iPad it is. After months of speculation we've now got a name, and from the looks of it quite a sharp looking piece of Apple tech to go with it.

Now that the next piece of Apple gadgetry is on the table, what are the features that are going to make this as essential as the iPhone and the iPod?

Apple iPad hotlinks

- Apple iPad spec officially announced

- Apple iPad video: Steve Jobs unveils new tablet

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- Can the Apple iPad iBook Store taken on Amazon?

- Apple iPad: Stephen Fry sings its praises

We've picked out the best iPad features to help you decide whether or not you'll be needing to add the Apple iPad to your current collection of Apple gadget goodies. Read below for the Apple iPad: 10 Things you need to know:

1/ Dimensions

We've got a 9.7-inch full multi-touch capacitive LED touchscreen that is not quite the 10-inch display we had expected, but is not far off. Weighing in at one and a half pounds it's lighter than a netbook and, at just 0.5-inches thin, is a slim thing of beauty as well.

2/ OS and key features

The Apple iPad sports a bespoke iPhone-like OS and will have 3G built in and utilizes a new Micro SIM technology. There is also Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1. Other notable additions include a compass, accelerometer, speaker and microphone. However surprisingly there is no sign of a camera.

3/ Battery life and storage

The Apple iPad should keep powering for 10 hours while quite impressively, it can stay alive for one month in standby mode. On the storage front there is 16GB, 32GB and 64GB flash memory models.

4/ Processor power

Powering the tablet beauty will be an Apple 1GHZ A4 chip. That puts the Apple iPad in line with the Google Nexus One and the Palm Pre, both of which boast the Snapdragon processor.

5/Video playback

Jobs showed off the Apple iPad's movie playback capabilities with movies being displayed in 16:9 widescreen despite the iPad's 4:3 ratio screen. The iPad does not appear to support flash, which is something of a disappointment, but the screen is HD and looks super hi-res.

6/iBooks

The iPad, as expected, packs eReader support, specifically an app called iBooks. While you swipe a finger to turn the pages, the accompanying iBook store gives you the choice of books from Penguin, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan and the Hachette book group. Speculation is that top titles could cost around $14.99. Look out Amazon Kindle we say...

7/ Apps

And so to apps. The good news is that all iPhone apps will work on the Apple iPad. Smartphone apps taken straight from the Apple App Store will run scaled up via "pixel doubling" to fill the iPad screen. Apps will also be made exclusively for the Apple iPad in the App Store.

8/ SDK development kit

Apple has announced the development kit for the Apple iPad, which is available to download from Apple.com now. The iPhone SDK will also support development for the iPad as well, and the SDK includes an iPad simulator to run your iPad apps on a Mac.

9/ Price and plans

iPad pricing starts at $499 (£308) for the 16GB, for the 32GB you'll have to pay $599 (£370) and $699 (£432) for the 64GB model. An extra $130 dollars will get you an iPad with 3G built in. On to the plans front: 250MB of data per month will cost $14.99, and if you want unlimited 3G data, it will set you back a month all of course in the US, from AT&T who are also offering access ot its Wi-Fi network. It's worth noting that it's not on contract, it's available on a monthly basis.

10/ Launch date?

It's a 60-day (around March) wait for iPad-hungry folks across the globe to get their hands on the Wi-FI model, as far as the 3G model goes though, UK fans can expect it it around June time. We will have to wait for network operators to pick up the new Micro SIM (3FF SIM) technology before we can fully get to grips with the Apple iPad.

Link: Apple