What is iPad?

The iPad is a tablet computer which is expected to be a breakthrough product developed by Apple. It features multi-touch interaction with print, video, photo, and audio multimedia, internet browsing, e-mail messaging, eBook reading, and runs most iPhone OS apps.

What does iPad look like (really) ?

There you go – pictures from actual product photography all over this page. Also, see right below to watch Apple’s iPad advertorial video in Flash video format. If you are viewing this on an iPhone, you may want to go to Apple’s iPad web page to see the video in QuickTime format.

iPad’s Technical Specs Overview

The device has an LED-backlit 9.7-inch (25 cm) color LCD display and uses a virtual keyboard for text input. Its operating system is expected to be called iOS in the near future while currently it is strictly based on the iPhone OS therefore capable of running most iPhone apps.

iPad Pricing

iPad prices for models in the United States range from $499 to $829 depending on the amount of storage and inclusion of 3G access.

• Prices in U.S. dollars. International pricing will be announced at a later date.
• 3G data plan sold separately.

When will iPad be shipping?

Wi-Fi models shipping in late March.
3G models shipping in April.

iPad’s Complete Technical Specifications

Size and weight

Height:

9.56 inches (242.8 mm)

Width:

7.47 inches (189.7 mm)

Depth:

0.5 inch (13.4 mm)

Weight:

• 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) Wi-Fi model;
• 1.6 pounds (0.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model

Display

• 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
• 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
• Ability to play HD movies up to 720p
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Support for display of multiple languages and special characters simultaneously

Capacity

• 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive

Processor

• 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip

Sensors

• Accelerometer
• Ambient light sensor

Audio playback

• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
• Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
• User-configurable maximum volume limit

TV and video

• Support for 1024 by 768 pixels with Dock Connector to VGA Adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite Cable
• H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Mail attachment support

• Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

Languages

• Language support for English, French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian
• Keyboard support for English (U.S.) English (UK), French (France, Canada), German, Japanese (QWERTY), Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian
• Dictionary support for English (U.S.), English (UK), French, French (Canadian), French (Swiss), German, Japanese, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian

Battery and power

• Built-in 25 Whr rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
• Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Input and output

• Dock connector
• 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
• Built-in speakers
• Microphone
• SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model only)

Wireless and cellular

Wi-Fi model

• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Wi-Fi + 3G model

• UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Location

• Wi-Fi
• Digital compass
• Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
• Cellular (Wi-Fi + 3G model)

Accessibility

• Support for playback of closed-captioned content
• VoiceOver screen reader
• Full-screen zoom magnification
• White on black display
• Mono audio

In the Box

• iPad
• Dock Connector to USB Cable
• 10W USB Power Adapter
• Documentation

Mac system requirements

• Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
• Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later
• iTunes 9.0 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
• iTunes Store account
• Internet access

Windows system requirements

• PC with USB 2.0 port
• Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
• iTunes 9.0 or later (free download from www.itunes.com/download)
• iTunes Store account
• Internet access

Environmental requirements

• Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
• Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
• Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
• Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

Information on this page about the iPad is based on the product info published on Apple’s web site on Jan 27th, 2010.

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Stereo Headset with Built-in Microphone and Click / Hold Button for Apple iPhone – Ear Cusions Included (White)

Related posts:

1. Apple’s new Tablet Device iPad Unveiled
2. Apple’s Announcement of January 27th featuring the iPad
3. Using a 27-inch iMac as an external display

Apple's New Home Page Jan 27, '10

Time will show if tonight’s announcement, which is due in about an hour from as of this writing, will mark some milestone in the history of computing, electronics, technology, etc.

Apple’s home page theme has – most probably intentionally – not been updated for a couple of months now – not even on Christmas or the new year unlike before. I’m sure they will replace the main theme which has been showing off the big iMac screen displaying Star Trek with the new long awaited innovative Tablet device what we tend to call the iPad and we are yet to learn whether it’s really called iPad or iSlate or what-so-else-ever.

You can view the announcement / keynote video here:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

A “compte-rendu” of the event, featuring the details about the tablet device, possible 2010 upgrade of iLife, the new iPhone OS 4.0 which will probably be called something like iOS (a cut-down-to-size version of Mac OS X for iPhone, iPod Touch) plus the iTablet, and the new Mac Intel chips.

Related posts:

1. Apple’s new Tablet Device iPad Unveiled
2. All the mysteries of Apple’s Tablet Unlocked: Ladies & Gentlemen, the iPad

Photo courtesy of Engadget.com

Apple is yet to announce a new tablet device on January 27th, 2010. The long-awaited device which gossibers called names such as Touchbook, iTablet, iSlate and iPad, etc, according to Steve Jobs, is the most significant invention of Apple in this century.

Over the recent years, despite the ever-growing popularity of the NetBook market over the existing portable computer market in which Apple has highly popular notebook products such as the MacBook and MacBook Pro, Apple had declined to enter the Netbook arena. Instead, Apple chose to develop a new tablet product which was thought to resemble Amazon’s mono-chrome eBook reader Kindle or so suggested the ongoing rumors, especially after the success of its smart phone-hand-held mini-computer combo iPhone and iPod touch.  A more recent report by Macrumors stated that Apple was working closely with the New York Times and some book publishers on an eBook reader app – obviously targeted for the new tablet device – and maybe for iPhone and iPod Touch as well.

Due to certain ongoing legal issues, the name of this new tablet device was uncertain at the time of the drafting of this article, but the last two enduring candidates for the device name were iSlate or iPad – the latter of which is most likely to be announced tomorrow.

What good is an iPad for?

With an iPad, you can read eBooks, eMagazines, e-publishings, etc, play 3D games (like those on the PC and the PSP), surf the Internet, watch TV and videos in HD, do word processing, spreadsheets, page layout and animated presentations using the iPad version of Apple’s iWork software which is a simpler and easier-to-use rival of Microsoft’s Office software. iPad makes use of both wi-fi and 3G for connectivity.

iPad Photos

The wi-fi only model of iPad (very identical to Wi-Fi + 3G models)

A lot of rumors, speculations and gossips kept going on about what the iPad was going to be like as well as many concept illustrations were found all over the Internet.

You can view some of them below:

The iPad Concept Art and Photography

Related posts:

1. Apple’s Announcement of January 27th featuring the iPad
2. All the mysteries of Apple’s Tablet Unlocked: Ladies & Gentlemen, the iPad

According to Engadget(.com) GeForce GTX 285 graphics accelerator card will be available for Macs the beginning of this summer (expected to be shipping June 2009).

The GeForce GTX 285 takes DirectX 10 to gaming beyond HD with a top of 2560×1600 resolution.

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