Apple CEO Steve Jobs officially launched his company’s latest gadget, the iPad, today in a packed auditorium in San Francisco. The long-rumored device, which has actually been in development in one form or another for the past 20 years, won’t actually go on sale for another 60 days, but Jobs gave a live demonstration of the gadget to whet the appetites of the various media reps and corporate execs who were present.
The iPad isn’t the first tablet-style computer to hit the market, but Mr. Jobs is hoping that it will be the first one to do so successfully. Previous attempts at similar devices have failed to ignite much enthusiasm in the marketplace. Indeed, one might say that, unlike Apple’s foray into the cellphone market, which was already well-defined, the iPad is an attempt to set the parameters for the tablet market, much as the iPod did for portable music players.
Jobs believes that the iPad, which he called “so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smart phone,” will capture a segment of the mobile market that has yet to be fully exploited simply because the right product hasn’t come along. Naturally, Apple is making a gamble that the iPad will fill the void. In a typical flare of Jobs hyperbole, the Apple honcho described the device as a “truly magical and revolutionary product.”
The price points for the iPad begin at $499, and will top out at $829. Functions will include Wi-Fi connectivity, and will allow users to play games, read e-mails, surf the web, run spreadsheet and word processing programs, listen to iTunes music, watch movies and read e-books. It has a 9.7 inch screen, weighs 1.5 pounds and is powered by a 1 GHz Apple A4 processer, which Apple is making in-house. Data storage is in the flash drive format, ranging from 16BG to 64GB.
Although the device will be sold “unlocked,” Apple is teaming with AT&T to offer a pre-paid style data plan for $30 per month. AT&T customers who currently bemoan dropped calls caused by overburdened cell networks probably have a shock in store for them, as the amount of data being transmitted over the AT&T grid will increase exponentially if the iPad catches on.
But will it catch on? Obviously Steve Jobs & Co. are gambling that it will. At the demo today in San Francisco, the iPad looked like an iPhone on steroids. The question is, will consumers decide that it does too much for a phone, and not enough for a laptop? Or, like Goldilocks, will they decide that it’s just right?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I think it’s a waste. They said it can’t run multiple apps at the same time so what’s the point? I’d rather buy a netbook that can run multiple apps. I’m sure they will run OS updates for it that some day will allow it to run a word processing and have other apps running in the background. Unless I’ve heard incorrectly. I also am against the 3G option because if you truly need to use the 3G service I’d rather just use my iphone that I already pay for. I have a hard time thinking this will be a huge seller. I suppose time will tell. What’s also interesting is the 1Ghz processor, didn’t they just get the news that Google’s newest phone “Nexus1″ is running the same processor speed? I mean, that iPad is huge, and they could easily fit a larger processor under that hood! Good luck Apple!