Apple unveils the iPad – at last – and it's $499
All the naysayers can feel free to eat their hats. Today Apple finally revealed the device we’ve all been whispering about for a good year or more. The Sasquatch of gadgets is real. We’ll update this with all the details as they happen; in the meantime, follow our live coverage.
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Looks like a big iPhone to us.
- 1GHz Apple A4 processor (custom)
- 0.5″ thick
- 1.5 pounds
- 9.7″ Capacitive touchscreen (1024×768)
- 16-64GB of SSD storage
- 3G available but not in all iPads
- $14.99 for 250MB, $29.99 for unlimited data on AT&T (no contract)
- 3G iPads are unlocked, have GSM micro SIMs
- Accelerometer, Compass
- 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1
- Runs iPhone apps in window or pixel doubling
- Hardware-accelerated OpenGL graphics
- SDK out today
- $499 for 16GB base model, $830 for all maxed out
- Dock with hard keyboard available
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There’s a very custom interface that I won’t bother describing — we’ll put video here as soon as Apple puts it up. Needless to say it’s very good looking. Prices start at $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, $699 for 64GB. Adding 3G costs $130.
We’re seeing lots of great-looking apps from the live coverage of the event, including 3D games, a really sweet-looking calendar, a nice email app, and a New York Times app that looks really stunning.
Concerns, though:
- No camera so no video chat
- Limited space — 64GB may be a lot for an iPod, but when you’ve got movies and such, it’ll disappear real fast
- Multitasking?
- No SD or multi-card reader means that’s all the storage you get
- It’s obviously no more customizable than the iPhone
- iPod dock connection only means no easy connection of USB devices
Our minds all just got blown by the $499 starting price, though. I was thinking way more for sure. Nice move, Apple.
Update: Apple’s video and our first hands-on.
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