The Apple iPad is a svelte device, with no extraneous ports, buttons, or dohickeys. Standard Apple Aesthetics. The OS that powers it is based on the iPhone OS, causing the iPhone OS to be updated to 3.2, but multitasking is not activated. So, some specifications:
Size and weight? It is 9.56 inches tall, 7.47 inches wide and a spectacular .5 inc thick. A half inch, that’s right. And that 10″ bit of glass which is aluminum backed is only 1.6 pounds maximum. I say maximum because there are fundamentally two versions: WiFi only, and WiFi+3G. I think there is a sweet spot in the pricing, and that is the 32GB WiFi+3G version, more on that later.
The screen? It is just shy of 10 inches actually, weighing in at 9.7 inches diagonally. The screen is the size of the Kindle. Not the kindle screen, but the entire kindle. So you get that much more real estate on this device to read your full color, full animated, high speed, interactive books, videos, music, applications, etc. You can even create content on this as long as you can pull it from another source before you start since there aren’t any ports to pull data from and interact with on the screen. Except for a familiar iPhone-esque border, the touchscreen is a solid piece of capacitive touch goodness. I will never use a resistive touchscreen again with its buggy edge detection. More on the video later.
Storage? There are 3 different versions as far as sizes go. They are 16, 32, and 64 Gigabytes versions. The sweetspot is going to be 32GB’s since it is the high end of the iPhone which rarely gets filled up in my opinion unless you are a hardcore musicphile. The offsetting factor of that is the screen will encourage HD movie consumption which is not light on size.
What processor powers this? A custom version built by P.A. Semi, that company was purchased by Apple recently and they’ve already pumped out a new processor designed for this application. It is a “1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip” which is probably the reason it is so snappy.
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)
* Data only2
* 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)
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
Accessibility
* Support for playback of closed-captioned content
* VoiceOver screen reader
* Full-screen zoom magnification
* White on black display
* Mono audio
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)
External buttons and controls
* On/Off, Sleep/wake
* Mute
* Volume up/down
* Home
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)
It’s hard to believe we could fit so many great ideas into something so thin.
A large, high-resolution LED-backlit IPS display. An incredibly responsive Multi-Touch screen. And an amazingly powerful Apple-designed chip. All in a design that’s thin and light enough to take anywhere. iPad isn’t just the best device of its kind. It’s a whole new kind of device.
LED-Backlit IPS Display
The high-resolution, 9.7-inch LED-backlit IPS display on iPad is remarkably crisp and vivid. Which makes it perfect for web browsing, watching movies, or viewing photos. With iPad, there is no up or down. It’s designed to show off your content in portrait or landscape orientation with every turn. And because it uses a display technology called IPS (in-plane switching), it has a wide, 178° viewing angle. So you can hold it almost any way you want and still get a brilliant picture, with excellent color and contrast.
Multi-Touch
The Multi-Touch screen on iPad is based on the same revolutionary technology on iPhone. But the technology has been completely reengineered for the larger iPad surface, making it extremely precise and responsive. So whether you’re zooming in on a map, flicking through your photos, or deleting an email, iPad responds with incredible accuracy. And it does just what you want it to.
Thin and Light
One of the first things you’ll notice about iPad is how thin and light it is. The screen is 9.7 inches measured diagonally. So overall, it’s slightly smaller than a magazine. At just 1.5 pounds and 0.5 inch thin,1 you can take it anywhere. And a slight curve to the back makes it easy to pick up and comfortable to hold.
Up to 10 Hours
Battery Life
To maximize battery life, Apple engineers took the same lithium-polymer battery technology they developed for Mac notebook computers and applied it to the iPad. As a result, you can use iPad for up to 10 hours while surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching videos, or listening to music.
Wireless
With built-in 802.11n, iPad takes advantage of the fastest Wi-Fi networks. It automatically locates available Wi-Fi networks, which you can join with a few taps. iPad also comes with Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, letting you connect to devices like wireless headphones or the Apple Wireless Keyboard.
3G
iPad will also be available in a 3G model with superfast data speeds up to 7.2 Mbps.3 So if you’re traveling or you happen to be somewhere without a Wi-Fi network, you can still get a fast connection for surfing the web, downloading email, or getting directions.
Performance
Apple A4 chip.
The A4 chip inside iPad was custom-designed by Apple engineers to be extremely powerful yet extremely power efficient. The performance is unlike anything you’ve ever seen on a touch-based device. Which makes iPad fantastic for everything from productivity apps to games. At the same time, the A4 chip is so power efficient that it helps iPad get up to 10 hours of battery life on a single charge. And iPad is available with a choice of 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB of flash storage4, giving you lots of room for your photos, movies, music, apps, and more.
30-pin connector. Built-in speaker.
Connectivity
The 30-pin connector on the bottom of the iPad allows you to dock and charge it. It also lets you connect to iPad accessories like the Camera Connection Kit and the Keyboard Dock.
Audio
The powerful built-in speaker produces rich, full sound perfect for watching a movie or listening to music. iPad also comes with a headphone jack and a built-in microphone.
Accessories
There are lots of great accessories specifically designed for iPad. The Keyboard Dock, for instance, combines a dock with a full-size keyboard. There’s also a standalone Dock. And because iPad has built-in Bluetooth wireless technology, it works with the Apple Wireless Keyboard, too. The Camera Connection Kit lets you import photos from a camera or SD card. The iPad Case not only protects your iPad, it also allows you to use it in various positions, making it easier to type, look at photos, or watch movies. And through a range of accessories, iPad can play your content on TVs, projectors, and displays. Learn more about iPad accessories in Tech Specs
I took all of this from the Apple iPad site, except where it is obviously my editorial. The next entry will be about the lack of Adobe Flash. In a phrase: “No one misses it.”
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