Apple iPad – Are you buying?

At today’s highly-anticipated media event, Apple finally announced the tablet device they’ve been working for years and years, the Apple iPad, featuring a 9.7′ LED-backlit, IPS display (in-plane switching) with resolution of 1024 x 768 plus flash storage of 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB It should be no surprised to anyone that the iPad’s day has come, even though one could expect more or less!

Hardware
iPad equipped with a custom-designed yet low-power 1 GHz “Apple A4″ chip which gives very fast performance (reviewed by Gizmodo). It weighs in at 1.5 pounds and is 0.5-inch thin (slightly thicker than iPhone 3GS). First hands-on by Engadget and Gizmodo said: it’s lightweight, it’s thin, and it’s beautiful. The screen is crisp and gorgeous, feels like a giant iPhone

In terms of standard connectivity, the iPad offers Wi-Fi (802.11n) and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, with 3G models also offering cellular data connectivity. All iPad models have an accelerometer, compass, speakers, a microphone, and a 30-pin dock connector. No USB, no camrea, no HDMI, no DVI, not even a Mini DisplayPort The iPad also offers a claimed 10 hours of battery life for viewing video, with 1 month of standby battery life.

Software
The iPad runs iPhone OS 3.2 with built-in standard apps for personal information management, including Address Book, Calendar, E-mail, Safari, Google Maps, and Notes. A special version of iTunes and iWork are on board to provide an optimized experience on the device’s 9.7-inch screen. Apple also unveiled new app called iBooks featuring a 3D virtual bookshelf with a user’s personal collection. It will contains a link to the iBookstore which allows users to purchase and download books from a variety of publishers.

Other apps can be brought from Apple Online Store, just like how you download and sync for iPhone before.


Note: there will be no multitasking at all, which mean no video streaming while you are working on iPad. No Flash too. And the iBooks app might work only in the US

Pricing
Depends on model and capacity, the iPad starts from $ 499. Models with 3G will be unlocked and will be able to use GSM micro SIMs. In the U.S., AT&T will offer two data plan options – $14.99 for up to 250MB/month and $29.99/month for unlimited data. No contract is required for either option, and free access to AT&T’s Wi-Fi hot spots is included. Data packages for iPad users outside of the U.S. will by in place by June.

Accessories include dock, case, connection kits:

The iPad first edition is obviously neither a netbook killer nor a tablet for work, you are likely buying a big iPod Touch + Kindle indeed. It’s not a wow for me too. The next revision might have multitasking, but it’s yet to come. Personally I would feel my eyes now are on the 32Gb Wifi iPad ^^ Whether Steve’s true about ‘the most advanced technology in a magical and revolutionary device at an unbelievable price‘ or not, we need to wait till late March for worldwide availability to confirm

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