ArcticFuzz.DK

iPad – new feminin hygiene product or tablet pc?

January 28, 2010 on 12:35 am | In Blog | No Comments

Well Apple seams to think it’s a tablet PC. At least they announced it today at a special event in San Francisco, California USA. But honestly that name! Ewww…. But despite the name and the associations that you might get from it, this is actually one of the coolest units I’ve seen so far in the netbook/tablet-pc marked so far.

But let’s take a look at what it actually is.

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) Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously Wireless and Cellular Wi-Fi model Wi-Fi (802.11 a/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 (802.11 a/b/g/n) Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology Capacity3 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 x 768 with Dock Connector to VGA adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Composite A/V Cable, 576i and 480i with Apple Composite A/V 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 Battery and Power4 Built-in 25Whr 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)

From these data it looks on pair with an Intel Atom 270 based system, maybe a bit slower, but then again, this will run Apple’s own OS, based on Snow Leopard, just like the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

Already now they have some accessories out for it, like sleves and a keyboard with stand so you can use it as a normal desktop computer. But what I find most interesting is not the hardware. Well the hardware is good and it is apple, so it looks nice and all, but the specs can easily be found in other netbooks and tablets too. No it’s the software and how you work on the machine that will make this stand out in the crowed. Multi-tuch like we know it from the iPhone and iPod Touch makes it really easy to get things done and the on screen keyboard is pretty good too, from what I have experienced from my iPhone. You do get use to this with time. But the addition of iWork for the new device, will really make a difference. Now you have a real notepad with you around. Now I hear you say that you already have that ability on other tablets with Windows and MS Office. Well yeah, but don’t you just hate that pen you always got to go for? Here you don’t have that to worry about, but can just drag things around as easy as if it was physically on your desk in front of you. That is what will change things.

Well do /I/ want one? No. I can’t see that well and I somehow doubt that even with accessibility that Apple do have, that I will be able to really get much use out of it. But if my job asks me to test one? Sure I will be glad to try it out.