Official Review - iPad
So last night (27th January) Apple announced the brand new, highly speculated iPad. As anticipated for several years now, this tablet PC is basically an overweight iPod touch with a dumbed down version of OSX (similar but different to the iPhone).
However! The device looks sensational, the LED screen makes for incredible HD video, the multi-touch functional screen will make navigating through your photo albums extremely easy, and a unit with a screen like this will make reading ebooks a walk in the park compared with the e-ink screens currently available on the kindle, nook, etc.
Shockingly, the iPad does not feature a front (or back) facing camera, which is a huge surprise. Having a front facing camera would make Skype/video calling a breeze with a screen like this, so I’d imagine we’ll see a camera in the 2.0 release (next year?).
I suppose my biggest concern is that I just don’t know what market apple are shooting at. This seems like it could be a laptop replacement for people who don’t do anything beyond basic browsing. The lack of a hard keyboard built in makes it difficult to type excessive amounts which I’d think will be the biggest limitation for large scale business integration. If you use any 3rd party software on a Windows or Mac notebook, you’ll need to wait for app development to take place before you can fully rely on the iPad.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the keyboard based dock Apple have announced. This one single attachment just turned this device from a big iPod touch to a all-in-one (limited) desktop. If (or when) I pick up the iPad, this add on is definitely something I would be grabbing at the same time.
Verdict
I think the iPad will make a fantastic on the road/on the couch media viewing device. I don’t expect that this to be a laptop replacement, or even a netbook replacement as it just doesn’t have the flexibility of a standalone PC. For the average user, this will make a great browsing, email and media portal, and like everything from Apple, people will flock to it.
Tech Spec Wrap-up
Display: 9.7 inch LED
Capacity: 16GB, 32GB or 64GB flash drive
Processor: 1GHz
Wifi: 802.11n
3G: 3G capable
TV and Video: H.264 up to 720p
