GeekTyrant

Leading up to the announcement of Apple’s newest product, the iPad, there was a lot of speculation as to what exactly this tablet device would do. Now that it’s out, the question has been answered… kind of.

In the promotional video that apple released, you get an overview of what this invention does. Here are the selling points.

• Web Surfing
• Reading Books
• Email
• Watching Movies
• Playing games
• Looking at Photos

You may be thinking that all these things can be done on your iPhone, and you’re right. However, there is a distinct difference between the two. Steve Jobs in his presentation explained that the device is “So much more intimate than a laptop, and so much more capable than a smart phone.” He continued by saying, "We have been able to achieve 10 hours of battery life… I can take a flight from San Francisco to Tokyo and watch video the whole way on one charge."

That sounds pretty amazing if you consider the average laptop battery only lasts for about 3 to 4 hours before you have to recharge it. That means you could be reading a book for two hours, looking at the latest articles on GeekTyrant.com for an hour (Shameless plug), and watching a few TV shows and/or movies for the rest of the time. All in all, it sounds like a winner. And although a tablet device isn’t new to the world, what Apple has essentially done with it, and other devices it’s created, is make it sexy and more appealing to the masses.

According to Scott Forstall, Senior Vice President of iPhone Software, the “Ipad is the best way to browse the web, for the same reasons that it just feels right to hold a book, or a magazine, or a newspaper in your hands, as you read them.”

However, whether it feels right is really dependent on the consumer price tag, which is currently set to start at $599 for the 32 GB model, and $699 for the 64GB model. Eventually when the WiFi + 3G models become available in April, Apple said the suggested retail price will be $629 for a 16GB model, 729 for the 32Gb model and 829 for the 64GB model.”

If your raising your clenched fist to the sky asking why it would cost so much for such little storage space, just turn the iPad over and look for the apple logo on the back.

Apple’s e-book store was also announced today. It will be incorporated into the iTunes store. Jobs expressed his respect for Amazon’s innovation, and stated "We're gonna stand on their shoulders and go farther. Five of the largest publishers in the world are supporting us with all their books and we want everyone in there."

This may have Amazon shaking in their boots over the fate of their precious Kindel. Print journalism has seen a huge decline because of the internet, but with Apple backing a device, it may turn reading the news into something cool, which could potentially be an increase in readership with newspapers such as the Washington post, The LA Times or even the New York Times, as well as popular magazines. The kindel’s price is significantly lower then apples iPad, but is a single use device, which in my opinion, spells trouble for Amazon.

The iPad also will bring new applications to the forefront, and that, according to Forstall, will be a “Gold rush for developers”. 

While we don’t know all the bugs and defects that will present themselves when the device is released, we can be sure that Apple will promote this technology and paint it has the hippest thing ever invented… until they come out with the Ipad 2 where an HD camera is integrated into the face of the device, pictures can be drawn on the display directly, and music can be composed or performed live by plugging into an amp. A man can dream.

What does everyone think of the iPad?