Apple iPad confirmed – shipping worldwide in March
Apple has finally confirmed the Tablet we've all been waiting for, and after all the speculation, it's going to be called the iPad.
Looking very much like a blown up iPhone as rumoured, Steve Jobs took to the stage describing the iPad as being optimised for browsing, email, photos, video, music games and ebooks.
Specwise, it'll be 0.5-inches thick, weigh in at 1.5lbs, have a 9.7-inch screen, a speedy 1GHz specially-designed Apple chip and a choice of 16, 32 or 64GB on-board storage.
There will also be up to 10 hours battery life with over a month on standby, Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity, accelerometer, speakers and microphone.
There will also be a 3G-capable version, but you'll have to fork out more and pay a montly subscription.
Jobs confirmed US pricing as being $499, $599 or $699 for the Wifi-only 16, 32 and 64GB versions. If you want 3G you'll have to add on another $120 to each model – so $629, $729 and $829 respectively.
That will be on top of the monthly subscription confirmed for the US as 250MB/month for $14.99 or unlimited for $29.99. International data prices are not confirmed yet but expected to be firmed up by June.
Looking towards apps, and not only will the iPhone SDK be expanded to allow developers to make apps specifically for the iPad from today, but the iPad will also beable to run iPhone apps directly out of the box.
To make up for the difference in size, you'll be able to double up the pixels if you want to use the app in full screen – or choose to use them in their original size. How this will look in practice, remains to be seen.
Finally, there will be accessories available for the iPad that will make it easier to use in different circumstances.
If you're using it at home a lot, the keyboard dock may prove handy, which will ultimately turn the iPad into a screen to work alongside a physical keyboard.
There will also be a case to protect your iPad on-the-go, but which will fold open to work as a stand for the device, which would be handy for when watching movies and the like.
As for when we can expect it – the Wifi-only version will launch Stateside in March with the 3G version following in April. Considering international data deals are still up in the air we expect we won't see it until a bit later – boo.
The event is still going, so we'll bring you more as we get it.
UPDATE:
We knew we could expect to see the 3G version of the iPad in the UK sometime in June once data deals are done, but TechCrunch has had it confirmed that the Wifi-only version will be shipping worldwide in March. Now we just need that UK pricing...
MORE iPAD STUFF:
Gallery: hands on with the Apple iPad
First impressions of the Apple iPad
Apple iPad – what we wanted, what we got
Comments
Jimsmells
2 years ago
Is it wrong if I preffered the fake images of the Ipad than this...
RandomJunk
2 years ago
How exciting I'm sure it'll have loads of memory, GPS, front camera for Skype... oh, wait a minute....
fez89
2 years ago
The amount of hype around this has ruined the launch for me...Its great but expectation was TOO high...stupid media speculation
kacey68
2 years ago
Looks great and more importantly, the UI seems fantastic. I wouldnt wanna take it out though. An indoor machine for me only. Glad they did both 3G and non 3G tooI like the iBook feature, perhaps it might make me read more books - ebooks.
alistairkb
2 years ago
cheeky cow, you steve jobs........ have officially just failed
grahamthompson1978
2 years ago
I want one!!! I don't need it and have very little use for it but I want one!!! Jony Ive and Steve Jobs have done it again - it might not have everything but boy does it look good and do the things it does very well indeed!!!
Tom J
2 years ago
looks nice but i agree that the most of the mock ups looked better. the fact that it has a the iphone type flashless safari has ruined it for me , if its the best way to view the web why not let it view the whole web , if it supports channel 4 player and itv catch up as well as iPlayer i will have a re think. very disappointing
paw3001
2 years ago
Yawn...Why would anyone need this when it's just a stretched iPhone. Rather have a netbook and browse with flash
Snib
2 years ago
Due in time for summer? Ain't no need for me to stash one in my luggage.
hillrhys
2 years ago
i've done a hell of a lot of blogging about this iPad. Check out http://technokratos.blogspot.com/
OwenDarko
2 years ago
Where did Apple Announce June 2010? It was announced as worldwide shipping in 60 days..which is end of March isn't it?
niallw2101
2 years ago
I predict a sharp rise in the sale of man bags.
niallw2101
2 years ago
I predict a sharp rise in the sale of man bags.
Joda Cast
2 years ago
No flash? No multi-tasking? No camera? No usb port?
I think the hype was to much. Was expecting something much better than a big Ipod.
dolph452
2 years ago
After so much hype and speculation, I haven't got the words to express my.....disappointment?
It does LESS than my iPhone, and is hardly the missing link it was proclaimed to be.
"The large Multi-Touch screen on iPad lets you see web pages as they were meant to be seen"....my ***. Where's the flash support?
It's so shite, I can't even be bothered to discuss how shite I feel it is. If someone buys me one, I'll be putting it on eBay.
DanielPrice
2 years ago
Okay Look at apple's line up. It's all high prices and high quality. The more features the greater the cost. Apple have tried to make a quality product that matches the price of a netbook. Apple do what Apple do best. They make solid, desirable, and unique pieces of technology. Give them a break
fez89
2 years ago
DanielPrice I agree but I would have paid more for a decent Apple Tablet...If it had half of what was rumoured and was sold for $799-$999 even more maybe it would have revitalised the crap tablet market and people would have still bought it. Going on a budget to build a niche product is not right and Apple are great when they know most of their Mac customers can afford expensive hardware and build specifically with them in mind. Going for the cheapo market and you will get a device that lacks the pazazz, the ooh la la that the iPhone gave...
James_
2 years ago
Could this be the I-flop?
No flash, no upgradable memory, no front camera, no thanks.
As for me, I'm just going to hold my iphone much closer to my face - job done.