"Sales figures show that a whopping 300,000 iPads were sold on the release date in the US and dozens of young celebs have since been seen clutching them – the new must-have accessory."
Rosie Khdir, 22nd September 2010
Apple’s iPad is the tablet that has been causing a mighty stir in the technology world this year. We at PC Site find out whether it is worthy of the hype.
Sales figures show that a whopping 300,000 iPads were sold on the release date in the US and dozens of young celebs have since been seen clutching them – the new must-have accessory.
So has this tablet lived up to its surrounding hype or is it effectively just a really big iPod Touch?
What we like best
Firstly – and as an Apple standard – it is a very good-looking machine. Sleek edges and small and thin, sporting a 9.7 inch diagonal screen and a thickness, or rather thinness, of 0.5 inches. It is rather light too, only weighing 70 Kg.
You can get two different versions of the iPad the Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi + 3G for extra connectivity (but at an extra charge of course). The Wi-Fi model comes with built-in 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR. The 3G model ensures you stay online no matter where you are, giving you speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps.
The aspect of this device that really took me back was the crisp picture. The LED-backlit glossy multi-touch display is roughly the same size as one you will find on a netbook and has a rather impressive 1024 x 786 pixel resolution.
You can choose between a 16 Gb, 32 Gb, or 64 Gb flash drive, depending on how much you are willing to fork out, and each one comes with a 1 GHz Apple A4 processor that is based on ARM technology.
Battery life is another essential for this device, as it is has been trumped for its portability. Apple claims that the iPad can last up to 10 hours, even with video playback and during heavy use, has even stuck it out for 6 hours!
What we like least
Firstly, the lack of Flash is really irritating. If you are a regular user of Flash websites, the iPad will not please you on this front.
Although the back of the device is slightly rounded to make for easy picking-up, I don’t feel as though this is a gadget for those with butterfingers. It’s sleek design, although a really positive can prove to be a negative when it comes to keeping you hands on it.
Finally, the iPad has no webcam?! This is a tad ridiculous when most smartphones have both back and front-facing cameras. Apple, you fell short here.
So it turns out all those Apple fanatics were right, the iPad is a very pretty, very portable machine. It is fast, stylish and comes with some great apps, but is not ideal for those looking for a portable PC.
Failing those suggestions, you could take a look at:
The iPad will launch in the UK at the end of April, propelling Steve Job’s company from strength to strength. So, asks John Hillman, what happens next?
Where next for Apple?
The beginning of this year saw one of the most remarkable examples of product hype to have ever taken place. All thanks to the Apple iPad.
Even before the New Year’s Day hangover had a chance to wear off, the Internet went into information overdrive with speculation, gossip and rumour, and no-one even knew for sure what any of it was all about.
That was until Steve Jobs finally stood up, on the 27th January, and announced the release of the iPad tablet.
The iPad will be on sale, here in the UK, at the end of April, and the huge number of Apple fan boys means that commercial success is pretty much guaranteed, if not on quite the same colossal scale as the iPhone or iPod.
Indeed, from the iPod to the Mac Book Pro, there are few other product makers out there that inspire as much brand loyalty as Apple does. Now, thanks to that tremendous success, they sit on top of the technological world with an estimated $40 billion in the bank. So it begs the question, what will they do next?
Apple buys Adobe
This is a rumour that’s been doing the rounds for quite a while now, and it’s easy to see why. If ever two brands were synonymous it would be Apple and Adobe (they even sound like a duo, don’t they?).
Adobe Creative Suite and Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Final Cut Studio, Adobe Audition; these are the software programmes that, along with Apple Macs and iMacs, lie behind every creative Industry from Radio 2 to Condé Nast to Hollywood. Creatives and designers everywhere would welcome the merger but the more pragmatic observer will probably just laugh it off.
In spite of the close ties between Apple Mac users and Adobe design software (even the most popular app on the iPhone is Adobe Photoshop) and the fact that many believe Adobe would greatly benefit from an innovative liaison with Apple, the fact remains that Adobe software is as integral to local government PC users in Stoke as it is to Apple iMac loving graphic designers in Soho.
Adobe Acrobat 9 currently outsells the entire Adobe Creative Suite. The PDF software is used in just about every office in the UK across business, health, education and government. It is the biggest product Adobe makes, and is used primarily by PCs. This is hardly Apple’s area of interest, although this may well be a good business reason in itself.
Apple buys Sony
This might sound mad at first (and yes, they really are that rich) but when you think about what they stand to gain it begins to make real sense.
They would have an easy way into the PC market, which thanks to the Sony VAIO Series will be one occupying a similarly prestigious space as Apple. They will also get their creative mitts on a whole range of electronics, cameras and gadgets.
On top of this they will also get Ericsson mobile and, crucially, Columbia Pictures and Music, giving them one of the world’s biggest film studios and one of the world’s biggest record companies; lots and lots of first rate original content for the iPad, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV…exciting stuff indeed.
So could either of these things really happen? Or will Steve Jobs just stick to doing what he does best and come back in a few years time with another mind bogglingly cool creation? Maybe, who knows? The speculation’s going to be fun though.
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