Apple iPad Press Conference Recap

Sadly, my bum knee and a DMV appointment has me stuck in Los Angeles instead of at the Apple press conference in San Francisco. The good news is that I’ll scour various web sites for presser information so that you don’t have to! Keep refreshing this page for current information on the iPad, iLife, iPhone 4.0, and other surprises Apple has in store.

– It’s nice to have Steve Jobs headlining the pressers again. Even reading second-hand reactions, I can tell that his followers are thrilled to have him back. He’s older and skinnier than before, but he looks pretty strong. Here’s a photo (above) from Engadget.

– Jobs goes over a bunch of retail and sales numbers. Guess what? Apple is making lots of money!

– Jobs wants to introduce a device that’s better than a laptop for somethings and better than a smartphone for other things. He disses netbooks as not being better than anything. Zing.

– It’s called the iPad! You can read/watch RPad in the iPad! Score!!! Check out the two photos below from Gizmodo.

– Things you can do on the iPad: web browse, look at photos, navigate maps, watch YouTube in HD, buy stuff from iTunes — so far it looks like the rumored “iPhone on steroids”.

– The aspect ratio looks kind of funky. From the photos, it doesn’t appear to be 16:9 or 4:3. It’s closer to the latter. I guess the designers thought the form factor was better. *shrug*

– When Jobs went to the NY Times web site, it appeared that the Flash was unavailable. Sorry N8R!

– I’m still waiting on the unique features of the iPad. So far it’s just a bigger iPhone/iPod Touch. It better have compelling original features to justify the (presumably high) price tag. (P.S. I’m sure it will have unique features. Steve is just warming it up.)

– A bunch of my friends at the event have reported that the WiFi at the venue is sucking big time. My other friends with Sprint and Verizon 3G cards are laughing at them.

– Specs! The iPad is .5 inches thin and weights 1.5 pounds. It sports a 9.7-inch IPS display with full multitouch support. It’s powered by Apple’s own silicon — a  1GHz A4 CPU. It will be available in 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models.

– Other goodies include 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, microphone (yay Skype!), and ten-hour battery.

– Scott Forstall has taken over the presser. He’s the VP of iPhone Software.

– Current iPhone and iPod Touch apps can be transferred to the iPad. The new SDK gives developers tools to take advantage of the iPad.

– Forstall showed off a bunch of apps, including a native Facebook app and a snowmobile game. The latter looked smooth, but rather generic. I guess it was fine for demo purposes.

– Gameloft dude shows of a native version of Nova. The larger screen and gesture controls could make for some interesting games.

– The NY Times is next. Can the iPad “save” newspapers in a way that Amazon’s Kindle couldn’t? The NY Times app looks pretty slick, but if I have to pay a subscription….

– Steve Sprang is about to show off Brushes, a popular drawing app for iPhone that’s getting the Mark McGwire treatment. I suck at art so this is  perfect time to pee.

– EA is showing off Need for Speed. It looks good, but I can’t imagine driving with finger gestures. Then again, I don’t have a license at the moment. Ha! Here’s a photo below from Gizmodo.

– Are people going to call the 64GB version of the iPad the “Maxi” Pad? Oh crap, people can refer to my longer PadCasts as MaxiPadCasts. Damn it.

– My friend Zak at 2K brought up an excellent point. Where does the virtual d-pad go?

– MLB is showing off its app. I dunno about this one. It looks kind of goofy and I love baseball.

– A-ha! Jobs has announced iBooks! This could be one of the iPad’s killer features.

– Here’s some info on IPS screens, for those of you that are interested. I’m still not sure about reading for an extended period on the iPad. E-ink is excellent for this.

– Book partners include Penguin, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, MacMillan, and Hachette. The iTunes Store will have a special book section. I wonder if Apple will suddenly block the Amazon Kindle app for iPhone. Ha!\

– The iPad will run iWork! Jobs asked the iWork team to develop an iPad compatible version a year ago (so he claims). A productivity suite is pretty huge.

– SVP Phil Schiller (aka Jobs’ understudy) is explaining iWorks for iPad. It must be kind of weird going from headliner to understudy…but he’s Phil, not Steve.

– So far iWork is pretty awesome, but it better be cheap for come free with the iPad. Otherwise I’d just stick to Google Apps. Btw, does anyone use Google Apps on Safari? Does it work well enough?

– Another question is how comfortable typing will be on the iPad. Wouldn’t excessive typing on a hard surface with no give lead to more repetitive-stress injuries?

– My Twitter friend Amanda just said, “If it doesn’t run flash, it can’t surf the web. It’s the iPadlock. Thanks Apple!” That cracked me up.

– Each iWork app will cost $9.99. That’s $29.97 for all three, unless there’s a bundle discount. I dunno….

– Data plans are through AT&T. It’s $29.99 for unlimited Internets and $14.99 for 250MB of Internets. You also get free AT&T WiFi for when the network craps out. The best news is that no contract is required.

– All iPad 3G models are unlocked and use microSIMs.

– Prices start at $499!!! That’s lower than most were predicting.

– If the 64GB model is priced reasonably, anyone want to buy my 32GB iPhone 3GS? Ha!!!

– Here’s the pricing chart from Engadget.

– For those of you that can’t see the chart, the 3G models cost more. For the WiFi-only models it’s $499, $599, and $699 for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, respectively. For the WiFi + 3G models it’s $629, $729, and $829. WiFi models are shipping in 60 days. 3G models are shipping in 90 days.

– There’s a dock/keyboard accessory. That looks incredibly useful.

– Did anyone else notice the lack of a camera? Or did I miss something? No special iChat functionality?

– I think Apple will do well with the 16GB models. They seem like great netbook alternatives (with the keyboard accessory). The 64GB model with 3G seems too expensive. At the point, just get a MacBook, no? Anyway, I’m going to give it more thought and write something about it all later. For now, I’m going to jump into the comments section with you guys!

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

62 thoughts on “Apple iPad Press Conference Recap”

  2. it's the iPad! It looks pretty sweet! I wish i could take pics from the video feed on cnet but i'm at work. I'm sure Rpad will have those later.

  11. @rpad

    Sorry! Just too excited and Shockwave wanted the link. I didn't want to be a tech info hog.

  14. RPAd: I’m still waiting on the unique features of the iPad. So far it’s just a bigger iPhone/iPod Touch. It better have compelling original features to justify the (presumably high) price tag.

    I agree completely

  16. @shockwave

    I think the device will flop if you can only install software from their App store.

  18. @shockwave

    Yeah Jobs it still warming up. They just announced some tech specs on cnet right now

    @Rpad

    yeah cnet is saying that a lot of live blogs are down right now.

  20. @smartguy – I don't have a good reason to have this and an iPhone yet, side note – I thought I saw 3 USB ports on the bottom of the device in one of the photos

  22. @Smartguy I completely agree. So far it's just bigger and presumably more expensive.

    The highlight so far is Jobs saying, "Netbooks aren't better than anything."

  24. @smartguy – ya I saw that but there are 3 slots on the bottom end near the right side, the 30 pin is in the center

  27. @smartguy – shame, gaming could be a lot better with the use of a controller or a keyboard at home

  29. well books in the iPad is definitely new, I wonder how it is on the eyes. my gf would dig that, she's been contemplating a kindle

  30. I think they are saving more surprises here, it's odd they are rushing through all the demos

  33. @Rpad – pretty cool, definitely something new but not something I know I'd use, I use Office on my Mac not iWork

  34. besides, I've heard nothing about iPad being on a wireless network. if that's the case why don't I just do this stuff on my home computer or laptop. I can't even imagine how I could take this thing with me everywhere i go

  35. I do like that the iWork apps are $10 each, certainly a nice alternative to work. I assume iWork apps are compatible with MS Office?

  36. @Ray

    I have iWork. The presentation and text suites are fine, but take a pass on the spreadsheet

  39. I don't know, I already get unlimited data for $30 per month. 250MB seems pretty small for 15

  40. I thought for sure the iPad would be on Verizon… this has me doubting a verizon iphone in June/July.

  41. Lol, wtg apple. Noboby will pay for a phone and netbook that are so similar. Cannibalizing sales.

  45. $30/mo for unlimited internet is a steal compared to $60/mo (with 5Gb limit) for tethering and for LaptopConnect cards.

  46. @Slicky – I'm with you in part, this doesn't have near the functionality of a Laptop.

  49. @Rpad – I guess I was just expecting something closer to OSX software. it is impressive. I can understand how you'd want one considering your iphone is just for play. if Verizon doesn't get an iPhone this summer maybe it is time to switch to VZ and just get an iPad. totally not worth it to get 3G though. it sucks

  50. @slicky

    That is a great deal for at&t internet. I wonder if this means they are going to reduce the price for usb/laptop connect cards. Also, love the Beaker (muppet) avatar.

  51. @Shockwave562 As a productivity device, I think the 16GB model is pretty compelling (with the keyboard accessory). It's cheap. The OS is light so it boots quickly and can be put in standby for instant-on. You can work on iWork or Google Apps.

  52. Also I was hoping to hear about iPhone 4.0 Software. guess I'll have to hold out. I don't see myself getting the iPad just yet. I'd to see it in action, I'd also like to know how bulky it is

  53. @Rpad- that is pretty cool, I think college kids would kill to get a tablet and keyboard accessory.

  55. @tokz_21

    It is a great deal. One can only hope this brings all internet price down, but somehow I don't see it happening. AT&T seems to just be asking for network overload by offering something with larger storage and cheap unlimited internet.

    and thanks on the Beaker (it was a toss up between him and Fozzie)

  56. Only a matter of time before someone hacks the ipad and makes it truly worth buying. Tether my phone to the ipad? Hell yes. Multitasking? Hell yes.

  57. This thing is more useless than a netbook actually. Netbooks are more durable, almost non-proprietary, and let you install what you want. This thing is a waste with the need of the app store to run apps.

    I couldn't use this in college as a book replacement. My tax classes always allow us to use an IRS codebook on tests. If it were electronic then I couldn't use it. I can't even use my iPhone with a financial calc app to take tests.

  58. This device so far is VERY underwhelming. I have an iphone that can do this stuff. I don’t want to twist and turn a damn (possible 1k+) machine with an accelerometer. The fact that there is an app store and no USB port on this really kills it for me. I’ll stick with my MacBook.

    This device would have to be no more expensive than an unsubbed Iphone to get me to buy it. So far anyway.

  60. you know, this iPad has me wondering if I should trade the iPhone for one, my phone does everything except make calls, so does the ipad *looking at you, ATT*

  61. Pingback: Today’s Poll: Do You Want an Apple iPad? | RPad.TV -- Raymond Padilla & friends talk games and geek culture

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