TALKING DIGITAL: Inside the iPad

Amid almost unprecedented levels of anticipation amongst the technology community, Apple's chief executive Steve Jobs this morning unveiled his new creation – the iPad.

At the unveiling, Jobs spoke of the desire to create something that sat in between a smartphone and a laptop. He feels a gap exists for a third category of product – a tablet.

"Do we have what it takes to establish a third category of products? An awesome product between the laptop and the smartphone?”, he said. "The bar is pretty high. We think we've got the goods. And because we've shipped so many iPhones and iPod Touches, there are already over 75 million people who know how to use the iPad.”

This is a vital point – the iPad is by no means the first tablet. But it is the first tablet from a consumer electronics company as respected and admired as Apple. The first from a company with an already successful technological and commercial relationship with key software developers, and the first with a simple, easy to use online marketplace.

Jobs didn't hold back, then again, why should he? Proclaiming the iPad "a magical and revolutionary product” and stating that Apple sits at "intersection of technology and liberal arts.”

Bluster aside, the net is buzzing around the iPad. The Apple announcement is occupying the top two spots, and five of the top ten, in Google's Hot Trends, as well as dominating the news sites around the globe. It is top of the page on the NYTimes.com, SMH.com.au, CNN.com, FT.com, Guardian.co.uk, The Economist and Zeit Online. This is some feat, let's not forget US President Barack Obama is about to present his first State of the Union address in only a few hours.

So what do you need to know?

Features

It's light (1.5 pounds), it's small (9.7 inch display), it is internet enabled and features a touch screen. That much most people already knew. It runs on an A4 chip – which is designed by Apple. They are claiming 10 hours battery life (followed by an asterisk of course – will be interesting to see how it stands up to heavy use – particularly around video and internet) and 1000 charges of the battery. The iPad will sync to your PC/laptop using the same 30 pin connection as the iPhone. Jobs: "The face of the product is defined by a single piece of glass…there's no right or wrong way to hold it…it fits me.”

Functionality

Jobs wants the device to be unique – to make an experience better. He stated that: "It just feels right to hold the internet in your hand,” and it appears the iPad builds on how the iPhone has really embraced this approach. They demonstrated a heap of uses – internet, video, gaming, images, document creation, etc – and how they could work on the device. Jobs: "It's got to be better at these key tasks otherwise it has no reason for being. Some people have said: oh, that's a netbook. The problem is netbooks aren't better at anything. They're just cheap laptops.” Take that, Asus and Dell.

Connectivity

As expected the iPad is internet enabled. The base model is Wi-Fi only – not a big issue in the US where free Wi-Fi is plentiful – but not ideal in a territory like Australia. The higher end models have 3G capability as well and Apple has cut a deal with AT&T which allows monthly 3G access starting at $14.99 for 250mb a month and $29.99 for unlimited data – plus free use of all AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots. Could Apple partner with a company like Telstra in Australia and offer a similar plan? It seems Telstra is the only network in Australia that can currently carry a 3G network and Wi-Fi support that would match that of AT&T.

Pricing

Pricing starts $US499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model and moves up to $US829 for the 64GB Wi-Fi and 3G model. Apple is pursuing a similar approach to the MacBook Pro where there are numerous model variants with subtle differences in RAM, features or size. Expect local Australian pricing starting at $600-$700 for the base model and moving to $1100-$1200 for the 3G enabled 64GB. Jobs: "We want to put this in the hands of lots of people." I get the feeling that Jobs is looking for iPhone/iPod type sales volume as opposed to MacBook/MacBook Pro numbers.

Applications

All current iPhone apps will work on the iPad. There wasn't much discussion around additional applications, or custom-made iPad apps, but rest assured these will be coming soon. Jobs: "We're incredibly excited for the opportunity for developers to build amazing apps for the iPad. And as we wait for those apps to come out, we can run all our existing apps on the iPad.” Apple demonstrated briefly an iPad version of EA Games' 'Need For Speed' and also a painting app called Brushes. The New York Times was shown on the device but it was basically the website. The iWork demonstration looked very solid – Apple have built a special version of the software for the iPad.

The media saviour?

Well, not yet. One thing missing from the presentation was much discussion around how the device might work for print media titles in a paid sense. The NYTimes was demonstrated and it looked nice but not revolutionary by any means (to their credit they had two weeks to develop it though). There was no display of what the iPad could do to bridge the function of the net with the content of print media – but like dedicated apps, this will come as developers get their hands on the Apple SDK. Personally, I think this will take some time as it will require a rethink of how content is presented. Also, media companies generally follow user volume – so they may wait to see what the take-up of the device is before investing in a content re-jig. Jobs talked about the iPad e-reader capabilities and deals that had been done to sell e-books via the iTunes store. Jobs on e-Books: "Amazon's done a great job of pioneering this functionality with the Kindle. We're going to stand on their shoulders and go a little further.”

Stock Price

CNN was following Apple's stock price throughout the announcement and noted that prior to Jobs announcing the price point (which was lower than anticipated) the stock had actually dropped by approximately $6. Once the price had been announced the share price rose to just under $210, before closing 0.9 per cent up for the day. Dell stock closed .37 per cent down.

Availability

The Wi-Fi iPad models will be available worldwide in late March (interestingly at the time of writing, the Australian Apple site had not been updated with any iPad information) with the 3G enabled models available in the US and "selected countries” in April.