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Apple unveils “iPad” tablet PC
Apple Inc. on Wednesday finally unveiled its highly anticipated and much-rumored “iPad” tablet PC, which is quite similar to Apple’s iPod Touch and iPhone in functionality.
by Priyanka - January 28, 2010 - comments
According to Apple, its “iPad” tablet computer will symbolize a whole new class of consumer-electronic devices that are ideal for surfing Internet, watching videos and reading electronic books.
Reportedly, “iPad” that will start selling at $499 features 9.7-inch color display touch-screen, with 10-hour long battery life and is preloaded with 140,000 apps in its iTunes App Store.
Apple's CEO Steve Jobs said during the event that “iPad” will change the way books are read.
Major publishers including News Corp's (NWSA.O) HarperCollins, Pearson's (PSON.L) Penguin, Lagardere's (LAGA.PA) Hachette Book Group and CBS Corp.'s (CBS.N) Simon & Schuster MacMillan will be offering their books on “iPad.”
Apple’s “iPad” possible Kindle killer?
During the presentation of the new device “iPad,” Jobs demonstrated the new bookstore application “iBooks” that features a virtual “book shelf.”
"You can carry literally thousands of books around," Jobs said.
According to Seth Jayson, a senior technology analyst at Motley Fool, "Reading books on computer screens is not what people have wanted to do. It's horrible on the eyes. I doubt this will be the Kindle killer anyone predicted. I have my doubts that people at Amazon are too worried about this.”
Though Amazon spokesman did not comment on whether they think “iPad” can threaten the Kindle or not, they said via an e-mail that the users soon would be able to sync their Kindle books with Apple’s iPad.
Some industry experts also believe that since Apple is known to set technology trends “iPad” would not be a failure.
Steve Hasker, president of Media Products, a company that tracks media usage said, "The fact that this device is being released by Apple does indeed matter. It will create much more consumer adoption than previous tablet-like devices."
Activity on Internet choked during Apple’s announcement
Excitement over the release of Apple’s new device was so great that several sites covering the Apple event live were inaccessible during the “iPad” revelation.
Many users on Twitter reported that well-known tech blog sites like Engadget and Gizdmodo were also inaccessible, making them miss some parts of the highly anticipated Apple event.
According to the reports, Web broadcaster Leo Laporte’s live audio stream of events also crashed the very moment Apple was about to unveil the “iPad.”
Even Internet service providers like UK’s ‘Level1 Internet Services’ told users that the attention generated by the imminent launch of “iPad” is pretty much choking the entire Internet.
"Apple iPad launch still slowing down the Internet. Popular web sites are slow to load, and e-mails still taking longer to deliver," the company said in its released statement.