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First impressions review of the Apple iPad tablet device, based on initial launch data.
Formally announced on 27 Jan 2010, here are some first thoughts on the Apple iPad tablet device.
What is an iPad?
Put simply it is an oversized iPod Touch. A lot of people will describe it as an oversized iPhone, but since there is no telephony or 3G involved in the base model, the iPod Touch comparison is more correct.
How much bigger is the iPad compared to an iPod Touch?
3 times wider, just over 2 times taller, just over 50% deeper, and 6 times the weight. Here are some pictures to illustrate this...
  
How can it be 9 times the volume (3x2x1.5) and only 6 times the weight?
Presumably there is some empty space inside. The weight calculation is based on the 680g weight of the base model, there is a 3G model which is slightly heavier at 730g. But with this empty space it does beg the question why did Apple need to provide such a big left and right border around the iPad's screen, couldn't they have squeezed out a smaller model more similar in aspect ratio to the iPhone?
What's this iPad comparison in iPhone sizes?
Since the iPhone is 5mm taller, 0.2 mm wider, 3.8 mm deeper, and 20g heavier than the iPod Touch, the iPad is 3 times wider, just over 2 times taller, just over 9% deeper, and 5 times the weight of an iPhone.
| Device | Height | Width | Depth | Weight | | iPod Touch | 110mm | 61.8mm | 8.5mm | 115g | | iPhone | 115mm | 62mm | 12.3m | 135g | | iPad | 242.8mm | 189.7mm | 13.4mm | 680g |
Whereas the iPod Touch has a 3.5 inch diagonal screen ( 480 x 320 pixels ), the Apple iPad has a 9.7inch diagonal screen ( 1024 x 768 pixels ).
Hold on, I thought the iPod Touch and iPhone screen was a higher resolution
People think this because when they browse websites, they see quite wide websites designed for higher resolution monitors like 800, 1024, or 1280 wide monitors fitting nicely on their iPhone. This is because the Apple Safari website browser scales (shrinks) them down.
But is the iPad similar to the iPod Touch?
Yes, the iPad is very similar to the iPod Touch. Similar operating system iPhone OS, similar internal spec, slightly beefed up, similar solid state storage sizes (starting from 16GB, to 32GB, to 64GB), similar but more powerful ARM-based processor as the iPod Touch and iPhone, and since the iPod Touch 1st and 2nd generation had 128MB DRAM, then the 3rd generation had 512MB DRAM, the iPad will probably have either 512MB or more likely 1GB of DRAM memory (Apple don't say much about the internal memory of their devices).
The iPad has slightly better Wifi, N rather than G, to support the downloading of better quality higher resolution video. iPod Touch and iPhone apps will run on it, possibly with their display output enlarged by a factor of 2. This has been done before, when the Sharp GX20 mobile phone doubled its screen size, it was able to run Java apps designed for the Sharp GX10 by doubling up.
Like its smaller cousins, the iPad will be very much a single tasking system. No windows or multi-tasking despite having a larger screen. In that respect it is almost going back to the DOS days of computing for such a large screen, but this is not so bad, it is a good compromise to make for the hardware. There will be some music multi-tasking. Like the iPod, you should still be able to listen to your digital music collection whilst surfing the net, something that some high-end Windows PCs still have trouble doing.
Unlike its smaller cousins, the iPad will have other applications that turn it into a more serious device like a special version of iWork software, Apple's business productivity answer to MS Office/MS Works, including word processor, spreadsheet, presentations. But unless you are Mac through and through, I cannot help feeling that this wont compete with the Windows 7 nebooks out there that can run MS Office or OpenOffice, or the Linux netbooks that can run OpenOffice. For a lot of people they might be thinking... "why do I have to learn a different package to what I use on my PC?"
How much does the iPad cost?
US pricing has already been announced and prices will start from $499, but UK pricing will not be announced until the launch date. It certainly wont be cheaper than the US, it never is. Even if there is a straight exchange rate price difference, $499 is currently £309. Comparing Amazon US and UK prices for the iPod Touch, and taking into account current exchange rate, we end up paying 25% more than US customers for the same product. If the same applies to the iPad then we could be looking at £386 for an iPad, although personally I think they would be mad to sell it for more than £350 - since £350 is usually the lowest cut off point where you can get a decent laptop, e.g. an Acer Aspire 5332 Intel Celeron Dual Core T3000 3GB RAM 250GB HD Windows 7 Premium 15.6 inch 1366 x 768 pixel resolution screen laptop costs £349 from Tescos.
Is the iPad a smartbook?
The iPad is not a smartbook according to my definition of a smartbook, as in something that sits between a phone and a netbook in terms of pricing. Its price puts it more in the netbook category.
Any other comments about the iPad?
My first thoughts are that the onscreen keyboard my be a red herring. Will it be more both hands touch type friendly? How many people type into their laptop with the laptop screen hinged horizontally in line with the keyboard? Perhaps we will adapt to it. There is also an external keyboard and stand available, but when you add up those extras you are probably in the laptop price category anyway.
Flash still isn't making an appearance in the iPad's Safari browser, just like it didn't in the iPod Touch or iPhone. Apple could implement this, they are just digging their heels in, hoping that websites will switch to Quicktime, which they wont. If anything, the iPad might be good news for this issue. Personally I do not think that the iPad will be the success that Apple hopes for, I do not think it will be as well received as they think, and this might finally make Apple sit up and get Flash working in the iPad and its smaller cousins. Getting Flash on such a device should not be an impossible task, iPhone games show how powerful these devices are, and I even have Flash (Lite) on my Nokia 5800 mobile phone's browser, which is a sub-£150 (T-Mobile PAYG) Nokia Series 60 Arm device.
When will the iPad be released in the UK?
March 2010
How do I get an iPad before then?
Settle for the poor man's iPad, buy a video audio connector lead for your iPod Touch and connect it to your telly or monitor.
Overall verdict of the iPad?
I loved the iPod Touch when it first came out late 2007. I thought it was so innovative at the time that it was almost like handling alien technology. I also thought it would be nice to have a bigger version for web browsing. Having a bigger version of the iPod Touch, i.e. the iPad might be better for living room web surfers, but perhaps they have made it too big, sacrificing portability. Perhaps some people will think, if only I had a smaller version of my iPad, one I could carry in my pocket, which brings us full circle back to the iPod Touch. Personally, I think the iPod Touch will still remain the winner, the big seller, the mass-market device out of the two, especially now that the 3rd Generation 8GB iPod Touch is available on Amazon for £141.
And for that price, if the iPad is between £309 but more likely £350 or more, that Acer laptop from Tescos look very appealing.
Apple iPad Review by Paul Ireland, 27 Jan 2010
This article is copyright Abstract Worlds Ltd 2010 - you do not have permission to reproduce, or cut or paste, this article onto any other website, forum or any other electronic or printed media.
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