The Apple iPad - Anand's Analysis
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 27, 2010 5:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
The Basics
I’ll say that the iPad isn’t the sort of revolutionary device it was hyped to be. It’s impossible to meet the expectations that were thrust upon the device. Some of that is Apple’s own fault. By being so secretive, the world tends to assume that anything is possible - especially from a company that not too long ago revolutionized the smartphone market. While the iPhone was nicknamed the Jesus Phone, I’m not sure the same label fits the iPad. In part because it is a brand new device for a brand new market segment, not an improved version of an existing product.
In fact, Apple doesn’t have as good of a track record in this department. Far more often we see Apple perfecting a particular device rather than diving head first into a new market segment. That’s not to say it won’t be successful. There’s always the iPod to look back on.
The basics are as follows. The iPad runs the iPhone OS, in this case 3.2. Presumably when the iPhone OS gets updated, so will the iPad OS. The UI is obviously tailored to the larger screen, which measures 9.7” diagonally.
The iPad (WiFi) dimensions. Amazon's Kindle 2 measures in at 8" x 5.3" x 0.36"
The interface is strictly touch. You have four physical buttons: power/sleep switch, mute button, volume up/down and an iPhone-style home button. There’s no correct orientation, the OS uses an accelerometer to figure out how you’re holding it and orients the UI accordingly.
Apple says that nearly 100% of the applications for the iPhone in the App Store will run on the iPad. There are some new applications that Apple is shipping with the device. The entire iWork suite has been ported to the iPad giving you a way to create/view/edit Pages/Word documents, Numbers/Excel spreadsheets and Keynote/Powerpoint presentations.
There’s an email app, a browser, calendar, maps, iPod and all of the basic apps you’d expect. WiFi (802.11n) is supported on all devices while an extra $130 will get you an unlocked 3G version with a microSIM slot. AT&T is the carrier of choice with two dataplan options: $14.99 a month for 250MB of downloads, or unlimited for $29.99. WiFi access at AT&T hotspots is free and there’s no contract required, this is all month to month.
Storage is not expandable and comes in the way of flash. The entry level model comes with 16GB of presumably MLC NAND flash and you can get up to 64GB. The pricing structure is below:
| Apple iPad | 16GB | 32GB | 64GB |
| WiFi | $499 | $599 | $699 |
| 3G | $629 | $729 | $829 |
Availability for the non-3G models is 60 days and 90 days for the 3G enabled devices.
The 3G version of the iPad has a microSIM card slot
From Apple’s demonstrations and the video that’s now live on the site, it appears that the iPad is a great couch surfing device. It looks like a giant iPhone/iPod Touch and appears to be just as snappy. The same can be said for reading and responding to emails. If it works the way Apple portrays it, the iPad appears to be a great device for casually browsing the web, email and watching videos.
Apple is also trying to capitalize on the eBook market by giving the iPad access to Apple’s own eBook store. While I doubt it can pull Kindles away from die hard users, it may open the segment up to more users than Amazon could.
The real question is whether or not the device will function as a productivity device as well.
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autoboy - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
I've got a powerful notebook connected to real monitors I take between home and work, my blackberry on the go, and my netbook around the house and when I'm traveling.Yes the netbook sacrifices performance while traveling, but it is a full PC when I need it, and a long lasting casual web browser when I'm on the couch. Because the iPad is just an upscaled iPhone, it will never be able to replace my notebook while traveling. The netbook can. So, instead of carrying a heavy notebook with limited battery, my phone, AND a iPad for casual entertainment, I can carry just my phone and my netbook while only losing a bit of all out performance.
NullSubroutine - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
I'm going to have to agree with you about wondering this is going to fit in peoples lives. Personally I have a powerful desktop and a once top of the line 17" laptop, I don't have a smart phone or such device as I don't travel or move around all that much, nor do I have a workplace that would sync will with it.I do have a PSP (slim 2000) I use for occasional trips, so I can watch movies, listen to music, or play some games. For me this device could be something that could fit well because I don't have a very mobile laptop nor a smart phone.
However it doesn't take the place of my portable media device, as it doesn't watch movies outside of the iTunes store, and can't display its graphics to a larger screen (like a laptop could). To me this devices sacrifices far too many qualities (really it is versatility) with low end laptops or net books while not really enhancing what current things do. It really is just a bigger screened iTouch/iPhone, which really doesn't appeal to me.
What this needs is more multimedia capabilities. More connections, ports, software support (or allow developers to add more) for file types, and playback of something more than just 720p content.
ltcommanderdata - Thursday, January 28, 2010 - link
If it's anything like iPods or iPhones, then multimedia content doesn't have to come from the iTunes Store. It should be able to play non-iTunes Store music or video although some re-encoding might be necessary.The iPad now actually has officially sanctioned external monitor capability as part of the SDK from early reports. You'll need the proper cable to connect to the dock though.
OBLAMA2009 - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
the tablet format does have some appeal for internet surfing. just not having to fold a laptop open makes you more likely to use it for light surfing. but it still needs mobile wireless and a faster boot upOBLAMA2009 - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
o phuck they are offering att wireless 3g for 15 a month or 30 unlimited. that is a pretty good deal. maybe this thing will sell, but ill still wait for the ipad s versiondeputc26 - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
Given it has 20.833x the battery capacity of the iPhone, I'm going to go ahead and guess that the IPS screen is a huge e- hog. Especially if speculation that the A4 is a 45nm single-core chip is correct. (and Apple would have said if it was dual core I think). Waiting for the OLED model with 15hr bat life.deputc26 - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
Edit: Nice write up Anand, exactly what I was hoping you'd cover, really just verified I hadn't missed anything, the SOC was the big question for myself as well.autoboy - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
Agreed. Thanks Anand. Always a pleasure to read your opinion. But, I have to disagree somewhat. This post was really easy on my netbook while listening to pandora and editing my word documents.gusc3669 - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
The product seems to have potential (in future versions, perhaps). While this may appeal to couch potatoes everywhere (myself included), without actually seeing in its full glory, it seems too much like an expensive, high-end netbook. Perhaps it will be able to run some better apps once they are designed for it or be used instead of a textbook in classes. I'll just have to wait (a few years) and see.Lonyo - Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - link
There's a just under $500 Netbook out there called the Asus Eee T91.It's a netbook, but its also a tablet.
Given that the $500 price point is hittable by existing netbook tablets which run a full OS with multitasking capability, it doesn't really seem unreasonable that going forward there will be more products in this class.
Also with the one month standby time, I expect my regular laptop might be able to get close to that with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Using hybrid sleep they can wake up instantly from sleep mode and be instantly ready. I would assume that a function like that would be workable into the iPhone OS for the tablet, and basically have a similar function.
Given the fact that it doesn't really need to be on, unlike a phone which needs to be ready to take calls etc, it seems like an off bt with power to RAM type mode would make sense to give tremendous standby time.