It’s basically just a larger iPod Touch with available 3G cellular data internet.
The Breakdown
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The highs:
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- Larger screen, new UI enhancements
- Runs iPhone apps as well as native apps
- iBooks app that reads Amazon Kindle ebook format (among others)
- VoiceOver screen reader
- Split-screen mail app
- Enhanced calendar app
- Bluetooth for connecting with a wireless keyboard
- Month-to-month 3G cellular data plans (no contracts)
The lows:
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- Month-to-month 3G cellular data plans (no contracts)
- Subsidized price for a cellular contract would have been nice
- Better yet, iPhone tethering would have been even better
- Disappointing mail app
- No word on a unified mail inbox. Have several mail accounts? You’ll need to check each Inbox separately
- No mail rules
- No integration between mail and calendar (e.g. select a date from an email and create a calendar event from it)
- No camera (front-facing or back)
- No multitasking
- No configurable lock screen
- Large bezel on all sides
Summary
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I see this as being a device for people who plop down on the couch, browse the web and check their email. In other words, the $499 model (16GB WiFi only) is perfect for your wife.
The highs are definitely nice and well-suited for a device this size. The UI is familiar to those with an iPhone/iPod Touch and it can run the same applications. You can either keep the app’s original scale or zoom it to fill the screen. While it’s nice to have that app library available, it’s a stopgap until the iPad app library can take off.
The iBooks app and the inclusion of Amazon Kindle books in the iTunes music/video/app/book store basically kills the need for a stand-alone ebook reader device. Unless, that is, you do a ton of reading and prefer the passive e-paper display to reduce eye strain. Having VoiceOver read the book to you is also a great addition (if it is allowed).
Split-screen Mail is nice when reading through several items. The new Calendar looks great for organization-centered people. Unfortunately, they aren’t integrated like their sibling applications on the Mac are.
Connecting a wireless keyboard to the iPad over Bluetooth is PARAMOUNT to the device! That feature solves some of the input problems inherent in touch-screen devices. It also opens the way to having cases with built-in keyboards (like the HTC Advantage). I’d like to see wired keyboards, too, that connect to the dock port so that I don’t have to monitor battery life on a second item. Also, would it be too much to ask to put mouse support in there, too (wireless and wired)?
The month-to-month 3G cellular data plan is a double-edged sword. This form factor does well with an always-on internet connection. The problems are that it eats battery life, and it’s still tied to AT&T. Apple is still under a 3-year contract with AT&T to provide exclusive rights to iPhone sales. Once that is up this summer, I’d be willing to bet that there will be a new iPhone version that supports any carrier. When that happens, the iPad will probably come in Verizon flavor, too. That aside, a 3G subscription would help drive the initial prices of the device down. $829 for the high-end model could go for $499 with a 2-year data plan.
Even better than built-in 3G would be iPhone tethering. AT&T promised this, but STILL hasn’t delivered it. Tethering an iPad and an iPhone would propel sales of the WiFi-only iPad.
No camera? The iPod Nano has a VIDEO camera, yet the iPod Touch and the iPad don’t? Having a rear-facing camera for taking photos on such a large device is forgivable, but having a front-facing camera for video chats and photobooth trickery would be nice.
No multitasking is really disappointing. It’s understandable given the new Apple-built processor, but it keeps the device in the “bigger iPhone” category. They might as well call it the iPod Touch DX. If it had multitasking, it would nearly be a laptop replacement.
Having 9.7 inches of screen that displays nothing but a background image when the device is locked is ridiculous. Show me mail preview, upcoming calendar events, etc. And bring that to the iPhone, too.
There is also an inch-wide bezel around the screen. While I understand the design of that (for gripping the device without touching the screen), it makes it look like an LCD picture frame.
Me? I’ll wait to see how the second version works, just like I did with the iPhone. Of course, I haven’t played with the device, but first impressions are key with gadgets. I usually give a device three tries before actually taking the plunge.
