The Apple iPad

It seems as though Apple is just always coming up with something new. All the time, there's some new phone, computer, or mp3 player which they have made and is getting two thumbs up from everyone. Continuing this legacy is the new Apple iPad, a big touchscreen tablet which many say to be the big brother of the iPhone. The iPad has attracted much attention, and everyone is wondering what it can do, how much it costs, and what's next in line to amaze Apple fans.

First of all, the iPad is not an actual computer, it's more like a cross between a laptop and an iPhone. It can do everything that an iPhone can do, minus the phone part, plus it has a lot of added extras which work well with it's large, 9.7 inch LED display. The iPad weighs just 1.5 pounds. It comes with three different options for memory: 16, 32, and 64 gigabytes. It runs a custon 1GHz Apple "A4" chip, and has a ten hour battery life (a month in standby). The iPad also has wi-fi, and you can get an optiona wi-fi plus 3G iPad, with a 3G subscription, of course (provided by At&t).

The iPad is totally touchscreen, which makes it very easy to use and manipulate. If you've ever used an iPod touch or iPhone, then you know exactly what it's like. If you don't care as much for the touch screen keyboard, then you can hook up your own through the iPad's connection. The iPad also has ports so you can sync it to your computer and iPod/iPhone, as well as connect your camera to download pictures. The iPad also comes with Bluetooth can also run all of your favourite iPhone/iPod apps, either in normal resolution or twice as large.

Still, it's not all just fun and games for Apple's new iPad. The company has also just announced an edition of its iWork software for the device. This would include versions of Pages, Numbers and Keynote that have been "completely reimagined for iPad," and will be available individually for $9.99 apiece, and are each basically what you'd expect from iPad versions of the desktop applications. One thing which is seen as a majour drawback for the iPad(as well as with the iPhone and iPod touch) is that it cannot use Adobe Flash, which is used for viewing alot of media...but most people still see this as a small price to pay for such a neat-o device.

Speaking of a small price to pay, you'll probably be surprised at the iPad's price. It starts at only $499, which is for the 16gb memory and only wi-fi. If you want to get really fancy, though, you can end up paying as much as $829, not including 3G costs. For those of you with alot of extra cash to burn through, there's always the diamond encrusted iPad, which will run you in the neighbourhood of $20, 000. Apparently, the relatively low cost of the iPad has caused many people to buy, buy, buy. The first day people could order the device, orders were coming in at 25, 000 and hour! At the end of that day, the iPad had brought in 120, 000 sales. This number, of course, didn't last long, as the newness of the product died down. As Daniel Tello called it, "pure overexcited fanboism." The number of sales now has died down alot, but Apple is still bringing in a good number of orders.

When can all of these people expect to get their iPads? People who ordered their iPad without 3G can expect theirs around April third. Those who opted for the more expensive 3G version will have to wait longer, until the end of April, to get theirs. If you're thinking about getting one yourself, it may be wise to wait and see what all of these people think of the new iPad before spending your hard-earned cash on what could be a total flop. Then again, the iPad could prove to be the wave of the future...only time will tell.