Apple iPad: Rumored Apple tablet machine finally launched

Whatever you were waiting for, you can stop dreaming now because Steve Jobs just made the Apple iPad a reality — straight from fanboi wet dreams. At the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, at around 10 in the morning, he unveiled the iPad. Mark this date, you geeks — January 27 — for this may be a date where Apple changed the game once again, or launched a flop of a machine.

Since we couldn’t be there at the launch and sip tea/coffee and eat doughnuts with everybody else, we got a little help (ok, a LOT of help) from Gizmodo.com. So we bring you, the iPad. Viola!

The Apple iPad - Finally

Find and read the full post at Gizmodo.com.

Wait, we have to post this pic, too:

Steve Jobs and the iPad - He looks like a happy camper

The world has been waiting for it, and now it’s finally here. The Apple iPad is a tablet-type, multi-touch enabled portable system aimed by Apple to engage users on a multimedia/leisure/semi-utility level. MacPCWiz is here to give you the lowdown on Jobs’ newest Cupertino baby.

What makes it tick?

Size, shape: This is intended to be a bi-directional tablet (Pad!) , so aspect ratio is closer a bit to 4:3 — it is not widescreen, as you will find out later. The bezel is thick, but that’s because you have to hold it in your hand. It’s .5 inches thick, which is a tad thicker than an iPhone 3GS, measures 9.56 x 7.47 inches, and weighs 1.5 pounds without 3G, and 1.6 with.

Multitouch screen: This tablet’s (Pad!) screen measures 9.7 inches across. Smaller than the smallest MacBook, way bigger than an iPhone. The resolution is a highly viewable 1024 x 768.

It's here and it's thin

What’s inside: It’s got a 1GHz Apple ARM A4 chip, and you have a choice of 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of flash storage. It’s also loaded with 802.11 n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, a 30-pin iPod connector, a speaker, a microphone, an accelerometer and a compass. Video output runs through and iPhone-type composite adapter at up to 576p and through a dock-to-VGA adapter at up to 1024 x 768. However, you Mac geeks should know that there is no HDMI, no DVI, no Mini DisplayPort — some of the things you might be used to.

3G is optional, and costs more (through AT&T). Along with 3G, the upgraded models include A-GPS.

And… NO CAMERA. Back or front. No camera. Boo.

The power supply: Apple’s making some bold claims about battery life: ten hours for constant use, with a one-month standby rating. Ten hours of constant use includes video viewing, so you could fly from San Francisco to… Tokyo, watch films ALL THE WAY. You can watch at least 5 good length films before it conks out. Nice, huh? If, they can deliver, that is.

That's a keyboard, guys, and from what we hear, actually usable.

The OS: The OS on this tablet (Pad!) is based on iPhone OS, that is not surprising at all. iPhone OS is is in turn loosely based on OS X. It’s got the same feel as an iPhone, and you iPhone addicts might feel strangely at home with the somewhat similar interface.

What this ACTUALLY means, in terms you geeks would understand, is that the UI is on a “run-one-app-only” basis. You hear that? No multi-tasking.

What we LIKE about it

• It’s feature-rich, and with a connection to the same App Store that iPhone has, a potential to have a LOT more features. Already, it can run apps from the App Store unmodified, so we’re seeing potential for growth and usage that way.

• It’s FAST. No, really. This is what most people notice when they got their hands on it. No lags, no waits — unlike the iPhone. Even the switch from horizontal to vertical is snappy as can be. Good on you, Cupertino boys.

• The virtual QWERTY keyboard is actually usable, because it is almost life-size, although it still reminds us of the iPhone keyboard.

• Music, photo, and email integration is seems very seamless — they put a lot of work into that. Again, iPhone users will have no difficulties getting comfortable with it.

Steve Jobs demoed watching Star Trek on the iPad

EA also demoed a version of Need for Speed on the iPad

Photo credits to Gizmodo.com.

Photos of the launch here at Gizmodo’s Live Blog of the launch event.

• Great resolution for games and videos, even in HD. Multimedia will always be a highlight for a leisure gadget like this, and we’re glad to tell you that the resolution for games and movies are very much OK.

What we DON’T like

• NO MULTITASKING. In our opinion, this is one of the biggest oversights on the iPad. It is a huge deal-breaker for people who want to use it as a netbook/laptop replacement. Not being able to listen to music while you browse, or not being able to switch to your email inbox while watching a movie — all of these things become a big flaw for something touted to reduce the viability of the netbook. (ed.: We will wait for HP and Dell’s tablet and see if they are any better on a PC/Windows structure)

• No EXPANSION PORTS. Boo. We here at MacPCWiz are big on accessories and expansion devices. Apparently, the iPad has only one expansion port, and it functions much like an iPhone’s. Apple is actually shipping an SD adapter, a USB adapter, a Video-out adapter, aside from its normal charging cord. Right no, room for an external hard drive or a USB DVD drive.

• No FLASH (Adobe) support on the browser. This is another big oversight, as streaming video is part and parcel of any net-enabled citizen. The iPad has a separate app for YouTube, but users will be sad to know they can’t stream video from the Safari Mobile browser included. We truly are surprised why this was not a shoo-in feature for a browsing/leisure device.

• While the App Store actually adds potential functionality, a closed app ecosystem will eventually hamper the growth of the device. Say you want to try anopther browser for the iPad — I’m sorry, not possible. Get what we mean? It’s just so… APPLE, that way.

• And lastly, the name – iPad – kinda surprised they didn’t go with iSlate here. MaxiPad jokes are already making its rounds.

Apple will formally start shipping in 2 months, so we might still see soome improvement here, but otherwise, this is the tablet (Pad!) we’ve all been waiting for. Jury’s still out on whether MacPCWiz actually likes it.

More iPad eye-candy for you.