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The Apple iPad is official

January 14th, 2010

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Steve Jobs finally unleashed a brand new Apple product, the iPad. As expected, it is a slate tablet running on a similar OS as the iPod touch and iPhone, and sporting a multitouch display with a single home button.

Apple iPad specifications:

* Custom 1GHz Apple A4 processor
* 9.7-inch multitouch capacitive display
* 16/32/64GB SSD
* 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, accelerometer, integrated compass
* Optional 3G
* 10-hour battery life
* 12.7mm thick
* 681g weight

Of particular note is the screen, which uses IPS (in-plane switching) technology. This is normally found in high-end monitors, which offers extended viewing angles and rich colors. iWork is also available, though you’ll need to fork out US$9.99 for each app (US$30 for the full package). The starting price for the 16GB iPad without 3G connectivity is US$499, US$599 for 32GB and US$699 for 64GB. The 3G versions cost US$130 more.

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Five Things You Should Know About The iPad

January 13th, 2010

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1. Product availability
According to Apple, the non-3G version of the iPad will be available internationally in 60 days. The 3G version (which we think most people will be interested in) ships to the US in 90 days. When announcing the AT&T deals for the US, Jobs mentioned that international deals will come in the June/July time frame. So, how soon you can get your hands on the HSDPA-enabled iPad will depend on negotiations between Apple and your local mobile operators. This brings us to the next point, the SIM card.

2. The Micro SIM standard is not prevalent here
The iPad uses a smaller version of the GSM SIM card called the Micro SIM. Aside from the iPad, there aren’t any other consumer products that utilize the format. We called a Singapore operator to find out what its plans are for the Micro SIM. According to the spokesperson, there are no plans to introduce this smaller SIM card, but if the telco wants to, providing a Micro SIM to customers for use on the iPad shouldn’t be difficult.

3. Price
Apple’s spokesperson was not able to comment on local pricing of the iPad in Asia. But given that this is not an operator-subsidized product, its price shouldn’t be too different from what it costs in the US. Let’s take the base US$499 version as an example. That’s S$700 or 16,547 Thai baht at the current exchange rate. Factor in taxes and a slight premium (Apple products generally cost less in their home country), and we reckon the iPad will go for about S$799 in Singapore and 18,900 baht in Thailand,.

4. iBooks not available in Asia
One of the biggest features of the iPad is its iBooks app which will let you buy e-books. This makes the Apple slate potentially capable of replacing a dedicated e-book reader such as the Amazon Kindle. The bad news for us here in Asia is that, currently, the iBookstore is available only in the US (see footnote on Apple iPad features page). This is not too surprising as even Amazon has not tied down deals with publishers to sell e-books everywhere–for instance, its e-book store isn’t accessible to those in Singapore and Malaysia.

Whether this impasse will be a long-term one (like the iTunes music store) or something that will get sorted out soon is a mystery for now. Just don’t get your hopes up too high if you live in Asia.

5. Language options
If you look at the specifications of the iPad, carefully, you will notice it doesn’t support as many languages as the iPhone. Some notable omissions that would affect users in our region are Thai, Indonesian and Malay. This may get sorted out as the iPhone OS for the iPad gets updated. But if you need one of those languages, check the specs page carefully before buying an iPad when it becomes available.

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iPad’s First Accessories With Keyboard Dock

January 11th, 2010

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The first is the iPad Dock that lets you dock and charge the device, allowing it to stand so it can function as a photo frame as well. The second, and probably most useful of the three, is a keyboard dock. This gives a full QWERTY keyboard for touch typing while charging the iPad and will let users thump out long documents without having to rely on the virtual onscreen keypad. The last one is a carrying case which can be folded to let the iPad stand on a table for watching videos. If there’s one thing you can be sure about Apple products, it’s that there will be a flood of third-party accessories very soon. One of the things we hope to see soon is a foldable portable keyboard like the Stowaway model popular during Palm’s heyday.

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