Well, it’s here. And it’s pretty much exactly what we thought it would be.
This morning Steve Jobs, complete in his blue-jeans-and-black-turtle-neck employee uniform, unveiled the iPad. He has called it his passion project, something that he believed would become one of his legacy projects and contributions. And man, how sweet it is.
Apple has stated that it wants to be in the intersection of “technology and liberal arts,” and this is a great start. More than just an electronic reader, the iPad uses the OS of the iPhone to deliver both a reader and a viewer in one swoop. According the the press conference this morning, it will ship in 60 days, and will retail for about $499 for the 16GB model. The best part? There’s no contract for the data plan, it’s all prepaid. The cost for the data plan? $29.99 for a month of unlimited data space.
What does this thing come with? Well, iTunes access for one, with a player that’s a hybrid of the iTunes and iPhone version. It also has Bluetooth, speaker capabilities, and a compass. Which is hilarious if you think about it. I mean, the iPad would be the world’s largest compass. If you find yourself in a situation where you’re relying on the compass of the iPad to get you back to civilization, you’ve done something wrong.
Scratch that, if you find yourself in that situation, email your story immediately to the Manolith staff – because that thing deserves to be published.
The big publishers have already signed on to provide content for the iPad, in the biggest act of no-duh ever witnessed by the industry. Harper Collins, McGraw-Hill, and Hatchet are all on board. We’ll have more about that later today.
The only downside to the announcement? CNBC contributor who remarked that the name iPad reminded them of a feminine product. Really? What are you, twelve?
So there we go, the next game changer from Apple. Oh, what ever will they think of next?
(Image via: Crunch Gear)
hmmn. does at&t allow iphones to have data plans only and no voice? all i really want is a tiny entertainment/multi-media gadget that can surf the web. for talking/txting/emailing, i prefer my blackberry. plus at&t coverage sucks.