For months, there are rumors and speculation about a new toy made by Apple . For months, supporters of the brand will wait with the bitten apple on a tablet computer. Not less than one unit, that trigger the next big hype in the IT industry is. The print media saw that was not already existing product as a possible platform to earn money on the internet. The expectations were incredibly high. And were disappointed.
Yesterday it was finally over. Apple invited to a Keynote: "Come see our latest creation". Steve Jobs, the charismatic " Chief Imaginative Officer , "the visionary and perfectionist, stood on the stage and promises a" magic "product: the iPad
Steve Jobs at the presentation of the iPad. (Photo: iLounge)
Positioned between the iPhone and a MacBook the device appears like a large iPhone with a 9.7-inch display (1024x768 pixels, 132ppi). It is 1.2 cm thick and about 700 g heavy. touchscreen (the iPad as a multi- touch screen) and a virtual keyboard reminiscent of the iPhone. The operating system, and thus the control concept is being used by this device. This allows and the 140,000 applications from the App Store be used on the iPad. Thus, the successful concept of the apps will continue on the iPad.
is surprisingly affordable price. The basic model costs $ 499, the top model (with 64 GB storage and mobile) $ 829th In March, the devices will be able to buy the world without a subscription option. With Mobile Option (Apple calls these models "3G") about a month later.
The bookcase in the iPad (Photo: iLounge)
hardware and software
The processor is a chip developed by Apple for use. This Apple Night of the chip manufacturer. The lithium-polymer battery will provide up to 10 hours of operating time. The model range includes 16 to 64 GB memory with Wi-Fi and optimal mobile connection.
applications for Internet, mail, calendar, contacts, photos and video are integrated, as is a Google Maps-based application and of course an iPod . And of course, access to iTunes on the content offered by Apple is possible. New iBooks is , a platform to download books, there will probably first in the U.S. only. iWork, one for the iPad optimized software suite for writing, calculating and presenting, can be purchased in the App Store.
Revolution
The all awaited, revolutionary new device Apple has not introduced. The iPad is based instead on the proven iPhone with its simple, fluid and consistent use. This also means that a system is not an open iPad. Applications are installed via the App Store. Inahlte on iTunes.
completed by this concept Apple controls the content of an iPad. This is a kind of censorship . On the other hand, by a certain standard of technical quality is ensured. Finally, even the Apple iPad be a perfect system. In this world would Apps malfunctioning, do not follow standards.
But that will iPad a device that everyone must have? It does not replace a smartphone nor a laptop . If the customers buy in bulk, a third mobile system? That remains to be seen.
The large, high-quality display is well suited for games and videos (Photo: iLounge)
minimalism
The iPad is missing some features that are now incorporated as standard in almost any mobile device such as a camera or a USB interface. Apple has not forgotten these things safely and the costs for individual components should not have led to exclusion. Rather, the marketing idea could be: Each year a better iPad bring to market. Even the successful iPhone is classified by the technical equipment rather mediocre and has improved with age. But this is set according to Steve Jobs iPad do that already much better than a smart phone or a laptop. "The best tool for web, email and photos," as Apple claims. But something seems to be missing:
- multitasking. It can not simultaneously run multiple apps . Write a text and research alongside the internet and music ? Stream Can not. An update of the operating system could do wonders here. Maybe Apple has fear that he might suffer the smooth and fluid operation.
- Adobe Flash . A full-fledged Internet browser without Flash ? Although with HMTL5 Flash unnecessary in the future, and today we still need it. But Apple will not. Therefore, many areas remain empty on websites. 75% of all videos on the Internet are based on Flash, as many games. Farmville on the iPad? Currently not.
- camera. A camera need not everybody. But who needs them, they will miss. Snapshots: not possible. Video chat: not possible.
- video quality. For a modern device, which is unlike any other mobile TV, video and presentations, Apple has given up two things: playing high-definition HD -video in best quality (1080p) and no HDMI connector for an external monitor . This can only be connected via a special composite video cables with poor quality.
- USB interface. Data with a USB stick, external hard drive or other computer exchange: not possible. IPad files and documents on iTunes with the synchronized. With an optional Apdapter photos from cameras can be given.
- GPS . The iPad enthältet not a full satellite-based positioning , it requires a cellular connection, which can mean higher costs and / or reduced operating time.
- Open system. The iPad is a closed world. Apple checks the Apps and is on iTunes / iBooks, the primary supplier of content. The exchange of personal data is complicated because it only works on the synchronization with iTunes.
The video for the iPad (Video: Apple)
audience
The question remains, what target group Apple in the visor added. And the answer is quite clear: the multimedia users. The iPad is less suitable to create or edit content. And the system does not replace a laptop and a mobile phone.
stands first, the simple and intuitive eye. This could, as Konrad Lischka writes spiegel.de , reach new user groups who are looking for easy-to-use "everybody's computer."
A high-resolution display in combination with motion sensors and touch-screen. The iPad will shake up the world of mobile games. Sony and Nintendo have no similar unit in the program. And the next time the owner can train a iPads watch a video film in passable image size, which could, in future, more mobile live television.
The Amazon Kindle seems to have at first glance as a pure e-book reader in the cold. But for longer read the display of the Kindle is probably better suited for a longer battery life. Occasional readers would buy the other hand, no Kindle and publishers could do with the apps on the iPad added value to attract new readers. Whether it succeeds remains to be seen.
Do you need an iPad, if you already have a smartphone and a laptop? Probably not. The iPad is from today's perspective, a nice, attractive toys with obvious limitations. Who can live with that is, its fun have.
Whether this can open up new applications in the medium term iPad? Possibly. Apple yesterday announced a hardware platform. Its success rises or falls with the coming applications. Will there be a mass product? Can it attract new target groups? We'll see.
Also the iPhone was criticized three years ago. Today, Apple is the most profitable provider of mobile devices from Sony, Samsung and Nokia. And for safety's sake we have a strained look on the tablet of Google ...
UPDATE:
Frank Schirrmacher wrote in an article in the FAZ about the power Apple and the politics of the iPad. Away from the specifications could change the concept of the iPad familiar forms of communication and are a serious departure from the desktop PC. "The hardware changes the content. The tool of thinking changed." Interesting approach.
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