Apple iPad Tablet RELEASED: PICTURES, REVIEWS Of New Tablet

The iPad is official! Check out iPad pictures, then read early iPad reviews. Send us tips and photos at [e-mail].

UPDATED 2/1/2010 2:14 PM ET: The Apple iPad may ship with a webcam, writes Wired.

The Business Insider has more Apple iPad rumors, and claims a Verizon source said that Apple is working with Verizon on a version of the Apple iPad.

UPDATED 1/28/2010 12:08 PM ET: What are the iPad's features--and what is it missing? Check out 13 things you need to know about the iPad.

UPDATED 1/28/2010 8:38 AM ET: The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg has shared his first impressions of the new iPad.

He writes,

While all sorts of commentators were focusing on how much Apple�s new $499 iPad tablet computer looks like an oversized iPhone, the key to whether it can be the first multi-function tablet to win wide public acceptance probably lies in whether consumers perceive it as a suitable replacement for a laptop in key scenarios. And that, in my view, depends heavily on the software and services that flow through its handsome little body.

Mossberg describes the iPad as a hybrid between a laptop and a smartphone. Although he notes that the iPad is "more than just a giant iPod Touch or iPhone, even though it looks like one" he still wonders: "will that be enough to get consumers to shell out for it, and make it part of their daily lives?" What do you think?

He also reports that Apple's iPad partnership with AT&T elicited strong reactions from the audience attending Apple's announcement: "there were groans and boos among Mr. Jobs� otherwise excited audience when this [partnership] was announced."

UPDATED 1/27/2010 6:20 PM ET: Check out our guide (with photos!) to the coolest new iPad features.

UPDATED 1/27/2010 5:25 PM ET: The biggest criticism of the iPad so far has been its name.

The web and Twitterverse are abuzz with snide, incredulous, and critical comments--and many, many comparisons between the new Tablet and feminine hygiene products.

'iMaxipad,' 'iPeriod,' and 'iTampon' were trending topics on Twitter shortly after the iPad announcement (see screenshot below).

Fast Company observes,

But it was the females in the crowd who read more into Apple's menstrual pun. They seemed to think Apple's name was indicative of a male-helmed team oblivious to the fact that they were pushing an insensitively-named product. "Surely no women were involved in naming it the iPad" was a widely-reTweeted sentiment. Another: "iPad: Proof not enough women work in the Apple Naming Department."

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Comments

[AppealforJustice2010]

06:53 PM on 01/28/2010

That's one big iPhone.

reminds me of the first TV. Where can I buy one?

[KarateKid]

06:15 PM on 01/28/2010

You sure that pic is not an iPhone for Yao Ming?

[GoogleMaster]

05:47 PM on 01/28/2010

"Can your Kindle do this?" Maybe that was also one of Apple's marketing decisions - to price it so close to the Kindle that folks thinking about buying a Kindle (or low powered netbook) might go ..

"Well .. if I pay just a few dollars more, I can surf the web, watch movies, play games". That price point is an interesting element to consider in the grand overall marketing scheme of things. And, if people start buying the iPad in droves, it probably won't matter to them what any of us in the blogos-sphere think.

[allentomdude]

05:36 PM on 01/28/2010

The iPad is just a giant iPhone!

[sjpersonal]

06:27 PM on 01/28/2010

without the phone!

[Shookones]

05:26 PM on 01/28/2010

Not yet. I want to see gen2 before I make my buying decision.

[DrKND]

05:18 PM on 01/28/2010

The humor about the name 'iPad' is just juvenile and silly (and fun!)

Fact is, the word 'pad' has been used for many things, including a place to live, way to walk, and what people put in their pants and bras to make something seem bigger. Also been used on Star Trek for handheld touchpad wireless computing devices.

iPad is a great name for an amazing product. Could it be better? Yes. Just depends on what you are comparing to. Start with Kindle, which is now pedestrian, pointless and also NOT pretty. Compare to netbooks. iPad runs circles around them. Compare to a Mac laptop. Cheaper, does almost everything most people do on computers, in a lightweight form factor and with speedier chip.

Comes with three stores: iTunes, App Store and iBookstore. You can run Kindle as an app, so you don't lose your Kindle library when you switch. Does almost everything, weighs no more than a book, and multitouch display is fun to use, functional in design.

It would be great to have a USB port, and video chat, and no doubt will someday, just as iPhone and iTouch have continued to improve. For now, for the price, this is one WOW of a gadget!

I suspect it will turn a number of other devices into roadkill. Can't wait to get a couple of them for our household. Most people I'm talking to feel the same way.

[terminallycharged]

05:09 PM on 01/28/2010

It's fair to say that it's a great product for "the casual computer user" (http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-12519_7-10442905-49.html?tag=TOCmoreStories.0&refresh=1264713186089). Just like the Wii is a great device for casual gamers, this gadget will be great for people who buy electronic devices to use lite apps and just chill out.
But, please, please, please. Don't say it's better for work than a tablet PC with windows 7.

It's a toy.

Just that. I won't buy it because I like mobile "computers", not gadgets. I do use multitask, I like to have several hundreds of GB and a proper OS (linux or windows). You might say that I'm too demanding, but I don't know if's just me.

[arpaul]

04:57 PM on 01/28/2010

"Pioneers get the arrows, settlers get the land." I'll wait for version two or three to see if it can meet more of my needs.

Even then it's going to be tough sell. Best guess, 75% of my work involves a keyboard: word processing, spreadsheets and the like. Somehow I don't see myself using a virtual keypad (no matter how large) and balancing a tablet on my knees.

A final thought: this is a sneaky way for some information suppliers to make money. Note that the New York Times and Sports Illustrated were part of the demo. They (and many more) are amping up really sophisticated graphics-intensive apps. just for the iPad.

PAY APPS.

The NYT hasn't been able to make a dime delivering content on the Internet. Now a SOPHISTICATED NEW APP on a FLASHY NEW PLATFORM and it's ka-ching time for information delivery.

Look for magazines ... and then the big papers ... and then your local papers ... to finally start making money off the web by driving customers to their sophisticated new sites available only on the iPad. It'll be a money maker for them ... and drive customers to Apple And it will all filter down until the day when we HAVE TO pay for content that was previously free. Dollars and sense, win-win for Steve Jobs and the major media. .

I'm not saying right or wrong ... I'm just sayin'.

[hopefull2008]

04:53 PM on 01/28/2010

Can someone clarify for me what lack of multitasking means in this example. Say you are reading a book in the reader app and you want to jump quickly to do a web search .... would you have the close the reader, open the browser and then re-open the reader ?

[JShankel]

07:17 PM on 01/28/2010

Surf web or listen to music: pick one.

[tribalogical]

05:07 AM on 01/29/2010

Nonsense. If you know how the iPhone works, you know that multi-tasking isn't a real issue.

JShankel, you're wrong on this. I surf with music playing all the time. iPod starts playing, I move on to check mail, surf safari, update facebook. The music keeps playing.

To answer your question, hopefull, I've been using an iPhone for 3 years, and the fact is, the way apps behave, you'll never care about 'multi-tasking'.

Apps tend to take up the entire screen. So you have to close a window in order to select a different app. But if you leave the book reader to browse, the book app is just how you left it when you return to it. So, there is no benefit lost there.

It feels like you're "switching" between them. Not sure how true "multi-tasking" would enhance anything here.

Lots of apps do push notifications, for example if you're in one app, a facebook popup may appear if you have a new facebook message. You can tap to view facebook right from the popup.

You can only really interact with one app at a time, but to say it "doesn't multi-task" is technically incorrect (see iPod note above).

It's a rather elegant interface considering the size and simplicity of the device, and having used it, "multi-tasking" isn't an issue at all.

It's a favorite troll opener though!

[hopefull2008]

01:22 PM on 01/29/2010

Ok, that's helpful. It sound more like minimizing rather than closing an app.

[Morgantheaxe]

04:12 PM on 01/28/2010

As with all devices there will be upgrades. The potential of this thing is huge. Imagine the ability to interact with buildings to get fire escape/bathroom info, resteraunts to get specials with pictures of the dish, museums to get tours of info on exhibits, City guides that download automatically while making your way through europe, online coupon books at your grocery store that auto display when you walk in.....omg my mind is ablaze....whos got Steve Jobs phone number?

[Shwazy]

04:11 PM on 01/28/2010

iPad: Holds up to four times its weight in RAM.

[megalanzero]

01:28 AM on 01/29/2010

Fann'd.

[GoogleMaster]

04:09 PM on 01/28/2010

Maybe some won't be so disappointed if they think of it this way ..
Apple set out to create, not a computer with cameras and customizable peripherals and all the bells and whistles that techies love. Apple set out to capture the "Hockey Mom" audience - folks who couldn't give a deedle about multi-tasking or a daddle about usb ports. For them, a giant iPOD will do.

Surf'n, Read'n, Movie-watch'n and Game'n .. Hockey moms and average Joes (that includes you Mz Palin and you too Mr Wurzelbacher) can tote around and enjoy. Although I think our friend Joe might not praise Apple (or Obama) for the lack of flash. Not to worry .. they've already found a way to make flash work on the iPad.

[MizLiz]

04:40 PM on 01/28/2010

"Tote around"? How? too small for a pocket, too big for a purse.

[ObamaAmerica]

05:57 PM on 01/28/2010

I think you meant too "big" for a pocket, too "small" for a purse? But, that doesn't make sense either. Why would it be too small for a purse? It also isn't too big for a purse, at least it wouldn't be too big for my wife's relatively normal sized purse.

[JShankel]

04:07 PM on 01/28/2010

Just what the world needs: a laptop without a keyboard, camera or USB port that can only run one program at a time and features only software approved by the hardware vendor.

Sign me right up.

[ObamaAmerica]

05:57 PM on 01/28/2010

It's not a lap top. Do you have the same objection about a kindle?

[JShankel]

06:34 PM on 01/28/2010

Oh, so it's just an eBook reader. I thought it was going to revolutionize life on planet Earth.

Kindles only cost $259 bucks. And the battery life is 1 week.

[tribalogical]

05:23 AM on 01/29/2010

No. It's not a laptop. And it's not "just an ebook reader".... And who said it was going to "revolutionize life on planet earth"??

Are you ignorant or just trolling? Seriously, your cynical tones are pure snark...

And anyway, the real magic of this device will be the software. I saw the iWork demo, and could easily imagine how future apps will benefit.

I can tell you one use I'm going to put it to right out of the box. I compose and sometimes perform music with computers. The iPad is going to be my new WiFi remote controller for my software and plugins... if this mystifies you, check out Ableton Live, and an iPhone app called TouchOSC. I'm going to have TouchOSC (or some equivalent) on my iPad...

With a larger screen, it'll replace dedicated touchscreen devices that cost 4 times as much and have less flexibility. iPad as multi-touch music controller? Yeah... that's going to change my workflow big time... (I have TouchOSC on the iPhone now and it's great, but it's a rather small screen. On a 10" screen, it's going to rock my world.)

And that's just ONE example of extreme potential this device has...

Bottom line is this. Apple set out to create a new product category. It isn't a laptop. It isn't a Phone. It sits in between, doing certain things really well.... no more no less.

What's wrong with that?

[JShankel]

12:43 PM on 01/29/2010

No, I'm not trolling. And I based my opinion on the product spec. I'm also a Mac owner if that matters. I'm not knee-jerk anti-Apple nor am I itching for a fight. I'm saying that this product is going to miss the broad consumer appeal that the iPhone and the iPod and the Mac have.

I'm predicting that, unlike the Mac, the iPhone and the iPod which are fantastic innovations on products that people were already using (PCs, cell phones and MP3 players) that this particular product will not be as successful because it is not filling a need that the wider market currently has.

As you say: Apple has set out to make a new product category. I agree with the article above which states the a key factor in the success of the iPad will be whether customers feel it can replace their laptop for key features. I agree with the article and I don't think this product, as configured, will do that.

All that said, I'm glad you're looking forward to it and I hope it meets your needs. Sounds like it will.

[Madmac]

04:03 PM on 01/28/2010

The Apple iPad 1.0...Now available in mini, maxi & super maxi. 2.0...wings and flow control

[MizLiz]

04:41 PM on 01/28/2010

::snicker::

[Geoff Hasler]

03:45 PM on 01/28/2010

IPad looks great, but it's more expensive than a Netbook, more costly than Kindle (though its color screen is tempting) & is still not a full computer. Also, its size may be cumbersome. I love Kindle due to its small size and ease of taking anywhere, also its long battery life. http://www.geoff-hasler.com

[tribalogical]

05:40 AM on 01/29/2010

If all you want or need is a book reader then by all means stick with a Kindle. It remains a useful and relevant device, for sure.

If you want that PLUS *multi-touch* web browsing, email, contacts, calendar, notes, maps, iWork (word processing, spreadsheet & presentation apps), your iPod music library, photo library, watching YouTube videos, movies, and running a host of other useful apps or interesting games... via a high-resolution, multi-touch display... then consider the iPad. :)

Netbooks aren't great in general. They're cheaply made, underpowered, typically have awful lo-res screens... I view them more as "disposable computers"... Yes, they are cheap to buy, but you only get what you pay for, which with most netbooks isn't much...

Some people here aren't thrilled by the potential or prospect of the iPad... but also they somehow feel they need to disparage it any way they can. Why is that, I wonder?

I for one think iPad has tremendous potential (definitely so for me personally. I'm going to be using it with music-related apps that will benefit from a larger, multi-touch screen)...

To each their own, I always say... :)