Apple iPad Features: 13 Things You NEED To Know (PHOTOS)

Steve Jobs called the new Apple iPad a "magical and revolutionary device."

So is it? We've put together a guide to 13 things you need to know about the iPad. Love it or leave it? Check them out then tell us what you think!

Want to know more about the iPad? We've got a review roundup that'll give you the ultimate scoop on the device. Also check out our guide to the 'The 9 Worst Things About The iPad,' or see our selection of 'iPad Killers'--alternatives to the iPad--here, as well as '9 Reasons NOT To Buy An iPad'.

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No Multitasking

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Gizmodo calls the lack of multitasking a "backbreaker." Want to tweet while you browse the web? Listen to music while writing a memo with the iPad? Sorry. The iPad just can't multitask, even if you can.

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Gizmodo calls the lack of multitasking a "backbreaker." Want to tweet while you browse the web? Listen to music while writing a memo with the iPad? Sorry. The iPad just can't multitask, even if you can.

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Comments

[trojoe]

05:00 AM on 03/22/2010

If you bought one of these before you even used it, enjoy the giant gaping holes in virtually every page on the internet. 3 out of every 4 videos online are flash based. 5 out of every 6 online games. business and celebrity websites are often based in flash or have flash elements - none of which you'll be able to see on this device.
Oh, and enjoy the 13 adapters you'll have to carry with you to plug *anything* into it.... and i'm sure you're gonna love the fact that the battery can't be replaced... and if you're lucky enough to get one of the units with a defective battery, Apple will be happy to replace it... after you pay them an additional $106.

Remember when the iPhone came out? I got one. Then soon after there was a newer better version at a reduced rate? History has a way of repeating itself.

Your iPhone does more - but they duped you into spending 600 bucks on a device that does less. lol

[ilovecandy]

03:20 PM on 03/15/2010

This isn't worth it without at least a camera or video. Multitasking is also important. I watch videos, while typing reports. Plus, I want to download stuff from other places other than Apple, like Amazon maybe. I'm not sure I can with this. Also, Safari, please at least have Mozilla.

So, I'll wait.

[DavidBlackburn]

12:42 AM on 03/13/2010

I don't want one for me because I don't want to type on the same plane as my screen, which can't be good ergonomically. I will, however, buy one for my partner, who doesn't know how to use a computer! He's been able to retrieve, respond to and send e-mails with the iTouch I bought for him. With the iPad maybe he'll be able to start visiting websites and learn how to use YouTube.

[gwj2000]

11:34 AM on 03/12/2010

It's a dumb device and a waste of money.

[Louisknyc]

11:50 AM on 03/12/2010

You probably think the world is flat too.

[GetoffMylawn]

10:04 AM on 03/12/2010

I just bought two!
Can't wait!

[Louisknyc]

01:17 PM on 03/12/2010

Which size did you buy?

[Tempestite]

12:20 PM on 02/15/2010

Where do you stick this thing? (No comments from the peanut gallery please).

[Cryostatic]

11:19 AM on 03/12/2010

In your man-purse, I guess.

Kidding aside, it'll probably fit right next to your laptop in whatever you carry that around in. Alternatively, a briefcase, backpack, or some other sort of satchel. Or, as some have said, it might just be a handy thing to have lying around the house, so that you don't have to sit at the computer to browse the web.

I see far greater use for the thing as a homebound entertainment device rather than mobile. It's not close to being portable enough to replace a decent smartphone.

[DavidWyld]

07:43 PM on 02/12/2010

The iPad will do well...for a while. The Apple-ites will line-up for them at 3 a.m. on release day, but the masses, well that remains to be seen. No multitasking and no flash will inhibit its prospects. I say there will be a 2.0 version out very quickly and the price will need to drop on the entry level models. If that happens, it could be a category-killer - till then, the jury will certainly be out.

David

[NHBill]

11:21 AM on 03/12/2010

Have you held one in your hand?
EVERY single person who has is very enthusiastic about it.
I'll wait for the reviews from Mossberg and co. after they have had time to live with it.

[deezee]

12:47 PM on 01/29/2010

Interesting future computer concepts:
http://sixrevisions.com/design-showcase-inspiration/amazing-computer-concept-designs-you-wish-were-real/

[ilovedessert]

08:05 AM on 01/30/2010

13 things I need to know about the Ipad my foot, i do not own an Iphone or whant one, no keyboard, no removable battery and AT & T stinks!

[Louisknyc]

11:49 AM on 03/12/2010

There's a person with an open mind! LOL

[omobob]

10:40 AM on 01/29/2010

Listen to music while writing a memo with the iPad? Sorry. The iPad just can't multitask. Now theres a deal breaker. Cant listen to music while doing other stuff? Deal Breaker. What was Apple not thinking?

[yogandclimber]

04:00 PM on 02/04/2010

When they criticize about multitask it's not talking about music. iPhone gets the same criticism but you can listen to music, surf the web, talk on the phone, go to maps, etc. at the same time.

[omobob]

04:21 PM on 02/04/2010

I beleve Apple has done a really poor job of positioning the iPad in the market place. If you think of it as a Kindle on steroids you are much closer to the end user. All your college text books, magazines and newspaers in one light pad. now thats brilliant.

[NHBill]

11:22 AM on 03/12/2010

Another ill-informed comment from someone who has never laid eyes on an iPad!

[iamvalid]

10:26 AM on 01/29/2010

Wow a high resolution version of Windows 3.1.

No multitasking? Give up a break. What is this? 1982

[WasteNJ]

11:14 AM on 01/29/2010

Hey at least Windows 3.1 could multitask.... and be networked.

[WasteNJ]

08:37 AM on 01/29/2010

Here's a rundown of the iPad's failures right out of the box.

No Flash support: Think "YouTube", now forget about that.

No USB2 ports: You can't even save something to a flash drive or back it up to an external hard drive. You can't hook up a USB printer. You can't even attach a USB mouse or keyboard.

No HDMI: This is the only monitor you will be able to use, no projector hookup option.

No Camera: Really no excuse for this one.

LCD not LED: LCD is old technology that consumes more power than LED screen technology.

No OS-X: This device runs a glorified version of the iPod software, NOT a stripped down version of the full Mac Operating System used in the real Mac PC's.

[Craig Peters]

08:42 AM on 01/29/2010

Well said -- the combination of low storage and lack of USB is a deal-breaker for me. Best to wait for iPad version 3.0, which will hopefully correct many of these oversights, or wait for the inevitable flood of competitive tablets from other companies.

[WasteNJ]

10:44 AM on 01/29/2010

I don't expect Apple to beef up the device much, they are more into trying to reinvent the wheel. This isn't supposed to be seen as a computer, it's a "Multimedia device"... In other words a giant iPod. The description as a multimedia device is what exempts the device from any criticism a real computer would have to endure. So they tried to move the goalposts, what remains to be seen is whether there's a market for it.

Just think about this, Apple is foaming at the mouth thinking about the video and multimedia content they will be selling off of iTunes, that's what this device was basically created for. Techies need NOT apply, this device has nothing for us beyond a nice coffee table ornament or status symbol.

[Louisknyc]

12:26 PM on 03/12/2010

Better yet, why not wait for 3D iPad? :)

[Michael Arcement]

04:57 PM on 01/29/2010

It doesn't need flash to view YouTube its HTML5 capable.

USB3.0 and HDMI support will likely come from a docking station, although not having onboard USB3 is lame.

Are you asking for a picture camera or a webcam? If former, that would be just awful.

LED still has viewing angle problems and does not provide sufficient luminosity in darkened places.

Doing a striped version of Mac OS is supposedly what killed the Newton. This approach is much wiser although no multitasking could be a dealbreaker.

[exBFF]

08:26 AM on 01/29/2010

i was SO excited about the pending iPad...until I saw how little memory it has. It's no more than my iTouch - and way less than my iPod Classic.

While it'll be nice to have the extra screen size for watching videos and movies, 64 gigs doesn't give you much space for carrying a lot of video.

I guess I'll wait for the next generation of iPads. sigh.

[WasteNJ]

08:38 AM on 01/29/2010

Memory and storage space are two different things. Most common non-techy mistake.

[Joe2U]

06:21 PM on 01/29/2010

Most common techie mistake.

[DavidBlackburn]

12:34 AM on 03/13/2010

Why don't you let things like that slide, you know what they're talking about.

[Steelkop]

05:26 PM on 02/08/2010

High capacity SSD drives are still relatively new technology and expensive. You could make an IPad with a much larger SSD hard drive but you certainly wouldn't get it for $400-900.

Your classic has an old school mechanical hard drive. Yes they have more capacity but are much slower and as anyone that has ever owned a classic knows...... you drop that thing once with all those moving parts and no more IPod.

SSD capacity will continue to grow but 64 GB is about as good as it gets when you balance cost vs benefit for consumers right now

[tstm89]

08:23 AM on 01/29/2010

The bottom line for me:

Apple may well be the ONLY American corporation that puts quality ahead of short term profits.

Time will tell how people respond to this first version, but this product WILL over time revolutionize the way people interact with information.

I know this device is meant to "save" print media by generating new revenue streams (and hopefully it will), but the other side to that will be that kids around the world will be "sharing" books with eachother... just like they do now with music. Knowledge is power and this has the potential to be an amazing tool to help spread it.

This is one product out of Corporate America that actually might help save the world, instead of destroying it.

[WasteNJ]

08:39 AM on 01/29/2010

Drink much Kool-Aid? Apple is no different than Microsoft or other large corporations in the US, they just have the best PR. See "Psystar".

[tstm89]

09:07 AM on 01/29/2010

You know, I actually HATE their PR.

All those "I'm a Mac/PC" adds are so mean spirited and attempt to intimidate people into liking their products.

What I appreciate is the fact that their products are built to LAST. They feel solid, are made out of thick chunks of metal, etc...

Most crap corporations try to pass off on the public are DESIGNED TO FAIL, so you have to replace them often.

[ProFormaArtista]

05:09 AM on 01/29/2010

To Halfwit,
No, not true. Steve Jobs' contribution to the more rapid proliferation of information for the early 21st. C. with the introduction of the iPad is likely to prove to be as significant as Johannes Gutenberg's proliferation of knowledge via printed books which helped to bring about the European Renaissance with his invention of movable type on the mechanical printing press in the early middle 16th C.

Just as before Gutenberg's printing press Bibles had to be hand written, so before Jobs' comprehensive media delivery vehicle, the iPad, newspapers had to be printed by gigantic machines and delivered by an unwieldy truck.

However, while Gutenberg inadvertently helped to promote the cutting down of trees, Jobs' contribution will be to avoid cutting them down.

[Eris23]

10:38 AM on 01/29/2010

"so before Jobs' comprehensive media delivery vehicle, the iPad, newspapers had to be printed by gigantic machines and delivered by an unwieldy truck."

I guess that's true if you ignore the fact that most newspapers have been publishing their articles online via their own web pages for over a decade now.

[WasteNJ]

11:18 AM on 01/29/2010

Newspapers cost $.50, also. Thing is, don't try to watch any news video on your favorite newspaper's website on an iPad because there's no Flash support.

[ProFormaArtista]

03:55 PM on 01/29/2010

You are correct, and losing money. However, publishing a newspaper online has not proven to be a viable business model, hence newspapers are looking forward to working with Apple to put their content on to the promising Apple iPad in order to cut the cost of operating their huge presses, employing staff to run them, using unwieldy trucks to transport newsprint long distances, as well as the headache to manage local delivery carriers to distribute the daily paper to residences.

What Apple seems to offer to traditional print media, including text and book publishers, is a more profitable business model because Apple's iPad is a very attractive delivery vehicle of comprehensive content for which, in my opinion, people are willing to pay.

Have you seen Jobs demonstrate the iPad's smooth functioning?

[Krek]

02:31 PM on 01/29/2010

Pure fantasy. E-readers were around before Wednesday. If anybody has populized e-readers it's been Amazon not Apple so your identification of Gutenberg with Jobs would be more properly applied to Jeff Bezos. Not that Gutenberg should be compared to anyone for another couple of hundred of years until what is going on now becomes history.

[Halfwit]

04:04 AM on 01/29/2010

That thing really is a dud. No Flash so that you can't watch web video from Hulu, and from most video websites except youtube. So, if you want to watch tv online you have to go through the iTunes store and pay for it.
F*** You, Steve Jobs.

[WasteNJ]

10:56 AM on 01/29/2010

Youtube requires Flash updates to work, the reason it works on the iPod touch is there's a YouTube APP to force it to work another way...