Everything You Need to Know About the iPad

As usual, Apple event started with Steve Jobs throwing some big numbers in our face: 250 million iPods sold, 284 retail stores that saw over 250 million visitors, 140,000 apps, 3 billion applications downloaded, all this wrapped in some exciting adjectives such as “amazing”, “exciting”, “wonderful”, “phenomenal”, “incredible”, etc… Uncle Steve sure knows how to warm up a crowd!

Let’s cut to the chase. Here is everything you need to know about the iPad.

The Name

Well, we already know… It’s called iPad, and not iSlate!

The Stats

  • 0.5-inches thin
  • 1.5 pounds.
  • Thinner and lighter than any netbook
  • 9.7-inch IPS display
  • Powered by Apple’s own chip: the A4
  • 1GHz
  • 16, 32, or 64GB of flash storage
  • Wifi 802.11n
  • Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR

The OS

  • ???
  • Nothing was really said except that the new iPhone SDK (complete with support for the iPad) will be available today.

The Features

  • accelerometer
  • compass
  • speaker
  • mic
  • dock connector
  • syncs to your computer just like an iPhone
  • no Flash support

Battery

  • 10 hours of battery life
  • a month of stand-by life

What about my old iPhone apps?

  • the iPad can run all your iPhone apps – unmodified
  • developers can take full advantage of the large touchscreen display in the iPad (aka make better looking apps)

Extras?

  • iBook: an ebook reader – bye bye Kindle. Apple has deals with major publishers and is launching an iBook Store.
  • iWork – the revisited version with improved UI

3G Network

  • Exclusive carrier is AT&T
  • 250MB per month for $14.99
  • Unlimited for $29.99 (just like the iPhone)
  • Free use of AT&T wifi hotspots
  • No plan, it’s pay-as-you-go, you can cancel anytime
  • iPad 3G models are unlocked
  • Uses new GSM micro SIMs

Accessories

  • A dock (probably very expensive) for your keyboard
  • A case

Pricing

  • 16GB is $499
  • 16GB 3G is $629
  • 32GB is $599
  • 32GB 3G is $729
  • 64GB is $699
  • 64GB 3G is $829

Available when?

  • the iPad will start shipping in 60 days
  • the iPad 3G will start shipping in 90 days

That’s about all I could catch from the presentation. I might have missed a few things, so feel free to feel in the blanks if I forgot anything. I’m currently in Bali and I’ve stayed up all night. It’s 4am here and I need some sleep.

A big thank you to gdgt for the images and the amazing live blogging coverage.

My quick thoughts about the iPad? I’m not impressed. At all! This is nothing more than a big iPhone. What do you think about the iPad? I look forward to reading your comments when I get up in about 18 hours 😉