The Complete iPad Launch Date Guide

iPad: What is it?

The iPad is the second tablet computer developed by Apple Inc., originally announced on January 27, 2010, it falls into the device category between a smartphone and a laptop computer. It is similar in functionality to a larger and more powerful iPhone or iPod touch and it runs on a modified version of the iPhone operating system with a redesigned UI to take advantage of the larger screen.

System Specifications

Size and weight

Height: 9.56 inches (242.8 mm)

Width: 7.47 inches (189.7 mm)

Depth: 0.5 inch (13.4 mm)

Weight: 1.5 pounds (0.68 kg) Wi-Fi model; 1.6 pounds (0.73 kg) Wi-Fi + 3G model

Display

• 9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
• 1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
• Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating
• Support for display of multiple languages and characters simultaneously

Wireless and Cellular

Wi-Fi model

• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology
• UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
• Data only²
• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology

Wi-Fi + 3G model

Location

• Wi-Fi
• Digital compass
• Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)
• Cellular (Wi-Fi + 3G model)

Capacity

• 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive

Processor

• 1GHz Apple A4 custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip

Sensors

• Accelerometer
• Ambient light sensor

Audio playback

• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
• Audio formats supported: HE-AAC (V1), AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
• User-configurable maximum volume limit

TV and video

• Support for 1024 by 768 pixels with Dock Connector to VGA Adapter; 576p and 480p with Apple Component AV Cable; 576i and 480i with Apple Composite AV Cable
• H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

Mail attachment support

• Viewable document types: .jpg, .tiff, .gif (images); .doc and .docx (Microsoft Word); .htm and .html (web pages); .key (Keynote); .numbers (Numbers); .pages (Pages); .pdf (Preview and Adobe Acrobat); .ppt and .pptx (Microsoft PowerPoint); .txt (text); .rtf (rich text format); .vcf (contact information); .xls and .xlsx (Microsoft Excel)

Languages

• Language support for English, French, German, Japanese, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian
• Keyboard support for English (U.S.), English (UK), French (France, Canada), German, Japanese (QWERTY), Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian
• Dictionary support for English (U.S.), English (UK), French, French (Canadian), French (Swiss), German, Japanese, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese (Handwriting and Pinyin), Russian

Accessibility

• Support for playback of closed-captioned content
• VoiceOver screen reader
• Full-screen zoom magnification
• White on black display
• Mono audio

Battery and power

• Built-in 25-watt-hour rechargeable lithium-polymer battery
• Up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music
• Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system

Input and output

• Dock connector port
• 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
• Built-in speaker
• Microphone
• Micro SIM card tray (Wi-Fi + 3G model only)

Mac system requirements

• Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
• Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later
• iTunes 9.0 or later (free download fromwww.itunes.com/download)
• iTunes Store account
• Internet access

Windows system requirements

• PC with USB 2.0 port
• Windows 7; Windows Vista; or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 3 or later
• iTunes 9.0 or later (free download fromwww.itunes.com/download)
• iTunes Store account
• Internet access

Environmental requirements

• Operating temperature: 32° to 95°F (0° to 35°C)
• Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45°C)
• Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
• Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)

Environmental Status Report

iPad embodies Apple’s continuing environmental progress. It is designed with the following features to reduce environmental impact:

• Arsenic-free display glass
• BFR-free
• Mercury-free LCD display
• PVC-free
• Recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure

iPad “Guided Tours” Courtesy of Apple

In other iPad news, Apple has just posted a new “guided tour” iPad video, which is meant to give you a more detailed look of the device’s features. Unlike the original promotional video, which gave you a broad overview, the guided tours get into the specifics. There are 11 videos in total, each explaining and demonstrating key the iPad features, including Mail, Safari, Photos, Video, YouTube, iPod, iTunes, iBooks, Keynote, Pages and Numbers. There’s also an option to watch all of the videos, one after the other. As to be expected they are very well executed. Enjoy these videos for the weekend is not far away.

Apple has also announced that all customers who made an iPad purchase in its retail stores will receive free Personal Setup service, which includes assistance from Apple staff with setting up email accounts on the device, loading applications, and other tasks. This iPad workshop is to begin this Saturday in Apple retail stores.

iPad Official Apple Launch Accessories

iPad Keyboard Dock

The iPad Keyboard Dock combines a dock for charging your iPad with a full-size keyboard. The dock has a rear dock connector port, which lets you connect to an electrical outlet using the USB Power Adapter, sync to your computer, and use accessories like the iPad Camera Connection Kit. An audio line out port lets you connect to a stereo or powered speakers (audio cable sold separately).

iPad Case

With a soft microfiber interior and reinforced panels to provide structure, the iPad Case is the perfect way to carry around your iPad. And it does double duty. It folds in just the right places to act as a stand that holds iPad at an ideal angle for watching videos and slideshows or for typing on the onscreen keyboard.

iPad Dock

With the iPad Dock, you get easy access to a dock connector port for syncing or charging, and an audio line out port for connecting to powered speakers via an optional audio cable. The iPad Dock also supports other iPad accessories, such as the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter and the iPad Camera Connection

iPad Camera Connection Kit

The iPad Camera Connection Kit gives you two ways to import photos and videos from a digital camera: using your camera’s USB cable or directly from an SD card. iPad supports standard photo formats, including JPEG and RAW.

iPad 10W USB Power Adapter

The iPad 10W USB Power Adapter lets you charge your iPad directly through an electrical outlet. And the 6-foot-long power cord allows you to charge it from an even greater distance.

Apps That Raise The “Cool Factor“

With the launch date days away and shipment notices already in progress the most descriptive word for the iPad has been oversized iPhone, there is more to this device than being oversized. From what we have seen and information that has been leaked some of the specs including apps are amazing. Check out some of the apps we at MGN found particularly interesting:

Game Table

Game Table is an App that brings Checkers, Chess, and various card games onto Apple’s tablet with dtailed graphics and an “intuitive interface“ the developers claim its like carrying around full board games with you, but without all the little pieces needed to be able to play them. Unfortunately that also means that you don’t actually play any games on the device, it’s just a series of boards and interactive pieces for them, so its upto you as the player to determine how you want to move them around. It can be a benefit or a hinderance based on the way you look at it. A very interesting and cool app none the less, especially for those of you who like to play your own variations of the games. The price is only 99 cents and will be available on the App store at launch.

iMockups

Developers usually carry around notebooks in which they can sketch out brilliant ideas for the next million-dollar iPhone or iPad app, but the folks over at Endloop, a Canadian iPad development company with a few projects under its belt, have been working on iMockups. The idea behind iMockups is to give devs a way to quickly create wireframes and layouts for iPad, iPhone, and web apps. Any project can have multiple sketchbook pages associated with it, and developers can quickly add elements from a pad at the side of the screen. No exactly details were given about the release date, pricing, or any possible way to export or print the created mockups but it looks like an excellent tool and a must-have app for many.

KoboBooks

KoboBooks is another application that takes advantage of iPad-style and design, they have gone into detail as to how the app function which is pretty awesome it really shows how apps can work on the iPad. At this time it is not clear weather Apple will give the go ahead for this app,  since this will be in direct competition with the Apple’s iBooks reader and their support for Project Gutenberg eBooks.

Mixr

Mixr is a fully featured multitouch DJ app, developed for the iPad. The iPhone has lots of musical apps which is pretty awesome but having a music app on a 9″ screen is a whole different experience.

The Mixr app by far takes the prize, the developers intentions is to create an app that would consist of a highly professional grade DJ app. Including “cross-fading, equalizing, cue, drag & drop tracks, and full effects such as delays and auto filter.” Mixr comes with a specially designed library for displaying all of your tracks. Mixr is still in the developing stages but is very interesting to see that developers are looking beyond the iPhone and looking into taking advantage of the iPad’s size and power. Multitouch is great for a lot of things, like browsing around the web and zipping through maps, but for anyone who is interested in making music, the potential applications are as exciting as they are obvious.

Slingplayer App for iPad

Sling Media revealed an update to their SlingPlayer app announcing its iPad availability. Aside from pursuing a future which includes both H.264 and Silverlight support (as opposed to the old WMV) for Apple and Windows Phone 7 platforms, the company is also planning on increasing streaming resolution beyond 320X240 for atleast one particular device (the iPad.) Heres what Sling Media had to say:

When it makes a noticeable difference in quality, we will definitely provide higher resolution streaming. The iPad is a good example of a device where we are hard at work on this, but unfortunately it won’t be there at the April launch.

iPad App Store

With the Apple iPad’s release less than a week away and applications being announced for release, the iPad app store is also amongst us. As of right now, Apple is boasting the option to choose from over 150,000 apps in the App Store including entertainment apps, productivity apps, social networking apps, games, and more. iPad works with almost all of them. You can sync any apps from your iPhone or iPod touch, you can just sync them to your iPad from your Mac or PC. They run in their original size OR you can expand them to fill the iPad screen. The iPad apps range in price from free to around $9.99.There is a leaked Internet video of the iPad App Store in action, which you can see below:

iTunes 9.1 – Update is Live

To accommodate all the changes for the upcoming device, Apple has released iTunes 9.1 to prepare for the device. If you haven’t already downloaded it, you can download it from Apple.com/iTunes. Some of the key changes in this patch of iTunes can be found below:

What’s new in iTunes 9.1

iTunes 9.1 comes with several new features and improvements, including:

• Sync with iPad to enjoy your favorite music, movies, TV shows, books and more on the go
• Organize and sync books you’ve downloaded from iBooks on iPad or added to your iTunes library
• Rename, rearrange, or remove Genius Mixes

The Effect of the iPad on The Market

The iPad will definitely change the way people use media and in a survey by Zobny, the work environment as well. Although Apple didn’t have any plans for the iPad to be used in the corporate environment, Zobny’s survey showed us that most people planned on picking one up for “work on the go.” This means that businesses would need to prepare for the iPad and would need to make sure that their information is secure since the Pwn2Own event showed us that an iPhone can be hacked in about 20 seconds, the device that runs the same OS as the iPad.

Tune in on Saturday, April 3rd ,for MGN’s hands-on coverage of Apple’s iPad. If you have any questions about the product or want to know anything in specific, leave a comment below or on our twitter page.