The first iPad was launched by Apple Inc. in April, 2010 and had sold out 7.33 million tablets. It has been 3 years to that now and the popularity of this 8 by 10 inch tablet hasn’t decreased a bit.
Many people started to buy it because they were intrigued by its functionality and also as it took the liberty of making the bold assertion that iPad would be replacing PC’s soon. The buyers were disappointed at first. Some said it did not have flash, they couldn’t multitask, or the battery life was not at all supportive nor was there a webcam. However, Apple Inc. took in all these complaints into consideration and updated their features.
Basic features
The iPad weighs around 1.5 pounds and is only 0.5 inches thick. It is a bit smaller than normal magazine and can be easily carried anywhere. Unlike laptops, it is super light and isn’t a burden on one’s shoulder. Its battery life extends from 10 hours to 12 hours and has a storage capacity of 64 GB.
Cost
Initially Apple had decided to sell the iPad at $1,000 but then made the low-end models available at $ 499.
Data plan is appealing
Netbook users pay $ 60 for 5 GB per month as their data plan, while Apple provides a choice between $14.99 per month for 250 GB and $29.99 for unlimited data.
Design
It has a high resolution LED backlit screen and can be used to watch movies, play games and browse the web. In fact, Nintendo predicts Apple to be its biggest threat when it comes to the gaming features f the iPad. It uses the technology called the In-Plane technology so that a picture can be taken from any angle. It has a multi touch screen which had been initially designed for iPhone. The brightness can be adjusted both manually and automatically according to the ambience. The display has fingerprint resistant oleoperobic coating and there is no stylus provided nor is it needed.
The A4 chip for the iPad is powerful and also energy efficient. Games are lifelike and run at a great speed. Even movies have a good streaming speed and can be downloaded at a fast pace as well. The iPad can be viewed both horizontally and vertically as needed by the apps.
Apps
One thing this device is incredibly proud of is the app store. There are more than a million approved apps to choose from in the app store as of 2012.There are apps for every kind of user, irrespective of age or occupation. However, you must have an iTune account to access the app store, whether the app is free or not. There is the iPad library where you can store number of books to read. GPS uses the location where you are staying to provide you information abut the weather, the news and the possible hangouts in and around you.
Entertainment device
The iPad has changed the entertainment industry completely. Cable companies and television networks are forced to evaluate the possibility of finding new ways to distribute their content to viewers, without succumbing to any loss. Apps like Netflix, Amazon Instantvideo, etc, stream videos of your favorite shows or movies, free of commercials. The networks are catching up with this idea like HBO, NBC, etc so that their shows are available anywhere at any time.
When it comes to the music, iTunes has already solved the problem. But other than iTunes there is also Pandora , iHeart Radio and spotify for the music lovers. Ebooks are also an integral part iPad.
IOS 4.2
The introduction of IOS 4.2 gave extra leverage to the iPad. You can organize you apps with the application folders. Multitasking is great as you can just split the screen into two and do different things at one time. It also gathers all your mail accounts into one and provides wireless printing with specific printers.
Digital camera and memory card can be connected directly to iPad or can be transferred wirelessly too. The complaint about the unavailability of Flash is unnecessary as web content is recoded to HTML 5.
However, there are a few glitches still left in the iPad like the built-in keyboard. A physical keyboard or the existing one could be worked upon. Since it is an alternative to a laptop or PC, it disappoints when it comes to the office applications. Writing papers can be a bit tedious while using the keyboard in the iPad. While also when giving a presentation, one could use a VGA adapter for the iPad to connect to a projector.
Despite the presence of these little glitches, the iPad is a revolutionary device and owning it definitely makes a big difference. So far, Apple has produced 5 generations of the iPad, just proving how popular the iPad is.
