Apple announces iPad availability and pricing

Today Apple announced they will release the iPad, a tablet-style computer meant to fill the gap between two of their popular platforms (the iPhone/iTouch and Macbook).

60 days from now, you’ll be able to purchase an iPad for as little as $499 for a 16GB version. A 32GB version will set you back $599 and a 64GB model will start at $699. If you’d like to add 3G connectivity, there will be an additional $130 for each model making the price $629, $729 & $829, respectively.

The 3G version uses AT&T’s network and data plans start at $14.99/month for 250MB of data and $29.99 for an unlimited data plan with no contract.

An optional keyboard dock will also be available.

Here’s a brief rundown of some of the iPad’s specifications:

Apple’s own 1 GHz Apple A4 chip
16 – 64 GB of Flash storage
Bluetooth 2.1
802.11n
10 hours of battery life
Speaker, microphone and 30-pin connector
Fully multi-touch
9.7 inch IPS LCD
Half an inch thick
Accelerometer and Compass

More technical specs are available on Apple’s website.

Although the iPad lacks some very important features (a camera, a SD slot and mini-USB port for expandability) I think this device is a game-changer. Unlike Windows-based tablet PC’s there is no keyboard or moving parts that can break. The OS is simple to use and it works with an existing, well-established platform (iTunes) for accessing digital media. In addition, the iPad is big enough to read a digital book yet small enough to carry around with you as a supplemental device for doing presentations, checking email or doing light productivity work.

Personally, I won’t get this device. I’ll wait for hardware and OS improvements before I jump into these waters. The lack of a camera really shows a lack of customer-focus and you’d think Apple would have learned their lesson when they released the iPhone without a video camera that this is something people want to see in their portable devices. I’ll let Apple hammer out the bugs before I adopt this technology but i do suspect I’ll have one in a year or two.

Do you have any thoughts or opinions about the iPad? Share them with me by leaving a comment here or calling my voice mail number: 518-290-0228. I’ll release a special episode of the podcast on Friday sharing your thoughts and mine.