Everything You Want to Know About the iPad

As far as spectator sport goes, the iPad is likely to give the Final Four a run for its money.

It's been called the most anticipated technology announcement from Apple since the iPhone - and rightly so. On Saturday, the much-promoted gadget goes on sale around the country with high hopes that it can help turn tablet computing into a mainstream product category.

The unanswered question: Can the iPad extend its appeal beyond the confined realm of Apple die-hards and technophiles to more mainstream users?



Not everyone is convinced. For a skeptical look, check out Cory Doctorow's blog on why he won't be buying the iPad any time soon. But we've been down this road before. When Apple debuted both the original iPod and iPhone, initital skepticism eventually melted to rave "a category is born" reception from the wider public.

Meanwhile, the software developer community is making a major bet on Apple's ability to remake the category. Just this week, the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers added $100 million in a program it runs to promote the development of innovative applications - with an obvious eye turned to the iPad's potential. Flurry, which tracks new project starts by developers, notes a sharp spike in iPad developer support since Steve Jobs introduced the product in late January.

We'll be following the official rollout as it takes place on Saturday. In the meantime, here are some useful links about the iPad from CBSNews.com, as well from our sister site CNET News.com.

iPad Preview
Reviewers Love the iPad, But Will You?
We have an iPad and that's no April Fool's
Tablet Computer Competition Heats Up

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Also, check out other reviews of the iPad:

USA Today: Verdict is in on Apple iPad: It's a winner
The first iPad is a winner. It stacks up as a formidable electronic-reader rival for Amazon's Kindle. It gives portable game machines from Nintendo and Sony a run for their money. At the very least, the iPad will likely drum up mass-market interest in tablet computing in ways that longtime tablet visionary and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates could only dream of.

NY Times: Looking at the iPad from Two Angles
Pogue contends that the techies prefer a conventional laptop, but the non-techies will adore it.

"The bottom line is that the iPad has been designed and built by a bunch of perfectionists. If you like the concept, you'll love the machine."

WSJ: Laptop Killer? Pretty Close
"After spending hours and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades."

PC Magazine: Apple iPad (Wi-Fi)
"Aside from Apple enthusiasts, many of us wondered who would drop hundreds of dollars for this not-quite-computer. But having used the iPad for some time, I can tell you that the device just makes sense. When you combine basic-but-essential work tools with iWork, an improved browser, e-mail, iPod, and photo applications, a well-executed e-Book platform with iBooks, and throw in thousands of downloadable apps and games, and package it all in a gorgeous, slim slate with a beautiful 9.7-inch touch screen, you have yourself a winner."

For more on the iPad, click on the video demo below:


Watch CBS News Videos Online

[Hosheen]

My question is, what will it do that any other tablet or notebook won't do? Even my ten y/o tablet has a USB port, will hold all of my 800+ ebooks (mostly d/l for free) my music, videos, games, and connect via wifi.

What it won't do is tie me to Apple or Amazon for over-priced content that I don't really own because it can be deleted remotely, cannot be loaded to a different device, or shared with others.

The iPad has no USB, no camera, cannot display flash web content, and costs more than a used tablet PC. What it does have is a big worm in the Apple. I've been a Mac user and fan for over 20 years, but I'll pass on this.

[Fatesrider]

Let's not forget that the slate form factor kinda sucks as a multimedia platform. It's inconvenient to hold in a comfortable viewing position for very long and unless it's more ruggedly built than it appears, looks to be about as durable as the Macbook Air - which is to say not very.

At least a magazine can be folded in half, then unfolded and still be able to read it. Add to this that $500.00 (the cost of an entry level iPad) will buy a hell of a lot of subscriptions to periodicals that you can keep, movies that you can watch and never once risk accidentally sitting on all of them at once and losing them all in a brain-fart moment.

I know people will buy it, and many will like it. But they will eventually run into the form factor's limits and, like any shiny new toy, it will be dumped on the ever-growing stack of once coveted electronics - assuming it hasn't been accidentally "folded" along the way...

[RoboBlogger]

How does this do on drop worthiness? Would it still work after you accidentally drop it one time? In all fairness, it's a serious question.

[Fatesrider]

While the iPhone is a sturdy device, the iPad is much, much larger, with far greater inertia and far more likely to break from the same height as an iPhone or even an iPod Touch.

From what I understand, the face is glass - which means it won't take bending at all and can shatter. A larger pane of glass will shatter under a lighter load than a smaller pane of glass. That's just the mechanics of how glass works.

Time will tell, but simple physics says that the iPad WILL NOT survive the kind of abuse an iPhone or iPod Touch can take.

Bottom line: Don't drop it.