Apple iPad

On Wednesday Apple introduced a new member to its family, the iPad. The iPad is essentially a larger version of the iPhone or iPod Touch. Some may wonder if there is actually a market for a device that fits somewhere between Apple’s iPhone and Macbook laptops. If you look at the way netbooks have taken off over the past couple of years you’ll notice Apple stayed on the sidelines while they became popular. This is Apple’s response to the netbook market.

The first thing you’ll notice that’s different about this netbook is that it’s a tablet. No room for a keyboard because that would bulk it up and make it just another laptop. Now if you take into consideration the thousands of apps already available for the iPhone and realize that they can be ported over to the new device then you’ll realize that there’s already tons of content for the iPad. I think Apple is also hoping that the iPad becomes the new way to read books, newspapers and magazines but they’re scared to market it that way in case that’s not the case.

Apple logo

The iPad will launch in March, 2010 and will be available in three versions that are essentially the same iPad guts with different amounts of memory, 16,32 and 64GB. The screen will be 9.7″ and 1024×768 pixels. The iPad will weigh 1.5 pounds and have roughly 10 hours of battery life before it needs to be recharged. The pricing of the iPad will start just under $500.

More @ Apple.