Apple Inc. will sell the newly unveiled tablet-style iPad starting at $499, a price tag far below the $1,000 that some analysts were expecting.
The iPad, which is larger in size but similar in design to Apple’s popular iPhone, was billed by CEO Steve Jobs today as “so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smart phone.”
The highly anticipated gadget has a 9.7-inch touch screen, is a half-inch thick, weighs 1.5 pounds and comes with 16, 32 or 64 gigabytes of flash memory storage. The basic iPad models will cost $499, $599 and $699, depending on the storage size.
All models have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity built in. Jobs said the device has a battery that lasts 10 hours and can sit for a month on standby without needing a charge.
Apple will also sell a version with pay-as-you-go data plans from AT&T in the U.S. Two tiers of data plan will be available without contracts: $14.99 per month for 250 megabytes of data, or $29.99 for unlimited data usage.
Those 3G models will cost more — $629, $729 and $829, depending on the amount of memory. The Wi-Fi only version will be available worldwide in March, and the 3G version in April. International cellular data details have not yet been announced.
Apple had kept its “latest creation” tightly under wraps until today’s unveiling, though many analysts had correctly speculated that it would be a one-piece tablet computer with a big touch screen, larger than an iPhone but smaller than a laptop.
The CEO demonstrated how the iPad is used for surfing the Web with Apple’s Safari browser. He typed an e-mail using an on-screen keyboard and flipped through photo albums by flicking his finger across the screen. And he showed off a new electronic book store, putting the iPad in competition with Amazon.com Inc.’s Kindle and other e-book readers.
Jobs said the iPad will also be better for playing games and watching video than either a laptop or a smart phone. The iPad comes with software including a calendar, maps, a video player and iPod software for playing music. All seem to have been slightly redesigned to take advantage of the iPad’s bigger screen.
Tablet computers have existed for a decade, with little success. Jobs acknowledged Apple will have to work to convince consumers who already have smart phones and laptops that they need this gadget.
“In order to really create a new category of devices, those devices are going to have to be far better at doing some key tasks,” Jobs said. “We think we’ve got the goods. We think we’ve done it.”
Applications designed for the iPhone can run on the iPad. Apple is also releasing updated tools for software developers to help them build iPhone and iPad programs.
“We think it’s going to be a whole ‘nother gold rush for developers as they build applications for the iPad,” said Scott Forstall, an iPhone software executive.
A new newspaper reader program from The New York Times and a game from Electronic Arts Inc. were also demonstrated during the event. The audience, which included many journalists and bloggers, clapped and even gave Jobs a standing ovation.
Some analysts were instantly optimistic.
“The first year for iPhone and iPod achieved 6 million units in sales — we think the tablet will achieve the same level of sales the first year of launch,” Ashok Kumar, managing director at Northeast Securities Inc., said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
“The question has arisen lately: Is there room for a third category of device in the middle, something that’s between a laptop and smartphone,” Jobs said. “Those devices are going to have to be far better at doing some key tasks. What kind of tasks? Well, things like browsing the Web, doing e-mail, enjoying and sharing photographs, watching videos, playing games.”
Apple, which reported a 32 percent jump in holiday sales this week, said the Mac accounted for 28 percent of revenue. The iPhone brought in about a third of sales, while the iPod represented 22 percent of revenue. Apple has sold 250 million iPods, Jobs said today.
Demand for Apple’s traditional iPod music players is falling as consumers switch to multifunction devices like the iPod Touch, which has Wi-Fi support, and smartphones that can also play music and video, like the iPhone. IPod shipments fell 8 percent last quarter to 21 million units. Sales of the iPod Touch rose 55 percent.
With the tablet, Apple gets a new category built around its iTunes software and store. That gives the company a fresh way to attract consumers, video-game makers and other application developers, as well as publishers looking to capitalize on their content.
Shares in Apple rose $3.06, or 1.5 percent, to $209 in afternoon trading today. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s shares have more than doubled over the past year, partly on anticipation of the tablet computer. Shares in Amazon rose $2, or 1.7 percent, to $121.48.
Via: Chron.com
(CB)
