The Apple iPad

By: Brian Siegfried

My Impression of the Apple iPad

Most people have heard about the iPad by now. But for those who haven’t, the iPad is a tablet computer made by Apple. It runs a variation of the iPhone operating system that is used on Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch. It has a 9.7 inch LED touch screen, a 1.0 GHz home made Apple A4 processor, weighs just 1.5 pounds, and is only 0.5 inches thick.

The iPad shipped on April 3^rd in a Wi-Fi only model, but later this month a Wi-Fi/3G model will be shipping. The Wi-Fi/3G model will weigh 1.6 pounds and has data plans through AT&T. The data plan will not have a contract but will cost either $14.99 for 250 MB per month, or $29.99 for unlimited.

The iPad has all the great features the iPhone and iPod Touch have and more. It has the standard applications: Safari, Mail, YouTube, Maps, etc. One thing that is different is that all these applications were built from the ground up exclusively for the iPad. A new application is the iBook application, which is an eBook reader. It’s an advanced book reader that allows you to download books from the iBook store and read them directly on your iPad, in color, with the touch of a finger. You can swipe through pages just as if you were turning the page in a real book.

The iBook reader makes reading books more enjoyable and customizable. You can change from portrait view to landscape view and even change the text size to your preference. You can search throughout the book for a certain word or phrase, unlike a hard copy book. This application is perfect for high school and college students. It may be used to buy some of the books you are using in classes, once made available for the iBook format, and you can take them anywhere you go without feeling like you’re carrying a dump-truck on your back. One college taking advantage of this is Seton Hill University. They are giving every incoming freshman, next year, a brand new iPad.

To me, the iPad is a great new technology, but I’m not sure if I personally need one. It takes all the features I love that are also on my iPhone and makes them even bigger and better. The iPad is a great innovation from Apple and I think that many people will enjoy this new technology.

Editor’s Link: Apple iPad Tablet:  A TIME magazine review

Created by: brandoon111 on YouTube:

Apple iPad Commercial from SLSHS RebelReport on Vimeo.

This video was edited and remixed by brandoon111 on YouTube. It is original footage from Apple’s videos on the iPad.

Print PDF