Apple launches iPad tablet computer

The iPad, which resembles a giant iPhone, has a 9.7in full-colour touch-screen, and can be used to watch movies, surf the internet, listen to music, view photos, and read ebooks and digital versions of newspapers and magazines. Jobs described the device as a "truly magical and revolutionary product".

He confirmed speculation that the iPad could be used to read ebooks, newspapers and magazines. "Amazon has done a great job of pioneering books with the Kindle," said Jobs. "We're going to stand on their shoulders and go a bit further."

Apple has launched an ebook store, called iBook, that will allow users to purchase and download books on the go. Purchased books appear on a virtual bookshelf, complete with cover art, and the electronic pages resemble a real-life book. Jobs said Apple had signed deals with several major publishers, including Penguin and HarperCollins, and that he hoped other publishers would also make their content available on the platform.

The New York Times has developed an application, specially tailored for the iPad, which allows readers to view videos embedded within articles, and which recreates the look and feel of the print edition.

"The iPad combines the best of print with the best of digital, all rolled up in to one," said Martin Nisenholtz, a senior executive at the newspaper. "It's something you can really immerse yourself in. We're pioneering the next version of digital journalism."

Jobs said that Apple had been pondering whether or not to launch a tablet computer for years. "We asked, was there room for a third category of device, between laptops and smartphones?," he told journalists and analysts at the Yerba Buena Centre in San Francisco."If there's going to be a third category of device, then it has to be better at things like web browsing, email, sharing photos, watching videos, enjoying music, playing games and reading ebooks than a smartphone or laptop.

"What this device does is extraordinary. It's the best browsing experience you've ever had. You're holding the internet in your hands. It's way better than a laptop, it's way better than a smartphone. Using it is so much more intimate than a laptop, and so much more capable than a smartphone."

The iPad, which weighs 680g and is 1.3cm thick, has a 10 hour battery life and can surf the internet over Wi-Fi. It is available with 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of flash storage. Wi-Fi-only models will be available in UK in 60 days. In the US the WiFi-only models will be priced at $499 for 16GB model, $599 for 32GB model, $699 for 64GB model. 3G models will hopefully be available in the US in 90 days and in the UK later this year, when carrier deals are struck. These models will cost $629 (16GB), $729 (32GB), $829 (64GB)

Applications and games available in the App Store can be used on the iPad, and developers will also be able to build software specifically for the larger-screen device. Electronic Arts, one of the world's biggest video games studios, said it was developing a range of games for the platform, as are dozens of other games companies.

"The ability to run existing apps is critical, and puts the iPad in a different league to other devices," said Michael Gartenberg, a technology analyst. "Gaming on the iPad is going to be huge.”

相關(guān)中文新聞（摘自）

平板電腦iPad分為支持WiFi和支持WiFi+3G兩個(gè)版本，有16GB、32GB和64GB三種容量大小，支持WiFi版的16GB容量的iPad最低售價(jià)為499美元。

系統(tǒng)：iPhone操作系統(tǒng)
CPU：1GHz蘋果自制CPU
厚度：1.27厘米
重量：0.681千克
顯示：9.7英寸IPS顯示屏 支持多點(diǎn)觸控
通信：802.11n WIFI，2.1+EDR藍(lán)牙
容量：16GB 32GB 64GB 閃存
電池：正常使用最長10小時(shí)，待機(jī)可達(dá)一個(gè)月 電池可以更換

iPhone的SDK從現(xiàn)在開始就可以為iPad進(jìn)行開發(fā)，并且iPad已經(jīng)可以直接從Apple store中下載游戲和軟件運(yùn)行。
iBooks store在線程序商店隨本次發(fā)布會(huì)正式上線。iBooks是一款類似app store之類的在線程序商店，目前蘋果已經(jīng)和眾多大型書商簽約，用戶可以直接通過iBooks程序商店購買電子書籍，然后在iPad上閱讀。

支持WiFi的，16GB容量售價(jià)為499美元，32GB容量售價(jià)599美元，64GB容量售價(jià)699美元。
增加3G模塊的，16GB容量售價(jià)629美元，32GB容量售價(jià)729美元，64GB容量售價(jià)829美元。

60天后在全球范圍內(nèi)銷售支持WiFi版本的iPad；
90天后將銷售支持WiFI+3G版本的iPad。

更多關(guān)于蘋果iPad的文章，點(diǎn)擊閱讀“堅(jiān)決不買蘋果iPad的11個(gè)理由”>>