It's Officially Crazy Week

The iPad arrives int he hands of users in just a few short days, and it has officially become crazy week. Yes, I have tried to convince myself to run out and try to grab one on Saturday (for review purposes, natch), but honestly, I am waiting until the WiFi+3G version comes out. And I really want to try to hold out for the second generation. So, you won’t be seeing a review on this site until anywhere from a few weeks to a year. That said, I will try to get hands on one to play with for a bit, and give my impressions as soon as I can.

But users aren’t the only ones preparing for the iPad. Our favorite fruit company has been issuing software to us all left and right for days. Aperture was recently updated with iPad compatibility (along with many other fixes in general for the program), Mac OS X 10.6.3 was released, and today iPhoto was given compatibility along with the latest version of iTunes, version 9.1.

Now, I’ve been saying for at least a year now that iTunes needs to be rewritten from the ground up. It’s just been feeling like it is getting more and more bloated. I also think it could benefit from being rewritten into Cocoa from Carbon. OS X has many technologies now that only Cocoa apps can utilize. The Finder, in my opinion, saw a great boost in stability and speed by transitioning to Cocoa in Snow Leopard. Also, there has to be a metric ton of legacy code that is just cruft waiting to be discarded.

I still hope that the next major version of iTunes (iTunes X sounds like a good name, doesn’t it?) will see at minimum a rewrite into Cocoa, and on the more extreme end of the spectrum, a reimagining of the user interface.

But let’s get our heads out of the clouds and discuss the present — iTunes 9.1. Maybe it’s just me and my lofty hopes, but it feels — dare I say — snappier. It’s still definitely a Carbon app, but it seems faster at just about everything. And it throws in some new features such as iPad support, finer control of Genius Mixes, support for ePub books and books purchased from the iBookstore, and a handy checkbox to allow you to compress the music that goes into your iPod or iPhone to 128 kbps on the fly instead of loading the full 256 kbps songs that you get from the iTunes Store. 

All-in-all, iTunes 9.1 is a modest feature update, but performance seems to be enhanced, and to me that is an unsung hero of the feature list.

iPad Already Putting Nails in Flash's Coffin

Just a tasty little nugget from Macrumors:

…if you visit CBS.com using the iPad SDK Simulator or spoofing your browser’s User-Agent to impersonate an iPad, you are sent to a different version of the video: [image]

This new version of the video does not yet work but appears to be based on HTML5. The css filesreference HTML5 and have a number of “webkit” specific calls. Webkit is the browser engine used in the iPad’s mobile safari. While the videos don’t currently play, the “fullscreen mode” reportedly already works in the iPad simulator.

and:

Apple has been a strong proponent of HTML5 and has suggested it as an alternative solution to Flash. It appears at least one major network will be supporting HTML5 alongside Flash video to deliver their content at iPad launch.

Imagine if Hulu were to do something like this. I can’t wait for most of the Internet to transition away from Flash.

iPad! Get Your iPad! Read All About It!

Has your check card melted yet? It should be. At 5:30 a.m. PST today (about 30 minutes from publication of this), the iPad will be available for pre-order in the USA. 

Are you getting one? 

I know I (and my wife) want one, but we’re planning on two new iPhones in a few months. So, sadly, we’re likely waiting for the iPad Mark II (not likely a real product name) sometime in the next year. 

I will say, I am excited to play around with an iPad in the next few weeks, as Apple Stores will surely have them, and a friend of mine is getting one.

Are you excited for the iPad? Why or why not?

Getting Serious

The iPad is certainly the talk of the town these days. Most of the focus has been on it running a flavor of the iPhone OS, it “just” being a giant iPod touch, the exclusion of a webcam, or a myriad of other surface details. By far, though, I have been chiefly interested by the things Apple told us are inside the iPad.

Back at the iPhone unveiling in January 2007, Steve Jobs quoted Alan Kay, the so-called father of object-oriented programming, which Apple uses in Mac OS X and the iPhone OS. The quote Jobs used was, 

“People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.”

Over the past three years, Apple has really taken that philosophy to heart. Just over a year ago, Apple introduced the 17-inch aluminum unibody MacBook Pro to round out the unibody line of Mac portables. The key difference of the 17-inch from the 13- and 15-inch varieties was more than just a larger screen. The battery was no longer removable by the user. Apple revealed they had been designing their own batteries (versus buying the cells from a third party), and by removing the hardware necessary to allow the user the change the battery out themselves, they were able to expand the size of the battery and the overall capacity. They began to make the battery cells in house, taking on a new form factor and the ability to last up to 7 hours on a single charge. Also, normally a computer battery can handle around 300 charge cycles before needing replacement. Apple was able to increase that to around 1,000 cycles.

The following June, the 13- and 15-inch aluminum unibody portables received the same battery treatment.

And now, fast-forward to January 2010, and the iPad uses a custom processor, made in-house by Apple. It’s called the A4. Details are scarce, as the iPad hasn’t yet been released to the public. But what we do know is that it is a mobile processor than runs at 1GHz (the iPhone 3GS runs an ARM Cortex A8 at 600 MHz). Other than that, all we have to go on are educated guesses, and some statements than Steve Jobs apparently told Walt Mossberg of the The Wall Street Journal last week after the event. AppleInsider has the scoop on that conversation:

Like the iPad, people familiar with the matter claim the fourth-generation iPhone will run a version of Apple’s homebred silicon, which melds ARM’s latest multi-core Cortex reference designs with Imagination’s upcoming GPU components into a fine-tuned, customized SoC (system-on-a-chip) package.

These enhancements, along with improvements to the iPhone software, are expected to translate into quantifiable improvements in battery life and the overall speed of the iPhone interface and the software that runs on top of it.

Last week, in a conversation with Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal, Jobs spoke of the battery-sipping custom chips Apple has built with the acquisition of P.A. Semi. He noted that the newly announced iPad will offer “140-something hours,” or nearly six days, of continuous music playback with the screen off.

“It’s all about the display,” Jobs said of battery life. “Our chips don’t use hardly any power.”

With Apple making its own chips, batteries, and software, it is obvious that they are able to manage the power consumption to an almost ridiculous level. This is merely the beginning. These technologies will continue to get faster, more efficient, and generally better.

Apple is getting serious with it’s products. I would be shocked if Apple didn’t use a custom processor in the next iPhone model. I can’t even begin to imagine what a screamer the next iPhone will be if it has something similar to the A4, if not the A4 itself. 

And it just so happens that I’ll be eligible for a new iPhone this summer.

iPad — Apple's Newest Creation

Earlier today Steve Jobs unveiled the long-rumored tablet computer — iPad. Yes, you read that right. iPad. Close to iPod, but one vowel off. I could care less for the name, but I thought iPod was pretty ridiculous back in 2001. Obviously I changed my tune on that, and I am sure the iPad moniker will grow on me.

Aside from the name, though, the device seems to be quite the spectacular technological specimen, especially for the price it will sell for when it is released in late March/early April. The iPad is essentially a giant iPod touch in form factor, but the software has been tweaked to better accommodate the larger 9.7-inch screen. It weighs in at 1.5 pounds and is 0.5 inches thin. I think it is quite attractive aesthetically (from what I have seen on pictures/video).

Hardware

Let’s get into what we now know about the iPad. The display is a 9.7-inches, with 1024 x 768 resolution at 132 pixels per inch, and has In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology. IPS is cool because it prevents color distortion when the display is viewed from an angle. Apple’s current iMac line utilizes IPS and I have seen it cropping up in quite a few HDTVs lately (I know Vizio’s XVT line uses it). That makes for one sharp display.

It will comes in storage capacities of 16/32/64 GB at $499/$599/$699, respectively for Wi-Fi only models and $629/$729/$829 for Wi-Fi + 3G models, respectively. Apple also announced a breakthrough deal in the US for 3G coverage. Users can pre-pay for 250 MB bandwidth $15/month and Unlimited¹ bandwidth will run $30/month. However, these plans are contract free, and can be activated/deactivated from iPad itself. So if a user is going on a trip, they can activate before they leave and deactivate when the get home. Nice deal. Also, the device itself is unlocked, so any GSM micro-SIM can be placed in it, presumably. The big catch for the US? The deal is with AT&T.

Networking is accomplished via 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate, and optionally, 3G networking.

One of the most interesting tidbits is the brain of the iPad. A while back, Apple acquired a chip design firm called PA Semi-Conductor. It appears that acquisition has borne fruit (forgive the pun) as Apple is using custom silicon for iPad’s processor. The new processor is called the Apple A4, and has a clock-speed of 1 GHz. This is exciting, and I hope Apple uses custom silicon in the next iPhone model. (Could they possibly make their own processors for notebooks, too?)

Software

On the software side of things, it appears iPad is running a build of the unreleased iPhone OS 3.2. I was surprised by this, as I thought the tablet would run its own branch of OS X. The advantage of the iPhone core is that iPad can run all existing iPhone and iPod touch applications, either in regular size, or it can scale them up to full screen. Developers will be able to make apps for just the iPad, or ones that run on all Apple touchscreen devices.

Input is much like the iPhone. A software keyboard pops up in portrait or landscape view, and you type on it much like you would a notebook keyboard. Well, at least that’s how Steve Jobs did it. There are a couple more input options, but I’ll discuss those under accessories. Navigation is done with your fingers. It is a touchscreen, after all.

From what was demoed of included apps, I was quite pleased with the Calendar and Mail app. The Calendar app looks so much better than even iCal on Mac OS X. And Mail just looks so much more functionally laid out than Mail on iPhone or even Mac OS X. I also enjoyed the look of the iPod app, as it looks like a next-generation iTunes on the Mac.

The iPad also fills the role of an eBook reader, and introduces a new app called iBooks and the iBookstore, powered by the iTunes Store, naturally. Of course, I recently became a Kindle owner. Great timing, huh? I can already tell that the browsing and buying experience will be better with iPad, but I can attest that the Kindle is easy on the eyes. That said, I think the whirlwind force of Apple with its iTunes Store behemoth will slaughter the Kindle.

Apple also announced iWork for iPad. Each app — Pages, Keynote, and Numbers — has been reworked for use on the touchscreen. They will sell separately for $10 each on the App Store. I don’t believe they will be compatible with the iPhone and iPod touch.

To see this stuff in action, go watch Apple’s iPad video.

Accessories

Apple announced a few accessories to complement the iPad. First, a Dock — think of it as a charging station. There is also a Keyboard Dock — it looks like Apple’s compact aluminum keyboard attached to the iPad Dock. There’s a cover that doubles as a stand, and a cable that allows iPad to be hooked up to a monitor. There are also camera connectors, one for connecting your camera via USB to dump photos, or an SD card reader.

The current Apple Wireless Keyboard can also be connected via bluetooth to iPad for text input.

Closing

Reflecting upon my prediction post a couple days ago, I was wrong on nearly everything. iLife and iWork didn’t see updates for the Mac (iWork did get an update, just not how I expected, and it isn’t released yet). There wasn’t an iTunes bump. iPhone OS 3.2 wasn’t released (and likely won’t be until the iPad is out in late March/early April). Chiefly, Apple is still hugging AT&T. I was convinced they were losing exclusivity. I owe you all a crow eating.

Beyond all that, I think the iPad is a very awesome device, just from what I’ve read/seen pictures of. I can definitely see where it fits in the computing lifestyle for someone like my wife. She uses an iMac, and has an iPod touch. She used to have an iBook, and sometimes she misses it. I can see where she would want an iPad for that medium-sized portable computer.

On the other hand, for someone like me, who uses an MacBook Pro and has an iPhone, well, I have a portable computer already. Two if you count the iPhone. I’m just not sure how iPad would fit for me. Don’t worry, that wouldn’t keep me from getting one. I drank the kool-aid long ago. The message is just a little less clear for folks who use a notebook computer as their main computer.

I suppose my thoughts are that the iPad is the start of something new. Perhaps, given time, it will grow into a device that could replace the notebook computer altogether. Perhaps. Only time will tell.

¹Carriers usually impose a 5 GB cap on these so-called “unlimited” data plans.