Apple has finally released its new tablet device. The Mac public was expecting, indeed pushing for Apple to release such a device, sooner than latter. For Apple to have failed to do so would have been a real letdown to its customers as well as its shareholders. It was a do or die scenario. After all, the iPhone has been essentially a tiny tablet computer. Apple has shown that it can deliver such a device like no one else does. In spite of Steve Jobs past protestations, releasing a new tablet was a not a surprise at all. All Apple had to do is scale up its dazzling interface to a bigger device and it did! The technical challenges in producing this new device, called the iPad, were enormous. Apple had to essentially design a whole new operating system that is not quite the Mac and not quite the iPhone, rewrite its core applications from scratch, and basically rethink the entire way a computer operates. Apple was not the first to release a new tablet computer, just as it was not the first to release an MP3 player or cell phone, but it may well be the company that succeeds in making the tablet computer truly a favourite with the public. Apple has an incredible head start with over100000 applications (apps) for the iPhone, and it wisely designed the iPad to take advantage of them. The iPad can run iPhone apps at their original size, or in “pixel doubled mode” twice the size as on the iPhone, so that they nearly fill the iPad screen. Developers can easily rewrite their iPhone apps specifically for the iPad in such a way as to take advantage of its new features. How does the iPad influence Internet marketers? Truly, the “i” in the name is an acrimony for Internet, a brilliant way of syncing the name of the “iPod”. Surfing the web will be a joy, and a larger screen will give users much more room to work with. Apple’s developers brag that it’s like “holding the entire Internet in your hand,” or like reading a physical book or Newspaper. Apple has completely rewritten its productivity software iWork for the iPad. Keynote contains custom graph styles, custom-designed themes, animations and effects, and brand-new features designed just for the iPad. Pages include Apple-designed templates and formatting tools. Numbers offers over 250 formulas, flexible tables and sophisticated charts. Apple has worked hard to make reading e-books, magazines and newspapers pleasurable on the iPad. Apple’s e-book reading software has an interface that looks like a bookshelf. Flip the bookshelf over with your finger, and it brings you to the online store where you can buy new books. The iPad’s built-in Safari browser works just like the one on your Mac. And, like the version on your iPhone, you can scroll through pages by flicking your finger across them, or pinch or double tap to zoom in on a photo. The Mail application offers a landscape view with a split screen showing both the current e-mail and the unread messages in your inbox. Want to view the current e-mail message by itself? Simply turn the iPad to portrait mode and the message zooms to fill the screen. The iPad will work with popular e-mail providers such as mobile me, Yahoo Mail, Gmail, Hotmail and AOL. To compose a message, you just tap and start typing. (To be Cont’d) eddie@afrowebs.com
