Are you new to Apple products like Apple iPad,iPod,iPhone? If you are, it can be a little bewildering. Apple churns out so many new products into the market at any given time, it can be very hard to keep up with the latest products they’re releasing.But fear not! I’ll uncovered the basic information about Apple products which you need to know and distilled that knowledge into this little article. Read on, and by the end of the article you’ll understand Apple products so much better.The Apple iPad has been the subject of a lot of hype prior to its launch. Is the device over hyped? Does it do all it claims to do? Well, I’ll attempt to give you a rundown on the Apple iPad so you can understand its specs, features, content and price – along with some pointers on how to use it.
Essential Facts About The Apple iPad
1. The Hardware of Apple iPad
You can think of the Apple iPad is sort of a super light unibody MacBook Pro. Just that it’s smaller, thinner and much, much lighter. Alternatively, think of it as a bigger iPhone that’s been built with unibody construction.
The device itself is gorgeous. The tablet is a clean slab of pure “display” and measures just 0.5 inches thick. It measures 9.56 x 7.47 inches and weighs in at 1.5 pounds.
The multi touch screen measures is sized at 9.7 inches, which is very large for games, surfing and browsing photos. The screen’s resolution is 1536×2048 pixels which gives you very crisp and sharp displays.
The iPad is powered by a Dual-core 1.3 GHz Apple ARM A7 chip, and has 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of flash storage (depending on which model you purchase).
It also comes with all sorts of nice components, all neatly incorporated into its design – 802.11 n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, a 30-pin iPod connector, a speaker, a microphone, an accelerometer and a compass. The only that is glaringly missing is a camera – there’s no camera on the iPad at all.
2. Operating System for Apple iPad
The operating system in the iPad is based on the iPhone OS, which is in turn loosely based on OS X.
You will see a homescreen similar to that on the iPhone. There’s an OS X-style shiny dock in the homescreen and iPhone users will find the feel very “spread out” compared to the iPhone’s homescreen.
3. Apple iPad User Interface
When using the iPad, the first thing you notice is how you have to hold it. You can hold the iPad in two different ways, and the software will adapt to both. There’s the Portrait mode which is the primary mode, while the secondary Landscape mode is well suited for movies.
The keyboard is built into the iPad just like its iPhone cousin – it’s onscreen. Typing on the iPad is comfortable but if you really wanted a true keyboard typing experience, you still can’t beat a traditional keyboard.
Well, some adjectives would help describe the iPad when you use it. Hefty. Substantial. Easy to grip. Fast. Beautiful. Rigid. And did I say it’s fast?
4. Software for Apple iPad
The key software provided out-of-the-box with the iPad are fantastic and iPhone owners will immediately recognize most of them. The Safari browser, support for email, music, video, Google maps, calendar and contacts.
One interesting default application in the iPad that’s missing in the iPhone is iBooks. iBooks gives the Amazon Kindle a run for its money – with thousands of books in available in ePub format.
Also, for those who need word processing functionality, iWork is packaged with the iPad. There’s also a new version of Keynote designed just for the iPad, as well as new version of Pages, (word processor), and Numbers, which is the spreadsheet app.
You also get some file storage –the iPad does seem to have some shared storage aside from the photo roll. The newly released SDK reveals that when you connect an iPad to a PC or Mac, part of it—a partition, maybe?—mounts as a shared documents folder.
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5. Apps for Apple iPad
Then there are the apps! Any app that currently runs on the iPhone will run on the iPad. The apps are usually displayed in the center of the screen or in “pixel double” mode, which blows them up crudely. Any apps you’ve purchased for your iPhone can be synced, for free, to your iPad.
Users who also dabble in App development will know that the iPhone app SDK has already been expanded for tablet development, including a whole new set of UI elements and expanded resolution support.
Looking For A Good iPad Case?
If you’ve just bought a new Apple iPad, you’ll definitely want a good case to protect it. Trouble is, there are tons of iPad cases out there … which one do you choose?
Well, fret not. For me, the Acase Leather Book Jacket has surely got to be one of my favorite iPad cases. It’s designed to convert into a stand with multiple viewing angles. It’s also super stylish and provides excellent all-round protection.
6. Gaming on Apple iPad
If you like going on the go, then the Apple iPad might prove to be a serious contender to the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. I tried N.O.V.A and Need for Speed on it and you can see that the games are rendered in full HD – meaning the graphics power in the iPad is no pushover.
7. Apple iPad Connectors
One drawback about the iPad is that you need adapters to connect it to various other devices. The iPad only has one accessory port, and it takes an iPod dock connector.
To make other kinds of connections, you need adapters like a Dock Connector to VGA adapter, a USB camera adapter, a USB to SD adapter, and an included USB power adapter, which lets you charge by AC or USB.
8. Apple iPad Connectivity
In terms of connectivity, the iPad models come with Wi-Fi and those with Wi-Fi and 3G/4G. If you live in the US, the AT&T plan is a good deal – it costs either $15 a month for 250MB of data, or $30 for unlimited data. You also get access to AT&T’s Wi-Fi hotspots as well. The service is all prepaid with no contract to bind you. Take note that you need a new type of Micro SIM card (not the same as the iPhone) in order to connect to the 3G network.
9. The Battery life for Apple iPad
The battery in the Apple iPad is touted to last very long – you can go through about 6 full length movies before the battery dies. That translates to about ten hours of constant use. So far, from what I’ve heard, the iPad battery life is all that it’s cracked up to be.
10. iPad Basics
The iPad is a very user friendly device. Even so, in terms of setup and understand the nuances of the tablet, you need to use it for some time before getting used to it.
11. Apple iPad Accessories
The iPad is just calling out for accessories. Everything from the wireless keyboard dock, protective screens and cases, to other knick-knicks. There’s a whole new market being created out there for these products. Do check out my list of the Top 10 cool iPad accessories in this article here.
Note that Apple offers three main official accessories – a book-style case, a regular dock and a keyboard dock. Well, I’m sure these must be flying off the shelves almost as fast as the iPad itself.
The book cover doubles as a stand, so you can prop the iPad up in a few different ways. The keyboard dock hooks up with the iPad when it’s in portrait mode, so you can type longer documents, charge, or both. The iPad will also support Apple’s Bluetooth keyboards.
12. Different Models of Apple iPad
The different iPad models are shown below:
- iPad (Wi-Fi only / WiFI+Cellular) – comes with storage of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB
- iPad 2 (Wi-Fi only / WiFI+Cellular) – comes with storage of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB
- iPad 3 (Wi-Fi only / WiFI+Cellular) – comes with storage of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB
- iPad 4 (Wi-Fi only / WiFI+Cellular) – comes with storage of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB
- iPad Air (Wi-Fi only / WiFI+Cellular) – comes with storage of 16GB, 32GB ,64GB,128GB
- iPad Air 2 (Wi-Fi only / WiFI+Cellular) – comes with storage of 16GB, 32GB ,64GB,128GB
- iPad Pro 12.9″ (Wi-Fi only / WiFI+Cellular) – comes with storage of 32GB,128GB,256GB
- iPad Pro 9.7″ (Wi-Fi only / WiFI+Cellular) – comes with storage of 32GB,128GB,256GB
Conclusion
I hope the above has helped you understand the Apple iPad a lot better. This tablet is going to take the world by storm and there are already a lot of secondary markets being created to cater to iPad owners. If you haven’t got one yet, you might want to go grab one for a test drive in the Apple stores and see if you like it. Until next time, have a great time using that iPad!