Apple unveils new iPad tablet

Did you honestly think I’d go without writing a post about the newest cool gadget from Apple? Don’t worry, I’m not turning Brad’s Reader into a fanboy site, but the iPad has tremendous implications for the world of ebooks. Will it be the long awaited ‘Kindle killer’? I don’t know.

For the last year or so (maybe even longer) there have been rumors that Apple would eventually release a tablet device. That day has come. At first glace, iPad is a beefed up version of the iPhone/iPod Touch. But under the hood the iPad is impressive. I want onto the MacRumors blog and here’s what they had to say:

At today’s highly-anticipated media event, Apple announced the iPad tablet device, featuring a 9.7-inch, 1024 x 768 display and 16 GB, 32 GB, and 64 GB capacities. Carrying a custom 1 GHz “Apple A4″ chip, the iPad weighs in at 1.5 pounds and is .5-inch thin. The iPad will be priced at $499, $599, and $699 for the varying capacity models without 3G, and $626, $729, and $829 with 3G.

The price surprised me, since everyone was speculating that the price point for the iPad would be around $999, the same price as Apple’s basic Macbook. The entry price for a basic unit is $499. This is just a little more expensive than the Kindle DX and about double the basic Kindle price. However, given the number of features the iPad sports, those considering the Kindle might be better off with a multi-use device.

For the sake of comparison, the Sony Daily Edition Reader comes in at $399 and the Barnes & Noble Nook is priced at $259. How will the iPad affect the sales of those dedicated e-readers? Only time will tell.

I think the most exciting thing about the iPad is the built in iBooks app – which allows you to buy, download and read ebooks. Before the release today, Apple had been busy negotiating with some of the larger publishing houses to make their books available on the iPad. If you watch the demo video on Apple’s website, you’ll see that the device renders the text beautifully and the page turning (with the swipe of a finger) is very realistic.

Dedicated or Multi-use?

This is the big question ebook enthusiasts and anyone looking to get into the ebook game now face. I’ll admit that I love my dedicated Sony Pocket Edition. No distractions. Just pure reading. Yes, I do read ebooks on my iPhone as well, but not nearly as many and my reading sessions are much shorter.

There’s also a good argument for multi-use devices like the iPad. It’s an all-in-one device (except for the phone) where you can manage your entire digital life from the tablet. The virtual keyboard is almost the size of a laptop keyboard, making typing emails, notes, working on your novel much easier. But again, all these other features can be distracting – especially when checking email or blog stats is one click away.

Will iPad revolutionize ebook reading?

It might be too soon to tell how the iPad will affect ebooks. Before the Barnes & Noble Nook was released, it had a lot of hype and people were speculating about how it would impact all the other e-readers out there. Now that the holidays are over and Nook has been out for a few months, the excitement has greatly dwindled and I really haven’t heard much about it.

This leads me to believe that it might be several months, maybe even a year or so, to see what impact the iPad has. Given the unexpected lower price, the iPad is now a much more realistic option for a lot of people. At the very least, I think the iPad will give the Kindle a run for their money. If Amazon isn’t shaking now, they soon will be.

ePub featured on the iPad!

One item I got really excited about was learning the Apple has chosen the open ePub format for the iPad. This means, in theory, that you can buy ebooks from Apple and read them on any other device that can read ePub (including my Sony Pocket Edition, Yay!). I’m thrilled that Apple didn’t create their own proprietary format for ebooks, bogging us down in yet another format and more DRM.

In the end though, I think that the iPad will make a great addition to an already impressive lineup of ebook reading devices, regardless if they are dedicated or multi-use. Furthermore, another device on the market means more competition, which means that we’ll see more advanced e-readers in the years to come, and lower prices.

For the record, I have no immediate plans to buy an iPad. My trusty 1st gen iPhone is plugging along just fine. And my funds are a little low to plunk down $499 on a shiny new gadget.

What do you think of the iPad? Are you going to pre-order one, or save your money for something else?

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• Should ebook readers be multifunctional?

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