Apple Inc chief executive officer Steve Jobs took the wraps off a sleek tablet called the iPad, pitching the new gadget at a surprisingly low price to bridge the gap between smartphones and laptops.
A buoyant Jobs took the stage at a packed theater on Wednesday to show off the 9.7-inch touchscreen tablet, which looks like a large iPhone, and to introduce a new iBook electronic reader service that will compete with Amazon.com’s Kindle.
Jobs described the iPad as a “third category” of devices, a do-everything media gadget that can surf the Web, and play movies and video games. He also left little doubt that Apple was going after the e-book market that Amazon had popularized.
“If there’s going to be a third category of device, it’s going to have to be better at these kinds of tasks than a laptop or a smartphone; otherwise it has no reason for being,” said Jobs, who still appeared thin following his liver transplant last year.
“Now Amazon’s done a great job of pioneering this functionality with their Kindle. And we’re going to stand on their shoulders and go a bit further,” he said.
Famous for his skills as a pitchman, Jobs, dressed in his trademark blue jeans and black turtleneck, created plenty of drama as he waited until late in the event to discuss the cost of the iPad, which analysts had expected to be up to US$1,000.
Apple elected to price it for as little as US$499 for 16 gigabytes of storage, starting in late March. An extra US$130 is needed to equip the iPad with third-generation (3G) wireless capability. Higher-capacity models will sell for US$599 and US$699.
The 1.25cm thick, 680g iPad features Apple’s own processor and 10 hours of battery life. It runs a version of the iPhone’s operating system and can use virtually all of the 140,000 apps currently available for the smartphone.
Other technology companies, including Microsoft Corp and Toshiba Corp, have launched tablets that failed to take off in recent years.
However, analysts said they were impressed with the technology that Apple showed off. The iPad has a near life-size touch keyboard, and comes with all the expected features, including a calendar, an address book and maps.
“One thing Apple has proven is that they can consumerize new concepts, new technologies,” said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a consulting firm. “That will probably be their claim to fame again with this.”
However, some also mentioned potential cannibalization of other Apple products.
“If it’s doing all these things and does it better than a notebook then they’d have to tell me why I’d want a MacBook,” NPD analyst Steve Baker said.
Some industry watchers said the iPad, with its multimedia bells and whistles, will be a tough competitor for the Kindle. The iBooks store will let users buy from publishers including Pearson Plc’s Penguin, News Corp’s HarperCollins and Hachette Book Group.
However, other analysts said that the Kindle costs less — US$259 for the cheapest version — and was more tailored for long-form reading, at least for now.
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