At Apple’s press conference today, Steve Jobs announced the iPad — a touchscreen tablet computer with essentially the functionality of the iPhone or iPod Touch, minus the cell phone. The iPad will feature internet browsing as well as access to e-mail, calendars, iTunes movies and music, and all existing iPhone and iPod Touch applications. The iPad will be available either as a wifi only device or a 3G version using AT&T’s network. The pricing for 3G service for the iPad will be $14.99 for 250MB per month or $29.99 for an unlimited data plan. Pricing will be $499, $599, and $699 respectively for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB versions of the wifi only version, and $629, $729, and $829 respectively for the 3G version.
Although a the sleek design with the large touch screen taps into my new gadget geekdom, I’m not that excited about the iPad. I have internet access at home and it’s not really as practical as the iPhone to carry with you on a daily basis. That being said, I could envision the 3G version being a useful and inexpensive way to have access to the internet, either for people that travel alot or those that live off the grid, so to speak, without home cable or internet access. Certainly a regular cell phone plan combined with the iPad unlimited data plan is a less expensive way to have phone and internet access than the AT&T’s expensive iPhone plan or a cell phone plan and a cable internet subscription.
