Apple, which brought consumers such hits as the iPod and iPhone, is wading into a new product category with the launch of its iPad, a touch-screen tablet computer that CEO Steve Jobs has said puts "the Internet in your hands" -- and apparently much more.
At a press event on January 27, Jobs unveiled the 1.5 pound tablet computing device with a 9.7 inch screen and built-in Internet connectivity, which will be available for purchase sometime in late March. "We call it the iPad. What this device does is extraordinary," said Jobs. "You can browse the web with it. It's phenomenal. It's way better than a laptop [and] way better than a smartphone."
Jobs positioned the much-hyped iPad as a companion product in Apple's lineup: The device fits between the iPhone and its Macbook laptop, with prices ranging from $499 to $829 depending on options such as the amount of memory and type of wireless connectivity (wi-fi and/or an additional wireless data plan through AT&T). Competitively, the iPad is targeted at netbooks -- popular mini-laptops with screens that measure 10 inches or less -- and tablet-style e-book readers such as Amazon.com's Kindle, Barnes & Noble's nook and Sony's Reader, according to experts at Wharton. In other words, Jobs positioned the iPad as a universal computing device that can play music, movies and video games, show pictures and hold a library of books.
What's unclear is whether consumers will buy into the idea of a universal device that meets all their needs -- or whether the iPad will become just one more gadget to juggle.
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