Collin J. Johnson asked:




Apple has recently launched its newest gadget, which is said to soar to greater heights than the Apple iPhone. This new gadget is a tablet computer called the Apple iPad. Fans of the company cannot wait to get their hands on this sleek, ultra-hip and stylish technology, which are also making tech bloggers’ lives a lot easier – they have so much to rave about the iPad.

Indeed, the Apple iPad is a must-have item. If you want to own one without having to spend your hard-earned cash, you are reading the right article.

Plan of Action

You can be an iPad tester! Yes, all you have to do is find a website that offers you the chance to test an iPad, register by filling out forms and answering surveys, and you get to keep the iPad for your leisurely use. It is that simple.

By signing up to be an iPad tester, you get to use the iPad before the rest of the consumer world does, and own it for good minus the expenses. Apple needs your opinion on their new product and as a thank you gesture for your two cents, they are giving you one for free. How cool is that!

Just remember, there is no need to pay any registration fee or any kind of charges in order to become an iPad tester. If you find a site that asks for upfront payment, DO NOT register. It is a scam! Fraudulent sites abound, especially this time when people are looking forward to the release of the iPad and many will do anything just to get one, for free in particular.

Do not allow yourself to fall victim to illegal and fraudulent sites. Be a wise consumer.

Alma

Frank Shepard asked:




Now that the apple tablet iPad has been revealed to the public and the initial industry buzz has subsided, should consumers start planning on purchasing Apple’s latest toy? The general public still has to wait two months for the opportunity to buy the apple tablet and the big question is will the iPad become another iPod or iPhone and change the technology game or will it disappear into oblivion like the Apple Pippin? The professional reviews are in, and what they uncovered with their initial impressions might surprise you.

The Good

Familiarity is the key selling point for the Apple Tablet. The iPad runs a modified version of the current operating system used in the iPhone and iPod Touch. The tablet will synch all your iTunes files, charge and connect using the firmly established white 30 pin connection cord, allow you to purchase applications from the pre existing app store you are used to and the iPad will even transfer the songs, videos, games and helpful apps that you already legally bought (avoiding a “double dip” of a dual purchase for the same content).

The screen resolution is beautiful. Every apple tablet review gushes about the 1024 x 768 high resolution display of the iPad’s 9.7 inch touch screen. The majority of the other technological specs are designed to impress. The CPU clocks in at 1 GHz and provides plenty of lightning quick power for a handheld device. The built in wireless devices on the tablet, WiFi and Bluetooth, will connect and run just as seamlessly as the current generation iPhones and iPods.

The Bad

Get ready for the bad, because there is plenty to complain about with the new iPad. Storage comes in three dainty sizes, 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB. Regardless of how Apple tries to spin the size of the internal hard drives, these are tiny for a product intended to compete in the netbook market. USB drives come in comparable sizes for a fraction of the cost (another issue with the iPad, but this is true of most apple products). Enjoy watching TV shows and movies on the go? With the minimal hard drive space the apple tablet can barely hold a dozen movies and a single season of the average television show. This won’t truly be a problem though as the battery life is expected to last less than 10 hours under heavy use. Basically, it won’t last a full day under consistent usage with a full charge.

The Ugly

Deal breaker time, and there are plenty. No built in USB ports, no flash support for web pages, no webcam, no SMS text messaging, no Skype video conferences or calls and monthly fees to access the exclusive AT&T 3G network are just a few. But nothing pales in comparison to the lack of multi-tasking. To put it simply, the touch screen miniature apple tablet with the power of a netbook, same size as a netbook, costing twice as a much as the average netbook, designed to bridge the gap between cell phones (iPhones) and laptops (Macbooks) CANNOT RUN MORE THAN ONE APPLICATION AT A TIME! For a product designed as mobile device, the inability to run multiple applications at the same time is without a doubt its greatest flaw.

Wasted Potential versus Crushing Reality

Every apple tablet review speaks of the potential of the iPad. It has the potential to be apple’s next big game changer, but its apparent shortcomings and suspiciously missing norm applications and hardware specs also leave the door open for a major flop. The best analogy I’ve come across compares the Apple iPad to a concept car. Similar to a pre-production concept car, the apple tablet iPad introduces plenty of new technology, great ideas, sleek and modern design but its implementation aims at lofty goals while ignoring the current market and reality. It’s lacking in basic functionality and there are simply too many faults in the iPad’s initial version. Essentially, wait until the multi-tasking is ironed out and for the iPad apple tablet version 2.

Danielle

Timothy Arends asked:




Apple has finally done it. Apple has released its new tablet device, that is. The Mac public was expecting, indeed clamoring — for Apple to release such a device — and soon! For Apple to have failed to do so would have been a major letdown (to its customers as well as its stockholders). The momentum was just impossible to resist.

After all, the iPhone is essentially a miniature tablet computer. Apple has shown that it can “do” such a device like no one else. So, despite Steve Jobs past protestations, releasing a new tablet was a no-brainer. All Apple had to do is scale up its brilliant interface to a larger device.

Did I say “all Apple had to do?” The technical challenges in producing this new device, called the iPad, were enormous. Apple had to essentially design a whole new operating system that is not quite the Mac and not quite the iPhone, rewrite its core applications from scratch, and basically rethink the entire way a computer operates.

Apple was not the first to release a new tablet computer, just as it was not the first to release an MP3 player or cell phone, but it may well be the company that succeeds in making the tablet computer truly “catch fire” with the public.

Apple has a tremendous head start with 140,000+ apps for the iPhone, and it wisely designed the iPad to take advantage of them. The iPad can run iPhone apps at their original size, or in “pixel doubled mode” twice the size as on the iPhone, so that they nearly fill the iPad screen. Developers can easily rewrite their iPhone apps specifically for the iPad in such a way as to take advantage of its new features.

How will the iPad affect Internet marketers? Of course, the “i” in its name stands for Internet (and it’s also a clever play on the name of the “iPod”). Surfing the web will be a joy, and a larger screen will give users much more room to work with. Apple’s developers brag that it’s like “holding the entire Internet in your hand,” or like reading a physical book or magazine.

Creation of new apps for the iPad by developers could rival the gold rush that sprang up around the iPhone. Apple offers the SDK 3.2 beta for developers with the tools they need to start creating applications for the iPad, and an iPad simulator that lets them build and run applications on the Mac, lay out the user interface, test memory usage and debug.

Web graphic designers and artists will enjoy the included Brushes application on the iPad’s larger screen, although some may feel that it is something like fingerpainting — a stylus that works with the iPad will not be supported, at least not initially.

Apple has completely rewritten its productivity software iWork for the iPad. Keynote contains custom graph styles, custom-designed themes, animations and effects, and brand-new features designed just for the iPad. Pages includes Apple-designed templates and formatting tools. Numbers offers over 250 formulas, flexible tables and sophisticated charts.

Want to catch up on your marketing reading? Apple has worked hard to make reading e-books, magazines and newspapers pleasurable on the iPad. Apple’s e-book reading software has an interface that looks like a bookshelf. Flip the bookshelf over with your finger, and you’re brought to the online store where you can purchase new books.

The iPad’s built-in Safari browser works just like the one on your Mac. And, like the version on your iPhone, you can scroll through pages by flicking your finger across them, or pinch or double tap to zoom in on a photo.

The Mail application offers a landscape view with a split screen showing both the current e-mail and the unread messages in your inbox. Want to view the current e-mail message by itself? Simply turn the iPad to portrait mode and the message zooms to fill the screen. The iPad will work with popular e-mail providers such as mobile me, Yahoo Mail, Gmail, Hotmail and AOL. To compose a message, you just tap and start typing.

This brings us to the onscreen keyboard. Many pundits wondered how text entry would work on Apple’s new tablet device. You can use an external keyboard for typing long documents if you wish. However, I think Apple made the right decision in not attempting to build a physical keyboard into the tablet. The goal of the iPad is to bring your data and web surfing up close for an intimate feel. A keypad would simply get between you and the screen.

The on-screen keyboard is much larger, of course, than what is possible on the iPhone. In landscape mode, the keyboard is almost as large as that on a standard laptop. With just a few tweaks to the word recognition and auto-correction features of the iPhone software, typing on this virtual keyboard, I suspect, could be almost as fast as using a real one. Plus, I believe that voice dictation apps could come quickly to the iPad, just as they have to the iPhone.

And, of course, the iPad includes all of the same features as the iPhone, only in a larger form–video, YouTube, the iPod and iTunes, interactive satellite maps, the notepad, a calendar completely redesigned from the ground up for the iPad, Contacts and Spotlight search.

The iPad will be shipped in three different internal storage configurations and with the option of Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + 3G, for a total of six different models. The base model, the 16 GB Wi-Fi only, will start at a reasonable $499, while the top of the line 64 GB Wi-Fi + 3G model will tip the scales at a still affordable $829. Apple has said that, while most new technologies are introduced at a higher price point and slowly work their way down, Apple wanted to do things differently.

When will the iPad be available? Apple expects the Wi-Fi models to ship in late March and the 3G models to ship in April.

The thinness, just 0.5 inches, the light weight, just 1.5 pounds, and the flexibility of this new device are sure to make the iPad popular with Internet marketers and anyone on the go. With its high resolution LED backlight, it’s larger display, it’s responsive multi-touch screen and its powerful Apple-designed processor, the new iPad will be thin and light enough to take anywhere. And I suspect that many people will choose to do exactly that.

Lonnie

Phil Reusch asked:




The iPad has caused quite a bit of buzz in the computer world. It’s one of the first tablets that actually looks like it can deliver on what’s promised versus the many failed tablet computers over the last decade that have never actually caught on. Even though it looks like a great device, there are a wide variety of Android based tablets that are also soon to come out. It might be best to compare the iPad to these other devices to make sure you are going to get what you want.

Android is Google’s open source operating system that was originally made for mobile phones but eventually will be on netbooks and other devices like tablet computers. There are quite a few that will be for sale this year ranging from small 5″ screens up to 11″ tablets. There are some advantages of these to consider.

First is that you have control over your software. Third party vendors can make software for the device without having to get permission from Apple like in the Apps Store. This means that developers are going to feel better about making applications they know they can sale versus trying to stay within Apple’s limitations. This means you can get high quality applications from Android. For example, someone can design a browser that works with Flash on the device which the iPad does not have.

Secondly, is the actual hardware. Android devices can have things like USB ports which work with your external devices allowing you to use some of your external hardware with the tablet. With the iPad this is not an option at all.

Another big reason to consider the Android tablet is that within a few years it will overtake the iPhone in actual users. While it may seem advantageous right now to use the iPad since it has a large application base, this will switch very shortly as Android phones become more popular.

While the iPad is a good device, you may want to consider using an Android based tablet. With a wide variety of these coming out in the next year, consider the advantages they offer. The cost shouldn’t be as great because one company will not be controlling what applications go into the product. That should help greatly in keeping the cost down. Also with the different applications available for the product there should be more features.

So when you go looking for your new tablet just consider the options you will have and don’t limit yourself.

Viola

Collin J. Johnson asked:




There’s a new buzz in town. A product so hot it has become an overnight sensation. Long before its release, people are queuing in their minds to get their own piece. The technology market can’t wait to get their hands on this new gadget.

Blogs, YouTube videos, product reviews, articles, and forums are rich with comments, feedback, and insights about this tablet computer also viewed as a supersized iPhone with its 9.7-inch screen. Apple fans have mixed emotions of love and hate for this newest addition to the Apple portfolio. However, I would be quick to say that people who exclaim, “I want it now!” outnumber those whose expectations were not met.

So, what is this latest craze? Welcome the Apple iPad.

Luckily for you who are probably salivating (in a good way) for an iPad, you don’t have to wait for another month when it goes on sale. You can be an iPad tester now and forgo the crazy lines come its release date. More importantly, forget about spending your cash. You can get a free iPad just for being an iPad tester.

Some companies are giving out free iPads as promotional items or prizes. But come on, your odds of winning against millions of other participants is not so good. You would have to rely on pure luck. Testing the iPad on the other hand, would give you a much better chance. True, you have to exert more effort like providing feedback, making sure the applications work correctly on all of Apple devices, and even thinking of suggestions for improvement for the product and its marketing. That’s the work of a product tester.

Think of the end game though and that would be motivation enough. You don’t need to burn a hole in your pocket just to have your own tablet computer. Plus, you get to use an iPad before the rest of the world.

Think about it. This is your chance to get an iPad for the cost of not a single penny. Moreover, the fun of testing such an anticipated product is priceless. Go ahead…puff out your chest now like a proud mother hen.

Melanie