Technology by Stephanie M. Roy MARCH 2010 ISSUE 70
Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s Reader breathed a bit of life back into a beleaguered industry by allowing consumers to download digital versions of household publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The International Herald Tribune and The Washington Times. Millions of classic novels ranging from War & Peace to Harry Potter have been transformed into eBooks that are easily downloaded and stored in huge numbers. With all the speed, portability and convenience the Kindle and Reader provide, there’s a level of connectivity and accessibility many members of generations X and Y still seek. Bring in Apple’s latest contribution to our microwave society, the iPad. Weighing in at just 1.5 pounds and only .5 inches thick, there’s more than what meets the eye inside this environmentally friendly and recyclable aluminum device. Yes, there is an iBook store available online in which consumers may purchase eBooks much like that of the Kindle or Sony Reader. But as Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs spoke about the Kindle during the iPad’s unveiling presentation he explained, “We are going to stand on their shoulders and go a bit further.” Further, they did go. In addition to an extensive library of books available to those in the U.S., the iPad kicks things up a notch by allowing users to browse the web, read and send emails, watch videos, listen to music, play games and enjoy photos. The late 20th and early 21st centuries have given birth Should you get around to doing any actual work on to a myriad of Internet technologies that have comthe iPad, Apple has also introduced the latest version pletely overhauled the way we communicate. Gone of iWork for the device. Users create advanced forare the days where after meeting random strangers, matted documents such as spreadsheets, presentations they remain just that. With the help of the online Pan- and animations using Pages, Keynote and Numbers. dora’s box of social networking sites, that weird guy As the old saying goes, “Where there’s a Mac, chatting you up at Starbucks could very well resurface there’s an App”, more than 140,000 applications are as a friend request on Facebook. Ten years ago, when available to iPads via the App Store including apps alwe had an opinion on a particular topic, most of us ready purchased for your iPhone or iPod touch. Much shared our most candid points of views with only a like its previous mentioned little cousins, the iPad handful of friends and family. Enter the age of blogsyncs with iTunes using the standard Apple 30-pin to ging, where now, we get to hear the worldwide rants, USB cable. The iStore is also available allowing users raves and rambles from anyone with a valid Yahoo! to browse through over 11 million songs, 50,000 TV account. episodes and 8,000 films. Sending photos, music, TV While these are small new age annoyances most of shows, contacts and movies, works in the same way. us have worked into our tolerance levels, the Internet As for connectivity, the iPad will offer two versions, has drastically affected the most basic ways we’ve which are: the Wi-Fi and the Wi-Fi + 3G. distributed and received information for centuries. An impressive slice of technology it is, but don’t From magazines and newspapers to novels and even run down to the local Apple store all at once. The iPad maps, fewer and fewer people are stopping by bookisn’t set for release in the US until the end of March stores and newsstands for hard copies of these items. 2010. The Wi-Fi + 3G model comes out later at the With a few clicks on the mouse pad, we can have our end of April. International and worldwide availability news, gossip, driving directions and fashion tips all will be announced at a later date. Many believe the before our afternoon lunch break. After realizing this iPad won’t make its appearance outside the US until trend in its early stages, the media and print world July 2010. As for pricing, the 16GB Model ($499wasted no time in developing online equivalents of US), 32GB ($599 US) and 64GB ($699 US). their paper-based businesses.
IPAD The Revival of the Prints: Does the iPad have the right stuff?
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